Updated for patch 4.3+

Currently the Subtlety spec is the “flavor of the month” spec for Rogue PvP. Sub has the damage, the movement, the brutal openers, Shadowdance, and more. If you’re not yet 85 then the info on this page and the other Rogue pages won’t all work for you, so if you want to get your Rogue to the level cap as quickly as possible, then look into a leveling guide.

Top — Stats — Gems — Enchants — Gear — Professions — Consumables – Tips

Builds:

• Subtlety Rogue PvP build

This doesn’t mean that you can’t effectively PvP with Combat or Assassination, and many do, just be aware that it will be harder. If you want a bigger challenge then go for it. Wouldn’t you love to see someone say, “That Combat Rogue is kicking our butts!!”

You’ll just have to work harder and be better than the other guy. It helps if you can have a friend healing you or keeping the opposition off you, but that applies to any spec.

Top — Stats — Gems — Enchants — Gear — Professions — Consumables – Tips

Stats

Weapon DPS > Agility > Resilience > hit to 5%

• Subtley likes Crit, for that oh so nice burst.
• Combat Likes Haste & Expertise
• Assassination likes Hit to 15%, but Mastery, Haste, and Expertise are close. The poisons count as spells and Assassination is very poison dependent, hence the higher Hit value.

Reforge the weakest stats into better ones.

• Sub: Mastery and excess Hit (over 5%) into Crit
• Combat: Crit to Haste
• Assassination: Crit to Hit or Haste

Gems

Rogue gemming is easy. Red (Delicate) gems all the way. Ignore socket bonuses. Especially for Subtlety. Not exactly rich? Dropping from the +50 to the +40 gems won’t gimp you much at all and you’ll save a ton of gold.

• Delicate Chimera’s Eye: +67 Agility, Req. Jewelcrafting500
• Delicate Queen’s Garnet: +50 Ag
• Delicate Inferno Ruby: +40 Agility
• Meta: Agile Shadowspirit Diamond: +54 Agi, +3% crit damage
• If you must go with yellow gems:
  • Mystic Cogwheel: 208 Resilience, requires Eng. 525 and cogwheel sockets
  • Mystic Chimera’s Eye: 67 Resilience, requires JC 500
  • Mystic Lightstone: +50 Resilience
  • Mystic Amberjewel: +40 Res.

Top — Stats — Gems — Enchants — Gear — Professions — Consumables – Tips

Enchants

Lower level (cheaper) enchants are also shown. Spell Penetration isn’t as valuable for Sub. rogues as it is for Assassination since Sub doesn’t rely nearly as much on poison damage.

• Head
  • PvP – Arcanum of Vicious Agility: 60 Ag, 35 Resilience
  • Arcanum of the Ramkahen, 60 Agi & 35 Haste, Revered with Ramkahen
• Back
  • Scroll of Enchant Cloak – Major Agility, +22 Agility – Yes, it’s better than the #2. Sub values Agility that much.
  • Enchant Cloak – Greater Critical Strike, +65 Crit. maybe slightly better than…
• Shoulder
  • Swiftsteel Inscription, 130 Agi, 25 Mastery, Inscription 500, self only
  • Greater Inscription of Vicious Agility: 50 Ag, 25 Resilience.
  • Greater Inscription of Shattered Crystal, 50 Agility & 25 Mastery, Requires Exalted with Therazane
• Chest
  • Enchant Chest – Peerless Stats, +20 to all Stats
  • Enchant Chest – Mighty Resilience – +40 Res
  • Enchant Chest – Mighty Stats +15 all stats
• Bracers
  • Draconic Embossment – Agility:  130 Agility, Leatherworking 500, self-only
  • Enchant Bracer – Greater Speed, 65 Haste
• Gloves
  • Scroll of Enchant Gloves – Major Agility, 20 Agility
  • Enchant Gloves – Haste – +50 Haste
• Legs
  • Dragonscale Leg Armor, 190 AP & 55 Crit, From Leatherworking
  • Charscale Leg Armor, 55 Agil, 145 Stam
• Feet
  • Enchant Boots – Major Agility, You will not need a run speed enchant since you’ll be speced into Quickening.
  • Enchant Boots – Assassin’s Step, 25 Agility, minor run speed increase, in case you didn’t take Quickening
• Belt Extra Socket
  • Ebonsteel Belt Buckle, Blacksmithing, put a +40 or +50 Ag. gem into this slot.
• Rings
  • Enchant Ring – Agility – 40 Agility, self-only Enchanting 500
• MH
  • Enchant Weapon – Landslide, +1,000 Attack Power Proc
  • Enchant Weapon – Hurricane – Sometimes proc for +450 Haste
• OH
  • Enchant Weapon – Landslide, +1,000 AP Proc
  • Pyrium Weapon Chain – Reduced Disarm time and +40 Hit rating.

