Does soloing get "easier"? [Archive] - EQ2 Forum Archive @ EQ2Wire

Mizomei

04-23-2009, 02:33 PM

Hello all, new Assassin here, currently level 18 and I am finding myself having trouble fighting certain blue Con mobs, the mojority of the time I am finding myself having a lot of downtime in between each fight.Does this get progressivly better as I level? or is this just the life of an assassin?I started down the STR line of the pred tree, would it make a difference if I went down the AGI tree for the extra AGI?I thank you for any advice you may be able to give me.

Bloodfa

04-23-2009, 02:40 PM

Honest question, and I mean no disrespect so please don't take any, but are you new to the class or new to the game? That would help the responses to be more constructive.

Mizomei

04-23-2009, 02:47 PM

<cite>Bloodfang@Nagafen wrote:</cite><blockquote>Honest question, and I mean no disrespect so please don't take any, but are you new to the class or new to the game? That would help the responses to be more constructive.</blockquote>Both, I can say that I picked up the class pretty easily, not new to MMORPG's in general, I have all up to date quest gear and all that jazz, it just seems that all the mobs I am now encountering are just hitting me like a truck.

Bloodfa

04-23-2009, 02:59 PM

Ah, gotcha. This is more of a 'newbie to the game' question, then. Assassins are nasty in their own right. I've got a T3 one that I was toying around with just before my hiatus, and I found them to be just as dangerous as my other alts were at that level. Blues should be a piece of cake, but you need to make sure you're using the right gear, the right combat arts for that particular tier, in the right order, and the right poison. Nothing scales as you level up, and the 'new' combat arts you pick up are just newer versions of the ones you've got with a higher debuff or damage spread, for the most part; you've got the quest gear, but from where? Gorowyn or Freeport? Yellows shouldn't pose much of a problem for you, once you sneak up on them and open them up. Or are you taking on heroics?

Mizomei

04-23-2009, 03:04 PM

<cite>Bloodfang@Nagafen wrote:</cite><blockquote>Ah, gotcha. This is more of a 'newbie to the game' question, then. Assassins are nasty in their own right. I've got a T3 one that I was toying around with just before my hiatus, and I found them to be just as dangerous as my other alts were at that level. Blues should be a piece of cake, but you need to make sure you're using the right gear, the right combat arts for that particular tier, in the right order, and the right poison. Nothing scales as you level up, and the 'new' combat arts you pick up are just newer versions of the ones you've got with a higher debuff or damage spread, for the most part; you've got the quest gear, but from where? Gorowyn or Freeport? Yellows shouldn't pose much of a problem for you, once you sneak up on them and open them up. Or are you taking on heroics?</blockquote>I am in Darklight Wood, what I would assume is the last quest hub of the region (shadow oak) Up until this hub I was having no problem killing white-yellow con mobs without havinh much downtime.But now, there are these spiders and beetles here that simply rock my face,is it possible that these particular mobs have higher checks against avoidance?

Bloodfa

04-23-2009, 03:21 PM

Not sure, it's been a while since I ran through there. I'd suggest visiting Gorowyn when you're done, though. The gear there will cover you up to the late 20's. What level CA's do you have? Apprentice I or App IV? Adepts are much better, and Ad I's are reasonably cheap. On the subject of soloing, it's quite viable to solo all the way to 80. More fun with more, though. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

Aaramis

04-23-2009, 04:10 PM

Couple of things to keep in mind :- mob difficulty is noticeably improved with each tier. In other words, the level 20 mobs would absolutely trash a level 19 mob.- some mobs are simply more difficult for some classes than others. For melees in Darklight, I remember those beetles just before the spider area giving me a really hard time when I could tackle [Removed for Content] near anything else in that zone. They just hit me like a mack truck for some reason.- at 18, you haven't all of the Assassin abilities (aka toys) yet, and won't for a long time. Seriously, things get much happier at 50+. Your first Assassinate will have you grinning like a teenager sat in pervert's row.

