Subtlety Rogue DPS Mythic+ Tips — The War Within (11.1.0)
In this guide, you will find tips and advice to tackle Mythic+ dungeons with your Subtlety Rogue in World of Warcraft — The War Within (11.1.0).
Subtlety Rogue in Mythic+ in The War Within Season 2
The playstyle of Subtlety in Mythic+ revolves around huge burst windows with damage
multipliers, such as Symbols of Death,
Shadow Dance,
Flagellation and
Shadow Blades. You're also using
Shuriken Storm to generate more Combo Points than you normally would in
a single-target scenario, which leads to more cooldown reduction on your
Shadow Dance through
Deepening Shadows.
If you are unfamiliar with Mythic+ and its associated general mechanics, you can read more about it on our The War Within Mythic+ page below.
To learn more about the Mythic+ Meta, check out our Mythic+ Tier List below.
Best Mythic+ Talents for Subtlety Rogue in The War Within
Subtlety in Mythic+ offers fairly low sustained AoE damage. To compensate for that it does have very strong cooldowns
cooldowns that can be used on bosses or high-priority targets that
need to be taken out quickly or have much higher health pools than the surrounding
enemies. Subtlety also has the ability to utilize its easy Combo Point generation
to slam big health targets every other global thanks to Shuriken Storm
generating Combo Points based on targets hit.
Unlike Assassination, Subtlety does not rely on critical strikes to generate
combo points which provides a steady stream of Combo Point generation. You can
play this as either Hero Talent spec, depending on your preference, but
Trickster reigns supreme damage-wise in Mythic+.
For a more general overview of Talents for Subtlety Rogue, please visit our dedicated Talents page.
Best Mythic+ Talent Builds for Subtlety Rogue
Best
Trickster Mythic+ Talents for Subtlety Rogue in The War Within
This is the Trickster build for Subtlety, that offers immense burst, both on AoE and on Single-Target.
Flexible Talents
There isn't a whole lot of flexibility in your talent choices, but these are the choices you can make:
- You can opt out of any of the talents that are not required to path through in order to
pick up
Stillshroud for any keys where Shroud is used. Wiping and not being able to return to the boss or trash pack you wiped on is usually a depleted key, but with a reduced cooldown Shroud might be back up again to keep going.
- You can swap
Airborne Irritant for
Gouge if there is a desperate need for additional stops on a low cooldown, but it's usually not worth it because an AoE stop will almost always be better outside of niche situations.
Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the best build directly into your game!
Best
Deathstalker Mythic+ Talents for Subtlety Rogue in The War Within
This is the Deathstalker build for Subtlety, that offers less burst but stronger sustained damage, as well as very high
priority damage.
Make sure to keep track of your Darkest Night buff so you do not have
to cast
Shadow Strike on every pack to benefit from your
Deathstalker's Mark.
Flexible Talents
There isn't a whole lot of flexibility in your talent choices, but these are the choices you can make:
- You can opt out of any of the talents that are not required to path through in order to
pick up
Stillshroud for any keys where Shroud is used. Wiping and not being able to return to the boss or trash pack you wiped on is usually a depleted key, but with a reduced cooldown Shroud might be back up again to keep going.
- You can swap
Airborne Irritant for
Gouge if there is a desperate need for additional stops on a low cooldown, but it's usually not worth it because an AoE stop will almost always be better outside of niche situations.
Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the best build directly into your game!
Mythic+ Utility for Subtlety Rogue in The War Within Season 2
This section talks mostly about the uses of different spells. For in-depth explanations of all Rogue Abilities and Talents, including these, check out our Spells page.
Utility of Subtlety Rogue in The War Within
Interrupts, Stuns and Stops
Kick is your, well, "kick". You will interrupt your targeted enemy, or,
when using a Focus-Macro, the target you set up as your focus.
- /stopcasting
- /stopcasting
- /cast [@focus,exists,nodead] [] Kick
This macro will kick your focus target if you have one, and your target if you have no focus target. We recommend keeping both the macro and a regular kick cast on your bars, as you may have multiple targets to interrupt, and the macro always prioritizes the focus target.
