Welcome to the Subtlety Rogues Mythic+ guide for the World of Warcraft patch 11.0! 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
Patch 11.0.2 - The War WithinSubtlety Rogue
Subtlety RogueMythic+
Hero Talents
Patch 11.0.2 - The War WithinSubtlety 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
Patch 11.0.2 - The War WithinSubtlety Rogue
Deathstalker - Dark Brew
Trickster - Dark Brew
Trickster - Invigorating Shadowdust
When to use this Spec
All of the three given talent options provide different gameplay styles and offer similar numerical values. This loadout is the simplest rotationally and provides consistent damage together with big burst every 2 minutes.
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.
- 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.
- 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
Changed
Trickster to Deathstalker for more info visit the Hero Talent section above.- 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
All of the three given talent options provide different gameplay styles and offer similar numerical values. This loadout is slightly more complex due to the nature of
Trickster but it provides permanent Tricks of the Trade with the So Tricky hero talent which is very nice. In the end the choices are very close so feel free to experiment and play whatever you enjoy the most.Talent Adjustments
Listing all the changes within the Class and Spec tree compared to the default build.
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 will be your default pick for all scenarios since Flickerstrike seems more like a PvP Talent.
- Smoke
- This will be your default pick for all scenarios since Mirrors is worse in comparison.
- So Tricky
- This will be your default pick for all scenarios Tricks of the Trade is very nice in Mythic+ to help out your tank. This talent basically ensures you can never get aggro over your tank and lets you safely pre-spread Ruptures.
When to use this Spec
All of the three given talent options provide different gameplay styles and offer similar numerical values. This loadout is a lot more complex due to the nature of
Trickster and Invigorating Shadowdust. It currently offers slightly more single-target damage than the other alternatives, at the loss of AoE damage. This loadout is also more cooldown reliant and can be hard to play around in group finder keys especially.Talent Adjustments
Listing all the changes within the Class and Spec tree compared to the default build.
Spec Tree
- Added
- Invigorating Shadowdust
- The Rotten
- Removed
- Finality
- Dark Brew
Class Tree
- Added
- Without a Trace
- Subterfuge
- 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
Patch 11.0.2 - The War WithinSubtlety Rogue
Tier Set
- 2-Set: Symbols of Death increases the damage of your next Secret Technique by 20%.
- 4-Set: Secret Technique increases the damage of your other finishing moves by 16% for 7 sec.
Single-Target
Deathstalker - Dark Brew
Trickster - Dark Brew
Trickster - Invigorating Shadowdust
Opener
- Your main goal with your cooldowns as a Subtlety Rogue is stacking as many of them as possible for maximum burst potential. There are a few priorities and rules when it comes to using your cooldowns as efficiently as possible.
- 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 on cooldown.
- 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
- Your main goal with your cooldowns as a Subtlety Rogue is stacking as many of them as possible for maximum burst potential. There are a few priorities and rules when it comes to using your cooldowns as efficiently as possible.
- 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 on cooldown.
- 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
- Your main goal with your cooldowns as a Subtlety Rogue is stacking as many of them as possible for maximum burst potential. There are a few priorities and rules when it comes to using your cooldowns as efficiently as possible.
- Use your Treacherous Transmitter early to see what your trigger is and then complete the task before your burst.
- The third Shadowstrike may be skipped depending on Weaponmaster procs.
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 inside of a pandemic window (30% of the spell's original duration).
- 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.
Eviscerate or Black Powder
- Black Powder Only replaces Eviscerate with 10+ targets or whenever Flawless Form buff is missing.
AoE
Deathstalker - Dark Brew
Trickster - Dark Brew
Trickster - Invigorating Shadowdust
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 Slice and Dice if it's not 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
- Below you can see one variation of the multi-target opener rotation for Trickster 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 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 Slice and Dice if it's not 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 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 Shuriken Storm.
Trickster Eviscerate or Black Powder
- Black Powder Only replaces Eviscerate with 10+ targets or whenever Flawless Form buff is missing.
Opener
- Below you can see one variation of the multi-target opener rotation for Trickster using the Invigorating Shadowdust 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.
- If you have 4+ targets and you want to spread Ruptures before the pull is gathered, replace Shadowstrike with Shuriken Storm to preserve energy.
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 Slice and Dice if it's not 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 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 Shuriken Storm.
Eviscerate or Black Powder
- Black Powder Only replaces Eviscerate with 10+ targets or whenever Flawless Form buff is missing.
Deep Dive
Patch 11.0.2 - The War WithinSubtlety Rogue
Trickster and Deathstalker specific rotational niches.
