Assassin questions - returning player

Discussion in 'Scouts' started by Warsteiner, Sep 10, 2018.

  1. Warsteiner Member

    Returning to Live and trying to catch up on playing an assassin and seems like so much has changed. I’m just trying to play catch-up at this point! So I have a few questions if some current assassins can help me out

    -Prestige line - seems like most people have gone left side but in all my trials I am not getting much dps out of Nightblade. I’ve been using it before FF chains and also tried using it on cooldown to build increments and it just never seems to do much damage. Am I using it wrong? I’m at least getting a bit more damage out of carnage. And a lot of people aren’t using caustic weaponry anymore. Are there better options?

    - FF Chains - I’ve been using the same chain I’m use to but that’s probably wrong at this point. Damage from some of the CAs dont seem to be adding much to FF. And working in the randomness from assassinate recasts is kinda crazy. I’ve thought about starting with assassinate to try to add as much to FF as possible but haven’t trialed it yet. Do multiple assassinates all add to FF dmg? Just curious what other assassins are doing.

    -Ascensions - had research time into a few etherealist abilities so have stuck with it but I’m wondering if thaumaturge is better for assassin with the focus on nox damage. Or if it even makes a difference. Seems like everyone is etherealist.

    Thank you in advance for the responses. Been looking through the forums but nothing current seems to cover my questions. And most current answers just say to betray to ranger which isn’t an option!
  2. Earar Well-Known Member

    isn't FFU depending on the number of stealth attacks and not the damage of those attack ?

    as ascension, ether or thauma are both good, so u didn't go wrong as ether
  3. Speed Member

    Nightblade works best when surrounded by and using it on a few of mobs, and then using stealth AoE attacks. I wouldn't depend on it to provide any significant DPS on 1-2 mobs, but it is added damage on stuff you're going to hit anyways. There is a common misconception that you need it to build increments, which isn't the case. Any stealth attack when spec'n left will build those increments.

    I've also noticed a lot of assassins not using Caustic Weaponry, and for me personally it makes little sense. If you're using the current Ethereal runes and Honed Reflexes for the additional fervor, then there is little reason not to spend 3 points and get Caustic Weaponry.

    That really depends on your play style. For me, I just try to dump as much damage into FFU as quickly as possible, and I generally start with Assassinate. It's better to hit that "o-crap" FFU with Assassinate in there and missing a few other stealth attacks, than to have a FFU chain w/out Assassinate. That said, with Assassinate being at the beginning of the chain, you've got the timer ticking on FFU and there's little room for anything other than to finish the chain. Again, it's all about play style with that choice.

    As far as multiple Assassinates going into FFU, I'm still testing the rune and have noticed at times huge FFU hits and other times it's like I casted FFU by itself. Seems to be hit and miss at times.

    Thaum seems to do a nice job of increasing the Sin's damage over longer duration fights. However, an Assassin using Etherealist abilities is about doing as much damage as quickly as possible. I choose the latter.

    Sins are fun if you're playing them right.
  4. Taka Active Member

    Chucky x8 assassinates into steath FFU r fun.
  5. Bord Active Member

    This is correct. The damage your stealth attacks do have 0 effect on fatal follow up. The # of stealth attacks used is all that matters.
  6. Thistleclaw Member

    I have been playing a bard forever so learning sin as a new class. Thanks for all the information here! Newb to the class as I am, do stealth attacks count as stealth attacks if you do multiple assassinates to increment FF?
  7. Sykle I use too many words sometimes.

    To answer a previous question: multiple consecutive assassinates do not increase the damage of FFU. Only one consecutive assassinate per chain contributes damage.
    Non-consecutive assassinates, however, do go into FFU. For example, if you hit Assasinate -> Mortal Blade -> Assassinate, then it counts as 3 stealth attacks. Doing this is rather difficult, and probably not lucrative, because it is much faster to just spam assassinate and get way more hits in a faster time frame, leading to more overall damage bonus than simply getting 2 extra attacks into an FFU. (two extra because you are already at 8 if your chain is like mine, which is Ambush -> Assassinate x6 (hopefully) -> Stealth Assault -> Mortal Blade -> Jug Slice -> Eviscerate -> Massacre -> Ambush -> FFU
    It is also important to know that if you have cast Assassinate 5x already, there is a 20s window in which Concealment will not reset it. If you dont get 5 casts, then quick hitting Concealment after assassinate stops resetting is a nice chance at more dmg.
  8. eelf Member

    From a 2005 player that always played the assassin over 7k hours: Don't play the assassin. It's basically now just a support. Useless. The assassin doesn't do DPS anymore due to many complaints about players that the assassin was too much of a DPS …. sarcastic right? For the last 4 xpacs, it's been like that. The whole game changed. It is not the same game as you played before. With the ascensions, there is no room for that for an assassin, it basically screws your rotation, you never know when to fit those LONG casts. Just roll a ranger and spam buttons basically and don't forget to spam Hawk. Daybreak ruined this game and before that gu53 ruined this game, this was back in Kunark days.
  9. Sykle I use too many words sometimes.

    I cant tell if you are being sarcastic or not.
    If you are, ha ha ha very funny
    If you aren't, oh boy do you have some learning to do.
  10. eelf Member

    I feel like you have nothing to say. I also feel like you are a Ranger with no skills.
  11. Magmag Active Member

    LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

    Dude assassins are broken and EASILY the highest damage class in the game. This has to be a troll, but sadly it seems like it's not.
    Breanna likes this.
  12. Sykle I use too many words sometimes.

    No eelf, that would be my guild leader. I am an assassin with a respectable amount of skill. Nothing too much, but not bad either.
  13. Magmag Active Member

    Yes. He clearly has nothing to say other than his post in this thread where he explained exactly how to play the class for people like you. /shrug

    Apparently 7k hours isn't enough for some people to learn how to play a class.
  14. Sykle I use too many words sometimes.

    If i was at home, and not at work, because some people do that for a living, i would just start posting almost every parse from raids where i was on top, or if not 2nd (cuz buffs), because of how good assassins are. I as well have played assassin for 8+years, and right now they are in the best spot they have been in for a very long time.
  15. Sykle I use too many words sometimes.

    I also think that if you actually put on gear, adorns, and then reforged your character, and put a 2nd weapon on, and increase your potency and stats so that you have more than 22,500 you would probably parse more... kappa
  16. eelf Member

    LOL I gave up this game a long time ago. Maybe my gear is 2 years old.... because I didn't play in 2 years. I got un-adorned and my weapons are gone because you need a suscribtion to actually wear some gear.... Just came here today to see what's going on with this dead game that's about to shutdown. Good to know that assassins are back after 4 desperate years. I was top parsing since DoF to ToT, Then yeah 3 long years with a broken game. Just sad because EQ2 lost half of it's community to a broken game. And don't tell me otherwise. Sad that eq2flames is dead because you would have seen my parses there. I have so much more to say but it doesn't worth it, this game doesn't worth the time anymore. Just waiting for Pantheon to come out. Meanwhile, I'm back to Everquest.
  17. Sykle I use too many words sometimes.

    while i agree with your thoughts on the state of the game, its probably not lucrative to come to a thread that asks "hey how do i play this game in 2019" when the last time you played was 2016. Just a thought.
  18. Magmag Active Member

    Whatever you say Pitta, but if your guild can't kill Druushk to get your mythical then the class is pretty underwhelming.
  19. Sykle I use too many words sometimes.

  20. Redlight Well-Known Member

    Assassin is the best dps class in game. Also one of the most difficult for sure.