WoW Classic Assassination Rogue Guide – Talents, Rotation & Tips

The Assassination Rogue specializes in deadly poisons and precise strikes from the shadows. This spec excels at sustained single-target damage through poison application and combo point management. Whether you’re raiding, running dungeons, or stalking enemies in PvP, Assassination offers a methodical and rewarding playstyle built around patience and timing.

What Makes Assassination Unique?

Assassination Rogues stand apart from other specs through their mastery of poisons and bleeds. While Combat Rogue focuses on weapon strikes and Subtlety Rogue emphasizes stealth tactics, Assassination thrives on damage over time effects and critical strikes.

Assassination Talent Builds

The Assassination tree focuses on three main areas: poison enhancement, critical strike bonuses, and finishing move improvements. Your talent choices will significantly impact your damage output and playstyle.

For detailed talent breakdowns and specific scenarios, visit:

• Assassination PvE Guide for raid and dungeon optimization
• Assassination PvP Guide for battleground and arena builds

Poison Selection and Application

Poisons define the Assassination playstyle. Understanding which poisons to use and when makes the difference between average and exceptional performance.

Poison Types and Usage

PvE Standard Setup: Main Hand: Instant Poison VI Off Hand: Deadly Poison V

This combination provides immediate damage with Instant while stacking Deadly for sustained DoT pressure.

PvP Standard Setup: Main Hand: Instant Poison VI Off Hand: Crippling Poison II

Instant Poison maintains damage output while Crippling prevents enemy escapes.

💡 Pro Tip: Always carry multiple poison types in your bags. Situational swaps can turn difficult encounters into easy victories. Wound Poison becomes mandatory against healers in PvP.

Learn everything about poison mechanics, crafting, and advanced strategies in our Rogue Poisons Guide.

Core Rotation and Combo Point Management

Assassination rotation centers on building combo points efficiently and spending them on high-value finishers. Energy management ties everything together.

PvE Single Target Rotation

Opening from Stealth:

1. Garrote (applies bleed, generates 1 combo point)
2. Slice and Dice at 5 combo points (maintain 100% uptime)
3. Begin standard rotation

Standard DPS Rotation:

1. Maintain Slice and Dice buff (never let it fall off)
2. Sinister Strike to build combo points
3. Eviscerate at 5 combo points for damage
4. Use Cold Blood before Eviscerate for guaranteed crit
5. Refresh poisons as needed (watch buff timers)

Energy Management Priority:

✓ Never cap at 100 energy (wasted regeneration) ✓ Save 25 energy for emergency Feint if pulling threat ✓ Use Slice and Dice before energy caps during long combo building ✓ Pool energy before Cold Blood usage for immediate follow-up

PvP Burst Rotation

Opener Against Cloth Targets:

1. Cheap Shot (4 second stun, 2 combo points)
2. Cold Blood
3. Eviscerate (guaranteed crit)
4. Kidney Shot at 5 combo points (extended stun)
5. Eviscerate or Rupture to finish

Against Plate/Mail Targets: Consider using Rupture for armor-ignoring bleed damage when enemies have high armor values.

Understanding energy regeneration timing is crucial. Read our Rogue Energy Guide for advanced techniques.

For combo point optimization strategies, check the Rogue Combo Points Guide.

Stat Priority and Gear Goals

Assassination Rogues need different stat priorities depending on content type, but some fundamentals remain constant.

PvE Stat Priority

Raid and Dungeon DPS:

1. Hit Rating (9% for special attacks, absolute priority until capped)
2. Attack Power (scales all your damage including poisons)
3. Critical Strike (amplified by Lethality talent)
4. Agility (provides crit, attack power, and armor)
5. Strength (1 Strength = 1 Attack Power)

Hit cap is non-negotiable for PvE. Missing attacks wastes energy and loses DPS. Once you reach 9% hit, shift focus entirely to attack power and critical strike.

PvP Stat Priority

Battlegrounds and World PvP:

1. Stamina (survival trumps damage when fighting players)
2. Attack Power (maintains kill pressure)
3. Critical Strike (burst damage potential)
4. Agility (balanced offensive and defensive stat)
5. Hit Rating (less critical than PvE, 5-6% is acceptable)

⚠️ Important: PvP demands resilience through stamina. A dead rogue deals zero damage. Don’t sacrifice too much health for marginal DPS increases.

Pre-Raid Best in Slot

Getting raid-ready requires farming dungeons and reputation rewards. Our Rogue Pre-Raid BiS Guide covers all three specs with specific item recommendations and acquisition sources.

Quick Gear Targets:

Devilsaur Set (Leather crafted) – Provides excellent hit rating Blackstone Ring (UBRS) – Rare drop with strong stats Riphook (Dire Maul) – Fast dagger for poison application Core Hound Tooth (Molten Core) – Endgame dagger goal

Leveling as Assassination

While Combat typically wins the leveling race due to weapon specialization, Assassination can work if you prefer the poison-focused playstyle early.

Assassination Leveling Considerations:

📈 Slower kill times compared to Combat (especially 1-30) 🎯 Better damage scaling once poisons unlock at level 20 💰 Higher consumable costs (poison materials) ⚡ Energy efficiency improves with Ruthlessness talent

Most players recommend Combat for leveling speed, then respec to Assassination at 60. However, if you enjoy the spec fantasy, it’s completely viable.

