Ready to Raid – Assassination Rogue

You’re a sneaky murderer who destroys your opponents from behind with your quick-hitting daggers and powerful poisons.  You’re an assassination rogue.

You’ve leveled to 85 and have run a bunch of heroics to upgrade your gear.  Its time to put on the big boy pants and hit the raids.

Lets look at what you need to check.

#1 – Spec

You probably want to spec into something like this… 31/2/8.  There is some room to play with a few of those points without taking a hit to your damage, but the main talents are there.

#2 – Gems

You want to match all socket colors if the socket bonus is +Agility.  If the socket bonus is anything else, then it is probably worthwhile to use the Delicate Inferno Ruby instead and forgo the socket bonus.

• Red sockets will get the Delicate Inferno Ruby (40 Agi)
• Yellow sockets get either the Adept Ember Topaz (20 Agi/20 Mastery) or the Deft Ember Topaz (20 Agi/20 Haste)
• Blue sockets get the Glinting Demonseye (20 Agi / 20 Hit) if you are below the poison hit cap.  If you are above that number, then you might consider going with a red gem in a blue slot, unless you need the blue gems to activate your metagem.
• Meta sockets – Agile Shadowspirit Diamond.

#3 – Enchants

• head – Arcanum of the Ramkahen (revered with Ramkahen faction)
• shoulder – Greater Inscription of Shattered Crystal (exalted with Therazine faction)  (or Swiftsteel Inscription if you have inscription)
• back – Greater Critical Strike or Major Agility (or Swordguard Embroidery if you are a tailor)
• chest – Peerless Stats
• wrists – Greater Speed (or the Draconic Embossment if you are a LW)
• hands – Greater Mastery
• waist – Ebonsteel Belt Buckle with a Delicate Inferno Ruby
• legs – Dragonscale Leg Armor (from LW)
• feet – Major Agility
• weapon (both) – Landslide

#4 – Reforging

• First, gem your gear.  Then check to see if you are at the poison hit cap.
• If you are not at the poison hit cap then start reforging your weaker stats (crit first, then haste) into hit rating
• Once you are at the poison cap, then reforge the rest of your pieces to reduce crit or haste and add mastery

#5 – Glyphs

See this post

#6 – Consumables

• Your flask of choice right now is Flask of the Winds
• For a short-term dps boost carry a stack of Potion of the Tol’vir
• For now your food buff can come from Skewered Eel or possibly a Fortune Cookie Eventually, your raid will have the Seafood Magnifique Feast

#7 – Rotation

If you are fortunate to have a boss that stands still and lets you stab him, you can settle into a nice rotation.  It goes like this:

1. Get SnD started
2. Mutilate to 4+ combo points
3. Rupture if its about to expire, Envenom otherwise.  Do not let Rupture fall off.  Your Venomous Wounds keeps energy flowing.  Without Rupture ticking you’ll be energy starved.
4. At 35% health, switch to backstab as a combo point builder.  Continue to use Envenom/Rupture as finishers

None of this makes you a good rogue.  It does, however, make you a well-prepared rogue and gives you the best chance to have a good showing in your raids.  Good luck, and rock those damage meters!  Remember that a dead rogue does no dps!