To quickly set a focus target in hectic scenarios, we also recommend a Focus Mouseover macro, or setting the "Focus Target" hotkey in the game's keybinding settings.
- /focus [@mouseover]
Make sure that your UI shows your Focus Target's casts clearly, so that you are always able to kick it on cooldown, or in coordination with the rest of your group.
Stunning and "Stops"
Sap and
Blind can be useful to hard-crowd control
multiple mobs in a single trash pack. You can also use it right before the
tank is pulling, as
Blackjack applies a damage reduction debuff
to the target when Sap breaks.
With Airborne Irritant talented,
Blind turns into a
powerful AoE disrupt that also drastically reduces tank damage taken if
Blackjack
is selected.
Gouge (if talented) can be used to disrupt enemies from casting otherwise
uninterruptible spells. This requires you to stand in front of the enemy, but
can be used in many situations to keep enemies from using some of their most lethal
abilities. Many of these abilities go on cooldown once used, so disrupting them
with Gouge,
Kidney Shot, or
Blind will keep these mobs from
re-casting these abilities for a while.
Vanish can be also used to
Cheap Shot an enemy that
can only be stopped, not interrupted.
Other Utility
Shroud of Concealment projects AoE
Stealth around you. It
is important to note, however, that in the current expansion, there is a much
greater number of enemies who can detect through Stealth or Invisibility, whom
you will need to be on the lookout for. Subtlety also has the talent
Subtlety Rogues also have the talent Shrouded in Darkness, this allows you
to use shroud as a massive speed boost to your team even when you are not trying to sneak past
mobs. This is especially powerful in indoor dungeons with long sections of running where you cannot mount.
Distract helps set up Shroud-skips and keeps patrolling trash
packs in place for 10 seconds. Make sure to force enemies to look away from you,
to allow you to stealth past them.
Feint,
Cloak of Shadows,
Evasion,
Crimson Vial and
Cheat Death form a very powerful set of
defensive cooldowns and are one of the biggest reasons for Rogue's strength in
Mythic+.
Tricks of the Trade is not exceptionally great normally. However, any
kind of support that helps your tank keep aggro on all enemies is encouraged.
Sadly it is a choice-node with
Blackjack.
Shiv can be used to dispel Enrage effects.
Numbing Poison and
Atrophic Poison are both useful in
Mythic+,
but with the heavier emphasis on trash mobs,
Numbing Poison is likely
to win out on Fortified, with Atrophic gaining more value on Tyrannical weeks.
Communicate with your tank and healer which ones are preferable.
Dungeon Tips and Tricks for Subtlety Rogue in The War Within
This section is focused on Rogue-specific tips and tricks to help in specific dungeons' bosses and trash. If you want general guides for each of our Dungeons or Mythic+ in general, check out our dedicated page below.
Dungeon Tips for Subtlety Rogue in The War Within
Brew Master Aldryr
- Keep
Feint up as much as possible during
Happy Hour.
- Keep
Sprint so you'll have it ready for
Happy Hour to serve the beers as fast as possible.
- Cast
Cloak of Shadows when you get
Hot Honey to remove it.
Hot Honey does not get reduced by
Feint unless you've talented into
Elusiveness.
I'pa
Crippling Poison is really good on this boss if you do not have other slows in your group.
- Ideally you just hit the boss and let
Nimble Flurry cleave onto the Brew Drop adds, but if they're too far away you might need to run to them to kill them.
Benk Buzzbee
Fluttering Wing does not get reduced by
Feint unless you've talented into
Elusiveness.
Goldie Baronbottom
Feint does not get reduced by
Let It Hail! unless you've talented into
Elusiveness.
- Cast
Cloak of Shadows when you get 2 stacks of
Burning Ricochet to remove it.
Trash
Ol' Waxbeard
- Make sure to save your non
Flagellation dances to burst down the mine cart spawned by
Underhanded Track-tics.
- When you get fixated by the Menial Laborer you can use
Evasion to dodge their attacks.
- You can use
Evasion to dodge the
Reckless Charge if he targets you. Try to aim it into a wall so it doesn't charge too far away from the group.
