Halfling Dex Assassin 1.0

[Erofen]

Enhancements

Halfing (16 points)

Core
- Halfing Luck x2
- Dex x2

Tier 1
- Jorasco Dragonmark Focus x 3

Tier 2
- Lesser Dragonmark of Healing
- Guile

Tier 3
- Greater Dragonmark of Healing
- Guile

TIER 4
- Guile

Just a fyi... you must take at least 1 rank in cunning to get halfling guile line.

[Erofen]

It's 24 AP for kip up and full ranks in no mercy. This was my plan as well, and to pick up improved defensive roll. Now that I realize my math was wrong, however, I am going to have to reconsider.

Also what knockdowns does kip protect against? I have seen this effect in a few places. Does it stop Zuggtmoy knockdown?

[slarden]

Just a fyi... you must take at least 1 rank in cunning to get halfling guile line.

Thank you I figured that out earlier today when I TR'd to a halfling. I also made a mistake on my twists because I thought echoes of the ancestor shadowdancer was tier 2 but it's tier 4 so I don't have enough pts for it + balanced attacks so I have to make a few adjustments.

[slarden]

So as I've been testing out my new halfling assassin the thing that jumps out at me the most is how much of an increase I am getting from action boosts. Although the percentage remains unchanged I am getting more overall damage and therefore the haste boosts and damage boosts provide more benefit than previously.

At the same time, no mercy is always great, but it now takes fewer hits to take down enemies so I am questioning the benefit of no mercy compared to more action boost. I also think balanced attacks by itself is enough because i get a short term cc effect plus the 50% damage boost and i am not sure no mercy is needed any longer except against non-boss hp bags.

KTA is also clearly less important than it used to be. Obviously an int build will take KTA for the 14 damage (68 int) since they have to climb up the tree to get int-to-damage anyhow. However, compared to the damage output of sustainable action boosts this is a very tiny buff. I realize I can take kta + the action boosts, but my int build was more AP-starved than ever with the recent changes and i had to drop 2 int from assassin to fit everything in. A dex build won't have this issue.

So i am going to rework the original build with a healing, sneak attack and action boost focus and run 50-100 EE quests with alot of variety to try it out. Then I will TR to test/confirm whether my assumption that a human-based assassin focusing on survivability and action boosts will have higher dps.

With the following:
- 30% damage boost twist from LD
- 30 MP damage boost from assassin
- 30% haste boost from acrobat
- Extra action boost twist from LD

I would have 9 minutes of action boosts between eash shrine (27 total) and as a human i would have 3 minutes of action boosts for surge dps between shrines (9 total).

Also, maintaining sneak damage is going to be the key that differentiates assassin dps. This means high threat and bluff effects (and of course grouping with really great people helps alot haha). Most of the options I have are listed with the exception of being able to get 15% more passive threat reduction from enhancements and the possible use of improved feint which received mixed reviews from people.

Anyhow I'll be updating my build soon, but this build will continue to be focused on great self healing through halfling dragonmark as backup for cocoon, sneak attack damage and action boosts. The human variant will have 14 AP freed up from the racial tree which opens up many interesting possibilities to compensate for less sneak attack damage. Obviously the 3 minutes of 20% surge damage (effectively 26% when stacked with a 30% bonus) alone probably makes up for the 3d6 sneak damage. Either race and build should perform well with slightly different focuses.

With human I plan to run a test with both int and dex for comparison purposes. I do suspect I will be able to make a human int assassin that does slightly more burst damage than a human dex assassin, but I am also sure I will have to give up too much to make the build optimized for anything other than a raw dps test. Perhaps this is how Turbine made the conclusion that int and dex assassins were already balanced.

[CThruTheEgo]

Also what knockdowns does kip protect against? I have seen this effect in a few places. Does it stop Zuggtmoy knockdown?

