81 replies to this topic

[ShinobiEX3]

can i have a good reason as to why max shadow strike

[SparklingLimeade]

can i have a good reason as to why max shadow strike

Shadow Strike adds 3-4% damage per level. This is more damage per use than any attack skill aside from shadow explosion. It is used in quick burst combos as well as continuous DPS unlike Shadow Assault and some others. The base damage is also the highest of any non-combo finisher skill so using it from hiding provides the most damage a sin can do in that situation. These are the reasons to level shadow strike past one.

[ShinobiEX3]

Thanks you sir

another question just to know. im a lvl 50 artisans and i vahe the lvl 50 recipe for assassin dark valk/ desp recipees. are these the hard mode raid costume u get or are there better ones?

[spweasel]

I might be missing something since I don't actually play either Thief class (I'm just an armchair mathematician), but I'm curious why non-PvP builds are maxing out SS and/or SE but leaving PW at 1. The former 2 skills only gain 3-5% damage per point every 20 seconds, while PW will deal 10% per point over those same 20 seconds.

Admittedly the burst will help in PvP and some PvE applications, but strictly for DPS, PW looks like the clear winner. Unless you run with another Thief class with a stronger PW, of course (in which case not taking PW at all is more appropriate). To me, this looks like the best build from a strictly single-target DPS standpoint.

[Sonnen]

I might be missing something since I don't actually play either Thief class (I'm just an armchair mathematician), but I'm curious why non-PvP builds are maxing out SS and/or SE but leaving PW at 1. The former 2 skills only gain 3-5% damage per point every 20 seconds, while PW will deal 10% per point over those same 20 seconds.

Admittedly the burst will help in PvP and some PvE applications, but strictly for DPS, PW looks like the clear winner. Unless you run with another Thief class with a stronger PW, of course (in which case not taking PW at all is more appropriate). To me, this looks like the best build from a strictly single-target DPS standpoint.

 

This is exactly my build. I just kept SS lvl 1 to to max my crit buff so they will admit me at raids.

[SparklingLimeade]

I might be missing something since I don't actually play either Thief class (I'm just an armchair mathematician), but I'm curious why non-PvP builds are maxing out SS and/or SE but leaving PW at 1. The former 2 skills only gain 3-5% damage per point every 20 seconds, while PW will deal 10% per point over those same 20 seconds.

Admittedly the burst will help in PvP and some PvE applications, but strictly for DPS, PW looks like the clear winner. Unless you run with another Thief class with a stronger PW, of course (in which case not taking PW at all is more appropriate). To me, this looks like the best build from a strictly single-target DPS standpoint.

 

I love my poisoning too. Even if it only gets two ticks on a target the damage increase becomes comparable to other skills the points could be spent on and it will usually be on much longer than that.

 

In practice my build actually sacrifices deadly blow in favor of SS. In short combos for PvP and taking out normal mobs the higher damage from SS is important and even in extended combos on bosses the higher damage per level from SS balances the slightly higher usage of deadly blow. It's a pretty crazy idea but I'm happy with how it's working in practice.

 

Now that I think about it someone should record some sin gameplay in various cases and see what the skill usage frequencies are. Outside dungeons SS is far more useful than DB but I wonder how often in dungeons it can be just as effective. While fighting trash mobs I use DB a lot because grimtooth gives me fat stacks of combo points but on most bosses my vigor and various other activities I do between optimally damaging a target (activating shadow armor, targeting adds, repositioning from AoEs, etc) mean that sometimes I only use one DB between each SS and I absolutely never use more than two. I'm especially interested to see what higher levels of vigor will do to usage frequency.

[ItsFaulkenOMG]

Thanks for all the views for this guide! I haven't had the chance to update this since I made it, but I'll be playing the game again so hopefully I can make another guide about classes and feel free to ask any questions regarding Assassins here.