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The Assassin is a very niche class. While the Assassin is a melee class, they have far less armor (70 total) compared to their melee brethren the Warriors and far fewer protective spells than the Dervish. What an Assassin can do is focus in on one target and take that target out while that target has no chance to react. The Assassin has 4 pips of energy regeneration and 25 energy to plow through a dagger chain and quickly recover to do another.
Attributes
Critical Strikes
The Assassin's primary attribute is what makes it so different from every other class.
- "The chance for critical hits increases 1% for each attribute point spent in Critical Strikes. For each critical hit, the Assassin receives 1 energy at rank 3 and above, 2 energy at rank 8 and above, and 3 energy at rank 13 and above."
This means that every time you make a critical hit (which will be often with higher ranks), you gain energy. If only being used as Energy Management, don't increase it above either rank 8 or 13 since it's a waste of attribute points.
Dagger Mastery
- "The damage and effectiveness of Dagger strikes, dagger-based skills, and the chance to inflict a critical hit increases with rank in Dagger Mastery. Also, there's a 2% chance per rank in Dagger Mastery that attacks from your daggers will double strike."
The daggers are the Assassin's weapon of choice. With double strikes, you chance to score a critical hit increases as well. Daggers as a weapon have the lowest base damage but highest rate of attack which means they can stack well with "on attack" damage bonuses and can execute a spike very rapidly.
Deadly Arts
- "No Inherent effect. Many assassins skills, especially those related to harming enemies, become more effective with higher Deadly Arts."
The Deadly Arts line encompasses almost every Assassin hex and every ranged attack that pure Assassins have access to. Deadly Arts has snares such as Siphon Speed and Shadow Prison. Also, Deadly Arts has skills that make your opponent weaker to your attacks such as Siphon Strength or Expose Defenses.
Shadow Arts
- "No inherent effect. Many Assassin skills, especially those related to defense and moving as a shadow, become more effective with higher Shadow Arts."
Whereas Deadly Arts focuses on making enemies weaker, Shadow Arts focuses on making you stronger. Shadow Arts contains the Assassin's only self-heals: Shadow Refuge and Feigned Neutrality. It also contains self-augmentive skills that make it miss less often or make more double strikes.
Types of Assassins
Spike Assassin
The standard type of Assassin in PvP. Spike Assassins have a shadow step and a powerful dagger chain that can be executed in a few seconds leaving a character either dead or very low on health. This is almost always combined with a snare such as a knockdown or a hex that slows the target's movement to prevent escape and assure his or her destruction.
Moebius Pressure
This type of assassin uses the assassin elite skill Moebius Strike to keep a string of dual attacks going continuously. As dual attacks are the strongest of an assassin's skill chain, this causes a great deal of damage very quickly to the target while also inflicting various conditions and knock-downs.
Assacaster
The term Assacaster refers to an Assassin that focuses specifically on dealing damage through the Deadly Arts line, taking advantage of Deadly Paradox to pump out extensive damage. An Assacaster typically uses a combination of the skills Dancing Daggers, Entangling Asp, and Signet of Toxic Shock for their main damage. As this composes the brunt of the Assacaster's offense, the other skills are highly malleable depending on what the user needs either for their own purposes or for their team.
Critical Striker
A Critical Strike-based assassin makes use of massive points in Critical Strikes and an alternative, high critical damage weapon such as an axe, scythe, or even bow. They use skills that increase their probability to critical to near 100% and skills that feed off of critical strikes to increase survivability. Because of their lack of versatility, gimmicks such as the Critical Striker are not found outside of PvE.
Invincisin
The Invincisin makes use of Shadow form, Glyph of Swiftness,Deadly paradox, and an Enchanting mod to fully maintain Shadow form even at as low as 15 shadow arts. These builds usually make use of Daggers, Earth Magic or Fire Magic to deal damage.
Tactics
- Common tactics
PvE
PvP
Assassins are commonly used in GvG for Split (See: Split and Ganking guide), usualy paired with a caster (this can be done also solo) for purpose of Ganking. For this purpose the assassin is usualy setup with a shadow stepping skill attack chain that end with Blades of Steel for maximum damage and an interupt, to disable targets healing skill.
Skills
Skill Nomenclature
From Guildwiki:
- The naming of Assassin attack skills is straightforward. There are prefixes:
- Black requires a Hex to function or reach full potential.
- Golden requires an Enchantment to function or reach full potential.
- Lotus indicates an energy gain in some way.
- Falling indicates that the target must be knocked down to reach full potential.
- Way of ... indicates a stance or enchantment that affects attacks.
- Critical indicates some benefit with critical hits.
- Other words in the name that come after the prefixes can help determine the effects of the skill, as follows:
- Fox indicates attacks cannot be blocked under certain circumstances.
- Mantis indicates the attack will cripple the target under certain circumstances.
- Spider indicates the attack will poison the target under certain circumstances.
- Prison indicates that you slow that target for a time.
- Ox indicates the attack will knockdown the target under certain circumstances.
- Fang indicates the attack will inflict a deep wound on the target under certain circumstances.
Lead Attacks
Lead Attacks are not commonly used because an Offhand->Dual->Offhand->Dual combo provides significantly better spiking capability. That said, they can still be effective.
Critical Strikes
- Can function as a good opener but has no conditions and the additional damage is conditional.
