Subtlety Rogue DPS Spell List and Glossary — The War Within (11.0.7)

In this section, we will list almost all of the abilities you gain access to either passively or actively. We will also list commonly used abbreviations that you might find in other parts of this guide or when looking for additional information elsewhere on the Internet.

Energy is the main resource of Subtlety Rogues. Energy is generated passively, the rate of which can be increased by Haste and talents. Shadow Techniques also provides some bonus Energy, as does Symbols of Death.

Combo Points are another primary resource utilized by Subtlety Rogues. Some of your abilities generate Combo Points while finishing moves spend them. Spending more Combo Points on a finishing move increases the damage it deals or the duration of the effect it applies. Combo Point management is very important to maintaining your abilities and maximizing burst.

This page lists all the abilities that are available to you on a max-level character. If you have just started your journey by leveling a new Rogue, you can head over to our leveling section to learn more about when you get access to these abilities on your way to max level.

These are abilities that you acquire automatically early on as you level your Subtlety Rogue.

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Stealth	-	Turns you invisible until canceled or upon attacking.
Backstab	-	Your main filler and Combo Point generator. It generates a single Combo Point per cast and deals 20% extra damage if you are behind your target. Costs 35 Energy.
Shadowstrike	-	A Combo Point generator that can only be used from Stealth or Shadow Dance. Generates 2 Combo Points.
Shuriken Storm	-	Your main Combo Point generator in AoE situations.Deals damage to all targets within 10 yards, and generates 1 Combo Point per enemy hit. Costs 35 Energy.
> Shuriken Toss	-	Throws a shuriken at your target from range, dealing low amount of damage and generating 1 Combo Point.
Cheap Shot	CS	A Combo Point generator that can only be used from Stealth and against stunnable targets. Generates 1 Combo Point.
Eviscerate	-	Finishing move that consumes your Combo Points and deals damage based on the number of Combo Points used. Costs 35 Energy.
Rupture	Rup	Finishing move that applies a damage over time effect to your target that deals Physical damage, and lasts longer per Combo Point spent.
Black Powder	BP	Finishing move that deals Physical damage to all enemies around you, doing damage based on how many Combo Points was spent. Deals additional 20% damage as Shadow to targets affected by Find Weakness. Costs 35 Energy.
Slice and Dice	SnD	Finishing move that spends Combo Points and increases your attack speed by 50%. Lasts longer per Combo Point spent. Also now refreshed for Subtlety thanks to Cut to the Chase being added as a baseline for all three Rogue Specs.
Kidney Shot	Kidney/KS	Finishing move that consumes your Combo Points and stuns the target for duration based on how many Combo Points were spent, up to a maximum of 6 seconds. 20-second cooldown.
Sap	-	A crowd control ability that incapacitates an enemy for a long duration. You can run past a sapped enemy without getting into combat. If the enemy takes damage, it breaks free.
Sprint	-	2-minute cooldown that increases your movement speed by 70% for 8 seconds. Usable while Stealthed.
Crimson Vial	CV/Vial	Heals you for 20% of your maximum Health over 4 seconds. 30-second cooldown.
Kick	-	Interrupts targets spellcasting and prevents any spells from that school for 5 seconds. 15-second cooldown.
Distract	-	Throws a distraction, forcing enemies hit by it to face towards that direction for 10 seconds. Usable while stealthed.
Shroud of Concealment	Shroud	Provides Stealth for you and your party and raid members for 15 seconds. 6-minute cooldown.
Vanish	-	Vanishes you from sight and enters you into Stealth. Breaks all movement impairing effects and usable while in combat. 2-minute cooldown.
Feint	-	A defensive skill that reduces damage taken from area-of-effect skills.

As part of the Talent Tree re-design in Dragonflight, every class and specialization now has a multitude of possible choices to spend up to 31 Class Talent Points and 30 Specialization Talent Points. We will break down most of them into individual sections based on the Rows in which you can unlock them, while providing some commonly used abbreviations and explanations as to their functionality.

If you are simply looking for a quick guide on which talents to play, you can head over to our dedicated Talent page instead!

