Curse

Jaigoda · Jan 24, 2008, 06:13 AM // 06:13

This is an exceptionally powerful build I made (though I do not claim to be the first to do so). Its power lies in the surprise and survivability of shadow steps, the damage of MBlossom, and the knockdown-lockdown of MHorns. It's designed for RA/TA, which is my favorite PvP area (I'm in a 1-man guild, so HA/GvG is out of my reach), but it could be adapted for AB, or possibly GvG.

Equipment:
Zealous Daggers are required for energy-management. Also, it's suggested to pack a pair of +5e daggers for DP buildup or if you need a little extra time to finish off your target.

Attributes:
13 (12+1) Dagger Mastery
13 (10+2+1) Critical Strikes
9 (8+1) Shadow Arts

[skill]Golden Phoenix Strike[/skill][skill]Death Blossom[/skill][skill]Moebius Strike[/skill][skill]Horns of the Ox[/skill][skill]Shadow Refuge[/skill][skill]Dash[/skill][skill]Shadow Walk[/skill][skill]Resurrection Signet[/skill]

Your target decides much of how you'll go about. If your target's a monk, mesmer, ele, etc., you'll want to use SR, and then Shadow Walk to them, attack, and when you're being threatened or have killed the foe, use Dash to cancel SW. On the other hand, if a warrior's rushing your mid/back-line, just skip Shadow Walk and enchant yourself with SR and attack. Also, once the target's under 50%, you've got another choice: First, you can start the Horns-lock if you need to shutdown the target; this is recommended for monks, eles, and other high-priority targets (especially if you have a teammate helping you out with damage). Second, you can continue with MS-DB spam, which is advised for foes that have little to no defenses, like mesmers, other assassins (though a KD to disrupt their chain is useful), and such.

Then, after your pseudo-spike, while SW is recharging (which won't take as long as you might think), you can attack players on the enemy frontline, such as dervishes, warriors, and other 'Sins. Also during this time, you can freely use Dash (would normally cancel SW; end of assault) and Shadow Refuge (can't use spells in SW), which allows better for anti-kiting and self-healing. This is actually my favorite mode of play, as you can use it like a linebacker to spike down the overextending warriors (you just gotta love those Mending+Healing Breeze tanks!). In this mode, you're more flexible to the environments, though you're not going to be able to safely penetrate the frontline.

Now, The real advantage of this build over instagib 'Sins is the survivability of the build. At first glance, the build looks like just another squishie 'Sin, but the survivability coming in with SR, being able to hop in and out at will (as long as the recharge allows), and finishing with another SR, is absolutely godly. It just has so much better defense than the old-and-new SP, AoD, Shove (not as much), Flourish, etc. builds out there. Not only does it have a self-heal (which not many instagibs have), it also has a shadow-step in as well as out, and you'd be surprised by how many times a shadow-step out of the fray can save you. In fact, the shadow-step in helps with survivability as well, since they don't have all that time of you running towards them to react. You really just have to try the build it to understand its appeal.

Also, I'd like to quickly note the importance of observation in terrain. Before shadow-stepping, find the best place possible in terms of defense (bridges, boulders, easy escape routes, etc.). This way, once SW runs out or is canceled, you're put back in a relatively safe area away from the combat so you can heal up again.

Please, before you make comments, carefully look through the skills and make sure you understand everything. I'd like to keep this as constructive as possible.

bathazard · Jan 24, 2008, 06:20 AM // 06:20

nice build, i have a very similar build that uses vital boon and pois sig for ab( no res or refuge). and that is very effective... though intresting use of SR and GPS...

Jaigoda · Jan 24, 2008, 06:28 AM // 06:28

I thought up SR for an enchant on my Beastly Moebius build (a crappy BeastMaster MBlossom build I made for ranger), since I needed some bar-compression, so I used the idea for this one. I'm pretty sure it's been done before; the build's concept isn't very new, but from what I've seen on Wiki, there isn't one that's quite the same.

