Master Assassin: an int based build

[hi_sa1nt]

OK, so maxed out Shadowdancer... now I need to decide to go through Fatesinger to get to Magister... or get the ED from Master of Flowers, first. Prob go get the monk ED first then work on Fatesinger to get to Magister. So far, this build is sick. Level 23 and lovin it.

One of my guildies is trying to convert me to a stunning rogue dps build... but I already outdo him in kills in quests... why would I convert to that?

So far my assassinate save is 55-56.

Like you mentioned before... the only weakness I can find to this build is the Will Save... it's definitely on the low side.

All I need now is for Treasure Cove to come back so I can finish up my gear.

Also need to make a couple Anti-Undead GS rapiers.

[Mellkor]

I have decided to roll this build, thanks a bunch for the extensive detail and everyone's questions. I do have a couple, My current rogue was an old 13R,6ranger,1 monk or something from way back in the day.

I plan on TRing 2 times to get the 36 build now that I have these expensive stones of change. I also have several +5 LR thingys so I am able to change my current rogue to another class that may be helpful. I just came back after 1.5 years and I do not recall why I bought all those plus 5's.

Are there past live passives that go better with this type of build?

The fighter gets +1 to att (the tactics dont seem to have much use in this build) (my old rogue would have trouble hitting sometimes unless sneak attacking)

The rouge gets +1 damage to sneak att

Pala 5% heal amp

The monk gets +1 damage always (so i would think this is better than rogue)

the arty gets +1 int skills and umd (is this necessary?)

Unless I have something wrong above, what is your opinion on the best past life if you had a choice? Feel free to add one I ommitted.

This has already been discussed in this thread. In short, you really cant go wrong with any of them. Personally grinding out all those TR's only adds a small measure of improvement to an already great build. The small gains are not worth the effort for me. If it were, I would probably do pally for better healing amp from scrolls first, but again it wont make much of a real difference. After that I would say monk. But again what is +3 damage when you do around 250 a hit (including sneak damage) most of the time anyway? Ditto for all the rest

[Mellkor]

OK, so maxed out Shadowdancer... now I need to decide to go through Fatesinger to get to Magister... or get the ED from Master of Flowers, first. Prob go get the monk ED first then work on Fatesinger to get to Magister. So far, this build is sick. Level 23 and lovin it.

One of my guildies is trying to convert me to a stunning rogue dps build... but I already outdo him in kills in quests... why would I convert to that?

So far my assassinate save is 55-56.

Like you mentioned before... the only weakness I can find to this build is the Will Save... it's definitely on the low side.

All I need now is for Treasure Cove to come back so I can finish up my gear.

Also need to make a couple Anti-Undead GS rapiers.

Meh anything he can stun can just be killed by you in one shot.

[hi_sa1nt]

One thing I find pretty awesome are the Drow Goggles.

My rolled 20s are intense... Vorpal save, Manslayer Save... Charged Gauntlet strike... whenever my disintegrate procs from my EMG.

Love it. I just tend to hate pm's... cuz they steal my kills.

[rabrams99]

you state that you do not want to wear armour that limits your dodge bonus. I am not sure how to figure this out. On wiki I beleive it states taht max dodge bonus is limited to the max dex bonus on an armour but cannot exceed 25%. Does that mean that the epic duelist leathers you wear whcih have a max dex bonus of 20 limit your max dodge bonus to 20%? The vulkrom epic leathers with max dex 8 limit dodge bonus to 8%? Sorry, been away 1.5 years. thanks for help

[SableShadow]

you state that you do not want to wear armour that limits your dodge bonus. I am not sure how to figure this out. On wiki I beleive it states taht max dodge bonus is limited to the max dex bonus on an armour but cannot exceed 25%. Does that mean that the epic duelist leathers you wear whcih have a max dex bonus of 20 limit your max dodge bonus to 20%? The vulkrom epic leathers with max dex 8 limit dodge bonus to 8%? Sorry, been away 1.5 years. thanks for help

Under the new system, Max Dex Bonus = Max Dodge Bonus.

