Assassination Rogue
Melee DPS
Mutilate, poisons and Venom: the dagger rogue that kills with the weapons, not the finishers alone.
Verified 2026-10-01
Build 1.60.1.70124
Kidney Shot poison burst (41/10/0)
ProjectionTheoryMutilate into a Kidney Shot that makes the target take 10% more damage, Cold Blood on the finisher, Venom so the poisons stick through a dispel. Combat is only hit, cheaper Sinister Strike and dodge.
41 / 10 / 0 (51 points)
Assassination
41 pts
3/3
5/5
3/3
2/2
2/3
1/1
5/5
5/5
1/1
3/5
2/2
1/1
2/2
5/5
1/1
Combat
10 pts
2/2
5/5
3/3
Subtlety
0 pts
Stat priority
- Hit
- Agility
- Crit
- Attack Power
- Stamina
Precision in the Combat splash is 3% hit. Do not import a Burning Crusade hit cap. Agility gives crit and dodge; Attack Power feeds the white hits that apply poison.
Best race
Runner-up: GnomeWill to Survive removes stuns, which is how you die in a stun-lock before Kidney Shot comes back. Perception finds the other Rogue. Sword Specialization does nothing for daggers, so it is not the reason.
Sword SpecializationIncreases your critical strike chance with all spells and attacks by 2% while you have a sword or two-handed sword equipped.
The Human SpiritSpirit increased by 5%.
PerceptionInstant, 3 min cooldown. Dramatically increases stealth detection for 20 sec.- Will to SurviveInstant, 3 min cooldown. Instantly removes all Stun effects.
Runner-up: UndeadIcy Veins picks Orc for Assassination: Blood Fury is 10% Attack Power for 15 seconds, Hardiness cuts stun duration by 20%, and Shatter Curse is the magic defensive. Axe Specialization does not apply to daggers.
Blood FuryInstant, 2 min cooldown. Increases Attack Power and Spell Power by 10% for 15 sec.
HardinessDuration of Stun effects on you reduced by 20%.
Axe SpecializationIncreases your critical strike chance with all spells and abilities by 1% while you have an axe or a two-handed axe equipped.
Shatter CurseInstant, 3 min cooldown. Instantly removes and grants immunity to all Curses and Banes, and reduces all Magical damage taken by 15% for 8 sec.
Enchants
| Slot | Enchant | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Hands | Enchant Gloves - Superior StrengthName seen on a BlizzCon demo enchanting vendor; the amount is not published. | Datamined |
| Neck | Enchant Necklace - StrengthNeck enchants are new to Forever. Name only, amount not published. | Datamined |
| Back | Enchant Cloak - AgilityName only, amount not published. | Datamined |
| Wrist | Enchant Bracer - Superior DeflectionName only, amount not published. | Datamined |
Rank-gear path
- R1Private / Scout750 ptsFaction Tabard
- R2Corporal / Grunt1,650 ptsInsignia Trinket
- R3Sergeant / Sergeant2,700 ptsFaction Cloak
- R4Master Sergeant / Senior Sergeant3,900 ptsFaction Necklace
- R5Sergeant Major / First Sergeant5,250 ptsCombat Potions
- R6Knight / Stone Guard6,750 ptsElite Faction Tabard
- R7Knight-Lieutenant / Blood Guard8,400 ptsBattle Standard (15% max health aura, 10 min cooldown)
- R8Knight-Captain / Legionnaire10,200 ptsElite Wrist · Elite Waist
- R9Knight-Champion / Centurion12,150 ptsElite Boots
- R10Lieutenant Commander / Champion14,250 ptsElite Gloves
- R11Commander / Lieutenant General16,600 ptsBlack War Mounts
- R12Marshal / General19,100 ptsElite Legs · Elite Shoulders
- R13Field Marshal / Warlord21,750 ptsElite Chest · Elite Helmet
- R14Grand Marshal / High Warlord24,750 ptsWeapon Arsenal
Daggers from the R14 arsenal (the Dirk and the Mageblade-adjacent one-handers) matter more than armor. The R2 Insignia is the stun break that lets you Kidney Shot back. Rank rewards are datamined beta numbers and may change. Rare PvP gear is not rank-locked but needs level 55; Elite pieces are Emboldened Seal upgrades. R2 Insignia trinket (3,500 Honor, 2,000 more for the epic version) is the stun break. R3 Faction Cloak is 10 Arathi Basin Marks plus 3,000 Honor. Elite wrists and waist are R8, boots R9, gloves R10, legs and shoulders R12, chest and helm R13. R14 unlocks the weapon arsenal. The R7 Battle Standard is a 15% max-health aura on a 10-minute cooldown — carry it if you anchor a node or a flag team.
