Elly's asked me to tidy the Assassin Stickies a bit.
I was thinking of just unstickying the really old stuff (anything out of date), trying to fix any broken links (especially to the strategy compendium) and also maybe making one sticky which links to builds rather than stickying the builds themselves.
Any comments/input would be appreciated before I go a-pruning. :thumbup:
I'll think about this since I gotta run, but can I get back to you on this? I've wanted a re-vamp for a while (Aman didn't respond, and I don't see his name in the mod slot any more ).
it's not a sticky, but i think the Blade Fury Analysis should be in the guides sticky. other than that, can the stuck threads just be included in the guides sticky?
PvM and PvP guides should be easy to tell apart, sin guide sticky is fairly good at this already but sorting the guides is one of the first steps I'd take to make it better.
Consistent line layout really helps readability, the paladin guide sticky is my worst nightmare when it comes to this one ...
Seeing which patch the guides where written for is a good way of showing which guides are outdated/updated. Possible second sorting criteria after pvp/pvm.
Fancy builds names are fun, but for a guide sticky it helps to directly see what the main skills of each build are.
Having spaces between the links does in my opinion not help the readability (example: barbarian)
Too much introduction info can be a bad thing, the guide should after all act as an index foremost. Thus if there's a lot of extra notes that need to be mentioned, then please put it beneath the guide list so we don't have to scroll down past it to find the guides.
I hope this will be of some use, but I'm sure most of it, if not all, was already bloody obvious ... sorry about that. :whistling:
2 and 3 could probably be grouped in the "general and guide" section like the Druids do. A one-stop-shop deal would probably work best.
#1 is straight forward and requires next to no editing. For convenience, I use Xepolite's calculator, which is interactive with gear. Link contains bad words, but given target crowd, not sure how much that matters. >>
The real challenge in reaching maximum WW speed is with your off-hand claw, assuming you aren’t making another ‘Chaos’ for your off-hand claw. The most popular option for an off-hand claw for WW Assassins is a ‘Fury’ Scissors Suwayyah or Suwayyah(for the same reason stated in the first paragraph, it’s better to use Suwayyahs instead of Feral Claws/Runic Talons when making ‘Fury’, as ‘Fury’ has an innate 40% IAS, which would set you well above the WW speed cap). Bartucs and War Fists(with at least 30% IAS), Scissors Suwayyahs/Suwayyahs(with at least 20% IAS) are just some of the other claws that are able to reach the maximum WW speed.
Never ever time infinity ever dual wield Suwayyah. WW speed is not a valid reason to use another Suwayyah. You sacrifice ~2 frames from traps for no change in WW.
If Suwayyah are to be used, they are WSM bugged with Runics or Ferals. This entire paragraph isn't really needed since there's no trouble in keeping WW speed with the off-hand. The only swap that's abnormal and might miss it is a Jade Talon, but you have a Chaos Runic anyway to keep strap speed and ability to WW. I'd snip this part completely.
Q: What mods work on the Blade skills and Kicks?
A: For Kicks (main claw only: i.e. the claw you equip first or the one that's left behind if you unequip one. Shields transfer their effects normally)
What Works
- Life/Mana after kill
- Weapon Range
- +AR (except on your weapon)
- +% AR (from any piece of equipment)
- MF and Gold find
The following effects are carried by the kicking skills:
* Life Leech
* Mana Leech
* Elemental Damage
* Magical Damage
* Chance to cast X on striking
* Crushing Blow
* Open Wounds
* Prevent Monster Heal
* Ignore Target Defense
* Hit Blinds Target
* Hit Causes Monster to Flee
* Hit Freezes target
* Hit Slows Target
DOESN'T WORK:
- Deadly Strike
- ED% to Demons (presumably Undead as well)
Those are commonly asked, and should be reflected.
For blades from Blade Fury Analysis:
What works
* Physical/Weapon Damage (3/4 or 3/8)
* Elemental Damage (3/4 or 3/8)
* Deadly Strike
* Crushing Blow
* Open Wounds
* Knockback
* Prevent Monster Heal
* Ignore Target Defense
* Life and Mana Leech
* Chance to cast on Striking
* Hit Freezes Target
* Hit Blinds Target
* Hit Slows Target
* Hit Causes Monster to Flee
What doesn't work
* Faster Cast Rate
* Increased Attack Speed
* Chance to cast on Attacking
* Pierce Target
The 1.10 FAQ doesn't even mention blades there.
Naturally, updated to say 1.13 to show it's still recent, and to-date. Some of the questions aren't bolded, which may have just been accidentally skipped. It helps to keep track and make them stand out, so it's probably best if they all are bolded.
The Warrior-Monk, and Uber-Tristram Assassin Build - Guide v. 1.1 <----contemplating a re-write. The OP is out-dated, but that's up to you guys if you'd like that or not. Further in the guide, it gets good info, but it isn't reflected in the first one, and gets skipped (FAQs).
The IAS tables thread is a mess, with several errors in the charts on the first page. I PMed Aman a few years back on it but, as with Sass, no response. I will volunteer to re-write and re-post the information, although it may take a couple of weeks. I still find tables more useful that TitanSeal's calc in some instances.
