Subtlety Rogue DPS Easy Mode — The War Within (11.1.0)

Last updated on Feb 24, 2025 at 21:57 by Eleem 70 comments
General Information

On this page, we explain how to easily play Subtlety Rogue in World of Warcraft — The War Within (11.1.0), using the simplest rotation, talent tree, stat priority, gear setup, etc., without sacrificing performance.

1.

Foreword

This section is intended for players who are new to the game or class, have no intentions of raiding Mythic difficulty, or simply want a more straightforward way to play their specialization without being overwhelmed by the numerous priorities and active abilities that need to be taken into consideration for optimal play.

2.

The Basics for Subtlety Rogue

Subtlety, at first glance, can seem very simple. You build combo points and spend them to deal damage. However, to maximize your damage potential it can be a very involved process which requires knowledge and understanding of the basics. This section aims to point players in a direction that allows them to play Subtlety by easing into the spec. This will not be the absolute best setup, but it will perform better for those who are getting up to speed with the intricacies of the specialization.

If you are completely new to Subtlety Rogue and are looking to understand what tools it has at its disposal, make sure to check out our spell summary page first to read what each ability does.

3.

Talent Choice for Subtlety Rogue

These choices are optimized for ease of use. There are a variety of builds that are floating around, and we may even see new builds floating around when more people experience the new raid. Although some talents might offer marginally higher gains when played perfectly, if played improperly they could cause the player do less damage. The talents recommended here aim to present the best setup that has as little punishment as possible for unfamiliarity or mistakes.

You might notice both the Raid and the Mythic+ talent setup being the same, this is not a mistake as Subtlety currently has very little variation in terms of talents.

3.1.

Single Target (Raiding)

You can easily import the talent tree below into the game by clicking 'Export Talents'.

Subtlety Single Target Raiding Build
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3.2.

Multi Target (Mythic+/Cleave)

You can easily import the talent tree below into the game by clicking 'Export Talents'.

Subtlety Mythic Plus Build
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If you are looking for the absolute best-performing talents for Subtlety, you can find a more in-depth analysis on our full talents page below.

4.

Stat Choice for Subtlety Rogue

4.1.

Single-Target Stat Priority

The general single-target stat priority for a Subtlety Rogue is:
Agility > Mastery >= Versatility > Critical Strike > Haste

  1. Mastery
  2. Versatility
  3. Critical Strike
  4. Haste
4.2.

Multi-Target Stat Priority

The general multi-target stat priority for a Subtlety Rogue is:
Agility > Mastery >= Versatility > Critical Strike > Haste

  1. Mastery
  2. Versatility
  3. Critical Strike
  4. Haste

To learn more about how stats interact in different scenarios and why in the stats page below.

5.

Subtlety Rogue Rotation:

Single-Target Rotation Multi-target (AoE) Rotation
6.

Single-Target Rotation

  1. Try to always begin while in Stealth Icon Stealth.
  2. Cast Rupture Icon Rupture if its not up or if its about to run out. Do not cast it during Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance.
  3. Cast Flagellation Icon Flagellation.
  4. Cast Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death and Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance at the same time.
  5. Cast Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades when both Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance and Flagellation Icon Flagellation is up.
  6. Cast Secret Technique Icon Secret Technique during Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance with 6 or more combo points.
  7. Cast Eviscerate Icon Eviscerate to spend combo points when you have 6 or more.
  8. Cast Shadowstrike Icon Shadowstrike whenever you can, otherwise use Backstab Icon Backstab to build combo points.

You want to use two of Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death and Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance during your Flagellation Icon Flagellation and Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades window, so don't use them if Flagellation Icon Flagellation has less than 30 seconds left on its cooldown.

You can macro Cold Blood Icon Cold Blood and Secret Technique Icon Secret Technique together as well as Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death and Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance.

6.

Multi-target (AoE) Rotation

The Trickster hero talent Nimble Flurry Icon Nimble Flurry means we want to continue using Eviscerate Icon Eviscerate and Shadowstrike Icon Shadowstrike even in multiple target scenarios.

  1. Try to always begin while in Stealth Icon Stealth.
  2. Cast Flagellation Icon Flagellation.
  3. Cast Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death and Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance at the same time.
  4. Cast Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades when both Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance and Flagellation Icon Flagellation is up.
  5. Cast Secret Technique Icon Secret Technique during Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance with 6 or more combo points.
  6. Cast Eviscerate Icon Eviscerate to spend combo points when you have 6 or more.
  7. Cast Shadowstrike Icon Shadowstrike whenever you can, otherwise use Shuriken Storm Icon Shuriken Storm to build combo points.

You want to use two of Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death and Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance during your Flagellation Icon Flagellation and Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades window, so don't use them if Flagellation Icon Flagellation has less than 30 seconds left on its cooldown.

You can macro Cold Blood Icon Cold Blood to Secret Technique Icon Secret Technique together as well as Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death and Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance.

For the opener sequence and to find other damage optimizations visit the rotation page.

6.

Changelog

  • 24 Feb. 2025: Updated for Patch 11.1
  • 15 Dec. 2024: Updated for Patch 11.0.7.
  • 23 Oct. 2024: Updated for Patch 11.0.5.
  • 09 Sep. 2024: Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
  • 22 Aug. 2024: Updated for The War Within.
  • 23 Jul. 2024: Reviewed and Updated for The War Within pre-patch.
  • 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
  • 22 Apr. 2024: Reviewed for Season 4
  • 20 Mar. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
  • 15 Jan. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 06 Nov. 2023: Reviewed and Updated for patch 10.2.
  • 04 Sep. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
  • 10 Jul. 2023: Page updated for Patch 10.1.5.
  • 11 May 2023: Changed recommended talent to Flagellation over Dark Brew.
  • 01 May 2023: Page reviewed and updated for Patch 10.1.
  • 20 Mar. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 24 Jan. 2023: Page updated for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 17 Dec. 2022: Added multi-target ability priority list and updated single-target.
  • 11 Dec. 2022: Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
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