Use whatever dagger sets and insignias you prefer. I personally like +5 energy and +30 health on the daggers, with a full radiant set on the armor for extra energy.
The usage requires some timing in the start, but it will come rather naturally. This is a chain that makes you as an assassin harder to counter, and also slightly harder to kill.
Picking your target is rather important, but I will come back to that later. First I'll introduce you to the usage.
You should start off by casting Nightmare Weapon on yourself, and then jump in with Shadow Prison. Once you are in, hit your foe with Iron Palm, knocking him down. At the same time, swing your daggers once at the target, before casting Entangling Asp. Your target will be knocked down again, and poisoned. Now, due to the aftercast of Iron Palm (0,75 s) and the attack speed of the daggers (1,33 s) plus the casting speed of Entangling Asp, any spells they might activate that is a half a second or less gets through, so beware of that. If you want an absolute bulletproof chain, skip the attack and hit entangling.
Depending on your target, you can do 2 things:
A) If you are facing a rather squishy foe with relatively low chances of using a strong selfheal, just quickly hit the Exhausting Assault and finish off your chain. This combo kills anything (assuming they get no healing, and you are not disrupted) between 400 to 500 health.
B) If you however are facing a foe you think most likely will have a good selfhealer (monks being the most obvious ones, but a healing signet is also a fairly strong selfhealer), then you ought to try and wait for them to use their selfheal in panic, and interrupt them instead. Follow up with the rest of the chain.
Now, why is this chain any better than the usual SP sin? If we look at it, it is much slower as an example.
The beauty of this build doesn't lie in it's damage (which is around 400-500, depending on the opponents total health), its the versatility it gives you:
* You get life stealing (good against armor and skills such as Protective Spirit), and armor ignoring damage (which is good against highly armored foes, like Warriors)
* It also prevents the target from dealing/healing damage. You are giving them 2 knockdowns and one snare to fight against
* If you get blinded, it isn't anymore a complete shutdown like most other builds, you are still able to apply 2 knockdowns, and the damage from Iron Palm + Toxic Shock
* SP is an excellent snare when you have maxed out Deadly Arts, 10 seconds mean you can keep it up 50% of the time
* The selfheal is also good, and consistent. Compared to Feigned, you get the same amount of health while you are attacking. The recharge is shorter aswell.
Now, I know there are a lot of people who hate using SP in their builds just because it is Shadow Prison. Luckily enough, SP isn't anything near as essential here in this build. You can successfully use any other hex you want (although a snaring hex is recommended)
The second build I haven't tested yet. Could someone be as kind as to try it out in RA for me?
EQUIPMENT
This combo is energy heavy, so you need at least 35 energy, but 40 is advised to be perfectly safe. just add Radiant Insignias on all your armor parts, a rune with Attunement and daggers with + energy.
A Headgear with Deadly Arts +1 and a either a major or a superior rune of Deadly arts is also a must.
USAGE:
The usage is as simple as it can be. Just follow the chain from the top, all the way down to the bottom. You will execute a powerful combination of Life Stealing, Deep Wounding, and pure raw armor ignoring damage.
Follow the chain, and your target is/should be dead dead.
Shadow Fang ends, and you teleport back into safety. Wait for some energy regen, pick your next target, and bring on the next spike ;-;
Why do I think this will be better than your average spike?
* The damage is...Armor...Ignoring... Spiking down warriors and paragons anyone?
* Strong healing capabilites (for an assassin, bear in mind)
* Life Stealing damage means that it bypasses skills like reversal of fortune and protective spirit
* you get a teleport in for surprise, and you get a teleport out making surviving soo much easier..
If you feel it's a little bit sketchy using Assassin Promise in RA, then swap Shadow Fang and Assassins Promise for Shadow Prison + the skill you'd like. You can't use the chain as often, but it's slightly safer atleast.
Any tips/hints or suggestions? Are those 2 builds valid enough?
