evaluating a 51/x/x HfB rogue

Vulajin at Elitist Jerks has long held the title of author of the most useful post for a raiding rogue. However with the release of 3.0.2 and the ascendancy of Mutilate/HfB for raiding, it does need some updating. He's stated that it won't be updated until Wrath is released and people are raiding at 80 on regular servers, so here's a starter summary. I don't pretend to be an expert in mathcraft or even general roguery outside the specs I play, but I do raid a bit and have seen every raid in WoW/BC except BT. Additionally, the only toon I raid on is my rogue.

The Commandments are still very applicable, with an amendment for HfB. A 3-stack HfB gives you a flat 9% DPS buff. Renewing it before it expires costs you 30 energy. Bringing it up afterwards costs you 90 energy. No debate, keep it up at all times.

1. Don't die.
2. Don't do anything that risks wiping the raid.
3. Maximize your time on target.
4. Don't let your energy cap out.
5. Don't let SnD or HfB drop.
6. Use one of the spreadsheets to figure out your best cycle; this will usually be the highest Rupture uptime cycle that doesn't violate rule 4 or 5.
7. Use your cooldowns.

To be continued...