Subtlety Rogue DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities — The War Within (11.1.0)

Last updated on Feb 24, 2025 at 21:57 by Eleem 69 comments
General Information

On this page, you will learn how to optimize the rotation of your Subtlety Rogue in both single-target and multiple-target situations. We also have advanced sections about cooldowns, procs, etc. in order to minmax your DPS. All our content is updated for World of Warcraft — The War Within (11.1.0).

If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Subtlety Rogue rotation.

1.

Subtlety Rogue Rotation

Welcome to our Rotation page for Subtlety Rogues. On this page, you will find everything you need to know about playing the spec in Raiding and Mythic+ scenarios.

If you have not already, please read the Spell Summary page. Knowing how each spell/ability works in detail will greatly increase your understanding of the topics discussed on this page.

Subtlety Rogue is a 90-second spec. Every 90 seconds, you will use Flagellation Icon Flagellation with Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades, your on-use trinket as well as 2 Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death, 2 Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dances and 2 Secret Technique Icon Secret Techniques. Getting as much out of these burst windows as possible is the key to playing Subtlety Rogue effectively.

2.

Subtlety Rogue Rotation

Hero Talents change the rotation slightly, adjust the switch below to get appropriate recommendations
Hero Talents
Trickster (Recommended) Deathstalker
Single-target Rotation Multi-target (AoE) Rotation Burst Sequence
2.

Single-Target Rotation

  1. Start off in Stealth Icon Stealth and have Instant Poison Icon Instant Poison applied.
  2. Cast Flagellation Icon Flagellation when all conditions are met.
    Click to expand conditions.
    • You have more than 5 combo points.
    • Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades is ready.
    • You have 1 charge and less than 10 seconds left on your second charge of Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death.
    • You have 1 charge and less than 40 seconds left on your second charge of Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance.
    • Secret Technique Icon Secret Technique is ready.
  3. Cast Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death and Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance.
  4. Cast Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades during Flagellation Icon Flagellation and Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance.
    Do not cast them if Flagellation Icon Flagellation has less than 25 seconds left of its cooldown.
  5. Cast a Combo Point spender at 6 or more combo points with the following priority:
    Click to expand priority.

    During Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance:

    • Cast Cold Blood Icon Cold Blood before Secret Technique Icon Secret Technique if Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades is active.
    • Cast Secret Technique Icon Secret Technique.
    • Cast Eviscerate Icon Eviscerate.

    Outside of Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance:

    • Cast Rupture Icon Rupture if it is not up or has less than 9 seconds left.
    • Cast Eviscerate Icon Eviscerate.
  6. Build Combo Points with the following priority:
    Click to expand priority.

    During Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance:

    • Cast Shadowstrike Icon Shadowstrike

    Outside of Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance:

    • Cast Vanish Icon Vanish and use one Shadowstrike Icon Shadowstrike.
    • Cast Backstab Icon Backstab.

After you've cast Flagellation Icon Flagellation you want to press Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance and utilize Premeditation Icon Premeditation before casting Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades. During Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades, cast your second Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance immediately when the first one fades but dont refresh your Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death until Secret Technique Icon Secret Technique has less than 10 seconds left of its cooldown so it benefits from Supercharger Icon Supercharger. This is the reason a macro with both Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance and Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death is not recommended unless you also have the keybound seperately.

If you are a returning player note that the supercharged combo points from Supercharger Icon Supercharger do not work in the same way as old echoing reprimand, it buffs any finisher you do with +3 combo points so keep following the 6 or more rule listed above, even when you have supercharged combo points.

2.

Multi-Target (AoE) Rotation

  1. Start off in Stealth Icon Stealth and have Instant Poison Icon Instant Poison applied.
  2. Cast Flagellation Icon Flagellation when all conditions are met.
    Click to expand conditions.
    • You have more than 6 combo points.
    • Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades is ready.
    • You have 1 charge and less than 10 seconds left on your second charge of Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death.
    • You have 1 charge and less than 40 seconds left on your second charge of Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance.
    • Secret Technique Icon Secret Technique is ready.
  3. Cast Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death and Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance.
    Do not cast them if Flagellation Icon Flagellation has less than 25 seconds left of its cooldown.
  4. Cast Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades during Flagellation Icon Flagellation and Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance.
  5. Cast a Combo Point spender at 6 or more combo points with the following priority:
    Click to expand priority.

    During Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance:

    • Cast Cold Blood Icon Cold Blood before Secret Technique Icon Secret Technique if Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades is active.
    • Cast Secret Technique Icon Secret Technique.
    • Cast Black Powder Icon Black Powder.

    Outside of Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance:

    • Cast Rupture Icon Rupture if it is not up or has less than 9 seconds left.
    • Cast Black Powder Icon Black Powder.
  6. Build Combo Points with the following priority:
    Click to expand priority.