I don't know exactly as I've never had an ability like this myself (air savants also get knockdown immunity iirc). I do know from reports of others that it works against most things but definitely not all. Unless I'm mistaken, Zuggtmoy's knockdown is from earthquake that she likes to spam, and I don't know if it prevents that or not. I do know that with an 80+ reflex save in there on EE, I still spend a good amount of time on my butt. So the save for it is ridiculously high. It would be great if knockdown immunity protected against it.

[slarden]

Note, this build ends up with the same 68 dexterity a halfling build has since it uses 6 of the 14 freed up action points for dexterity. The halfling build isn't able to take as much dexterity due to the high cost of the healing line + sneak damage.

Starting Stats

Str: 8
Dx: 18 (all level ups to dex)
Int: 16
W: 8
Con: 16
Cha: 8

Enhancements

Human (5 points)

Core
- Human Damage Boost 20%
- Dex

Tier 1
- Improved Recovery

Assassin (49 pts)

Core
- Knife in the Darkness
- Dagger in the Back
- Assassin's Trick
- Nimbleness
- Lethality
- Deadly Shadow

Tier 1
- Ice Chill Poison Strike
- Shiv x1
- Sneak attack Training
- Stealthy x3

Tier 2
- Venomed Blades x3
- Sneak Attack Training
- Damage Boost x3

Tier 3
- Critical Mastery x3
- Sneak Attack Training
- Dex

Tier 4
- Execute
- Killer x3
- Sneak Attack Training
- Dex

Tier 5
- Assassinate
- Measure the Foe x 3
- Knife Specialization
- Deadly Strikes
- Light Armor Mastery x 3

Thief Acrobat (28 pts )
Core
- Staff Control
- Stick Fighting
- Tumbler
- Kip Up

Tier 1
- Fast movement
- Sly Flourish x3

Tier 2
- Subtelty x3
- Haste Boost x3

Tier 3
- Shadow Dodge x 3
- Dex

Tier 4
- Dex
- No Mercy x3

Dexterity
Starting: 18
Level Ups: 7
Tome: 6
Assassin Enhancements: 1
Assassin Capstone: 2
Acrobat Enhancements: 5
Human Enhancements: 1
Ethereal Bracers: 11
Necklace of Mystic Eidolons: 4
Globe of True Imperial Blood: 1
Ship Buffs: 2
Completionist: 2
Profane Bonus from Littany: 2
Yugo Pots: 2
Shadowdancer Destiny: 4

Dexterity: 68

Assassinate
Base: 10
Rogue Levels: 20
Shadowdancer Stealthy: 6
Mythic Muffled Veneer Helmet: 4 (Don't have the new dagger yet - will consider it when I get it)
Measure the Foe: 5
Dex Bonus: 29
Assassin Capstone: 2

Total Assassinate: 76 (Note with tenser's transformation scrolls you can boost this to 78 for 1 minute in very difficult content)

Feats
Two Weapon Fighting
Precision
Past Life Sneak of Shadows
Completionist
Two Weapon Defense
Improved Two Weapon Fighting
Improved Critical Piercing
Greater Two Weapon Fighting

Epic Feats
Improved Sneak Attack
Overwhelming Critical
Perfect Two Weapon Fighting (26 destiny feat)
Epic Damage Reduction
Epic Spellpower Positive (28 destiny feat)

Twists
Symmetric Strikes
Balanced Attacks
Coccoon
Extra Action Boost

Shadowdancer

Tier 1
- Stealthy x3
- Dexterity

Tier 2
- Lithe x1
- Dexterity

Tier 3
- Meld into Darkness x 2 (12 seconds vs 15 for 1 more pt)
- Shrouding Stirke x 3
- Dexterity

Tier 4
- Improved Invisibility x 1
- Dexterity

Tier 5
- Untouchable x1
- Executioner's Strike x1 (DC will be low 70s)
- Sealed Soul

Tier 6
- Shadow Form

I may situationally run in LD for the net +64 Melee Power and 30 PRR from blitzing. If the group is zerging anyhow it's a compelling destiny for me, but my preference is to run in shadowdancer.