Things that bump max dex bonus also bump max dodge bonus.

(e.g. equip duelist leathers, max dodge bonus 20%. Add 3 ranks of Lithe from Shadowdancer, max dodge bonus becomes 25% (20+ (2@level of Lithe x 3 levels), capped at 25).

This doesn't cap your "panic button" dodge buffs, like Meld Into Darkness (+100%) or Improved / Uncanny Dodge (+50% / 25%).

That said, pants will always trump skirts.

[hi_sa1nt]

Just an idea for those of you that are having a hard time getting the right armor, etc... With the extra Fate Points that you can receive, you can upgrade a Fate slot to a tier 4 and Twist in In the Weeds from Shiradi Champion for some extra dodge... and hide.

[kendo]

recently returned to playing my rogue, had been following this build and liking it a lot. glad to see this thread is still being updated.

but I wanted to check on how assassinate is interacting with stealth. maybe my memory is faulty but I was sure that when I left a while back, that assassinate did not break hide. I am sure I remember sneaking into a room of Mobs, picking one a little separated from the group and assassinating him without the rest of the room immediately seeing me and come running. then I would rinse and repeat. it could take a while but I could clear the room without ever being discovered.

now, it still shows me being in stealth mode but the rest of room zeroes right in on me. which puts a very large crimp in any effort to solo missions at or above my level on anything above normal.

did something change? and, if so, is it considered a "bug" that is going to be looked at "some day"? or am I just thinking back on the "good old days" with wishful thinking ?

[Mellkor]

recently returned to playing my rogue, had been following this build and liking it a lot. glad to see this thread is still being updated.

but I wanted to check on how assassinate is interacting with stealth. maybe my memory is faulty but I was sure that when I left a while back, that assassinate did not break hide. I am sure I remember sneaking into a room of Mobs, picking one a little separated from the group and assassinating him without the rest of the room immediately seeing me and come running. then I would rinse and repeat. it could take a while but I could clear the room without ever being discovered.

now, it still shows me being in stealth mode but the rest of room zeroes right in on me. which puts a very large crimp in any effort to solo missions at or above my level on anything above normal.

did something change? and, if so, is it considered a "bug" that is going to be looked at "some day"? or am I just thinking back on the "good old days" with wishful thinking ?

I think (and this is just a guess) it depends on your hide skill, as I can still sometimes get away with killing one without being discovered, but it certainly is not as easy as it was, as you say.

[Mercureal]

recently returned to playing my rogue, had been following this build and liking it a lot. glad to see this thread is still being updated.

but I wanted to check on how assassinate is interacting with stealth. maybe my memory is faulty but I was sure that when I left a while back, that assassinate did not break hide. I am sure I remember sneaking into a room of Mobs, picking one a little separated from the group and assassinating him without the rest of the room immediately seeing me and come running. then I would rinse and repeat. it could take a while but I could clear the room without ever being discovered.

now, it still shows me being in stealth mode but the rest of room zeroes right in on me. which puts a very large crimp in any effort to solo missions at or above my level on anything above normal.

did something change? and, if so, is it considered a "bug" that is going to be looked at "some day"? or am I just thinking back on the "good old days" with wishful thinking ?

My anecdotal experience is that assassinate automatically attracts the attention of any mobs in aggro range, now. Like Mellkor I can occasionally assassinate something without being noticed, but it seems to only work that way if the other mob(s) is a certain distance away or their line of sight is blocked by something. However, if they're already aggroed on something else they won't switch to you if you assassinate something.

Which leads to a tangential, but related, note: the Shadowdancer ability 'Shadow Puppet' also allows you to remain stealthed when you use it. And it doesn't seem to draw any attention, unless the mob saves against it and then you only get aggro from that one enemy. Dominating one mob in the middle of a group is a good way to distract all of the members of that group.

