Subtlety Rogue Mythic+ Guide
Subtlety Rogue Mythic+ Guide
11.1 - Undermine(d)
Welcome to the Subtlety Rogues Mythic+ guide for the World of Warcraft patch 11.1! This guide covers everything you need to know to understand your character! Are you starting out and leveling up from 70? Check out the leveling guide!
Overview
Subtlety Rogue
Subtlety RogueMythic+
Hero Talents
Subtlety Rogue
- Trickster and Deathstalker are both solid choices for Subtlety Rogues in Mythic+, each bringing their own small niche. Trickster fills in a weakness that Subtlety struggles with; passive cleave. Deathstalker on the other hand, favors sticking to the one target with Deathstalker's Mark. Trickster provides bigger burst windows with lower amounts of consistent damage. Deathstalker on the other hand, provides more consistent damage with your cooldowns being more spread out.
Trickster
Deathstalker
- There are two core mechanics you need to understand in order to play Trickster optimally.
- Fazed
- This is the first core mechanic of the Trickster hero talent tree. It interacts with most of the other talent nodes, and most notably, causes your target to not parry your attacks and take 5% more damage from you.
- Smoke Causes you to take less damage from Fazed targets.
- Surprising Strikes Your combo point generators do more damage to Fazed targets.
- No Scruples Your finishing moves have a higher critical strike chance against Fazed targets.
- This is the first core mechanic of the Trickster hero talent tree. It interacts with most of the other talent nodes, and most notably, causes your target to not parry your attacks and take 5% more damage from you.
- Unseen Blade
- This is the second mechanic you need to understand and is the trigger for the first mentioned mechanic Fazed.
- Every 20 seconds your Backstab and Shadowstrike will trigger Unseen Blade and apply Fazed to your target.
- Devious Distractions causes your Secret Technique to apply Fazed to any targets hit.
- Disorienting Strikes Using Secret Technique will make your next twoBackstabs or Shadowstrikes ignore the cooldown of Unseen Blade.
- Thousand Cuts your auto attacks has a chance to reset your Unseen Blade cooldown.
- Flawless Form is a buff that you get whenever you use Secret Technique or trigger Unseen Blade.
- This is the second mechanic you need to understand and is the trigger for the first mentioned mechanic Fazed.
- Other than the basic mechanics of Trickster there are two noteworthy talents that impact how to play the game:
- Nimble Flurry
- This is the most gameplay changing talent for Trickster. It makes your Eviscerate, Shadowstrike, Backstab and auto-attacks cleave 7 additional targets while Flawless Form is active.
- Coup de Grace
- After 4 Unseen Blade activations your next Eviscerate will count as if it used with 5 more combo points and give you 5 stacks of Flawless Form if your target was Fazed.
- Nimble Flurry
- Deathstalker's Mark is the core mechanic to how this hero talent tree plays out.
- Shadowstrike used from Shadow Dance or Stealth applies 3 stacks of Deathstalker's Mark to unmarked targets, you can only have one mark up at a time.
- Spending 5 or more combo points consumes 1 stack of your Deathstalker's Mark dealing damage increasing the damage of your next Shadowstrike or Backstab.
- There a few talents that interact with your Deathstalker's Mark:
- Shadewalker
- Reduces the cooldown of Shadowstep whenever you consume a stack of Deathstalker's Mark.
- Clear the Witnesses
- Whenever you apply a new Deathstalker's Mark your next Shuriken Storm does extra plague damage and generates an extra combo point.
- Hunt Them Down
- Your auto-attacks do extra plague damage to your marked target.
- Singular Focus
- Your damage dealt to targets other than your marked target causes your marked target to take a small amount of that damage.
- Darkest Night
- After you have consumed all stacks of Deathstalker's Mark your next Eviscerate cast with maximum combo points will be a guaranteed critical strike with 60% increased damage and reapply Deathstalker's Mark.
- Shadewalker
- Other talents that do not interact directly with Deathstalker's Mark but are still worth mentioning are:
- Lingering Darkness
- After your Shadow Blades expires you deal 30% more shadow damage for 30 seconds.
- Corrupt the Blood
- Gives your Rupture an extra dot component.
- Fatal Intent
- Abilities cast on targets above 20% health can apply a stack of Fatal Intent which will deal damage whenever the target falls under 20% health.
- Bait and Switch
- Turns your Evasion into a damage reduction spell for magical damage as well as Cloak of Shadows into a physical damage reduction spell.
- Lingering Darkness
Talents
Subtlety Rogue
Deathstalker - Dark Brew
Trickster - The Rotten
When to use this Spec
Both of the given talent options provide different gameplay styles and offer similar numerical values. This loadout is the simplest rotationally and provides the most consistent damage outside of your cooldown windows.
Gameplay Altering Talents
Discover all talents that significantly alter your gameplay within the Spec and Class Talent trees. This section gives a concise overview of these talents and their applications but for a more detailed look check out the Rotation and Deep Dive sections below.
Spec Tree
- Dark Brew
- Converts your Bleed and Nature damage to Shadow damage and increases it by 10%. This means that your Ruptures will do a lot more damage.
- Death Perception
- Makes your Symbols of Death stronger and gains additional charges.
- Replicating Shadows
- Replicating Shadows Makes your Rupture hit an additional target.
- Shadow Dance
- Shadow Dance puts you in a stance where you can use all your stealth abilities while buffing your damage for its duration. This is your bread and butter spell for your cooldown windows and is a major contributor to your core gameplay.