Gear
Helm: Mythic Muffled Veneer with PRR 16 and Protection +8 slotted
Necklace: Necklace of Mystic Eidolons wiht Natural Armor 8 slotted
Trinket: Epic Littany of the Dead with Spell Agility 15 and Sonic Resistance 40 slotted
Cloak: Epic Cloak of Ice (Adamantine Cloak of the Wolf against red-names)
Belt: Epic Belt of Thoughtful Rememberance with Power 250 and Intelligence +8 slotted
Ring 1: EE Consuming Darkness with Charisma +8 slotted
Gloves: Iron Mitts with Insightful Intelligence +2 slotted
Boots: Blur Displacement Boots x6
Ring 2: Seal of House Avithoul
Bracers: Epic Ethereal Bracers with Golem's Heart and Insightful Charisma +2 slotted
Armor: Shadow Dragonhide Armor with Shadowkiller added and False Life +40 and Globe of True Imperial Blood slotted
Goggles: Epic Glimpse of Soul with Fear Immunity and Draconic Soul Gem slotted
Quiver: Epic Quiver of Alacrity
Weapon 1: Thunderforged dagger with First Degree Burns, Dragon's Edge and Mortal Fear added. Devotion 138 and Heal +11 slotted (haven't ever seen anything above +11 so far)
Weapon 2: Fully Upgraded Agony with Ruby of Endless Night slotted
Other: Elite Spider Cult Mask

[slarden]

I don't know exactly as I've never had an ability like this myself (air savants also get knockdown immunity iirc). I do know from reports of others that it works against most things but definitely not all. Unless I'm mistaken, Zuggtmoy's knockdown is from earthquake that she likes to spam, and I don't know if it prevents that or not. I do know that with an 80+ reflex save in there on EE, I still spend a good amount of time on my butt. So the save for it is ridiculously high. It would be great if knockdown immunity protected against it.

Here is the thing with knockdown - it gets a reflex save unlike knockback which is the real problem rogues face with air elementals. In theory a rogue's reflex should be no fail in most content so it only protects you the 1 in 20 times you fail your save except in situations where the enemy attack has a very high DC. It's possible there are other forms of knockdown I am unaware of that work differently.

[slarden]

For kicks I wanted to try a build without balanced attacks to see if I noticed a difference in the amount of times I was getting sneak attack damage.

The bottom line is that I noticed big time. When balanced attacks comes up it's usually associated with either no mercy and sense weakness which makes absolute sense to me since those boost damage when balanced attacks procs.

The original reason I took balanced attacks was the proc would keep me from getting hit while also ensuring sneak damage on top of the 50% damage boost. Win Win Win.

So the bottom line is I need to go back to my original build with balanced attacks even if it means having to drop from 70 down to 68 dex while freeing up 2 AP.

Balanced attacks always was and still is a must have for rogues.

[slarden]

I am really loving this new build with the non-stop action boosts (except when on cooldown). It is really working with my build and playstyle as a I prefer the more active approach for damage and survivability.

Here are my thoughts on various damage boosts so far:

30% Damage boost from LD: Not meeting expectations: It doesn't seem I am getting a boost to sneak attack damage or it's less than 30% - I can't even notice the difference

30 MP Damage Boost from Assassin Tree: Exceeding expectations because I was told this was worse than the human 20% damage boost at one point on the forums so I assumed I was missing something about how it worked: With the formula (100 + MP)/100 * damage this is effectively giving me a 30% damage boost on regular damage and a 45% damage boost on sneak attack damage. For those of you not taking this - WHAT ARE YOU THINKING IT'S AMAZING.

30% Haste Boost from Thief/Acrobat: Confused as usual and taking leap of faith it's working: If this is truly giving me the stacking 30% attack speed, in theory it's doing the same thing as a 30% damage boost (except I am getting more sneak damage) with the exception that it also increases the frequency of my improved deception and balanced attack procs which is highly useful for ensuring I maximize my sneak attack damage.

