Cataclysm Classic Subtlety Rogue Stat Priority
On this page, you will find out the optimal PvE stat priority for your Subtlety Rogue in Cataclysm Classic. We first present the stat priority, before delving into more complex explanations.
Stat Priority for Subtlety Rogue
The stat priority for Subtlety Rogue is as follows:
- Agility
- Hit Rating (8% Hit Cap)
- Haste Rating
- Expertise Rating (6.5% – 26 Expertise Cap)
- Hit Rating (17% Spell Hit Cap)
- Critical Strike Rating
- Mastery Rating
Agility
Agility is the primary stat for all three Rogue specializations, including Subtlety Rogues. Agility is now the main source of Attack Power, converting 1 Agility into 2 Attack Power and a very small amount of Critical Strike rating, 83 Agility will grant you 1% Critical Strike chance. Due to the nature of how your abilities scale off of primarily Attack Power, this will be by far your most valuable DPS stat and also scales incredibly with buffs like Blessing of Kings, making it even more important.
Hit Rating
Your second stat priority will be to reach the Hit cap of 8% which only comes from the Hit Rating stat we can find on Gear, with Gems or even talents like Precision. As Subtlety we are only seeking 8% as opposed to the 17% for Spell Hit cap as the added damage from the bonus Poison procs is less than DPS we will gain from other secondary stats.
At Level 85:
- 120.1 Hit Rating = 1% Hit Chance
Haste Rating
Haste rating is a great stat as an Subtlety Rogue for a number of reasons but most importantly increasing the rate at which we regenerate Energy. The more Energy we have available the more we will be able to use abilities like Backstab to generate Combo Points for finishing abilities.
At Level 85:
- 128.05 Haste Rating = 1% Haste
- 310 Haste Rating = 1 additional Energy recovered every second
Expertise Rating
Expertise rating prevents bosses from being able to Dodge your attacks even when attacking from behind. Similar to missing, if an attack is dodged it deals zero damaging making Expertise quite valuable.6.5% Expertise Cap, or 26 total Expertise is our goal. Any expertise beyond this will likely be wasted as Bosses are not able to parry from behind and especially as a Rogue you will be spending the majority of your time behind the boss to avoid being parried.
Rating | Skill | Percent | Information |
---|---|---|---|
30.02 | 1 | 0.25% | 1 Expertise Skill |
691 | 23 | 5.75% | Dodge cap on bosses when racial is active: Sword Specialization, or Mace Specialization, or Axe Specialization, or Shortblade Specialization. |
781 | 26 | 6.5% | Dodge cap on bosses without racial |
1592 | 53 | 13.25% | Parry cap on bosses when racial is active: Sword Specialization, or Mace Specialization, or Axe Specialization, or Shortblade Specialization. |
1682 | 56 | 14% | Parry cap on bosses without racial |
Critical Strike Rating
Critical Strike Rating is our second lowest rated secondary stat due to the nature of how Haste plays a role in generating additional Energy which is by far the largest limiting factor of your DPS output as a Rogue.
At Level 85:
- 179.28 Crit Rating = 1% Crit
Mastery Rating
Mastery is the new stat added in during Cataclysm and provides a different, unique benefit for every single specialization in the game. For Subtlety Rogues, Mastery gives Executioner, which increases the damage dealt by your finishing moves and the effectiveness of your Slice and Dice by 20%. The damage portion of this scales with the amount of Mastery rating you have. Reforge this stat into a higher priority stat like Haste or Critical Strike Rating
At Level 85:
- 179.28 Mastery Rating = 1% Mastery
Hit Rating (27% Hard Melee Hit Cap)
At 27% Hit rating you guarantee a hit every time with your off-hand weapon, this is a relatively small damage increase compared to other options found with our secondary stats but if you find yourself in a situation where you are able to add hit rating without sacrificing stats elsewhere then it is something to consider.
Changelog
- 17 Sep. 2024: Reviewed for Phase 3.
- 22 May 2024: Updated for new Hit sims.
More Cataclysm Rogue Guides
More Cataclysm Spec Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been written by Sellin, a former top 10 US raider and current season and several time Gladiator, long time WoW Player and passionate about all things Warcraft and Theorycrafting. You can follow him on Twitter and watch him on Twitch.
- Molten Core Tuning Detailed, Coming After Weekly Reset
- Molten Core Trash Mob Immunity Hotfix
- Molten Core and Onyxia's Lair Now Live in Season of Discovery Phase 4
- Higher Libram and Burning Essence Droprate Hotfix Coming + Fire Resist Explanation in SoD P4
- Molten Core Season of Discovery Details and Launch Date and Time
- Rise of the Zandalari Patch Coming to Cataclysm Classic on July 30th!
- SoD World Boss Resurrection Issues: July 18th
- World Bosses Live Now in Season of Discovery Phase 4