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Shiv	-	25-second cooldown ability that removes Enrage effects from your target applies a stronger version of your non-lethal Poison and generates 1CP.
Blind	-	A crowd control ability that makes a mob wander around blindly for a long duration. Running close to a blinded enemy will put you in combat. If the enemy takes damage, it breaks free.
Cloak of Shadows	Cloak	Makes you immune to most magic effects, and also removes a variety of different debuffs, including poisons, curses, and diseases. Some effects cannot be immuned, resisted, or removed, however, especially if they are key aspects of a boss encounter
Evasion	-	Increases your chance to dodge enemy attacks by 100%. You are still required to face the enemy hitting you to be able to dodge.
Gouge	-	A crowd control ability that incapacitates an enemy for a short duration. If the enemy takes damage, it breaks free. Requires your target to face you.
Shadowstep	Step	A mobility skill that allows you to teleport a target enemy or ally, and granting a very short movement speed increase when cast.
Tricks of the Trade	Tricks/TotT	Allows you to transfer any threat you generate over the next 6 seconds after hitting an enemy to a target of your choosing. It is best used on the tank.
Shadow Blades	SB	Causes your Combo Point generators to generate an additional Combo Point and makes them deal additional 50% damage as Shadow. 3-minute cooldown.

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Airborne Irritant	-	Reduces the cooldown of Blind and turns it into an AoE spell.
Master Poisoner	MP	Improves the effects of your non-lethal Poisons.
Elusiveness	-	Changes your Evasion to reduce all damage you take by 20% and also enhances your Feint to reduce all damage you take by 20%. This is a choice node shared with Cheat Death.
Cheat Death	Cheat/CD	A defensive skill that saves you from death, as long as the damage taken does not surpass twice your health pool. Any killing blow will instead bring you to 7% hp, and for 3 seconds, you will take 85% reduced damage.
Blackjack	-	Enemies have 30% reduced damage and healing after Blind or Sap expire. Works great together with Airborne Irritant.
Improved Wound Poison	-	Increases the maximum stacks of your Wound Poison by 2, improving the healing reduction effect.
Nimble Fingers	-	Reduces the Energy cost of Feint and Crimson Vial.
Improved Sprint	-	Reduces the cooldown of Sprint.
Shadowrunner	-	Grants extra movement speed while stealthed, i.e. when using Stealth, Vanish or Shadow Dance.
Find Weakness	FW	Causes your Shadow Strike and Cheap Shot to apply a debuff to your target that allows your abilities to bypass 30% of the targets armor.
Quick Decisions	-	Reduces the cooldown of Shadowstep by 20% and increases its maximum range by 20%.
Ephemeral Bond	-	Increases healing received by 8%.
Night Terrors	-	Causes your Shuriken Storm to reduce enemies movement speed by 50%.
Terrifying Pace	-	Shuriken Storm increases your movement speed by 30% for 3 sec when striking 3 or more enemies.
Exhilarating Execution	-	Your finishing moves heal you for 5% of damage done. At full health, gain shielding instead, absorbing up to 10% of your maximum Health.
Improved Shuriken Storm	-	Increases Shuriken Storms Critical Strike chance by 15% and causes its Critical Strikes to apply Find Weakness.
Improved Backstab	-	Increases Backstabs (and Gloomblades) Critical Strike chance by 15% and causes it to apply Find Weakness when it critically strikes from behind the target.
Shot in the Dark	-	Causes your next Cheap Shot to cost no Energy after entering Stealth or Shadow Dance.
Shrouded in Darkness	-	Causes your Shroud of Concealment to increase movement speed of affected party and raid members by 100%.
Shadow Focus	SF	Reduces Energy costs by 10% while Stealth or Shadow Dance is active.
Cloaked in Shadows	-	Causes your Vanish to grant you a shield absorbing 30% of your maximum Health for 6 seconds. This is a choice node shared with Fade to Nothing.
Fade to Nothing	-	Increases your movement speed by 20% and reduces damage taken by 10% for 8 seconds when casting Stealth, Vanish, or Shadow Dance.This is a choice node shared with Cloaked in Shadows.

