The following compares the current state of Assassination Rogues to Shadow Priests using the latest SimulationCraft data for end-game PvE in World of Warcraft The War Within patch 11.0.2.
Comparison
Category
Winner
Shadow Priest
+0.18%
When simulating boss fight encounters, Shadow Priests averaged 0.18% more DPS than Assassination Rogues (+2K DPS).
Assassination Rogue
+8.69%
When simulating AoE DPS, Assassination Rogues averaged 8.69% more DPS than Shadow Priests (+82K DPS).
Assassination Rogue
+43.26%
Assassination Rogues have higher spike damage potential, achieving +3.8M more DPS than Shadow Priests.
Spike damage is the peak DPS achieved in any given moment and is not sustained DPS.
Assassination Rogue
+1.16%
When upgrading the gear for both specs by +44 ilvl, Assassination Rogue DPS improved the most, +1.16% more than Shadow Priest. In total, Assassination Rogues DPS increased by 68.03% and Shadow Priests by 66.87%.
Shadow Priest
+6.25%
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 8.19% for Shadow Priests.
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 14.44% for Assassination Rogues.
When introducing occasional movement and real-world latency, Shadow Priests performed better, as Assassination Rogues suffered a +6.25% DPS loss.
Assassination Rogue
When evaluating abilities used during boss encounters, Assassination Rogues 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 Shadow Priest in the current meta, which can hopefully help you determine which spec to play or group up with.
Shadow Priest
Assassination Rogue