The following compares the current state of Assassination Rogues to Fire Mages 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
+3.79%
When simulating boss fight encounters, Assassination Rogues averaged 3.79% more DPS than Fire Mages (+53K DPS).
Assassination Rogue
+31.56%
When simulating AoE DPS, Assassination Rogues averaged 31.56% more DPS than Fire Mages (+299K DPS).
Assassination Rogue
+72.28%
Assassination Rogues have higher spike damage potential, achieving +6.3M more DPS than Fire Mages.
Spike damage is the peak DPS achieved in any given moment and is not sustained DPS.
Assassination Rogue
+1.83%
When upgrading the gear for both specs by +44 ilvl, Assassination Rogue DPS improved the most, +1.83% more than Fire Mage. In total, Assassination Rogues DPS increased by 68.03% and Fire Mages by 66.2%.
Fire Mage
+13.97%
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 14.44% for Fire Mages.
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 28.41% for Assassination Rogues.
When introducing occasional movement and real-world latency, Fire Mages performed better, as Assassination Rogues suffered a +13.97% DPS loss.
Fire Mage
When evaluating abilities used during boss encounters, Fire Mages 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 Fire Mage in the current meta, which can hopefully help you determine which spec to play or group up with.
Assassination Rogue
Fire Mage