EDIT: going to bed now, see you people in the morning.

Angel Puriel · Jan 24, 2008, 07:07 AM // 07:07

The only thing with this build is, you have very little room for error due to SR's duration and GPS' recharge.

The build is very similar to one of my PvE builds. Except I don't use Res and Critical Agility is in the bar.

BlackSephir · Jan 24, 2008, 07:35 AM // 07:35

So you need SR to actually do something?
No, thx.

Bobby2 · Jan 24, 2008, 11:34 AM // 11:34

A+ for bar compression. Though your spike doesn't strike me as powerful at all. Of course if you had some help keeping an enemy under 50%HP, things would be different.

Kyrein · Jan 24, 2008, 01:04 PM // 13:04

you want an exceptionally powerful build for a pvp assassin?
look me up ingame,ill send you a couple
if i find them on wiki youre dead

moko · Jan 24, 2008, 02:07 PM // 14:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyrein

you want an exceptionally powerful build for a pvp assassin?
look me up ingame,ill send you a couple
if i find them on wiki youre dead

haha, you're so funny, must be critical beastmasters!!!!!!!!!1

to the build; it obviously is an old concept.

i personally prefer a proper snare over dash and shadow walk for arenas (it just has so many uses!) and do a chain with sipho-bls wild strike and stuff.

while your surviveability seems to be better, in practise you won't be that succesful at all with it. but if you like getting owned by the enchant once in a while, sure :P

Tyla · Jan 24, 2008, 05:04 PM // 17:04

Not much different to what i use.
But it lacks snare tbh...:/

Jaigoda · Jan 24, 2008, 08:05 PM // 20:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angel Puriel

The only thing with this build is, you have very little room for error due to SR's duration and GPS' recharge.

Yeah, but you get used to it, and eventually it's not much of a hassle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackSephir

So you need SR to actually do something?
No, thx.

I asked noobs like you to read carefully, so this kind of thing wouldn't happen. Look at the build. You'll notice Golden Phoenix Strike (your chain starter) requires your enchantment to hit. Now, to help compress the bar's size, I've combined the self-heal and the enchantment requirement skill into one. So again, read before you post.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobby2

A+ for bar compression. Though your spike doesn't strike me as powerful at all. Of course if you had some help keeping an enemy under 50%HP, things would be different.

I just called it a spike because of the surprise factor. It's really not a spike, and it can take 10-15 seconds to take someone like a monk down. Your advantage is the repeatability of the assault.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mokone

to the build; it obviously is an old concept.

i personally prefer a proper snare over dash and shadow walk for arenas (it just has so many uses!) and do a chain with sipho-bls wild strike and stuff.

I would prefer Siphon over Dash as well, but I'd have to give up something in the build, i.e. losing the extremely important in-and-out shadow-step, losing self-heal and having energy problems from BSS (I'm not going to use a L-O-D starter chain, sorry - too slow), etc. You'd be surprised by how much the shadow-step helps in terms of survivability and power (by power I mean the fact that they have so much less time to prepare against your attack). You won't understand the advantage of the shadow-steps until you actually try them. And anyway, a snare is often unneeded when you've got lots of KD's, and even then, most of the time people are afraid of running from an assassin in fear of crits (remember that this is RA, and people aren't too incredibly smart).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mokone

while your surviveability seems to be better, in practise you won't be that succesful at all with it. but if you like getting owned by the enchant once in a while, sure :P

You're quite wrong there; this build's potential comes out in practise. I've probably got about a 70-80% kill rate (usually within 30 seconds for monks, though as little as 5 or so seconds against low-defense targets), but my survival rate is somewhere in the 90%'s. The ability to shadow-step back exactly where you want is absolutely godly. Just think about it. Eles, mesmers, necros, and monks (often the whole enemy team, really) are watching you to see what you're going to do. If you don't have a shadow-step, they've got all that time, from the edge of their aggro bubble until you get to them, to counter you in some way. With a shadow-step, you can immediately pop to their side, which is often the difference between a successful and failed attack.

