Assassination Rogue guide

Melee DPS. Assassination is the poison spec in Forever: Mutilate, the level 40 capstone, hits with both weapons for 2 combo points and 20% extra damage against poisoned targets, and Venom makes each Shank raise your poison damage by 30% and your chance to apply poisons by 20% for 6 sec. Seal Fate and Cold Blood feed crits, and Eviscerate is the finisher.

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Stat priority

1. Hit (to cap)
2. Agility
3. Critical Strike
4. Attack Power
5. Strength
6. Weapon DPS

Opener

1. Stealth: Poison both weapons first: Mutilate hits poisoned targets harder
2. Garrote: Or Cheap Shot to control; both give combo points
3. Mutilate: Build immediately after
4. Slice and Dice: First finisher

Single target

1. Slice and Dice: Never let it drop
2. Shank: On cooldown between Mutilates: Energy back, and with Venom 30% more poison damage for 6 sec
3. Eviscerate: 5 combo point finisher, with Cold Blood on tough targets
4. Mutilate: Main builder, 2 combo points, harder on poisoned targets
5. Expose Armor: Only if no warrior Sunder Armor in the raid

Several targets

1. Slice and Dice: Keep your auto attacks fast
2. Mutilate: Build on the priority target
3. Eviscerate: Rogues lack AoE; focus down targets one at a time

Cooldowns

1. Cold Blood: Guaranteed crit on a 5 point Eviscerate
2. Vanish: Threat drop or re-open
3. Kidney Shot: With Improved Kidney Shot at 2/2 the target takes 10% more damage from your poisons and attacks

Key talents

• Mutilate
• Venom
• Malice
• Lethality
• Cold Blood
• Seal Fate
• Improved Poisons
• Vile Poisons
• Relentless Strikes
• Ruthlessness
• Improved Slice and Dice
• Improved Kidney Shot
• Vigor

What Forever changed

Since the 4 November build Mutilate is the tier 7 Assassination talent, the level 40 capstone after Venom (the talent teaches rank 1 and trainers sell ranks 2 and 3 at 50 and 60): it hits with both weapons for 2 combo points and extra damage against poisoned targets, replacing Sinister Strike and Backstab as the builder. The same build made Venom (a finisher in earlier builds) a tier 5 talent that powers up Shank, the new trainer strike at 24. Venom makes each Shank raise your poison damage by 30% and your chance to apply poisons by 20% for 6 sec. Coup de Grace, a trainer spell in earlier builds, is now the Combat tier 1 talent that replaced Improved Eviscerate. Cold Blood moved up to tier 4.

Tips

• Mutilate uses both weapons, so your off-hand matters as much as your main hand; keep poisons on both.
• Seal Fate at 3/3 adds a combo point on every builder crit, so a Mutilate crit gives 3 points; plan finishers around Slice and Dice and Venom timers.
• Improved Poisons now also saves poison charges (50% at 5/5), so fewer mid-fight reapplications.
• Relentless Strikes restores 25 Energy on every 5-point finisher (20% chance per combo point), so always finish at 5.

Other Rogue specs: Combat, Subtlety

Data from the WoW Forever client, build 1.60.1.70938, extracted 2026-11-13.