Curse

Draconis · Jun 01, 2006, 05:46 PM // 17:46

I recently made an Assassin but i haven't been able to progress with him because i'm stuck when i'm supposed to decide his secondary class/proffession. First i thought Necromancer because it would mean laying alot of conditions on the enemy, but assassins already seem pretty good at that. So i continued on to Mesmer, seeing as there are Blackout warriors maybe there could be Blackout Assassins that specialize at killing spellcasters but i was unsure. Then i thought "What about warrior?" combining two damage dealing classes in one character has to be good for something? But then assassins seem pretty frail and that wouldn't be very good with a warrior. I'm asking you guys out there now, could you give me some more things to think about? I don't want to copy somebody's build, i would rather like to sit down with some pointers and tips about certain class combos and figure out what i would like to use.
Thanks for your time.
-Draconis

Claymore · Jun 01, 2006, 06:20 PM // 18:20

Hard to say its something you have to decide for yourself, but there are alot of as/wa, as/me running around. As/Mo are popular, I've even seen As/ele running around. It depends on what you want to do with yuor assassin, outright kill via damage, conditions, or just harass the spellcasters.

unholy guardian · Jun 01, 2006, 06:21 PM // 18:21

i found /mo would be a lot better than my /w, a hard rez is really important, espcially when you will find your bar can be filled easly with all sin skills.

I find more and more reasons everyday to go /mo in pve, i just can't get a group atm to finish the mission to get it changed..

Claymore · Jun 01, 2006, 06:26 PM // 18:26

I actually have found I don't use my secondary at all now, going pure class. works so far for me.

Valerius · Jun 01, 2006, 07:33 PM // 19:33

i went A/W for Wild Blow and Distracting Blow... but A/Mo is also good for Rebirth in PvE

MercenaryKnight · Jun 03, 2006, 03:28 AM // 03:28

I like a/rt soo far. Flesh of my flesh is good for an in combat res. I look forward to maybe finding another skill like a back up spirit or something for later on support.

Kyle · Jun 03, 2006, 05:39 AM // 05:39

a/anything works. just depends what u want.

I myself went with a/e for the armor of earth to help our sad armor for the 4 seconds i am toe to toe with the foe unleashing the combo.

Draconis · Jun 06, 2006, 01:42 PM // 13:42

Is A/E good for dealing damage? I know Assassins are good at dealing damage, that's their job, but what about combining? That must mean massive damage! Conjure X could probably be quite useful to an assassin...

Cryptic Quote · Jun 06, 2006, 05:16 PM // 17:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Draconis

Is A/E good for dealing damage? I know Assassins are good at dealing damage, that's their job, but what about combining? That must mean massive damage! Conjure X could probably be quite useful to an assassin...

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s....php?t=3047185
Little tidbit of info on Assassin Ele's

fallot · Jun 06, 2006, 05:57 PM // 17:57

The secondary profession mechanic does not oblige you to use skills from your secondary. Usually a secondary will contribute one or two skills to an Assassin's bar, skills that perform a function that cannot be duplicated by the Assassin's own lines. Combining an Assassin and a Warrior will not give you an Assassin that deals more damage, but you could use a skill like "Watch Yourself!" to increase your survivability. If you're having trouble with Blind, you could change to /N for Plague Touch etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Draconis

I don't want to copy somebody's build

While blindly copying someone's skill bar is to be frowned upon, if there is a build that performs more effectively than yours, by all means use it. Creativity and originality are good things, but not for their own sake. There are people that will shun effective setups just because they are in common use, those people are scrubs.

Edit: Choosing a secondary is not a significant or irrevocable choice in PvE. You can change it to suit your playstyle any time you like. Furthermore, you will probably do just as well with one secondary as you would do with another, one major reason for that being that Assassins have too many attribute lines you want to put points into but also because even inefficient builds work satisfactorily in PvE (for playing through missions at least).