Conclusion:

- I must take balanced attacks as the extra haste boosts will definitely boost the proc that gives 50% damage boost + guaranteed sneak damage

This is the exact max twists I can take with my current # of past lifes and tome of fate: 4 3 1 1

I believe the action boost approach is the way to go with my assassin as the increased damage is amazing compared to other damage boosts such as KTA, no mercy and even my halfling sneak damage. It's sustainable all the time except when it runs out and is still on cooldown.

One last thing, can anyone confirm whether human damage boost is giving the 20% sneak attack damage increase in addition to increasing base damage? I still want to test the LD 30% damage boost, but it doesn't feel like it's giving me 30% more sneak attack damage. Either way I am switching to 30% haste boost for the increased proc rate and theoretically 30% more damage and sneak damage if I am truly getting 30% more attacks.

In terms of when to use the 18 haste clickies vs the 9 damage clickies, in theory haste clickies would give the most benefit on non-bosses because of the balanced attacks proc. Damage boost would give the highest dps increase on bosses vs haste clickies because the balanced attacks proc adds nothing and it provides more sneak attack damage (45% vs. 30%).

[slarden]

This is the first time I've ever taken the heal spell without quicken. I never played the halfling healing line previously because I considered it non-sustainable with the limited # of uses. This is still true, but with cocoon as my primary healing source it's definitely giving me enough uses as a backup healing source.

Observations

• The animation speed for least dragon mark of healing is the exact same as cocoon and it heals me for about 100
• The animation speed for lesser dragon mark of healing is very slightly slower than cocoon and it heals me for about 260. I never got interrupted during combat when using it while fighting
• The animation speed for greater dragon mark of healing is the same as scroll healing after the scroll is equipped. It heals me for 1200 (possibly bugged I don't know). I never got interrupted when jump-casting during combat and continuing to fight. The biggest difference is since it heals me to full, I can jump cast and come down at full strength which is not always the case with scroll healing. Jump casting is often ineffective with scroll healing because I come down below full strength. I have about 1000 hp so I definitely found this helpful in the few situations where I wanted a big heal.

My overall assessment of the halfling healing line is that for someone that wants a more forgiving assassin build with high dps, this still works. The human version probably does more damage overall, although the benefit of human may be diminished if the 20% action boost doesn't work on sneak damage. Still if someone is finding assassin very hard to play or wants to ease into playing assassin on EE, the extra self-healing is good enough that it might be a deciding factor.

For a veteran that does just fine without any extra self healing now I think human is the way to go for extra defenses (passive survivability) along with the 20% damage boost, but I still want to find out if it works on sneak damage.

Drow is sub-optimal because the only thing it offers in the racial tree is dex which comes at a cost of 3 AP each since I must take 1 pt of useless spell resistance for each pt 1 of dex. As it is I have pts of dex in the rogue tree I can still take for 2 AP if I want more dex. The +1 DC and +1 damage vs. human is nice, but outweighed by the 20% damage boost clickie.

[Saekee]

You probably know this but just saying--the alchemist's pendent will add an action boost to each of their totals--great to use after shrining--just use it up immediately before the first combat and swap the eidolon necklace back. The extra action boosts make the pendant a great DPS booster at no cost for tradeoffs.

Also situational is the eChimera's crown since it boosts the number of dragonmark uses. It can be swapped out too after the extras are used. I happen to have one after farming an EMG some time ago.

It makes sense that the healing marks are so strong since their power is based on total character level. You have totally sold me on halfling thank you!

Assassin Damage boost based on melee power should also boost venomed blades so yeah--waaay better than 30% flat.