I'd rather have bloody obvious input than nothing. I don't want to just do what I think is right then have PMs/posts along the lines of "HIGHLIGHT you used HIGHLIGHT in the Assassin stickies /emfacepalm" or something similar.
stephan and sass you both posted calc links; are they both accurate? There seems to be some debate over the usefulness of the IAS tables too. If there is a correct post, how about just reposting that post and linking that in?
maxicek - :wave: My first char was an assassin; it's what got me hooked into D2. With the Strategy Compendium moving to the wiki there is a fair bit of reworking going on with build guides (I'm aware that Hrus Build Guide in the SPF needs updating too). I'm wondering how much crossover there is; if some of those guides would be useful in the Assassin Build Sticky and with the increased rune drops of 1.13 how many Assassin Build guides could be added to Hrus'.
Personally I prefer no more than four Stickies. (I admit that I once told Aman I was going to Sticky his entire front page of the Assassin forum. :whistling
Before you started giving feedback I was thinking
Sticky 1: FAQ
- links to kicking basics, ias tables, calculators a bit like this
Sticky 2: Build Guides a bit like this
I have no clue whether the members want to keep the Assassin Item fund Stickied. Any thoughts apart from "gieb"?
This is going to be a fairly major tidy up so please keep the ideas coming and we'll get something which is useful and easily readable by assassins everywhere.
The one I linked to is accurate, but I haven't tested stranger combos like throwing stuff, spears, wands, etc.
Stephan mentions The Titanseal Calc, which is accurate as far as I know. That one has DTalon, but no DClaw. This one has DClaw, but no DTalon. =/ Grr
The second uses the 125 IAS requirement @ -30 WSM for DClaw, which is consistent with JRichard's correction (which isn't reflected in the OP or his site, both using the 377).
If I knew Java, I'd love to try to combine those two.
@1: I like it. Item fund can be lumped in there. It isn't usually active anyway.
@2: That can be used for the various out dated or obsolete guides. It's too jumbled for a major place to look for a guide, IMO. I do like the idea of keeping them all listed, but have the big ones (k/t, trapper, warrior monk, etc etc) at the very top and very distinctly presented. The rest can be for reference.
Yep, another 'in progress thread'. Please contribute in this thread.
[highlight]Forum Rules[/highlight]
Short version: be polite. Longer version: are here. No, not negotiable.
Trading takes place in the Trade Forums but if you are in dire need, please use the Assassin Forum Item Fund rather than make a thread begging for items.
[highlight]FAQ[/highlight]
1.10 FAQ which this document is to replace. Please be aware of its age before relying on information from it.
Xepolite calculator Titanseal calc v1 - Has Dragon Claw but you need to have two claws selected in the weapons options (otherwise it can't give the correct speed).
Alright. I've made a start on the Build Stickies; the links should work. I'll be adding the Guides suggested in this thread into that Build Sticky over the next few days or so.
Where I need a BIG help is the FAQ. Right now it's sparse compared to the 1.10 version.
Alrighty, I'll start adding more build guides over the coming week. (And pruning. My first char was based on TylerEss' guide. but reading it years later, I can't disagree. )
[highlight]Assassin FAQ for Version 1.13[/highlight]
[highlight]Basic Terms and Abbreviations[/highlight]
AoE: Area of Effect
AR: Attack Rating
BoI: Blades of Ice
BoS: Burst of Speed
BF: Blade Fury
C/C: Claw/Claw (dual wielding claws)
C/S: Claw/Shield (using a claw and a shield)
CoS: Cloak of Shadows
CoT: Claws of Thunder
CS: Cobra Strike
DC: Dragon Claw
DF: Dragon Flight
DR: Damage Reduced (a mod on items)
DT: Dragon Talon
DS: Death Sentry
DTail: Dragon Tail
EIAS: Effective Increased Attack Speed
ED: Enhanced Damage
FoF: Fists of Fire
IAS: Increased Attack Speed
LS: Lightning Sentry
MA: Martial Arts, usually referring to the Martial Arts skill tree
MDR: Magic Damage Reduced (a mod on items)
Nat's: Natalya's Odium (the assassin set)
PS: Phoenix Strike
PvM: Player Vs. Monster
PvP: Player Vs. Player
SD: Shadow Discipline Skill tree
SLVL: Skill Level
SM: Shadow Master
SW: Shadow Warrior
TS: Tiger strike
WoF: Wake of Fire
WoI: Wake of Inferno
WB: Weapon Block
W/S: Weapon/Shield (normally for a non claw weapon)
[highlight]Introduction[/highlight]
The Assassin does not need to keep keys to open locked chests.
Faster Block Rate from equipment does effect on Weapon Block speed.
[highlight]Next Delay[/highlight]
NextDelay is a property that activates a hidden "hit timer" that limits how often any attack from that group can damage a single target. This works similarly to the infamous spell timer, which limits how often any spell in that group can be cast. The difference is that the hit timer doesn't prevent you from attacking, it just sets everyone's chance-to-hit that monster (with a hit timer attack) at zero until the timer runs out.
Assassin skillsaffected by NextDelay
25-Frame Delay (1 second)
Shock Web
Blade Sentinel
4-Frame Delay (0.16 seconds)
Wake of Fire
Claws of Thunder
Phoenix Strike
Dragon Flight
So, the moment a certain skill from the list damages a monster, it prevents every other skill on the list from hitting the said monster for the original skill's NextDelay duration (whether from you or any other character).
[highlight]Assassin Claws[/highlight]
Claw class weapons are the Assassin's class specific items. Assassin claws may have +1-3 points in up to 3 individual skills from all three of her skill trees, Traps, Shadow Disciplines, and Martial Arts. These random +skills work just like the bonuses you see on wands/scepters/staves in Diablo II, and can occur on normal, magical, and Rare items and can be any of her skills, Clvl 1 up to and including Clvl 30 ones.
