Assassination Rogue leveling guide
Assassination turns a Rogue into a poison expert with two daggers. Mutilate builds two combo points at once, Envenom turns your Deadly Poison into a big hit, and Hunger for Blood adds damage to everything you do. Quick Recovery and Overkill keep your energy flowing, so enemies in Northrend go down fast and one after the other.
Strengths and weaknesses
- Mutilate and Seal Fate fill your combo points very quickly.
- Envenom and Deadly Poison deal steady nature damage.
- Cold Blood gives a guaranteed critical strike when you need it.
- Needs two daggers, and has little to deal with several enemies before Fan of Knives at 80.
Talents by level
At level 70
- In Assassination: Improved Eviscerate 2/3, Malice 5/5, Ruthlessness 3/3, Puncturing Wounds 3/3, Vigor, Lethality 5/5, Vile Poisons 3/3 and Improved Poisons 5/5.
- Cold Blood, Quick Recovery 2/2, Seal Fate 5/5, Murder 2/2, Overkill, Focused Attacks 3/3, Master Poisoner 3/3 and Mutilate.
- Cut to the Chase 5/5 and Hunger for Blood, for 51 points. In Combat: Dual Wield Specialization 5/5 and Precision 5/5.
Level 71 to 80
- Close Quarters Combat 5/5 and Lightning Reflexes 3/3.
- Improved Slice and Dice 2/2, for 20 points in Combat.
Rotation
One enemy
- Garrote from stealth, then Hunger for Blood while the bleed ticks.
- Mutilate to build combo points, and Envenom at four or five of them.
- Cut to the Chase refreshes Slice and Dice with every Envenom, so cast Slice and Dice only once per fight.
Two enemies
- Kill the first enemy with Cold Blood and Envenom, and Kidney Shot the second one while you do.
- Fan of Knives from level 80 hits everything around you and applies your poisons.
Staying alive
- Evasion against melee enemies and Cloak of Shadows against spells.
- Vanish and Blind when a fight goes wrong, and Sprint to get away.
- Instant Poison on the main hand and Deadly Poison on the off hand, and bandages between fights.
Leveling route
| Level | Alliance | Horde |
|---|---|---|
| 70-72 | Borean Tundra (Valiance Keep), Howling Fjord (Valgarde) | Borean Tundra (Warsong Hold), Howling Fjord (Vengeance Landing) |
| 72-74 | Dragonblight (Wintergarde Keep) | Dragonblight (Agmar’s Hammer) |
| 74-75 | Grizzly Hills (Amberpine Lodge) | Grizzly Hills (Conquest Hold) |
| 75-76 | Zul’Drak (Zim’Torga) | Zul’Drak (Zim’Torga) |
| 76-78 | Sholazar Basin (Nesingwary Base Camp) | Sholazar Basin (Nesingwary Base Camp) |
| 78-80 | The Storm Peaks (K3), Icecrown (Argent Vanguard) | The Storm Peaks (K3), Icecrown (Argent Vanguard) |
Dungeons worth the detour: Utgarde Keep and The Nexus from level 70, Azjol-Nerub and Ahn’kahet: The Old Kingdom around 72, and Drak’Tharon Keep and The Violet Hold from 74.
Stats, weapons and tradeskills
- Attack Power and Agility first, then Hit, Haste, Crit and Expertise.
- Two daggers, with the slower one on the main hand for Mutilate.
- Enchants: Mongoose or Berserking on the weapons, Crusher on the gloves and Greater Assault on the bracers.
- Tradeskills: Skinning with Leatherworking for leather gear and Fur Lining on the bracers.