[kendo]

thanks for the replies. I generally try to team with this guy, which may be why I wasn't noticing the aggro switch so much. ran a few missions solo to grab some favor when it really came to light.

guess the favored soul hireling is going to be told to charge in first rather than cover my back that should hold at least some of their attention.

[hi_sa1nt]

Not going to lie, this set up... and mine isn't even complete... is sick.

The blue/black puff of smoke you turn into when you tumble is a nice effect.

[hi_sa1nt]

Finally got the cloak epic'd... man this gear is a pain to farm... and expensive when you buy the scrolls.

I have no idea how you get your Spot, Search, Open Lock and Disable Device so high... and UMD.

Anyway, at the moment, I have the cloak, bracers, and gauntlets all at epic level, as well as found a manslayer guard robes of greater stability. I have the +8 Destruction of Greater Stability as well, but I want to try out the other robe I just got, just to switch things up.

Right now I'm using the Spare Hand belt, seems to work fine.

I made another displacement clicky, which also helps for longer dungeons since resting clears the Shadow Counters.

I just need to finish the Demonweb then I can start farming for the CitW weapons again.

And what's funny, I mentioned this before and you commented on it, about my guild leader wanting me to follow his stunning rogue build; I still get more kills than him when we group together. It's great.

My assassinate at the moment, since I don't have the subterfuge set, nor a +8 intelligence ring, is 56, which takes care of most mobs, even in EE, like the High Road quests and such.

Also trying to buy another Star of Day blade since the one I bought isn't prime weaponry.

Great build so far. Just waiting for U17 so I can figure out what I want to slot the gear with.

[Mellkor]

Hit lev 21 the other day. Nice to get back into epic gear and destinies! LOL.

I would say the hElf TR at lev 21 (with maxed Shadowdancer Destiny) is just about equal to my drow version of this build at lev 25. I only have a few less HP's and assassinate DC is the same at 58. At 25 the hElf will have around 650 base (w/gear), which is around 75 more than I had with the drow version and 60 DC which is 1 better than the drow version since I started with 18 base int on the drow.

I am liking the hElf version overall a lot better due to better stat distribution in the critical stats (Int, Str, Con) over a drow. One exception, however, wisdom saves fail more on a hElf over the drow. The drow inherent spell resistance is a noticeable difference starting at, I would say, around lev 15. I find myself failing wis save effects a lot more on this guy than I did on the drow. It is not really a deal breaker, but is certainly noticeable. His will save is only in the mid 20's right now, and 4 more levels and lev 25 gear set will push it into the low 30's. Hopefully this will help, if not I will have to try to work in a SR item to see if that helps as well.

I look forward to the next 4 levels and the overall power gains it will bring over my drow first life.

[Mellkor]

Finally got the cloak epic'd... man this gear is a pain to farm... and expensive when you buy the scrolls.

I have no idea how you get your Spot, Search, Open Lock and Disable Device so high... and UMD.

Anyway, at the moment, I have the cloak, bracers, and gauntlets all at epic level, as well as found a manslayer guard robes of greater stability. I have the +8 Destruction of Greater Stability as well, but I want to try out the other robe I just got, just to switch things up.

Right now I'm using the Spare Hand belt, seems to work fine.

I made another displacement clicky, which also helps for longer dungeons since resting clears the Shadow Counters.

I just need to finish the Demonweb then I can start farming for the CitW weapons again.

And what's funny, I mentioned this before and you commented on it, about my guild leader wanting me to follow his stunning rogue build; I still get more kills than him when we group together. It's great.

My assassinate at the moment, since I don't have the subterfuge set, nor a +8 intelligence ring, is 56, which takes care of most mobs, even in EE, like the High Road quests and such.

Also trying to buy another Star of Day blade since the one I bought isn't prime weaponry.

Great build so far. Just waiting for U17 so I can figure out what I want to slot the gear with.

