Curse

input · Apr 09, 2006, 06:23 AM // 06:23

well i was just wondering what kind of assassin most people here would make.
feel free to tell everyone why you think your assassin combination would be great. i will say what kind i would like to make to start it off:

Assassin/Mesmer:
assassin can bring out many conditions. conditions mixed with fragility can be deadly.

or....

Mesmer/Assassin:
signet of shadows can become more deadlier with mesmer skills. for example:echo can be used to copy signet of shadows and do even more damage.

Hella Good · Apr 09, 2006, 07:17 AM // 07:17

I would strongly recommend that you forget about Frags: no1) Frags got nerfed so bad they totally suck now, no2) at lvl 12 Illusion Frags more then suck, they totally and utterly blow big time. If anything Mesmer hexes can be combined with Assassin hexes but that should probably be done on a Mesmer and maybe Assassins can use Distortion and Illusion of Weakness as support skills. Other than that, the two classes don't have much to do with each other, esp. since Me can't offer survivability to Assas and Assas badly need that.

bleh · Apr 09, 2006, 07:58 AM // 07:58

what i plan to do is a/e or a/mo or maybe even a/r or a/w for faster attack rate.

a/e and a/mo for damage enhancers

i like the fact that assasins have 4 energy regen you ould make an interesting a/mo 55hp maybe or just a/mo with 4 permanant enchantments

(aslong as you don't run into strips which is quite often in pve :< )

a/e would be for conjure and close up 3/4 second aoe spells since the assasin has good energy management.

unholy guardian · Apr 09, 2006, 01:12 PM // 13:12

a/mo live vigoursly plus zealous dagars ftw -)

SparhawkJC · Apr 09, 2006, 02:40 PM // 14:40

A/N for the greatness that is plauge touch, A/Mo for when I want to go straight assassin and need a renewable rez.

Yukito Kunisaki · Apr 09, 2006, 05:00 PM // 17:00

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s....php?t=3003274

Definitely a deadly assassin to deal with in a 1 on 1 scenario. Heck, probably the best sin I could concieve in terms of fullfilling his/her role.

Get in there when nobody notices [aka when your entire team is rocking your enemies], kill the 'important' class *monks or mesmers*, leave before they know wtf you just did...

LaserLight · Apr 09, 2006, 06:45 PM // 18:45

A/W

Two words: Wild Blow. Plus I need the Warr unlocks XP.

Tay Trefenwyd · Apr 09, 2006, 11:25 PM // 23:25

The thing with the assassin class, is it's really opinion and what you have experience with in terms of classes. Some people would suggest an Me/A because you could slow them by 80% or more, and drain them, and use range, and when they are about to get close to you, use the assassin technique and spirtit walk or Dash away (increasing speed by 50%).

Some might suggest, a Crit Assassin which could be A/Anything.

I personally am going to be a A/W, for many reasons.
It is the ultimate DPS character, and with the right skills and attributes, you can kill a Environment (I will from now on call it E) or a Player (P) in 8-10 seconds, if perfectly timed.
Well here. This is the build and I'll let you look at it for yourself.

Just one thing before you ovserve. I took this from someone else and modified it a bit to make more DPS and defense. If anyone has suggestions, please PM me. Appreciate it.
================================================== ====

In an original Crit Assassin I tried. to make the most out of the Assassin's awesome critical hit rate, reaching up to a 73% chance of hitting a crit. Here, I am going to try to do the same for another special ability in the Assassin's skill set: double strikes.

With double strikes, you can hit an enemy twice with one melee attack attempt. Unfortunately, this does not seem to include attacks from skills at this time (i.e. Fox Fang will never DS for you). So with that in mind, I want to use double strikes to try to maximize the damage-per-second (DPS) possible from basic Knife melee attacks. I combined this idea with what I think is a viable build that accomplishes a few other things as well.

The end results of what I came up with look so good (in theory), that again I ask that if anyone comes up with an Assassin primary build with higher melee DPS than this one, please share it.

=========================================
Ultimate DPS Assassin

Dagger Mastery: 16
Deadly Arts: 11
Critical Strikes: 8

Black Mantis Thrust: -21 damage (Lead), Cripples a Hexed foe for 17s
Jungle Strike: -21 damage (Off-Hand), an additional -33 on a Crippled foe
Twisted Fangs: -12 damage (Dual Attack), Bleeds and Deep Wounds for 21s

Shadowy Burden or Rez: Hexes with a -25% speed snare for 8 seconds along with -20 AL (15s recharge)
Locusts' Fury {Elite}: An extra +20% chance to double strike for 25s (30s recharge)
Frenzy: +33% attack speed for 8s, but all incoming damage is doubled.

Critical Defenses: A 40% chance to block for 4 secs., it refreshes itself with every critical hit.
Shadow Refuge: Take -50% damage for four secs., then heal for 96 (8 sec. recharge).