Trickster
- 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.
Invigorating Shadowdust Optimizations
- Invigorating Shadowdust is a very "love it or hate it" talent. It can be very confusing starting out as a Subtlety Rogue with this talent due to the high APM and the importance of pressing the right spells in your cooldown windows with so many spells not affected by the global cooldown.
- As of 11.0 however Invigorating Shadowdust seems to have become simpler where you would almost always just hold your cooldowns for Shadow Blades and play the spec as a 90 second burst profile.
- The Invigorating Shadowdust build for both Trickster and Deathstalker wants to use 3 Shadow Dances in your Flagellation windows. This means that there will be one Symbols of Death use in-between your cooldown windows without Shadow Dance.
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
Patch 11.0.2 - The War WithinSubtlety Rogue
← Scroll for more Dungeons →
Boss Tips
Avanoxx
- Use Feint on Alerting Shrill.
- Use Cloak of Shadows or Feint on Gossamer Onslaught.
- Utilize Evasion to kill Starved Crawlers without them hitting you.
- Consider using Crippling Poison to keep them slowed.
Anub'zekt
- The Infestation spawns a Ceaseless Swarm which can be very deadly if not looked out for, keep your eyes lock in here to avoid taking extra damage or dying.
- Kill Bloodstained Webmages fast and interrupt Silken Restraints.
- If a Bloodstained Webmage is casting freely outside of the safe zone, consider using Cloak of Shadows to run and stop it.
Ki'katal the Harvester
- Use a defensive while you're affected by Cultivated Poisons, it is applied quite frequently so try to rotate Evasion and Cloak of Shadows with Feints on top.
- If you feel confident in your reaction speed, using Shadowstep on a party member rooted by Grasping Blood during the last 0.3 seconds of the Cosmic Singularity channel. This spares you the effort of CCing your own Grasping Blood and increases your uptime.
- When you're affected by Grasping Blood you can use any form of crowd control instead of killing it to cancel your root.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Resonant Barrage from Trilling Attendant.
- Horrifying Shrill from Ixin.
- Revolting Volley from Bloodstained Webmage.
- Venom Volley from Blood Overseer.
- Pay extra attention to these casts:
- Alarm Shrill from Sentry Stagshell
- A really long cast that needs to get disrupted.
- Massive Slam from Nerubian Hauler and Hulking Bloodguard
- A short stun that ramps in damage done per cast.
- Alarm Shrill from Sentry Stagshell
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
Orator Krix'vizk
- Pay extra attention to Shadows of Doubt as this mechanic will most likely kill you if you get hit.
- Make sure to position towards wherever the tank is moving during the Vociferous Indoctrination to not get hit by the Lingering Influence.
Fangs of the Queen
- Watch out for Knife Throw. Use defensives if you're targeted by this ability.
- You can Cloak of Shadows or Vanish to get rid off Ice Sickles.
The Coaglamation
- Use your defensives for Dark Pulse. This happens at 100 boss energy.
- You can utilize Cloak of Shadows together with Sprint to soak a lot of the Viscous Darkness bloods to avoid your group having big heal absorbs.
Izo, the Grand Splicer
- Pay extra attention to the Shifting Anomalies on this fight since they can be very hard to spot when they move and will likely kill you if you get hit.
- Use your defensives for Splice.
- Use Feint for Tremor Slam.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Web Bolt from Sureki Silkbinder.
- Grimweave Blast from Covert Webmancer.
- Mending Web from Covert Webmancer.
- Twist Thoughts from Herald of Anurek.
- Void Wave from Sureki Unnaturaler.
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
E.D.N.A.
- Try to stack the Volatile Spikes closely to kill them all with one Refracting Beam. Make sure to Feint here or Cloak of Shadows if the situation looks very dire.
- Use Feint on the Earth Shatterer cast.
Skarmorak
- The Crystal Shards have very little HP, try to get kill multiple simultaneously to avoid unnecessary damage.
- If you see that you're gonna get multiple stacks, use Feint.
- Use Feint on the Unstable Crash cast.
- Make sure to always hold some damage for the Fortified Shell.
Master Machinists Brokk and Dorlita
- If your group has no ranged interrupt, you can position closely to Silenced Speaker for when he jumps away during Scrap Song and use Shadowstep to interrupt Molten Metal.
- Make sure to Feint or Cloak of Shadows the overlap with Exhaust Vents and Blazing Crescendo.
- Make sure to not stand on top of any open Vents during Exhaust Vents.
Void Speaker Eirich
- Feint the Entropic Reckoning cast.
