The following compares the current state of Assassination Rogues to Destruction Warlocks 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
+6.52%
When simulating boss fight encounters, Assassination Rogues averaged 6.52% more DPS than Destruction Warlocks (+91K DPS).
Assassination Rogue
+21.67%
When simulating AoE DPS, Assassination Rogues averaged 21.67% more DPS than Destruction Warlocks (+205K DPS).
Assassination Rogue
+18.93%
Assassination Rogues have higher spike damage potential, achieving +1.6M more DPS than Destruction Warlocks.
Spike damage is the peak DPS achieved in any given moment and is not sustained DPS.
Assassination Rogue
+0.5%
When upgrading the gear for both specs by +44 ilvl, Assassination Rogue DPS improved the most, +0.5% more than Destruction Warlock. In total, Assassination Rogues DPS increased by 68.03% and Destruction Warlocks by 67.53%.
Destruction Warlock
+6.44%
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 8% for Destruction Warlocks.
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 14.44% for Assassination Rogues.
When introducing occasional movement and real-world latency, Destruction Warlocks performed better, as Assassination Rogues suffered a +6.44% DPS loss.
Destruction Warlock
When evaluating abilities used during boss encounters, Destruction Warlocks had fewer damaging abilities in total, indicating a potentially less complex rotation.
The comparisons above highlight some of the key differences between Assassination Rogue and Destruction Warlock in the current meta, which can hopefully help you determine which spec to play or group up with.
Assassination Rogue
Destruction Warlock