The following compares the current state of Affliction Warlocks to Assassination Rogues using the latest SimulationCraft data for end-game PvE in World of Warcraft The War Within patch 11.0.2.
Comparison
Category
Winner
Assassination Rogue
+0.75%
When simulating boss fight encounters, Assassination Rogues averaged 0.75% more DPS than Affliction Warlocks (+11K DPS).
Assassination Rogue
+8.03%
When simulating AoE DPS, Assassination Rogues averaged 8.03% more DPS than Affliction Warlocks (+76K DPS).
Affliction Warlock
+14.33%
Affliction Warlocks have higher spike damage potential, achieving +1.5M more DPS than Assassination Rogues.
Spike damage is the peak DPS achieved in any given moment and is not sustained DPS.
Assassination Rogue
+0.15%
When upgrading the gear for both specs by +44 ilvl, Assassination Rogue DPS improved the most, +0.15% more than Affliction Warlock. In total, Assassination Rogues DPS increased by 68.03% and Affliction Warlocks by 67.88%.
Assassination Rogue
+2.72%
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 11.71% for Assassination Rogues.
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 14.44% for Affliction Warlocks.
When introducing occasional movement and real-world latency, Assassination Rogues performed better, as Affliction Warlocks suffered a +2.72% DPS loss.
Affliction Warlock
When evaluating abilities used during boss encounters, Affliction Warlocks had fewer damaging abilities in total, indicating a potentially less complex rotation.
The comparisons above highlight some of the key differences between Affliction Warlock and Assassination Rogue in the current meta, which can hopefully help you determine which spec to play or group up with.
Assassination Rogue
Affliction Warlock