Blazikon
- Cast
Feint before
Dousing Breath, especially if you are at low health.
- Cast
Cloak of Shadows if you get a couple of stacks of
Enkindling Inferno from not lighting enough candles.
Enkindling Inferno gets reduced by
Feint without needing to select
Elusiveness.
The Candle King
- Try to have your group stacked so you don't need to run too far away to clear the
Eerie Molds.
- Do not use one of your non
Flagellation dances right before
Darkflame Pickaxe as you might be targeted and need to run out.
The Darkness
- Whenever you get targeted by
Shadowblast run out of the candlelight and use
Sprint to run and pickup a candle far away.
- If you get targeted by
Shadowblast in the middle of your
Flagellation burst you can use
Vanish to cancel the cast.
Trash
- The
Throw Rocks from Lowly Moleherd can be dodged by
Evasion, but they also wont even throw the rocks if you are in melee range of them.
- If you get targeted by Torchsnarls
One-Hand Headlock you can run out a bit and
Shadowstep somebody else once he starts charging to dodge the entire combo.
- Torchsnarl also does a lot of damage with his
Massive Stomp cast, so its worth casting
Feint before it.
Captain Dailcry
- No specific tips.
Baron Braunpyke
Sacrificial Flame gets reduced by
Feint without needing to select
Elusiveness.
Sacrificial Flame does not get removed by
Cloak of Shadows but you will take no damage while cloak lasts.
Prioress Murrpray
- You can use
Evasion to dodge the attacks from Arathi Neophytes during the last phase.
Trash
- You can use
Evasion to dodge the jumps from Sergeant Shaynemail and the War Lynxs.
- The Lightspawn mobs do a channel called
Purification, when this is cast on you you can use either
Cloak of Shadows or
Vanish to cancel it.
Reflective Shield from High Priest Aemya can be dangerous if you have your
Flagellation up so be prepared to use a
Algari Healing Potion or
Cloak of Shadows if the damage to yourself gets dangerous.
Kyrioss
- No specific tips.
Stormguard Gorren
- No specific tips. This fight is just very difficult to have good uptime on as melee.
Voidstone Monstrosity
- This boss takes more damage after his shield breaks through
Storm's Vengeance, so its usually wise to save your
Flagellation burst for that.
Trash
- You can use
Vanish on the Stormrook
Energized Barrage cast.
Big M.O.M.M.A.
- On this boss most groups should have enough add damage so that you can simply
cleave off the boss. If the boss gets
Kill-o-Block Barrier be sure to swap to the adds to phase the boss.
- Once the adds die the boss will cast
Jumpstart and take double damage. This is where you want to use your
Flagellation burst.
Keeza Quickfuse
- Be sure to position yourself so that if you get targeted with
Barreling Charge you are in line with a bomb. You can dodge this once he locks onto your location.
Swampface
- Cast
Cloak of Shadows or
Feint whenever the boss casts
Awaken the Swamp.
- The passive damage on the fight from
Razorchoke Vines does not get reduced by
Feint without
Elusiveness talented.
Geezle Gigazap
- Cast
Cloak of Shadows when you get
Gigazap.
Gigazap gets reduced by
Feint without needing to select
Elusiveness.
Trash
- You can use
Evasion to dodge the
Nailgun from the Venture Co. Architects.
- Cast
Cloak of Shadows whenever Darkfuse Bloodwarper casts his
Warp Blood to immune the debuff.
- The
Backwash debuffs from Bubbles does not get reduced by
Feint without
Elusiveness talented. They can however be made immune with
Cloak of Shadows.
An Affront of Challengers
- Cast
Cloak of Shadows whenever you get the circles from
Searing Death.
Gorechop
- You can use
Evasion to dodge the
Leaping Thrash from the adds.
Leaping Thrash gets reduced by
Feint without needing to select
Elusiveness.
Xav the Unfallen
- Using your
Shadow Dance down in the PVP arena is usually a waste of time and its better to just let the other person kill you as fast as possible.
- Save your
Shadow Dances to kill the
Oppressive Banners as fast as possible.
