Assassin Basics; where are thou?
Khazad Guard
So i'm fairly new to the assassin. And when i started off in the other professions, i found the '<Profession> basics' thread immensely useful. Does the assassin forum have one? Are you considering making one?
Sir Pandra Pierva
I guess I could
but I don't wanna take the time to do it.
Sins are pretty much broken down into 2 things
Stay in and fight it out.
And hit and run.
Stays need a good way to stay alive like
[skill]Healing Hands[/skill]
Hit and run is basicly get in there do a bunch of dmg get out and recharge.
IGN: Sir Pandra Pierva
I can help you with sins just add me to your friends list and I will help in game
but I don't wanna take the time to do it.
Sins are pretty much broken down into 2 things
Stay in and fight it out.
And hit and run.
Stays need a good way to stay alive like
[skill]Healing Hands[/skill]
Hit and run is basicly get in there do a bunch of dmg get out and recharge.
IGN: Sir Pandra Pierva
I can help you with sins just add me to your friends list and I will help in game
Utaku
Pandra, please don't.
dicecube
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Pandra Pierva
Stays need a good way to stay alive like
[skill]Healing Hands[/skill] waste of an elite slot
[skill]Healing Hands[/skill] waste of an elite slot
Coloneh
dont start again panda. please.
Toutatis
It would be nice to see an assassin basics thread... I don't think I would be qualified to write up a full coverage of all the basics of this profession as I consider myself to be a mesmer specialist, although I'd be happy to give some input as I do have an assassin of my own who sees some occasional action 
cdgsax
Ok, here's some basics for being an assassin.
Unlike the other melee classes, Assassins use attack chains. This is the basic chain.
Lead Attack -> Offhand Attack -> Dual Attack repeat
You MUST follow this order. If you use an offhand attack before a lead attack, the offhand will miss. However, there are exceptions to this rule.
Some offhand attacks CAN be used without a lead attack as long as you meet a certain condition (being enchanted for example).
Attributes
Try to put most of your points in Critical Strikes and Dagger Mastery. Having points in Critical Strikes will increase the chance you make a critical hit. Every time you make a critical hit, you will gain energy. Keeping your energy up is very important as some skills require a lot of energy.
Equipment
I recommend getting a pair of Zealous Daggers of some sort. This will help with your energy management. As for the suffix, Fortitude, Defense, or Enchanting are all viable.
As for strategy,
YOU ARE NOT A TANK. Don't even try to be one. This is one of the reasons most people hate assassins because when Factions first came out, everyone and their mother made assassins and tried (miserably) to be one. They would shadow step into a mob and get slaughtered. After you do your attack chain, get out and heal (get healed). Keep moving and pick your spots to attack.
Here's my standard build
A/Me
Critical Eye (help increase chance of a critical hit)
Jagged Strike (Lead)
Wild Strike (Offhand, useful against Shiro)
Temple Strike (Elite Offhand - Dazes and Blinds enemy)
Critical Strike, Death Blossom, or Twisting Fangs (Dual)
Epidemic (spreads conditions to nearby foes)
Critical Defenses (to help keep me alive) or some kind of self heal
Critical Agility (increased attack speed and armor) or Rez skill
I dont remember how I have the attributes set off the top of my head.
My basic attack chain is
Jagged -> Temple -> Dual Attack (usually Twisting) -> Epidemic -> Jagged -> Wild -> Dual Attack and so on. I try to keep Critical Defenses and Critical Agility up all the time
I can't take the credit for this build as I saw this build on this forum a while back; however I use some different skills depending on the situtation.
Hope this helps a little.
Unlike the other melee classes, Assassins use attack chains. This is the basic chain.
Lead Attack -> Offhand Attack -> Dual Attack repeat
You MUST follow this order. If you use an offhand attack before a lead attack, the offhand will miss. However, there are exceptions to this rule.
Some offhand attacks CAN be used without a lead attack as long as you meet a certain condition (being enchanted for example).
Attributes
Try to put most of your points in Critical Strikes and Dagger Mastery. Having points in Critical Strikes will increase the chance you make a critical hit. Every time you make a critical hit, you will gain energy. Keeping your energy up is very important as some skills require a lot of energy.
Equipment
I recommend getting a pair of Zealous Daggers of some sort. This will help with your energy management. As for the suffix, Fortitude, Defense, or Enchanting are all viable.
As for strategy,
YOU ARE NOT A TANK. Don't even try to be one. This is one of the reasons most people hate assassins because when Factions first came out, everyone and their mother made assassins and tried (miserably) to be one. They would shadow step into a mob and get slaughtered. After you do your attack chain, get out and heal (get healed). Keep moving and pick your spots to attack.
