Zerker to assassin need assistance [Archive] - EQ2 Forum Archive @ EQ2Wire

Teeuff

07-26-2005, 05:34 PM

<DIV>Normally play zerker(34) venturing over to assassin side and was wondering if anyone has put together some sort of guide. The zerker discussion has a nice one covering lvl 10-20-30-40 selections as well as skill listings with all upgrades. Armor/weapons guides would be nice too. If anything like that exists could someone point me there or possibly start to form one here. I only ask this because I have limited time to play and any help would be great...spent alot of time learning to play zerker/templar/warlock...I just don't have the time to do it again but really want to play assassin. Thank you for any help.</DIV>

BoltLogan

07-28-2005, 04:32 PM

go back to the zerker. you do more dmg and you can tank better.

Teeuff

07-28-2005, 04:48 PM

Not alot of chater on this board...Are there not many assassins out there?

Bobbubski

07-28-2005, 08:08 PM

yeah, i think assassin posters tend to be more quiet than most unless u are discussing why we can't hit half the raid mobs out there :smileytongue:

Bobbubski

07-28-2005, 09:19 PM

<DIV></DIV> <DIV></DIV> I am not too aware any great scout guides like on the ‘zerker board, but here’s my 2 cp as a 35 assassin. As far as going assassin (good choice btw), a few things to keep in mind: 1) your play style and upgrade style depends on how you want to use your assassin. Do you plan on soloing? Do you want to be able to sneak around and search stuff out? Do you want to waste everyone in your group w/ dps? Or maybe all of the above. 2) obviously, much of this is going to depend on how much bling you can spend on weapons, armor, spell upgrades, and of course poisons. Armor This one’s fairly self explanatory. You obviously want the best you can get w/ most stats etc. at the mid levels (20’s and 30’s) it can be hard to find decent armor that provides nice agility stats as well as strength. In the 30’s I find myself mixing and matching a lot of pieces to keep these stats fairly matched. Weapons This is absolutely key for assassin if you really want to pump out some nice damage. Probably the most key factor is the damage range (and quality) of your primary weapon as this will have a greater effect on the size of your backstabs. I’ve seen people complain back and forth that the weapon doesn’t have anything to do with the damage, it’s all the spell, but I noticed my BS went way up consistently when I switched to a slower delay/higher dmg primary weapon. Give it a try and see for yourself. I personally like to use the spears in primary b/c they look intimidating and they usually over more of the higher damage ranges for DW weapons. I also like to use 1 pierce and 1 slash to keep both skills up obviously. I’m sure u can figure out the DW stuff as you’ve played a zerker already. Definitely do the PGT quest when u reach hi 20’s/low 30’s. as an assassin u do tend to blow through power fairly quickly if you are going strictly DPS and the PGT is absolutely invaluable in those situations where you could use just a little boost. Plus I don’t know of a mid 30’s slashing weapon that beats it (I’m sure there’s some sweet fabled item out there somewhere). Combat Arts This is pretty self explanatory that you need to upgrade these. I believe if u do a search on the assassin boards you will find more threads on what to upgrade (try “upgrades”), but here’s a couple of general tidbits about our main CA’s: Assassin’s Blade/(Elaa’s Perforating Strike)/ Condeming Blade/ Assassinate: This is our class defining spell if you will. The heavy damage hitting spell that, truthfully, is a large part of the reason I love this class so much. Even tho you may only get to use them once every 5 minutes (1 hour for Assassinate), it’s a beauty to see 1,000+ damage pop over the mobs head w/ the extra large comma between the 1 and the 0… anyway, I digress. Even tho this is our class defining spell, it is not necessarily our most efficient due to the recast timer. No biggie, still a good time. As far as Elaa’s there, that is the level 30 skill upgrade u can take (adept 2 quality). It really comes down to style whether u want to chose this one or not. Some people swear by the invis upgrade, but the nice thing about Elaa’s is that the reuse timer is only 3 mins or so. That really comes in handy when u need a burst of dmg. I chose it hands down b/c I like the big numbers, but that’s just me. Ebon Blade/Bloodthirster: This line of spells is your more everyday use big damage backstab. These have a 1 min reuse timer so u can pop them in combat more regularly. Tho the damage output of these is around ½ of the damage put out by assassin blade line, the often use more than makes up for that. Very worthy spell to upgrade to adept 1 or maybe even 3 if u can afford. One thing to remember is u must use this while stalking (invis) so u have to get used to backstab dance that all assassins do… I’ll explain