Sub or Assassin

[Selerian]

Hey guys, so I have a very original question, what spec I should play. I switched to rogue recently and was under the impression that much like in Legion, Sub was the go-to spec damage-wise, so that's what I've been playing and gearing accordingly. From logs etc though I'm seeing that's not the case and Assassination puts up bigger numbers while friendlier rotation-wise. I'm not really interested in the playstyle of each spec (though I prefer the more sustain damage profile of assa) but from purely a damage standpoint should I switch to assassination as casual mythic raider?

[Deleted]

I think Assa is good on casual raiding when you might have more downtime from boss melee range because of some sub-optimal strategies or by mistakes. Your dots will do dmg anyway and energy won't overcap so easily.

On the other hand you might find subletys priority target burst extremely useful if your mates are just padding aoe dps and don't care to kill important adds.

I have only done 3 bosses on mythic but so far I think Assa performs slightly better. At Zek'voz you could do good as sub if your adds don't blow up fast. On my next progress, Vectis, I will try sub for better add dps. I can time my shadow dances for adds and Assa loses some value when adds die while your dots are still running.

[Kaver]

Hey guys, so I have a very original question, what spec I should play. I switched to rogue recently and was under the impression that much like in Legion, Sub was the go-to spec damage-wise, so that's what I've been playing and gearing accordingly. From logs etc though I'm seeing that's not the case and Assassination puts up bigger numbers while friendlier rotation-wise. I'm not really interested in the playstyle of each spec (though I prefer the more sustain damage profile of assa) but from purely a damage standpoint should I switch to assassination as casual mythic raider?

If you just worry about performance then just go Assa. You can always switch on bosses like Zul.

[Coldkil]

I play both. As a long time raider who's been in hiatus for like 4 years (from WoD start until now) i'm in mad love with sub, i would play that but while the spec is certainly good in performance it doesn't let much room for errors. Basically, if you're not sure with sub execution, then avoid it or better leave it for farm bosses where you can actually try it in a real case scenario to get the flow of it.

On the other side, Assa gives you a pretty standard (if not "easy") rotation that gives you plenty of sustained performance and it's overall good in most scenarios. I got an improvement on my performances after the switch as i could focus more on fights than rotation, so if this is what you search for, play Assa.

This doesn't mean abandon Sub. Just take your time with it - learning two specs is better than only one i suppose

[Karry]

My only problem is with sub is, it's the harder spec, leaves almost no room for error and performs worse if barely on par with Sin ( when played PERFECTLY ). Besides the Zul fight playing Sub is a bit detrimental to the average player. If you absolutely love Sub, sure play it whenever. Also, there's a matter of traits and sims. I' sim almost 1K more dps as Sin than Sub. The charm of Azerite armor. Sub is still fun in M+ tho where you really get to see how it shines, IF your key is high enough and your party is playing FOR YOU.

[Selerian]

I don't mind the added difficulty of sub, I enjoy the playstyle, but like you said there is almost no room for errors and even if played perfectly the gains compared to sin are minimal if any. Also if you get a boss mechanic during your burst window and have to move away, your damage drops to the floor. it's really satisfying when you are able to execute it well but when something goes wrong, it goes really wrong. For now I'll remain sub since I don't have the optimum gear and traits to switch but I think I'll definitely give it a go when I can.

[Tehterokkar]

Assassination just feels comfy to play, it's not the most complex spec to play, but it has a lot to min-max with energy, something the other 2 specs really don't have that much.

[Tactics]

Assassination just feels comfy to play, it's not the most complex spec to play, but it has a lot to min-max with energy, something the other 2 specs really don't have that much.

Sub is real easy to play ATM, its nothing compared to WOD. But its definitely harder then Assassin.

[Tier539]

Play them both. If you only have one good dagger probably go sub, if you have 2, then swap it up. Sub has good funnel cleave for a bunch of bosses (zul, zek voz). A lot of people mention sub having more ST burst, but if you can line up your TB with adds, sin has some really good ST burst too. It is really gonna be a fight by fight sort of thing you have to decide between.

Outlaw is also good in any situation you can use blade flurry effectively (however it is sometimes best to let other classes get the AoE pad and play sub/sin for priority damage).

tl;dr - decide on a fight by fight basis depending on what your raid team needs out of you. Between the 3 specs you can do it all fairly well.

[Coldkil]

Sub is real easy to play ATM, its nothing compared to WOD. But its definitely harder then Assassin.

Not much an "easy VS hard" argument imho, but Sub is much less forgiving and leaves no room for error, so for example if you don't time well your burst phase or the tank moves the boss in an unexpected way you're gonna lose an hefty chunk of damage, while Assa can deal with such things much better.

[Kaver]

Not much an "easy VS hard" argument imho, but Sub is much less forgiving and leaves no room for error, so for example if you don't time well your burst phase or the tank moves the boss in an unexpected way you're gonna lose an hefty chunk of damage, while Assa can deal with such things much better.

That's true when you start playing sub at first. But once you have the burst window in muscle memory and learned to manage you 2x shadowstep, then it get pretty easy to play. It doesn't matter if the tank moves the boss because you can just teleport right behind it again

I started playing rogue because it was a melee class with 3 dps specs. So I play them all (Outlaw not so much, but sometimes in M+). I learned that Blizzard can't handle the job of balancing talents related to each other so if you want different playstyles you need different specs.

[Russo]

Sub requires more gear and be more effective from mid to end of the expansions.

[Deleted]

Sub was only the best spec in legion during tomb of sargeras.

Atm assassin is the best spec overall, outlaw pulling ahead on aoe.

[NtflxnChill]

Sin has been the way to go for the past 2 expansions, aside from few fight's where you can abuse SStorm. Right now there is zero reason to play anything but Sin and that won't change at least in BFA.

[McFuu]

Both specs are great, but sub requires timing and is generally less flexible than assa. I don't want to get into what's harder, because I think they are about the same, but if you want to get down to brass tacks... If you play at 80% execution, assa will give you 80% of its total dps, sub will reward you with about 65% of maximum dps.

[Deleted]

Sub is a good specialization at low level.

[Sinte]

Why limit yourself? You're rolling a class, not a spec. If you're going to be doing serious raiding then you should upkeep at least 2 of the specs, if not 3. If you aren't, then you can just focus on one spec and it really doesn't matter, you can make them all work. (Except sub starting tomorrow, you won't be able to make it work in m+ anymore).

[Debased]

Why limit yourself? You're rolling a class, not a spec. If you're going to be doing serious raiding then you should upkeep at least 2 of the specs, if not 3. If you aren't, then you can just focus on one spec and it really doesn't matter, you can make them all work. (Except sub starting tomorrow, you won't be able to make it work in m+ anymore).

True but AP, enchants, and itemization make it difficult to switch on the fly and maintain optimization.

[Battlebeard]

I think that since Legion, Assassination is the only playable specc. Sub feels kinda dull compared to how it used to be, can't even descibe how, it's just how it feels.

Outlaw is a joke and an insult to games, gaming, humanity, cats, dogs, spacemen, the sun and to the stars

[SharpSky17]

Thank you for advice, also was having problems with chosing