Hello:

I am interested in playing with my PSN buddy and mostly duoing as many levels as possible. We would like to take it to HELL difficulty if possible...

Could someone recommend a good assassin build to duo with him?

I have heard that "kicksins" do well in the NM and HELL difficulties however I am MOSTLY interested in a boss killer/tanker since my PSN buddy takes care of all the trash mobs 99% of the time...

Regards,

Tetona

since the main curse will be lr I would suggest getting at least a few points into death sentry, since its random ele damage that will help ALOT with clearing early game. You could either follow the dclaw route and max claw mastery + dclaw, fade and sentry. Or you could go the kick route and use dtail for trash and talon to deal crushing blow. Both will work very well. get 1 into blade fury also to help vs IM. I almost always max death sentry on any assasin build as its amazingly godly for trash with a massive radius.

Short answer, Max fade and at least 1 in dsentry then go as either a kicker, (Tiger strike, dtail and talon) or dclaw (claw mastery and dclaw).

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ok... so I went with a kicksin!

I have to say that so far I am really happy with my char. THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the help.

So far I have...

20 Tiger
20 DTail
10 Talon
8 Fade
and 1 point on each skill needed to get to Master Shadow...

now the question

1) Why do you recommend maxing FADE? seems like the added benefit of the extra 10-12 points is minimal in comparison to the early points... I mean 12 points for an additional 5-6 resist? (assuming you have a bunch of +skill items and you are going from say 20 to 30 or 32 skill in FADE)

2) What should I put in my sockets?

3) I was thinking of saving those points from FADE and maxing out MASTER SHADOW, what do you think of this instead?

4) And lastly, what weapons and gear should I be looking out for? I am having a REALLY hard time finding claws, etc...

Best Regards,

Tetona

Each point in fade gives 1% damage reduction, that's why.
But I also prefer to max a shadow since they make pretty nice tanks when maxed.

oh, I see the value of FADE now... Very strange that its not mentioned on the skill anywhere...

Also, does the 1% reduction go of forever? I mean if I get 35 points in FADE via items would that mean I have 35% damage reduction to EVERYTHING ON TOP of my 75% resist?

Regards,

Tetona

P.S. dont forget about my other questions

Nope, only hard points, aka 20 max.

If on the realm, ask someone for some Jade Talons. Otherwise you'll find em around act 2 nm. They drop like candy.

Any time there's no specification on damage type, it's considered physical damage, this reduction is like physical resist and it's maximum value is 50%.

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-Should I sign over the line?
-What kind of people sign over the line?
-...

OK, just to make sure I understand...

Each HARD POINT spent into FADE will give you (additional to what is shown on the skill description) a 1% DAMAGE REDUCTION on PHYSICAL DAMAGE.

The 1% reduction per point does NOT affect elemental or poison damage.

Is this statement correct?

Best Regards,

Tetona

According to the Hidden Skill Bonuses thread, Fade receives the hidden %DR bonus from soft points as well as hard points.

And Tetona, you are correct. There are three damage types: elemental (fire, cold, lightning, poison), magic (bone spear, teeth, etc.) and physical (what's known as "white damage", i.e. the color displayed in your Character Screen when you've selected a melee skill and have NO other sources of damage).

The visible bonuses of Fade affect the elemental damage dealt to you by increasing your resistances by X%. The hidden bonus affects the damage dealt to you by physical sources.

This is what makes Assassin's pretty strong as melee characters - between Claw Block (which blocks attacks and MOST spells even while running) and Fade (elemental and physical damage reduction) you have very successful ways of mitigating incoming damage.

this is correct.
more than 5 pts fade is a waste... i generally go with only 1pt since i focus on +shadow skills (for dclaw sin) and get a bunch of shadow grand charm later on game.

id go for kick sin like this:

20 Tiger
20 Dtail
20 Shadowmaster
10 Dtalon
10 Dsentry ( maybe not needed that much since dtail rapes mobs pretty fast?)
4 CoS
5 Clawblock (must have...)
5 Fade

(trying to get 5 block and 10 sentry as fast as possible)

you focus on shadow skills but add 5 to clawblock?

If he is a kicker then he will want +martial arts charms and equip. also up until endgame he will have a very low fade and as such a low dr%, If you max fade then you can hit max dr% alot earlier and be alot sturdier.

There is also the benefit of having the ability to hit level 60 fade if you max it. Level 60 fade means he gets 75% reduce curse duration, put a holy craft claw on the off hand and there you have a curse immune sin very easily.

I would personally lose the shadow master since they are nothing but annoying. Spamming mindblast just fucks everything up. I dont even add to shadow master, I much prefer 1 point warrior.