Norrsken

04-23-2009, 04:33 PM

<cite>Aaramis wrote:</cite><blockquote>Couple of things to keep in mind :- mob difficulty is noticeably improved with each tier. In other words, the level 20 mobs would absolutely trash a level 19 mob.- some mobs are simply more difficult for some classes than others. For melees in Darklight, I remember those beetles just before the spider area giving me a really hard time when I could tackle [Removed for Content] near anything else in that zone. They just hit me like a mack truck for some reason.- at 18, you haven't all of the Assassin abilities (aka toys) yet, and won't for a long time. Seriously, things get much happier at 50+. Your first Assassinate will have you grinning like a teenager sat in pervert's row.</blockquote>Actually, imho, the first taste of what an assassin will become comes with assassins blade in the tweens. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> That skill quickly gets watered down though. <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

TerrorFirmer

04-23-2009, 06:53 PM

<cite>Mizomei wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Bloodfang@Nagafen wrote:</cite><blockquote>Honest question, and I mean no disrespect so please don't take any, but are you new to the class or new to the game? That would help the responses to be more constructive.</blockquote>Both, I can say that I picked up the class pretty easily, not new to MMORPG's in general, I have all up to date quest gear and all that jazz, it just seems that all the mobs I am now encountering are just hitting me like a truck.</blockquote>Those beetles aren't normal mobs, they have an up arrow. They are noticeably more difficult than any of the earlier stuff, and can be tricky kills at 18 (I am there right now myself). Unfortunately most of the advice you may get is to get the best gear and skill upgrades possible, however as a new player without unlimited funds getting all mastercraft gear and adept IIIs is not a doable option. On your first character it is going to be rough, unless you fork out the money to buy plat and get the gear.One thing to keep in mind, though. Make sure you are harvesting everything you see and selling it at auction. You should make enough money to at least keep some of your stuff mastercrafted out. You can also try a DIY approach and tradeskill as either an armorsmith or a weaponsmith and make your own mastercrafted gear from the rares you harvest. One thing that is essential, though, that I have noticed, is to go to the auction house and buy new poison. The stuff they start you out with SUCKS, especially at 18. Procing for 7 damage sucks when it could be hitting for 80.

Lethe5683

04-24-2009, 11:13 AM

<cite>Mizomei wrote:</cite><blockquote>Hello all, new Assassin here, currently level 18 and I am finding myself having trouble fighting certain blue Con mobs, the mojority of the time I am finding myself having a lot of downtime in between each fight.Does this get progressivly better as I level? or is this just the life of an assassin?I started down the STR line of the pred tree, would it make a difference if I went down the AGI tree for the extra AGI?I thank you for any advice you may be able to give me.</blockquote>When soloing AGI is generally most important but AA shouldn't be take for the stats but for the abilities and buffs. The STR line is probably best to do first but when you get to 24 AA you should probably respec to AGI tree going, 4, 4, 6, 8, 1.

jozuathegaunt

04-25-2009, 06:37 PM

You may aleady have figured this out, but as a low level scout, cheap shot is your friend. Cheap shot, run behind the mob, back attack that drops you into stealth, then big back attack = mob in orange most of the time at your level. Assassins are never "easy" to solo. They don't get the stuns of a brig or the frontal attacks of a swashy, but with finesse, they can do ok. As a bonus, if you can stick with it and make the most of your abilities while soloing, you should be superior to a "get behind them and stick'em" player if you apply the same techniques while grouping.

ProperPiper

04-26-2009, 02:33 PM

As an over 3 year player of an assasin, let me say that what I've found is that they are much more soloable below level 70 than after...lol.Many of the above suggestions are good. You, of course, always want the best gear you can afford to buy or can manage to quest for. You probably want to make sure combat arts are as good as you can afford with an emphasis on your back/stealth attacks. You also want to splurge on the best poisons that you can afford and use.As to AA points, the way I went is dual lines, str and intel. You can build agility to respectable amounts from armor and jewelry. Strength makes your physical hits hit harder and intel raises the damage done by poisons. Your initial hit in a fight (your stealth hit) and the damage you can pour on with poison are what determines how long the fight lasts. The longer the fight, the lower your survivability. This has been my observation over the years.Welcome to Norrath and I hope some of this helps.