more down below on shrouded strike. Shrouded Strike/ Exposed Attack: This line becomes your assassin activator if you will. This is an attack that will do damage when it hits then immediately drop you into stalk mode where you become translucent like you’re sneaking. BIG THING TO REMEMBER: at the point you go into stalk, if attack is still on, it will bring you out and you’ve lost your chance to do a BS special till u can reuse again. The current trend seems to be put this CA on your hotbar close to or in the #1 spot. Then as u are casting it, use the ~ key to turn off attack (assuming the key is tied to that function) and then after it hits you’ll be all ready to drop bombs. Again, needing to be aware of what you’re doing is another reason the assassin is so much fun. If you want to be good, u can’t just hit attack and go do something else. Back Shot/ Open Shot/ Head Shot/ Cloaked Barb: These are a few separate lines of Bow shots, but I’m just lumping them together as one. You’ll get the hang of their uses as u go along. The most important shot tho is the Back Shot/Cloaked Barb line. This is b/c it is a relatively fast casting CA, it does high damage, and it requires u to be behind the target which u usually are assuming u are in a group. Here is another cool aspect of the assassin. While you are blasting away with your weapons from behind and u are awaiting some of your CA’s to come back, hit your Back Shot and then start to back up (be aware of any wandering mobs, of course). By the time the shot goes off, you will be at the right distance for it to fire. Then immediately make your way back to melee range. If you time this right, it is well worth the dps burst as cloaked barb and up do some very nice damage. Plus, as u get even better at playing your assassin, you will begin to find that special little distance from the mob where both melee and bow attacks hit and u can poke and twang away at will. Granted, this is more important for rangers than us assassins, but don’t forget to use your bow! It will offer u some nice extra damage! Assassin’s Mark: Upgrade and use this religiously, especially on heroic mobs. Since it’s been fixed, beautiful spell! Slip Away/ Vanish: this is your sneak around spell line. Lots of fun as that’s what we were made to do. VERY key when u need to do a CR deep in a dungeon. Also very worth upgrading so it will be effective against higher level mobs. Hunter’s Instinct/ Bleeder’s Talent/ Merciless Villainy: This line is great as it provides free haste (sweet!) and also ups your agility which provides more power (super sweet!). Poisons This is a must, even if you have to buy store bought poisons, make sure you always have at least a damage poison on. Most will tell you purple is the best as it does the most damage over time assuming you’re not reproc’ing. There are some really great player made poisons too if your server happens to have someone who makes them. You can only have one type of damage poison on at a time so don’t bother stacking multiple damage ones, BUT you can have a debuff poison on at the sametime as a damage poison. I personally like to get the damage mitigation debuff (for greater BS’s) or the poison debuff as poisons add a significant amount to your dps… especially when u are soloing and u can’t get off your backshots. Miscellaneous Kiting: Look into this as it can be your friend when you are trying to take mobs that are quite a bit tougher than you. Plus it’s a great feeling to take a yell ^^ all by yourself. I know for a fact the ranger board has a decent kiting thread that is stickied if you want to read more on it. Stalking Attacks & Debuffing: as mentioned above, you will use your Exposed Attack so often to put yourself into the stalking mode to perform an Assassin Especial. From here you have a multitude of options. Obviously u can just drop the big BS bombs, but you will often get better results if you hold off on that and put on some other effects. As assassins we receive a stifle that requires stalk to use, a poison debuff that also requires stealth, and some other debuffing attacks (non-stealth) that when stacked up on your opponent prior can have drastic effects when dropping your BS’s. also, when facing big mobs (especially casters) I personally suggest to get your stifle going early to provide some reprieve for your healers. Yes, even the scout can have some utility. _____________________________ This is just the beginning of what you can do. Again, I’m only currently 35 myself but I can’t express enough how much fun I have w/ my assassin. I’m sure my fellow assassins will jump in to correct any errors I’ve made or even a few bah-humbug posters as well, but trust me, you’ll love the assassin. And just like any other class, the nuances will come with time and practice so enjoy!Message Edited by Bobbubski on 07-28-2005 01:23 PM

Teeuff

07-28-2005, 11:14 PM

Thank you, nice write up. Message Edited by Teeuffel on 07-28-2005 01:19 PM