- Danse Macabre
- This talent makes it so each unique spell cast during Shadow Dance buffs your damage by 6%.
- Shadowcraft
- This talent modifies your Symbols of Death to generate double combo points from Shadow Techniques and causes your finishers to generate combo points if you have enough to fill your combo point bar. This turns Symbols of Death into a strong cooldown which you should use as often as possible.
- Shadow Blades
- Shadow Blades causes most of your damage to be increased by 20% and all your combo point generators to generate full combo points.
- Flagellation
- Flagellation stacks up to 30 stacks based on combo points spent and buffs your finisher damage for its duration.
- Secret Technique
- Your biggest damage finisher for both AoE & single target situations.
- Weaponmaster
- Gives your Backstab and Shadowstrike a chance to hit again. This causes your combo point generation to be less scripted and is something you need to pay attention to.
Class Tree
- Cold Blood
- Cold Blood is always used in combination with Secret Technique for strong burst damage.
- Supercharger
- Buffs your next 1/2 finishers after using Symbols of Death.
- Thistle Tea
- An energy generating spell and damage cooldown baked into one. Therefore, you want to use it both inside of your cooldown windows and as an energy restoring spell.
- Cheat Death
- Your strongest defensive utility that lets you play aggressively with no fear of dying.
Hero Talents
- Lingering Darkness
- This is your default pick for all scenarios since Symbolic Victory is significantly weaker numerically.
- Bait and Switch
- This is your default pick or almost all scenarios, Ethereal Cloak may have some value but it's very niche and Bait and Switch is solid all around.
- Shadewalker
- This is your default pick, however, Shroud of Night can find some value depending on the dungeon. Take your route into account when choosing between these two talents.
- Momentum of Despair
- This is your default pick for most scenarios, Follow the Blood is the other option, which currently is numerically weaker.
When to use this Spec
Both of the given talent options provide different gameplay styles and offer similar numerical values. This loadout is slightly more complex due to the nature of Trickster.
Talent Adjustments
Listing all the changes within the Class and Spec tree compared to the default build.
Spec Tree
- Added
- The Rotten
- Removed
- Finality
- Dark Brew
Class Tree
- Added
- Removed
- Thistle Tea
- An energy generating spell and damage cooldown baked into one. Therefore, you want to use it both inside of your cooldown windows and as an energy restoring spell.
- Vigor
- Thistle Tea
Hero Talents
Deathstalker to Trickster for more info visit the Hero Talent section above.
- No Scruples
- This is your default pick for all scenarios since Cloud Cover is not very good.
- Thousand Cuts
- This is your default pick for all scenarios since Flickerstrike seems more like a PvP Talent.
- Smoke
- This is your default pick for all scenarios since Mirrors is worse in comparison.
- So Tricky
- This is your default pick for all scenarios Tricks of the Trade is very nice in Mythic+ to help out your tank. This talent almost ensures you can never get aggro over your tank and lets you safely pre-spread Ruptures.
Rotation
Subtlety Rogue
Tier Set
- 2-Set: Your spells and abilities have a chance to activate a Winning Streak! increasing the damage of your Eviscerate, Secret Technique, and Black Powder by 3%, stacking up to 10 times. Eviscerate, Secret Technique, and Black Powder have a 15% chance to remove Winning Streak!
- 4-Set: While Shadow Dance is active, you cannot lose Winning Streak!, gain an additional stack of Winning Streak! each time you would gain one, and deal an additional 6% Shadow damage per Winning Streak! stack.
Single-Target
Deathstalker - Dark Brew
Trickster - The Rotten
Opener
- Use your Treacherous Transmitter early to see what your trigger is and then complete the task before your burst.
Priority List
This is a general priority you aim to maintain throughout the fight.
The rotational priority for Subtlety Rogue changes based on whether you have Shadow Dance active or not:
Shadow Dance Priority
- Cast Eviscerate as your first finisher with 5+ combo points. Always build to 7 combo points with Darkest Night buff active.
- Cast Secret Technique as your second finisher with 5+ combo points.
- Cast Shadowstrike if under 5 combo points.
No Shadow Dance Priority
- Cast Eviscerate with 7+ combo points with Darkest Night buff active.
- Cast Slice and Dice if it's not active.
- Cast Rupture at earliest inside of a pandemic window (30% of the spell's original duration). Do not overwrite Finality Ruptures.
- Cast Eviscerate with 5+ combo points.
- Cast Shuriken Storm with Clear the Witnesses active.
- Cast Backstab.
Cooldown Usage
- Flagellation with 6+ combo points with Shadow Blades ready.
- Shadow Blades is typically used together with your next spell after Flagellation.
- Symbols of Death together Shadow Dance, always pair two Symbols of Death with your Shadow Blades and Flagellation windows. This means you hold a charge before your cooldowns come up if you only have 1 charge available.
- Thistle Tea is normally paired with your Shadow Dance to buff your finisher damage. The most optimal usage is for it to give you energy and buff your Shadow Dance damage at the same time.
- Shadow Dance is almost always used together with Symbols of Death.
- Cold Blood should only be used together with Secret Technique.
- Vanish when you are not in Shadow Dance with low combo points.
Opener
- Use your Treacherous Transmitter early to see what your trigger is and then complete the task before your burst.
Priority List
This is a general priority you aim to maintain throughout the fight.
