Subtlety Rogue guide

Melee DPSRogue · WoW Forever

Beta guide, level 30. The WoW Forever beta stops at level 30, so this guide and its build cover levels 1 to 30. We update it for level 60 after launch on November 4.

Subtlety is the stealth and burst Rogue. Forever gives it two ways to play: Ambush burst with Cutthroat (Backstab can let you Ambush without Stealth), or bleeds with Hemorrhage, Rupture and Thousand Cuts. Dirty Tricks makes Sap and Blind half price. Forever change: Rogue poisons can crit and scale with Attack Power, and Energy now refills smoothly (10 per second).

Strengths

Huge openers and burst
Two playstyles: Ambush burst or bleeds
The best stealth and control kit in the game

Weaknesses

Weaker at low levels than Combat
Ambush and Backstab need you behind the target
Some enemies are immune to bleeds

Talent build (level 30) 0/0/21

Subtlety 21 points

Camouflage1/5
Master of Deception3/3
Opportunity2/2
Dirty Tricks2/2
Improved Ambush3/3
Initiative3/3
Ghostly Strike1/1
Heightened Senses1/2
Premeditation1/1
Serrated Blades3/3
Hemorrhage1/1

21 points in Subtlety: Opportunity, Improved Ambush and Initiative for openers, Master of Deception for stealth, Dirty Tricks, Ghostly Strike, Premeditation, Serrated Blades and Hemorrhage at 30. Cutthroat, Quietus and Thousand Cuts come after launch.

Open this build in the talent calculator

Key talents

Hemorrhage: Strong combo builder that works from any angle and makes Rupture hit harder.
Ghostly Strike: Big hit plus 15% dodge for 7 sec. Use on cooldown.
Premeditation: 2 free combo points before you open.
Serrated Blades: Ignore 9% armor and +30% Rupture damage.
Dirty Tricks: New in Forever: Sap and Blind cost half the Energy.

New in Forever: Subtlety talents

Dirty TricksReduces the Energy cost of your Sap and Blind abilities by 50%.
Improved DistractIncreases the radius of your Distract ability by 5 yds, and further reduces the Stealth detection of distracted enemies as though they were an additional 2 levels lower.
QuietusYour Sinister Strike, Ghostly Strike, and Hemorrhage abilities cause 10% more damage against targets below 35% health.
CutthroatYour Backstab has a 15% chance to cause your next Ambush within 10 sec to not require Stealth.
Thousand CutsWhen your Rupture ability deals periodic damage, the Energy cost of your next Hemorrhage or Backstab ability within 10 sec is reduced by 3, stacking up to 5 times.

Rotation

Stealth, Premeditation, then Ambush (or Garrote for the bleed style).
Hemorrhage to build combo points when you can't get behind the target, Backstab when you can.
Ghostly Strike on cooldown.
Slice and Dice at 5 combo points, then Eviscerate (or Rupture for bleeds).
Vanish and Ambush again for more burst.

Cooldowns

Premeditation: Free combo points for a faster opener.
Vanish: Reset the fight into another opener.
Preparation (after launch): Resets your other Rogue cooldowns.

Stats

Agility first, then Attack Power and crit (poisons and Rupture can crit now). Daggers scale best.

Best races

Alliance

Human: Ruthless: +1% crit with all attacks, and Will to Survive breaks stuns.
Night Elf: Elune's Light: +10% crit for 15 sec, and you're harder to spot in Stealth.
Gnome: Eureka! (cheaper, stronger abilities for 8 sec) and +5% Energy.

Horde

Orc: Blood Fury: +10% Attack Power for 15 sec, and Hardiness shortens stuns by 20%.
Troll: Berserking (+10% attack speed) and Rapid Regeneration to recover between fights.
Undead: Will of the Forsaken breaks fear: the PvP pick.

Professions

Skinning and Leatherworking pair perfectly (gold while leveling, leather gear and armor kits). Engineering is the damage pick for raids.

Leveling

Subtlety is fine at 30 thanks to Hemorrhage, but most players level as Combat and switch later. Use Sap and Dirty Tricks to pick off one mob at a time.