Pick Me · Jun 06, 2006, 06:58 PM // 18:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by fallot

Edit: Choosing a secondary is not a significant or irrevocable choice in PvE. You can change it to suit your playstyle any time you like. Furthermore, you will probably do just as well with one secondary as you would do with another, one major reason for that being that Assassins have too many attribute lines you want to put points into but also because even inefficient builds work satisfactorily in PvE (for playing through missions at least).

This is partially true. Once you get almost half way through Factions, you can change your secondary profession into anyother and change it whenever it suits your needs. Skills don't get lost, but you won't have access to Monk skills if you change from Monk to Ranger. But again, once you change, you have almost 0 skills in that 2nd profession (until you gain/buy them). If you then decide going back to your first choice of your 2nd profession (in my example a Monk), then you have all of the Monk skills you had before the change in 2nd profession.

Sometimes your 2nd profession may be required in some PUGs. If they need a helper in healing and they already have Warriors, Rangers, Assassins, and just need someone to help the real monks, then you can rely on your 2ndary profession only and help the party out, and thus completing the mission.

Granted, that is a rare occation, and usually, Fallout being right about this, you will put most, or all of your points into your primary profession.

So, my opinion as to what is good?

A/Mo
A/Rit
A/N
A/R
A/W
A/Me
A/E

This is the order I would say.

Mo - Remove Hex/Condition and Hard Rez
Rit - Help deal with hexes/can remove conditions and hard rez
N - transfer conditions
R - add conditions or use Assassin skills on bows (nasty)/remove some conditions
W - defense/additional health or use Assassin skills on weapons Heal deal with hexes/conditions
Me - send out conditions that you cause to spread/help injure foes while you flee
E - defense

I know this is a short-sighted list of reasons, but I don't have the time to go indepth into each one.

Hope this helps

fallot · Jun 06, 2006, 08:03 PM // 20:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pick Me

Fallout

Pet Peeve, sorry. Its Fallot, FAL-Loh.

Bloodied Blade · Jun 07, 2006, 12:41 AM // 00:41

I prefer A/Mo simply because of Resurrection Chant and condition/hex removal (CoP, Mend Ailment, etc.) skills that are both low cost and fast-cast.

trickygv · Jun 07, 2006, 01:01 AM // 01:01

im planing to try an a/e with teleportation and fire spells that are good at close range (phionex), ill post a build when i perfected it

Oblivion Odyssey · Jun 07, 2006, 03:04 AM // 03:04

As someone who went through a similar thought process as you, and someone who has changed their secondary a few times, I'll give my best response:

A/Mo If slightly "normal", this is a good combo as Assassins need a way to keep themselves alive. Focus on healing more than shadow arts, and keep critical strikes high to keep your energy high

A/Me This was the combo I first tried. Don't get sucked into the mainstream spells such as Conjure Phantasm, Empathy and Backfire, as they simply do not fit the assassin. Instead focus on DOmination magic and ways of replenishing your energy.

A/Rt Don't even bother.

A/E Interesting combo, I think the key here is using knockdown ele spells before fallign spider, and using critical strikes to keep your energy high. Personally haven't tried it

A/R Popular, but if you're not going to become a critical barrager, I wouldn't recommend it. A trapping Assassin sounds cool, but in reality it doesnt work well, and a pet doesn't compliment the assassin at all.

A/W My current class, but it requires a lot of skill. There are many different ways to go: such as wielding a sword with high critical stirkes or usign stances to keep you alive, but I find it works well for energy managment with high critical strikes. A challenging profession, but one that can work once you get used to it. Don't be deluded though: you will NEVER be an effective tank with Assassin armor- the best thing is to use warrior skills to compliment your critical strikes attribute and keep you alive. There is also a good build built around the "Shove" elite that is fantastic.

Hoep this helps- and remember it is sooooooo easy to change your secondary in Cantha. Good luck exploring the most unappreciated class in the game

.

Pick Me · Jun 07, 2006, 12:24 PM // 12:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by fallot

Pet Peeve, sorry. Its Fallot, FAL-Loh.

I am terribly sorry about butchering your name, Fallot.

