The Shadow Assassin: A Halfling Assassin

[Shadow_Jumper]

Introduction: This build first started out as a cross between Rogan's STR based build, and Mellkor's INT based assassin. I wanted to assassinate mobs with as high of a percentage chance as possible, but still deal out as much damage as I could. However, after some experimenting, I found that four stat areas (STR, DEX, CON, INT) were too many. I decided to drop the STR portion of the build, and instead focus on doing damage with DEX based weapons (EMG/Rebellion/Agony). Once The level cap was updateded to 25, and then to 28, the build became a lot easier to put together, as I had more weapon choices in both DEX based weapons, and DEX based damage for daggers. The result is a character that can hit just around the same damage points as Rogan's build, and comes really close to the assassinate DC that Mellkor puts on his Drow Elf.

However, this is not a build that you can just roll up without serious gearing. Rogues are not a class that you can put one universal weapon on and bring into EE content if you wish to be successful

Links for both builds:
Rogan's MAX DPS ROGUE: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...%27s+str+based
Mellkor's Master Assassin: An INT based build: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...ght=master+int

Race:
Halfling

Alignment:
Lawful Good (Not really a major factor in the build, alignment is more of a personal preference)

Stats:
(36 point build)
STR: 6/18
DEX: 18/36
CON: 16/32
INT: 18/58 (18 base, +7 lvl ups, +11 item, +1 exceptional, +3 insightful, +5 tome, +2 feat, +2 assassin enhancement tree, +1 mechanic enhancement tree, +6 shadow dancer +2 capstone)
WIS: 8/21
CHA: 8/21

Stat Level Ups:
All 7 into INT

Feats:
Toughness (swap out with completionist if you have it, or plan on getting it)
TWF
Dodge
Precision
ITWF
GTWF
Insightful Reflexes

Class Feats:
Skill Mastery x2
Opportunist
Improved Evasion

Epic Feats:
PTWF
Great Intelligence x2
Imp SA

EDIT: dropped 2 ranks of Cunning in the Halfling tree, as they were not needed to attain higher levels, instead moved them over to Thief-Acrobat tree for Sly Flourish and Subtlety.

Enhancements:
4 Enhancement trees: Halfling (19 AP), Assassin (41 AP), Mechanic (16 AP), Thief-Acrobat (4 AP)
Halfling tree:
Halfling Luck x2
Dexterity
Acrobatic Rank 3
Cunning Rank 1
Nimble Reactions Rank 3
Improved Dodge Rank 3
Guile x3

Assassin tree:
Knife in the Darkness
Dagger in the Back
Assassin's Trick
Nimbleness
Lethality
Deadly Shadow
Sneak Attack Training x4
Stealthy Rank 2
Damage Boost Rank 3
Intelligence x2
Critical Accuracy Rank 3
Critical Damage Rank 3
Killer Rank 3
Knife Specialization
Measure the Foe Rank 3
Assassinate

Mechanic tree
Arbalester
Mechanics Rank 3
Awareness Rank 3
Wand and Scroll Mastery Rank 3
Use Magical Device Rank 3
Intelligence

Thief-Acrobat tree
Staff Control
Faster Sneaking Rank 3
Sly Flourish Rank 1
Subtlety Rank 1

Skills:
All Rogue related skills (Bluff, DD, hide, MS, OL, Search, Spot, UMD), rest are personal preference

Saves:
Fortitude: 34
Reflex: 66
Will: 30

738 HP (usually over 800 with buffs)

Destiny: Shadowdancer
All 5 core bonuses
Stealthy Rank 3
Lithe Rank 2
Grim Precision Rank 2
Shrouding Strike Rank 1
Improved Invisibility Rank 1
Untouchable Rank 1
Shadow Form Rank 1
Intelligence x6

Twists:
Sense Weakness
Unearthly Reactions
Brace for Impact

Gear:
Head: EH/EE Helm of the Black Dragon +3 CON (green slot, +16 PRR, yellow slot, +8 CON)
Necklace: Aspect of Smoke Greensteel
Trinket: Planar Focus of Subterfuge +3 DEX, switch with Pale Lavender Ioun Stone for mages/spell problems
Cloak: Adamantine Cloak of the Wolf
Belt: Skullduggery Kit +10 Seeker (green slot, Globe of Imperial Blood)
Ring: Ring of Deceit, (yellow slot, vitality+20, colorless slot, +2 insightful WIS)
Ring: Random gen 10 deadly/resistance (other good rings are Guardian's Ring, Seal of House Avithoul , Whisper ring)
Gloves: EE Gloves of the Master of Illusionist (yellow slot, deathblock)
Boots: EE Goatskin +115% fort version (colorless slot +8 STR)
Bracers: Skirmisher's Bracers, switch with Bracers of Twisting Shade for Traps
Armor: Flawless Black Dragonhide armor (blue slot, +2 armor agility)
Goggles: EE Intricate Field Optics +3 INT(yellow slot +8 WIS, green slot +40 false life), switch with Epic Time Sensing Goggles for search/spot checks

