Talent question (already checked stickies for my question)

[gaymer77]

Before I get blasted or a thread locked for not reading the stickies, I did and my question was not answered there. The Sticky: [Rogue] Read Before Posting & Index thread is outdated with Cata information.

My question is what's the best general spec for assassination rogues? I just hit 90 and don't want to respec a second time. I have a completely unused second talent set I'm going to use for my spec. Thanks ahead of time for pointing me to my answer or answering my question.

[Kael]

You do know talents can be hot-swapped outside combat now right? Using tomes of the clear mind.

If you're seriously opposed to swapping them, though, I'll also go out on a limb and say you don't feint religiously... which only changes 1 option.

The only ones that really matter consistently (FOR PVE):

Shadow Focus (top +DPS)
---- (Combat Readiness if you find yourself tanking)
Leeching Poison (free minor healing -- Elusiveness is often better for raiding, but requires you to actually feint -- some recommend cheat death occasionally)
Shadowstep (many say prep, but if you're not swapping, time at target/easy out-of-damage >> extra mut/CoS every 5 minutes)
---- (Prey on the Weak situational DPS increase on stunnable targets)
Anticipation (allows more consistent 5 CP finishers; less cost for making mistakes while learning and pressing CP gen buttons around cap, it's passive)

I'll see about generating an FAQ with pointers to places that already have a good breakdown on these types of questions.

[Coldkil]

lvl 15: shadow focus. Subterfuge is good only for Sub.
lvl 30: basically useless, but Combat readiness has some niche when there are fixate mechanics which don't require kiting
lvl 45: i found leeching poisomn to translate most of the times into overhealing. Elusiveness is usually better since i found that i'm spamming feint in a lot of fights. For heroics until you have mastered them, cheat death is a godsend.
lvl 60: Prep if you're against patchwerk, otherwise ShS is awesome.
lvl 75: useless again, prey on the weak if you can stun something.
lvl 90: Anticipation. Versatility is good if you need to switch a lot, but still not that good. ST is under study - still we aren't sure of it's effective power (but i don't think it's intended for it to be the main CP generator, and if it becomes, it will be nerfed).

[Deleted]

You haven't let us know what you are going to use the assassination spec for really. It is vital to be a flexible Rogue and adept your talents to the encounter which is (as Mugajak explained) now possible with Tome of the Clear Mind without a trainer nearby.

Also keep in mind it's vital to change/remove the glyph of Vendetta every time you can't dps your target for the full 30 seconds.