Mods that transfer from the off hand claw
These always work regardless of which claw they are on:
- Resists
- FHR
- +Skills
- +Stats like life, mana, strength etc.
Note: Shields transfer their affects normally.
For all skills, IAS only ever works on the primary claw. Keep those Shaels away from the claw above the boots. The only exception to this is if you are using Normal attack.
[highlight]Traps[/highlight] IAS Tables for Trap Laying
Trap skills are normally divided into three groups:
- Lightning Traps
- Fire Traps
- Blade Skills
The fire and lightning traps also have two sub-types:
Sentry Traps
The Assassin can place a maximum of five Sentries at any one time. These can be mixed (2 Wake of Fire, 3 Lightning) or all the same kind. The five cap only applies to Sentries (Charged Bolt Sentry, Wake of Fire, Lightning Sentry, Wake of Inferno and Death Sentry). Do note that the Traps that your Shadow casts also counts towards this limit. For example, if you had five WoI traps active, and your Shadow casts an LS, one of your WoI traps would be destroyed and replaced with your Shadows's LS.
While BFury, Blade Shield, SWeb and FB don't count as Traps in terms of the trap limit, BSentinel does (when you have 5 WoI traps active, and cast a BSentinel, one of your WoIs will disappear). Theoretically, an Assassin is not able to have more than 5 BSentinels active at the same time, due to limitations from its casting delay and duration (there is also a hard limitation that prevents more than 5 BSentinels from being cast, as the first BSentinel will wink out before the sixth is cast).
Do remember that all 'set' Traps(i.e. LS, WoI, etc. as well as BSentinel) are automatically destroyed if you go beyond 2 screens' distance from them, even if they haven't depleted their shots. Sentries cannot be destroyed by other players or monsters.
Sentries are considered as minions by the game and benefit from neither -resistance or +damage from items like Facets, Crescent Moon or Griffon's Eye, despite what the LCS may say.
Bomb Traps
- Fireblast and Shockweb do not count towards the five trap limit.
- Fireblast and Shockweb work as normal with -resistance and +damage from items like Facets, Crescent Moon or Griffon's Eye.
[highlight]Wake Of Inferno[/highlight]
The actual missile that causes the damage of WoI is extremely thin, which makes it useless on moving targets. WoI still has hope with completely stationary targets, though.
[highlight]Blade Skills[/highlight]
The listed damage for the blade skills is applied in addition to the damage from the weapon. This listed damage is affected by off weapon ED, stat bonuses, ED from auras like Might etc. ED from Claw mastery also applies to the listed damage if a claw class weapon is equiped. See Blade Fury Analysis by Ceramic Weasel for more information.
All blade skills use Normal Attack AR to in the to hit calculation.
Much of the information in the tables below is taken from Onderduiker's Blade Skill Modifiers Guide at The Amazon Basin.
[highlight]Blade Sentinel[/highlight]
Code:
Modifier Primary Secondary
____________________________________________________
Chance to cast on Attacking N N
Chance to cast on Striking N N
Critical Strike from Claw Mastery Y N
Crushing Blow N N
Deadly Strike Y N
Elemental Damage/Venom 3/8* N
Hit Blinds Target N N
Hit Causes Monster to Flee N N
Hit Freezes Target N N
Hit Slows Target N N
Increased Attack Speed N*** N
Ignore Target Defense Y N
Knockback N N
Leech Y N
Open Wounds N N
Physical/Weapon Damage 3/8* N
Pierce Target Y** N
Prevent Monster Heal N N
* Half this damage applies if using a two handed weapon, regardless of what the LCS says. So for blade sentinel damage with a two handed weapon is 3/16.
** Blade Sentinel has natural pierce
*** All blade skills have a fixed speed, regardless of IAS on weapons or gear.
[highlight]Blade Fury[/highlight]
Code:
Modifier Primary Secondary
____________________________________________________
Chance to cast on Attacking N N
Chance to cast on Striking Y N
Critical Strike from Claw Mastery Y N
Crushing Blow Y** N
Deadly Strike Y N
Elemental Damage/Venom 3/4* N
Hit Blinds Target Y N
Hit Causes Monster to Flee Y N
Hit Freezes Target Y N
Hit Slows Target Y N
Increased Attack Speed N*** N
Ignore Target Defense Y N
Knockback Y N
Leech Y N
Open Wounds Y N
Physical/Weapon Damage 3/4* N
Pierce Target N N
Prevent Monster Heal Y N
* Half this damage applies if using a two handed weapon, regardless of what the LCS says, i.e 3/8 in this case.
** Blade Fury is considered a ranged attack when determining the effect of Crushing Blow.
*** Blades are thrown at 6FPA, regardless of IAS on weapons or gear.
[highlight]Blade Shield[/highlight]
Blade Shield's range is locked at 6 (or 4 yards). Weapon range does not affect it.
Code:
Modifier Primary Secondary
____________________________________________________
Chance to cast on Attacking N N
Chance to cast on Striking N N
Critical Strike from Claw Mastery Y N
Crushing Blow N N
Deadly Strike Y N
Elemental Damage/Venom 1/4* N
Hit Blinds Target N N
Hit Causes Monster to Flee N N
Hit Freezes Target N N
Hit Slows Target N N
Increased Attack Speed N*** N
Ignore Target Defense Y N
Knockback N N
Leech Y N
Open Wounds N N
Physical/Weapon Damage 1/4* N
Pierce Target N N
Prevent Monster Heal N N
* Half this damage applies if using a two handed weapon, regardless of what the LCS says, i.e 1/8 in this case.