Lethe5683

04-26-2009, 07:25 PM

<cite>Brailey@Lucan DLere wrote:</cite><blockquote>As an over 3 year player of an assasin, let me say that what I've found is that they are much more soloable below level 70 than after...lol.Many of the above suggestions are good. You, of course, always want the best gear you can afford to buy or can manage to quest for. You probably want to make sure combat arts are as good as you can afford with an emphasis on your back/stealth attacks. You also want to splurge on the best poisons that you can afford and use.As to AA points, the way I went is dual lines, str and intel. You can build agility to respectable amounts from armor and jewelry. Strength makes your physical hits hit harder and intel raises the damage done by poisons. Your initial hit in a fight (your stealth hit) and the damage you can pour on with poison are what determines how long the fight lasts. The longer the fight, the lower your survivability. This has been my observation over the years.Welcome to Norrath and I hope some of this helps.</blockquote>Poison damage is irrelevant for soloing.

Aaramis

04-28-2009, 11:32 AM

<cite>Lethe5683 wrote:</cite><blockquote>Poison damage is irrelevant for soloing.</blockquote>Lol, what?!?Being able to slow, stun, snare, lifetap, DoT, DD, etc. via poisons makes a HUGE difference to soloability. Not to mention the INT line will increase your poison/weapon proc crit rate to about 50%, plus give you a reasonable DoT poison proc if you go to the end of that line.Add in Frontload and your short-timered buffs, and you can "dps burn" for quite a large amount.As mentioned above, I'm 100% in agreement that the longer the fight, the less survivability you have. And when you can crit every other poison hit, that certainly speeds things up.PS - Terrorfirmer: Well spotted on the beetles. I hadn't noticed they were one ^ arrow back in the day. That would explain things, haha <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

dirtymeat80

04-28-2009, 11:45 AM

It's easy to solo every 10 minutes <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />j/kIt's not too bad, but you just have to be ready to dance around and think ahead of time and watch your surroundings. Start with a snipe shot from behind (Shadow Shot at lvl 15), then the multi-shot, (Open Shot at lvl 16), then at lvl 30 you get Makeshift Weapon so toss that in there and the mob is usually down a good amount of health before it even reaches you, and of course, once it does, Cheap Shot to stun, quickly get behind them and hit one of the stealth attacks and continue some CA's till they're dead.At lvl 20, you get Trick of the Hunter, so if you're low on health, hit that to snare and just kite em around a bit - be very careful of adds. At 25 is the Evac so at least you get a nice "OH NO!!!" button. Lvl 32 comes in and now you can add a Root to your arsenal which can be very handy when low on health. Hit it and step back and finish with arrows or wait for cheap shot to come back up.So I guess in reply to your original post.......yes, Solo'ing does get easier as you get higher in levels and get more tricks up your sleeve.Damage poisons aren't tons important for leveling/soloing, but I do suggest looking into the Vitality Poisions. Give a little tick of health now and again.Bored at work, typed this kinda quick, someone feel free to step in and call me an idiot. Still fairly new to Assassin, just tryin to help <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

Lethe5683

04-29-2009, 10:20 AM

<cite>Aaramis wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Lethe5683 wrote:</cite><blockquote>Poison damage is irrelevant for soloing.</blockquote>Lol, what?!?Being able to slow, stun, snare, lifetap, DoT, DD, etc. via poisons makes a HUGE difference to soloability. Not to mention the INT line will increase your poison/weapon proc crit rate to about 50%, plus give you a reasonable DoT poison proc if you go to the end of that line.</blockquote>Slow, stun, snare, lifetap are not damage and are not affected by spell crit or int. If you are using lifetap potions while soloing, which you should be, then crits will not make much difference.