One thing most folks miss easily, is greensteel. In addition to the +6 cha skills belt and the +6 dex skills necklace listed in the OP, I made additional greensteel belts that add +6 to int skills and another for +6 wis skills and swap em in if/when needed. hElf skill boost adds +5, I also use +5 exceptional items to rogue skills that stack with the +20 items I already use, big bonuses right there. A big int bonus also helps a lot. Add ship buffs, GH, stat bonuses, etc, etc. Some of the skills also get a D20 added in and/or a tool bonus added as well.

The +6 cha skills greensteel item is huge, as this is +6 to UMD that stacks with the +3 from epic spyglass (or golden cartouche). At end game, tho, you can hit a little over 40 without these items for 100% heal scroll use. I use the belt all the time from lev 12 until about lev 22. At lev 23ish I only swap them in for those rare times I use lev 8 or 9 scrolls.

I often do not use a lot of the accessory boosts tho, as the +20 items are almost always good enough. Those numbers in the OP are numbers I can hit fully self buffed and with every stacking item you can have that boosts that particular skill. Rarely are those high numbers needed to get the job done. I put them there to show whats possible. One of these days I will show all the boosts I am using for each one in the OP.

[hi_sa1nt]

One thing most folks miss easily, is greensteel. In addition to the +6 cha skills belt and the +6 dex skills necklace listed in the OP, I made additional greensteel belts that add +6 to int skills and another for +6 wis skills and swap em in if/when needed. hElf skill boost adds +5, I also use +5 exceptional items to rogue skills that stack with the +20 items I already use, big bonuses right there. A big int bonus also helps a lot. Add ship buffs, GH, stat bonuses, etc, etc. Some of the skills also get a D20 added in and/or a tool bonus added as well.

The +6 cha skills greensteel item is huge, as this is +6 to UMD that stacks with the +3 from epic spyglass (or golden cartouche). At end game, tho, you can hit a little over 40 without these items for 100% heal scroll use. I use the belt all the time from lev 12 until about lev 22. At lev 23ish I only swap them in for those rare times I use lev 8 or 9 scrolls.

I often do not use a lot of the accessory boosts tho, as the +20 items are almost always good enough. Those numbers in the OP are numbers I can hit fully self buffed and with every stacking item you can have that boosts that particular skill. Rarely are those high numbers needed to get the job done. I put them there to show whats possible. One of these days I will show all the boosts I am using for each one in the OP.

I have a +6 int skills belt, currently working on a +6 cha skills belt. The extra displace clicky doesn't require much since to get the buff one only needs to take it to tier two, which excludes all large ingredients. Makes life a bit easier.

By either tomorrow or Monday I'll be able to farm CitW. I already have the +3 insight trinket, just waiting for the weapons, as well as that elusive +8 int ring.

I'll be interested to see your boost collection. Next month, when I get more TPs, I'll be upgrading my backpack space, and buy the last one for more boost space.

[Brattyone]

Awe yes, I forgot about that. Thanks for the reminder.

Also, since I don't have any CitW weapons yet... **** thing wont cough any of them up, I switch between an EMG and Epic Phiarlan Spy Dagger or Epic Garos' Malice. This is while I wait till my second EMG shard pops up so I can make my second one.

Second EMG shard? Hell, I'm still trying to get my first. I have ransacked that chest many many many times on two different toons. I'm fairly certain that chest hates me.

And to the OP, really nice build. You've given me a few ideas that I'll be working on.

[HalfORCastrator]

which on this guy is 23d6

Breakdown?
10rog
3assassin
4cap...

Epic sneak attack feat is 3 more, but you don't/can't take that.

Where are the extra 6 dice coming from?

EDIT:
5d6 from ED. The last?

[Mellkor]

Thats what it says when I hover over it in the feats tab. /shrug. I will try and figure it out soon.

[Tid12]

Breakdown?
10rog
3assassin
4cap...

Epic sneak attack feat is 3 more, but you don't/can't take that.

Where are the extra 6 dice coming from?

EDIT:
5d6 from ED. The last?

AFAIK, it's 6d6 from Shadowdancer.

But this guy hasn't ISA, so no 3d6 from that.