Help

Having played a rogue/assassin type class in every other MMO to date. This class seems beyond me. I just can't grasp the implementation of it, or how you're even supposed to work it.

Problems I'm having in mass

**Shadow steps(of the escape variety) rarely do anything. Often I poof back right where I was. Which in turn = dead.

**Any death penalty and I'm just screwed have to start over. It's literally as if a single death cuts my armor in half, along with the HP penalty. Meanwhile even my mage has completed many a task with 60% penalty from screwing around just to see if I could.

**All run speed skills only work running forward, this seems pointless. If engaged with a mob and you run forward nothing happens because the system has you locked with that npc. Have to use back/strafe.

**Impossible to get near a target without getting boxed in by 4 other players/npcs. Which in turn = dead.

**Can get next to target via starting with a shadow step, but well that generally leads to me being insta dead.

**Regardless of spec/attack chain combo/gear my dmg seems vastly subpar to many Ele or War builds I've made. How does that make this an assassin if another build can do it 100x better?

I get the whole run in, get a few hits maybe a kill,evac out concept. It just seems to not be viable in the VAST majority of the encounters of the expansion. And I'm not trying to bash the class, I just want to understand it. As atm it seems horridly implemented for the style of gameplay found in GW.


Help ??

...read back on every single page to learn value of "hit-and-run" and the skill known as AoD, or Aura of Displacement...

Get in, combo, get out, anything else is prolonged exposure to a melee environment, which is inefficient no matter how your assassin is designed.

The Assassin's armor is only there to keep you alive during your time spamming your attack combo, there's no way you can tank like a Warrior can.

Through most of the game my most used elite is Flashing Blades, which gives me 50% to evade most attacks while attacking, giving me pretty much the ability to tank while staying alive

Also it's wise to use Shadow Refuge right before charging into combat and use it right after you've completed your combo, and a Death Charge is useful if you need a rather big heal.

the assassin is a bit of an oddity, and has a large learning curve. here are some of the things i learned the hardway, but made all the diference in playing the class successfully.

first off - the max dmg for daggers are 17 B4 armor, which equates to next to nothng after...... needless to say if you are useing auto swings anywhere in your fighting you're going to be loseing more dmg then your dishing out, by ten fold. - so you only want to be in mele range long enough to throw your spike.

secondly - the larger your combo, the more you're going to get hurt... i stay with a 3 attack combo, but many have success with 4 - i would not suggest any more then that, as not only do you spend more time getting pounded, but you are loseing valuible skill slots that you need to use for avoiding dmg.

thirdly - the assassin works best if they are the last one to enguage in battle.....if you rush ahead of your war (or tp ahead of him), you are going to be earmarked as target #1; if, however, you wait out of range untill your war has drawn his agro, and some of your casters has drawn the rest - then you can run in and whoever you attack are already going to be throwing down with someone else and won't get their agro switched you faster then your spike.
------the best overall group tatic (that i've found) is for you to stay back and let your group start the fight, then if an enemy war runs after your monk, or other casters, you take him out first - then after your casters are safe, you then start going after their casters.
------if your useing henchmen, you can still use this tatic; just use the shift- ctrl- space command. - ctrl+space calls and attack's your target, adding shift lets you call the target without attacking. this way your henchies will attack who you call and you can stay back untill they have all the agro.

forthly - Avoid dmg ( this should actually be your #1 priority, but without knowing the ones b4 it doesn't hold the same weight).... only be attacking long enough to throw your spike, when it's rechargeing, or you're regening energy hang back by your casters, or use the dmg avoidence skills. - if you have a secondary that has ranged attacks (bows, wands, sceptors) you can bring one in a secondary slot and keep knocking out dmg if you decide to hang out with your casters.