*** Blade Shield speed is fixed at 25FPA, regardless of IAS on weapons or gear.
[highlight]Shadow Disciplines[/highlight]
You can pre-buff Shadows, Fade, BoS & Venom. They will keep the bonuses at the time of the cast, even if you change equipment.
Burst of Speed and Fade cannot be used together, although either can be used with Venom.
[highlight]Claw Mastery [/highlight]
[highlight]Weapon Block [/highlight]
Weapon Block only works when you are dual wielding claw class weapons
Weapon Block does not work when moving, it only works when attacking or standing still. Cahnce to block is based on the skill level only and is independent of Dexterity or Increased Chance of Blocking from items.
WB blocks elemental attacks in addition to (normally) unblockable attacks, such as Smite. Here's a list of elemental attacks we've verified to be Blockable or Unblockable with WB. Note that all of the below are Unblockable with normal Shields. Elemental skills denoted with a "?" are unconfirmed.
Generally, all elemental attacks are blockable, other than those that are stationary like Firewall.
[highlight]Cloak of Shadows[/highlight]
1) The enemy vision radius of the monster while blinded is 1, but if a monster to be doing something (e.g.. chasing you) when you cast CoS, he will continue to do so (until you interrupt him, with a Psychic Hammer, for example), then remain stationary when the action is finished.
2) CoS dispels Firewalls (in the Arcane Sanctuary).
3) CoS prevents Shamans from reviving Fallen, Flesh Spawners from creating babies, Sand Maggots from laying eggs and ranged attackers from firing.
4) CoS forces monsters to use their melee attack, even if they are in range for a secondary attack (e.g. Balrogs will never use their Inferno ability when CoS is active).
5) The blinding effect of CoS does not work on Bosses, Champions, Super uniques (including Act Bosses), Minions of Destruction, and Oblivion Knights. The -%defense on CoS works on all monsters except Act Bosses.
6) CoS functions like a curse, i.e. you can overwrite your Necro friend's curse and vice versa with it. When CoS is overwritten, all effects on the monster in question are removed(i.e. it is no longer blinded or suffering from defense reduction, despite the dark screen).
7) CoS's defense bonus is treated differently from any other defense modifier (except RibCracker's defense bonus, which is additive with CoS's bonus). Hence, it is multiplicative, not additive, with other defensive modifiers, such as Defiance and Shout. To understand how this works, a bit of explanation on how to calculate a character's defense is needed:
A) Find the base defense of a character. For player characters, this is just Dexterity/4 and rounded down. For hirelings this should be their Dexterity/4 rounded down, plus whatever defense they gain from levels.
B) Find the item defense of a character. This is the sum of all defense you obtain from items, which includes your helm, armor, shield, gloves, belts, and boots. Note that +%defense on items that have a defense number are exclusive to that item alone. So, if you have a Helmet with a base defense of 5(and a +100% defense mod on it, making the total helmet defense 10) and a Quilted Armor with a base defense of 10(and a +50% defense mod on it, making the total armor defense 15), you would have an item defense of (10 + 15) = 25, not (5 + 10) * 2.5 = 37.5
C) Multiply item_armor_percent bonuses to the results of #B, then round down (the bonuses below are additive with each other):
Sources of item_armor_percent include
- Valkyrie defense bonus
- Spirit Wolf defense bonus
- Dire Wolf defense synergy from Spirit Wolf
- Grizzly defense synergy from Spirit Wolf
- Cloak of Shadows defense bonus
- +%Defense on items without a defense number (e.g.. rings, amulets, weapons. So, instead of +%Defense usually being applied only on the item it's on, +%Defense on weapons/rings/amulets are effectively being applied on every single piece of equipment. It's this property that makes RibCracker such a popular weapon on characters focusing on defense).
D) Sum up the results of A) and C) to obtain total character defense.
E) Multiply skill_armor_percent bonuses to D), then round down to find total defense (e.g. what's being used for calculating the chance a monster hitting you. Again, the bonuses below are additive with each other):
The result is that CoS multiplies the item defense, before other +%Defense modifiers on skills are put into effect. In the end, you get a much higher defense than you would usually have, had CoS's +%Defense bonus been a skill_armor_percent bonus instead of a item_armor_percent (especially if you have a lot of bonuses from the skill_armor_percent section). Whether this property is a bug (since it's the only skill in the item_armor_percent section that affects the character and not the minion) or a feature remains to be seen.
[highlight]Fade [/highlight]
Fade has a hidden PDR bonus of 1% per skill point invested it in (whether natural or from +skills). So, an slvl 10 Fade would have 10% hidden PDR. This only applies when Fade is active.
The game treats lasting Shrine effects as Curses, and accordingly, they suffer a shortened duration when used in conjunction with Fade (exact decrease in duration depends on the slvl). So, when you're about to activate a Shrine, remember to switch to BoS(you can switch back to Fade once you've activated the Shrine with BoS, with no ill effect).
[highlight]Shadow Warrior [/highlight]
[highlight]Shadow Master [/highlight]
Shadow Warrior can cast only the two skills readied in your left and right skill button, while Shadow Master can use any of the Assassin's skills, even if there are no points in it. Shadow Master has more life than the Warrior and comes with in-built elemental resistances and will be able to inflict a good deal more damage. In addition, at higher levels, Shadow Master spawns with better equipment than Shadow Warriors. Shadow Master costs 40 mana to cast and Warrior costs 27 at level one and rises by 2 with each skill point.
