Need a little help.

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It's a shame that Sins have no other non-Elite interrupts, I'll give ya that. But still, [skill]Siphon Speed[/skill] into [skill]Black Spider Strike[/skill] or [skill]Black Lotus Strike[/skill] seems more sensible to me if you're hung up about the snare. But this might just be a noob's misconception

Eh Siphon Speed is a 1 sec cast in half range. I start to run away if I see that, preparing myself to interrupt his BSS/BLS. That is where Leaping Mantis Sting comes in.. I interrupt the other guy's chain/skills so I can live. It's both offense and defense.

Same with Dancing Daggers. running in into half range, casting for 1 second and still have to go melee range takes too long. I prefer to go straight melee and snare him. Then interrupt what ever the target uses to fight back.


BLS/BSS also rc slower.

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By the sound of it neither of you Shadow Steps in any way. So you run a speed boost alongside it, right? [skill]Dash[/skill]? And if so, no Hexes hindering you on your run into cc?

My run into candy cane?

Alright.... The Coto's advice time.


As Yanman said at the start... "builds" come later. At the start you just want to find bits and pieces that can be used to make a build later. You need things that work.
Generally, from what I've found, a build is constructed AROUND an Elite Skill.... and you only start getting Elite Skills once you get off Shing Jea Island.

Until that point, my advice is to find a simple combo that you're comfortable with and stick some survival / utility skills in with it (Shadow Refuge and Dash are fairly standard)... Try to avoid the complicated stuff until later.

A very standard, simple and spammable combo is the classic [skill]Jagged Strike[/skill][skill]Wild Strike[/skill][skill]Death Blossom[/skill].
All three of the skills cost 5 energy and recharge VERY quickly. You have a bit of degen in there, a stance-breaker, and a splash of AoE damage. You might not have a snare, but then you could use Leaping Mantis Sting instead of Jagged Strike if you really think you need it (AI enemies don't generally run away, plus it takes a bit longer to recharge if you miss). This combo can miss and not mess up, or even be interrupted... and is still instantly usable. A good low-risk base standard.... Not amazingly devastating, but then on Shing Jea it doesn't need to be.


Once you get off Shing Jea..... pretty much the first Elite Skill you will be able to find (in Bukdek Byway) is [skill]Palm Strike[/skill]. Unfortunately.... this Elite is rather crap from my experience. I haven't found a decent use for it. I'd suggest just avoiding it.

If you get the quest to fight Waeng... or manage to find Lou of the Blades south of Tahnnakai Temple later, you can get your hands on [skill]Flashing Blades[/skill]. This is a decent defensive skill. It doesn't really synergise with much though. It should hold you over until you find something better though, and with high Dagger Mastery it can be kept up all the time.

You won't find much else of use inside Kaineng City.... but once you set foot outside to the south (Pongmei Valley)... you can find Luekao the Deceptive... and get [skill]Assassin's Promise[/skill]. Now, this is the elite that I personally swear by. I like things simple, so I generally stick with the simple combo I mentioned earlier.... complete with Impale on the end, and it usually proves enough for most PvE situations.... along with Dark Prison, Dash and a last skill dependant on the situation.
Some folks prefer to use Assassin's Promise for black-lining.... with things like the Black Lotus Strike and Black Spider Strike.... but I usually find I get frustrated by these as if so much as one of them misses then the entire attack is messed up, no matter how powerful it might be. Likewise others prefer to put fewer points in Deadly Arts and try to slam Assassin's Promise in at the last moments, whereas I do the opposite... Matter of taste really...

But in any case.... Assassin's Promise is the first really good Assassin Elite you'll be able to get your hands on.

Most of the other ones of mention are in Echovald (or the Jade Sea if you prefer, as most elite skills in Cantha have a representative in each of the two areas).
As Yanman said.... [skill]Moebius Strike[/skill] is a very nifty skill and well worth getting... BUT, since you need to get to the deepest depths of Echovald Forest to capture it, you will have to get through most of Cantha without it....
You might want to send your Assassin over to Elona at first oppurtunity.... get past Consulate Docks... then go track down [skill]Way of the Assassin[/skill], as that is also a very nice elite.

Once you have a few of these Elites, THEN you can concentrate on figuring out skill combinations that work well with them.