[CThruTheEgo]

Here is the thing with knockdown - it gets a reflex save unlike knockback which is the real problem rogues face with air elementals. In theory a rogue's reflex should be no fail in most content so it only protects you the 1 in 20 times you fail your save except in situations where the enemy attack has a very high DC. It's possible there are other forms of knockdown I am unaware of that work differently.

Some knockdowns use a str/dex check, like trip does. This is how it works with cats and dogs. I don't know how many of them (air elementals, dragons, minotaurs) work as the wiki is unclear about their mechanics. I know I still get knocked down on my int based assassin who has a high reflex save, but from what exactly I've not noticed. If some of the knockdown effects are using a str/dex check, I also don't know if this would be less of a problem now that assassins are dex based as I'm not sure what the DCs are. Regardless, kip up provides +2 max dodge and max dex bonus, which imo are the greatest benefit. If you're spending 20 AP in acrobat already, 1 more point for 2 more dodge is a good deal.

30% Haste Boost from Thief/Acrobat: Confused as usual and taking leap of faith it's working: If this is truly giving me the stacking 30% attack speed, in theory it's doing the same thing as a 30% damage boost (except I am getting more sneak damage) with the exception that it also increases the frequency of my improved deception and balanced attack procs which is highly useful for ensuring I maximize my sneak attack damage.

The biggest benefit of haste boost is that it increases the number of attacks you do, which means it increases damage from all sources, including proc effects which can not be boosted by any other means. I wonder if the extra damage from these sources with haste boost is more than the extra 50% sneak attack damage from melee power boost.

[brzytki]

Also what knockdowns does kip protect against? I have seen this effect in a few places. Does it stop Zuggtmoy knockdown?

Unless something was changed, it protects you from being overrun by some of the big bosses. It should work against trips and cometfall knockdown too since it's not magical. Maybe against Web Line Trip the driders use too.

Edit: Oh, and the giants' stomps. I can't recall any other right now.

[slarden]

Some knockdowns use a str/dex check, like trip does. This is how it works with cats and dogs. I don't know how many of them (air elementals, dragons, minotaurs) work as the wiki is unclear about their mechanics. I know I still get knocked down on my int based assassin who has a high reflex save, but from what exactly I've not noticed. If some of the knockdown effects are using a str/dex check, I also don't know if this would be less of a problem now that assassins are dex based as I'm not sure what the DCs are. Regardless, kip up provides +2 max dodge and max dex bonus, which imo are the greatest benefit. If you're spending 20 AP in acrobat already, 1 more point for 2 more dodge is a good deal.

The biggest benefit of haste boost is that it increases the number of attacks you do, which means it increases damage from all sources, including proc effects which can not be boosted by any other means. I wonder if the extra damage from these sources with haste boost is more than the extra 50% sneak attack damage from melee power boost.

Kip up is probably better than I realized based on the responses. Thanks to all that responded.

The way I think about MP power boost is that i am getting 30% damage boost on non-sneak damage and 45% damage boost on sneak damage. [ideal for bosses unless i am missing out on sneak damage - then I would switch to haste boost for more improved deception procs]

For haste boost I am getting 30% damage boost on non-sneak damage (via more attacks) and 30% damage boost on sneak damage (via more attacks) and 30% more improved deception and balanced attack procs (via more attacks). [ideal on trash mobs since balanced attack procs don't occur on bosses]

However, to the extent I am missing something i would love to understand these boosts more.

[Bolo_Grubb]

Someone else in another thread asked for some dex assassin build ideas so I tossed around a few halfling ideas:

https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...Assassin-build



Thief Acrobat (18 pts )
Core
- Staff Control

Tier 1
- Fast movement
- Sly Flourish x3

Tier 2
- Subtelty x3
- Haste Boost x3

Tier 3
- Shadow Dodge x 3

--------

Twists
Balanced Attacks
30% Haste Boost
Coccoon
Extra Action Boost

--------------

Total Action Boosts:
- 30% Haste Boost from LD Twist x9
- 30 MP Damage Boost from Assassin x 9
- 30% Haste Boost from Thief/Acrobat x 9

Slarden, according to the wiki it is not possible to take the haste boost from LD if you took it as a class enhancement (Action Boost Haste: Active Ability: (Cooldown 20 seconds (30 if you twist it)) Activate this ability to receive a +[20/25/30]% Action Boost attack speed bonus for 20 seconds. (This ability cannot be taken if you have Action Boost Haste as a class enhancement, and it shares a cooldown with all other action boosts).