In most cases, Shadow Master is going to be a superior minion when compared to Shadow Warrior. Shadow Masters are downright the best summoned Minion in the game. Shadow Masters can use 28 out of 30 of the Assassin skills, including skills that you haven't invested any points in yourself. Of course, a Shadow Warrior or Shadow Master cannot summon their own Shadow. Shadow Masters with enough points in the skill have pretty decent hit points (not as many as a Valkyrie, but Valkyries are nothing more than big dumb meat shields), can help out by tanking for you against monsters, can set traps, Mind Blast monsters (sometimes this is an undesirable effect, but their other benefits outweigh the occasional ill-timed conversion), and even do moderate damage, even in Hell.
However, with some micromanagement, SWarriors can complement your killing efficiency quite well, due to the recent discovery of how Shadows gain synergy bonuses link to guide on Shadow Warriors.
Both the Shadow Master and Shadow Warrior come with inbuilt resistances. However, up till the level 17, the Shadow Master gains elemental resistance at a greater rate. Beyond that, SWarriors spawn with greater elemental resistance than SMs at the same level. Shadows gain elemental resistance at these rates:
Shadow Warrior: 4 * Slvl <capped at 75% for skill-based elemental bonus>
Shadow Master: 0.75((110*lvl) / (lvl+6)) + 5 <no cap>
Though neither Shadow can become innately immune to the elements, if she spawns with +resist all equipment or receives the effects of a Paladin's Salvation aura for example, both Shadows have the ability to be completely immune to an element(they cannot absorb, unfortunately), as their resistance is pushed to 100%(being minions, they have no 75% cap).. Both Shadows spawn with 40% PDR regardless of level(this can be increased if they decide to use Fade).
The SM attacks roughly one frame faster with DC/CoT/BoI/FoF. The SWarrior attacks roughly one frame faster with BF/DFlight. Both have the same Normal Attack speed.
The SM spawns with items at a higher level than the SWarrior(this is in addition to the SM spawning with better quality equipment at higher levels, consult the other FAQs). Specifically:
Shadow Warrior item level formula: 18 + 2 * Slvl
Shadow Master item level formula: 24 + 3 * Slvl
The SWarrior has a defense bonus of 12%/level, SMs have no innate defense bonus.
The SM has a life regen of 50 hp/sec, whereas the SWarrior has a life regen of 75 hp/sec.
Both Shadows attack twice with DF/DC/CoT/FoF/BoI in one 'click' (that is, when you see your Shadow DF'ing someone, she actually has the chance to inflict the damage of two DFs in one stroke, even though only one DF is seen)
Both Shadows have an AI delay of 0.6 seconds (15 frames) before they can do any other action.
Shadow Master costs 40 mana to cast and Warrior costs 27 at level one and rises by 2 with each skill point.
Both you and your mercenary gain experience from Shadow kills.
Shadows' skills are 1/2(your Assassin's level in that skill including +skills) rounded down PLUS 1/3(level of shadow at time of casting including +skills), rounded down. So, if you had a lvl 24 MB and slvl 9 SM, your SM would cast an slvl 15 MB. This formula is also used to calculate synergy bonuses in the FAQ below.
Shadows do not appear to have a synergy cap of 20 points, as per other classes, but continue to gain synergy bonuses even after slvl 20, assuming the Assassin has +skills that will boost that level above 20(potentially allowing the Shadow to do more damage with a certain skill than the Assassin herself, or at least matching it). However, to gain the synergy bonuses of a certain skill, it must choose to use that skill (for example, a Shadow would need to use Fists of Fire before getting Fists of Fire's synergy bonuses on PS's Meteor. The same principle works with Lightning Traps, for example). Note: Once that particular Shadow dies (or you re-cast it), it has to "re-learn" all its synergies.
While it's possible to get a Shadow to do more damage with a Lightning Trap than yourself, it often becomes a trying exercise in order to get your Shadow to use the skill you want it to (given how fickle the Shadow AI is). It's easier to control which skill a Shadow Warriors uses, but it gets difficult keeping even a high level SWarrior alive in Hell.
As an example to illustrate how a Shadow might do damage with her skills:
Assuming the Assassin has:
20 LS (+20 skills)
20 DS (+20 skills)
20 CBS (+20 skills)
20 SWeb (+20 skills)
20 SWarrior (+11 skills)
LS damage/bolt: 4485 avg.
As synergy bonuses stretch beyond slvl 20(for the Shadow), the Shadow would use (according to the formula in the previous FAQ):
31 LS
31 DS
31 CBS
31 SWeb
LS damage/bolt: 4244 avg.
Shadow's Equipment
SWarriors get all their bonuses at level one
- Magical Blade Talon on their left hand
- Magical Cestus on their right hand
- Magical version of the your own armor's base item (e.g. if you wore a Spirit Shroud, they would spawn with a magical version of Ghost Armor)
- Magical version of your own helm's base item
At level 1, SMs spawn with
- Superior Suwayyah/War Fist/Scissors Suwayyah on their right hand
- Superior Battle Cestus/Runic Talon on their left hand
- Superior version of your own armor's base item
At level 5, SMs spawn with
- Superior Bramble Mitts/Vambraces/Orge Gauntlets
At level 6, SMs spawn with
- Magical version of your own armor's base item
- Magical version of your own helm's base item
- Magical Bramble Mitts/Vambraces/Orge Gauntlets
- Magical Suwayyah/War Fist/Scissors Suwayyah on their right hand
- Magical Battle Cestus/Runic Talon on their left hand
At level 9, SMs spawn with
- Magical right ring
At level 11, SMs spawn with
- Rare version of your own armor's base item
- Rare version of your own helm's base item
- Rare right ring
- Rare Bramble Mitts/Vambraces/Orge Gauntlets
- Rare Suwayyah/War Fist/Scissors Suwayyah on their right hand
- Rare Battle Cestus/Runic Talon on their left hand
At level 13, SMs spawn with
- Rare left ring
At level 17, SMs spawn with
- Rare amulet
So, all in all, a maxed out (item-wise) SM would spawn with
- Rare version of your own armor's base item
- Rare version of your own helm's base item
- Rare left ring
- Rare right ring
- Rare amulet
- Rare Bramble Mitts/Vambraces/Orge Gauntlets
- Rare Suwayyah/War Fist/Scissors Suwayyah on their right hand
- Rare Battle Cestus/Runic Talon on their left hand
The level of equipment a Shadow can spawn with is 24 + 3/level of Shadow at time of casting.