The rotational priority for Subtlety Rogue changes based on whether you have Shadow Dance active or not:
Shadow Dance Priority
- Cast Eviscerate as your first finisher if above 5 combo points with 4 Escalating Blade stacks if your target is Fazed.
- Cast Secret Technique as your first finisher if above 5 combo points with less than 4 Escalating Blade stacks or if your target is not Fazed.
- Cast Shadowstrike if under 5 combo points.
No Shadow Dance Priority
- Cast Slice and Dice if it's not active.
- Cast Rupture at earliest inside of a pandemic window (30% of the spell's original duration). Do not overwrite Finality Ruptures.
- Cast Eviscerate with less than 4 Escalating Blade stacks with 6+ combo points.
- Cast Black Powder if you have 4 Escalating Blade stacks with 6+ combo points.
- Cast Backstab.
Cooldown Usage
- Flagellation with 6+ combo points with Shadow Blades ready.
- Shadow Blades is typically used together with your next spell after Flagellation.
- Symbols of Death together Shadow Dance, always pair two Symbols of Death with your Shadow Blades and Flagellation windows. This means you hold a charge before your cooldowns come up if you only have 1 charge available.
- Thistle Tea is normally paired with your Shadow Dance to buff your finisher damage. The most optimal usage is for it to give you energy and buff your Shadow Dance damage at the same time.
- Shadow Dance is almost always used together with Symbols of Death.
- Cold Blood should only be used together with Secret Technique.
- Vanish when you are not in Shadow Dance with low combo points.
AoE
Deathstalker - Dark Brew
Trickster - The Rotten
Opener
- Below you can see one variation of the multi-target opener rotation for Deathstalker using the Dark Brew talent.
- Try to get Ruptures up on all priority targets in the pull before using cooldowns, even if it means delaying them by a few seconds.
Priority List
Shadow Dance Priority
- Cast Eviscerate at 7 combo points with Darkest Night buff active.
- Cast Secret Technique as your second finisher with 5+ combo points.
- Cast Black Powder at 5+ combo points.
- Cast Shuriken Storm if under 5 combo points.
No Shadow Dance Priority
- Cast Eviscerate with 7+ combo points with Darkest Night buff active.
- Cast Rupture at earliest inside of a pandemic window (30% of the spell's original duration) on all priority targets. Do not overwrite Finality Ruptures.
- Cast Black Powder with 5+ combo points.
- Cast Shuriken Storm.
Opener
- Try to get Ruptures up on all priority targets in the pull before using cooldowns, even if it means delaying them by a few seconds.
Priority List
Shadow Dance Priority
- Cast Eviscerate as your first finisher if above 5 combo points with 4 Escalating Blade stacks if your target is Fazed.
- Cast Secret Technique as your first finisher if above 5 combo points with less than 4 Escalating Blade stacks or if your target is not Fazed..
- Cast Black Powder.
- Cast Shadowstrike if under 5 combo points.
No Shadow Dance Priority
- Cast Rupture at earliest inside of a pandemic window (30% of the spell's original duration) on all priority targets. Do not overwrite Finality Ruptures.
- Cast Eviscerate with less than 4 Escalating Blade stacks with 6+ combo points.
- Cast Black Powder if you have 4 Escalating Blade stacks with 6+ combo points or at 7+ targets.
- Cast Shuriken Storm.
Trickster Eviscerate or Black Powder
- Black Powder Only replaces Eviscerate with 7+ targets or whenever Flawless Form buff is missing.
Deep Dive
Subtlety Rogue
Trickster and Deathstalker specific rotational niches.
Trickster
- The following optimizition is very minor and generally not recommended to play around for most players.
- Trickster comes with some pretty specific rotational changes which may seem very unintuitive, such as using Black Powder on a single target fight.
- The reason you want to sometimes opt out of using Eviscerate is because of Coup de Grace.
- You want to make sure to have Coup de Grace ready for every time you use Shadow Dance to maximize your burst damage windows.
- Coup de Grace should only be used with Fazed up on your target to not miss out on the Flawless Form stacks. This means that you sometimes have to use Secret Technique before Eviscerate regardless if you have 4 Unseen Blade stacks already.
- There are multiple variations for how to start your Shadow Dance rotation, the following examples will be your most normal cases you should look towards achieving.
- You want to make sure to have Coup de Grace ready for every time you use Shadow Dance to maximize your burst damage windows.
Deathstalker
- Deathstalker while not as complicated rotational changes as Trickster still comes with a few optimizations such as:
- Always building to maximum combo points when Darkest Night is up.
- Always using Eviscerate as your first finisher whenever Darkest Night is active, even on AoE.
- Using Shuriken Storm, even for single-target when Clear the Witnesses is up.
Symbols of Death Pooling
- With the removal of Invigorating Shadowdust and the addition of Death Perception, comes a slight change in how we approach the usage of Symbols of Death. The fundamentals remain the same, with trying to use it as often as possible, while also making sure we maintain the buff throughout our cooldown windows. How do to that is very simple, make sure to have two charges of Symbols of Death before it's time to use Shadow Blades. This means you will pool a charge before your cooldown windows.