BlackSephir · Jan 24, 2008, 09:20 PM // 21:20

*sigh* That's what I'm talking about e-tard.
Your combo starter requires an enchant, you have only SR. You have 6 seconds to hit with GPS. And then recast. And again. And again. Spell with 1s cast and 8s recharge. So I'll repeat once again, maybe you'll understand.

Quote:

No, thx.

Calista Blackblood · Jan 24, 2008, 09:59 PM // 21:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackSephir

*sigh* That's what I'm talking about e-tard.
Your combo starter requires an enchant, you have only SR. You have 6 seconds to hit with GPS. And then recast. And again. And again. Spell with 1s cast and 8s recharge. So I'll repeat once again, maybe you'll understand.

quoting to back you up :P

gps-db-ms is clearly a 1-2 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 (possibly die) cast enchant 1-2 3 2 3 2 3 build

SR give you 6 seconds to cast shadow walk get to the target and if your lucky or have plenty of time left, with GPS

a much better alternative imo would be

[skill]Death's Charge[/skill][skill]Golden Phoenix Strike[/skill][skill]Death Blossom[/skill][skill]Moebius Strike[/skill][skill]Critical Defenses[/skill][skill]Critical Agility[/skill][skill]Restful Breeze[/skill][skill]Shadow Refuge[/skill] or [skill]Feigned Neutrality[/skill]

by the time your done with 2 3 or 3 4 w/e and your target is regretting ever meeting you,deaths charge and GPS are recharged ready for the next target,in an environment like AB another target usually isnt in short supply meaning your enchants will last

Bobby2 · Jan 24, 2008, 10:02 PM // 22:02

Gotta give him credit for using SR the way it was meant to be used all along: as a pre-spike regen boost. I don't think SR phails when compared to the other enchants ppl tend to use: CritDef, WoP. Assassin's Remedy, however, is strictly better IMO. Biggest fanboy of Grenth's Grasp though I'm drifting off-topic...

If SR has a 'best use', this is it.

Though reapplication is not possible when Shadow Walking... something to be reconsidered.

Angel Puriel · Jan 24, 2008, 11:16 PM // 23:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Livia Dagger Rage

quoting to back you up :P

gps-db-ms is clearly a 1-2 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 (possibly die) cast enchant 1-2 3 2 3 2 3 build

SR give you 6 seconds to cast shadow walk get to the target and if your lucky or have plenty of time left, with GPS

a much better alternative imo would be

[skill]Death's Charge[/skill][skill]Golden Phoenix Strike[/skill][skill]Death Blossom[/skill][skill]Moebius Strike[/skill][skill]Critical Defenses[/skill][skill]Critical Agility[/skill][skill]Restful Breeze[/skill][skill]Shadow Refuge[/skill] or [skill]Feigned Neutrality[/skill]

by the time your done with 2 3 or 3 4 w/e and your target is regretting ever meeting you,deaths charge and GPS are recharged ready for the next target,in an environment like AB another target usually isnt in short supply meaning your enchants will last

Quoting you too for backup.

No Critical Agility in PvP...

And yeah, Black Sephir has no clue what he's talking about.

Calista Blackblood · Jan 24, 2008, 11:25 PM // 23:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angel Puriel

Quoting you too for backup.

No Critical Agility in PvP...

And yeah, Black Sephir has no clue what he's talking about.

thx forgot that its ss title track :P but another example of a good skill for use with GPS too if builds used in pve :P

Jaigoda · Jan 25, 2008, 03:26 AM // 03:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobby2

Gotta give him credit for using SR the way it was meant to be used all along: as a pre-spike regen boost. I don't think SR phails when compared to the other enchants ppl tend to use: CritDef, WoP. Assassin's Remedy, however, is strictly better IMO. Biggest fanboy of Grenth's Grasp though I'm drifting off-topic...