Shadows can be healed but you do not heal them as you do Mercenaries {giving them a health potion}. Shadows are healed when you visit the town healer.
[highlight]Mind Blast[/highlight]
Against Champions, random uniques and superuniques(i.e. Council Members), both stun and (physical) damage still works, but stun chance is reduced to 10-20%(length remains the same). Against Act Bosses, only the damage works. Also, all uniques cannot be knocked back by MB.
MB deals pure Physical damage.
[highlight]Venom[/highlight]
When Venom is active, it converts the durations of all the poison sources on your equipment match its own(0.4 seconds). Consequently, the damages of all your poison sources are reduced to how much damage they would do over 0.4 seconds (for example, a 400 poison damage charm with a 5 second duration would be converted to 32 poison damage charm with a 0.4 second duration, when Venom is active). For this reason, external poison damage sources are usually useless when used with Venom. Despite this, keep a lookout for items with a high damage/low duration ratio, which may add a decent amount of damage to Venom, in addition to +skills and +poison skill damage mods.
Also, try to look at things in terms of ratios (this doesn't just apply to Venom, it applies to many chargeups and Traps as well). While 500 damage on Venom applied over 0.4 seconds may look paltry at first, look at it in terms of seconds(1250 damage/second, or even 12500/10 seconds) and you might change your mind. The only time you have to worry about the true duration (in Venom's case, 0.4 seconds, or 10 frames), is when you're checking whether you meet or exceed the listed duration with your attack, so you're doing the most damage/time possible(10 frames or below, in Venom's case). If you're attacking slower than the listed duration, you're not getting the most out of the skill, as there are instances where Venom's duration elapses, when you're still attacking(11 frames or above, in Venom's case).
Q: Can I pre-buff my Venom with +% Poison Skill Damage mods like the ones found on Trang-Oul's Claws and the 'Bramble' runeword? Will the bonuses dissapear right after I take them off?
A: The bonuses will remain. However, the +% bonuses would only apply once(it would only apply twice if you casted Venom and struck the enemy while the +% damage was still on).
Venom is only applied to the target monster when using a missile weapon with the 'Fires Explosive Arrow/Bolt' mod (e.g.. Kuko Shakaku, Demon Machine).
[highlight]Martial Arts[/highlight]
The Martial Arts tree is probably the most complex tree in D2, containing many different types of attack. All charge-ups require a Finishing Move, but Finishing Moves do not require a Charge Up. Some, like Dragon Talon, excel without a finishing move.
Code:
[B]
C/C C/S W/S 2h Fists[/B]
Tiger Strike Y* Y Y Y Y
Cobra Strike Y* Y Y Y Y
Fists of Fire Y* Y N N N
Claws of Thunder Y* Y N N N
Blades of Ice Y* Y N N N
Phoenix Strike Y* Y Y Y Y
Dragon Claw Y* N N N N
Dragon Talon Y** Y Y Y Y
Dragon Tail Y** Y Y Y Y
Dragon Flight Y** Y Y Y Y
Javelins & Throwing Weapons can be used as melee weapons.
*Check if secondary claw hits or not for these skills.
**Offensive mods do not apply from the secondary claw.
Charge Ups
Charge-Up move is any skill from the Martial Arts tree that's labeled Charge-Up. Some Charge-Up attacks can be used by any melee weapon, though the Elemental branch of the Martial Arts tree (Fist of Fire, Claws of Thunder, and Blades of Ice) can only be used by claw-class weapons. The maximum number of charges you can accumulate per skill is 3, though you can have multiple Charge-Up skill charges active at once.
When you attack an enemy with either a normal attack or a specific Finishing Move skill, all charges are released, and their effects added to the effect of the Finishing Move. For instance, let's say you charge Tiger Strike three times and Phoenix Strike two times. You then release with a normal attack. This normal attack now has the damage increased by the Tiger Strike's three charges, and has the effect of releasing a bolt of chain lightning starting at the enemy you hit.
A Charge Up skill can be charged up to three times, each charge is more powerful than the previous. You must successfully hit your target to register a charge indicated by a colour orb circling the Assassin. Once charged its bonuses can be released by using a Finishing Move {or Normal Attack}. The Finishing Move will also apply a bonus to the attack. The AR bonus is not stored with the Charge Ups and released with the Finishing Move. The AR bonus is applied each time you attack with the Charge up. If the Finisher has an AR bonus also then that is applied when you strike with your finishing move.
Charges last for (10s TBC) before expiring in 1.13 (in previous versions it was 7 seconds) before either requiring another charge up attack of that type to hit or a finishing move to be completed.