Here's my standard build
A/Me
Critical Eye (help increase chance of a critical hit)
Jagged Strike (Lead)
Wild Strike (Offhand, useful against Shiro)
Temple Strike (Elite Offhand - Dazes and Blinds enemy)
Critical Strike, Death Blossom, or Twisting Fangs (Dual)
Epidemic (spreads conditions to nearby foes)
Critical Defenses (to help keep me alive) or some kind of self heal
Critical Agility (increased attack speed and armor) or Rez skill
I dont remember how I have the attributes set off the top of my head.
My basic attack chain is
Jagged -> Temple -> Dual Attack (usually Twisting) -> Epidemic -> Jagged -> Wild -> Dual Attack and so on. I try to keep Critical Defenses and Critical Agility up all the time
I can't take the credit for this build as I saw this build on this forum a while back; however I use some different skills depending on the situtation.
Hope this helps a little.
Yanman.be
I was on the verge of making a sin walkthrough, when some mod decided that banning me was a good idea, even though I helped the guy that I was "flaming". Sarcasm failed again
Bobby2
My PvE advice: buy Nightfall and get ur Assassin the Critical Agility skill. 
I'm simply baffled by its insanity.
As for PvP: you exist to kill FAST. You pick a target, approach him by any means you like (speed boost? shadow step? ur choice) and try to kill him using your attack chain. As a rule of thumb, 5 energy for an attack is nice
If u cannot kill your target (you'll know soon enough: either your HP drops faster or your attacks don't hit) FTLOG get out!
After you've become more skilled there are further intricacies to add to your gameplay. But first and foremost: only fight battles you know you can win. When in doubt, RUN.
I'm simply baffled by its insanity.As for PvP: you exist to kill FAST. You pick a target, approach him by any means you like (speed boost? shadow step? ur choice) and try to kill him using your attack chain. As a rule of thumb, 5 energy for an attack is nice
If u cannot kill your target (you'll know soon enough: either your HP drops faster or your attacks don't hit) FTLOG get out!
After you've become more skilled there are further intricacies to add to your gameplay. But first and foremost: only fight battles you know you can win. When in doubt, RUN.
SotiCoto
Quote:
Originally Posted by cdgsax
YOU ARE NOT A TANK. Don't even try to be one.
Quote:
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Critical Defenses (to help keep me alive) or some kind of self heal Critical Agility (increased attack speed) Roflz. With enough Sunspear rank (my Sin is 8 going on 9)... the Critical Agility, Critical Defenses, Way of Perfection set-up is hilariously tough.... and kinda makes a joke out of the way sins USED to be played. Critical Agility => 33% faster attacks, refresh on Critical... and ARMOUR. +22 at Rank 8 as I recall. Critical Defenses => 75% block refreshed on Critical. Warriors, other Sins, Dervishes, Paragons, Rangers become a joke. Way of Perfection => Heal on Critical, and can easily last twice as long as it takes to recharge. Stick with with the increased attack speed and throw Critical Strike into the mix... and you have an amusingly regular heal. With these three up... and a half-hearted effort by some herohench.... it is quite the simple matter to run into an enemy mob and stay there C+Spacing them to death even with a Sin most of the time. Of course Moebius + DB spam complements this perfectly for downright silly DPS... or you could use some other chain with a different elite.... Critical Defenses does nothing much against spellcasters, but then in spellcaster heavy areas, you could go Critical Eye for the higher Crit chance and more healing from Way of Perfection. But as a general rule of thumb.... do NOT try to tank Assassins in PvP. No Critical Agility = NO TANKING. Same goes for if it gets interrupted or removed in PvE.... Khazad Guard
Thanks alot for that guys. Helped me a bunch. I was wondering what type of weapons to use, and noticed that alot of Assassin Greens are Zealous weapons. So now i know. Thanks alot for the help
jesh
Another thing not mentioned here:
There is no point in having critical strikes at anything other than these values: 3,8,13 This can help you a lot with attributes when you're leveling your character. If you have some leftover points when you've gotten all your stats done, sure you can throw some extra into Critical Strikes. However, increasing your weapon mastery will yield more criticals than your Critical Strike attribute.
Bowstring Badass
Quote:
Originally Posted by cdgsax
Lead Attack -> Offhand Attack -> Dual Attack repeat Stop right there wrong. Mobius Strike is an offhand that follows a dual and Falling Spider is an offhand that can start a combo with Shock so you already messed up.