Rupture usage
- How and when you use Rupture matters a lot as a Subtlety Rogue. In most Mythic+ scenarios there are windows of time from when your tank pulls a pack until it is fully stacked and the tank has threat. How you utilize this time is very important. The Trickster talent So Tricky helps a lot with this, since getting a bunch of Ruptures up on the targets before the pack is stacked is going to significantly boost your damage in Mythic+. A pretty standard and safe way to do this is to use Tricks of the Trade on your tank and Sprint or Shadowstep to maximize your Tricks of the Trade window if you are a Deathstalker and get as many Ruptures up as you can.
Eviscerate vs Black Powder
- When to use Eviscerate over Black Powder might seem obvious or easy if you simply refer to your priority. However, the reality is not as black and white.
- A lot of people who play Subtlety Rogue see a bunch of targets and instantly start pressing Black Powder without much thought behind it, however, there are situations where you would want to press Eviscerate, even if at the cost of DPS.
- Priority damage to your main targets is often more useful than so called "pad damage" to targets of lesser importance, which is your main consideration when deciding what finisher you decide to use.
- As a Trickster however, this is much less of a thought than it is for Deathstalker since you use Eviscerate almost always for all scenarios.
Secret Technique Intricacies
- Secret Technique is your hardest hitting spell, so it's important that you understand how it works and some common mistakes.
- Secret Technique has an initial instant damage part and two delayed shadow clone attacks, one of them being delayed by 1 second and the other by 1.3 seconds. To clarify, this means that the latest time you can press Secret Technique to get its full damage in your Shadow Dance window is 1.3 seconds before it ends. This is very important since you lose a lot of damage not getting the damage inside of your Shadow Dance.
Understanding Danse Macabre
- Danse Macabre is very straightforward in its function. However, there are a few misconceptions about how to maximize its effectiveness. Although it may be tempting to gain as many stacks as possible before using your Secret Technique, this is typically not the best approach, especially with the addition of the new tier set.
- For most scenarios, Secret Technique should either be your first or second finisher in Shadow Dance during your cooldowns.
Understanding Mechanics
Rotational min-maxing is just one aspect of mastering a specialization, but there are numerous other key mechanics that influence your performance. Use the following guides to improve them.
Dungeons
Subtlety Rogue
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Cinderbrew Meadery
Darkflame Cleft
Priory of the Sacred Flame
The Rookery
Operation: Floodgate
Theater of Pain
Operation Mechagon: Workshop
THE MOTHERLODE!!
Boss Tips
Brew Master Aldryr
- Always use Feint on Throw Cinderbrew or Cloak of Shadows.
- Make sure to dodge out of Blazing Belch, a frontal cone of the boss.
- During the intermission at 66% and 33%, use your Sprint to pick up the beer, then Shadowstep to a friendly target back to deliver it quickly.
- Use your Feint on Rowdy Yell during the intermission.
I'pa
- Use your Feint on Spouting Stout.
- You can use your Cloak of Shadows on Burning Fermentation if needed.
Benk Buzzbee
- Make sure to dodge the tank circle.
- Use your Feint on Fluttering Wing and then Shadowstep back on the boss.
Goldie Baronbottom
- Always press Feint during Let It Hail! cast from the boss.
- You can use your Cloak of Shadows on Cindering Wounds if it stacks too high.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Free Samples? from Taste Tester.
- Boiling Flames from Venture Co. Pyromaniac.
- Rejuvenating Honey from Flavor Scientist.
- Failed Batch from Flavor Scientist
- Bee-stial Wrath from Bee Wrangler
- Honey Volley from Royal Jelly Purveyor.
- Pay extra attention to these casts:
- Volatile Keg from Hired Muscle
- Reckless Delivery from Careless Hopgoblin
Pre Dungeon Start
- Using Shadow Blades and Tempered Potion before the key starts can give you some free damage. Make sure to not use a macro for trinkets or Symbols of Death when doing this since some trinkets and Symbols of Death do not reset on key start.
Boss Tips
Ol' Waxbeard
- Make sure not to stand on the rails.
- Use your Evasion if you get fixated by the adds.
- Instantly swap onto the cart when it spawns.
- If you get targeted by Reckless Charge, try to run the adds over and hit a nearby wall.
Blazikon
- Always make sure to hit a candle with Enkindling Inferno.
- If you get targeted by Wicklighter Barrage, use your Sprint to make sure you do not get hit and try to kite out of melee range.
- Try to be max melee range before the boss casts Extinguishing Gust.
The Candle King
- If you get targetted by Darkflame Pickaxe, hide behind one of the statues.
- Use your Kick on Paranoid Mind.
- Use Cloak of Shadows or Feint when targetted by Throw Darkflame and try to hit as many candles as possible.
The Darkness
- Use Feint on Eternal Darkness boss cast.
- Use your Kick on Call Darkspawn cast that spawns adds.
- Use Feint or Cloak of Shadows on Shadowblast.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Mole Frenzy from Lowly Moleherd.
- Explosive Flame from Blazing Fiend.
- Flaming Tether from Sootsnout.
- Drain Light from Shuffling Horror.
Pre Dungeon Start
- Using Shadow Blades and Tempered Potion before the key starts can give you some free damage. Make sure to not use a macro for trinkets or Symbols of Death when doing this since some trinkets and Symbols of Death do not reset on key start.
Boss Tips
Captain Dailcry
- Break the shield of the add and use your Kick.
- Use your Kick on Battle Cry.
- Make sure to dodge Hurl Spear.
Baron Braunpyke
- Use your Kick on Burning Light.
- Use Feint on Sacrificial Pyre.