Is this still true or can you take both now? Or did I miss something elsewhere in this post?

[CThruTheEgo]

Kip up is probably better than I realized based on the responses. Thanks to all that responded.

The way I think about MP power boost is that i am getting 30% damage boost on non-sneak damage and 45% damage boost on sneak damage. [ideal for bosses unless i am missing out on sneak damage - then I would switch to haste boost for more improved deception procs]

For haste boost I am getting 30% damage boost on non-sneak damage (via more attacks) and 30% damage boost on sneak damage (via more attacks) and 30% more improved deception and balanced attack procs (via more attacks). [ideal on trash mobs since balanced attack procs don't occur on bosses]

However, to the extent I am missing something i would love to understand these boosts more.

Two things. The melee power boost only affects base damage, whereas haste boost affects your rate of attack, which means it benefits both your base damage and melee power.

Second, what will push one of these ahead of the other will be determined by the added value of each. The extra value of melee power boost to sneak attack damage is an extra 15 melee power. My human assassin does an average of 118.5 sneak attack damage. Multiply that by .15 to see how much extra average damage 15 melee power gives you.

118.5 * 0.15 = 17.775

Because haste boost also effectively increases the damage you do from proc effects, we want to know how much proc damage multiplied by 30% will do more than the 17.775 from the extra sneak attack damage. So

17.775 = x * 0.3
x = 59.25

So as long as your proc effects do more than 59.25 total average damage, haste boost will offer more of an overall dps increase than melee power boost. It would actually be less than this because of the first reason I mentioned above, but that's a bit more complicated to calculate. Haste boost also means more procs from things like mortal fear and improved deception.

A tier 3 Thunder-Forged dagger with 1st degree burns/dragon's edge/mortal fear does 74.2 average proc damage per hit. But this only in the primary hand. The offhand dagger, whether it's Agony or Assassin's Kiss, will do less. Overall, I think haste boost will offer more dps, although probably not by much.

[brzytki]

About the Kip Up, i forgot about the biggest offenders that annoy me greatly - air elementals! That alone is worth the APs spent, imo.

[Bolo_Grubb]

What about undead monsters?

Find a pair of good daggers for those? Maybe pick up weapon Finesse and then use the Mutineer's blades? Craft a Greensteel Quarterstaff?

What about constructs or other monsters that daggers/pierce are not the best for?

[slarden]

Slarden, according to the wiki it is not possible to take the haste boost from LD if you took it as a class enhancement (Action Boost Haste: Active Ability: (Cooldown 20 seconds (30 if you twist it)) Activate this ability to receive a +[20/25/30]% Action Boost attack speed bonus for 20 seconds. (This ability cannot be taken if you have Action Boost Haste as a class enhancement, and it shares a cooldown with all other action boosts).

Is this still true or can you take both now? Or did I miss something elsewhere in this post?

I just checked my character and I have both haste action boosts. The LD Haste boost is twisted in and I wasn't prevented from taking haste boost in Thief Acrobat.

Is it possible this changed after the enhancement pass? I see nothing indicating I can't take both in LD or the T/A tree.

[slarden]

What about undead monsters?

Find a pair of good daggers for those? Maybe pick up weapon Finesse and then use the Mutineer's blades? Craft a Greensteel Quarterstaff?

What about constructs or other monsters that daggers are not the best for?

I do have a quarterstaff as backup, but I often find I am better off sticking with daggers. I won't be taking weapon finesse.