- You can use Cloak of Shadows to remove the Void Corruption debuff.
Trash Tips
- Focus down Earth Burst Totem from Cursedforge Stoneshaper. They have a low amount of health but are not affected by AoE abilities.
- Make sure to Cloak of Shadows if you get targeted by more than one Molten Mortar.
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Howling Fear from Ghastly Voidsoul.
- Censoring Gear from Turned Speaker.
- Piercing Wail from Void Bound Howler.
- Restoring Metals from Forgebound Mender and Cursedforge Mender.
- Arcing Void from Cursedheart Invader.
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
Speaker Shadowcrown
- Collapsing Night seems to prioritize ranged players, if you are however in a melee stacked group, be ready to move away really fast from this mechanic.
- The boss casts Darkness Comes at 50% so make sure to not use any major cooldowns as the boss is about to phase since you have to fly away.
Anub'ikkaj
- The adds from Animate Shadows have very little HP and shouldn't need to be focused down.
- Use Feint for Shadowy Decay and Dark Orb.
Rasha'nan
- Use Shadowstep on your tank after collecting Arathi Bombs to reduce damage taken.
- Be aware of Erosive Spray. It applies Lingering Erosion which is dangerous when combined with other damage events. Consider using Cloak of Shadows when it overlaps with Arathi Bombs.
- Use Feint if you are targeted by Spinneret's Strands.
- If you are the target of Rolling Acid in Phase 2, try to clear the area from webs.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Night Bolt from Nightfall Shadowmage.
- Ensnaring Shadows from Nightfall Shadowmage.
- Tormenting Beam from Nightfall Darkcaster.
- Umbral Barrier from Nightfall Darkcaster.
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
Ingra Maloch
- Put the boss on focus to interrupt Spirit Bolt easily.
- You can use Cloak of Shadows to immune the Repulsive Visage cast.
- Droman's Wrath causes the boss to take 200% increase damage for 15 seconds, make sure to not use all of your Shadow Dances before this phase.
Mistcaller
- You can use Blind on the Illusionary Vulpins to prevent them from reaching their target.
- Try to use atleast one Shadow Dance during the Guessing Game. phase to help out your healer.
Tred'ova
- Cloak of Shadows lets you break the Mind Link instantly.
- Don't use Sprint or Shadowstep to dodge Acid Expulsion since the boss predicts your movement and makes it harder to dodge in the future.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Spirit Bolt from Drust Harvester.
- Harvest Essence from Drust Harvester.
- Nourish the Forest from Mistveil Tender.
- Bramblethorn Coat from Mistveil Shaper.
- Stimulate Regeneration from Spinemaw Staghorn.
- Stimulate Resistance from Spinemaw Staghorn.
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
Blightbone
- You can use both Evasion or Cloak of Shadows to negate the effects of Heaving Retch.
- Consider using Crippling Poison to slow the Carrion Worms.
- Try to position good for Shuriken Storm and weave in and out of melee to avoid getting Blood Gorged by the Carrion Worms.
Amarth, The Harvester
- Make sure to look out for Frostbolt Volley casts from the Reanimated Mages as it does heavy group damage if let through.
- If any adds are still alive during Final Harvest use Kidney Shot or Blind to crowd-control them. With them crowd-controlled, the adds don't explode and boss doesn't get the Tortured Echoes buff.
- If you are not sure of the boss facing during Necrotic Breath, press Shadowstep to end up behind him to ensure survival.
Surgeon Stitchflesh
- Ensure that you are always ready for the Meat Hook to not have any accidents where you miss the boss with the hook.
- Stitchneedle Hurts a lot and is the main mechanic to use defensives for in this fight.
- If you get targeted by Morbid Fixation and the boss does not get hit by Meat Hook, use Evasion and tank him.
- Additional note for if you are playingDeathstalker, try to hold your Darkest Night buff for when the boss is about to jump away. You can use it on the adds or simply not use a 7CP Eviscerate.
Nalthor the Rimebinder
- You can use Cloak of Shadows to pre-immune the Frozen Binds, although saving it for Comet Storm is gonna be better in most cases.
- When you get targeted by Dark Exile you can Vanish and the boss will recast on somebody else or on you again. I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you want to troll your teammates a little bit.
- When you do get sent down by Dark Exile, use Evasion and kill the Zolramus Siphoner. If Evasion is on cooldown or you are still dying to him, use a Kidney Shot.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Drain Fluids from Corpse Harvester and Corpse Collector.
- Necrotic Bolt from Zolramus Sorceror & Zolarmus Necromancer.
- Rasping Scream from Skeletal Marauder.
