Starting Assassin from dirt scratch. Any tips appreciated

[duck]

Hi all. Since I'm new, I think it's polite to talk little bit of myself first. I played D2 on USWNL from 2004-2009. I was quite wealthy then, and relatively well known in the USWNL community. I just installed D2 again and although I know it all along, it's quite sad to see my old accounts gone ): Despite knowing lots of stuff then, I kinda forgot a lot of things in D2 now. I do remember stuff like Jah Ith Ber, Kol Vex Pul Thul etc, but I cannot remember their key stats. But anyway my purpose of installing D2 is just to play Single Player mode.

I'm actually quite surprised that there is still an active community for SP D2. I have browsed through several guides here, but I did not read them thoroughly (kinda tired atm). I also don't think they have exactly what I want. I am looking to be starting from scratch. I think the appropriate term for my game would be 'untwinked' (just came across this term while reading threads here). I also have no access to any stash of items, so my game is really spanking brand new. I will also not be using any mods (I read that there's a runeword mod) or mule. The patch used is the latest one on bnet. I of course will be playing in Players 8. Also, it's highly unlikely that I will play to Hell difficulty (may or may not be playing Nightmare too). Lastly, I highly doubt I'm dedicated enough to do insane number of MF runs (I could do maybe max 20 at once?).

I will be playing Assassin. The build that I think I'm playing is Tiger Strike + Dragon Tail (with Cobra Strike to life/mana steal), since I had good experiences with this skill build back then when I was messing around in SP. Below are some questions which I hope you guys could help me.

1) I recall my old Assassin struggling to hit late Act 5 enemies with Tiger/Cobra. I think the issue may be due to low attack rating? How should I balance my points between Cobra/Tiger/Claw Mastery? Or is the reason due to low Dexterity.

2) Any recommended skill builds I should be going for? I don't need the level 90 builds, but more of what skills I should be prioritising.

3) Since Tiger/Cobra only uses your primary weapon, I will probably be using Weapon + Shield. Should I stick to using Claws?

4) What kind of equipments should I be looking for? I do believe I should be able to get by using topaz'd armour and helm for most part of normal (until I can replace them with low end goodies )

5) Any low end Runewords/Uniques/Sets that I should be praying for?

Any other tips are apperciated. I do apologise if I broke any rules here. Cheers!

 

[jamesixgun]

Welcome, ducko!

I'm not nearly as experienced as almost everyone else here (or as you, likely), but maybe I can start the ball rolling a bit.

1) I recall my old Assassin struggling to hit late Act 5 enemies with Tiger/Cobra. I think the issue may be due to low attack rating? How should I balance my points between Cobra/Tiger/Claw Mastery? Or is the reason due to low Dexterity.

I've not taken a TS/Dtail build quite that far, but I also recall some AR difficulties. If you go claw/shield (c/s) or weapon/shield (w/s), you'll want enough dex for max block, and that will help some, and since TS doesn't really provide much of an AR boost, a Blessed Aim merc (A2 Offensive) will work wonders.

Others are far more knowledgeable in this area than I.

2) Any recommended skill builds I should be going for? I don't need the level 90 builds, but more of what skills I should be prioritising.

If w/s, pump TS until DTail comes in, then (and credit where credit is due, I went and looked at maxicek's excellent guide) "you want to keep the Tiger Strike Level about six points higher than Dragon Tail to maximise damage."

Get Cloak of Shadows and Mind Blast as soon as they're available, and use them. Decide if you want Burst of Speed or Fade: if BoS, I have trouble controlling the toon past level 3 or so; Fade at level 8 gives 50% resist all, with a hidden 8% physical damage reduction (IIRC). And I might sink the 4 points necessary to get Blade Fury going for a nice ranged solution.

If you progress past level 50 or so, you'll have maxed your main skills and have enough points in various others to be fine, so it'll be worth looking toward some backup skills, either Lightning Sentry and Death Sentry (though DS is also physical/fire) or Phoenix Strike with some synergy points in Claws of Thunder (or maybe Blades of Ice). Builds have been made with both of these (not by me) and are reported to work well. (You could also consider Venom, though I remember mixed views on that, and there are a bunch of Physical/Poison immunes, IIRC. Or maybe a Shadow, though I usually don't bother with those.)

Since Tiger/Cobra only uses your primary weapon, I will probably be using Weapon + Shield. Should I stick to using Claws?

Your choice, here. W/S will likely give a bit more damage; C/S will be generally faster and you can get some AR and damage increase from Claw Mastery. IF you go W/S, you can run BoS for increased attack speed though, so it's a bit of a wash. (I think nightfish and maybe others did a TS/DTailer with an upped Ribcracker or something, and I think others have tried with a big maul. Problem here will be attack speed OR resists.)

