Rogue Assassination Rotation & Opener
Built from the current top-100 Mythic parses on WarcraftLogs — the real opener sequences, casts-per-minute and buff uptimes of the best Assassination players, not theorycraft.
AI coach — raid
How to play: Mutilate builds combo points (top players: 21/min), Envenom dumps at full points (16.6/min, with 94.6% buff uptime = nearly permanent), and Garrote plus Rupture stay up all fight (3 and 2.3/min = refresh, don't clip). Kingsbane and Deathmark aligned on cooldown. Watch: Envenom's buff timer — if it drops your poisons go soft; Garrote and Rupture countdowns, refreshing empowered versions from stealth windows.
Real Opener Sequences — Vorasius
First ~12 casts of actual top-ranked kills. Trinkets and racials vary by setup; the skill order is what to copy.
Sap — ajeusyara (KR)
1.
Garrote
2.
Mutilate
3.
Mutilate
4.
Rupture
5.
Mutilate
6.
Mutilate
7.
Mutilate
8.
Mutilate
9.
Envenom
10.
Fatebound Coin (Tails)
11.
Algeth'ar Puzzle
12.
Deathmark
Vxi — Aman'Thul (US)
1.
Garrote
2.
Mutilate
3.
Mutilate
4.
Rupture
5.
Fatebound Coin (Tails)
6.
Garrote
7.
Mutilate
8.
Mutilate
9.
Envenom
10.
Fatebound Coin (Tails)
11.
Algeth'ar Puzzle
12.
Deathmark
Kinkou — Barthilas (US)
Casts Per Minute — Raid Benchmark
| Ability | Top-player CPM |
|---|---|
| Mutilate | 21.0 |
| Envenom | 16.6 |
| Garrote | 3.0 |
| Rupture | 2.3 |
| Kingsbane | 1.1 |
| Deathmark | 0.7 |
| Algeth'ar Puzzle | 0.7 |
| Vanish | 0.6 |
| Sprint | 0.5 |
| Cloak of Shadows | 0.3 |
CPM = median casts per minute across the sampled top kills. If you're far below on a core ability, that's usually the first thing to fix.
Buff Uptimes to Watch
| Buff | Top-player uptime |
|---|---|
| Envenom | 94.6% |
| Implacable | 94.5% |
| Ebon Might | 85.8% |
| Visage | 82.8% |
| Arcanoweave Insight | 71.0% |
| Hasty Hunt | 67.3% |
| Alnscorned Essence | 67.2% |
| Might of the Void | 62.5% |
| Fatebound Coin (Heads) | 54.2% |
| Cold Blood | 53.3% |
Mythic+ Differences
AI coach — Mythic+
How to play: Build with Fan of Knives on packs and finish with Crimson Tempest for group bleeds (worth it if mobs live 6+ seconds); priority targets still get Mutilate + Envenom. Weave Feint into the loop — in heavy-AoE dungeons it's your health bar. Watch: match Crimson Tempest coverage against pack lifetime; Slice and Dice stays permanent as ever.
Casts Per Minute — Mythic+ Benchmark
| Ability | Top-player CPM |
|---|---|
| Envenom | 13.8 |
| Fan of Knives | 8.5 |
| Mutilate | 8.4 |
| Crimson Tempest | 5.8 |
| Garrote | 2.8 |
| Rupture | 2.3 |
| Feint | 2.2 |
| Kingsbane | 0.8 |
| Tricks of the Trade | 0.6 |
| Crimson Vial | 0.5 |
| Sprint | 0.5 |
| Algeth'ar Puzzle | 0.4 |
| Stealth | 0.4 |
| Thistle Tea | 0.4 |
Mythic+ Buff Uptimes
| Buff | Top-player uptime |
|---|---|
| Scent of Blood | 87.0% |
| Envenom | 77.2% |
| Implacable | 77.1% |
| Ancestral Vigor | 68.7% |
| Earthliving Weapon | 65.5% |
| Arcanoweave Insight | 64.9% |
| Cold Blood | 64.2% |
| Elemental Resistance | 58.8% |
| Alnscorned Essence | 56.6% |
| Precision of the Dragonhawk | 54.7% |
Compare yourself in-game, live
The GearInsight addon overlays your own CPM and buff uptimes next to these benchmarks during combat.