Dannzzigg
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Quickstrike Assassin
I've been wondering how to best make my Assassin an effective killing machine, and have come to this build (for the time being). It doesn't use any elite skills, as the only one I have found thus far doesn't fit too well with the build.
The purpose of this build is to get to the target, unleash a massive amount of damage and degen on him, and then *poof!* you're gone. If the intitial assault does not kill the target, the degen very well should.
Quickstrike Assassin
Assassin/Mesmer
Level: 20
Critical Strikes: 12 (10+2)
Dagger Mastery: 10
Shadow Arts: 9
Deadly Arts: 7
1 Jagged Strike (Dagger Mastery)
If Jagged Strike hits, your target suffers from Bleeding for 7 seconds.
Energy:5 Cast:0 Recharge:4
2 Iron Palm (Deadly Arts)
Target touched foe suffers 26 damage, and if that foe is suffering from a Hex or Condition that foe is knocked down. Iron Palm counts as a lead attack.
Energy:10 Cast:0.75 Recharge:20
3 Falling Spider (Dagger Mastery)
Must strike a knocked-down foe. If it hits, Falling Spider strikes for +28 damage and target foe is Poisoned for 15 seconds.
Energy:5 Cast:0 Recharge:8
4 Death Blossom (Dagger Mastery)
Must follow an off-hand attack. If it hits, Death Blossom strikes for +32 damage against target foe and all adjacent foes take 32 damage.
Energy:5 Cast:0 Recharge:12
5 Fox Fangs (Dagger Mastery)
Must follow a lead attack. Fox Fangs cannot be "blocked" or "evaded" and strikes for +17 damage if it hits.
Energy:5 Cast:0 Recharge:8
6 Blades of Steel (Dagger Mastery)
Must follow an off-hand attack. If it hits, this attack strikes for +11 damage (maximum bonus 50) for each recharging dagger attack.
Energy:5 Cast:0 Recharge:20
7 Shadow of Haste (Shadow Arts)
For 14 seconds you move 25% faster than normal. When Shadow of Haste ends, you return to the location where you activated this skill.
Energy:10 Cast:0 Recharge:30
8 Shadow Refuge (Shadow Arts)
For 4 seconds, you gain 8 Health regeneration. When Shadow Refuge ends, you gain 56 Health if you are attacking.
Energy:5 Cast:1 Recharge:8
The order of use would be: 7, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 5, 6.
This will allow you to:
Get to the target quickly, lessening dmg taken while closing in vs. ranged foes or casters
Base attack dmg + Bleeding
Knockdown +26 dmg
Base Attackdmg + poison +28dmg
Base attack dmg +32 dmg x2, +32 dmg vs. adjacent foes x2
Base dmg, +reapply bleeding
Base dmg +17
Base dmg x2, + 40 x2
If you cast Shadow of Haste when the target is just at the edge of your aggro bubble, there is enough time and energy to unload the entire combo on your target before SoH expires and you are teleported back to safety.
Although it may seem like there is not enough energy to use all of these skills in succession, with Critcal Strikes at 12, you will find that you are hitting with a crit rather often, gaining 2 energy per strike. I've found that at most I would have to wait 1 or 2 seconds before being able to land the last skill in the combo. Ideally, there is no wait, and you can take full advantage of 4 recharging Dagger Skills for the bonus damage from Blades of Steel.
Also, with dagger Mastery at 10, you will gain a dual strike occassionally. Combine a Dual Strike with a Critical Strike while using one of your damage-adding skills, and the yellow numbers will be flying high.
Using an average of 12 damage for base attack damage (it would actually be higher if accounting for critical hits and the occasssional dual strike) and combining with the bonus damage from the attack skills, this combo nets 299 damage plus Bleeding and Poison. Because the conditions are applied early in the combo, they have maximum time to affect the target throughout the combo, usually leaving an unhealed opponent dead before the combo can actually even be finished.
The last skill can be interchanged with a rez sig, cap sig or left alone. I solo a lot with this build, so I use the healing from Shadow Refuge to lessen the time between kills.
The key to this build when playing with a group is to make sure you are not the focused target of your opponents. if you are facing a group of more than 3 opponents, you will simply be spiked down before you can unleash your full combo. If I am playing with Henchies, I use SHIFT-CTRL-SPACE to announce my target and send in the Warrior hench first. He draws all the aggro, and I am right behind. I unleash the combo, then pop back to my starting point. If the target goes down before Shadow of Haste expires, I turn to the next target and at the very least get them bleeding before I 'port back to my starting point.
When I cap it, I am considering adding Seeping Wound (Elite Hex Spell. For 17 seconds, if target foe is suffering from Bleeding or Poison, that foe suffers -3 Health degeration.) in place of Shadow Refuge, adding even more Degen to the target.
One other thing that I should note is that I am using the pre-order daggers, which lengthen poison duration by 33%, increasing Falling Spider's poison to 20 seconds.
Last edited by Dannzzigg, 5/22/2006, 5:38 pm
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5/21/2006, 2:15 pm
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Syragar
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Registered: 08-2005
Posts: 301
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Re: Quickstrike Assassin
I agree. That looks like a really good build! I haven't been playing my assassin because I seem to be stuck in "warrior mode" whenever I play it, and I die fast. I need to get used to the idea that assassins have light armor and need to count on "hit and run" attacks. I might start liking my assassin a lot more once I get some of the skills that teleport you out of a fight. I currently only have the one teleport that you start with that gets you in.
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Dalana Darklight - N/Mo
Terra Windfury - D/E
Yoko Nakagama - W/A
Shyreena Saelana - Rt/R
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5/24/2006, 8:02 am
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DamonIsa
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Re: Quickstrike Assassin
Well, I'd suggest picking up Recall or Shadow of Haste, I think either of them can be bought as soon as you hit Ran Musu, for getting back out of the fight. Otherwise, this seems like a very solid build, Boss Man, er, Boss Man in Exile. All hail Governer-General Keegen! 
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Niva Reikan: Warrior/Monk, Kurzick Champion
Arcturus Highwind: Paragon/Ranger
Pet: ROUS
Walker Tam: Warrior, Defender of Ascalon in Training
Nikolia Vasburg: Ritualist/Necromancer
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5/24/2006, 12:19 pm
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Dannzzigg
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Re: Quickstrike Assassin
quote:
DamonIsa wrote:
Well, I'd suggest picking up Recall or Shadow of Haste, I think either of them can be bought as soon as you hit Ran Musu, for getting back out of the fight. Otherwise, this seems like a very solid build, Boss Man, er, Boss Man in Exile. All hail Governer-General Keegen!
Keegen's reign of terror will end tonight! Muhahahahahahaha...
Seriously though, I prefer Shadow of Haste over Recall. I have found that using Recall requires a touch more attention to my health bar than I can aford while watching for where in my chain I am, what my opponent is doing, where I am regarding positioning, how my energy is doing, and if my skills are recharging. Also, I just can't seem to double-click the icon quickly enough to dispel the enchant when I need to. I've died a few too many times clicking near the icon rather than on it.
Maybe if someone can point me to a way to make the icons for maintained enchantments larger???
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5/27/2006, 7:38 pm
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Jl Rangerguy
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Registered: 06-2005
Posts: 758
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Re: Quickstrike Assassin
Great build Dan, I've had a good time running around poaching small groups of enemies solo with this build. I'm only lvl 17 and have no runes (total 9 in CS I think) but even then energy management is not much of an issue. I love that there are two combos that you can use so that you can stay in the fray pretty much as long as your life holds up.
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JL Rangerguy
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6/8/2006, 11:40 am
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