Subtlety Rogue Leveling Guide (Classic, TBC, WotLK)

Why Subtlety in Classic?

Ultimate control and stealth. Ambush/Backstab burst deletes clothies, and you can skip dangerous camps with stealth. Slightly slower than Combat but safest for contested PvP servers.

Strengths

Stealth mobility and skip potential; excellent world PvP control.
Big opener crits; Find Weakness/Improved Ambush synergy.
Improved Sap, Preparation for double cooldowns.

Weaknesses

Energy tighter than Combat; sustained DPS lower.
Backstab/Ambush positional; dagger reliant.
Less AoE/cleave; uptime slower on long grinds.

Talents by Level (Classic 1-60)

Early (10-29)

Improved Sap 3/3 for CC; Opportunity 5/5 for opener damage.
Camouflage/Stealth speed; Initiative for extra combo points.
Malice 5/5 (Assassination) for crit; Remorseless Attacks for chain leveling.

Mid (30-44)

Premeditation (optional) and Preparation for double cooldowns.
Ghostly Strike for dodge + damage; Improved Ambush.
Serrated Blades for armor reduction; Hemorrhage if you prefer spammable builder.

Late (45-60)

Setup/Elusiveness for control and shorter CDs.
Fill Assassination with Ruthlessness, Relentless Strikes for energy.
Optional: Improved Gouge for control, Improved Sprint for mobility.

Use daggers; Ambush → Backstab chain with Slice and Dice rolling. Hemorrhage is acceptable if you prefer positional freedom.

Rotation & Playstyle

Single Target

Stealth → Sap extra target → Ambush/Backstab opener.
Slice and Dice early; Backstab/Hemo builder; Eviscerate/Kidney Shot finisher.
Use Premeditation + Cheap Shot for heavy control on elites.

Survival

Evasion + Ghostly Strike for dodge stacking.
Vanish to reset; Blind for emergency stop; Gouge → Bandage.
Crippling Poison for kiting; First Aid maxed.

Stealth/Skips

Use Distract to split patrols; Sap priority caster.
Abuse Remorseless Attacks crit buff when chain pulling.
Pickpocket while leveling for extra gold/lockboxes.

Zone Route (Classic)

Bracket	Zones	Notes
1-20	Starter → Barrens/Westfall	Early daggers from VC/Blackfathom; keep Stealth ranks trained.
20-30	Ashenvale/Duskwood	Deadmines/Stockades for daggers; Sap/skip dense camps.
30-40	STV/Desolace	SM Library/Armory; focus single pulls to manage energy.
40-50	Tanaris/Feralas/Hinterlands	ZF for dagger upgrades; stealth past trolls where possible.
50-60	Felwood/WPL/EPL	BRD/Strat/Scholo for hit/crit leather and daggers.

Why Subtlety in TBC?

Shadowstep adds mobility and on-demand burst for PvP/server safety. Still weaker PvE than Combat, but excels at ganking, skips, and controlling difficult quest hubs.

Spec to Shadowstep, Hemorrhage, Serrated Blades, and Preparation. Splash Assassination for Malice, Ruthlessness, and Relentless Strikes to stabilize energy.

Talents by Level (TBC 60-70)

Early (60-63)

Opportunity 5/5, Camouflage, Improved Sap.
Malice 5/5; Ruthlessness 3/3; Relentless Strikes.
Hemorrhage as main builder if you dislike Backstab positioning.

Mid (64-67)

Premeditation + Preparation for double cooldowns.
Serrated Blades for armor reduction and rupture value.
Shadowstep for gap-close; Honor Among Thieves not yet.

Late (68-70)

Improved Kidney Shot for elite control.
Enveloping Shadows for mitigation vs AoE/DoTs.
Fill with Elusiveness/Dirty Deeds for cheaper openers.

Rotation (TBC)

Single Target

Stealth → Cheap Shot → Hemorrhage/Backstab spam.
Slice and Dice early; Rupture if target lives long; Eviscerate finish.
Shadowstep + Ambush for burst on casters; Kick key spells.

Control

Sap one, Blind another; Preparation for double CC.
Vanish to reset; Cloak of Shadows to clear magic.
Shadowstep → Kidney Shot for ranged mobs.

Survival

Ghostly Strike + Evasion for dodge stacking.
Crippling Poison for kiting; Deadly/Instant main-hand.
Bandage often; use food buffs between skirmishes.

Zone & Dungeon Path (TBC)

Level	Zone/Dungeon	Notes
60-62	Hellfire / Ramps / BF	Quest daggers; stealth skips in dense camps.
62-65	Zangarmarsh / SP / UB	Sap/Blind Naga packs; farm cloth for bandages.
65-68	Terokkar / Sethekk / SLabs	Shadowstep shines vs casters; pickpocket arrakoa.
68-70	Nagrand / Netherstorm / Mech	Farm quests with stealth skips; hunt dagger quests/drops.