The only problem is, it's just stupid to not bring a self-heal on an RA 'Sin. You're being targetted so much, that if you don't have a self heal, and even with damage-mitigation skills, you'll go down like a sack of potatoes. In TA, you might get away with not having one if you've got a good monk (which is hard to come by in a PuG). Just personal preference, I guess.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobby2

If SR has a 'best use', this is it.

Though reapplication is not possible when Shadow Walking... something to be reconsidered.

Generally, I don't need more than the 6 seconds of regen and the bar topper at the end to give me enough time to take down the target before I hop back (monks and tankish eles are hardest). And remember, you've got the factor of not having to run all the way to the opponent, and the safety-net of the shadow-step back, of which the power can only be seen in practise. To the people who say "tis build is teh phail," try it out before you make such extreme conclusions, 'eh?

Bobby2 · Jan 25, 2008, 04:42 AM // 04:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaigoda

The only problem is, it's just stupid to not bring a self-heal on an RA 'Sin. You're being targetted so much, that if you don't have a self heal, and even with damage-mitigation skills, you'll go down like a sack of potatoes. In TA, you might get away with not having one if you've got a good monk (which is hard to come by in a PuG). Just personal preference, I guess.

Ya. RA is heaven and hell for Sins. My preference is to ensure to the greatest possible extent my spike will succeed. SR fills a nice niche in your build, but don't think it will help against serious degen. I, for one, tend not to bother with a self-heal, even in RA. Though I've stopped doing that a while ago - too many 'tards.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaigoda

Generally, I don't need more than the 6 seconds of regen and the bar topper at the end to give me enough time to take down the target before I hop back (monks and tankish eles are hardest). And remember, you've got the factor of not having to run all the way to the opponent, and the safety-net of the shadow-step back, of which the power can only be seen in practise. To the people who say "tis build is teh phail," try it out before you make such extreme conclusions, 'eh?

Safety-net? Check. Mid-battle bar filler? Check.

But you're not going to convince me you need only 6 seconds against toughies as Monks and E/D's. HotO as shutdown is good but dmg is pathetic. Death Blossom is great pressure but by no means a fast-kill dual (think TF, BoS). The Master of Damage doesn't take countermeasures, real players do

moko · Jan 25, 2008, 07:23 AM // 07:23

honestly, i used to run siphon (i'm not using AoD only; it's far superior) with spamming siphon and running in circles with having aggro of 3 on me while the others pick targets off one by one.

i DID run the exact same bar (with the exception of a better enchantment).

anyways, you SHOULD definately do L-O-D in RA, simple reason;

half of the players actually carry one or more blocking stances.

you could just try this then;

Crit Defenses - GPS - DB - MB - Ox - Siphon - Wild Blow - Rez

it might suit your style too.

Proud Elitist · Jan 25, 2008, 01:19 PM // 13:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaigoda

I'd like to keep this as constructive as possible.

How do you deal when someone disables your elite, or to a lesser extent, your self heal? It is very easy to do, all you have to do is run into a Ranger or a good Mesmer.

Calista Blackblood · Jan 25, 2008, 02:05 PM // 14:05

[skill]Shadow fang[/skill][skill]Shadow Walk[/skill][skill]Black Spider Strike[/skill][skill]Death Blossom[/skill][skill]Moebius Strike[/skill][skill]Dash[/skill][skill]Feigned Neutrality[/skill][skill]Shadow Refuge[/skill] or[skill]Restful Breeze[/skill] for healing + [skill]Resurrection Signet[/skill] in slot 8

shadow fang foe-hit with BSS-DB-MS-DB-MS-DB-MS -SF cancels-apply healing-Shadow Walk Back to foe who is now Hurting with deep wound+poison(the O-D marks will remain on target long enough that you can continue with DB/MS spam when you shadow walk back) dash to cancel and of course rez sig

throwing ideas out :P

EDIT:tested out and failed miserably :P siphon speed would be a much better hex