20 tiger
20 tail
20 fade
10-20 talon
the rest can be 1 pointers or you can max d sentry, (I usualy max it last but get 1 point in it asap)

Those are pretty much maxed by the end of a5 norm so you will have at least 25-30%dr for baal, closer to 40-50% with a string of ears, that effectively doubles his life (after buffs too). That helps alot more than a shadow that gets owned in a couple of hits by bosses. there is no need for a tank on trash as it is usualy dead after you use dtail anyway. with a low level fade his sin will be extremely squishy against bosses like the ancients etc. Thats no good when you have to be toe to toe to deal damage. Im coming at this from a hc angle, safty first and all that. a dead sin is dealing 0 damage and it takes time to run back to a boss after you die.

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PureRage,

How does having Dtrap maxed help you against bosses like Baal, etc? Or is this a skill that was selected by you mostly for dealing with trash?

Also, Additional to the damage the trap does, is there any other side benefit to this trap (like lowering resist, etc)

Best Regards,

Tetona

covered in channel with you i think, unless that was someone else.

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DoD:

Yes, we covered ALOT of ground on that chat. I appreciate all the help you and the rest of the community has given me and I am happy to say that I am now lvl 85 with my char and I still love playing him...

I do have some questions

At this point I was given by a very generous person a FULL Natalya set... So I am wondering what I should socket in the armor/helm...

I have noticed two things while playing in A5-nightmare:

1) Its REALLY hard to hit things... My att rating is ~11k and the tooltip tells me I have 91-95%+ chance of hitting monsters yet I swiff, swiff, swiff, hit, swiff, etc... any suggestions?

2) My survivability has suffered tremendously! From A4 to A5 (specially END of A5) I am having a VERY hard time staying alive; my block rate is 66% and my Def is 2.2k... any suggestions?

3) What do I put in the sockets of my Nat Armor/Helm? I have 7 open slots. Needless to say I want this to be end-game gear, so I can wait till 88 to put the best Diamonds if that is recommended


My current Stats with gear are:

~193 STR
~155 DEX
~340 VIT
~ 40 En


Build:

Tiger 20
Talon 10
Tail 20
Fade 20
1pt in each req till Shadow Master - 1pt in master
10 in D Sentry (working on getting this to 15 or 20, not sure yet, or might pump Master up... still undecided)


Current Gear:

Nat Helm
Nat Chest
Nat Boots
Champion Fist (gloves)
2x Bul-Kathos ring
Immortal Flesh Belt
Amu, I am not sure what to wear... please advice.


Your feedback as well as the community feedback is appreciated


Best Regards,

Tetona (*eisaiasjr)

put an eth rune in the claw to slove any missed hit issues. Rubys will be your best bet since you already have easily maxed dr%. Start blood crafting rings, these will get more life and give you a str boost as well as give you more life leech. If survivability is an issue, make sure you make good use of CoS, your best bet is to put it on left click and keep a shadow warrior with you (just recast when she dies). another thing I would suggest is to get an act 2 might merc and put ice javelins on him with a medusas shield, max his dr% and res and get him some absorbs. he will slow mobs by ALOT and the might will be a very big boost to your kick damage.

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1) Does it matter WHICH claw I put the Eth rune into, or the rubies for that matter? Right or left

2) Will rubies (30 vit + 10% life) be a bigger help than adding 7 diamonds that will reduce Physical + Magic Damage by 140 dmg? I think I know the answer to this, but I have to ask

3) What is an "ice Javelin" is there a specific unique that I need to look for? or is it a RW?

Best Regards,

Tetona (*eisaiasjr)

yeh sorry its a runeword, ber is the highest rune im sure, you should get one of those by either trading or farming in act 2-3 hell (once you get to that point).

Im not sure just how strong 140pdr/mdr will be in late hell, probs something like halfing the damage being done, then dr% will half it again, It could be worth a try, Rubys are tried and tested and the 4 life per vita is a nice boost along with 70% life to your buffable vit (hard points in it and any life from charms etc.) that should provide a nice boost.

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Does it matter which hand I put the Rubies and Eth Runes?




best Regards,

Tetona (*eisaiasjr)

IIRC you swing to charge up with tiger strike with your main hand, +ar on off hand claws is not added to tigerstrike im pretty sure (from trying with phoenix strike) so I would add 1 eth rune to the main hand and rubys in the spare sockets on the main hand. Firelizards will work well on the main hand with 1 eth and 1 ruby for 32% pierce and -50%def (that works on bosses).

My meteorsin used ko runes in the off hand since the dex boost helped my ar, Ko runes and fal runes in your off hand will help your damage since ar wont be so important with an eth rune in main hand anyway. I would add 3 ko runes to the off hand (nats claws) and an eth rune and ruby in the main hand.

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