Subtlety Rogue

Mirrors the current rank-1 Sinister Single parse — every slot is what the best Subtlety Rogue actually wears.

Midnight Season 2 · Deathstalker · updated 2026-08-05

Simulated DPS on the best-in-slot profile below, five-minute patchwerk. Compare every spec →

How it plays

• Eviscerate is both what you press most and where the damage comes from: 37% of it, at roughly 26 casts a minute.

Measured on the reference parse below, not a description of the spec — so it changes when the tuning does.

Stat priority

Mastery > Haste > Critical Strike > Versatility

These are not weights pulled from a spreadsheet — they are the live ratings on the reference character this build is taken from, so the order reflects what the best-performing Subtlety Rogue is actually stacking right now.

Source: Messerknecht — the log. Rank 1 Subtlety Rogue on Sinister Single (Dummy Dome), avg ilvl 336.

Talent build

Laid out exactly as the in-game talent UI draws it, hero tree Deathstalker. Lit nodes and gold lines are the path this build takes; everything dimmed was passed over. Hover any node for what it does.

Rotation

Spend at maximum combo points — 7 with Deeper Stratagem and Secret Stratagem. The one exception is Eviscerate under Darkest Night, which goes one combo point early.

Openers

Single target

1. Open from stealth with Shadowstrike.
2. Trinket, then Shadow Dance and Shadow Blades together.
3. Secret Technique as soon as the window is up.
4. Shadowstrike and Eviscerate until the Dance ends.
5. Hold the second Shadow Dance for the last eight seconds of Shadow Blades — that window is about fitting damage inside Shadow Blades, not about lining up Secret Technique.

Three or more targets

1. Open from stealth with Shuriken Storm.
2. Trinket, then Shadow Dance and Shadow Blades together.
3. Secret Technique, then Shuriken Storm into Black Powder.
4. Alternate Shuriken Storm and Black Powder for the rest of the window.

Where the damage comes from

Measured on the reference log — a 300-second single-target parse. Worth comparing against the rotation above: the button you press most is rarely the one doing the most.

Source: Sinister Single, 300s.

Best in slot

The finished loadout, built by Pathfinder — the strongest item available for every slot, with the item level to chase and where it drops. 335 average item level across 16 slots, gathered from 2 places.

Gaze of the Coiled Watcher 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — Ula'tek ✦ Empowered Hex of Leeching

Amulet of the Twin Fangs 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — The Twin Fangs ◆ Powerful Eversong Diamond

Chosen Bloodslayer's Voodoo Guards 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — The Lost Explorers ✦ Silvermoon's Mending

Adherent's Silken Shroud 331 · Spark Crafted +Myth Epic Profession Items — Tailoring

Chosen Bloodslayer's Banded Poncho 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — Vashnik the Malignant ✦ Mark of the Worldsoul

Aetherlume Bands 331 · Spark Crafted +Myth Epic Profession Items — Engineering

Ravenous Feaster's Fang 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — The Twin Fangs ✦ Acuity of the Ren'dorei

Slithering Savage's Gavel 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — Sszorak ✦ Acuity of the Ren'dorei

Subtlety Rogue 335 average item level

Chosen Bloodslayer's Fanged Grips 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — Entombed Sentinels ✦ Gloves Enchant (+3 Stamina)

Sash of the Forlorn Vessel 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — The Coiled Altar

Chosen Bloodslayer's Reinforced Pants 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — Sszorak ✦ Forest Hunter's Armor Kit

Bespittled Slitherslippers 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — The Twin Fangs ✦ Lynx's Dexterity

Vile Alchemist's Band 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — Vashnik the Malignant ✦ Nature's Fury◆ Flawless Deadly Amethyst

Apex Brute's Claw Ring 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — Sszorak ✦ Nature's Fury◆ Flawless Deadly Amethyst

Voracious Heart of Ula'tek 344 · Myth 9/6 (Mythic end-boss drop) The Venomous Abyss — Ula'tek

Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique 344 · Myth 9/6 (Mythic end-boss drop) The Venomous Abyss — The Coiled Altar

Where to spend bonus rolls as Subtlety Rogue

A Voidcore pays out an item every time — the question is only whether it is one you wanted. For this build, in order:

Roll Sszorak — 3 of its 4 drops are on your list

75% of every roll here lands something on the list. In The Venomous Abyss, it owes you legs, ring 2 and off hand.

Then The Twin Fangs — 3 of its 4 drops are on your list

75% of every roll here lands something on the list. In The Venomous Abyss, it owes you neck, feet and main hand.

The general principles behind this — knockout protection, why finishing one boss beats spreading rolls, and the crests a roll quietly costs you — are in the bonus roll guide.

Week-by-week route

1. Pre-season: the campaign, a world tour of Mythic 0s for a 292 loadout, and the weekly Spark quest. No Myth crests exist yet — bank the Spark.
2. Week 1: farm +10 keys to a full Hero 3/6 (311) loadout and fill the vault. The first Myth crests arrive, so spend the banked Spark on Adherent's Silken Shroud. Every Hero crest goes into lifting pieces toward 6/6 (321).
3. Week 2: first Voidcore — roll Sszorak, where 3 of 4 drops are on this list. Catalyse the set slots for the 4-set. Second Spark goes to Aetherlume Bands.
4. Weeks 3–6: one Voidcore a week down the order above — finish a boss before starting the next. Keep spending Hero crests; every slot should sit at 321 by about Week 6.
5. Week 7 onward: two Voidcores a week (the vault and Orin Straylight). Roll Myth-track bases in the set slots, re-catalyse them, and take each to 6/6 for 80 Myth and 20 Hero crests.
6. Late season: Voracious Heart of Ula'tek and Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique come from the last two bosses at Myth 9 (344). Secure the base items early — that is the only place the extra three ranks exist.

The fast variant

There isn't one for Subtlety Rogue. Slate builds its list around the quickest route and Pathfinder around raw power, and for this spec they reach for the same 16 items — so there is no trade to make between finishing sooner and hitting harder. Chase the list above.