World of Warcraft: Forever · class guide
Assassination Rogue
Melee damage
Daggers in both hands, 
Mutilate for two combo points at a time, and poisons doing a big share of the damage. Comes online at 30.
Assassination builds with Mutilate, which strikes with both daggers for two combo points and hits poisoned targets 20% harder, and spends them on Slice and Dice and Eviscerate, with Cold Blood for a guaranteed crit. From 40, Venom adds 30% poison damage as a second buff to keep up, and Seal Fate turns builder crits into extra points. It leans on poisons more than any spec, so it is the most exposed to the open question of how poisons scale, and to poison-immune enemies.
Strengths and weaknesses
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Mutilate builds two combo points a strike and hits poisoned targets 20% harder | Comes online only at 30 |
| Poisons do a big share of the damage | Needs daggers in both hands |
| Cold Blood gives a guaranteed crit | Most exposed to poison-immune enemies and to unproven poison scaling |
| Venom adds 30% poison damage from 40 | Venom and Slice and Dice are two buffs to keep up at 40+ |
| Seal Fate turns builder crits into extra combo points |
Stat priority
- Dagger damage (both hands)
- Hit
- Agility
- Critical strike
- Attack power
- Stamina
Mutilate requires daggers, so dagger upgrades come first in both hands. Rank weapon damage, then hit, then Agility, then crit for every Rogue spec; alternatively, put Agility first at level 20. Hit is one stat across melee, ranged and spells in Forever, and so is crit; both cover poisons, so Precision and Malice help your poisons too.
Do this
- Use daggers in both hands; Mutilate won't work without them.
- Keep a poison on each weapon: Mutilate does 20% more to a poisoned target.
- Finish with Sinister Strike for the last combo point sometimes, to save energy.
- Watch for Ruthlessness procs that leave a point on the target after a finisher.
Watch out for
- Venom and Slice and Dice are two buffs to keep up at 40+: letting either drop costs more than a late Eviscerate.
- Poison scaling is unproven: a test found Instant Poison didn't grow with attack power.
- Builds that put Venom before Mutilate are impossible: Venom requires Mutilate.
- Improved Kidney Shot no longer raises the group's damage, only yours.