AA Str line overrated?

[Dragunsoul]

<p>Hello all. Im currently looking for a good pvp style build and have been experimenting with aa setups and found that most Assasins seem to go the Str line route which Im curious about. </p><p>What is so good about the str line? The melee crit upgrades only max out around 13-16% or so which isnt even a 1/4% chance of crit hit.</p><p>So I guess my question is how much of a difference does that make and is it really worth the extra points that could be spent upgrading stealth speed and recast with wis line considering the best attacks are stealth.</p>

[Vydar]

There is no line that could be taken instead that would be better than the Str line.

[Gwaelin LDL]

<cite>Dragunsoul wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>Hello all. Im currently looking for a good pvp style build and have been experimenting with aa setups and found that most Assasins seem to go the Str line route which Im curious about. </p><p>What is so good about the str line? The melee crit upgrades only max out around 13-16% or so which isnt even a 1/4% chance of crit hit.</p><p>So I guess my question is how much of a difference does that make and is it really worth the extra points that could be spent upgrading stealth speed and recast with wis line considering the best attacks are stealth.</p></blockquote>My 29 Assassin with no +crit gear (is there even any available for that level?) has a 15% crit chance.  Considering before I put points in, I had a 1% crit chance, that means the other 14% of that is from maxed Precision of Blades AA (well, tooltip says 13.9%).  So I can say for certain that it is a raw crit bonus from the AA.

[Dragunsoul]

<p>So is 15% really worth all those points spent? I dunno Im def going to have to try it for myself but that still seems like a low percentage rating for all those AA points.</p><p>The str point upgrades arent a big deal considering most scout armor has plenty of str stat upgrades.</p><p>Other than that theres bladed opening which I heard isnt really that great, a little bit of parry upgrade and the last ability which only effects a couple of attacks.</p>

[Gwaelin LDL]

15% crit is a [Removed for Content] sight better than 1%.  1 out of roughly 7 attacks will be a crit as opposed to 1 out of 100.  I looked through the other AA lines, and none of them seemed anywhere near as useful for an Assassin.  Agility line is alright, but it is more geared towards a Ranger.

[Dragunsoul]

<p>I understand that... however anyone with exp. knows it is obvious that Assassins are at a disadvantage compared to the other scout classes even with the Str line.</p><p>High (once in a while damage) doesnt compare to consistent damage and utilility,so working on the Assassin's weaknesses would seem a more reasonable choice considering Assassins already have high damage attacks to begin with.</p><p>Since most of the Assassins best attacks are based on stealth im wondering if anyone has tried a Wis/Agi build that would increase Stealth/Attack speeds greatly and in higher lvls maybe either Str or Int as a third option thus improving the weakness rather than trying to go with a small increase to something we already do well to begin with. (High inconsistent damage).</p>

[Brimestar]

STA is a must have for pvp...in particular the end ability.

[Dragunsoul]

<cite>Brimestar wrote:</cite><blockquote>STA is a must have for pvp...in particular the end ability.</blockquote><p>Ive tried that ability. 12 sec invincibility on a 3 min timer if I remember correctly. Not a must for PVP in my opinion. Most seem to like it solely for defending against Swashies but to take an entire line mostly to ward off one class?</p><p>I didnt care for it. At this point Ive gone with Int line and poisons line with frontload. Its ok so far but not as great as everyone seems to make it out to be.</p>

[ChaoticVisions]

STA line is a must for pvp? I wouldn't say I can agree with that. I've never tried the STA line and I have no problem getting kills whatsoever. Never have either. Swashies giving you problems? Spec your defensive stance and use a shield when you fight them. The small amount of extra dmg the dual wield weapon gives you in the battle is little to sacrifice for 60-64% avoidance. STR is definitely one of the best lines an assassin can go, because the chance that criticals will land are GREATLY increased even at 15%. Blademaster is also a great finishing move because it increases dmg and lowers recast on your hardest hitting moves. The STA line end ability is all fine and good but you can't even use CAs during the duration of that ability, and CAs aer what provides the assassin with most of his/her damage. STR/INT lines are the way to go. The AGI line can be utilized, but it's not as great as the others.

[Norrsken]

<cite>Dragunsoul wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Brimestar wrote:</cite><blockquote>STA is a must have for pvp...in particular the end ability.</blockquote><p>Ive tried that ability. 12 sec invincibility on a 3 min timer if I remember correctly. Not a must for PVP in my opinion. Most seem to like it solely for defending against Swashies but to take an entire line mostly to ward off one class?</p><p>I didnt care for it. At this point Ive gone with Int line and poisons line with frontload. Its ok so far but not as great as everyone seems to make it out to be.</p></blockquote>having 14% more health also helps tbh. Not jsut vs swashies. And Impenetrable helps vs rangers, guards, zerkers and monks too.  (and brig and bruiser if you or they are exiled)Mostly useful to stay alive through either the first barrage, or during the snare + sprint move when the fight didnt work out the way you wanted it to. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> But it migh also be useful for standing around and being hit for 10 seconds or so while waiting for timers.I wouldnt say its a MUST, but ist far from useless.