    During Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance:

    • Cast Shadowstrike Icon Shadowstrike when Premeditation Icon Premeditation is up.

    Outside of Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance:

    • Cast Shuriken Tornado Icon Shuriken Tornado (if talented)
    • Cast Vanish Icon Vanish and cast Shadowstrike Icon Shadowstrike.
    • Cast Shuriken Storm Icon Shuriken Storm.

After you've cast Flagellation Icon Flagellation you want to press Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance and utilize Premeditation Icon Premeditation before casting Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades. During Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades, cast your second Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance immediately when the first one fades but dont refresh your Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death until Secret Technique Icon Secret Technique has less than 10 seconds left of its cooldown so it benefits from Supercharger Icon Supercharger. This is the reason a macro with both Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance and Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death is not recommended unless you also have them keybound seperately.

If you are a returning player note that the supercharged combo points from Supercharger Icon Supercharger do not work in the same way as old echoing reprimand, it buffs any finisher you do with +3 combo points so keep following the 6 or more rule listed above, even when you have supercharged combo points.

2.

Burst Sequence

Besides Hero talents and Single-Target/AoE the Subtlety Burst Sequence is also affected by if the sequence is in the opener of the fight or if its when the cooldowns come up mid fight. Use the switches below to get appropriate recommendations for the situation at hand.

Encounter Type
Encounter Timer
  1. Use your Potion, Racial, on-use trinket and cast Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance & Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death.
  2. Cast Shadowstrike Icon Shadowstrike.
  3. Cast Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades.
  4. Cast Secret Technique Icon Secret Technique.
  5. Cast Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death to refresh the buff when Secret Technique Icon Secret Technique has less than 10 seconds remaining on its cooldown.
  6. Cast Secret Technique Icon Secret Technique with Cold Blood Icon Cold Blood.
  7. Continue on with your rotation.

Random procs from Shadow Techniques Icon Shadow Techniques combined with refunds from Shadowcraft Icon Shadowcraft can make it so that there is more or less finishers than listed above.

Whenever Coup de Grace Icon Coup de Grace is ready use it instead of Eviscerate Icon Eviscerate.

Whenever Coup de Grace Icon Coup de Grace is ready use it instead of Black Powder Icon Black Powder.

Whenever Darkest Night Icon Darkest Night is active use it instead of Black Powder Icon Black Powder.

1.1.

Potion and Racial Usage

Aim to use your Tempered Potion Icon Tempered Potion with your Flagellation Icon Flagellation and Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades. Ideally you also use it during Bloodlust Icon Bloodlust/Heroism Icon Heroism but prioritize using it with your own cooldowns. In most encounters, you will want to use it at the start of the fight.

Keep in mind that the potions have a 5-minute cooldown, so if the encounter is longer than that, remember to use it again whenever the extra damage is useful.

Racial abilities such as Blood Fury Icon Blood Fury, Fireblood Icon Fireblood, Ancestral Call Icon Ancestral Call or Berserking Icon Berserking can be macroed into your Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades. For some of them this will make them effectively 3 minute cooldowns, but that is better than using them outside your cooldowns.

1.2.

Mythic+

To learn more about how to play Subtlety Rogue in Mythic+, including dungeon specific tips check our dedicated page below:

2.

Important Notes for Subtlety Rogue

2.1.

Combo Points and Energy

As a Rogue, most of your abilities need Energy to be used. Your Energy bar has a default capacity of 100 Energy and refills at a rate of 10 Energy per second. With Vigor Icon Vigor, we have 200 Energy. Your Energy regeneration is increased by:

  • Melee Haste (Haste on items + Haste-enhancing buffs).
  • The Relentless Strikes Icon Relentless Strikes passive, which guarantees your finishers restore 6 Energy per Combo Point.
  • Shadow Techniques Icon Shadow Techniques, which awards 4 Energy every time it procs. It also procs more often during Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death thanks to Shadowcraft Icon Shadowcraft.
  • Vigor Icon Vigor, if selected.

The way Subtlety Rogue currently plays there is no need manage or think about your energy. Outside of Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death there will not be enough energy to cast a spell every single global, that is completely fine and normal. Conversely when Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death is up you can spam all of your globals thanks to the extra combo points you generate and spend via the passive from Relentless Strikes Icon Relentless Strikes.

2.2.

Shadow Dance

Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance is your "bread and butter" cooldown, and your damage output relies heavily on proper usage. Shadow Dance has 1 charge, or 2 when talented into Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance, each with a 1-minute recharge. However, the passive Deepening Shadows Icon Deepening Shadows ensures that they will be available much more often than that. Each Combo Point spent will reduce the cooldown of Shadow Dance by 0.5 seconds when talented into Deepening Shadows Icon Deepening Shadows.

You should aim to cast Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance when Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death is up, as that makes it so energy will not be an issue and stacking cooldowns together is always more efficient than using them seperately.

