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Rogues inWoW Season of Discoveryare doing relatively well, and are able totop DPS in some boss fights in Gnomereganwith little to no effort. But for the most part, Rogues have had few true choices during Season of Discovery because some of the best Rogue SoD Runes are just so good that others don’t compare.
ThoughRogues can Tank now, it’s not the most viable playstyle. The best Rogue build in Phase One and Phase Two (and likely future phases) is the Assassination Poison build. As such, the best Rogue runes SoD offers are those that can take advantage of the Assassination Talent Tree’s bonuses to Poison chance and damage, or those that shore up some of the Rogue class' major vanilla drawbacks, like the lack of a gap closer.
Envenom Effect
Envenom is acore part of the DPS Rogue’spower in PvE for the Season of Discovery. In Phases One and Two, Assassination Rogues are the best Rogue build thanks to the sheer power of Mutilate. But a well-timed Envenom right after a good-sized Slice and Dice can mean proccing Deadly Poison on a target with almost every swing of your Daggers.
Importantly, the damage dealt by Envenom is based on the current stacks of Deadly Poison on your target, not the Combo Points. The amount of Combo Points on the target only determines how long the increased chance to apply Poisons lasts.
Deadly Brew Effect
For Assassin Rogues, the Deadly Brew Rune is an enormous boon for Poison damage. Because it grants Instant Poison for “free”, that means fewer trips to the Rogue supplies vendor for Poison materials, and less time worrying about remaining Charges or Stacks in your Inventory.
Whenever your current Poison procs on a target, including the default Instant Poison granted by the Rune, it also applies Deadly Brew. And this version of Deadly Brew gains damage from your AP. Ultimately, this Rune, Envenom, and Mutilate are the backbone of Rogues' DPS output in SoD.
Mutilate Effect
After having its Energy cost reduced to a mere 40 Energy, Mutilate has become really, really hard to beat. For the same cost (or less) than just about any other spammable ability, Mutilate grants Backstab-like damage, generates two Combo Points, and deals extra damage to Poisoned targets.
It does require the Rogue to have two Daggers equipped, but it’s stillhard to justify choosing any other Runein the Gloves slot over Mutilate in its current state. Even Tank Rogues are choosing it over Rogue Tank abilities like Main Gauche because of just how strong it is.
Shadowstep Effect
The Shadowstep ability is an important one for Rogues because it is essentially the class' only gap closer. Though Rogues do have Sprint, it’s on a long cooldown, and you have to move to your target. Shadowstep lets you teleport behind them, like a Ninja.
It can be used in or out of Stealth, and is on about a 30 second cooldown. When a Mage blinks away, use Shadowstep to get close again. If an enemy is fleeing the meat grinder of STVon low HP, but you’re Stealthed and slower than them, Shadowstep lets you catch up and finish the job. It’s also useful in some Boss fights, like the Crowd Pummeler in Gnomeregan. If it knocks you off the stage, you can use Shadowstep in mid-air to recover.
Master of Subtlety Effect
A relatively simple, but useful, Rune for Rogues is Master of Subtlety. Of the Boots Runes introduced in Phase Two, Master of Subtlety is the most broadly useful, despite its simplicity.
After leaving Stealth, for six seconds, your attacks deal a flat 10% increased damage. It’s great for unloading on an opponent in PvP, but it’s also nice for getting some extra DPS on trash mobs in instances. It’s not the most complex Rune in the world, but even a small damage buff is a damage buff.