Prioress Murrpray
- Break Barrier of Light asap and then use your Kick on it.
- Make sure to look away when the boss casts Blinding Light.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Cinderblast from Taener Duelmal.
- Fireball Volley from Risen Mage.
Pre Dungeon Start
- Using Shadow Blades and Tempered Potion before the key starts can give you some free damage. Make sure to not use a macro for trinkets or Symbols of Death when doing this since some trinkets and Symbols of Death do not reset on key start.
Boss Tips
Kyrioss
- Generally you always want to be spread out during this boss.
- When the boss casts Crashing Thunder, just press a Feint and spread out so you don't hit people in your party.
- During Lightning Dash, use your Shadowstep on the boss or a nearby player.
Stormguard Gorren
- Make sure to dodge Crush Reality.
- Try to use cooldowns before or after Dark Gravity, if you have to stay in, use your Cloak of Shadows.
- During Chaotic Corruption, make sure to be close to other people to pass the debuff on.
Voidstone Monstrosity
- Make sure to Tricks of the Trade your tank as soon as the adds spawn. You can skip the Tricks of the Trade on pull.
- Try to hit as many Voidstone Fragments as possible with Null Upheaval.
- Try to line up with cooldowns with Void Shell after you break the shield.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Lightning Bolt from Cursed Thunderer.
- Void Bolt from Void Ascendant.
Pre Dungeon Start
- Using Shadow Blades and Tempered Potion before the key starts can give you some free damage. Make sure to not use a macro for trinkets or Symbols of Death when doing this since some trinkets and Symbols of Death do not reset on key start.
Boss Tips
Big M.O.M.M.A.
- Interrupt Maximum Distortion from the adds.
- Try to line up your cooldowns with Jumpstart as the boss takes 200% increased damage.
Demolition Duo
- If you get targetted by Barreling Charge, make sure to hit as many barrels at possible. You can save your Sprint for this one.
- Use your Feint to minimize the damage taken from Kinetic Explosive Gel when you are getting dispelled.
Swampface
- Make sure to coordinate with your group as to which side you are dodging towards since you will be linked with Razorchoke Vines.
- Use your Feint during Awaken the Swamp cast from the boss and dodge the Rushing Tide.
Geezle Gigazap
- Use your Feint during Turbo Charge.
- When you get targetted by Leaping Sparks, make sure to guide your Spark towards the water on the floor.
- Use your Feint on Giga Zap.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Trickshot from Mechadrone Sniper.
- Surveying Beam from Venture Co. Surveyor.
- Bloodthirsty Cackle from Darkfuse Hyena.
- Blood Blast from Darkfuse Bloodwarper.
- Restorative Algae from Disturbed Kelp.
- Lightning Bolt fromVenture Co. Electrician.
Pre Dungeon Start
- Using Shadow Blades and Tempered Potion before the key starts can give you some free damage. Make sure to not use a macro for trinkets or Symbols of Death when doing this since some trinkets and Symbols of Death do not reset on key start.
Boss Tips
An Affront of Challengers
- Make sure to dodge Decaying Breath.
- Spread out with Searing Death.
- You can use your Cloak of Shadows on Withering Touch if you lack a dispel.
- Interrupt Necromantic Bolt.
- Use your Feint on Mighty Smash.
Xav the Unfallen
- Make sure of your Shadowstep either on a friendly player, or onto the banner while you have the slow up in order to dodge the boss frontal cleaves.
Kul'tharok
- Use your Feint on Draw Soul
- Spread out with Well of Darkness.
- Interrupt Necrotic Bolt.
Gorechop
- Use your Feint on Tenderizing Smash initial hit and then move out of the circle.
Mordretha, the Endless Empress
- Use your Feint on Manifest Death and spread out.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Necrotic Bolt from Battlefield Ritualist.
- Demoralizing Shout from Ancient Captain.
- Bind Soul from Shackled Soul.
- Necrotic Bolt Volley from Maniacal Soulbinder.
- Bone Spear from Bone Magus.
- Spirit Frost from Nefarious Darkspeaker.
- Withering Discharge from Blighted Sludge-Spewer.
Pre Dungeon Start
- Using Shadow Blades and Tempered Potion before the key starts can give you some free damage. Make sure to not use a macro for trinkets or Symbols of Death when doing this since some trinkets and Symbols of Death do not reset on key start.
Boss Tips
Tussle Tonks
- A lot to dodge on this platform, watch out and try to keep uptime on the boss.
- If you get targetted by Maximum Thrust, try to hit the closest wall without hitting any party members.
- Make sure not to pop cooldowns when Platinum Plating is on.
K.U.-J.0.
- Spread when you get targetted by Air Drop.
- Use your Feint on Explosive Leap
- During the Venting Flames cast, hide behind one of the boxes, and try to keep hitting the boss. As long as you have Hiding Behind Junk you are safe.
- Use your cooldowns before/after boss leaps to not have any downtime.
Machinist's Garden
- You can Shadowstep between beams if you have to.
- Interrupt Giga-Wallop.
King Mechagon
- Use your Feint when targetted by Mega-Zap and try to stand still.
- You can use your Sprint during the pull from Magneto-Arm to stay on boss.
- Use your Feint during Take Off!.
Trash Tips
Use your Cloak of Shadows if you are lacking dispels on Arcing Zap.
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Giga-Wallop from Mechagon Tinkerer.
- Tune Up from Mechagon Mechanic.