You want to cast Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance and Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death often as you can while still being able to cast two of each during Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades. Since Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance's cooldowns is reduced by spending combo points theres no rigid castsequence as it will vary depending on your luck with Shadow Techniques Icon Shadow Techniques procs and how much you actually get to hit the boss. On a dummy style fight you could expect the cadence of Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance and Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death casts to be something like this though:

  1. 2 Casts - During Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades
  2. 2 Cast - Inbetween the bigger cooldowns
  3. 2 Casts - During Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades
  4. 1 Cast - Inbetween the bigger cooldowns
  5. Repeat from step 1 again.
2.3.

Defensive Utility

Rogues have the some of the best defensive capabilities in the game, which makes them a solid candidate for soaking required mechanics and dealing with heavy incoming damage.

  • Feint Icon Feint reduces AoE damage taken by 40% for 6 seconds for only 35 Energy. When talented into Elusiveness Icon Elusiveness, it also reduces all other damage by 20%. This is one of the most overpowered abilities in the game and a huge asset on fights with heavy group damage.
  • Cloak of Shadows Icon Cloak of Shadows removes all non-physical debuffs, followed by 5 seconds where all spells will miss. Cloak can be used for intercepting in boss fight mechanics or be used for damage gains, such as staying in and hitting the boss during an AoE that you would otherwise have to avoid.
  • Cheat Death Icon Cheat Death is a talent that allows you to escape lethal damage once every 6 minutes. The damage cannot exceed more than twice your maximum Health. Cheat Death is great for soaking mechanics that pierce immunities and damage reductions as it guarantees your survival. It is also great for encounters with bursty damage that might take you by surprise, as you get a free get-out-of-jail free card once every 6 minutes.
  • Crimson Vial Icon Crimson Vial provides a respectable amount of healing on a very short cooldown. Useful for an extra bit of healing if you are low on Health or you are out of range of a healer.
  • Evasion Icon Evasion provides a 20% damage reduction when talented into Elusiveness Icon Elusiveness and another 20% reduction against magic if talented into Bait and Switch Icon Bait and Switch. This is a very respectable cooldown but often gets overshadowed by the power of Feint Icon Feint. The dodge mechanic is really helpful in solo content but very niche in group settings.
2.4.

Pandemic

Some of your personal buffs benefit from Pandemic, a mechanic that allows you to refresh early without penalty as long as the buff has less than 30% of its maximum duration remaining. The current timer will be added to the newly refreshed full-duration buff, allowing for a new buff longer than the maximum duration. Rupture Icon Rupture can be safely refreshed at 8.4 seconds and Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death at 3 seconds.

The Pandemic timing from Rupture Icon Rupture is based off of your current Combo Point value, rather than the duration of the original Rupture. So if you had a 2 Combo Point Rupture Icon Rupture on the target, and refresh with a 5 Combo Point Rupture Icon Rupture, the Pandemic value would be treated as a 5 Combo Point Rupture Icon Rupture instead.

3.

Core Concepts for Subtlety Rogue

Ultimately, this is a specialization that rewards the initiated and informed but can be incredibly punishing to new players. Learning to focus on what is important and mastering the core concepts of a specialization is what leads to strong overall performances on the damage charts. Subtlety features three major concepts that form the central trinity of optimizing for success:

  1. Resource Management;
  2. Cooldown Usage;
  3. Personal Initiative.
3.1.

Resource Management

The key resources of Subtlety are Energy, Combo Points, Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death charges and Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance charges. The main goal of resource management is to minimize overflow and wastage of these resources. Often times, these resources will be at odds with each other; aiming for perfect Combo Point management may result in Energy cap, immaculate Energy management may result in Shadow Dance charge overflow, and so on. Perfect resource management is impossible, and therefore, becoming a seasoned Subtlety veteran is learning which compromises to make. Listed below is the priority of resources to help you minimize wastage:

  1. Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death charges.
  2. Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance charges.
  3. Combo Points.
  4. Energy.
3.2.

Cooldown Usage

While wastage is bad, not being able to use two charges of either Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance or Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death during your Flagellation Icon Flagellation window is worse than wasting a couple of seconds of Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance cooldown reduction by sitting at two charges when Flagellation Icon Flagellation is coming up very soon.

Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance and Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death are some of the least rigid cooldowns in the game currently, as it allows for a variety of different usages depending on player interpretation of the current situation. As mentioned earlier in the guide, it is imperative to time your Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dances well without compromising on being able to use two of them during your Flagellation Icon Flagellation window.

4.

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: Updated for The War Within Season 1.
  • 22 Aug. 2024: Updated for The War Within.
  • 23 Jul. 2024: Reviewed 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: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5.
  • 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 and reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 17 Dec. 2022: Small updates to ability priority list.
  • 11 Dec. 2022: Added mention of Cold Blood usage.
  • 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 31 Oct. 2022: Page updated with Venthyr build opener.
  • 25 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
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