TBC Classic Guide
Rogue class icon

Assassination Rogue

Melee DPS medium demand

A poison-focused spec that deals strong sustained damage with Mutilate daggers.

How It Feels to Play

Assassination in TBC is the Mutilate spec. You dual-wield daggers, apply poisons, and Mutilate generates two combo points per hit. The rotation is smooth: Mutilate to build points, Envenom (or Slice and Dice) to spend them, keep your poisons applied. It's rhythmic and satisfying.

The spec really comes alive with good daggers. Mutilate's damage scales off both weapons, and with Instant Poison proccing off every hit, your sustained damage is excellent. Cold Blood gives you a guaranteed crit on a finisher every few minutes, which is great for burst moments.

Assassination is competitive with Combat for raid DPS, especially in later tiers when you have better daggers. The main downside is that you're locked into daggers, so if the best weapons dropping are swords or fist weapons, you can't use them. It's a spec that rewards patience and the right loot drops.

Complexity

Strengths

  • Strong sustained single-target damage
  • Smooth, rhythmic rotation with Mutilate
  • Excellent poison synergy and Envenom damage

Pain Points

  • Locked into daggers; can't use swords or fist weapons
  • Needs good dagger drops to be competitive
  • Less cleave/AoE capability than Combat

Demand & Supply

medium demand

Competitive with Combat for raid DPS, especially with good daggers. Raids typically bring 1-2 Rogues total regardless of spec.

Talent Build

Mutilate Assassination DPS

41/20/0
Mutilate
Instantly attacks with both weapons, dealing 101% weapon damage each, generating 2 combo points
Cold Blood
Your next offensive ability is guaranteed to crit
Find Weakness
Your finishing moves have a 50% chance to bypass 50% of the target's armor for 10 seconds
Seal Fate
Your critical strikes from abilities have a 100% chance to add an additional combo point

41 into Assassination for Mutilate, 20 into Combat for Precision (5% hit), Dual Wield Specialization, and Blade Twisting. Mutilate is your combo point builder (requires daggers in both hands), and Envenom is your finisher. Keep Slice and Dice up first, then Envenom. Cold Blood + Envenom is your burst combo.

Stat Priority

Hit Rating (9% cap / 142 rating)
100
Expertise (6.5% / 26 skill)
85
Agility
80
Critical Strike Rating
75
Attack Power
65
Haste Rating
55

Hit cap ensures Mutilate and your poisons land. Expertise reduces dodges from behind the boss. Agility gives crit and Attack Power, both of which scale well with the Assassination tree. Haste speeds up your energy-based rotation indirectly through faster auto-attacks and poison procs.

Pre-Raid Best in Slot

Slot Item Source
head Wastewalker Helm Wastewalker Helm Epoch Hunter - Old Hillsbrad Foothills (Heroic) Epoch Hunter - Old Hillsbrad Foothills (Heroic)
neck Choker of Vile Intent Choker of Vile Intent Revered - Keepers of Time Revered - Keepers of Time
shoulders Wastewalker Shoulderpads Wastewalker Shoulderpads Warp Splinter - The Botanica Warp Splinter - The Botanica
back Auchenai Death Shroud Auchenai Death Shroud Exarch Maladaar - Auchenai Crypts Exarch Maladaar - Auchenai Crypts
chest Tunic of Assassination Tunic of Assassination Quest - Wanted: Pathaleon the Calculator's Head Quest - Wanted: Pathaleon the Calculator's Head
wrists Nightfall Wristguards Nightfall Wristguards Murmur - Shadow Labyrinth (Heroic) Murmur - Shadow Labyrinth (Heroic)
hands Wastewalker Gloves Wastewalker Gloves Quagmirran - The Slave Pens (Heroic) Quagmirran - The Slave Pens (Heroic)
waist Girdle of the Deathdealer Girdle of the Deathdealer Warp Splinter - The Botanica (Heroic) Warp Splinter - The Botanica (Heroic)
legs Wastewalker Leggings Wastewalker Leggings Warlord Kalithresh - The Steamvault Warlord Kalithresh - The Steamvault
feet Boots of the Unjust Boots of the Unjust Warchief Kargath Bladefist - The Shattered Halls Warchief Kargath Bladefist - The Shattered Halls
ring Shapeshifter's Signet Shapeshifter's Signet Exalted - Lower City Exalted - Lower City
ring A'dal's Command A'dal's Command Quest - How to Break Into the Arcatraz Quest - How to Break Into the Arcatraz
trinket Hourglass of the Unraveller Hourglass of the Unraveller Temporus - The Black Morass Temporus - The Black Morass
trinket Bloodlust Brooch Bloodlust Brooch 41 Badges - G'eras (Shattrath) 41 Badges - G'eras (Shattrath)
main hand Latro's Shifting Sword Latro's Shifting Sword Aeonus - The Black Morass Aeonus - The Black Morass
off hand The Harvester of Souls The Harvester of Souls Exarch Maladaar - Auchenai Crypts (Heroic) Exarch Maladaar - Auchenai Crypts (Heroic)
ranged Mama's Insurance Mama's Insurance Quest - The Smallest Creatures (Netherstorm) Quest - The Smallest Creatures (Netherstorm)

Rotation & Priority

41 into Assassination for Mutilate, 20 into Combat for Precision (5% hit), Dual Wield Specialization, and Blade Twisting. Mutilate is your combo point builder (requires daggers in both hands), and Envenom is your finisher. Keep Slice and Dice up first, then Envenom. Cold Blood + Envenom is your burst combo.

Progression Path

1
Level to 70

Quest through Outland, run dungeons for gear along the way.

2
Normal Dungeons

Farm reputation to Revered for Heroic keys. Replace leveling greens.

3
Heroic Dungeons

Collect your Pre-Raid BiS gear and Badge of Justice items.

4
Karazhan & T4

Enter your first raid. Collect Tier 4 tokens and epic drops.

5
T5 & Beyond

Progress into SSC, Tempest Keep, Black Temple, and Sunwell.

View the full dungeon progression guide →

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