Why Subtlety in WotLK?

Honor Among Thieves, Shadow Dance, and Shadowstep make Subtlety explosive. Still behind Combat for PvE cleave, but amazing for PvP, tagging, and high burst questing.

Spec for Hemorrhage, Honor Among Thieves, Shadow Dance, and Filthy Tricks. Off-tree Assassination for Malice, Ruthlessness, Relentless Strikes; optional Improved Poisons for FoK builds.

Talents by Level (70-80)

Early (70-74)

Opportunity, Improved Ambush, Serrated Blades.
Hemorrhage as main builder; Initiative + Premeditation.
Assassination splash: Malice, Ruthlessness, Relentless Strikes.

Mid (75-77)

Honor Among Thieves for combo point flow.
Shadowstep, Filthy Tricks for shorter CDs.
Enveloping Shadows/Elusiveness to reduce magic/AoE damage.

Late (78-80)

Shadow Dance capstone for back-to-back Ambush chains.
Waylay for snares; Deadliness/Finishers to round damage.
Optional: Improved Sprint for Icecrown mobility.

Rotation (WotLK)

Single Target

Stealth → Premeditation + Cheap Shot → Hemorrhage spam.
Slice and Dice early; Rupture (if talented) then Eviscerate.
Shadow Dance for Ambush chains; Shadowstep for rears on casters.

AoE/Utility

Fan of Knives with double Instant/Deadly for quick tags.
Tricks of the Trade to help tanks; Distract/Sap to set up pulls.
Shadowstep → Fan for gap-closing AoE tags.

Survival

Cloak of Shadows; Evasion; Feint to reduce AoE.
Blind + Vanish to reset; Prep for double defensives.
Crippling Poison for kiting; keep bandages/pots handy.

Zone & Dungeon Path (WotLK)

Level	Zone/Dungeon	Notes
70-72	Borean Tundra / Howling Fjord	Quest daggers; stealth skip dense Vrykul camps.
72-75	Dragonblight / AN/OK	Use Shadowstep to casters; farm badges for gear.
75-77	Grizzly Hills / Zul'Drak	Drak'Tharon for dagger drops; stealth past undead packs.
77-80	Sholazar / Storm Peaks / Icecrown	Shadow Dance for fast quest tagging; HoL/HoS for badge weapons.

Gear, Weapons, and Enchants (All Versions)

Stat Priority

Hit (6-9% leveling) > Agility > Attack Power > Crit > Haste; Expertise helps vs parries.
Daggers preferred; fast off-hand for poisons, slow main-hand for Ambush/Backstab.

Weapons

Classic: Deadmines/SM/BRD daggers; AV dagger reward.
TBC: Blade of the Archmage, Ced's Carver, quest blues.
WotLK: Librarian's Paper Cutter (OH), Titansteel Shanker, heroic daggers.

Enchants

Classic: +Agility/Crusader; +Hit to gloves if available.
TBC: Mongoose or +Agility; +Hit/+AP gloves.
WotLK: Berserking/+Agility; Icewalker if hit is low.

Pro Tips & Utility

Leveling Speed

Chain Ambush/Backstab with Slice and Dice up; Hemorrhage when positioning is bad.
Use Shadowstep to stick to fleeing mobs; Sprint between pulls.
Pickpocket every humanoid for gold/lockboxes; it adds up.

Control

Sap/Blind/CS/Kidney rotation lets you solo elites with patience.
Gouge → Bandage; Vanish to reset DoTs with Cloak of Shadows.
Use Distract on patrols to secure safe quest item pickups.

Group Utility

Expose Armor if needed; Tricks of the Trade (WotLK) on tanks.
Interrupt chain on casters; peel with Kidney Shot on dangerous mobs.
Provide skips with Sap and Distract; Shadowstep to quickly mark targets.

Subtlety Rogue Leveling Guide

Why Subtlety in Classic?

Strengths

Weaknesses

Talents by Level (Classic 1-60)

Early (10-29)

Mid (30-44)

Late (45-60)

Rotation & Playstyle

Single Target

Survival

Stealth/Skips

Zone Route (Classic)

Why Subtlety in TBC?

Talents by Level (TBC 60-70)

Early (60-63)

Mid (64-67)

Late (68-70)

Rotation (TBC)

Single Target

Control

Survival

Zone & Dungeon Path (TBC)

Why Subtlety in WotLK?

Talents by Level (70-80)

Early (70-74)

Mid (75-77)

Late (78-80)

Rotation (WotLK)

Single Target

AoE/Utility

Survival

Zone & Dungeon Path (WotLK)

Gear, Weapons, and Enchants (All Versions)

Stat Priority

Weapons

Enchants

Pro Tips & Utility

Leveling Speed

Control

Group Utility

Level Faster with RestedXP