Ahh, Shadow Dance... my favorite spec talent besides Shadowstep. Shadow Dance, though, can be one of the hardest abilities to master for any class... and I mean any class, 'cuz Blizzard never really added it's own interface functionality with it. So I'm'a help all you subtlety rogues out by tellin' ya how you can make it work and also, more importantly... how'ta kill propa' with it.
First let's talk about how to set it up. The most effective way is to use a macro I created when Shadow Dance first came out, and I'm happy to see some other rogues are usin' the same method. You're gonna' need to use a macro and setup your interface in a specific way.
Setup the simple but effective Shadow Dance macro and follow my instructions for setting it up. Now I assume you got everything setup right so that the Shadow Dance macro activates the second action bar, giving you access to all of your stealth abilities. Now it's time to talk about techniques for using Shadow Dance (via our macro method). I'm gonna' go through a couple of different real-world scenarios I've run into.
For going against PvE targets, I'll stealth, use Premeditation (to give myself two combo points), use Shadow Step to get behind my target and use Ambush to take a nice opening chunk of health. Once Ambush hits, I normally get four to five combo points on my target (via certain specs I have in my subtlety talent tree). My PvE target then faces me to fight. After about a second or two (to regain some energy), I hit Kidney Shot (havin' five combo points, my target's stunned for six seconds). I now activate my Shadow Dance macro immediately, run behind my target and try to get as many ambushes as I can, which is two to three. Because Shadow Dance lasts 10 seconds, 4 seconds longer than my stun, my target will turn around. Once my PvE target faces me, I can't use Rupture because it requires to be from behind the target, as well as Ambush. If I do have the energy though before Shadow Dance is over, I can use Cheap Shot as it can be used from any angle. At this point, I'll continue my fight as normal... although my target will almost always be dead or half-dead at this point and an Eviscerate will normally do the job, having five combo points from all those Shadow Dance openers.
Now this is very important for you to realize... When fighting a PvE target one-on-one, they will never have their back to you unless you stun then. I use Gouge all the time to perform Backstabs, but Gouge will be useless for Shadow Dance because after your first attack, your target will be facing you. You can use Cheap Shot, but it wastes more than twice the energy than Kidney Shot does, and Cheap Shot only lasts four seconds, where Kidney Shot lasts six seconds. So when fighting a PvE target one-on-one, only use Kidney Shot (with plenty of energy)...
PvE's kinda' simple, but there are those "oh shit" situations where you might miss a hit or somethin' else happens where you have to improvise, but those fighting techniques will be covered, using Shadow Dance on PvP targets.
Shadow Dance is one of those "special" abilities because of its two minute cool down (which is very short considering how powerful it is), so use it when you know you must kill something or use it when your target has the upper hand and you want an... unfair advantage.
Fighting PvP targets is very different than PvE targets because you can get behind them without them having to be stunned, and that's good because diminishing returns mean that you may not be able to keep them stunned as much as you would be able to with a PvE target.
One thing's certain; it feels like you always have less energy fighting PvP targets than PvE targets, so always make sure you have enough energy before you start Shadow Dance... full energy if you can help it (I have 110 energy via a talent spec, so if you don't got 110 energy, it's even more important to you).
When I do start Shadow Dance against a target, it helps if I can use Kidney Shot, but most times I'll just activate Shadow Dance and run behind my target trying to get off as many Ambushes as possible. Garrote causes less energy than Ambush keep in mind, so if I notice that Shadow Dance is almost finished but I don't have enough energy for Ambush, I'll use Garrote (you must be behind remember). So what's the advantage not using Kidney Shot before Shadow Dance? It's to conserve energy and because of diminishing returns. A paladin or other classes could have already stunned your target (but not attacked) so when you use that energy on a five combo, 6 second stun, it could only last one or two seconds and your out some energy and combo points. In other words, Kidney Shot could be worthless and can mess up Shadow Dance in the long run.
