need help =)

[Kheel]

im new to eq2, just started 2 days ago. I made an assassin because it looked like one of the more interesting classes to play and so far i have liked it. im lvl17 and im just curious where i should start to put my achievement points? what should i look for in gear agi/sta or str? any input is appreciated, thanks =)<a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1B2GGFB_enCA211&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=achievement+points&spell=1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> </a>

[Ouchy Dathurts]

Welcome aboard. I have a 56 Assassin alt that I feel will become my main in the not so distant future. However, I'm not exactly the guru around here, but I'll chip in my thought process (till someone tells me i'm wrong =)  ) As far as the AAs go, stick to the Kingdom of Sky ones (Predator AA tree) at first. I went 4, 4, 4, 8, 1 in the STR tree this will give you some more parry, an extra attack if you use the right weapon, more str, max out your crit chance in the tree, and shorten cooldowns on your huge hits. After I finished that off I started working on the INT tree. After the next patch I plan on having 4, 4, 4, 8, 1 in that tree also. This gives you more INT, an extra attack if you use the right weapon, a defensive debuff proc, maxes out your chance to crit with poisons in that tree, and (if memory serves me) a dot/debuff proc. For gear my first concern is STR, it dictates how hard you will be hitting, and obviously as a DPS class the harder you're hitting the better off you are. After that I'm looking for INT, that dictates how hard you proc weapons and poisons, since we get a lot of our damage from poisons again, it'll just up your DPS by having INT. After those two I look for STA, stamina is obviously connected to your HP, and if you somehow get agro it's always nice to live for the few seconds it may take to dump off the agro. Lastly is AGI really, basically everything we can use has agility on it so you dont have to go seeking it out, it'll find its way to you anyway =) Now, someone can probly tell you better than I can, and who knows, some people might put AGI above STA. But the group I always roll with has an outstanding tank and a troubadour so mana is never an issue. Also, next time you're in game go ahead and /join Guk.Assassin   its the world wide assassin channel, so if you have questions people in there are usually pretty good about getting back to you.

[Kheel]

cool thanks for your help <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Mr. Dawki]

since you wont have any fights that last forever at low lvls, max out STR, even if it is cloth or leather if it has more str than the chain counterpart, GET IT (i kept the same leather hat on from lvl 40-60 because it had 16 str on it). unless you plan to do a lot of soloing, which is realy hard to do at lower lvls on an assassin. make sure you keep your hate transfer skill at ad3 or master at all times, tanks like you more when you dont pull agro and die.

[Kheel]

is there a way to reset my achievment points? i have 4 in the assasin tree and i wanna switch them to the predator tree =/ and if i lock my exp bar do all my quests give me achievment exp? or how does that work

[Ouchy Dathurts]

Yeah, you can reset AAs, although I've never done it so I cant tell ya where to go for sure. I believe its at the mage guild in FP though. 4 Points isnt anything really so I dunno that'd I'd go and respec. If you turn off combat XP you'll still get AA xp for quests and stuff. I have a friend who does that all the time to max out his AAs. Basically just do as many quests as you can, kill all the nameds in a zone and once you're done with all the nameds in a zone try and go to a different dungeon to get even more. There are a lot of dungeons people dont go to, they usually stick to 1 for there level range. So if you can get a group to go some place new you'll get a ton of AA.

[DiceDunkelrose]

you can respec in north freeport, downstairs in the mage guild (building with green windows) npc has a tag under its name. first respec should be free. next one costs you 1s, then 10s, 1g, 10g, 1p, 10pp afaik. check out if you have a button for a free respec in your aa window.

[olben]

<p>But but.. Once you put the points into the Assassin tree, you can only put them back to the same tree after the respec aye?</p><p>Unless, it's changed..?</p>

[steelbadger]

Olben is right, once AA's are spent in one tree they cannot be placed in the other, ie when you respec you can respend your AA's but only in the tree in which you origionally put them.

[Ouchy Dathurts]

Really? Well, you learn something new everyday I guess =)

[Sollum]

Well this post now has me confused. I'm a newbie Assassin too and I was under the impression that AGI was our top priority and INT the least. Now I'm reading peeps are putting all their points into the STR and INT AA lines. The 5 or so points I have so far, I've put into the AGI line to boost my AGI and hence my power and also to obtain those nice bow abilities that are in the AGI branch, which I thought everyone would want to have. Should I now respec? Why isn't anyone bothered with AGI line and the bow skills there? Does INT really increase our poison procs and crits? So whats the prefered ordered list of stats for an Assassin? I both group and solo btw. Can someone please clear this up ? Thanks.