- Functions as energy management if is target is hexed. Fairly good damage.
Dagger Mastery
Black Mantis Thrust
Leaping Mantis Sting
- Both provide a conditional cripple but Black Mantis Thrust's conditional requirement is much easier to meet; can be used for snaring an opponent.
Golden Lotus Strike
Golden Fox Strike
- While you must be under an enchantment, the first is great energy management and the second cannot be blocked plus provides acceptable damage for a lead attack.
- Fast recharging attack that inflicts Bleeding on foe.
- Uncommonly used. Can disable spells.
- Highly conditionaly attack that can reward with high damage.
Deadly Arts
- While not an actual physical lead attack, it does count as one and provides good knockdown capability that can be useful for KD-lock or such pressure and works with Deadly Paradox. Requires target foe to be suffering from a condition or a hex.
Offhand Attacks Requiring Lead Attacks
Moderately seen procedure usually Lead, Off-Hand, Dual, Off-Hand, Dual.
Critical Strikes
There are no Off-Hand Attacks that require Lead Attacks in Critical Strikes.
Dagger Mastery
- A moderate damage Off-Hand Attack that cannot be blocked. Usually used after Golden Fox Strike.
- An attack that causes Deep Wound. Usually used after Jagged Strike for fast conditions also to simulate a weaker version of Twisting Fangs.
- A high damage Off-Hand Attack that increases damage with Cripple. Usually used after Black Mantis Thrust or Leaping Mantis Sting because of their Cripple conditions.
- A fair damage attack that gives Energy. Simular to the skill Black Lotus Strike.
Golden Skull Strike
Temple Strike
- Elite Off-Hand Attacks that cause Daze. But Temple Strike causes Blind at the cost of 5 more Energy than Golden Skull Strike.
- Unblockable stance remover with very respectable damage.
Deadly Arts
- No damage dealing spell hardly ever used. Usually used after Iron Palm then Trampling Ox for a 3 skill Knockdown.
Shadow Arts
There are no Off-Hand Attacks in Shadow Arts.
Other Offhand Attacks
Critical Strikes
- Armor ignoring touch skill. Alows the use of a Dual attack without any requirements.
Dagger Mastery
- Recharges all other attack skills and does significant damage with a meager 5 energy cost. Must follow a dual attack.
- A recent nerf increased its energy cost to 10. Now does mediocre damage for quite a bit of energy. Requires foes to be hexed.
- Decent damage with no side effects. Requires you to be enchanted.
- Lots of damage plus poison for a meager 5 energy. Requires foe to be knocked-down.
- Used primarily for energy management. Requires foe to be knocked-down.
Dual Attacks
Almost every assassin build has a Dual Attack. It's 2 hits usually ensure plenty of damage depending on the build.
Critical Strikes
- Powerful Dual attack that causes deep wound and bleeding conditions. Used frequently.
- Good Dual Attack usually used for a quick critical hit and is a good Energy Management skill. Used with Critical Defenses to keep it up.
Dagger Mastery
- The strongest Dual Attack in terms of raw damage and AoE. Seen mainly with Moebius Strike.
- The strongest Dual Attack in terms of long combos. Seen usually at the end of combos with at least 4 skills.
- Rarely used. Provides a quick interrupt and cause Exhaustion if it interrupts a spell. Also follows a Lead Attack. Seen after Disrupting Stab.
- Low damage and very common Dual Attacks. Used to Knockdown the target but Horns of the Ox Requires no one Adjacent of the target and Trampling Ox requires target to be Crippled. Falling Lotus/Spider is usually seen after it.
- A high damage Dual Attack that cannot be blocked at the cost of 5 energy.
- A high damage Elite Dual Attack that cannot be blocked and takes off 2 enchantments at the cost of 10 energy.
Deadly Arts
- New GWEN skill that allows a full Deadly Arts chain. Steals a small amount of health on each strike. Seen mainly on Rt/A's with Nightmare Weapon.
Shadow Arts
There are no Dual Attacks in Shadow Arts.
Special Attacks
Critical Strikes
- Melee attack with incredible amount of damage for a low cost of 5 energy. Requires a foe suffering from condition .
Dagger Mastery
Deadly Arts
Shadow Arts
Shadow Steps
Critical Strikes
Dagger Mastery
Deadly Arts
- Perhaps the most infamous Shadow Step in non-GvG; it cuts the target's movement by 66% and supplies a hex.
Shadow Arts
- Considered the basic Shadow Step. You gain health if used on a target with more health than you.
- Used to step to ally and be healed if they have more health than you.
- Used to shadow step to ally as well as inflicted Crippled to adjacent foes. A handy tool for Assassin secondaries, and experienced players can use this skill offensively as a snare.
Other
- In GvG, this skill is godly. It allows a route in and an escape route plus an enchantment to be used with Golden Pheonix Strike.
- This skill can be used as a retreat, but not seen as much as Aura of Displacement.
Self-Heals
Critical Strikes
Dagger Mastery
Deadly Arts
Shadow Arts
- Heals if target foe has more life than you.
- Heals if target ally has more life than you.
- Provides +80 armor and +7 health regeneration. Ends if you hit with an attack or use a skill.
- Heals and you shadow step to a random nearby location. Useful if you are body blocked.
- Provides health regeneration and an additional heal if you were attacking when it ended.
- Heals for small amounts every time you land a critical hit.