So, that's how we can use Shadow Dance without using a stun. But, how 'bout this... You start Shadow Dance without using a stun, but your target slows you down somehow and you can't run behind them. Cheap Shot works from any direction, so you can use Cheap Shot to stun them to get behind if you realize somethin's goin' wrong. But, that uses a lotta' energy and doesn't last long... if you happen to have combo points up during Shadow Dance, hit your Shadow Dance macro again (which outta' be key mapped) to access your non-stealth abilities and use Kidney Shot to stun then and then immediately hit your Shadow Dance macro once more to access your stealth openers. A scenario... you start fighting a rogue and you start Shadow Dancin'. The rogue is slowed by crippling poison, but uses sprint to run at normal speed. Realizing you have combo points and will have trouble getting behind him, use Kidney Shot to lock the bitch down to get behind and use Ambushes.
Shadow Dance can also be useful for the Cheap Shot stun. It's nice to be able to do pure ambushes, but in real-world scenarios, you do what'cha gotta' do... and a lotta' times Cheap Shot is involved. Shadow Dance with Cheap Shot can be a life saver too, though, 'cuz those times when you you're outta' Preparation, Sprint and Blind and you have a bleed DoT on you that'll break any kinda' Vanish, Shadow Dance with the use of Cheap Shot can sometimes save your life, allowing you time to wait out your bleed DoT until you can vanish or enter stealth... or just allow you time to run away from your attacker so he'll switch targets.
So those are the ways you can use Shadow Dance. Remember to be creative and always use your abilities to fit the situation. You should already have a bleed on a rogue (via Rupture) before you start the Shadow Dance process, but if you don't have a bleed, putting Garrote on a rogue while Shadow Dancin' can work (to break them from vanishing). When you're in the Shadow Dance process, if you notice a healing class about to heal themselves, always do Cheap Shot rather than Ambush, as they'll heal more than your ambush most likely (because of resilience)... so even if your Cheap Shot only lasts a second because of diminishing returns, it'll interrupt their heal and will be worth it.
And last, as I've mentioned... one of the most important things to master with Shadow Dance is being able to enter your stealth abilities and non-stealth abilities within a split second's notice. Don't bother watching your energy when in Shadow Dance; watch your abilities. All these stupid, geek-ass rogues are all about number crunching and energy watching add-on crap. If you have enough energy for an ability, your ability will let you know, plain 'n' simple yo. Just keep an eye on your Shadow Dance buff time (how many seconds you have left) and when / what ability is ready.
Other than that... feel free'ta use anything else that'll help you get your Shadow Dance openers. Shadow Step is awesome for instance Ambushes, even against a sprinting rogue... Blind if you gotta' keep someone from running away from ya. Evasion to prevent yourself from getting killed if you start Shadow Dance low on health against a target with full health (although your ass may die, so try not Shadow Dancin' half-dead). It sounds retarded, but if you need to vanish for some reason if you think it'll get your target to stand still to ambush, then do it (some idiots stand still to try 'n' type /lol or some bull shit, thinking you've fled because you vanished, only to get their ass ambushed 'n' killed), or use vanish of course if you're feet are frozen and are about to be kited. Cloak of Shadows if your slowed down by poison or magic. Dismantle will prevent classes like rogues from using a lot of abilities (most abilities require weapons) that would interrupt your Shadow Dance.
One more special note is the subtlety talent Relentless Strikes (rank 5) of mine. That gives me a 20% chance to restore 25 energy per combo point. Do the math... five combo points equals 100% chance to restore 25 energy. So, whenever I use a finishing move with five combo points, I get 25 energy back. In the middle of Shadow Dance, if I'm out of energy, sometimes I will Eviscerate my target... Eviscerate uses 35 energy, but I get 25 energy back so it means I can do damage to the enemy without losing any energy really. If you have five points of Relentless Strikes, use this tactic.
I've honestly said everything I can think of when it comes to Shadow Dance. So after some practice, there ain't no reason you can't be kickin' ass 'n' takin' names as a subtlety, Shadow Dance speced rogue. Show them subtlety hatin' bitches you got some dancin' skills...
Jeaxx
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