[Lariu]

<p>STR line leads to higher damage on your biggest hits and a boost to melee crit %.</p><p> INT line leads to massive crit % on poisons.</p><p> Assassins are melee + poison dps. You don't need bow stuff. Also, poison users are never out of power (mental breach) and you will have plenty of AGI for avoidance just through normal gear. So put your points into what the assassin does best - damage!</p>

[Gavri]

Pft... the agi line is a great line to put points in. The extra in combat run speed is useful and with your bow crit maxed you can easily get crits for 4k+ on auto attack at 70. Joust away from the mob every 7 sec or so and attack with bow and u will see ur dps jump up considerably.

[Ouchy Dathurts]

<cite>Sollum wrote:</cite><blockquote>Well this post now has me confused. I'm a newbie Assassin too and I was under the impression that AGI was our top priority and INT the least. Now I'm reading peeps are putting all their points into the STR and INT AA lines. The 5 or so points I have so far, I've put into the AGI line to boost my AGI and hence my power and also to obtain those nice bow abilities that are in the AGI branch, which I thought everyone would want to have. Should I now respec? Why isn't anyone bothered with AGI line and the bow skills there? Does INT really increase our poison procs and crits? So whats the prefered ordered list of stats for an Assassin? I both group and solo btw. Can someone please clear this up ? Thanks.</blockquote>At some point you may wish to respec. I'm just going off the cookie cutter assassin AA choice, not everyone likes to be the same though. INT makes a sizable jump in poison damage. STR makes a huge difference in damage. If you find someone who can buff the stat for you just to look at the jump you can see what a difference it makes. Look at a combat art and group with a mystic for a minute and look at the CA again. Same goes for poisons, find someone to buff your INT and look at it again. I only use rare poisons since I have a friend IRL that is a 70 alchemist, but the difference between having them on and not is astronomical (and I dont have poison crit AA maxed yet). They're such a large part of your damage that you're going to want to raise your INT. Almost every piece of armor/weapon/jewelery is going to have some AGI or mana on it. You dont have to go out of your way to pick it up. Plus when you get into groups with mana regen, get good food/drink, or use mental breach poisons its a nonfactor. But, if you want to do the bow thing theres nothign wrong with that, play the way you want to play, at the end of the day its just a game =P

[Sollum]

<p>Ok. I'll be dinging 20 soonish so following all your advice, I've requested my armourer friend to cobble together for me a full set of chain Reverent armour. This is the set with the STR, INT and WIS stats. Just feeling nervous about letting AGI fall behind some what. With the lastest patch, I've now spent my few AA points I have in the STR line. </p><p>I will do the same with Jewelry, focus on the STR and INT stats. </p>

[Ouchy Dathurts]

Seriously, dont even think about AGI. I havent sought it out at all. I've only looked at the STR and INT on an item and my agi is still higher than my STR is, even with the +28 STR pet from rallos zek. Would you rather hit like a sally and have 10k mana or hit like a monster and have 3k mana? Mana of course being almost impossible to run out of.

[brun]

Some clarification for you. AGI - that stat is soooo misleading when you first start. I remember being in your position too, raising agi thinking I was doing the right thing, then finding out levels later how much my dps sucked because of it. AGI is great for the extra mit and power, but by far it's NOT the stat to go for. Especially considering almost every single piece of chain already has a ton of agility. This is why most scouts rate agi pretty low on the list of most important stats. STR will definately be your most important stat. Raising your strength will increase the damage your Combat Arts (CA's) do. As a dps class, you want to do more damage! INT is or can be next and thats because its the hardest for us to raise, but you know, I personally wouldn't even worry about int until you hit higher levels. Others might disagree with me, but imo it's completely useless at that level. INT effects how much damage your poisons do, and at that level, your poison choices are probablly limited anyways. (It's been so long I honestly can't remember) In any case, I think you would benefit from STA more, cause it would help you to stay alive. by giving you more hp. If you want to go for INT in your 20's and 30's, feel free - But really it's something to worry about when you start hitting t7. So if I were you, I would focus on STR, STA, then INT, and finally AGI. As far as AA's.. I would work down the str line first. max melee crits, and finish the str line, then start on int line. Don't listen to the other guy about putting your points in the agi tree, thats just a complete waste. The AGI tree favors Rangers and as such it should remain with them.

[Jayad]

Don't bother with INT until you're raiding. And even then it's a distant second until your STR is very high. Str affects 90% of your DPS, so INT has to be almost 10x more to be equivalent. Plus you also lose out on its effects when you're using cheaper poisons. Not worth it.