[highlight]Kicks[/highlight]
All kicks are classed as Finishing Moves.
[highlight]Kick damage formula[/highlight]
Kick Damage Minimum Damage=[(STR+DEX-20)/4]*(100+skill_bonus)/100 + BootMinDam*[100+(STR*StrBonus/100)+skill_bonus+off_weaponED+Aura_bonus]/100
Maximum Damage=[(STR+DEX-20)/3]*(100+skill_bonus)/100 +BootMaxDam*[100+(STR*StrBonus/100)+skill_bonus+off_weaponED+Aura_bonus]/100
*Any decimals are rounded down
(STR+DEX-20)/4) and (STR+DEX-20)/3)
Self-explanatory: Just substitute STR and DEX for your current STR and DEX. Notes: For base kick damage, with no boots, STR and DEX have the same effect on Kick damage. DEX, however, also boosts AR and defense. Thus, in 1.09, DEX was the better choice for boosting your kick damage. This is no longer strictly true in 1.10, but the difference comes in a later part of the equation.
*(100+skill_bonus)/100
The skill_bonus spot is where the ED for DTalon, TS, DFlight, and some other skills such as might get placed (note: this does not include aura bonuses, such as the ED bonus on Might, or ED on equipment, which get added below). If more than one of these sources of ED are present, they get added together and placed into this slot. Remember to put this combined number in absolute terms (e.g.. 1440, not 1440%). Note: DTail's ED bonus is not figured into the equation in this place, it’s actually figured using the result of the kick damage equation (more below).
BootMinDam and BootMaxDam[/I]
These refer to the minimum and maximum damages of boots, respectively.
Note: For the purposes of determining Kick damage, the mods on the pair of boots are irrelevant (+%defense and whether the pair of boots is ethereal also has no effect on Boot Damage). Only the boot type matters.
*(100+str*StrBonus/100+skill_bonus+off_weaponED+Aura_bonus)/100
StrBonus is always 120, regardless of boot type. The skill_bonus slot is handled just as it was in the previous part of the equation. A few paragraphs back, it was noted that DEX is no longer the best choice for increasing Kick damage. Why? While DEX still gives AR and defense, but for pure damage with boots, STR gets figured into the equation twice (once for calculating base kick damage, and again when calculating boot damage) whereas DEX only gets figured into the first part of the equation (base kick damage only).
off_weaponED refers to +%enhanced damage that doesn't come from weapons (as long as the ED isn't on a weapon, it is added here. The one exception where non-weapon ED doesn't work with Kicks is the ED on +%ED/Max Damage jewels, regardless of ).
Aura_bonus refers to +%enhanced damage that comes from auras like Might, Fanaticism and Concentration.
One last note on fitting in DTail's ED bonus into the equation:
DTail's ED bonus is special, as DTail's ED bonus is multiplied by the result of the above two equations (a property that allows it to get much higher damages than either DTalon or DF, given the same amount of listed Kick ED, per kick). Once you've calculated the results of the above two equations, substitute them into this equation to find the damage of the Fire Explosion attack:
Minimum Damage (the first number you calculated above) * (100+DTail ED bonus)/100 = Minimum Fire Explosion Damage
Maximum Damage (the second number you calculated above) * (100+DTail ED bonus)/100 = Maximum Fire Damage
Here are two examples for calculating Kick damage:
Example No. 1
An Assassin with 200 STR, 100 DEX, slvl 20 TS (charge three currently active, +1440% ED) and slvl 20 DTail(+240% ED), using Myrmidon Greaves, with an slvl 12 Might currently active(+150% ED) and +350% ED on armor:
Minimum Damage=3119
Maximum Damage=5097
In game terms, these two numbers represent the amount of pure Physical damage you do to the monster you target DTail on. Note: If you're releasing DTail on a StoneSkinned or PI monster, reduce the damage of these two numbers accordingly(-80% for SS or -100% for PI), before calculating the Fire AoE damage, below. Incidentally, it's this property of DTail that makes it extremely weak against any type of Physical Resistant monster.
To calculate the damage of the Fire explosion, you multiply these two numbers by DTail's ED bonus:
Minimum Fire Damage=3119 * (100+240)/100 = 10604
Maximum Fire Damage=5097 * (100+240)/100 = 17329
In game terms, these numbers represent the amount of pure Fire damage done to all monster (including the monster you targeted DTail on) in a radius of 4 yards.
[B]Example No. 2[/B]
An Assassin with 200 STR, 100 DEX, slvl 20 TS (charge three currently active, +1440% ED) and slvl 20 DTalon(+138% ED), using Myrmidon Greaves, with an slvl 12 Might currently active(+150% ED) and +350% ED on armor:
[code]Minimum Damage=[(200+100-20)/4]*(100+1440+138)/100 + 83*[100+(200*120/100)+1440+138+350+150]/100
=(280/4*1678/100) + 83 *(100+ 420+1440+138+350+150)/100
=(70*1678/100) + 83 *2598/100
=1174 + 2156
=3330
Maximum Damage=[(200+100-20)/3]*(100+1440+138)/100 +
149*[100+(200*120/100)+1440+138+350+150]/100
=(280/3*1678/100) + 149 *(100+ 420+1440+138+350+150)/100
=93*1648/100 + 149 *2598/100
=1532 + 3871
=5403
Minimum Damage=3330
Maximum Damage=5403
In game terms, this is the damage of the initial Kick of DTalon (you have to calculate the damages of DTalon's follow-up Kicks separately). However, the subsequent Kicks of DTalon do not gain TS's ED bonus, and hence the skill_bonus should be 138, not 1578, when calculating the damage of each subsequent Kick.
