Subtlety Rogue

Talents by level

ForeverDB's levelling build and Icy Veins' level 30 build are point-for-point the same. Wowhead takes a different route.

The 21–30 row for ForeverDB and Icy Veins lists the points added after 20; Wowhead's level 30 build is shown in full.

Icy Veins' levelling page swaps the fourth Camouflage point for Elusiveness, then takes Preparation and a second Elusiveness point before moving into Assassination (Remorseless Attacks, Malice, Ruthlessness, Improved Slice and Dice, Relentless Strikes, Lethality) and Combat (Improved Eviscerate, Lightning Reflexes, Precision). That ends at 19/9/23. It says there's little reason to go deeper in Subtlety while levelling once you have Hemorrhage. For Legacy points, Icy Veins suggests Preparation and Remorseless Attacks; Wowhead suggests Dirty Deeds, Preparation and Ghostly Strike. ForeverDB's group build trades Setup for Dirty Tricks and Elusiveness.

WoWSims has two level 60 Subtlety builds. "Subtlety Hemo" (20/0/31) takes Quietus and Thousand Cuts with Assassination's Malice, Ruthlessness, Murder, Improved Slice and Dice, Relentless Strikes, Lethality, Cold Blood and Improved Poisons. "Subtlety BS" (12/8/31) takes Cutthroat and Thousand Cuts for a dagger build, with Puncturing Wounds from Combat.

Rotation and priorities

• Wowhead (level 30): Always open with Garrote from Stealth, and use Vanish and Preparation to reapply Garrote once it has run out. Keep Slice and Dice up. Expose Armor for physical groups. Spend spare points on Eviscerate against low armour and Rupture against high armour, and otherwise press Hemorrhage.
• Icy Veins: Always open with Ambush. Before 30, build with Backstab from behind or Sinister Strike from the front. From 30, use Hemorrhage for every combo point. Use Rupture on targets that will live its full duration; Icy Veins rates it above Slice and Dice at 30. Pull threat? Evasion (Setup turns the dodges into combo points) or Vanish.
• ForeverDB: Premeditation then Ambush for 4 combo points, or Premeditation then Cheap Shot for 5 on a dangerous mob. Build with Hemorrhage and use Ghostly Strike when ready. Eviscerate on short fights, Rupture on long ones. In groups, keep Hemorrhage's debuff on the boss and use 5-point Ruptures (builds).
• WoWSims, level 60 (default APL): Open with Garrote, use Vanish to open again and Preparation once Vanish is on cooldown. Premeditation at 3 points or fewer. Ambush whenever Cutthroat procs. Keep Slice and Dice up. Rupture at 3 or more points when Hemorrhage's debuff is on the target or Thousand Cuts is talented. Eviscerate at 5 points, but with Thousand Cuts only while Rupture has at least 4 seconds left. For builders, Ghostly Strike comes first. The Hemorrhage build then presses Hemorrhage, while the Backstab build uses Hemorrhage only to keep its debuff up and fills with Backstab.

Levelling

Stealth does little until Ambush at 18, and Backstab is hard to land solo before Hemorrhage (Icy Veins). Icy Veins offers weapon-swap macros: open with a dagger, then swap to a slow main hand for Sinister Strike (see [Macros](macros.md)). The other option is Gouge, then step behind for Backstab. Icy Veins also suggests Master of Deception if mobs keep spotting you, particularly for the level 20 class quest. Wowhead's levelling advice for all Rogue specs is to keep the main-hand weapon up to date.

Gear and consumables

Icy Veins' level 30 list matches its Assassination list: Torturing Poker main hand, Serrated Raptor Claw or Subdued Dragon's Fang off hand, Brawler's and Skulker's Leatherworking pieces, Triprunner Dungarees, Ironspine's Eye and the Pyrewood Signet Ring. Wowhead recommends the Ruby-Adorned Blade from The Eye of Bhossca at 30. Use Instant Poison on both weapons while levelling; Icy Veins says Deadly Poison is better in long fights. Elixir of Agility and Tender Wolf Steak are worth about 3.3% each in ForeverDB's simulator.

Where the guides disagree

• Opener: Garrote (Wowhead, the WoWSims default) or Ambush (Icy Veins, ForeverDB).
• Level 20 build: Subtlety from the start (ForeverDB, Icy Veins) or a Combat dagger split (Wowhead).
• Ghostly Strike and Improved Ambush: in ForeverDB's and Icy Veins' level 30 builds, but not in Wowhead's.
• Poison duration: Icy Veins says one hour per coat; ForeverDB reads 30 minutes from the client's item data.
• Age: Icy Veins' Subtlety pages were last updated on 8 October and still mention a level 20 cap in places.