Pre Dungeon Start
- Using Shadow Blades and Tempered Potion before the key starts can give you some free damage. Make sure to not use a macro for trinkets or Symbols of Death when doing this since some trinkets and Symbols of Death do not reset on key start.
Boss Tips
Coin-Operated Crowd Pummeler
- Make sure to pop cooldowns when there is at least 2-3 stacks of Blazing Azerite on the boss.
- Use your Shadowstep onStatic Pulse.
Azerokk
- Use Evasion when you get fixated by an add with Raging Gaze.
- Have dots up on the adds to swap to them quickly once they take extra damage.
- Use your Feint on Resonant Quake.
Rixxa Fluxflame
- Sprint can help with Propellant Blast to stick to the boss. However, make sure you are clearing the stuff on the floor with it.
Mogul Razdunk
- Avoid getting hit by the circle of Homing Missile. If you get the debuff, use your Cloak of Shadows on it.
- Avoid the rockets at all costs as they one shot. The tank should be pre-placing the boss in a safe spot.
- If you get targetted by Drill Smash, make sure to use your Sprint to quickly hit the rockets on the floor.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Toxic Blades from Hired Assassin.
- Iced Spritzer from Refreshment Vendor.
- Rock Lance from Venture Co. Earthshaper.
- Furious Quake from Stonefury.
- Transmute: Enemy to Goo Venture Co. Alchemist.
Pre Dungeon Start
- Using Shadow Blades and Tempered Potion before the key starts can give you some free damage. Make sure to not use a macro for trinkets or Symbols of Death when doing this since some trinkets and Symbols of Death do not reset on key start.
Affixes
The Affix system got revamped going into The War Within Season 1 retiring most Affixes as well as introducing new kiss-curse ones while also changing on which key level these appear.
- +2 Affixes -- Rotates on a weekly basis
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Ascendant
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Voidbound
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Oblivion
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Devour
- +4 Affixes -- Alternates between each other on a weekly basis
- Tyrannical
- Fortified
- +7 Affix
- Challenger's Peril
- +10 Affixes -- Alternates between each other on a weekly basis, is always the opposite of the +4 Affix
- Tyrannical
- Fortified
- +12 Affix
- Xal'atath's Guile -- Replaces the +2 Affix
Following you get some useful tips for handling different Mythic+ Affixes as a Subtlety Rogues.
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Ascendant
- Use Blind with Airborne Irritant on your main target, if you use it on the orbs it will not work.
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Voidbound
- Make sure to focus the Void Emissary as it buffs nearby mobs and makes them take less damage. Consider funneling this target over using AoE.
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Oblivion
- Consider using Sprint to ensure you soak them all if your group consists of ranged players with no will to move.
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Devour
- You can use Cloak of Shadows if it overlaps with another bad mechanic since it's a heal absorb and can be deadly with bad overlaps. Crimson Vial can also help out.
Stat Priority
Subtlety Rogue
Understand your secondary stat priority and the tertiary stats needed for optimal performance during Mythic+ dungeons as a Subtlety Rogues. For more detailed information, visit the Stats and Attributes guide.
Higher Item level items are better in most scenarios. For an accurate representation of what item to equip you should use Simcraft! A static "Stat Priority" is just a starting point and can easily shift depending on your individual gear.
All secondary stats are affected by diminishing returns. Click here to learn more!
Tertiary
- Avoidance - Avoidance works similarly to Feint, as it provides you with passive AoE damage reduction. However, due to the significant amount of avoidance you already receive from Feint, it loses value compared to other classes.
- Leech - Provides additional healing through damage dealing. Great stat for staying alive and healthy.
- Speed - Speed is the worst out of the three tertiary stats because you are already very fast, it is of course better than nothing.
Gear
Subtlety Rogue
Best in Slot
Farmable Alternatives
| Slot | Item | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Darkfuse Racketeer's Tricorne | One-Armed Bandit |
| Neck | Amulet of Earthen Craftsmanship | Crafting |
| Shoulder | Spectral Gambler's Bladed Mantle | Rik Reverb / Catalyst |
| Cloak | Trashmaster's Mantle | Operation: Mechagon |
| Chest | Spectral Gambler's Vest | Sprocketmonger Lockenstock / Catalyst |
| Wrist | Hustler's Ante-Uppers | One-Armed Bandit |
| Gloves | Rune-Branded Grasps | Crafting |
| Belt | Competitor's Battle Cord | Cauldron of Carnage |
| Legs | Spectral Gambler's Pantaloons | Stix Bunkjunker / Catalyst |
| Boots | Spectral Gambler's Cavaliers | Catalyst |
| Ring 1 | The Jastor Diamond | Gallywix |
| Ring 2 | Ring of Earthen Craftsmanship | Crafting |
| Trinket 1 | House of Cards | One-Armed Bandit |
| Trinket 2 | Suspicious Energy Drink | Delves |
| Weapon | Pyrotechnic Needle-Dropper | Rik Reverb |
| Weapon | Pyrotechnic Needle-Dropper | Rik Reverb |
Below you are presented with a good list of farmable alternatives that are obtainable outside of WoW’s weekly lockout system. While replaced in time as you progress, these offer immediate character power.