How to play it
- Cheap Shot or Garrote to open, Mutilate to 5, Kidney Shot, Cold Blood, Eviscerate or Venom. Venom if the healer is still up and you need the poisons to live through a dispel.
- Instant Poison on the main hand, Wound or Crippling on the off hand in battlegrounds. Icy Veins wants Instant on both for pure PvE damage; PvP wants the slow.
- Kick the heal. Improved Kick is not in this split. The 10 Combat points went to hit and energy, not the silence.
- Gouge to restealth or to stop a cast you cannot Kick. Improved Gouge adds 1.5 seconds.
- You are the healer killer, not the flag carrier. Sprint is the escape. You do not have Improved Sprint here.
Verdict
Assassination is the poison spec. Mutilate hits with both weapons and hits 20% harder on a poisoned target. Venom, the capstone, adds 30% poison damage and 10% apply chance for up to 21 seconds at five combo points. Vile Poisons is 20% poison damage and 40% less chance they get dispelled. Improved Poisons is 10% more applications and a 50% chance not to spend a charge.
Icy Veins’ level-20 Assassination guide calls it the king of poisons and builds the first 11 points as Remorseless Attacks, Malice, Ruthlessness and Relentless Strikes. That page still says Gnome Eureka! is a massive damage boost. Sep 24 cut Eureka! to 10% cost and 10% damage on the next three abilities. Escape Artist is still the reason a leveling Gnome is fine. It is not a 50% button.
wowforever.co shows Assassination at A on MMOExp and Overgear and at C on the Sep-16 forum list. No level-60 log exists. Human Sword Specialization does not apply to daggers, so it is not the PvE pick.
Play Assassination when the fight is long enough for poisons to tick and you can stay on one target. Play Combat if the weapons you have are swords and the pack is large. The 51-point splits are projections. The opening of the leveling order is the Icy Veins level-20 path.
Strengths
- Venom plus Vile Poisons is the highest poison multiplier in the tree, and Improved Poisons makes the charges last.
- Cold Blood makes the next Mutilate, Backstab or Eviscerate a guaranteed crit. Seal Fate then adds a combo point on crits.
- Murder is 4% damage against Humanoids and Giants. Most dungeon and battleground targets are one of those.
- Improved Kidney Shot makes stunned targets take 10% more damage from you. That is the PvP go.
Weaknesses
- Icy Veins: at low levels Rogue offers damage and Kick, not unique group buffs. Sap and Blind come later.
- Daggers want you behind the target for Backstab. Mutilate does not, which is why it is the button when you cannot get there.
- Poisons have charges. Icy Veins warns you will run out of charges before the duration if you chain mobs and forget to reapply.
- Public rank is A or C depending on the list. Nothing has been tested at 60.
Sources
- World of Warcraft: Forever Assassination Rogue Guide — Icy Veins, 2026-09-17reputable
- WoW Forever Racial Guide — Icy Veins, 2026-09-28reputable
- WoW Forever - PvP Rank System Explained — Icy Veins, 2026-09-19reputable
- New Enchanting Formulas for World of Warcraft Forever — Warcraft Tavern, 2026-09-17reputable
- WoW Forever Patch Notes: every beta update, class by class — ForeverChanges, 2026-09-30fan
- WoW Forever Tier List: Every Public Ranking, Compared — wowforever.co, 2026-10-01fan