4) What kind of equipments should I be looking for? I do believe I should be able to get by using topaz'd armour and helm for most part of normal (until I can replace them with low end goodies )

You should be able to rock topaz'd armor/helm for most of Normal, but keep an eye out for Bloodfist gloves for increased attack speed; some Sanders boots for increased walk/run speed (or any blue/yellow with IAS and Fast Run).

Other than that, I have no real suggestions. (I'm known as 'the King of A1 Normal' for a reason...)

5) Any low end Runewords/Uniques/Sets that I should be praying for?[.QUOTE]

Oh. Already mentioned a low end unique & set piece. Runewords? Not much that I can think of, but see above for my experience level.

Any other tips are apperciated.

I had some earlier, but don't remember any now...

I hope that helps!

 

[duck]

Thank you for your reply jamesixgun.

I just read the link you posted. It does cover some things I want to know. Would a lack of Cobra affect my play? I believe if I leave it at one point, I will not have enough AR. Also as with most guides, the equipment suggested are heavy on the higher end gear. I'm looking for some sort of progression towards them, since I have no access to them. As of now, the only thing I'm certain is that I'm going for a Topaz'd Helm and Armour.

I have several additional questions:

1) How should I be putting my Stats? I read that I need 36 Strength asap for Ring Mail. I understand that I should have enough Dex for max block, but what Shield should I be basing on? Ideally I would find a Whistan's Guard, although I think Rhyme may be possible later as well.

2) Again on Cobra. I really would like to be using the skill, but I'm worried about the AR. If I'm not using Claw, would it be wise to skill both Tiger and Cobra, while having DTail trail by ~6points as the guide suggested? Alternatively since Claw Mastery adds AR too, I could skill Tiger and Claw Mastery instead, and leave Cobra at 1 point? Investing points in Cobra feels like diminishing returns.

3) What charms should I be looking out for?

4) How important is it for me to get Venom? I suppose if I do continue to NM, I could start skilling it up?

 

[japanzaman]

Yo ducko-

Glad to find a fellow assassin who is also just starting out untwinked. I play hardcore mostly as a trapper, but I've got experience with the kicker builds as well. I'm by no means an expert with them but I can offer a few points of advice that might help.

1. Life/mana leech. You won't need cobra strike for this after normal difficulty. I've found given the high damage tiger strike offers, just some usual LL/ML rings can get the job done and they don't require the annoying switching in the middle of fights.

2. Rune drop rates have increased substantially from mid nightmare on, so it's not a total pipe dream to aim for decent gear (Chains of Honor, etc.). If anything, Rhyme for a shield can serve you well, as can Strength or Black in a claw or weapon for life leach and crushing blow while you are charging your tiger strike. Since playing 1.13, I've had 2 Zods drop for me along with most of the other high runes, so don't think these items are totally out of reach!

3. AR can be an issue in 1.13, as Hell is a rather tough place to be for melee characters who are lacking in gear. The Angelic Amulet/Ring combo can work pretty well, but I've found that your character level is generally the most important factor for hitting enemies consistently. Make sure you are over lvl 75 when you enter hell, or player 8 is going to be rough.

I wouldn't expect this first attempt to go all that smoothly, as it usually takes quite a few attempts to adjust to SP, especially at Player 8. Good luck.

 

[duck]

Yo ducko-

Glad to find a fellow assassin who is also just starting out untwinked. I play hardcore mostly as a trapper, but I've got experience with the kicker builds as well. I'm by no means an expert with them but I can offer a few points of advice that might help.

1. Life/mana leech. You won't need cobra strike for this after normal difficulty. I've found given the high damage tiger strike offers, just some usual LL/ML rings can get the job done and they don't require the annoying switching in the middle of fights.

2. Rune drop rates have increased substantially from mid nightmare on, so it's not a total pipe dream to aim for decent gear (Chains of Honor, etc.). If anything, Rhyme for a shield can serve you well, as can Strength or Black in a claw or weapon for life leach and crushing blow while you are charging your tiger strike. Since playing 1.13, I've had 2 Zods drop for me along with most of the other high runes, so don't think these items are totally out of reach!

3. AR can be an issue in 1.13, as Hell is a rather tough place to be for melee characters who are lacking in gear. The Angelic Amulet/Ring combo can work pretty well, but I've found that your character level is generally the most important factor for hitting enemies consistently. Make sure you are over lvl 75 when you enter hell, or player 8 is going to be rough.

I wouldn't expect this first attempt to go all that smoothly, as it usually takes quite a few attempts to adjust to SP, especially at Player 8. Good luck.

Thanks

So I suppose I could use 1 point Cobra until I get my LL/ML items? Well high end items are certainly out of reach because I don't intend to be playing too long I have played Players 8 before, and I usually don't have any problems till late Act 5 normal. I have never tried NM on SP though.