TerrorFirmer

04-29-2009, 06:41 PM

<cite>dirtymeat80 wrote:</cite><blockquote>It's easy to solo every 10 minutes <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" />j/kIt's not too bad, but you just have to be ready to dance around and think ahead of time and watch your surroundings. Start with a snipe shot from behind (Shadow Shot at lvl 15), then the multi-shot, (Open Shot at lvl 16), then at lvl 30 you get Makeshift Weapon so toss that in there and the mob is usually down a good amount of health before it even reaches you, and of course, once it does, Cheap Shot to stun, quickly get behind them and hit one of the stealth attacks and continue some CA's till they're dead.At lvl 20, you get Trick of the Hunter, so if you're low on health, hit that to snare and just kite em around a bit - be very careful of adds. At 25 is the Evac so at least you get a nice "OH NO!!!" button. Lvl 32 comes in and now you can add a Root to your arsenal which can be very handy when low on health. Hit it and step back and finish with arrows or wait for cheap shot to come back up.So I guess in reply to your original post.......yes, Solo'ing does get easier as you get higher in levels and get more tricks up your sleeve.Damage poisons aren't tons important for leveling/soloing, but I do suggest looking into the Vitality Poisions. Give a little tick of health now and again.Bored at work, typed this kinda quick, someone feel free to step in and call me an idiot. Still fairly new to Assassin, just tryin to help <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" /></blockquote>I'd just like to add that DD poisons are effective for me. I use a mastercrafted bow with a 7 second delay and the thing seems to proc poison every time I pull with it. So, it loads on about 200 or so damage over what the normal bow pull would do, not to mention whatever damage I get from meleeing the mob. This is at level 25ish. Also, use the player crafted arrows... they add a lot of damage over what those junky general store arrows add plus you get a bit of extra range to prepare for the counterattack or get off another CA before they slam into you.

Aaramis

04-29-2009, 08:12 PM

<cite>Lethe5683 wrote:</cite><blockquote>Slow, stun, snare, lifetap are not damage and are not affected by spell crit or int. If you are using lifetap potions while soloing, which you should be, then crits will not make much difference.</blockquote>"Your vitality breach critically hits a drachnid bloodknight for 556 poison damage."You have a point about slow/stun/snare, although I'd imagine they can still crit. But lifetap is most certainly affected by the INT line. And I tend to use Intoxication quite often as well, which also is.Crits might not make a huge difference, but they do add up. Especially with Frontload...

Lethe5683

04-29-2009, 10:39 PM

<cite>Aaramis wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Lethe5683 wrote:</cite><blockquote>Slow, stun, snare, lifetap are not damage and are not affected by spell crit or int. If you are using lifetap potions while soloing, which you should be, then crits will not make much difference.</blockquote>"Your vitality breach critically hits a drachnid bloodknight for 556 poison damage."You have a point about slow/stun/snare, although I'd imagine they can still crit. But lifetap is most certainly affected by the INT line. And I tend to use Intoxication quite often as well, which also is.Crits might not make a huge difference, but they do add up. Especially with Frontload...</blockquote>556 poison damage is still not that important and even with 0 INT and no crit it will be doing at least 300 dmg, those poisons are only worth it for the healing. Debuffs can't crit. Lifetaps heal amount is not effected by int or the INT line AAs.

Aaramis

04-30-2009, 10:22 AM

/shrug. I can't be arsed to sit here and argue with you. To each his/her own. I just feel that you're arguing that poisons are irrelevant for soloing, and I don't want a whole new breed of newb Assassins getting to 60+ having rarely used poisons because they took your advice that they're worthless.In my experience, poison use has been a godsend in solo and has allowed me to chain mobs, even in Kunark. If my high-damage CAs are down, I can always dps burn using the short duration clickies + intoxication. Frontload if I need it. An extra 250dmg per hit isn't a whole lot, true, but if you proc 4+ times a fight that's a free 1000dmg that you wouldn't have otherwise (assuming all crit, which isn't unrealistic). Add in intoxication's damage (2000ish damage I think? via DoT) and any other weapon proc crits you might get, and it does add up to a significant amount.I've even tackled ^^^ heroics by snaring/rooting them, backing off, and using Frontload to deal a hefty amount of lifetap damage while self-healing, before jumping back into the fray.But as I said, to each his/her own. If you get by fine without them, then so be it. But I wouldn't give mine up for the world.