Bobby2
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bowstring Badass
Stop right there wrong. Mobius Strike is an offhand that follows a dual and Falling Spider is an offhand that can start a combo with Shock so you already messed up.
Those are exceptions to the rule.
cdgsax
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bowstring Badass
Stop right there wrong. Mobius Strike is an offhand that follows a dual and Falling Spider is an offhand that can start a combo with Shock so you already messed up.
I mentioned in my post that there are exceptions to the rule. Go back to school and learn to read, idiot
Khazad Guard
Well i tried that build that you mentioned earlier cdgsax, and it works wonders. I added in Malicious Strike, just incase just it looks like I dont need it it.
Anyway my current daggers are Gold Savage Daggers (Req11) (only ones i had in storage) which i modded with Zealous tang 9?) and Fortitude (+30) Grip, and a 'I Have the Power!' Inscription (+5 always). Is that alright? And for armour I runed it with Minor Dagger, Major Critical, Minor Vigor, Vitae and Vitae. Insignia-tised with all Saboteur. Is that recommended or should i look to Attunement/Blessed rune/insignias instead? Anyway thanks again
cdgsax
Glad to see you like it. Personally I use a Major Dagger Mastery rune instead of a Major Critical Strike rune, but hey, if it works then use it.
Bowstring Badass
Quote:
Originally Posted by cdgsax
Glad to see you like it. Personally I use a Major Dagger Mastery rune instead of a Major Critical Strike rune, but hey, if it works then use it.
All minors ftw.
Bobby2
Current PvE set-up:
Assassin/Elementalist CS: 12+1 (minor) DM: 12+1+2 (mask, major) Air: 3 [skill]Critical Agility[/skill][skill]Critical Defenses[/skill][skill]Way of the Assassin[/skill][skill]Critical Eye[/skill][skill]Golden Fox Strike[/skill][skill]Wild Strike[/skill][skill]Death Blossom[/skill][skill]Storm Djinn's Haste[/skill] Nightstalker armour with 1 Sup Vig and 2 attunements, Darkroot's Daggers (+30HP, Zealous, +15%/enchanted) Ok so no Moebius and no self-heal but it can be used very effectively against Shiro and with Eye and WotA maintained the Def and Agility refreshes are virtually guaranteed. The combo can be repeated like, every 3sec so the damage output is still pretty great despite the lack of Moebius (the fact that my Master of Whispers packs Mark of Pain might also help a bit  ) Chose SDH for 'getting to the next fight' because it's not a Stance, hence NOT canceling WotA. On top of that, it fulfills its requirement in a pinch  You are not a slave of Mystic Regeneration! on another note: when will this site finally register Critical Agility!? 
Am I A Good Sin
Assassin basics? We needed that when Factions came out. Slightly late eh? Lol. Anyways. To be a good assassin you have to know when to fight and when to run. Which was said earlier.
Also you should know that assassins aren't MEANT to tank. An exception skill is critical agility which you'll have to get to Nightfall first to get that. Won't make you magically become a tank, but it definitely helps you out when you use it right. Try Critical Agility and Conviction for a nice armor buff and IAS. Or mystic regen with critical agility. 6 health regen. Small armor buff and an IAS. Let's see here. The traditional starting attack line up was lead attack -> off-hand-> dual attack. The exceptions are in the skills descriptions. Golden Phoenix strike ( off-hand atk. Must be enchanted. Doesn't have to follow a lead attack ), Black spider strike, Black lotus strike ( both are off-hand attacks. Must strike a hexed foe. Doesn't have to follow lead attack ), falling spider ( off-hand attack. Must strike a knocked down foe. Doesn't have to follow a lead attack ), moebious strike ( Elite off-hand attack. Must follow a dual attack). I think those are the exceptions to the Lead attack rule. Might be a few more. My starting skill bar was Unsuspecting strike, fox fangs ( wild strike for fox fangs ) , twisting fangs, critical defences, critical eye, shadow refuge, random skill. Can't remember it , hard res or res sig.Later I started using Golden Phoenix strike, Twisting fangs, Moebious strike, Death blossom, Live vicariously, critical defences, critical eye, hard res or res sig. The build I'm prone to use now is: Golden Phoenix Strike, Twisting fangs ( or Vampiric assault ), Moebious strike, Death blossom ( or Vampiric assault ), Critical defences, critical agility, mystic regen, Res sig. The armour I use now is: 15k luxon . I'll use the term insignia because Head- critical strikes mask. Minor critical strike rune. +1 energy. Chest-+15 health. Major dagger mastery. Hands- +1 energy. Rune of attunement. Legs- + 2 energy. Rune of vitae. Feet- +5 health. Major vigor rune. Weapon: Droknars daggers. Or any Zealous dagger tang. 15^50. +30 fortitude mod. That's what I use. I've played my PvE assassin for over 350 hrs. PvP sin for over 200. I've played the game itself for over 1200 hrs. I know just a bit of what I'm saying so you can trust it . Hopefully I gave you an idea for your assassin. Have fun . Don't worry I'm not leaving I'll just watch what you guys say unless something I said gets flamed.... then its on
Coloneh
waste of an elite in that build bobby. get something useful.