Weapons:
Agony+EMG (Agony slot 1d10 dmg Ruby, EMG slot Crystal of Heavens Light, or ruby of good)
EMG+EMG (slot ruby of good)
Rebellion+EMG (rubies of good/epic augment)
Heal Scroll+GS heal amp weapon(+10/20/30% HA)

Assassinate DC:

+24 INT bonus (58 INT)
+20 rogue levels
+10 base
+6 stealthy
+5 measure the foe
+2 EMG
---------------------------------------------
67 DC
--------------------------------------------
+1 ship buff
+1 bard buff
+1 Yugo pot
+1 Commendation Pot
--------------------------------------------
71 DC
--------------------------------------------
+1 Completionist
+1 Store Pot

73 DC

The main problem with this build is its low will save. Unfortunately focusing on both damage and DC makes it difficult to attain a high will save, and rogues as a class generally have a low will save. To minimize the risk of spellcasters, it is best to focus assassinations on mages, and in cases like a red named, I suggest using a pale lavender ioun stone or a jeweled cloak. This is not a build that is meant to rush in and draw all the agro. Usually I wait for other party members to start the fight then assassinate the casters, then focusing on the melees.

[CThruTheEgo]

The build looks solid. It's nice to see a halfling version of the high DC assassin, it will compliment Mellkor's drow and my human. Just a few comments...

Regarding the low will save, don't forget about divine mobs also. Greater command can be a pain and is an instantaneous AoE, so it can catch you off guard.

It seems like you could free up 3 AP from the halfling tree. You could easily drop the acrobatic enhancements as you shouldn't need the bonus to balance, jump, or tumble. This would allow you to pick up 2 ranks in subtlety from the acrobat tree. Since dps is a focus, and as a halfling you will be doing near max sneak damage, I would consider threat reduction to be more valuable.

I don't know of any situation where it would be advantageous to use two EMGs. It offers decent dps, but is definitely not great dps. A good lootgen can be much better. Agony and EMG is a solid combo for the majority of trash. For non-DR red names I switch to Agony and a high dps lootgen that I found (acid of heartseeking or some such).

I find the bonuses on the ring of deceit to be a bit overkill personally. But for my own playstyle, I rarely use bluff or diplo, so ymmv. And I find I have plenty of UMD already so I don't need the extra cha, even with several death penalties.

I like the avithoul seal personally. This would give you sneak attack on an item and negate one of the benefits of rebellion (you're already getting armor piercing from the blackscale and afaik they don't stack). And since you've got knife specialization and Agony, I wouldn't bother with rebellion at all. Agony has higher base damage, a much better crit profile (especially since you don't have imp crit pierce for rebellion), more damage effects (entropic, phlebotomizing, disintegration), and the set bonus. They both have the same enhancement, imp deception, and a red slot. The only thing rebellion is giving you is sneak attack (which I would get from the avithoul ring), heartseeker (which can be found on better lootgen), and threat reduction (which might come in handy on occasion if you don't pick up the subtlety enhancement from acrobat). If dps is a priority, I wouldn't use rebellion at all. Mine sits in my bank.

I notice you have the planar subterfuge. I see the synergy of this with halfling nimble reactions, but you mentioned dps as a focus of the build so I'll suggest this anyway. You will actually do higher dps with a planar prowess set and ring of avithoul combo. The difference in exc sneak offered by planar subterfuge and the avithoul seal is 3 points of damage, whereas the planar prowess set offers a straight 4 damage. So it's only 1 point of damage higher, but worth mentioning if that is a focus. I don't know what you value more, higher dodge or higher damage. Between 25% incorp, usually 25% dodge, and 20 or 50% concealment, I find my rogue rarely gets hit. But he also kills pretty quickly too, so it's a personal preference whichever one you make a priority.

Lastly, do you mind providing a breakdown of the hp? I end up with a 748 unbuffed hp but I fit in epic toughness, so I'm wondering where the extra comes from that your getting.

[Shadow_Jumper]

The build looks solid. It's nice to see a halfling version of the high DC assassin, it will compliment Mellkor's drow and my human. Just a few comments...

Regarding the low will save, don't forget about divine mobs also. Greater command can be a pain and is an instantaneous AoE, so it can catch you off guard..

Yes I did forget to mention divine casters, and I have more and more recently been finding that command has been very anti-rogue. A good way to minimize this is to have the buff Protection from Evil, can be attained through a guild air ship, or divine casters/scrolls. At the moment though, it is believed to be bugged in epic content, and I have been noticing that it is not working in my runs, so ATM this seems to be more of a heroic quest level buff. Staying away from party members can also minimize this, unless obviously you are the target!