Anfauglith

04-30-2009, 01:41 PM

Makes sure your slashing (or piercing depending on your weapon), aswell as defence skill are maxed out. It's a real trap at low lvls most people end up having problems because of it. (it really makes a ton of difference)

Aaramis

04-30-2009, 08:15 PM

After this discussion, I've kept an eye on my vitality breach in the combat log tonight. Sure enough, I saw "YOUR vitality breach critically heals YOU for 352 hit points." I hadn't noticed it the other night when I looked as the damage had killed the mob, and it didn't heal me as a result (or perhaps I was already at full health, I can't recall).It also seemed to automatically critically heal me on every critical damage hit. I never saw one without the other. And, on average, I saw 2-3 procs per fight, with upwards of 7+ on one fight, with the vast majority critting.I also have a regular lifetap built into my dagger, which does similar damage and procs 2-3 times a fight and seemed to automatically critically heal whenever I got a crit proc.Just an interesting FYI <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

Lethe5683

05-01-2009, 10:23 AM

<cite>Aaramis wrote:</cite><blockquote>/shrug. I can't be arsed to sit here and argue with you. To each his/her own. I just feel that you're arguing that poisons are irrelevant for soloing, and I don't want a whole new breed of newb Assassins getting to 60+ having rarely used poisons because they took your advice that they're worthless.In my experience, poison use has been a godsend in solo and has allowed me to chain mobs, even in Kunark. If my high-damage CAs are down, I can always dps burn using the short duration clickies + intoxication. Frontload if I need it. An extra 250dmg per hit isn't a whole lot, true, but if you proc 4+ times a fight that's a free 1000dmg that you wouldn't have otherwise (assuming all crit, which isn't unrealistic). Add in intoxication's damage (2000ish damage I think? via DoT) and any other weapon proc crits you might get, and it does add up to a significant amount.I've even tackled ^^^ heroics by snaring/rooting them, backing off, and using Frontload to deal a hefty amount of lifetap damage while self-healing, before jumping back into the fray.But as I said, to each his/her own. If you get by fine without them, then so be it. But I wouldn't give mine up for the world.</blockquote>I said poisons damage is irrelevant for soloing.

Aaramis

05-01-2009, 11:17 AM

<cite>Lethe5683 wrote:</cite><blockquote>I said poisons damage is irrelevant for soloing.</blockquote>Exactly. And I've argued, and shown, that that's a load of tosh. Poison damage is VERY relevant for soloing.You also argued that lifetaps were not damage and were not affected by spell crit (top of this page). Once again, absolute rubbish. Being able to damage your enemy and heal yourself, and be able to crit on both ends, can make a large difference in a fight, especially if you crit 4+ times per battle. That's a free 2200 dmg to your enemy, and a free 1400 HPs healed. How is that not relevant? How is it a bad thing for your weapon procs (either built-in or via adornments) to crit more often, inflicting more damage? How is the INT line Intoxication dealing 2000 DoT damage a bad thing?I have procs on both of my weapons, plus player-crafted adornment procs. Plus I use poisons. When all of these proc, and crit, in a fight, it adds up to some significant numbers. Why can't you see that?Unless you're fighting ^^^ heroics straight up in melee (which you shouldn't be anyways), where you'll simply be taking more damage than you can possibly heal via lifetaps, there's no reason not to be using poisons. Poison damage is a bonus whether solo, or in a group, or on a raid. Use it. Otherwise, you're simply a gimped Assassin.*edit* - fixed the numbers for proc damage to be correct using T7 poisons.