Sarevok Thordin · Jun 07, 2006, 01:39 PM // 13:39

I'd go with either A/E or A/N
A/E for Conjure element spells (providing you have the dagger tang unlocked)
A/N for condition transfer (EXTREMELY effective against pesky rangers who try to blind/cripple you)

zeno · Jun 07, 2006, 02:59 PM // 14:59

I went A/W for Frenzy or Wild Blow. Wild Blow is used against people who spam bonetti's. However, I find frenzy to be the single most useful warrior skill for my assassin. The IAS lets me unleash the GPS->HoO->FS->TF in about 2-3 seconds, and since you KD the opponent for about 1.5 second, they literally have no chance to put up a defense(unless against evasive stances). Also, with the recent cost increase of GPS(and thus the nerf of this combo), I can use a zealous dagger squeeze an extra hit into the combo for the +1 or +2 energy in case crit doesn't come through, so that I have enough to pull off the TF finisher. Even with the extra hit, I'll be done and out of there before other assassins. Quite effective in 4v4 if opposing team only has one monk(or none).

Draconis · Jun 08, 2006, 03:28 PM // 15:28

I think i'm gonna go A/E as i like the damage dealing possibilites that the Elementalist part holds. I really appreciate all this help from you guys!
Maybe this thread should be stickied or something like that, since others with the same problems might find guidance here?

Jetdoc · Jun 08, 2006, 04:25 PM // 16:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oblivion Odyssey

A/Mo If slightly "normal", this is a good combo as Assassins need a way to keep themselves alive. Focus on healing more than shadow arts, and keep critical strikes high to keep your energy high

A/Me This was the combo I first tried. Don't get sucked into the mainstream spells such as Conjure Phantasm, Empathy and Backfire, as they simply do not fit the assassin. Instead focus on DOmination magic and ways of replenishing your energy.

A/Rt Don't even bother.

A/E Interesting combo, I think the key here is using knockdown ele spells before fallign spider, and using critical strikes to keep your energy high. Personally haven't tried it

A/R Popular, but if you're not going to become a critical barrager, I wouldn't recommend it. A trapping Assassin sounds cool, but in reality it doesnt work well, and a pet doesn't compliment the assassin at all.

A/W My current class, but it requires a lot of skill. There are many different ways to go: such as wielding a sword with high critical stirkes or usign stances to keep you alive, but I find it works well for energy managment with high critical strikes. A challenging profession, but one that can work once you get used to it. Don't be deluded though: you will NEVER be an effective tank with Assassin armor- the best thing is to use warrior skills to compliment your critical strikes attribute and keep you alive. There is also a good build built around the "Shove" elite that is fantastic.

Nice list/analysis, albiet a bit stereotyped (which is necessary for this type of post).

A few comments:

A/Mo - to me, this class is taken for several reasons (some of which good, some of which bad):

* To stay in the battle frontlines longer. To me, this is a bad application because this starts to smell like a poorman's Tank.
* To help survivability when splitting. A bit more plausible, but still to me a relatively poor application.
* For extra smiting damage. The true value, IMO, of a A/Mo is coupling smiting skills/knockdown ability with the assassin combos.

A/Me - primarily for shutdown/condition penalities, especially for the wonderful skills of epidemic and fragility. Energy gathering is a possibility as well, and Distortion can help your survivability. An all around nice subclass.

A/Rt - don't completely write this off yet, but I do see a ton of people creating this for skill unlocks and not using their secondary at all. It seems like Channeling might have some nice compliments here that haven't been fully fleshed out.

A/E - some interesting combos here as well, although I hate the fact that many elementalist skills are so energy intensive. Earth seems to be a nice possibility for Assassins, especially to drop a Ward to help your survivability.

A/R - much more than the barrager, rangers have many defensive/speed enhancing/self heal skills that compliment the assassin. Pets are a bad idea, IMO, unless you're going archer as well.

A/W - by far the best subclass for an assassin, IMO, that is focusing on shadow stepping, attacking, and teleporting out. Great defensive skills, Wild Blow to ensure a combo succeeds, and a Healing Signet to help when you're out of the battle. I'm surprised we don't see more A/W's out there.