Diablo 2 Assassin FAQ
7/11/01
Version 1.0
Author: Bill Wood
Billw81@yahoo.com
CONTENTS:
I. INTRODUCTION
II. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
III. SKILLS
IV. MY ASSASIN
V. ITEMS
VI. TIPS
VII. THANKS
I. INTRODUCTION
Welcome to my Assassin Guide! Right now I have a level 37 Assassin who
has just finished Act 1 on Nightmare difficulty. This guide is being
written for anyone who plans on starting an Assassin and needs some
help. Good luck and enjoy!!
II. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Assassin is a master of Martial Arts and Traps. She is mainly a
hand-to-hand fighter, using small quick weapons called claws. These
weapons are extremely fast but weaker than other weapons. To
compliment her fighting ability, she is a master trap layer. She uses
traps to take out large groups of enemies at once. The Assassin is
also the only character that doesn't need keys to open locked chests.
This saves space in your inventory by not having to carry keys.
III. SKILLS
Note: When I say "level 1" and "level 20", I am referring to the
amount of skill points, not actual character level.
A) MARTIAL ARTS
This tree consists of two different types of skills: Charge-up
moves and finishing moves. Charge-up moves add extra bonuses
to finishing moves, such as elemental or enhanced damage.
Finishing moves also have their own bonuses. You can only
have 3 charges at any given time, but they can be different
types.
TIGER STRIKE (Charge) Pre: None Mana: 1
Tiger Strike improves the attack rating and damage of
finishing moves. Even though it is a level 1 skill, you will
use this throughout the entire game. This is THE charge-up
skill to use when facing bosses and uniques. At level 1,
Tiger Strike is +40% attack rating. Charge 1 is +100% damage,
Charge 2 is +200%, and Charge 3 is +300%. At level 20, it
gives a +230% attack rating and the 1st charge is +480% damage,
2nd charge is +960% damage, and the 3rd charge is +1440%
damage!!! Put as many points as you can into this skill.
DRAGON TALON (Finish) Pre: None Mana: 6
This is your first finishing move. The kick gives a bonus to
attack rating and damage. At higher levels, more kicks are
added. At level 1, Dragon Talon performs 1 kick, +40% attack
rating, and +9% damage. At level 20, it performs 3 kicks at
+268% attack rating and +142% damage. Only put 1 point into
this as a prerequisite, there are much better finishing moves
down the line.
FISTS OF FIRE (Charge) Pre: None Mana: 2
This skill adds fire damage to your attack while improving
your attack rating. The 1st charge adds fire damage, the 2nd
adds an area effect, and the 3rd increases the burning time
slightly. Only the first charge increases with levels. With
1 point in this skill, you get +50% attack rating and 6-10
fire damage. At level 20, +240% attack rating and 201-205
fire damage. Put only 1 point into this as there are better
charge-up skills.
DRAGON CLAW (Finish) Pre: Dragon Talon Mana: 2
This skill can only be used with 2 claw weapons equipped. The
double attack increases in damage with levels. At level 1,
Dragon Claw is +50% attack rating and +50% damage. At level
20, +240% attack rating and +140% damage. Again, there are
better finishing moves, so only put 1 point here.
COBRA STRIKE (Charge) Pre: Tiger Strike Mana: 2
Cobra Strike adds no damage to finishing moves, but steals
life and mana instead. The first charge steals life, the 2nd
steals life and mana, and the 3rd steals even more life and
mana. At level 1, +60% to attack rating. The 1st charge
steals 40% life, the 2nd 40% life and mana, and the 3rd 80% life
and mana. At level 20, +345% attack rating and the 1st charge
steals 135% life, the 2nd 135% life and mana, and the 3rd 270%
life and mana. This skill is nice for when you are out of
potions, or, at a high enough level, can probably replace them
altogether. I didn't want to put many points here, but choose
according to your play style. I suggest putting points into
skills that actually deal damage, but again, your call.
CLAWS OF THUNDER (Charge) Pre: Fists of Fire Mana: 4
This skill adds a different lightning spell effect for each
charge. Charge 1 deals Lightning damage, Charge 2 deals Nova
Lightning damage, and charge 3 deals Charged Bolt damage. At
level 1, +80 attack rating and 1st charge deals 1-80 damage, 2nd
charge deals 1-20 area damage, and charge 3 deals 1-40 bolt
damage. At level 20, +365% attack rating and 1st charge 351-
430 damage, 2nd charge deals 1-465, and 3rd charge does 1-740
damage. This skill could have been great, but it is not. The
first charge deals great damage, but the lightning shoots in a
straight line, which isn't great for swarms of monsters. It
deals a lot of damage to one creature, but Tiger Strike deals
much more. The other 2 charges have incredible damage
potential, but are useless because of the minimum damage of 1.
You have just as much chance as doing 1 damage as you do 740!
Phoenix Strike comes along later and is much better for taking
out groups of enemies.
This finishing move adds a percentage to the damage inflicted
and knocks back a group of enemies. At level 1, +40% attack
rating and +50 fire damage. At level 20, +173% attack rating
and +240% fire damage. I move this move more than any other
finishing moves because of it's knockback effect against
groups of enemies. I didn't put any extra points here because
the knockback doesn't improve, but it's up to you.