 

[japanzaman]

When you play on P8, you are essentially upping the game one level of difficulty higher than it already is. Why not play through P8 on normal, then switch down to P1 for nightmare and hell? Your not really playing the game at its fullest until you reach hell anyway, in my opinion, so don't be afraid to get your feet wet (no pun intended ducko). If you play a bit at the higher levels, high end stuff will drop. It's just the nature of the game.

 

[duck]

When you play on P8, you are essentially upping the game one level of difficulty higher than it already is. Why not play through P8 on normal, then switch down to P1 for nightmare and hell? Your not really playing the game at its fullest until you reach hell anyway, in my opinion, so don't be afraid to get your feet wet (no pun intended ducko). If you play a bit at the higher levels, high end stuff will drop. It's just the nature of the game.

Well its not that I find nightmare hell too difficult. Its just that it gets a little boring for me to replay the whole game again on a new difficulty. Haha. That is the main reason why I doubt I will play to that stage.

 

[japanzaman]

Nightmare is definitely a grind, and I generally spend as little time there as possible as it is generally rather easy and hardly anything of value can be had until Act 5. Hell presents a very real challenge, however, often forcing you to change your playing style and approach for your character, as immunes and other enemy mods can pose some serious problems for even the best built characters. It's finding ways to overcome these challenges that keeps me interested to hell.

But yeah, if you're not looking for that type of experience then no reason to force yourself to do it. Most people here have their own styles and tastes, and that's what makes this site interesting- we all do things a bit different, and it makes the game that much more enjoyable.

 

[duck]

Yep. That's why I posted this thread. The guides which I have read hasn't really offered me exactly what I want. I just want to play the game through with minimal farming. I don't mind the occasional Countess games for runes etc, but I definitely will not want to do 1000 LK runs etc.

Essentially, I'm looking for information on how I should build the character as I progress through the game. What items/stats/mods I should be looking for to make do with, instead of banking my game entirely on getting a gore riders etc. After all isn't that how SP should originally be played (untwink no extended stash etc)?

 

[Krupa]

an easy way to obtain decent melee weapons as an assassin is gambling. gamble for rare claws with a decent amount of %ed. i usually go for the claws, those that upgrade to greater claws and feral claws. depending on ur luck u can have the ingredients necessary to upgrade the weapon by act 4, a prefect sapphire, an ort and an amn rune.
but since u don´t want to really play further than normal, the upgrading isn´t necessary. just gamble some claws and use whatever has the most dmg.
a great alternative to claws would be civerbs cudgel. it provides dmg/lvl and rocks in normal. also don´t forget cleglaws set. the full set provides everything u´ll need for normal, but the weapon with another set piece works nicely too, preferably the gloves for dmg/lvl and ar/lvl + 50% deadly strike

if u want to go for PT armor, u´ll ideally use a breast plate after finishing act 1, 4 soc armors don´t drop before nightmare. shaels don´t drop before act 5 i think. the ideal base for a rhyme depends on ur strength. tower shield has the highest %block but requires 75 str, which i find much in normal on most builds. the next best option would be a bone shield. u can shop those in act 2 with 2 socs. i´d hope for a signons shield personally for normal.

also the other signons set pieces are worth mentioning. with gloves and helmet u´ll get 30 ias, 10 % ll and a huge amount of ar/lvl. throw in boots and/or belt and u got urself some gravy on top of that cake.

hsarus boots + belt also provide ar/lvl and they are much more likely to drop. angelics has been mentioned before.


also don´t forget the act 2 mercenaries. the offensive type provides a blessed aim aura, which will solve 99% of all ar problems. besides giving the aura, he can beat this difficulty all by himself (the whole game tbh). cube him a savage exceptional polearm (any diamond, kris, 2-hand staff and belt). might take a few tries, but a bill would be ideal for normal difficulty. ur merc should be able to wear it with a few amethysts in his equipment. if u have way too much gems, which u might have, craft him a blood helm for some leech (ral, perfect ruby, any jewel and a magic helm type helmet). if u find a exceptional base in act 5, most of them get 4 socs from larzuk (depends on the ilvl, u´d need to check that). if u have sol by then turn it into an insight. also a peace runeword (shael thul amn in armor) for him or urself is a nice option. it provides critical strike, without +skills it´s around 35% iirc.

 

[jiansonz]

Just one tip for the Dragon Tail damage: around Act IV-early Act V, you will have the required items to upgrade a rare armor item (Ral, Thul, perfect amethyst). Since DTail damage depends a lot on the kick damage, upgrading normal rare boots to some high-end exceptional boots will raise that damage. If you have not found any good rare boots, you can gamble some.

Be aware of the STR requirement, though.

 

[maxicek]

If you are playing Tiger Strike Dragon Tail, Lawbringer is your best weapon choice. Farm Countess for the Lem if one doesn't drop for you.

