In past times, the ability "hemorrhage" in the subtlety tree was the most important skill of that tree. It places a debuff on the enemy which increases the damage for the next 10 attacks by up to 75. All allies attacking the target get this bonus as well. Since there was no similar raidbuff, the ability was much appreciated when a rogue joined a raid group and thus increased the damage for the entire group. But, currently, the ability "honor among thieves" has become the trademark skill of rogues since the current version of the skill seems to be bugged. It generates more combo points for every other rogue in the raid party which thus generates unholy amounts of damage.

The ability "shadow step" makes the subtlety tree very interesting for PvP rogues: They can approach the enemies without being constantly held at bay, which is a big disadvantage of the rogue in PvP. But in PvE this skill is also powerful: By making use of shadow step you can avoid the vortex of Malygos thus avoiding a lot of damage and dealing more damage to Malygos. In battlegrounds the step can be used to access places that would normally be out of reach for the rogue. In Lake Wintergrasp, for example, a rogue can teleport to the cannons on top of the walls of the fortress to assassinate the shooters. Wether this use of the skill was intended that way is doubtful but it is very effective and will help your team win faster.