| Slot | Item | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Head | High Altitude Turban | The MOTHERLODE!!! |
| Neck | Flickering Glowtorc | Darkflame Cleft |
| Shoulder | Extravagant Epaulets | Operation: Mechagon |
| Cloak | Trashmaster's Mantle | Cinderbrew Meadery |
| Chest | Jerkin of Awakened Stone | The Rookery |
| Wrist | Battle-Scarred Fisticuffs | Cinderbrew Meadery |
| Gloves | Corrosive Handler's Gloves | The MOTHERLODE!!! |
| Belt | Mad King's Sporran | Operation: Mechagon |
| Legs | Squallrider's Kilt | The Rookery |
| Boots | Backbreaking Bootstrappers | Cinderbrew Meadery |
| Ring 1 | Radiant Necromancer's Band | Priory of the Sacred Flame |
| Ring 2 | Ritual Bone Band | Theater of Pain |
| Trinket 1 | Suspicious Energy Drink | Delves |
| Trinket 2 | Grim Codex | Theater of Pain |
| Weapon | Shadowskean of the Colossus | The Rookery |
| Weapon | Shadowskean of the Colossus | The Rookery |
Trinkets
Below you can find active and passive alternatives to our recommended trinkets. Do note that some trinkets are better than others depending on the mythic+ dungeon.
Active Trinket alternatives
- Treacherous Transmitter
Passive Trinket alternatives
- Eye of Kezan
Embellishments
- 2x Duskthread Lining
- This is your best choice if you have over 80% health most of the time and during your cooldowns which is easily achievable thanks to Exhilarating Execution. It works very well for both single-target and AoE scenarios, which makes it very versatile while also providing a small defensive benefit.
- The optimal slots to craft on are Wrists, Boots, Waist, or Cloak depending on your available gear.
Remaining Sparks
- Crafted items are 636 item level and regular items are 639 on max item level therefore it's not beneficial to equip crafted items outside of your 2x embellishments unless you don't have access to other high item level gear on that slot.
Simcraft
To find the best combination of gear available to you or identify the best possible upgrades, visit our Simcraft guide to learn how to utilize Simcraft easily and effectively.
Consumables
Subtlety Rogue
- Phials
- Flask of Tempered Versatility -- Your go to flask for all scenarios.
- Food
- Feast of the Divine Day
- Combat Potion
- Tempered Potion
- Health Potion
- Algari Healing Potion -- a big burst of healing
- Weapon Stone
- Ironclaw Whetstone
- Augment Rune
- Crystallized Augment Rune
- Sockets
- Versatile Onyx
- Culminating Blasphemite -- Unique, use one of each gem color to enhance your Culminating Blasphemite.
- Masterful Sapphire
- Masterful Emerald
- Masterful Ruby
Enchantments
| Head | S.A.D. |
| Neck | Magnificent Jeweler's Setting 2x |
| Cloak | Enchant Cloak - Chant of Winged Grace |
| Chest | Enchant Chest - Crystalline Radiance |
| Wrist | Enchant Bracer - Chant of Armored Avoidance S.A.D. |
| Waist | S.A.D. |
| Legs | Stormbound Armor Kit |
| Boots | Enchant Boots - Defender's March |
| Ring 1 | Enchant Ring - Radiant Mastery Magnificent Jeweler's Setting 2x |
| Ring 2 | Enchant Ring - Radiant Mastery Magnificent Jeweler's Setting 2x |
| Weapon | Enchant Weapon - Authority of the Depths |
| Weapon 2 | Enchant Weapon - Authority of the Depths |
You buy S.A.D. from the Great Vault Vendor to add sockets to your Helm, Wrists & Waist.
Races
Subtlety Rogue
For min-maxing a Subtlety Rogues in Mythic+, different racial traits can provide a tremendous benefit to your character. If this is not your top goal, picking a race that fits your style works just as well.
- Stoneform -- Dwarf
- Dwarf has proven to be valuable historically and continues to be still. The dispell Stoneform provides is extremely strong compared to other racial effects.
- Shadowmeld -- Night Elf
- Run past basically any mob and then cast Shadowmeld to make them reset. This works even on mobs with stealth detection, if you get enough distance before you Shadowmeld they will simply drop threat and you are safe to continue.
- Spatial Rift -- Void Elf
- Spawn a shadow traveling into your facing direction, and activate again to teleport to the rift.
- Typically not a very strong activate racial for Subtlety Rogue in Mythic+ but it does occasionally find some niche usage.
- Spawn a shadow traveling into your facing direction, and activate again to teleport to the rift.
Recommendation
Dwarf Is too good in Mythic+ to ever consider any other race if you're serious about pushing keys with as Subtlety Rogue.
Macros
Subtlety Rogue
Discover recommended macros for Subtlety Rogues during Mythic+ dungeons and watch a quick video guide on creating simple macros for your character.
Mouseover Rupture Macro - Casts on your mouseover or target if there are is no mouseover target present.
#showtooltip Rupture
/cast [target=mouseover,harm,exists,nodead] rupture; ruptureMouseover Kidney Shot Macro - Casts on your mouseover or target if there are is no mouseover target present.
#showtooltip Kidney Shot
/use [@mouseover,exists][]Kidney ShotMouseover Focus macro - very handy when selecting a focus target to make you not have to target it.
/focus [@mouseover,exists][]Focus Cheap Shot Macro.
#showtooltip Cheap Shot
/cast [@focus] Cheap ShotFocus Kidney Shot Macro.
#showtooltip Kidney Shot
/cast [@focus] Kidney ShotFocus Kick Macro.