[Aanak]

<cite>Sollum wrote:</cite><blockquote>Well this post now has me confused. I'm a newbie Assassin too and I was under the impression that AGI was our top priority and INT the least. Now I'm reading peeps are putting all their points into the STR and INT AA lines. The 5 or so points I have so far, I've put into the AGI line to boost my AGI and hence my power and also to obtain those nice bow abilities that are in the AGI branch, which I thought everyone would want to have. Should I now respec? Why isn't anyone bothered with AGI line and the bow skills there? Does INT really increase our poison procs and crits? So whats the prefered ordered list of stats for an Assassin? I both group and solo btw. Can someone please clear this up ? Thanks.</blockquote><p>AAs aren't so much the INT or the STR or the AGI--it's what's further down the line that counts when putting in your AA points. Crit percent Chances for Melee under STR and Crit Percent for Procs (poisons) under INT. Also, timer reductions from Perfectionist--the last AA under STR. They are the best upgrades to your DPS in tne KoS (Predator) AA trees. </p><p>As far as AGI being our top priority... Assassins are a DPS class. We do very high damage per second. STR determines our ATK rating and how hard our combat arts hit. Swap some STR gear in and out and examine your biggest hit both ways. Our main stat is STR, period. [Removed for Content] your strength and you [Removed for Content] your DPS. INT effects poison damage amounts, which usually make up Anywhere from 6% to 10% of our total DPS. Increase INT, you increase DPS. Increase AGI, and there's no effect on DPS. Not sure who told you AGI was a top priority, but you been lied to!</p><p>When EQ2 first started AGI determined our ATK rating and power pool, but that changed long long ago. I'm amazed people still think AGI is important. It determines our power pool, and to some extent our avoidance ratings. Thats it. And to make matters worse, in the later part of the game, because of the importance AGI played early on, our gear is riddled with it, and so are our offensive stances and Villainy line. Without ever looking to increase AGI, self buffed my AGI is 480 at level 70.  Like someone said before: don't look for AGI, it will find you just fine.</p><p>We're not rangers. We use bows for pulling and secondary damage when we cannot get close to a mob. That's it. The only bow ability I see on the AGI tree is junk--a 2 second stun with throwback and low Damage, only done From range with A bow.  Lets push the mobs all Over the place! Yay!  Compare that to the Dagger ability under the INT line--Poison Combination--which hits about the same and then debuffs the mob's poison resists by an additional 1820 (at level 6). Taking 1820 away from your prey's poison resists makes your subsequent poison hits hit really really hard. And if you max out your INT line Toxic Expertise (2 from that in the INT line), your poison will be critting about 1 out of every 2 hits (53%). Debuffed, a 600 damage poison hits regularly for 1200. Knocking a mob down with that cool bow attack will only frustrate your tank. There's nothing nice in the AGI line. In fact, the further down the AGI line you go the worse it gets, really... For us at least. The predator tree is shared by Rangers, and I'd expect the AGI line might be quite good for them--but I don't know squat about rangers so can't say for certain...</p><p>I go STR, STA, INT on stats... One of our shortcomings is we can't take a hit well. Better than cloth wearers, but still, we bleed badly. And most of us have pretty low HP's.... more hitpoints = more survivability against AE's and occasional agro grabs which = more uptime which = more DPS. If you're dead, you ain't hitting the mobs... </p><p>Personally I think INT is overrated, and we're better pushing STA second. The only reason I have 4 points in INT instead of STA is because its what's under the INT points that really count--poison crits, poison combo, neurotoxic coating, and intoxication--one skill better than the next! It's a great line to go down, maybe even before going down STR.</p>

[Norrsken]

Also, the amount of damage my poisons do doesnt even flinch when putting 36 int in, so the STAT int isnt much to go for at all. the line however, might be quite interresting. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[brun]

<cite>Norrsken wrote:</cite><blockquote>Also, the amount of damage my poisons do doesnt even flinch when putting 36 int in, so the STAT int isnt much to go for at all. the line however, might be quite interresting. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> </blockquote>Well 36 int isn't going to do much. Try buffing it to 510++ int and then you will see Caustics jump up to 826ish base damage.

[Norrsken]

<cite>brunox wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Norrsken wrote:</cite><blockquote>Also, the amount of damage my poisons do doesnt even flinch when putting 36 int in, so the STAT int isnt much to go for at all. the line however, might be quite interresting. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> </blockquote>Well 36 int isn't going to do much. Try buffing it to 510++ int and then you will see Caustics jump up to 826ish base damage. </blockquote>Nah, its not much, but it didnt even move 1. Pretty poor rewards from int, and making putting aas into int to get raw int pretty much a waste of aas.

[Ouchy Dathurts]

Between the AA change (6, 4, 4, 8, 1 STR and 4, 4, 4, 8 in INT atm) and me boosting my INT more now my DPS has jumped from the 400 something range to the 600 something range so its not something that should be discounted entirely.

[Sollum]

<p>Thanks for all your feed back and tips !  You've convinced me.. I'm sold!! <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>(Appologise to the OP for sorta hijacking your post somewhat <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> )</p>