syniste
03-29-2005, 11:48 PM
Reply made a new thread =b<p>Message Edited by synister9 on <span class=date_text>03-29-2005</span> <span class=time_text>10:49 AM</span>Oh, might as well make a thread about something that happened to me last night.I am now level 43 assassin, and I grouped last night in Permafrost. I was running combatstats with manual start/stop so I could get an accurate DPS from the moment the mob was engaged to finish. We were a 43 Guardian, 46 Warlok, and 45 Wizard, 42(43) assassin, healer, and a bard.Now, I realize this has no bearing what-so-ever on end-game raid content, but I was really expecting to get blown out of the water and it didn't happen. I posted DPS into the group chat after each fight to get a little competition out there, and the average fight was looking like this:46 Warlok :: Pretty much out-dps'd us all most of the time, with consistant numbers in the 170-250 range, and once or twice hitting high 200's. I still managed to 'win' a respectable number of the fights, but his dps was over-all superior.45 Wizard :: Almost consistantly was 3rd on the list, with a few 2nd place dps wins. The 2 casters tried to work out with eachother why their dps was so drastically different, but the wizard wasn't able to get the kind of numbers the warlok was putting up. Probably in the consistant 100-160 range most of the fights.42(43) Assassin :: I was routinely not the highest hit in combat, but still almost always was landing in the 140-210 dps range. I was easily upwards of 240 dps at times, but would get agro and the dps would settle into the 160ish range by the end of the fight. Overall, I was pretty happy with my numbers and my ability to hang with the nukers. I've been pretty down on my class lately, and this was a breath of fresh air.I'll list some of my strategies in combat - let me know what your thoughts are:Weapons :: SBD and PGT with a Pinewisper bow and 5c arrows. Tier 5 player-made poison.1) On single ^^ mobs...:: Assassin's Mark:: Bloodthirster (adept1) and/or Condemning Blade(adept1) if they're up.:: Between these hits or directly after, I have a /useability macro set that will set off my ringing blow HO, which finishes up with Lingering Blow.:: Infected Wound (adept1), Seeping Wound (adept1):: Then, I hit ranged and back up. One regular attack goes off usually. Cloaked Barb, Open Shot, Assassin's Shot (all adept1). Contrary to popular belief, these hit HARD and they proc poisons almost every time. This is where my DPS can peak easily into the 200's even if Condemning blade or Bloodthirster weren't up earlier. I will oftentimes draw agro after these ranged attacks.:: If I didn't get agro, I go back in and start over at the top of the list, adding in some stealth required attacks this time around (slice throat etc.). If there's only a couple of melee in the group, you can almost be assured that YOU will be the one proc'ing your assassin's mark, adding a good chunk of DPS to your final stats.2) On encounters with 3 or more mobs...:: no assassin's mark usually - mobs die to fast to be effective dps:: I start combat in stealth and hit Shadow Assault (adept 1) and then I stealth and use my other AoE - great dps on 3+ mob encounters.:: Then I pretty much run through the same steps above. Unless the mobs are so weak they're dropping like flies in a 5+ mob encounter... I just use fast casting CA's to finish them off to keep my dps in the high 100's.Okay, now before you go on about how we suck at 50, I've read it all and understand. We don't get comperable end-game abilities that other classes get, and our raid DPS can be horrible. But...I must say, I even grouped with a 44 assassin the other day, and I was routinely getting around 100 more DPS than he was. I think we have some late game stuff that needs fixing, but I'm wondering if some assassins aren't making good use of their abilities. Maybe it's the ranged CA's really working for me - some say they're worthless, but I don't see it that way. If any of you out there don't use them, seriously parse your fights with them and make sure to have a good poison. It procs WAY more often, and I can almost guarantee that, even on the 3 sec casting, they will add a good amount to your DPS. Plus, when grouped with other assassins, these abilities give me an edge, as they are guaranteed dps without stacking issues (that i've run into yet anyhow).Maybe I won't go on strike until level 50...<p>Message Edited by synister9 on <span class=date_text>03-29-2005</span> <span class=time_text>11:50 AM</span>