#showtooltip Kick
/cast [target=focus,exists,nodead] [] KickCold Blood -> Secret Technique Macro - This macro is a one button Cold Blood into Secret Technique.
#showtooltip
/cast cold blood
/cast Secret TechniqueTricks of the Trade Tank Macro - A very nice macro that always uses Tricks of the Trade on your tank, it requires this WeakAura to work: https://wago.io/8xGN251mS/
#showtooltip Tricks of the Trade
/click AutoTankMisdirect leftbutton 1
/click AutoTankMisdirectAddons
Subtlety Rogue
Below, you see a screenshot of the author's User Interface for their Subtlety Rogue, outlining which addons are used and how they are utilized in Mythic+ dungeons to make your life easier.
- ElvUI -- Full User Interface replacement
- A user interface designed around user-friendliness with extra features that are not included in the standard UI.
- Alternatively, you can also use Shadowed Unit Frames (SUF) and an action bar addon of your choice or of course the stock UI.
- LittleWigs -- Generic Boss Mod
- BigWigs is a boss encounter add-on. It consists of many individual encounter scripts, or boss modules; mini add-ons that are designed to trigger alert messages, timer bars, sounds, and so forth, for one specific Raid encounter.
- WeakAuras -- Jack of all trades
- WeakAuras is a powerful and flexible framework that allows the display of highly customizable graphics on World of Warcraft's user interface to indicate buffs, debuffs, and other relevant information. This addon was created to be a lightweight replacement for Power Auras but has since introduced more functionalities while remaining efficient and easy to use.
- Plater -- Advanced Nameplates
- Plater is a nameplate addon with an extraordinary amount of settings, out of the box debuff tracking, threat coloring, and support for scripting similar to WeakAuras and wago.io + the WeakAuras-Companion for Mod/Script/Profile updates.
- Details -- In-depth Damage Meter
- Most powerful, reliable, handsome, damage meter.
- OmniCD -- Party track addon
- Helpful addon for Mythic+ to check the available cooldowns of your party.
Luxthos Rogue Weakaura Suit
Customizable Rogue WeakAuras for The War Within.
Changes this Patch
Subtlety Rogue
- Rupture damage increased by 6%.
- Blind and Gouge now break on a damage threshold instead of breaking on damage.
- Hero Talent
- Deathstalker
- Fixed several issues with Singular Focus that prevented its application from being reliable.
- Trickster
- Unseen Blade damage increased by 15%.
- Surprising Strikes critical damage bonus increased to 50% (was 25%).
- Thousand Cuts chance to reset Unseen Blade has been increased slightly.
- Coup de Grace now requires its target to be in melee range, and so no longer has a dash component when activated outside of regular melee range.
- Deathstalker
- Subtlety
- All damage increased by 10%.
- Trickster
- Nimble Flurry now causes 60% of listed ability damage to strike nearby enemies (was 50%).
- Hero Talent
- Subtlety
Class Specific
- Cloaked in Shadows now creates an absorb for 18% of maximum health (was 30%).
- Soothing Darkness now heals for 15% maximum health over its duration (was 24%).
- Recuperator now triggers every 3 seconds (was 2 seconds).
- Gouge has been increased to 25 seconds (was 20 seconds).
- Kidney Shot cooldown has been increased to 30 seconds (was 20 seconds).
- Kidney Shot duration has been increased to a maximum of 8 seconds (was 6 seconds maximum). Does not affect PvP combat.
- Developer's note: We're intending to increase the impact of Kidney Shot in solo and dungeon content as its opportunity cost is higher than similar stuns due to costing combo points. In PvP, we feel the control Rogues bring relative to others has become problematic alongside new tools gained in Dragonflight and The War Within, so we're increasing its cooldown to bring it in line with similar abilities.
Subtlety Specific
- Auto-attack damage increased by 10%.
- Eviscerate damage increased by 10%.
- Black Powder damage increased by 10%.
- Secret Technique damage reduced by 6%.
- Subtlety
Class Specific
- All talent trees have had many talents move locations or have had their pathing updated.
- New Talent: Shadowheart – Leech increased by 3% while Stealthed.
- Acrobatic Strikes has been redesigned – Auto-attacks increase auto-attack damage and movement speed by 1% for 3 seconds, stacking up to 10%.
- Cut to the Chase is now learned at level 18 (was an Assassination talent) and now triggers from Eviscerate.
- Tight Spender now reduces Energy cost of finishing moves by 6% (was 10%).
- Subterfuge effect duration now 3/6 seconds. Now a 2-point talent.
- Airborne Irritant now reduces Blind's duration by 70% (was 40%). This gives it an 18 second duration when applied in an area.
- Shadow Dance moved from the Class talent tree to Subtlety talent tree.
- Nightstalker has been removed.
Subtlety Specific
- Premeditation has been redesigned – After entering Stealth, your next combo point generating ability generates full combo points.
- All ability damage increased by 20%.
- Invigorating Shadowdust now reduces cooldowns by 10/20 seconds (was 15/30 seconds). (This does not seem implemented)
- Shadow Focus now reduces costs by 5%.
- Shadow Dance moved from the Class talent tree to Subtlety talent tree.
FAQ
Subtlety Rogue
A: Pooling Energy is a common aspect of Rogue gameplay. It's normal to sometimes feel like you're struggling with energy, even if you're playing correctly.
Credits
Written By: Kush
Reviewed By: Stove