It seems like you could free up 3 AP from the halfling tree. You could easily drop the acrobatic enhancements as you shouldn't need the bonus to balance, jump, or tumble. This would allow you to pick up 2 ranks in subtlety from the acrobat tree. Since dps is a focus, and as a halfling you will be doing near max sneak damage, I would consider threat reduction to be more valuable

Yes, however, you have to take all three ranks of the acrobatic enhancement to attain the +3% dodge. You could drop a fair amount of APs in that tree by taking less or even no dodge bonus, but I find that the +3 maximum cap to be really useful, letting me cap at 28%. Also I like to have a high standing dodge (26% ATM) on this character for several reasons.

1) It minimizes the chances of being hit early on in the quest while you are still building up dodge from the shadow charges. I also don't like the +1% dodge per second of sneak attack ability, due to the fact that it is more of a Red Named bonus, and not as useful fighting trash because in a mob fight, targets die faster, and there are more sources of possible damage (more swings) from enemies.

2) This also lets me spend the minimum shadow charges in my shadowdancer tree. As you can see, I only receive 3 shadow charges for a total of +3% dodge, of which I only need 2.

3) This also frees up a twist spot, and lets me take either Sense Weakness, or Brace for Impact, both of which I consider pretty vital

However while on the topic of cutting APs, I did not realize that Cunning, of which I have 3 ranks, only needs one rank to reach max SA die in the tree. Cutting 2 ranks would give you 2 extra APs

I don't know of any situation where it would be advantageous to use two EMGs. It offers decent dps, but is definitely not great dps. A good lootgen can be much better. Agony and EMG is a solid combo for the majority of trash. For non-DR red names I switch to Agony and a high dps lootgen that I found (acid of heartseeking or some such)..

Two EMGs can be good for lower level epics, the paralyzing effect is still somewhat viable, however I do agree, I do not use 2 as much as I used to, the paralyzing effect is more of a EN/EH effect, though they are really nice for when I do ETRs :DD

I find the bonuses on the ring of deceit to be a bit overkill personally. But for my own playstyle, I rarely use bluff or diplo, so ymmv. And I find I have plenty of UMD already so I don't need the extra cha, even with several death penalties.

This build, unfortunately cuts it rather close on the UMD spectrum. The deception is a nice bonus, and as far as I can figure out from the wiki on Improved Deception/Deception they stack from items and weapons. Bluff is also a skill that I have not used as much as some rogues, but that I am finding can be useful in certain areas, however I'm still somewhat new to the skill

I like the avithoul seal personally. This would give you sneak attack on an item and negate one of the benefits of rebellion (you're already getting armor piercing from the blackscale and afaik they don't stack). And since you've got knife specialization and Agony, I wouldn't bother with rebellion at all. Agony has higher base damage, a much better crit profile (especially since you don't have imp crit pierce for rebellion), more damage effects (entropic, phlebotomizing, disintegration), and the set bonus. They both have the same enhancement, imp deception, and a red slot. The only thing rebellion is giving you is sneak attack (which I would get from the avithoul ring), heartseeker (which can be found on better lootgen), and threat reduction (which might come in handy on occasion if you don't pick up the subtlety enhancement from acrobat). If dps is a priority, I wouldn't use rebellion at all. Mine sits in my bank..

Rings are constantly changing problem, I find that since I don't have a resistance or deadly item, and both of those effects can appear on the same ring, that that is my personal preference. However, there are a lot of good rings out there, Guardian's Ring for the PRR, Whisper Ring you can craft 20% HA, though with my GS HA weapon its a little obsolete, and Avithoul obviously. There's also even the Ring of the Djinni and Ring of Shadows, thought the first I only use in Blue dragon Tor, and in FoT, and Shadows I've found has not been of much use in a dodge/incorp maxed build.

From the DDO Wiki as far as I can figure out, armor piercing does stack if its of different values, aka 15% from B Dragon armor, and 20% from Rebellion, or 20% from B Dragon armor and 15% from Rebellion, depending on which you choose to upgrade (I would go with Dragon armor, as you would get more of a base armor pierce). However I also don't use it as much as I used to, not since the level 28 cap anyways.

I notice you have the planar subterfuge. I see the synergy of this with halfling nimble reactions, but you mentioned dps as a focus of the build so I'll suggest this anyway. You will actually do higher dps with a planar prowess set and ring of avithoul combo. The difference in exc sneak offered by planar subterfuge and the avithoul seal is 3 points of damage, whereas the planar prowess set offers a straight 4 damage. So it's only 1 point of damage higher, but worth mentioning if that is a focus. I don't know what you value more, higher dodge or higher damage. Between 25% incorp, usually 25% dodge, and 20 or 50% concealment, I find my rogue rarely gets hit. But he also kills pretty quickly too, so it's a personal preference whichever one you make a priority...