Lethe5683

05-01-2009, 11:56 AM

<cite>Aaramis wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Lethe5683 wrote:</cite><blockquote>I said poisons damage is irrelevant for soloing.</blockquote>Exactly. And I've argued, and shown, that that's a load of tosh. Poison damage is VERY relevant for soloing.You also argued that lifetaps were not damage and were not affected by spell crit (top of this page). Once again, absolute rubbish. Being able to damage your enemy and heal yourself, and be able to crit on both ends, can make a large difference in a fight, especially if you crit 4+ times per battle. That's a free 2200 dmg to your enemy, and a free 1400 HPs healed. How is that not relevant? How is it a bad thing for your weapon procs (either built-in or via adornments) to crit more often, inflicting more damage? How is the INT line Intoxication dealing 2000 DoT damage a bad thing?I have procs on both of my weapons, plus player-crafted adornment procs. Plus I use poisons. When all of these proc, and crit, in a fight, it adds up to some significant numbers. Why can't you see that?Unless you're fighting ^^^ heroics straight up in melee (which you shouldn't be anyways), where you'll simply be taking more damage than you can possibly heal via lifetaps, there's no reason not to be using poisons. Poison damage is a bonus whether solo, or in a group, or on a raid. Use it. Otherwise, you're simply a gimped Assassin.*edit* - fixed the numbers for proc damage to be correct using T7 poisons.</blockquote>I didn't say lifetap poisons don't do damage, and I didn't know that spell crit affected the heal amount since they shouldn't but if they do then thats good I guess?2,200 damage is one autoattack or CA. Speccing for the INT line does not give sufficent benefit for soloing compared to the benefits of higher avoidance, faster casting time, faster stealth, etc.When did I say don't use poisons? The whole arguement started when I said "Poison damage is irrelevant while soloing" in response to someone saying that INT > AGI for soloing which is not true in any way shape or form.

Brimestar

05-01-2009, 05:19 PM

If you're going to solo, whether its pvp or pve....Go STA....More HP you have better off you are...You can't DPS when you're dead...

Lethe5683

05-03-2009, 07:27 PM

<cite>Brimestar wrote:</cite><blockquote>If you're going to solo, whether its pvp or pve....Go STA....More HP you have better off you are...You can't DPS when you're dead...</blockquote>I hope you mean the STA line for the +hp% because actuall STA is almost useless.

TerrorFirmer

05-06-2009, 09:16 AM

<cite>Akodia@Lucan DLere wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Brimestar wrote:</cite><blockquote>If you're going to solo, whether its pvp or pve....Go STA....More HP you have better off you are...You can't DPS when you're dead...</blockquote>I hope you mean the STA line for the +hp% because actuall STA is almost useless.</blockquote>Are you crazy? It gives you some much needed AOE attacks which can help you survive in fights you would die in otherwise! Sure it may not give much in terms of single target DPS but the entire line improves the solo ability of an assassin if taken along with the strength line.

Lethe5683

05-06-2009, 09:31 AM

<cite>TerrorFirmer wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Akodia@Lucan DLere wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Brimestar wrote:</cite><blockquote>If you're going to solo, whether its pvp or pve....Go STA....More HP you have better off you are...You can't DPS when you're dead...</blockquote>I hope you mean the STA line for the +hp% because actuall STA is almost useless.</blockquote>Are you crazy? It gives you some much needed AOE attacks which can help you survive in fights you would die in otherwise! Sure it may not give much in terms of single target DPS but the entire line improves the solo ability of an assassin if taken along with the strength line.</blockquote>You misunderstand what I was saying. you said simply "If you're going to solo, whether its pvp or pve....Go STA....More HP you have better off you are...You can't DPS when you're dead..." which made it sound like you could be just as likely saying focuse on sta the stat as using the STA aa line. I was saying if you meant by that to focuse on STA the stat that is pointless since it abrely effects your hp.

Aaramis

05-06-2009, 09:45 AM

<cite>TerrorFirmer wrote:</cite><blockquote>Are you crazy? It gives you some much needed AOE attacks which can help you survive in fights you would die in otherwise! Sure it may not give much in terms of single target DPS but the entire line improves the solo ability of an assassin if taken along with the strength line.</blockquote>If we're still talking solo, then I'd argue the STA line isn't the best. It's not the worst either, but I'd say it's not the best. Sure, extra +HP is great and all, but when you get into RoK stuff that hits for 1k a shot, is an extra 16 AA (going 4-4-8 in STA) really worth being able to take 1-2 extra hits?Maybe. Maybe not. It all depends on your tactics, I guess.As for AoE attacks, that's only really helpful if you pull a group, which I try to avoid doing anyways. If I *have* to tackle a group, I want to spend the least amount of time meleeing as possible, as 3 vs. 1 isn't great for my personal health, and whittling them down via AoE attacks isn't my personal choice of tackling it. *shrug*.That said, I toyed with the end-line STA ability once, and it was nice. Very reminiscent of EQ1's Ranger disc, Weaponshield. I was able to tackle some nameds by hitting Frontload + Impenetrable when low on hp. 6 seconds later I was back to full health (via lifetaps). It was nice <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" /> But worth 22+ AA? That's up to you, I guess. For solo, I wouldn't bother with it personally. You can achieve the same thing by using your root CA, backing off, and healing up via bow attacks + lifetaps. For raid scenerios when a really big ugly monster turns on you, however, that ability would be a lifesaver.