Special thanks to jrichard for helping us understand the formula.
Code:
Modifier Primary Secondary
____________________________________________________
Chance to cast on Attacking Y N
Chance to cast on Striking Y N
Critical Strike from Claw Mastery N N
Crushing Blow Y N
Deadly Strike N N
Elemental Damage/Venom Y N
Hit Blinds Target Y N
Hit Causes Monster to Flee Y N
Hit Freezes Target Y N
Hit Slows Target Y N
Increased Attack Speed Y N
Ignore Target Defense Y N
Knockback Y N
Leech Y N
Open Wounds Y N
Physical/Weapon Damage N N
Pierce Target N N
Prevent Monster Heal Y N
[highlight]Dragon Talon[/highlight] IAS Tables for Dragon Talon
Dragon Talon can have multiple kicks but any charge ups are released on the first kick only.
[highlight]Dragon Claw[/highlight] "This skill allows the Assassin to try to finish her opponent off with a rending double claw attack. (Requires two equipped Claw-class weapons.)"
Just like frenzy, Dragon Claw lists two damages and two attack ratings in the LCS. Dragon Claw hits with one claw then the next, with separate to hit checks and damages for each claw. It is a 10 frame interruptible attack, during which you strike with each claw in turn. Although the description for Dragon Claw reads "Adds charged-up bonuses to both claw attacks", it does not do so. It releases charges with the first claw that successfully attacks and the second just comes with the damage/attack bonus of Dragon Claw.
Claw positions are the Primary (above the gloves) and the secondary (above the boots). As this is a PvM build, and you will be switching weapons, weapon speed bugging is not going to be discussed. There has been some debate as to what modifiers work from the secondary claw hit.
Mods that always work
The following modifiers always work, regardless of the attack:
- Faster Hit Recovery
- Resists
- +Skills
Mods that work on the secondary claw
All these I have tested and verified. See this post for further information.
- Elemental Damage
- Leech
- Open Wounds
- Hit Freezes Target
- % Chance to cast X mod on striking
- % Chance to cast X mod on attack
- Ignore Target Defence
- Knockback
These mods are not tested
Personally I feel that, given everything else I have tested does work, these will work too. When I manage to get hold of the right claws (and decide how I can test it properly for things like crushing blow), I'll update further.
- Prevent Monster Heal
- Crushing Blow
- Deadly Strike
- Hit Blinds Target
- Hit Slows Target
Mods that don't work
What definitely does not work on the secondary claw?
- IAS. Keep those Shaels well away from the claw above the boots, it won't do you any good.
[highlight]Claws of Thunder[/highlight]
CoT has a NextDelay of 4 frames, which means anybody receiving Nova's damage (the faster animation, compared to CB) becomes immune to its bolts for 4 frames (note that while those monsters damaged by Nova are immune to the bolt's damage, they won't be hit by the bolts at all, so targets out of the Nova's range will be damaged by the bolts). So, the pure damage of 1.10 CoT has been nerfed somewhat, but has the secondary feature of being able to damage monsters out of Nova's range.
[highlight]Blades of Ice[/highlight]
Dragon Claw - DC
Claws of Thunder - CoT
Fists of Fire - FoF
Blades of Ice - BoI
Code:
Modifier Primary Secondary
____________________________________________________
Chance to cast on Attacking Y Y
Chance to cast on Striking Y Y
Critical Strike from Claw Mastery Y Y**
Crushing Blow Y Y
Deadly Strike Y Y**
Elemental Damage/Venom Y Y**
Hit Blinds Target Y Y**
Hit Causes Monster to Flee Y Y
Hit Freezes Target Y Y
Hit Slows Target Y Y**
Increased Attack Speed Y N
Ignore Target Defense Y Y
Knockback Y Y
Leech Y Y
Open Wounds Y Y
Physical/Weapon Damage Y Y
Pierce Target N N
Prevent Monster Heal Y Y**
I have tested and verified what mods work on the secondary claw as there is some ambiguity in the Assassin FAQ. See this post for further information.
**These mods are not tested. Personally I feel that, given everything else I have tested does work, these will work too. This is pretty much confirmed by BIGeyedBUG in this post.
Effects of Facets
The table below shows the effect of -resistance and + damage from items such as Facets, Griffon's Eye and Crescent Moon on the Elemental Martial Art skills.
Code:
[B]Skill Charge +Damage -Resistance[/B]
Fists of Fire 1 Y Y
2 Y Y
3 N Y
Claws of Thunder 1 Y Y
2 N Y
3 N Y
Blades of Ice 1 Y Y
2 Y Y
3 n/a Y
Phoenix Strike 1 N Y
2 N Y
3 N Y
[highlight]OSkills and Assassins[/highlight]
[highlight]Whirlwind[/highlight]
Q: Does the +Whirlwind on the 'Chaos' runeword allow Assassins to release charges and trigger chance to cast X spell/skill mods? Also, when you Whirlwind, do you gain Claw Mastery's bonuses?
A: No to releasing charges, and no triggering cast X spells/skills. You do gain Claw Mastery's bonuses when you Whirlwind, though (if you use claws).
Q: Is there any way to get rid of the 50% damage penalty on the 'Chaos' runeword's WhirlWind?
A: You can try to look for +all skills items for your gear (note that +all assassin skills won't work). You'll need at least 7 +all skills on equipment to get 'Chaos'' slvl 1 Whirlwind out of the negative damage range, though.
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