Yes it is worth mentioning, however, the build is focused on DEX based damage, and depending on whether your DEX score comes out to odd or even, you can be getting +1 or +2 damage, its also nice because while this build does try to max out damage, its more of a combination between DC/DMG/Miss Chances

Lastly, do you mind providing a breakdown of the hp? I end up with a 748 unbuffed hp but I fit in epic toughness, so I'm wondering where the extra comes from that your getting.

This is my mistake, I forgot to mention that I have a Barbarian PL, so that is most likely where the extra HP is coming from, or I may have had ship buffs on when I was calculating my HP. If its not one of those then I would say maybe my Halfling luck gives me DDO god favor :DDDD

Thank you very much for your indepth response, I hope I answered some questions you may have had about the build, and I'll definitely try to see if its worth spending those two extra APs in another area or if they are better off where they are!

[CThruTheEgo]

Yes I did forget to mention divine casters, and I have more and more recently been finding that command has been very anti-rogue. A good way to minimize this is to have the buff Protection from Evil, can be attained through a guild air ship, or divine casters/scrolls. At the moment though, it is believed to be bugged in epic content, and I have been noticing that it is not working in my runs, so ATM this seems to be more of a heroic quest level buff. Staying away from party members can also minimize this, unless obviously you are the target!

The protection from evil ship buff has been broken for a long time now, if it ever worked at all. It does absolutely nothing. I use protection from evil wands and have also noticed that it doesn't seem to work either. I didn't realize it was only epic that it didn't work in, that's interesting.

Yes, however, you have to take all three ranks of the acrobatic enhancement to attain the +3% dodge. You could drop a fair amount of APs in that tree by taking less or even no dodge bonus, but I find that the +3 maximum cap to be really useful, letting me cap at 28%. Also I like to have a high standing dodge (26% ATM) on this character for several reasons.

I didn't realize it was a pre-req for the dodge, my mistake.

However while on the topic of cutting APs, I did not realize that Cunning, of which I have 3 ranks, only needs one rank to reach max SA die in the tree. Cutting 2 ranks would give you 2 extra APs

I might take those two points and get one rank of subtlety. You'd have to burn one point just to access it, but you will be doing almost max sneak attack damage so it is worth considering. I have max ranks in subtlety, the threat reduction from shadowdancer, and the wolf cloak which gives threat reduction and I still pull agro occasionally. However, with improved deception on an item and both weapons, it procs almost continuously so pulling agro isn't a huge deal, at least not for very long anyway.

This build, unfortunately cuts it rather close on the UMD spectrum. The deception is a nice bonus, and as far as I can figure out from the wiki on Improved Deception/Deception they stack from items and weapons. Bluff is also a skill that I have not used as much as some rogues, but that I am finding can be useful in certain areas, however I'm still somewhat new to the skill

Imp deception is also on the avithoul seal, and yes one item will stack with both weapons. When you've got all three it procs all the time. It is for this reaon that I find myself rarely using bluff. By the time I decide I should bluff, deception has already gone off.

From the DDO Wiki as far as I can figure out, armor piercing does stack if its of different values, aka 15% from B Dragon armor, and 20% from Rebellion, or 20% from B Dragon armor and 15% from Rebellion, depending on which you choose to upgrade (I would go with Dragon armor, as you would get more of a base armor pierce). However I also don't use it as much as I used to, not since the level 28 cap anyways.

I didn't know different values stacked. That does add some incentive to use rebellion.

Yes it is worth mentioning, however, the build is focused on DEX based damage, and depending on whether your DEX score comes out to odd or even, you can be getting +1 or +2 damage, its also nice because while this build does try to max out damage, its more of a combination between DC/DMG/Miss Chances

Planar prowess also comes with dex3. But I can see why you would go with subterfuge based on your priorities.

This is my mistake, I forgot to mention that I have a Barbarian PL, so that is most likely where the extra HP is coming from, or I may have had ship buffs on when I was calculating my HP. If its not one of those then I would say maybe my Halfling luck gives me DDO god favor DD

Yeah ship buffs and a barb past life would explain it. Thanks for clarifying.

[Shadow_Jumper]

I might take those two points and get one rank of subtlety. You'd have to burn one point just to access it, but you will be doing almost max sneak attack damage so it is worth considering. I have max ranks in subtlety, the threat reduction from shadowdancer, and the wolf cloak which gives threat reduction and I still pull agro occasionally. However, with improved deception on an item and both weapons, it procs almost continuously so pulling agro isn't a huge deal, at least not for very long anyway..

Thanks for the tip on subtlety! I'll look through some more, but that will probably be what I spend those 2 APs in