After testing in alpha a little bit today I dig what they are shooting for as it definitely feels like marrying the past in an interactive way while also still thinking.
Mind you I haven’t unlocked the full tree and fazed doesn’t proc on feint yet (work in progress) as im focusing on the mechanical aspect and looking for bugs primarily. UPDATE EDIT: please see post below for a full picture as things changed and felt really smooth with the fixes the developers pushed out in a hotfix/ build that went in effect on Friday night.
Surprising Strikes
- Each time a target is fazed they take a decent increased hit to generators and the uptime is moderate to where this feels awesome coming from a dude who really digs gloomblade / shadow strikes and remembers the days that backstab was impactful as it rightfully should be again.
Core abilities and special attacks such as sepsis / goremaw’s bite / reprimand etc are ALL covered instead of alienating core abilities. Its a big deal as Subtlety has needed to close the gap a nudge in this direction ever since [Sanguinary Vein] was taken out. Subtlety always had good backstab damage when no dance was available and many can agree has been a lost art as an option. Im very thankful for perforated veins + Gloomblade + Lingering Shadow and along with this to recapture some of that as a play style preference which this tree does well while waiting for dance.
Cloud Cover
- while enemies are within the smoke bomb fazed activates and the smoke is a pretty good sized radius vs pvp smoke bomb (doesn’t cause LOS like pvp as intended obviously so it checks out).
- it can be used while a target is in combat as the trigger and is definitely really useful and highly appreciated a version of smoke bomb came back to all content while also not trivializing encounters or unintended interactions. (I really dig that talent)
No Scruples
- definitely a solid competitive pick for that 10% on finishers to slam and reminds me of the old pvp legion talent for us subtlety rogues or new master assassin for our venomous brethren. The choice node feels that fazed is up decently through different triggers to where it doesn’t feel unreliable.
- auto attack thousand cuts procs decently with slice up, feint (when working) guarantees the interaction, and secret technique also guaranteeing it feels good.
Flawless Form
- the mastery buff and depending how you are engaging in combat rolling over stacks feels deterministic and rewards planning while emphasizing a good amount of finisher damage while not having to rely on the rng nature of fishing for crits with flagellation however paired with [No scruples] felt like a cool interaction with just enough kick to be noticeable.
Flickerstrike
- grants 5.9% mastery per stack (feels solid)
- Is cool in fighting enemies with splash/ multi target / aoe atks and works kinda like old riposte where we can refresh fazed and get in another hit due to [unseen blade].
Ex: warlock pets fel storming about or moonkin fury of elune or elites in the area with cleave. Evasion popping people in the snout also is cool where you’re generating two cb pts , dealing a small hit (probably will be really solid with outlaw’s main gauche doing some slick cumulative damage - wouldn’t know though as I am not an Outlaw rogue so hopefully more pvpers who focus on outlaw get in to test that and offer their valued expertise on that in a mature and constructive manner).
Nimble Flurry
- is impactful especially when paired with our current kit and flawless form and No scruples however I really dig cloud cover as personal choice.
Don’t be Suspicious
- leaning into the deceptive play and shaving off 12 seconds of blind is nothing to scoff at regarding Outlaw and Subtlety when thinking about trying to quickly blackjack an enemy to save a team mate in pve or pvp and I dig that. Additionally, while [Airborne Irritant] reduces duration of blind and the cd respectively, it can help in a mosh pit helping out allies in tight situations especially as the focus stated is for Ranked Blitz (up to the rogues discretion as they see fit and feels optional which is great)
Coup De Grace
- it is a work in progress currently but the 40% is definitely a good deterministic interaction that feels when paired with examples above where us rogues can either plan or rush an enemy down and depending what is going in can get some good value out if it. I really dig that it is deterministic, fits all styles of our talent tree, and once again isn’t limiting x y z talents or play styles.
Side note: DFA (pvp talent for those who do not know as they are new to wow or our devious craft) has been buffed to 40% and hopefully stays that way as the 15% did not feel impactful and left the ability feeling more as a utility tool rather than a oh yeah boyyyyy ability in its past (please keep it at 40%).
- No other pvp talents have been touched as of this time.
Conclusion and thoughts:
- Trickster, despite the skepticism from various rogues and concerned valued members here who love rogue (Trickster does feels good instead of big memey nonsense).
- We have a bunch of solid talents here that reward ALL STYLES of play instead if hyper fixating and limiting us to only x talents (big win)
- this tree after playing it (need to test more in time respectively) feels like a call back to what made Subtlety and Combat (Outlaw) pop people hard with generators and making some solid finishers pull their weight. Its simple, its feeling very retro in a modern way that captures a planning yet aggressive when need be rogue. I really dig what is going in here and would encourage others to think for themselves, turn off external influences.
I really adore the whole package this brings as it emphasizes CORE ABILITIES and COOLDOWNS that are both impactful instead of leaving those out to dry.
Subtlety is more than shadow dance, this tree gives us some good options and accenting pieces to customize our kit further while drawing some cool inspiration from rogues in dnd (i dig it). Hopefully with adequate tuning, we will maintain flexibility and bridge the gap of the past in what made Subtlety distinct instead of excluding it. It feels like old hemo in a modern way where we are encouraged to think but still being able to do something out of dance. Which is what a lot of us lifetime long Subtlety rogues have been asking for ever since Legion started fixating too much into dance and trying to “1 shot” and being left to become a stun bot for team mates.
I understand this isn’t for “everyone” but the soul of Subtlety has to return and this captures it well. Deathstalker will probably be more of what others lean into but Im really digging this current design.
I apologize for the long letter but it is heartfelt as a rogue who only does rogue since I started back in TBC days right before ol Wrath came out. Keep it up devs, you’re honestly on fire.
Eridian of the Rotten