Lethe5683

05-06-2009, 09:48 AM

<cite>Aaramis wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>TerrorFirmer wrote:</cite><blockquote>Are you crazy? It gives you some much needed AOE attacks which can help you survive in fights you would die in otherwise! Sure it may not give much in terms of single target DPS but the entire line improves the solo ability of an assassin if taken along with the strength line.</blockquote>If we're still talking solo, then I'd argue the STA line isn't the best. It's not the worst either, but I'd say it's not the best. Sure, extra +HP is great and all, but when you get into RoK stuff that hits for 1k a shot, is an extra 16 AA (going 4-4-8 in STA) really worth being able to take 1-2 extra hits?Maybe. Maybe not. It all depends on your tactics, I guess.As for AoE attacks, that's only really helpful if you pull a group, which I try to avoid doing anyways. If I *have* to tackle a group, I want to spend the least amount of time meleeing as possible, as 3 vs. 1 isn't great for my personal health, and whittling them down via AoE attacks isn't my personal choice of tackling it. *shrug*.That said, I toyed with the end-line STA ability once, and it was nice. Very reminiscent of EQ1's Ranger disc, Weaponshield. I was able to tackle some nameds by hitting Frontload + Impenetrable when low on hp. 6 seconds later I was back to full health (via lifetaps). It was nice <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" /> But worth 22+ AA? That's up to you, I guess. For solo, I wouldn't bother with it personally. You can achieve the same thing by using your root CA, backing off, and healing up via bow attacks + lifetaps. For raid scenerios when a really big ugly monster turns on you, however, that ability would be a lifesaver.</blockquote>What hits you for that much damage? Heroics?

Aaramis

05-06-2009, 10:03 AM

Usually white or higher heroics or one ^ arrow yellow solo mobs in RoK, yeah. Typical solo mobs I find hit me for just under 1k - usually 500 - 800ish, but can sometimes double attack, so it all depends.Overall, I've found going toe-to-toe in RoK can be tricky IMO. As mentioned previously, the longer the fight lasts, the less hopeful the outcome will be for the Assassin. I'm a firm believer in that.

Lethe5683

05-06-2009, 10:06 AM

<cite>Aaramis wrote:</cite><blockquote>As mentioned previously, the longer the fight lasts, the less hopeful the outcome will be for the Assassin. I'm a firm believer in that.</blockquote>Unless the assassin is me. With 55% mit and 72% avoidance I don't die very easy.

Aaramis

05-06-2009, 10:24 AM

<cite>Akodia@Lucan DLere wrote:</cite><blockquote>Unless the assassin is me. With 55% mit and 72% avoidance I don't die very easy.</blockquote>Lol, yes, well, unless you have top-end gear and a butt-load of Agility, with a lot of AA invested (I haven't picked up Strengthened Links yet, for example), your average Assassin won't have that kind of mitigation and avoidance <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />I think I'm sitting around 36% mitigation and 52%'ish avoidance which is enough for me to still take a beating.

ElsaRat

05-09-2009, 11:23 AM

Just to add another data point, soloing my level 23 assassin was much easier when I put her 25 points in strength instead of agility. The difference was big. I'm doing the betrayal quests for Qeynos, and the solo instances were near impossible specced all the way with agility (I died nine times doing the Captain's ring), but a piece of cake with strength.

Lethe5683

05-10-2009, 07:16 PM

<cite>ElsaRat wrote:</cite><blockquote>Just to add another data point, soloing my level 23 assassin was much easier when I put her 25 points in strength instead of agility. The difference was big. I'm doing the betrayal quests for Qeynos, and the solo instances were near impossible specced all the way with agility (I died nine times doing the Captain's ring), but a piece of cake with strength.</blockquote>Not because of str vs agi but because the str line has melee crit and parry.