Gear advice/discussion for Assassin

[sephiroth1084]

Hi all. I'm finally getting my pure Assassin Rogue up in levels to the point where I'll need to start really planning my equipment, and wanted some input for those who have blazed this trail already. Halfling Rogue, by the way.

I guess what I know I'd like to have are the following:
-Radiance II Rapier, but not sure what to put on the individual tiers: Holy vs. Pure Good, Fire or some bonus, since much of the important endgame stuff is immune to fire.

-Awanahu Sash + Ring. Again, not sure what I'd put on the ring--deciding amongst +2 Int (for assassinate, though this is hardly useful all the time), healing amp, exceptional Str (more damage), exceptional Dex (more to-hit, skills and Reflex), exceptional Con (more HP).

-Tharne's Goggles. Is it worthwhile to bother with the bracers?

Beyond the above, I'm not really sure where I want to end up with this character...I probably want a +45 HP item, but not sure where to stick it, or what line I should be going--thinking Radiance II w/ +1 Con/+5 Dex skills, but not sure. Probably looking to get Resist +5, and some other useful enhancements on a DT robe.

What else should I be gunning for?

What weapon does everyone tend to use in their off-hand? Straight DPS? Treason? Something else?

What does your gear look like at end game folks?

[eclipsechild]

Radiance II: Put holy first. I also put +4 insight AC
Icy rainments
Tharne's goggles, don't bother with the bracers
Armored Bracers +8
Mineral II off-hand
Bloodstone - for more DPS and chance of blinding them
HP Greensteel item - make it air-air-air to get a useful haste clickie
Elemental Summon Clickie Greensteel would be good too.
Shield: there's a good one in Hound (the large shield) and the one that you can upgrade in Mindsunder (better than the Hound shield when upgraded, if you are true neutral, this is the one to go for).
Spectral Gloves - Ethereal + True Seeing from the goggles will make you hit almost anything.
For the helmet, I switch from Minos Helm to a Greensteel that gives me immunity to blindness, fear, sickness and poison. On the third tier I put a +3 to Cha skills that allow me to use heal scrolls with no chance of failing.
Also, remember the rituals to get the most of your items. Adamantine ritual is a must for your weapons if you are going to do epic stuff.

[sephiroth1084]

Radiance II: Put holy first. I also put +4 insight AC
Icy rainments
Tharne's goggles, don't bother with the bracers
Armored Bracers +8
Mineral II off-hand
Bloodstone - for more DPS and chance of blinding them Possibility, though I only have one BS and several characters who could use it (upcoming barbarian, khopesh-wielding paladin), and the Head is probably at least a swappable for saves and UMD.
HP Greensteel item - make it air-air-air to get a useful haste clickie
Elemental Summon Clickie Greensteel would be good too.
Shield: there's a good one in Hound (the large shield) and the one that you can upgrade in Mindsunder (better than the Hound shield when upgraded, if you are true neutral, this is the one to go for).
Spectral Gloves - Ethereal + True Seeing from the goggles will make you hit almost anything. Pulled one for the first time while running this guy through OOB on the run that got me lvl 13!
For the helmet, I switch from Minos Helm to a Greensteel that gives me immunity to blindness, fear, sickness and poison. On the third tier I put a +3 to Cha skills that allow me to use heal scrolls with no chance of failing. Awanahu takes care of poison, and the rest I feel comfortable with dealing with via potions, clickies and scrolls. I think a Neg/Neg immunity item is worthwhile, abstractly, but I just can't imagine giving up an item slot for that.
Also, remember the rituals to get the most of your items. Adamantine ritual is a must for your weapons if you are going to do epic stuff.

Even with all of the AC gear and a bunch of wand/clicky based AC boosts (Recitation, Haste, IUD, etc...) I'd just be barely getting to meaningful AC without spending some feats. I've got more than one AC-focused character, and I think I'll be happy without grinding out AC gear for another. If I had started with a few more points in Wis I might consider it more seriously and take a level of monk, but it wouldn't buy me much on this guy.

My feeling is that, somewhere in the build, I should have:
+X (15) Diplomacy item
+5-7 Dex (Spectral Gloves or +6 item or Epic Spectral Gloves)
+6 Str
+6 Con
+6 Wis (Spot and Will saves, maybe not necessary 100% of the time)
+6 Int (skills and Assassinate, and poison; not necessary all the time, so swappable)
GFL (or SFL)
Heavy Fort (probably Minos)
Hide/Move Silently (swappable, but can't interfere with a lot of other stuff, maybe Dusk)
Striding 30% (maybe make due with 20% on something like Madstone, but then that removes UMD periodically, and I don't want to be getting hit often enough for this to be a good option)

Some of this can be consolidated a bit, but it doesn't lend itself to an easy assessment of what I should be looking for.

[Draccus]

As far as item sets, I like pairing Tharne's goggles with Levik's Bracers and the Assassin ToD set. That takes care of your dex, your SA, your rogue skills, your strength, and gives you the bonus of healing amp. For the ring, I put +2 exceptional con because it's a ring I never take off.

For your assassinate DC, go ahead and grab Rakir's ring from ToD (or one of the other +7 Int rings) and put +2 exceptional int on it. Assassinate is so situational that it's best on a swap item in my opinion.

[sephiroth1084]

As far as item sets, I like pairing Tharne's goggles with Levik's Bracers and the Assassin ToD set. That takes care of your dex, your SA, your rogue skills, your strength, and gives you the bonus of healing amp. For the ring, I put +2 exceptional con because it's a ring I never take off.

For your assassinate DC, go ahead and grab Rakir's ring from ToD (or one of the other +7 Int rings) and put +2 exceptional int on it. Assassinate is so situational that it's best on a swap item in my opinion.

Ah! Good call on that. I think I had been considering gunning for Rahkir's a while ago, and then forgotten about it.

Do you bother with a Wis item as a permanent slot?

[Junts]

He doesnt, but he should think about it!

[sephiroth1084]

Haha!

[Draccus]

I carry a +6 wis necklace but will probably craft a +8 wis ring eventually. I rarely use it but have seen it help on occasion. I like using my swappable ring for all the situational stuff. +8 Cha for UMDing, +9 Int for assassinating, +8 Wis for failing two Will Saves (go slippery mind!), etc.