100% +energy armor and Zealous mods until I can test it. I also have a +20% damage customization mod, and +15% damage mod when health is >50%.
=========================================

OK, we're almost set now, but let me point out one thing. Notice I have the Rez in as optional... I'll do that from now on since 12v12 has added another legit PvP option that doesn't require a Rez, along with the option of not having one in organized HA and GvG teams. Still, in RA and TA... ALWAYS BRING A REZ!

Back to the build, keep in mind a lot is just theory until I can actually play test it. The basic idea though is pretty straight forward however (assume a 60AL opponent). I have the basic BMT->JS->TF combo in there for its dependable meaty damage, but this is a build that should get a high DPS rate from spamming normal attacks as well. BTW, use Leaping Mantis Strike to Cripple a runner instead of BMT if you choose a Rez over the single Hex in the build.

My Critical Strike % rate is decent. I get an +8% chance at a crit (-33 damage with my mods) from my Critical Strikes line, and +21% chance from the Dagger Mastery bonuses for a +29% total chance. With L16 in Dagger Mastery, I get a +32% chance at hitting a double strike (+2% x16), making my 1.33 attack speed come down to the equivalent of making contact at least once every second on average.

Locusts' Fury is my elite, giving me an additional +20% chance at double striking with each attack. Together I now get a double strike from 52% of all my basic melee attempts. What was the equivalent of getting one hit every 1.01 second before, LF takes that down to one attack every 0.81 seconds.

So when I factor in my Crit rate and its damage, my adjusted attack speed, and all my mod bonuses, I am doing about 29 DPS from basic melee attacks. Compared to the fierce Warriors, that's pretty good for an Assassin with a couple of dinner knives for weapons.

But we can squeeze out a little more in the quest for the highest DPS rates from melee attacks. Go into Frenzy stance's +33% speed increase and the attack rate zips up even higher. Now the build makes contact once every 0.48 seconds, which is just over two hits per second! That is basically the equivalent DPS of connecting a double strike every single time you try a basic melee attack. Too cool! So adding it all together, you are now dishing out 49 DPS to your unfortunate target (48.69).

But wait... there's more! With the Hex spell Shadowy Burden cast just before you go into melee spam mode, your enemy is -25% slower and also loses -20 AL for 8 seconds (15s recharge). This gives you a +25% damage increase for all of your melee attacks while everything is up and running (works with attack skills too, unlike double strikes). If my calculations for everything is correct, the final damage output from regular attacks is a staggering 61 DPS!

So make the use of that 8 seconds before it settles back down a bit. Thankfully the recharge time is low on SB, so it won't be too uncommon for you to get that high. Keep in mind, that's the average DPS... you will sometimes spike even higher (or lower).

Some of you may be cringing right now about my use of Frenzy. What good is all this damage going out when weak Assassin armor is giving up 2x damage for 8 seconds coming in? That's where my last two skills come in. Shadow Refuge is a semi-spammable skill that cuts all damage in half for four seconds and then gives me +96 HP with my stats (recharges in 8s). Before BWE it was a 50% evade for four seconds, but this is better because it reduces the damage of un-evadable skills like Irrisitable Blow, and it also works against most caster damage too (unlike evades). So if Frenzy gives up 2x damage for 8 seconds, I take that penalty away with SR's half-damage ability. Whatever hurts me is repaired up to 96 HP.

Still I'm vulnerable for 2x damage during Frenzy's last four seconds until SR is ready again. With Assassin armor, you don't want to leave too many holes so I'm also bringing in Critical Defenses. With my stats, I block 40% of all melee and arrows coming in every four seconds, and it renews every time I hit a critical. I have a 29% chance of getting a crit, and my hit rate is now at about two per second. I get eight hits connecting during CD's active time, so I'll be getting comfortably 2-3 crits as long as I don't stop attacking. It doesn't totally remove the danger of getting hit under Frenzy, but it certainly helps a lot.

While under both Shadow Refuge and Critical Defenses, you have essentially reduced damage by 70% every other four seconds before you count the +96 HP bonus (melee and arrows... spell damage is -50%). With the four seconds that SR is off, you still are shaking off 40% of the melee and arrow damage on average. Degen, blood life steals, etc. are exempt from any of these adjustments unfortunately, but the +96 HP every eight seconds helps even in that area until you can get to your Monk or heal naturally.

Finally, I should address the energy needed to fuel this build. It takes 25E for the BMT combo, the elite costs 10E and so does Shadowy Burden. Crit defenses is 10E, but it stays on indefinitely as long as you connect your Crits, so only use it when you are trying to stay on target to save energy. Shadow Refuge is only 5E every 8 secs., but no amount is small if your mana is low. Frenzy is 5E for 8s as well.

