Post by SquireKel
Rogues can be very effective in PvP as Assassination - Noxxic has a guide that explains the spec in-depth in terms of stat preference, rotations, etc. If that's the direction you're looking to head with your rogue, you may want to check out their
PvP: Assassination Rogue guide.
They also have a
PvP: Subtlety Rogue guide if you opt for that direction, as well as PvE guides for all the rogue class specs.
Post by Durg
Kiting may not be a problem anymore with the 5.0.4 patch.
Burst of Speed alone would solve the mobility issue along with
Shadowstep being available for all specs. I'm looking forward to testing Muti PvP again with BoS.
Post by digitalutopia1
If you're just doing random BG's / For-fun arenas, play what you want. Sub PvP is the only high-end viable arena spec due to its utility, which Assassination lacks, and its on-demand burst damage, which Combat lacks.
I think you'll have to clarify what you mean by "utility" - AFAIK (pre 5.0.4) the only major difference between Assassination and Subtlety - utility wise, was Preparation, with Shadowdance allowing most of Subs DPS outside of openers.
Kiting may not be a problem anymore with the 5.0.4 patch.
Burst of Speed alone would solve the mobility issue along with
Shadowstep being available for all specs. I'm looking forward to testing Muti PvP again with BoS.
Burst of Speed started out being a pretty useful skill (PTR), but the more I played with it post-5.0.4, I started noticing that it became disabled almost every time I needed to use it. So I went back to my original intent (since new talents were announced) and picked up Shadowstep. While it does have a cooldown, at least I know it will work when I need it.
Other than that - avoiding kiting in a bg was usually pretty doable in Assassination - provided you weren't caught on cooldown. Between smoke bomb, vanish, blind, and the crippling poison talent, hunters, and all but the best frost mages were cake. Of course, it was a close fight, and taking on any additional players wouldn't work too well.
Which brings me to the largest difference - Sub Rogues had the advantage of.having more tools to get away, while with Assassination, once you committed, it was pretty much a case of either killing or dying. It really isn't that big of a deal - as I more than made up for my survivability with being able to do more damage - but if you're the type that can't handle dying a lot -- then, well..probably sub would be better then.
In 5.0.4 though, everything's up in the air, as all three specs have the choice between Shadowstep, Preparation, and Burst of Speed.