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TheBlueFox
02-26-2014, 12:05 PM
I'm looking at the enhancements for the assassin tree and the poisons they get. I remember them being rather... lackluster in previous updates, but now they seem to have gotten a bit of a change. The on damage, On crit, On vorpal effects seem a bit more useful, especially since there doesn't appear to be a DC for them except for the Vorpal effect.

What it doesn't tell me is how many use/day and how long it lasts, just that it has a 6 second cooldown, though it does say Melee Poison Attack, so it suggests its a Single Hit Active Ability. Still, I have a few questions about it.

1. So, looking at late game, I can expect something around a passive DC of ~30-35 with good int investment, that can be boosted higher with shiv hits and the heartseeker poison itself (every hit is -1 fort up to -5) does this make it a reliable hit? Is it worth attempting to strike a foe with these poisons or are they just clutter on my bar.

2. Are the effects substantial? Enough to warrant 3x2AP enhancements and the 3AP Toxin Affinity?. Heartseeker's -5% hp on a vorpal hit is nice And the paralasys would be cool but they get a save 25% of the time after being struck but a vorpal hit will be a KILL after a certain point. Bosses will likely have immunity or a DC too high to hit with these poisons, I doubt i'd be able to for example paralyze or shattermantle a boss. The ability damage is nice... except if its a 6 second cooldown that's maybe 1-2 applications on a TOUGH enemy, the kind it would matter on. If its a 6 second cooldown for the next FEW hits or something, then that might be nice.

3. Do they share a cooldown? Can I rotate them while one is on cooldown and the others aren't. Again this would make them a little more viable, but 6 seconds is pretty much the lifespan of trash, 10 for tougher enemies, 20 - 30 for REALLY hard ones (that are usually immune to alot of stuff)

Linvak
02-26-2014, 03:20 PM
I'm still fairly new to all the changes since coming back after a year, buy I'm pretty sure most assassins are skipping those. If they were toggles I can see use in them. But as they stand, I don't think they're worth the ap. Not to mention rogues have trouble getting everything they want without those. As far as usefulness and the general mechanics of the skills, I'm not sure about cooldown and if they can be chained. But if u have the plat, it wouldn't cost much to check them out and reset if u don't like them.