[CLASS BUILD] The fast assassin (deadfire edition)

[Madscientist]

I have created such a build for PoE1 http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/93566-class-build-the-fast-assassin-dual-wielding-rogue/ and now I want to do the same for deadfire.

 

The fast assain

 

description: I want to create the classical rogue, a dual wielding backstabber who attacks as fast as possible and who is good in debuffing enemies.

 

Author: Madscientist

Version: 1.10

difficulty: veteran

solo: not intended

 

class: assassin / shattered pillar

race: wood elf

background: raider from the deadfire

 

stats:

mig: 11

con: 10

dex: 20

per: 19

int: 10

res: 8

 

active skills: stealth and explosives

passive skills: whatever you want

 

talents:

lv1: crippling strike / swift strikes

lv2: backstab

lv3: lesser wounds

lv4: smoke veil / two weapon style

lv5: dirty fighting

lv6: clarity of agony

lv7: delibitating strike ( or blinding strike or finishing blow ) / torments reach

lv8: swift flurry

lv9: stunning blow

lv10: persistent distraction / thunderous blows

lv 11: dualty of mortal presence

lv12: rooting pain

lv13: deep wounds / raise torment

lv14: enervating blows

lv15: stunning surge

lv16: slippery mind / turning wheel

lv17: improved critical

lv18: flagellants path

lv19: deathblows / heartbeat drumming

lv20: the dichotonous soul

 

Equipment:

weapon: modwyr, stalkers patience

head: blackened plate helm

armor: devil of caroc armor

neck: protective eothesian charm

cape: ajamuuts stalking cloak

hands: firethrowers gloves

ring: chameleons touch, kuarus prize

feet: boots of the stone

waist: the makers own power

pet: obsidian wurm

 

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Ok, I want to make a char who attacks as fast as possible. Like my PoE1 version I will max out dex and per. Therefore I take a wood elf. Elf for the dex and per bonus and its a wood elf becuase resistance to dex afflictions is good for a char who wants to be fast. The deadfire background gives dex and raider gives stealth.

 

Now that we have subclasses, assassin is a no brainer for the first class. But single class rogues are not so great if speed is your main focus. I wanted a pure martial char, so my choice was either barbarien or monk. A barbariens frenzy gives you mig, con and speed and they have also talents that increase your speed and cut recovery time on kill. When people say barbarien they usually mean berserker. An assassin is quite fragile and berserkers take damage over time. But the main reason to chose monk was probably my personal taste. Monks have a permanent action speed + dex bonus without downside, they have a chance to attack again on crit ( chain critting have been removed ) and they are good in debuffing enemies, which is good in combination with rogues sneak attacks/deathblows. Monks have the advantage that they can generate one of their resources, so they have infinite special attacks. I like the concept of gaining wounds through damage so I took shattered pillar. Power gamers will take Nalpazca for max effect from turning wheel.

 

Stat wise I max out dex and per in order to attack as fast as possible and to have as many crits as possible. I also chose equipment that boosts dex and per. I hate stat dumping and those stats are without beraths blessings. If you want you can dump res and put all remaining points into mig. I did not maximize might because like in the PoE1 version I priorize max attack speed over max damage per hit. If you have max dex, per and mig via beraths belessing, next priority would be int for max affliction duration and more AoE for torments reach.

 

As weapon you can dual wield whatever you want, including your fists. I chose modwyr because it gives a stacking speed bonus, a fire or frost lash, immunity to int afflictions and because its cool to have a talking sword. As second weapon I would chose stalkers patience, a spear that lets enemies bleed and gives a damage bonus against flanked enemies that gets bigger with your stealth skill.

The armor from the devil of caroc is still the best choice, even after the nerfs. It gives +2 class resources, resistance to one affliction, self heal on crit and it has a smaller recovery penalty than other medium armors. Ajamuuts stalking cloak has been made for assassins as it gives more damage from stealth, attacks from stealth can stunn the enemy and it gives a bonus to per and stealth. I chose all other items for the stat boost, with focus on dex and per. The pet gives a stealth bonus and an acc bonus to flanked enemies.