[Dragunsoul]

<cite>Ulvhamne@Nagafen wrote:</cite><blockquote>having 14% more health also helps tbh. Not jsut vs swashies. And Impenetrable helps vs rangers, guards, zerkers and monks too.  (and brig and bruiser if you or they are exiled)Mostly useful to stay alive through either the first barrage, or during the snare + sprint move when the fight didnt work out the way you wanted it to. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />" width="15" height="15" /> But it migh also be useful for standing around and being hit for 10 seconds or so while waiting for timers.I wouldnt say its a MUST, but ist far from useless.</blockquote><p>Well I never said it was useless, just that I dont agree its a must. I guess the question is why is that kind of ability needed? I thought we were Assassins not cloth casters.</p><p>Assassins are def gimped compared to other scout classes no doubt. Im sure impenetrable has its uses but its mostly used to fend off a certain attack from Swashies.</p>

[Ichigoo]

The Int line imo has been picking up popularity as of late. I like it cause the end ability plus the passive poison buff make it really hard for opponents to hit you. also since it lowers disruption(that or focus) it helps against casters as well.

[Dragunsoul]

<cite>Shinta@Vox wrote:</cite><blockquote>The Int line imo has been picking up popularity as of late. I like it cause the end ability plus the passive poison buff make it really hard for opponents to hit you. also since it lowers disruption(that or focus) it helps against casters as well.</blockquote><p>Im honestly considering trying Agi/Wis setup. I know it sounds crazy but since our weakness is that our best attacks are used in stealth the cast and reuse speed for the two stealth moves makes it much easier to get more of those off not to mention the final abilities of both. An extra 30% faster casting speed and extra stealth move that causes targets in area to deselect thier targets. Plus the second ranged ability is pretty nice having knockdown.</p><p>Sounds crazy to most ppl but only way to find out is try it. Otherwise I would say Str/Int is still the best way to go.</p>

[Brimestar]

Yes with the end ability in STA you can't use CAs but all melee classes go big in the beginning so they will waste their hits and if you roll with a healer (especially duo) they will thank you for it cos it gives them a pad to heal you cos you're not taking an inc dmg and makes it easier for them....And going down STA i have over 10k HPs, so that is nice too....

[Dragunsoul]

<cite>Brimestar wrote:</cite><blockquote>Yes with the end ability in STA you can't use CAs but all melee classes go big in the beginning so they will waste their hits and if you roll with a healer (especially duo) they will thank you for it cos it gives them a pad to heal you cos you're not taking an inc dmg and makes it easier for them....And going down STA i have over 10k HPs, so that is nice too....</blockquote><p>To each his own I guess. I respecced to Agi/Wis last night and Im very happy with it so far. I get all of my moves off much faster and stealth attacks are much easier to use.</p><p>I actually do better against multiple mobs now and I was in the middle of a fight with a 1/4 of my health drained when I got attacked by a warden and not only did I survive but I managed to finish off the mob and kill the warden with 1/2 my life which is pretty impressive considering Ive barely been able to survive against wardens 5 lvls below me before.</p>

[Und3rt0w]

<p>Assassins have the single highest DPS output of any Scout class, so I wouldn't say they are [Removed for Content]...maybe in PVP land but I don't usually spend much time there - typically I use my Assassin as my T8 raider.  Since we tend to have the biggest hitting CAs, upping the chance to crit on those is part of what seperates us DPS wise.</p><p>STR line is huge - aside from the MC chance the end line is pretty decent.  Maybe it is less so in PVP, but I doubt it.</p>

[johniem]

I totally understand the love of the str line, the increased melee crit is very nice, but what I am wondering is the end line ability. What CA's do we have that are 2 minutes or over that would make such a big difference.  I know there is one for sure, but I am not sure how many others. I am not a very high level assassin at all, so I was just curious if I was missing the boat on something.

[Lildebbie]

<cite>johniemac wrote:</cite><blockquote>I totally understand the love of the str line, the increased melee crit is very nice, but what I am wondering is the end line ability. What CA's do we have that are 2 minutes or over that would make such a big difference.  I know there is one for sure, but I am not sure how many others. I am not a very high level assassin at all, so I was just curious if I was missing the boat on something.</blockquote>at level 54 i am working with wis/int.  the reduced casting times AND reuse timers for stealths is very nice but then you also get an 8% dmg bonus for CA coming out of stealth.  so far i have noticed a huge inprovement in my PvP play (which admittedly had nowhere to go but up).  now if only the final ability in WiS line worked in PvP, i'd be all set.  for me, the only MUST have line was Nightshade (int).   the final ability is nasty as hell, and the ability to have our poisons crit 50% (which includes CA Dot's) makes us a very bad choice for solo toons.  i killed 2 in a full group of 5 who ganked me in SS and then i wtfpwned a fury who was 2 levels higher than me in lesser fay.  so far i like the combo.  now i just need to ACT my damage and make sure i am still where i need to be for PVE encounters.  

[yzyh]

<cite>Dragunsoul wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>Hello all. Im currently looking for a good pvp style build and have been experimenting with aa setups and found that most Assasins seem to go the Str line route which Im curious about. </p><p>What is so good about the str line? The melee crit upgrades only max out around 13-16% or so which isnt even a 1/4% chance of crit hit.</p><p>So I guess my question is how much of a difference does that make and is it really worth the extra points that could be spent upgrading stealth speed and recast with wis line considering the best attacks are stealth.</p></blockquote><p>If your going to group their is no doubt about it. You want your crit AA to be maxed.  Only a stupid player wouldn,t go that way for PvE grouping.</p><p>Now if you PvP or solo PvE a lot it might be different. The Sta line is pretty good for full time soloer.</p>