PvE Subtlety Rogue DPS Stat Priority & Reforging

Subtlety Rogues in Mists of Pandaria prioritize Hit, Expertise, Agility, Haste, Critical Strike Chance, and Mastery to enhance their performance in PvE environments! Unlike the other Rogue specializations, Subtlety Rogues prefer a mix between Mastery and Critical Strike Chance instead of stacking significantly more.

Stat Priority

1. Hit (7.5% Cap)
2. Expertise (7.5% Cap)
3. Agility
4. Haste
5. Critical Strike Chance
6. Mastery

Hit or Hit Chance is a secondary stat that ensures your attacks land against higher-level mobs. You will need 7.5% Hit Chance as a Subtlety Rogue to ensure that your attacks never miss against a target. Each 340 Hit grants you 1% Hit Chance. The Spell Hit Chance required by Poisons will be acquired from Expertise.

Expertise is a secondary stat in Mists of Pandaria that increases Spell Hit Chance and reduces the chance of your attacks being dodged or parried. You need 7.5% Expertise to ensure your attacks can’t be dodged and 15% Expertise to avoid being parried. The 7.5% Expertise also ensures that your Poison Damage never misses a target! 340 Expertise results in 1% Expertise. Since you’ll always be behind the target, you only need to aim for the 7.5% Soft Cap!

Agility is a primary stat that increases your Attack Power and Critical Strike Chance as a Subtlety Rogue. This stat is inherent to all your gear and, by default, the strongest damage amplifier you can obtain! Subtlety Rogues also benefit more from Agility than the other Rogue specializations due to the Sinister Calling passive, which increases their Agility by 30%. Thanks to this effect, gems, enchants, and consumables that yield Agility are far more important to Subtlety Rogue than the other specializations.

Haste is a stat that increases your Attack Speed and Energy Regeneration, with each 425 Haste granting 1% Haste. Subtlety Rogues should acquire as much Haste as possible at any point of the expansion to ensure proper Energy Regeneration, especially during their Find Weakness burst sequences, where they want to spam Ambush as much as possible. Subtlety Rogues should not be worried about Energy Capping, especially since Energetic Recovery is their kit’s only other Energy Regeneration tool.

Critical Strike Chance is a stat that increases the damage done by all your attacks and poisons while also interacting with the Honor Among Thieves passive. The damage from stacking Critical Strike Chance is similar to stacking Mastery, meaning the difference between the two stats should not be too high. Every 600 Critical Strike results in a 1% Critical Strike Chance! Realistically, you will always benefit from Honor Among Thieves in a party or raid group, but stacking the stat will ensure you will also proc it consistently while playing solo.

Mastery is a stat that increases a Subtlety Rogue’s Slice and Dice efficiency and all other Finishing Moves due to the Mastery: Executioner effect. Mastery is closely tied to Critical Strike Chance’s performance, yet the difference between the stats should not be too high. Every 300 points of Mastery results in a 1% increase in the Mastery: Executioner effect.

Reforging

Reforging can only be done on secondary stats, meaning you can’t acquire more Agility through it! Subtlety Rogues should try to reforge their stats to acquire as much Haste as possible after reaching their Hit & Expertise caps, followed by a mix of Mastery and Critical Strike Chance.

1. Hit (7.5%)
2. Expertise (7.5%)
3. Haste (As much as possible)
4. Mastery/Critical Strike Chance