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Secret Technique	ST	finishing move that deals Physical damage to to your main target and reduced damage to other targets. Cooldown is reduced by 1 second for every Combo Point spent. 1-minute cooldown. Costs 30 Energy.
Gloomblade	-	Replaces Backstab. Damage type changes to Shadow and removes the positional requirement of Backstab.
Shuriken Tornado	Tornado	Causes you to release a Shuriken Tornado every second for 4 seconds. Costs 60 Energy and has 1-minute cooldown.

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Superior Mixture	-	Improves the effectiveness of Crippling Poison.
Fleet Footed	-	Increases your unmounted movement speed.
Iron Stomach	-	Improves the effectiveness of Health Potions, Health Stones, and Crimson Vial.
Unbreakable Stride	-	Reduces the duration of movement slowing effects.
Featherfoot	-	Improves the bonus movement speed provided and duration of Sprint.
Rushed Setup	-	Reduces the Energy cost of your crowd-control abilities.
Shadowheart	-	Leech increased by 2% while Stealthed.
Deadened Nerves	-	Causes you to take reduced Physical damage.
Shadow Dance	-	Shadow Dance has 1 additional charge.
Graceful Guile	-	Grants Feint an additional charge.
Stillshroud	-	Reduces the cooldown of Shroud of Concealment.
Deadly Precision	-	Increases the Critical Strike chance of all abilities that generate at least 1 Combo Point, including DoT effects caused by them.
Virulent Poisons	-	Increases the damage of your weapon poisons by 10%. Only Poisons that appear as a 60-minute duration buff are affected.
Recuperator	-	While Slice and Dice is active, you will heal for 1% of your max HP every 2 seconds.
> Improved Ambush	-	Causes your Ambush to generate 1 additional Combo Point.
> Tight Spender	-	Reduces the Energy cost of your finishing moves.
Swift Death	-	Reduces the cooldown of Symbols of Death by 5 seconds.
Improved Shadow Techniques	-	Causes Shadow Techniques to generate additional 3 Energy.
The First Dance	-	Causes you to gain 4 Combo Points when you cast Shadow Dance. This is a choice node shared with Master of Shadows.
Master of Shadows	-	Causes you to gain 25 Energy over 3 seconds when entering Stealth or casting Shadow Dance.
Relentless Strikes	-	Causes your finishing moves to generate 5 Energy per Combo Point spent.
Silent Storm	-	Increases the Critical Strike chance of your next Shuriken Storm by 100% when you enter Stealth, Vanish or Shadow Dance.
Premeditation	Premed	After entering Stealth, your next combo point-generating ability generates full combo points.
Planned Execution	-	Causes your Symbols of Death to increase your Critical Strike chance by 6%.
Warning Signs	-	Symbols of Death increases your Haste by 6%.
Improved Shadow Dance	-	Increases the duration of Shadow Dance by 1/2 seconds.
Shadowed Finishers	-	Causes Eviscerate and Black Powder to deal an additional 40% damage as Shadow to targets affected by Find Weakness.
Secret Stratagem	-	Increases your maximum Combo Points by 1 and causes your finishers to deal 5% increased damage.
Replicating Shadows	-	Causes your Rupture to deal an additional 20% damage as Shadow and applies to 1 additional enemy within 8 yards.
Weaponmaster	WM	Causes your Backstab and Shadowstrike to have a 15% chance to strike twice.
Shadow Focus	SF	Reduces Energy costs by 10% while Stealth or Shadow Dance is active.
Deepening Shadows	-	Increases the cooldown reduction on Shadow Dance by 0.5 seconds per Combo Point spent.
Veiltouched	-	Causes your abilities to deal 5% increased magic damage.

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Thistle Tea	-	A cooldown that immediately grants you 100 Energy and also increases your Mastery for 6 seconds. It has multiple charges.
Cold Blood	CB	Increases the critical strike chance of your next ability cast by 100%.
Flagellation	Flag	Causes each of your finishing moves used within next 12 seconds to deal additional Shadow damage to the target and increasing your Mastery by 2.5% per Combo Point spent. The Mastery bonus remains for additional 12 seconds after Flagellation ends. 1.5-minute cooldown.
Goremaw's Bite	Goremaw	Lashes out at the target, inflicting (270% of Attack power) Shadow damage and causing your next 3 finishing moves to cost no Energy.