fifthly - bring condition removal.... alot of the inefectiveness you see when you're first learning is comeing from conditions. - blind is amoung my least fav, cuz you end up sitting right in the line of fire, literly doing nothing. but bleading, deap wound, posion and what not are all pretty nasty too with the low ammount of health you have.-- and hard to notice as you're trying to focus on getting your combo off right and getting ready to bail out.

and lastley - unless you're bringing a 5+ hit combo ( which will most likely get you killed) you're not going to drop your target with 1 trip through your spike.. either deal a big spike and let your casters finish em off - or bring a nice little range skill from your secondary to finish em off yourself, or run back in and tag him again as soon as you can.

my basic set-up/ stragedy is like this

3 attack combo
shadow of haste
condition removal
shadows refuge
range spell finisher
res sig

note: set your shadow arts attrib to a number that will time shadow of haste with the time it takes you to use your combo... if you max it and have a 9 second combo, then you end up spending 8 seconds in danger that you can't afford.

and the basic stragedy is to hang back and take out any rushers, then recharge everything and pick one of their closer casters...use shadow of haste while you're runing in, and throw your combo as soon as your in range. if you set shadow arts right you'll be teleported back by your casters as soon as your combo is finished, and just b4 your target gets to swing at you (cuz he'll have to switch his targeting from whoever he was shooting over to you; the AI won't even start that untill you've hit em). then fire off your finisher spell.... refuge will be more then enough to heal any miniscule amt of dmg you take while in there, so throw that; then pick a new target and wait a bit till you can repeat.

this is a standard shadow of haste build/ stragedy, there are many different ways you can go depending on if you use AoD, recall, or any of the random tp's to keep stacking up conditions - but it's the spike and avoid dmg concept (hit & run) that you have to take to heart. - hope it all helps, GL & HF

Wildmouse pretty much summed up alot of issues dealing with assassins and their role/abilities in pve.

Way of Perfection is nice to have as you get into a fight, and casting heart of shadow while shadow refuge is recharging is a good way to keep yourself up as well

I imagine part of it has to do with my lack of elite skills, and full skill lists for the char to pick from.

I've been having better luck, but still a pain to find a real group.

Currently trying status debuff, thoughts?

Jagged Strike
Fox Fangs
Twisting Fangs
Death's Charge(to get next to first target unharmed, or saved for a priority target)
Vipers Defense(put on before I port into combat)
Heart of Shadow(used when escaping to gain distance/health buffer)
Dark Escape(to gtfo out of combat after all the mobs turn to say hello)
Shadow Refuge(once out direct combat)

Sometimes swap in Shadow of Haste for a gimp AoD, but dark escape saves me more often due to the dmg reduction. As often with SoH mobs will magically teleport with me, and keep hitting.

Dump Jagged Strike and find a lead attack that gives you more bang for your buck, Jagged Strike's only selling point in a combo with Twisting Fangs is its recharge, which doesn't really help if nothing else is recharged. Dump either Viper's Defense or Heart of Shadow so that you can bring a rez (you don't need 2 things with random teleports). Maybe fit in Recall somewhere if you feel like it (instead of running away you just stop maintaining it to teleport to the monk).

The advice above is all excellent. My one good tip is for PvE out solo with the henchies only. For that, don't forget your most important weapon, the longbow! All you need is a simple no attrib point longbow, something like 8-11 damage.

Use the longbow to get the henchies into combat or even call a target for them. Then, select your softie in the back, switch to daggers, and get to work.

Warriors out solo with henchies will also benefit from initiating combat with a longbow. Cold charging a couple of mesmers and an ele is no fun at all, usually.

I love my Assassin! Very versatile character.

Early on in the games, there is a skill trainer, in seitung harbour. He trains hte skill "recall"

this is a execlant "panic button". At the start of any expedition, cast recall on a caster whos going to be staying back ALL the time. You are then free to do your usual assassin thing. If you happen to get alot of agro, Just diosenchant recall and *poof* your next to your caster. It has a *unlimited* range (by unlimited, i mean upto the point where you can no longer maintain enchantments)