- Frostbolt Volley from Reanimted Mage.
- Goresplatter from Corpse Collector.
- Repair Flesh from Flesh Crafter.
- Make sure to use Feint or Cloak of Shadows if you are targeted by Grim Fate on the Zolramus Necromancer pulls as it does massive amounts of damage.
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
Chopper Redhook
- Try to utilize your cooldowns in a way where they line-up with the Heavy Ordnance debuff from the boss walking into bombs.
- Watch out for the Heavy Slash cast by the Irontide Cleaver as it will most likely one shot you.
Dread Captain Lockwood
- This boss has two intermissions, at 66% and 33% hp, ensure you do not use any major cooldowns before the boss is about to phase. Additional note for when you are playing Deathstalker is to try to keep your Darkest Night buff for the intermission phase.
- Focus down the Ashvane Cannoneer during the phase change to quickly use Unstable Ordnance to get the boss down from the ship.
- Fiery Ricochet Deals a massive amount of damage, make sure to use defensives.
- While Clear the Deck is a tank mechanic, it still poses a threat to you if you are not aware of where the tank is positioned, make sure to have good awareness here.
- Make sure to use Crippling Poison for theEvasive mechanic if your group lacks another slow.
Hadal Darkfathom
- You can use Cloak of Shadows to immune Tidal Surge if you are in your cooldowns and don't want to lose uptime.
- Make sure toFeint the Break Water on higher key levels.
Viq'Goth
- You can use Cloak of Shadows on the Putrid Waters.
- Make sure to use Feint for the Slam, especially important if it overlaps with Putrid Waters.
- Utilize Shadowstep to keep Rupture up on both the Gripping Terror and Demolishing Terror.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Brackish Bolt from Irontide Waveshaper.
- Watertight Shell from Irontide Waveshaper.
- Water Bolt from Bilge Rat Tempest.
- Choking Waters from Bilge Rat Tempest.
- Bolstering Shout from Ashvane Commander.
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
General Umbriss
- Make sure to face your character towards where you want to go if you get targeted by Rock Spike as it knocks you in that direction. Try to also position yourself properly as it spawns Rumbling Earth that covers the floor and makes the fight hard to play if not placed correctly.
Forgemaster Throngus
- This boss has a lot of AoE damage and is both a defensive check and healer check. Forge Weapon and Molten Spark overlaps are very dangerous and needs a defensive.
- Make sure to place the pool from Molten Spark in a good position, ideally next to old fire puddles where you will not be moving.
Drahga Shadowburner
- Use Feint for the Twilight Buffet. It sometimes overlaps with Curse of Entropy, consider using Cloak of Shadows for those overlaps.
- The Invocation of Shadowflame Invoked Shadowflame Spirits have quite long attack range, be careful when attacking these and never move towards them before you are aware of who's fixated.
Erudax, the Duke of Below
- Use Feint during Abyssal Corruption.
- Avoid Void Tendrils at all costs, as you get affected by Depth's Grasp if you walk into one.
- Do not kill the Mutated Hatchlings before the Abyssal Corruption happens as they will give you a massive damage taken increase Debuff.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Earth Bolt from Twilight Earthcaller.
- Mass Tremor from Twilight Earthcaller.
- Shadowflame Bolt from Twilight Beguiler.
- Sear Mind from Twilight Beguiler.
- The Umbral Wind cast by Twilight Drakes can be line of sighed, meaning if you tank it near a corner you can hide for each cast.
