Assassination Rogue DPS Rotation & Cooldowns

DPS Rotation & Cooldowns

This rotation offers a general priority list for Assassination Rogue abilities, along with key cooldowns at the bottom. It's based on a standard build and is here to help while we work on a smarter, build-aware system. If you are very new to the game or this class, we added info on the new assisted rotation features at the bottom of this guide. Updated for the latest patch in World of Warcraft: The War Within (11.2).

Single Target

Start from Stealth and open with Ambush.

Maintain uptime, cast from Stealth when possible.
Maintain with 5+ Combo Points.
Use on cooldown.
Use on cooldown, sync with buffs.
Use after Deathmark and during Kingsbane.
Use with 5+ Combo Points, prioritize 7 CP during Darkest Night.
Use to generate Combo Points when available.
Use to generate Combo Points.
Use alongside Shiv.
Use with Ambush to reapply Deathstalkers Mark if needed.

Maintain Garrote and Rupture uptime. Use Deathmark and Kingsbane on cooldown, syncing with buffs. Prioritize Envenom with 5+ Combo Points, and use Shiv strategically during burst windows.

AoE

Open from Stealth with Ambush to apply Deathstalkers Mark.

Maintain on multiple targets, cast from Stealth when possible.
Maintain at least five with 5+ Combo Points.
Maintain uptime.
Maintain by using Mutilate every 10 seconds.
Use on cooldown.
Use on cooldown, sync with buffs.
Use after Deathmark and during Kingsbane.
Use to refresh Garrote and Rupture if needed.
Use with 5+ Combo Points, prioritize 7 CP during Darkest Night.
Use to generate Combo Points on 2+ targets.
Use alongside Shiv.

Maintain Garrote, Rupture, and Crimson Tempest on multiple targets. Use Deathmark and Kingsbane on cooldown, syncing with buffs. Generate Combo Points with Fan Of Knives and prioritize Envenom with 5+ Combo Points.

Cooldowns

Use on cooldown for burst damage.
Use on cooldown, sync with buffs.
Use strategically during Deathmark and Kingsbane.
Use to reapply Garrote or Deathstalkers Mark.
Use to restore Energy during burst windows.

Use Deathmark and Kingsbane on cooldown for burst. Pair Shiv with these abilities for max DPS. Utilize Vanish for reapplying key effects and Thistle Tea for Energy restoration.

New to Class? Try Assisted Rotation

Patch 11.1.7 introduced new features that make it eaiser to pick and play new characters. These new settings can be enabled from settings » gameplay enhancements:

Single-Button Assistant
Assisted Highlight
Cooldown Manager

If you are new to World of Warcraft or a certain class, enabling Assisted Highlight and Cooldown Manager can help you learn which abilities to prioritize and use.

While the Single-Button Assistant can be a much easier and more accessible way to play the game, it does come with a slight performance hit due to a small GCD penalty, as you will have to wait 25% longer in between spells and abilities.

To see which specs are best with the Single-Button Assistant feature, you can check out our DPS Rankings which uses SimC to sim every class using this feature.