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Leeching Poison	-	Grants 10% Leech. Leech allows you to heal for all your damage and healing, in this case, for 10% of it.
Lethality	-	Increases the critical strike chance and critical strike damage bonus of combo-point generating abilities.
Acrobatic Strikes	-	Increases the range of all your attacks by 3 yards, including the radius of AoE spells.
Alacrity	-	Grants your finishing moves a chance per Combo Point spent to increase your Haste.
Soothing Darkness	-	Provides a Healing over time effect when using Vanish or Shadow Dance.
Vigor	-	Increases your maximum Energy and Energy regeneration.
Supercharger	RC	Causes your next 1/2 finishing move to count as if it had spent 2 more combo points. (This has the same indicator on your combo points as the old Echoing Reprimand but it does not work the same way, its a finisher at any combo point)
Forced Induction	-	Increases the amount of combo points supercharger adds by 1. Causing it to function as +3 combo points instead of +2.
Echoing Reprimand	-	Causes your next Backstab (notably not Shadowstrike) to cause an additional hit for some damage.
Deeper Stratagem	DS/Deeüer	Increases your maximum Combo Points by 1 and causes your finishers to deal increased damage.
Inevitability	-	Causes your Backstab and Gloomblade to extend the duration of your Symbols of Death by 0.5 seconds per cast.
Perforated Veins	PV	After striking 4 times with Backstab or Gloomblade, your next attack that generates combo points deals 50% increased damage.
Lingering Shadow	-	After Shadow Dance ends, causes your Backstab and Gloomblade to deal additional 50 damage as Shadow, fading by 2.8 per second.
Death Perception	-	Gives you 1/2 additional charges of Symbols of Death and increases the damage done while its active by 3/6%.
Dark Shadow	-	Causes your Shadow Dance to increase your damage by an additional 15/30%.
Finality	-	Causes your Eviscerate, Rupture and Black Powder to increase damage of the next same finishing move by 15/30%.
The Rotten	-	After activating, causes your next 2 Shadowstrike, Backstab or Gloomblade deal 35% increased damage and are guaranteed to critically strike.
Shadowcraft	-	While Symbols of Death is active, your Shadow Techniques triggers 40% more frequently, stores 1 additional combo point, and finishing moves can use those stored when there are enough to refresh full combo points.
Danse Macabre	DM	Causes your Shadow Dance to increase the damage of your attacks that generate or spend Combo Points by 6%, increased by an additional 6% for each different attack used. Bonus resets when an attack is repeated.
Dark Brew	DB	Increases your Shadow damage by 10% and causes all of your abilities that deal either Nature or Bleed damage to deal Shadow damage instead.
Subterfuge	Subt/Subter	Abilities and combat benefits requiring Stealth remain active for 3/6 sec after Stealth breaks.
Without a Trace	-	Gives you an additional charge of Vanish.

You can only have one Lethal and one Non-Lethal Poison active at a time. These are the only abilities affected by talents that improve "Weapon Poison" damage or efficacy.

Ability	Type	Description/Effect
Instant Poison	Lethal	Deals Nature damage whenever it procs. You always have access to it. You always have access to it.
Wound Poison	Lethal	Deals a small amount of damage and reduces the efficacy of healing and absorb effects on your target, depending on how many stacks you have applied. You always have access to it.
Crippling Poison	Non-Lethal	Applies a slowing effect to the targets it is applied to. Bosses are immune to it. You always have access to it.
Numbing Poison	Non-Lethal	Reduces the target's attack and cast speed. You can talent into it in the Class tree. Does not stack with similar effects from other classes.
Atrophic Poison	Non-Lethal	Reduces the damage the target deals, not just to you, but also all your allies, as long as your target is the source of the damage dealt. You can talent into it in the Class tree.