 

For skills I chose stealth and explosives. Max stealth is not needed for backstabs, so I chose to split my points between two skills. You could use arcana for scrolls as second skill, but I chose explosives because I think from a role playing point of view it is fitting to throw grenades from invisibility and I want to make a non magic char. The assassin bonus works only for the first attack from stealth or invisibility, so throw a bomb that hits several enemies instantly for lots of damage.

 

Lets look at talents and playstyle:

I have good single target damage, but I am fragile. You should have swift strikes and thunderous blows active all the time. When you have your buffs, next priority would be torments reach to stunn all enemies in front of you. If you cannot use torments reach you can use crippling strike or you use smoke veil to become invisible. Smoke veil takes time and it makes only one next attack stronger. Use it to protect yourself or to do something that does tons of damage like using a bomb. Damage wise it may be better to continue attacking instead of using smoke veil. With persistent distraction, weakening critical, torments reach, crippling strike and stunning blow you will cause sneak attacks/deathblows all the time.

I assume that you have a full party. Enter stealth and let your tanks engage the enemy. Start with a backstab, then apply your instant buffs and kill one enemy after the other. Your other chars should debuff the enemies too. If you get attacked, you have to stunn them or use smoke veil, else you are dead.

 

I am happy for any comments or advice I can get.

I do not play on PotD, so I cannot say if the char would be effective there. For all other difficulties almost any char is good enough.

I would not try to solo the game with a char who takes more damage than other chars, uses melee weapons and has almost no AoE.

 

Update:

Version 1.2 will change the following things:

- torments reach + upgrade will no longer stagger/stunn the primary target, but it does +25% weapon damage

- there is a 33% chance to trigger rooting pain when getting a wound, it was 100% before

- Shattered pillars get wounds only from auto attacks, not from abilities. Now a Nalpazca is definitely better then a shattered pillar, I guess.

Edited July 17, 2018 by Madscientist

[knownastherat]

Have not tried this combo but tried quite a few monks and rogues and so if I may.

 

Since the character is in a party, and I assume micromanaged, it has kind of freedom to focus on intended purpose: deadly rogue, while forfeiting defensive treats, which will be provided by the party members.

 

Thus talents like Clarity of Agony or even Duality of Mortal Presence could be substituted by Escape tree for example. Rooting Pain is not burst damage so it could also be skipped for Finishing Blow for example. Thunderous Blows, for PEN, is also amazing ability. Soul Mirror, possibly Blade Turning, for defense against range and as a panic button. Flagellant's Path is a great full mobile attack but its costs Mortification Swift Flurry and Stunning Surge uses and cannot be upgraded. If Escape tree is taken, mobility will not suffer and Backstab will profit too. Dichotomous Soul did not work for me well. Not sure about Dance of Death, synergy with Rogue. Not sure about Torment tree, but that's personal bias. 

 

Rogue and Monk have so many good actives and passives to choose, and not all can be taken, that I believe a player can tailor this multi according to playstyle so what I suggested is just one of many. 

 

Race Heart Orlan, for the Crits.

[Madscientist]

OK, with a full party I could skip clarity of agony for something else.

 

Usually crippling strike was the only rogue attack I used over the whole game. Its a full attack with extra pen for only 1 guile. All other attacks are also a full attack that causes status effects but they cost more guile. Of course I can use things like escape or smoke veil.

 

I want to keep rooting pain. The damage per hit is low, but it will trigger often and it damages and interrupts all enemies around you passively without costing any resource.

 

The main problem of this build is that it takes some time until you are powerful. Until level 7 you have nothing to spend your wounds on. You keep getting talents that define this build until lv. 19, just at lv20 I just took something. In the beginning you will be very fragile.

[Ophiuchus]

Thank you, thank you. I've been looking for a solid Shadowdancer build with the exact same purpose. Definitely going to try this out after my Sorcerer run.

[Rick_87]

What a shame that this class build isnt actaul. Can somebody show me please, or tell me actual bulid list/talents list for rogue assassin pleae: Thank you for your time.