I am getting +2E per Crit (29% chance), which means a max +1.2E a second with my setup (factor in double strikes and Frenzy). Also I have Zealous knives connecting for +2E every second (+1E x0.48) at my optimum attack speed. With +1E per second from natural regen, I'm getting +4.2E a second at max (or earning almost 13 pips) as long as Locusts' Fury and Frenzy are up and I'm hitting them. Even if it comes to 8-10 pips in reality, that's still pretty good. Cripple and -25% speed from SB will help keep my offense going however, so I'm not overly worried... yet.

If you can, run LF, SB and Frenzy on an enemy to get the max DPS going while simultaneously recharging your mana quickly. You need 25E at least to get the BMT combo to fully work, so have at least 20E in the bank before you pull the first trigger.

Since LF runs out in 25s, that's as good a time as any to use BMT since double strikes don't work with attack skills, but you have a lot of time to do it once beforeLF ends just to maximize a spike kill if he's at 40% health or less. If you do it after LF runs out, by the time that mini combo is done, your next LF is ready to be put back on (30s recharge).

Or, use up 25E early with the BMT combo first, then while he's still crippled you can then start using gained energy for LF first, followed by the snare of SB and then Frenzy him for your 61 DPS+ max energy regen. Again, I'll need to test to find the best strats.

This write-up took longer than I thought. Hopefully I haven't made any major mistakes, but I'll correct it and update the build if there are. I can eke out a bit more short term DPS if I raise CS up to 13 and SA down to 4, but it won't be worth it... Shadowy Burden would last too short for any long term benefits, and my HP bonus from SR is gutted. Still, it's an option for those who want to maximize their total damage and gain +3E per critical in the process instead of +2E.

In theory this DPS build can kill an enemy in 8-10 seconds from melee attacks alone. Add to that the spike damage of the BMT combo and this can potentially be one of the most dangerous Assassin builds possible in the game.

================================================== ========

input · Apr 10, 2006, 12:14 AM // 00:14

well i've seen this build before. its almost EXACTLY alike, or maybe it is. this looks like the work of someone elses. and i found this exact build on a different site. and the exact explenation.

well by the way, that is an awesome build.

swordfisher · Apr 10, 2006, 12:52 AM // 00:52

Yes, that's a solid build. You forgot to add the +1 from a minor to your critical strikes, though- it should be at 9. You might also consider putting it into its own thread, for ease of searching.

Tay Trefenwyd · Apr 10, 2006, 12:56 AM // 00:56

ok well I will soon
Right now I'm busy re-working a kink I found, and trying to figure out how my pre-order of factions works.
PS. I start a day before with the pre-order so I'll get a head start on testing it. and thanks.

PS. I did say I only re-worked a bit. I forget where I found it but it had couple of kinks.

nimloth32 · Apr 10, 2006, 04:04 PM // 16:04

i will making assassin/ranger..

Yukito Kunisaki · Apr 10, 2006, 04:41 PM // 16:41

DPS on a sin is fine, but I think killing in 4s. is more important than killing in 8-10s.

It's like the sword vs. axe debate, axes undoubtedly will create a lot higher sudden damage vs. a swords consistent dps rating, yet more people prefer spike and it's just harder to defend against then dps...

BMT combo is good but if there's a way to totally shutout a foe, sins can do it.

My current build for my sin would be to drop every condition in the game [except on fire and disease] and the resulting spike comes from a critical hitting Twisting Fangs... [bleeding poisoned blinded crippled dazed deep wounded player = dead player...] Spiking through conditions? That's a first if I've ever heard / seen one...

But dps works alongside the team very well indeed. Have a spike warrior back ya up and your enemy dies just as quickly with a combined DPS + Spike assault.

Sadly 2 spike assaults are tougher to resist than a dps + spike assault...

Effigy · Apr 10, 2006, 05:42 PM // 17:42

I've thought a lot about condition stacker assassins, but I'm not sure I'm sold on the idea. Except in RA, stacking every condition in the game on someone is not going to kill them. One Mend Ailment would probably outheal your entire spike, and god forbid someone on their team has Restore Condition (which I think we'll start to see a lot more often for this exact reason).

Precision Striker · Apr 10, 2006, 10:18 PM // 22:18

I am going to make an assasin/ranger because i love having pets do your dirty work for you

.

Sidra · Apr 11, 2006, 12:44 AM // 00:44

A/R, A/N, or A/Me, but going for all-around 5-hit combo based off of a Blades of Steel/Wild Blow dependency which hopefully will render it not completely blockable by stances... Plus maybe a hex or two in there to soften em up... Blades of Steel FOREVER!!!

Woutsie · Apr 14, 2006, 11:50 PM // 23:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by nimloth32

i will making assassin/ranger..

me2

Spoony · Apr 16, 2006, 09:33 AM // 09:33

Thinking something between a/mo (interested can it farm) and a/me(for fragility awsome dmg)