 

[duck]

Well wouldn't law bringer require the runeword mod. As I said, I'm not getting any mods because I can't be bothered to get it. I don't think that its crucial to what I want to achieve.

@jiansonz may you please elaborate what mods I should be looking in a good boots?

Also I'm not familiar with crafting. What items should I be looking to craft? I understand the life steal helms for merc. What else is useful?

I really appreciate your responses so far

 

[japanzaman]

I think jiansonz was simply refering to getting a pair of exceptional quality boots, which have a significantly higher base kick damage than normal boots. If you're not familiar with what boots are exceptional, the Arreat Summit has all the stats and info you'll need. And as jiansonz also mentioned, the best way to get a pair is to gamble, as they usually don't naturally drop until Act 4 or so of normal mode. Once you are over level 24 I think you should be able to gamble a pair.

 

[jiansonz]

@jiansonz may you please elaborate what mods I should be looking in a good boots?

Depends on the rest on your gear, but boots are good for
- faster run (may be unnecessary or even impractical if you use Burst of Speed or other items with faster run - you do not want to be too fast when you do micro-management fighting in close quarters)
- resists (boots have better resist affixes than gloves/belts, they go up to 40% and you can score more than one if you are lucky)
- magic find (up to 25% on rare boots)
- faster hit recovery
- + to Dexterity

Lesser mods that aren't the main goals but don't hurt if you get them as extras include life regeneration, +mana, extra gold, chance to cast Frost Nova.

 

[duck]

Depends on the rest on your gear, but boots are good for
- faster run (may be unnecessary or even impractical if you use Burst of Speed or other items with faster run - you do not want to be too fast when you do micro-management fighting in close quarters)
- resists (boots have better resist affixes than gloves/belts, they go up to 40% and you can score more than one if you are lucky)
- magic find (up to 25% on rare boots)
- faster hit recovery
- + to Dexterity

Lesser mods that aren't the main goals but don't hurt if you get them as extras include life regeneration, +mana, extra gold, chance to cast Frost Nova.

Ahh. Those mods are so similar to the godly boots in the realms. Haha. Thanks!

@japanzaman
I actually knew what he meant. Haha I just didn't know what Boots were good enough to be considered for upgrading

 

[jiansonz]

It's the combo with Tiger Strike, with its enormous +ED that makes the kick damage (i.e. mainly how big the boots are) so important.

 

[japanzaman]

Honestly, as long as the boots are of high quality, you could get by with just plain normal ones. With my kicker I just used the first magic pair of elite scarabshell boots I found for most of hell and killed just fine.

 

[duck]

Alright I just reached Act 3 at level 28. I have been mainly following these 2 guides:

http://www.purediablo.com/forums/sh...ntwinked-Single-pass-early-game-Magic-Finding
http://www.purediablo.com/forums/showthread.php?660255-A-Guide-to-Untwinked-single-pass-HC-play-V0-2

Just 5 minutes ago, I gambled a 28% MF Circlet. Pretty low on the Luck suffix, but I think I'll make do with it. I'm also using 3 Flawed Topaz BP, 21% MF Gloves, 22% MF Boots, 28% MF Ammy, 14% and 9% MF Rings. Bought myself a Bone Shield of Deflection, and I'm currently using a random 20% LR Plate Belt and a misc Rare Blade Talon.

I probably want to upgrade my Rings, Gloves and Boots. Quick question though. With so much emphasis on MF gear, is resistance important for Normal Difficulty?

[Edit]

Also I read that I should save Amulets/Rings, and cube them. What's the purpose of doing this? Am I hoping to roll a high MF Ring?

 

[jiansonz]

.With so much emphasis on MF gear, is resistance important for Normal Difficulty?

Thee are a few places where it is important:
* Summoner (but you are already past him)
* Flayer shaman Infernos
* Council Hydras (not so bad, but annoying if there is a lot)
* Bremm Sparkfist if he spawns with Conviction aura!
* Mephisto (mostly the cold ball shot, so a few thawing potions are usually enough)
* 'Megademon' Infernos, especially The Infector's pack in Chaos Sanctuary
* DIABLO! (fire and lightning. Lightning breath is half physical and can be blocked in segments, though)
* Fire catapult shots and imp Infernos. These two in combo can really do a number on you with bad fire resist (the catapult damage is sneaky because the character does not scream in pain)
* Baal (fire)

Also I read that I should save Amulets/Rings, and cube them. What's the purpose of doing this? Am I hoping to roll a high MF Ring?

Yes, or ones with good resists. Preferrably with both on the same item.
Later in the game, there are other nice things that can spawn on them, especially on amulets.

The main thing is that most blue amulets and rings sell for only a few thousand gold, so 3->1 cubing is a cheap way to see many more of them.