Bobby2
WotA ain't the most spectacular Elite, I know. But taking only Eye doesn't cut it... I needed serious crit chance increase, and this happened to fit the bill.
If you have any suggestions to improve the build (or the principle behind it) I'd like to know cuz I'm pretty open to advice. Maybe it's a better idea to PM me about that as this is hardly the thread for discussing my ravings  @ Am I A Good Sin: Quote:
The build I'm prone to use now is: Golden Phoenix Strike, Twisting fangs ( or Vampiric assault ), Moebious strike, Death blossom ( or Vampiric assault ), Critical defences, critical agility, mystic regen, Res sig.
Annoying it is, when GPS gets blocked | -------EDIT: NOT intended as a flame.
Coloneh
mobius or impale or something
Am I A Good Sin
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobby2
WotA ain't the most spectacular Elite, I know. But taking only Eye doesn't cut it... I needed serious crit chance increase, and this happened to fit the bill.
If you have any suggestions to improve the build (or the principle behind it) I'd like to know cuz I'm pretty open to advice. Maybe it's a better idea to PM me about that as this is hardly the thread for discussing my ravings @ Am I A Good Sin: Annoying it is, when GPS gets blocked -------EDIT: NOT intended as a flame.
How true it is.... usually you can still hjust hold the damage on you though so at least your still doing something right? Anyways if you need critical hits use moebious strike and critical strike. Or malicious strike. All end with a critical hit.
Am I A Good Sin
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobby2
WotA ain't the most spectacular Elite, I know. But taking only Eye doesn't cut it... I needed serious crit chance increase, and this happened to fit the bill.
If you have any suggestions to improve the build (or the principle behind it) I'd like to know cuz I'm pretty open to advice. Maybe it's a better idea to PM me about that as this is hardly the thread for discussing my ravings @ Am I A Good Sin: Annoying it is, when GPS gets blocked -------EDIT: NOT intended as a flame.
How true it is.... usually you can still hjust hold the damage on you though so at least your still doing something right plus you have a nice IAS on you so your 12 damage starts to add up. Then GPS has a low recharge time so its all good. Anyways if you need critical hits use moebious strike and critical strike. Or malicious strike. All end with a critical hit.
Bobby2
Quote:
use moebious strike and critical strike
This would (IMO) be the only viable alternative. Will try. | @ Coloneh: was aware of the benefits of GPS. Feel there are better alternatives though - namely the Black offhands. GPS doesn't do anything 'extra'. And ummm... Impale is not an Elite
Am I A Good Sin
Any1 know if the thread creator is around? If he's not I'm not gonna stick around. I'll check to c if he is still here. Bobby2 PM me if the build works better. Btw. Benefit of GPS = 5 energy and shorter recharge time. Also enchants usually last much longer and have less counters than the black off-hands. I mean think about it. Holy veil, remove hex, smite hex, revealed hex, w/e stance mesmers use to stop a hex. All those are commonly used in PvP. In PvE using black off-hands = hex 1 target. Unles you have siphon speed your gonna have to wait until your hex is recharged along with the black off-hands. At least 12 seconds. With GPS usually 8 seconds is most as its used with moebious strike most of the time. Enchants get removed yes, but al it takes is a good timing and all that's left is GPS-> dual-> moebious sytrike for most-> dual-> moebious-> etc etc. That's the benefit of using GPS. Not as destructive as Black off-hands but less energy and more usability ( is that a word ).
Coloneh
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobby2
This would (IMO) be the only viable alternative. Will try.
@ Coloneh: was aware of the benefits of GPS. Feel there are better alternatives though - namely the Black offhands. GPS doesn't do anything 'extra'. And ummm... Impale is not an Elite
GPS bypasses the lead attack. the blcak offhands do as well, but these require you to cast a hex on your target defeating the point of using less skill slots and points. and i didnt say impale was elite. i said it was better than WotA
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