Kul'tharok
- Save your
Shadow Dances for when the adds spawn from
Draw Soul.
Mordretha, the Endless Empress
- Save your
Shadow Dances for when the adds spawn from
Manifest Death.
- Cast
Feint before
Manifest Death.
Trash
- All the mini-bosses before Xav the Unfallen that have a cast called
Whirlwind can be dodged with
Evasion. Beware that it does not work on the boss himself.
Shrouded in Darkness has pretty decent value in-between packs in this dungeon to help reduce downtime.
- Having
Shiv specced for the Raging Bloodhorns
Raging Tantrum is good.
The Platinum Pummeler and Gnomercy 4.U.
- No specific tips.
K.U.-J.0.
- No specific tips.
Head Machinist Sparkflux
- No specific tips.
King Mechagon
- You can
Vanish while targeted by
Mega-Zap and it will be cancelled.
Cloak of Shadows will immune the
Mega-Zap.
Mega-Zap gets reduced by
Feint without needing to select
Elusiveness.
Trash
- The Bomb Tonk are immune to your AoE
Blind.
Arcing Zap does not get reduced by
Feint without
Elusiveness talented.
- During the gauntlet before the 3rd boss you can use
Distract to make the robots stand still for 10 seconds.
Coin-Operated Crowd Pummeler
- Hold your
Flagellation burst for when the footballs have been kicked into him as he takes increased damage.
- Cast
Feint before
Static Pulse.
Azerokk
- You should save your small
Shadow Dances for the empowered add.
Rixxa Fluxflame
- No specific tips.
Mogul Razdunk
- No specific tips.
Trash
- You can use
Vanish on the Venture Co. Mastermind
Mind Lash cast.
- You can use
Shiv on Taskmaster Askari to remove his
Overtime! buff.
- It can be really helpful to use a
Kidney Shot on the Crawler Mines so they don't run into people.
Charged Shot does not get reduced by
Feint without
Elusiveness talented.
Affix Tips, Tricks and Management for Subtlety Rogue in The War Within Season 2
This section has Rogue-specific tips for dealing with the various affixes of Mythic+. If you want general guides for each of our Dungeons or Mythic+ in general, check out our dedicated page below.
Season 1 of The War Within only has four significant Affixes that offer any kind of counterplay, called Xal'ataths Bargains, and they rotate every week, with only one of them being active at a time. Many of the other affixes like Fortified or Tyrannical simply add a passive effect to the keystone, with four exceptions that are seasonally themed after Xal'atah:
Xal'atath's Bargain: Ascendant: Three waves of orbs will spawn that need to be interrupted or disrupted.
Blind works great here as an AoE interrupt thanks to
Airborne Irritant. However if you target the orbs themselves
Airborne Irritant will unfortunately not make
Blind cleave so you have to target a regular mob with it.
Xal'atath's Bargain: Voidbound: A Void Emissary add will spawn that needs to be focus-targeted and interrupted.
Xal'atath's Bargain: Pulsar: Orbs will spawn around the members of your group and you need to soak the orbs.
Xal'atath's Bargain: Devour: All party members will be affected by a healing absorb. You can remove this with
Cloak of Shadows or racials like
Stoneform. You can use
Crimson Vial if these are unavailable to you, to help get rid of the debuff faster. Healthpots or Healthstones also work well if your healer is out of resources.
Each of the affixes provides a different set of beneficial effects once it is dealt with, and while they are very powerful, they are not something you play around in a specific way. The most important part is to not let any of them buff the enemy trash or bosses.
Changelog
- 24 Feb. 2025: Updated for Patch 11.1
- 15 Dec. 2024: Updated for Patch 11.0.7.
- 09 Sep. 2024: Updated for The War Within Season 1.
- 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 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: Updated talents and reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Updated talent recommendations.
- 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 25 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
More Rogue Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been written by Eleem, who has been a rogue player, enjoyer and theorycrafter since Legion. He is currently raiding in a top 100 guild and has been known to dabble in m+ from time to time. You can find him in the Ravenholdt Discord as Eleem.
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