Updates for Wrath

[un4]

Double wounding poison does more damage than any other combination.

Our new base hit cap is believed to be 885.33.  With precision, that turns into 754.83... with precision and a draenei in the raid, 723.33.

Expertise cap (undodgable - unparryable is way too much to go for) is 213.13.

Raid bosses (looks like heroic bosses, as well) lower your crit chance against them by an estimated 3%.

Mutilate is supposedly the best DPS spec, but I do 2k DPS consistantly with a combat spec, [item]Greed[/item] (H CoT Strath), and [item]Fang of Truth[/item] (Wyrmrest honored).  When mutilate specced with [item]Librarian's Paper Cutter[/item]x2, I did 1.7k on bosses and 1.2k on trash.  I'll try again later when the dual spec system is up and when I have Naxx-level daggers.

This is my spec.  I have 3k unbuffed AP, ~260 hit rating, 12 (lol) expertise, 61 haste rating, ~5.5% armor penetration, and 26% crit.

I don't use rupture except in pvp.  I've been getting 7-9k eviscerate crits on armor-heavy bosses and since threat isn't an issue for tanks any more, I don't see any need to change.

For glyphs, I'm using [item]Glyph of Vigor[/item], [item]Glyph of Sinister Strike[/item], and [item]Glyph of Slice and Dice[/item].  These are money.  Minor glyphs arn't that important, but [item]Glyph of Blurred Speed[/item] and [item]Glyph of Safe Fall[/item] are extremely useful.

Because of my glyphs and spec, I don't need to follow the standard 3/5/5 rotation.  I don't use SnD on trash unless it's got a ton of health and group/raid DPS is low.  Instead, I just power through with five CP of SS (note: because of the glyph, that's not necessarily five) and then eviscerate.  With the 60% chance for a combo point from [spell=Ruthlessness]Ruthlessness[/spell], I may SnD or just keep SS spamming depending on the mob's health.

On bosses:
SS three times to get my energy to about half.  [spell=Killing Spree]Killing Spree[/spell] then goes off while my energy regenerates.  SS to get my CPs up to five, Eviscerate, SnD if Ruthlessness procs.  If not, SS once, SnD.  Burn energy down to about 1/3, pop ADR, repeat SS/Eviscerate spam and SnD as needed.  If the boss doesn't have adds that need to be burned, I use [spell=Blade Flurry]Blade Flurry[/spell] to supplement my SnD - 30% attack speed increase + 20% attack speed increase = money.  If there's a shaman who I know will be using [spell=heroism]Heroism[/spell], then I save BF until (s)he pops it.  Heroism, SnD, BF, and [spell=Improved Icy Talons]Improved Icy Talons[/spell] or Windfury totem makes for a potent combination.  My MH attack speed drops to about a second, and my OH is at 0.49... this means that I get some crazy energy regeneration from [spell=Combat Potency]Combat Potency[/spell], and supplements my burst damage when we need it most.

[Trismus]

Just figured I would update this since information has changed. I will include poison setups, rotations, links to spreadsheets, and of course Specs.


DPS simulation spreadsheet:

http://elitistjerks.com/f78/t51449-rogue_dps_simulation_spreadsheet/

This will tell you how to use the spreadsheet, it provides an original link to the thread started by the creator of the spreadsheet, and allows you to plug in virtually ANY rotation, gear, etc as of 3.2.2

This guide deals with mainstream strategies and attitudes. Some people deviate, however these people are the exception and typically do not generate effectiveness equivalent to the mainstream rogues, either in terms of DPS or PvP viability. Niche specs are not dealt with, if you want information on those specs, please consult elitistjerks.com and your friendly neighborhood search engine.



The Breakdown:


0.0 Glossary

HfB = Hunger for Blood
SnD = Slice and Dice
Rup = Rupture
Mut = Mutilate
SS = Sinister Strike
AR = Adrenaline Rush
BF = Blade Flurry
MP = Master Poisoner
TtT = Turn the Tables
DB = Deadly Brew
ArP = Armor Penetration
TotT = Tricks of the Trade

1.0 Assassination

The abilities:

Mutilate for combo point generation, Envenom and Rupture as your two primary finishers. HfB and SnD will be used when they fade, however given an ideal rotation SnD will only have to be utilized once per boss fight. Eviscerate May become viable in the future should sufficient levels of ArP be attainable naively from gear (i.e. without gemming for it) however at the moment eviscerate based assassination rotations are not the norm.

The Spec:

Cookie cutter is as follows. There are alternatives, some of which use 13 points in subtlety, however those are situational and not the norm.

Level 80 Rogue (51/13/7)

Assassination (51 points)

    Malice - Rank 5/5
    Increases your critical strike chance by 5%.

    Ruthlessness - Rank 3/3
    Gives your melee finishing moves a 60% chance to add a combo point to your target.

    Blood Spatter - Rank 2/2
    Increases the damage caused by your Garrote and Rupture abilities by 30%.

    Puncturing Wounds - Rank 3/3
    Increases the critical strike chance of your Backstab ability by 30%, and the critical strike chance of your Mutilate ability by 15%.

    Lethality - Rank 5/5
    Increases the critical strike damage bonus of all combo point-generating abilities that do not require stealth by 30%.