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
Patch 11.0.2 - The War WithinSubtlety 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
Patch 11.0.2 - The War WithinSubtlety Rogue
Best in Slot
Farmable Alternatives
| Slot | Item | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Beyond's Dark Visage | The Bloodbound Horror |
| Neck | Amulet of Earthen Craftsmanship | Crafting |
| Shoulder | K'areshi Phantom's Shoulderpads | Rasha'nan |
| Cloak | Wings of Shattered Sorrow | Rasha'nan |
| Chest | K'areshi Phantom's Nexus Wraps | Broodtwister Ovi'nax |
| Wrist | Polluted Spectre's Wraps | The Bloodbound Horror |
| Gloves | K'areshi Phantom's Grips | Sikran, Captain of the Sureki |
| Belt | Devourer's Taut Innards | Ulgrax the Devourer |
| Legs | K'areshi Phantom's Leggings | Nexus-Princess Ky'veza |
| Boots | Fleeting Massacre Footpads | Nexus-Princess Ky'veza |
| Ring 1 | Seal of the Poisoned Pact | Queen Ansurek |
| Ring 2 | Ring of Earthen Craftsmanship | Crafting |
| Trinket 1 | Treacherous Transmitter | Nexus-Princess Ky'veza |
| Trinket 2 | Empowering Crystal of Anub'ikkaj | The Dawnbreaker |
| Weapon | Blood-Kissed Kukri | The Bloodbound Horror |
| Weapon 2 | Blood-Kissed Kukri | The Bloodbound Horror |
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 | Whispering Mask | Ara-Kara, City of Echoes |
| Neck | Trailspinner Pendant | Mists of Tirna Scithe |
| Shoulder | Undying Chill Shoulderpads | Necrotic Wake |
| Cloak | Swarmcaller's Shroud | Ara-Kara, City of Echoes |
| Chest | Freshly Embalmed Jerkin | The Necrotic Wake |
| Wrist | Unbreakable Beetlebane Bindings | Ara-Kara, City of Echoes |
| Gloves | Wharf Warden's Gloves | Siege of Boralus |
| Belt | Shadow Congregant's Belt | The Dawnbreaker |
| Legs | Gauzewoven Legguards | Ara-Kara, City of Echoes |
| Boots | Whisperer's Echoing Steps | City of Threads |
| Ring 1 | High Nerubian Signet | The Dawnbreaker |
| Ring 2 | Devout Zealot's Ring | The Dawnbreaker |
| Trinket 1 | Skardyn's Grace | Grim Batol |
| Trinket 2 | Empowering Crystal of Anub'ikkaj | The Dawnbreaker |
| Weapon | Stitchflesh's Scalpel | The Necrotic Wake |
| Weapon 2 | Stitchflesh's Scalpel | The Necrotic Wake |
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
- This is your strongest active option when playing Invigorating Shadowdust and should always be used if possible.
- Skardyn's Grace
- This is a strong alternative to Treacherous Transmitter when you are playing the Dark Brew talent loadout since it utilizes 2 minute cooldowns.
Passive Trinket alternatives
Currently the passive trinkets are quite weak and you can play whichever one you have, remember to sim your own character.
- Empowering Crystal of Anub'ikkaj
- Your best passive alternative in Mythic+ since stats are very valuable.
- Void Reaper's Contract
- Solid passive alternative.
- Dead-Eye Spyglass
- Solid passive alternative. Requires you to attack the marked target which can be annoying in Mythic+.
- Bottled Flayedwing Toxin
- Solid passive alternative, loses a bit of value in cleave situations but strong for priority damage.
Embellishments
It's recommended to hold your
Spark of Omens craft and wait for further tuning.
- 2x Duskthread Lining
- It is a good choice if you have over 80% health most of the time and during your cooldowns which is easily achievable thanks to Exhilarating Execution.
- The optimal slots to craft on are Necklace, Ring, 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
Patch 11.0.2 - The War WithinSubtlety Rogue
- Phials
- Flask of Alchemical Chaos -- maximum DPS.
- Flask of Tempered Versatility -- less DPS but more survivability.
- 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 | Nerubian Gemweaver |
| 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 Nerubian Gemweaver |
| Waist | Nerubian Gemweaver |
| 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 Radiant Power |
| Weapon 2 | Enchant Weapon - Authority of Radiant Power |
You buy
Nerubian Gemweaver from the Great Vault Vendor to add sockets to your Helm, Wrists & Waist.
Races
Patch 11.0.2 - The War WithinSubtlety 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.
- Use-case examples:
- Cultivated Poisons, Ki'katal the Harvester (Ara-Kara, City of Echoes)
- Gut Shot, Dread Captain Lockwood (Siege of Boralus)
- Putrid Waters, Viq'Goth (Siege of Boralus)
- Curse of Entropy, Drahga Shadowburner (Grim Batol)
- 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
Patch 11.0.2 - The War WithinSubtlety Rogue
Discover recommended macros for Subtlety Rogues during Mythic+ dungeons and watch a quick video guide on creating simple macros for your character.
Mouseover Macros
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 Macros
Dps & Utility Macros
Addons
Patch 11.0.2 - The War WithinSubtlety 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.
Addons
WeakAuras
Changes this Patch
Patch 11.0.2 - The War WithinSubtlety Rogue
Patch 11.0.2
Patch 11.0
FAQ
Patch 11.0.2 - The War WithinSubtlety Rogue
Q: Why is my Energy so low that I can't hit my buttons sometimes?
Credits
Written By: Kush
Reviewed By: Stove
Changelog
- August 17th 2024
Updated for patch 11.0.2.
- July 29th 2024
Guide Written for the pre-patch 11.0.1.
