What PvE use is there for Zenmai ?

In factions I took the assassin henchs a few times, they didn't work that well so I used other henchs. I tried giving Zenmai the build I use on my assassin, that went worse than the henchs as she kept running in with the warrior except she had a speed boost so got to the enemies first. This wouldn't be the first build I've had that works well when I use it, but the heroes completely screw it up, so it might just be the build thats the problem.

So are there any uses for her in PvE, or should I just stick to the other heroes ?

I don't like micromanaging heroes, which could also be the problem.

I use some of my Zenmai's to shut down / interrupt foes in caster-heavy areas (A/W with 'Skull Crack' and silencing daggers), others are set up as genuine damage dealers (A/N with 'Plague Touch'). In any case, they're usually survivors, unless being spiked by several powerful foes.
They don't contribute as much to team success as other classes, though, so I usually prefer different heroes.

Quote: Originally Posted by bilateralrope

I use all mine as BP crit barragers and they do quite well.

Zenmai is like the third ranger hero for most people.

I use her with my order nec o_O, locust fury + gfte + find their weakness.
pretty effective

I use her mostly as a critical barrager.

Almost anything that requires knowledge of the the layout of the battle field isn't going to work. So most shadow stepping stuff is out - about the only one that *may* work are ones that shadow step to spirits assuming all of your are laid down in the back lines (I've never tried it). Otherwise the assassin tends to shadow step in to the fight first or shadow step and aggro another large group - neither of which is good. Of course, you may micromanage this quite well, but like you I hate doing that.

Think back to when you played through factions - were there any assassin mob that did particularly well compared to the others? Not really, however I noticed a few shadow stepping into me or some rushing ahead like you explained.

The "best" of the hero AI with assassins are fairly simple ones - cheap fast recharge attack chains, spreading conditions, or bringing some of the interrupting attack chains. They were generally the assassins that didn't die instantly when you encounter them in PvE but you normally found too little a threat to bother with until the end. Other than that - the critical barrager is quite nice. Equally as good as a barrage ranger, maybe even better.

as others have suggested here a critical barrager is your best choice. however if you're not into the whole barrage thingy you can turn him into a utility character with deadly arts and a secondary profession, make sure to bring defensive skills for him from either critical strikes/shadow arts/secondary profession

This is an interesting suggestion and I think I'll try it on Zenmai. I have an assassin character that I play occasionally and the critical barrager is by far the build I most enjoy playing. Never thought of using it on Zenmai, though. Doh!

Quote: Originally Posted by zling as others have suggested here a critical barrager is your best choice. however if you're not into the whole barrage thingy you can turn him into a utility character with deadly arts and a secondary profession, make sure to bring defensive skills for him from either critical strikes/shadow arts/secondary profession Maybe the latest update would have improved the assassin hero AI?:

Quote:

Originally Posted by New Update Fixed a bug that caused Assassin Heroes to occasionally attempt to use dagger skills when they did not yet meet the combo requirements. Are dagger assassins finally usable?

Quote: Originally Posted by DarkSpirit

All melee AI is buggered due to thier inablity to position themselves, the fact that they autoattack is just the icing on the cake. Until this is fixed zenmai, anton, komanu, jora, koss and goren aren't good for anthing other than carrying spare weapon sets (melonni is luck enough to run orders )

Excellent corpse provider for Olias, he's been asking : "Can we take Zenmai please ? I promise to keep death nova on her permanently".

Quote: Originally Posted by odly

Quote: Originally Posted by odly

I like Zenmai in PvE. She has two arms to hold my loot, but she never gets to join the party. There's no reason to set her up for critical Barrage if players have NF and GW:EN.

Quote: Originally Posted by MisterB

well if u want to improve ur teams hawtness rating, zenmai is teh way to go 0__o

u could bring locusts fury + critical eye @ crit=13 & zealous daggers

this will give her infinite energy to spam wutever high-energy spammable cost skills u can think of
(preferably 1/4s or 1/2s cast ones...prot spirit + spirit bond perhaps?)

Quote: Originally Posted by bilateralrope

Quote: Originally Posted by snaek