    Vile Poisons - Rank 3/3
    Increases the damage dealt by your poisons and Envenom ability by 20% and gives your damage over time poisons an additional 30% chance to resist dispel effects.

    Improved Poisons - Rank 5/5
    Increases the chance to apply Deadly Poison to your target by 10% and the frequency of applying Instant Poison to your target by 50%.

    Cold Blood - Rank 1/1
    When activated, increases the critical strike chance of your next offensive ability by 100%.

    Seal Fate - Rank 5/5
    Your critical strikes from abilities that add combo points have a 100% chance to add an additional combo point.

    Murder - Rank 2/2
    Increases all damage caused against Humanoid, Giant, Beast and Dragonkin targets by 4%.

    Overkill - Rank 1/1
    While stealthed, and for 20 seconds after breaking stealth, you regenerate 30% additional energy.

    Focused Attacks - Rank 3/3
    Your melee critical strikes have a 100% chance to give you 2 energy.

    Find Weakness - Rank 3/3
    Offensive ability damage increased by 6%.

    Master Poisoner - Rank 3/3
    Increases the critical hit chance of all attacks made against any target you have poisoned by 3%, reduces the duration of all Poison effects applied to you by 50%, and gives Envenom a 100% chance not to consume Deadly Poison.

    Mutilate - Rank 1/1
    Instantly attacks with both weapons for an additional 181 with each weapon. Damage is increased by 20% against Poisoned targets. Awards 2 combo points.

    Cut to the Chase - Rank 5/5
    Your Eviscerate and Envenom abilities have a 100% chance to refresh your Slice and Dice duration to its 5 combo point maximum.

    Hunger For Blood - Rank 1/1
    Enrages you, increasing all damage caused by 15%. Requires a bleed effect to be active on the target. Lasts 1 min.

Combat (13 points)

    Dual Wield Specialization - Rank 5/5
    Increases the damage done by your offhand weapon by 50%.

    Precision - Rank 5/5
    Increases your chance to hit with weapon and poison attacks by 5%.

    Close Quarters Combat - Rank 3/5
    Increases your chance to get a critical strike with Daggers and Fist Weapons by 3%.

Subtlety (7 points)

    Relentless Strikes - Rank 5/5
    Your finishing moves have a 20% chance per combo point to restore 25 energy.

    Opportunity - Rank 2/2
    Increases the damage dealt with your Backstab, Mutilate, Garrote and Ambush abilities by 20%.

Glyphs

    Glyph of Hunger for Blood (Major Glyph)
    Increases the bonus damage from Hunger For Blood by 3%.

    Glyph of Mutilate (Major Glyph)
    Reduces the cost of Mutilate by 5 energy.

    Glyph of Rupture (Major Glyph)
    Increases the duration of Rupture by 4 sec.



SPEC LINK:

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#f0ef0exoVboIuVo0xV0hZxb:ITf

***PLEASE NOTE***

Glyph of Rupture can be subbed out for virtually any glyph you desire. I find it helps to maximize rupture uptime, however ANY glyph can be substituted so long as it is helpful to YOU for the spec, gear, and rotation YOU choose. The reason is that all dps increases are situational. If you consistently encounter other rogues having a ToTT glyph can be helpful, for instance.


The rotation:

The primary goal of Assassination is to Keep HfB, SnD, and Envenom up as much as possible. Greater Envenom uptime means more instant poison procs, which means more damage. This ability to use a ruptureless cycle is dependent upon gear, so please consult the above spreadsheet for a firm answer.

Keep vanish on Cooldown in order to keep Overkill up. Disregard if fight requires use of vanish in a gimmick. Currently no fights do.


Gearing and Gemming:

Agility > Attack Power > Haste > ArP Assuming one is at hitcap and expertise cap.

Hit should be over 9% but most rogues tend to keep it around the 400 hit rating level. DO NOT GEM FOR IT UNLESS YOU ARE BELOW CAP.

Expertise should be 6.5%.

Please note, if you are below the cap on expertise you may or may not want to gem for it, in general, consult a spreadsheet for specifics. For assassination the cap for expertise is less important, however it is still a dps stat and it's exact value is determined by your other available gear.

Once your special abilities are crit capped you should gem pure attack power as agility no longer benefits to the highest degree. How do you determine your crit cap? Essentially, add up all the chances you have to critically hit a mob, such as set bonuses, talents, etc. Now, once that is added up calculate your chance to miss or glance. For more accurate information about your gear consult the spreadsheet I linked above, however most rogues seem to sit around 60-70%, give or take.


2.0 Combat

THIS SECTION WILL BE ADDED SOON.

[Belandand]

In certain cases it is advised to gem for AP over agil. While it's true that agil gives AP and crit, posts arue that you should agil stack when you have 4/5 t8. Until then, max out you poison/envenom/rupture dmg by stacking AP.

[Jilinna]

Thanks Tris for the info!
 
I've always wanted to try out assassination, at least for PVP sake, but never really got a chance to try it yet because it is a lot different then combat spec, and you have cleared some things about assassination rogues for me so i definitely will give this a try thanks! 

What i haven't had anytime to look at is weapon swapping, and when weapon swapping comes into play or not.

[Trismus]

I will add much more to this, I just got sick of writing after all that time and a full day of class. I will update it and add a PvP section as well, because PvP assassination is very weird.

[Emmalina]

I believe weapon swapping dies with the changes in 3.3.