Wiki / Classes / Rogue

Melee · Subtlety

Rogue

Open, stun, burst

Health 454ControlBurstMobile

Overview

Start every fight from Stealth and chain Cheap Shot into Gouge. Build Hemorrhage, then spend it all on Backstab.

How to play

  • Open from Stealth, never head-on.
  • Backstab at three Hemorrhage stacks.
  • Keep Rupture rolling between stuns.

Key passives

  • Stealth & Ambush

    5 sec out of combat: Stealth, +20% speed. Opener: next Backstab in 4 sec +20%.

  • Opportunist

    +10% damage to stunned, rooted or incapacitated targets, else +4% to slowed or +6% under 30% health.

  • Hemorrhage

    Each stack (max 3, 8 sec): +4% damage to the target and a 12 / 20 / 28 bleed.

  • Slip Away

    Trinketing out of crowd control grants a 24 absorb for 2 sec.

Action bar

Hover or tap a spell for its in-game tooltip. Default keybinds.

Subtlety

Hemorrhage1
Cheap Shot2
Backstab3
RuptureE
Gouge4
Shadow BladesQ
Cloak of Shadows5
ShadowstepSpace
Kick6
Gladiator's MedallionV

Outlaw Swashbuckler talent · Keystone row

Sinister Strike1
Cheap Shot2
Between the Eyes3
Pistol ShotE
Gouge4
Adrenaline RushQ
Cloak of Shadows5
Grappling HookSpace
Kick6
Gladiator's MedallionV

Abilities

1

Hemorrhage

Physical

Melee rangeInstant2.6 sec cooldown

Deals 43 Physical damage, applies a Hemorrhage stack and reduces movement speed by 30% for 1.4 sec.

Up to 3 stacks. Each one bleeds and increases your damage to the target.

2

Cheap Shot

Physical

Melee rangeInstant2 charges · 10 sec recharge

Stuns the target for 3.4 sec and deals 6 Physical damage. Applies 3 Hemorrhage stacks.

3

Backstab

Physical

Melee rangeInstant

Consumes all Hemorrhage stacks. From behind: 47 Physical damage plus 14 per stack. From the front: 25 plus 7 per stack.

Needs at least 1 stack.

E

Rupture

Physical

Melee rangeInstant9 sec cooldown

Deals 9 Physical damage and causes the target to bleed for 120 damage over 8 sec.

Works from any angle.

4

Gouge

Physical

Melee rangeInstant12 sec cooldown

Deals 8 Physical damage and incapacitates the target for 2.1 sec. Damage breaks the effect.

Your next Backstab on the target counts as from behind.

Q

Shadow Blades

Instant60 sec cooldown

For 8 sec Hemorrhage recharges 2 times as fast and reaches 40% farther. Hits on crowd-controlled targets apply all 3 stacks.

Off the global cooldown.

5

Cloak of Shadows

Instant38 sec cooldown

Immune to spell damage, magic effects and interrupts for 4 sec. Physical damage taken reduced by 40%.

Removes harmful magic damage over time effects.

Space

Shadowstep

Physical

26 yd rangeInstant2 charges · 16 sec recharge

Steps behind an enemy, or to an ally to escape.

Does not break Stealth.

6

Kick

Physical

Melee rangeInstant10 sec cooldown

Interrupts spellcasting and prevents any spell in that school from being cast for 1.5 sec.

V

Gladiator's Medallion

Instant50 sec cooldown

Removes all stuns, roots, slows, Polymorph, Fear, Blind, Gouge and Cyclone effects. Only usable while crowd-controlled.

Talents

One pick per row, or leave a row on the stock kit.

1Keystone

Shadow Dance

Shadowstep briefly puts you back into Stealth.

Shadowstep puts you into Stealth for 1.5 sec, so your next Cheap Shot or Backstab opens from stealth. Taking damage doesn't break it.

Shadowstep has 1 charge (was 2).

Step in mid-fight and open again with Cheap Shot.

Garrote

Gouge becomes a 3 second silence.

Silences for 3 sec and stops the spell they're casting. Damage doesn't break it.

No incapacitate: they can still move and attack.

Use it on healers and casters. Against melee, keep Gouge.

Swashbuckler

Become an Outlaw Rogue.

Sinister Strike, Pistol Shot and Between the Eyes replace your Subtlety kit, Grappling Hook replaces Shadowstep, and you heal from your damage.

No Backstab burst, no Rupture and no Shadowstep. Your big hits are smaller.

Take it when you'd rather stay on a target than play angles.

2Tactics

Kidney Shot

Cheap Shot spends your Hemorrhage stacks for a longer stun.

Cheap Shot spends the target's expose stacks: +0.5 sec stun per stack, up to 4.9 sec at 3 stacks.

1 charge instead of 2, and Cheap Shot no longer fills expose stacks for Backstab (Swashbuckler: Between the Eyes).

Build stacks first, then open the kill or the healer swap with a long stun.

Feint Kick

Kick comes back quickly if the target wasn't casting.

Kick on a target that isn't casting refunds 6 sec of its cooldown.

Lockout 1.2 sec (was 1.5).

Kick early to bait a fake cast without losing it.

Crippling Poison

Hemorrhage slows more with each stack.

Hemorrhage slows by 30% / 38% / 45% at 1 / 2 / 3 expose stacks, for 2 sec (was 1.4).

Hemorrhage damage 40 (was 44); Sinister Strike 18 (was 22).

Strong into kiting casters and Hunters. Keep stacks up rather than spending early.

3Style

Assassin's Edge

Backstab from behind hits harder, or Between the Eyes as Outlaw.

Backstab from behind (Swashbuckler: Between the Eyes, any angle) deals 20% more damage.

6% less maximum health.

Set up the back angle with Gouge or Shadowstep, then spend your stacks.

Cheat Death

A killing blow leaves you alive and nearly untouchable for a moment.

A hit that would kill you leaves you at 10% health instead, and you take 85% less damage for 3 sec.

Once every 90 sec. A Cheat Death debuff shows while it recharges.

Those 3 sec are your window: Cloak, Shadowstep out or Gouge the killer and reset.

Slippery

Cloak of Shadows also breaks roots and slows and lets you slip away from melee.

Cloak of Shadows also removes roots and slows and grants 40% movement speed for 3 sec. While Cloak is up, Hemorrhage and Pistol Shot slow the target by 50% for 2 sec.

Cloak of Shadows cooldown 44 sec (from 38) and physical damage reduction 30% (from 40%).

Your answer to double melee: Cloak out of a root, kite, and keep them slowed on the way out.