For comprehensive leveling strategies including talent progression and quest priorities, visit our Assassination Leveling Guide.

Also check the main Rogue Leveling Guide for general tips that apply to all specs.

Essential Macros for Assassination

Macros streamline your rotation and improve reaction times. Here are must-have macros for Assassination Rogues.

Combat Macros

Cold Blood + Eviscerate Macro:

#showtooltip Eviscerate
/cast Cold Blood
/cast Eviscerate

Guarantees your hardest-hitting finisher crits when Cold Blood is available.

Poison Weapon Swap:

#showtooltip Instant Poison
/use Instant Poison VI
/use 16
/use Deadly Poison V
/use 17

Quickly applies poisons to both weapons.

Vanish + Stealth Macro:

#showtooltip Vanish
/cast Vanish
/cast Stealth

Ensures you enter stealth immediately after vanishing.

For a complete collection of Rogue macros including targeting, cooldown management, and PvP-specific commands, check our Rogue Macros Guide.

Stealth and Opener Techniques

Assassination benefits greatly from strong opener execution. Your first 5 seconds often determine fight outcomes.

Stealth Mechanics for Assassination

Stealth enables powerful openers but requires understanding detection ranges and movement penalties. Assassination lacks Subtlety’s stealth bonuses, making positioning more critical.

Opener Selection Guide:

Garrote – PvE default opener (bleed damage, silences casters) Cheap Shot – PvP control opener (4 second stun, builds combo points) Ambush – High burst opener (requires dagger, huge crit potential)

Choose your opener based on enemy type and situation. Garrote excels in PvE. Cheap Shot provides PvP control. Ambush delivers maximum burst but costs more energy.

💡 Stealth Detection: Players with high stealth detection can see you from further away. Use Distract to manipulate NPC facing and slip past dangerous areas.

Learn advanced stealth tactics in our Rogue Stealth Guide.

Rogue Class Quests

Several class-specific quests unlock critical abilities and tools for Assassination Rogues.

Essential Class Quests:

🧪 Poison Quest Chain (Level 20) – Unlocks poison crafting ability 🔓 Lockpicking Quest – Teaches lockpicking skill 🗝️ Lockpicking Skill-ups – Various chests and doors throughout Azeroth

The poison quest is mandatory for Assassination since your entire spec revolves around poison application. Complete it immediately at level 20.

For complete quest walkthroughs, locations, and rewards, visit our Rogue Quests Guide.

PvE vs PvP Specialization

Assassination performs differently across content types. Understanding where it excels helps you choose appropriate fights.

PvE Performance

Raid Viability: Solid but not top-tier. Combat Swords typically edges out Assassination in sustained raid DPS, but the gap narrows with good gear and execution.

Dungeon Performance: Excellent for 5-man content. Poison DoTs shine in longer boss fights, and your burst remains competitive.

Best PvE Encounters: Long single-target fights where poisons can tick repeatedly. Assassination struggles with short fights and heavy AoE encounters.

PvP Performance

Battleground Effectiveness: Strong assassin playstyle. You excel at isolating and eliminating priority targets like healers and casters.

World PvP: Highly effective for ganking and 1v1 encounters. Your burst potential from stealth makes you a feared opponent.

Arena Potential: Limited by lack of sustained pressure compared to Combat, but your burst cooldowns can secure kills against squishy targets.

For detailed PvE strategies including raid boss tactics and dungeon optimization, read our Assassination PvE Guide.

For PvP tactics including matchup guides and arena compositions, check our Assassination PvP Guide.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even experienced Rogues make these Assassination-specific errors.

❌ Letting Slice and Dice Drop: This is your most important buff. Losing uptime costs massive DPS.

❌ Using Eviscerate at Low Combo Points: Always wait for 5 combo points unless the target is about to die.

❌ Ignoring Hit Cap: Missing attacks wastes energy and combo point generation. Hit cap comes before everything else.

❌ Wrong Poison Setup: Using Deadly Poison in both hands reduces Instant Poison procs significantly.

❌ Wasting Cold Blood: Save this cooldown for guaranteed crit Eviscerates, not random Sinister Strikes.

❌ Energy Capping: Sitting at 100 energy means you’re not regenerating. Always spend before capping.

✓ Best Practices: Pool energy before burst windows, maintain Slice and Dice religiously, use appropriate poisons for the situation, and track combo points carefully.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Assassination Rogue delivers a unique playstyle centered on poison mastery and precision strikes. While it may not top every DPS meter, it provides satisfying gameplay for those who appreciate DoT management and calculated burst damage.

Key Takeaways:

Master poison selection for different content types Maintain Slice and Dice religiously for maximum DPS Reach hit cap before pursuing other stats Use Cold Blood strategically for guaranteed crits Pool energy before burst windows Track combo points and finisher timing carefully

For more specialized information:

• Complete talent builds: Rogue Talent Calculator
• General Rogue information: WoW Classic Rogue Guide
• Alternative specs: Combat Rogue | Subtlety Rogue

Whether you’re pursuing raid progression, dominating battlegrounds, or simply enjoying the fantasy of a poison-wielding assassin, this spec rewards patience and precision. Study your rotation, optimize your gear, and strike from the shadows with deadly efficiency.