Note: Landslide procs from separate weapons do stack with each other. Back to back procs from the same weapon do not stack.

Top — Stats — Gems — Enchants — Gear — Professions — Consumables – Tips

Gear

• Blood Elf Rogue example with crafted gear set-up with enchants. Almost everything on this character can be bought with gold, though you’ll need honor for the trinkets. The armor can be had from a max level Leatherworker or from the Auction House. 3355 Resilience. Pretty nice starter setup.
• Need more gold to buy all this stuff? Go here.
• Human Sub. Rogue example gear set-up with higher level gear. Note the DPS trinkets, crit rating, etc. 4k resilience without gemming for it. Reforging goes into crit and expertise.
• Fear and Vengeance are great weapons to get, for any Rogue spec, and are arguably better than any of the current PvP weapons. You will need access to the raid to pickpocket the boss, 10k gold to do the next step, and will likely need assistance to kill the last boss to get the daggers. Some people are selling access to that first boss (for the pickpocketing) for 3k – 10k+ gold, but maybe you have a nicer group.
• How much resilience? That depends on you and your team. If the other guy is taking all the hits then you don’t need so much. If you are the focus of attention, then you need more.

Professions

More or less in order of value, based on the burst.

• Engineering has the Gloves enchant (Synapse Springs, which stacks with other enchants,) and other useful items.
• Blacksmithing adds (self-only) gem sockets to bracer and gloves
• Alchemy gives you more benefit from your pown potions than the other guys gets (Mixology.)
• Herbalism adds a small heal and 20 seconds of haste rating.
• Leatherworking will allow you to make your own Vicious PvP gear and a nice wrist enchant.
• Jewelcrafting allows socketing of three +67 gems, as opposed to the +40/+50 gems otherwise available.
• Inscription has a killer shoulder enchant
• Enchanting can add +40 Agi. to each of your own rings
• Tailoring only has a cloak enchant.
• Skinning adds to Crit rating.
• Mining adds to Stam

Top — Stats — Gems — Enchants — Gear — Professions — Consumables – Tips

Consumables:

• Flask of the Winds +300 Ag for one hour, even through death. More if you have Mixology.
• Mythical Healing Potion, better if you have Mixology.
• Rogue’s Drought – only through pickpocketing.
• Scroll of Agility IX – +100 Ag for 30 min, does not stack with potions, does not last through death, might be cheaper than the potions.
• Fortune Cookie: 90 Stam and 90 Ag for one hour. Does not last after death.
• Skewered Eel: also 90 Stam & Ag.

Tips for Sneaking and Striking

1 -  Know how to re-stealth
If you can’t re-stealth in combat, you are drastically reducing your survivability. The main techniques for acheiving this are:

1. blind, move away, and wait to leave combat
2. gouge/kidney shot your oppenent and run out
3. get your oppenent crippled and sprint away
4. vanish
5. Note: When running away (to re-stealth) it helps if you can break “line of sight” with a convenient building or object.

2 – Don’t blow all your energy

If you sit on a person and spam your main strike, you won’t have enough energy for legitamite burst.

1. for example, get 5 combo points, wait for full energy, then KS (Kidney Shot) and you will be able to, assuming you are Assassination, mutiliate twice then eviserate/envenom.
2. It’s more efficient burst than if you were to KS with 25 energy and maybe get 1 mutilate and some auto attacks in.

3 – Know the different playstyles and adapt
You don’t try and beat a warrior the same way you beat a priest do you? There are unique ways of handling each class. Generally though, the two main styles a rogue can play are burst and control.

1. Burst: When you do a lot of damage in a short period of time. This usually involves getting back into stealth again multiple times to get max damage possible.
2. Control: When you use all CC (Crowd Control) methods available to control an opponent and take them out of the game, so to speak. This means you have to always leave enough energy to gouge and be ready to kick the right school magic. Also blinding into a sap can be a game breaker when speaking in terms of arena.
3. Defensive: A rogue who needs to be”defensive” would simply try and avoid as much damage as possible. This would include moves like evasion, vanish, blind, dismantle, gouge, and trying to re-stealth.

Like a Warrior – if you have a pocket healer then you will lay waste. Without one you will have to be somewhat careful about picking and choosing.

Otherwise, obviously, the best pvp build depends on who’s in your team, if you have one, and who the other guy is.

Healing – have Recuperate up at all times. It will greatly increase your longevity.

1. Sub Rogues with HAT, running in groups (BGs) will often have 5 CPs to put into Recup, even before the fight starts. (You should always have an opponent targeted, even if not fighting.) The Energetic Recovery also restores energy. In addition, they can take the Combat Talent Improved Recuperate.
2. Combat Rogues have a small damage reduction with their Improved Recuperate talent.
3. Assassination Rogues will need to grab the Combat talent.

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