Outlaw Rogue PvP Talents and Builds — Midnight Pre-Patch (12.0)

There is one viable talent build as Outlaw. It focuses on CC and high single-target damage. Here are the recommended talents:

This build focuses on high, consistent damage with short burst windows. It features multiple ways to use Ambush, which deals more damage than Sinister Strike, as well as several talents that aim at increasing the damage of finishing moves.

Audacity and Hidden Opportunity are the talents that make Ambush the Combo Point builder to use over Sinister Strike whenever possible. Alongside Improved Ambush it is a great way to deal decent damage while generating many Combo Points. Fan the Hammer works great with Audacity for additional Ambush procs. The talent Subterfuge and provides 6s during which you can use your stealth abilities, including Ambush, when you leave Stealth. This activates at the start of the game, but also every time you use Vanish (which you have two charges of thanks to Without a Trace).

Deeper Stratagem increases the damage of all finishing moves. Supercharger alongside Forced Induction allow you to further empower your finishing moves everytime you use Roll the Bones. This will mainly be used in combination with Killing Spree for significant burst damage. However it can also be used alongside Between the Eyes, as several talents also enhance this ability.

Improved Between the Eyes increases the critical strike damage done by Between the Eyes. Ace Up Your Sleeve has a chance to make Between the Eyes instantly refund the Combo Points spent, allowing you to use it again. If you are a bit lucky with procs you can kill someone by spamming Between the Eyes only!

Fatebound has amazing synergy with Outlaw. The main effect of the tree, Hand of Fate, is triggered whenever a finisher is used with 5 or more Combo Points. Outlaw currently has very high Combo Point generation, and uses a lot of finishers quickly so Hand of Fate has a lot of value. Beyond that Destiny Defined and Deal Fate both increase the chance for Sinister Strike (and Ambush) to strike an additional time, and allow them to generate extra combo points when they do so. The remaining talents are simply empowering the effects of Hand of Fate even further. Last but not least Death's Arrival is an amazing talent that gives Outlaw Rogues the best mobility in the game. Uptime means damage for melee specializations and so this talent is very powerful.

Trickster has been undervalued for a long time because it does not offer the same mobility as Fatebound, but the damage it provides it more than competitive. It also has a nice talent, Don't Be Suspicious, that reduces the cooldown of Blind by 10% which works well with Blinding Powder for a very short cooldown on Blind.

You can choose three of the following PvP talents; each has uses, but some are better for certain strategies than others. The top three choices are the most useful but can be replaced with other PvP talents depending on your team's goal.

Smoke Bomb creates a smoke cloud around you. Enemy players who are outside the cloud will not be able to target anyone inside it. This talent is strong for multiple reasons. Firstly, it can help you land a kill by stunning a target when they have no trinket. By using Smoke Bomb right after a stun, you will prevent the healer from saving their teammate. Secondly, you can use it defensively to save yourself or an ally from a lethal cast about to go off, such as Greater Pyroblast. And lastly, you can use it to prevent incoming crowd control on you or your team if such crowd control would result in you losing a game, such as a Polymorph or Repentance on your healer when they have no trinket, and you are low on health.

Dismantle is a strong PvP talent that allows you to disarm an enemy for 6 seconds every 45 seconds. Disarming an enemy can delay their next kill attempt or stop it entirely if they have pulled the trigger. It is a great pick against Warrior, Rogue, and Marksmanship Hunter. It is also helpful against other Hunter specs. However, they can still use many threatening abilities while disarmed, and the same goes for Retribution Paladin and Death Knight. One thing to note is that you can use Dismantle offensively against Death Knight and Warrior, as being disarmed prevents the use of Death Strike and Die by the Sword.

Preemptive Maneuver is a solid defensive option as it makes Feint reduce the damage you take even more when stunned, and reduces its energy cost.

Control is King is a talent that will make your opener, and your goes with Kidney Shot a bit more bursty. This would be a decent option when playing double DPS comps, but that is not the strong point of Outlaw at the moment.