BLADES OF ICE (Charge) Pre: Fists of Fire; Claws of Thunder
Mana: 3
The first charge adds cold damage, the 2nd causes an area
effect, and the 3rd causes a freezing effect. With 1 skill
point, +80% attack rating, 1st charge 15-35 cold damage, 2nd
charge area effect, and 3rd charge 4 sec. Duration. With 20
skill points +365% attack rating and 1st charge 231-251 cold
damage, 2nd charge area effect (doesn't increase with points),
3rd charge, 11.6 sec. duration. Pretty good damage and effect,
but I would just put 1 point here and wait for Phoenix Strike.
This finishing move will teleport you to the targeted enemy
from a distance and deliver the kick, which increases damage
and attack rating with additional points. At 1st level, +100%
attack rating, +100% damage. At level 20, +480% attack
rating, +575% damage. This is THE finisher to use against
bosses and uniques. Coupled with a 3 level 20 charges of
Tiger Strike, a level 20 Dragon Flight can do +2015% damage
with 1 hit!!! Put as many points into this as possible.
(Alternatively, you could level Dragon Tail up instead. You
will miss out on some damage, but will be much more effective
against hordes of enemies. You make the call.) This
finishing move is excellent for taking out an enemy surrounded
by minions.
PHOENIX STRIKE (Charge) Pre: All previous Charge moves Mana: 4
Charge 1 releases a Meteor, Charge 2 releases Chain Lightning,
and Charge 3 releases Chaos Ice Bolt. At level 1, +70% attack
rating, Charge 1 20-40 fire damage, Charge 2 1-40 lightning
damage, and Charge 3 16-32 ice damage. With 20 skill points
+355% attack rating, Charge 1 370-390 fire damage, Charge 2 1-
353 lightning damage, Charge 3 124-140 ice damage. I use this
as my main attack. It costs little mana, and is able to hit
multiple enemies. The 1st charge has great damage, but a
little delay, the 2nd charge is too unpredictable to be
effective, and the 3rd charge is excellent for it's freezing
ability. The is especially useful for physically immune
enemies.
B) TRAPS
Traps are a great way to take out groups of enemies, although
they consume quite a bit of mana. Most traps become useless
later in the game, so spend your points carefully.
FIRE BLAST Pre: None Mana: 3-5.3
The Assassin throws a little fire device that explodes on
impact, hitting a few closely packed enemies. At level 1, 3-4
damage. At level 20, 69-70. Only put 1 point here, it isn't
useful past the first act.
SHOCKWEB Pre: None Mana: 6
This trap is set on the ground and emits little bolts of
lightning. With 1 point you get 6 spikes and 5-6 damage.
With 20, you get 10 spikes for 46-47 damage. Lame damage
discouraged me from putting more than 1 point here.
BLADE SENTINAL Pre: None Mana: 7
This trap leaves a blade flying back and forth between two
points. Level 1 6-10 damage, Level 20 79-83. It is difficult
to hit enemies with this trap and, again, weak damage. I
wouldn't put any points here unless you want to get Blade
Shield later on, which I didn't use anyway.
CHARGE BOLT Sentry Pre: Shockweb Mana: 13
This trap is laid on the ground and zaps enemies that get too
close. It has 5 charges. At level 1, 1-7 damage, at level
20, 39-45. I would only put 1 point here. If you really need
to use traps at this level, go with wake of fire.
WAKE OF FIRE Pre: Fire Blast Mana: 20
This trap emits 5 waves of fire. At level 1, 5-10 damage,
level 20, 59-64. This trap was actually pretty useful when I
got it, I laid a bunch in a group of enemies and watched the
fireworks. I wouldn't put any points here, though, because
your best trap doesn't need this as a prerequisite.
BLADE FURY Pre: Blade Sentinel Mana: 3
The Assassin throws a bunch of metal blades at an opponent.
At level 1, 1 blade and 8-10 damage. Level 20, 10 blades and
101-103 damage. This trap actually can be useful for taking
out enemies that are lightning enchanted or have spells like
Inferno. Unfortunately, it is hard to hit anything that
moves, and the skill becomes useless even before Nightmare. I
wouldn't put any points here.
This trap will shoot a total of 10 bolts of lightning at
approaching enemies before dissipating. At level 1, 10-20
damage. At level 20, 141-151 damage. This trap works well
when you get it, but don't put more than 1 point here, your
best trap is only 6 levels away!
WAKE OF FIRE Pre: Fire Blast; Wake of Fire Mana: 20
This trap shoots a line of fire at an enemy that approaches,
similar to Inferno. After 10 shots, it dissipates. At level
1, 8-21 damage per second, at level 20, 189-203 damage per
second. The problem with this trap is that enemies don't
stand still. I found Wake of Fire more effective, even though
it does less damage. Either way, both traps become obsolete
too quickly to put any points into.
DEATH SENTRY Pre: Fire Blast; Shock Web; Charged Bolt Sentry;
Lightning Sentry Mana: 20
This trap sends bolts of lightning at anything nearby. The
real beauty, though, is that it also explodes corpses,
damaging nearby enemies for 40-80% of the corpses hitpoints!
At level 1, 10-30 lightning damage, at level 20, 117-127
lightning damage. I wouldn't put more than a few points here,
because only the lightning damage and radius of the corpse
explosion goes up, not the exploding damage. I used this trap
in the cow level. I would kill 2 cows, set down 2 sentries,
and take out 20 or 30 in a few seconds! This is THE way to
take down groups of enemies in Nightmare and Hell.
BLADE SHIELD Pre: Fire Blast; Blade Sentinel; Wake of Fire;
Blade Fury Mana: 27-65
This creates a shield of spinning blades around your body.
Any enemies that hit you with physical attacks will take
damage. At level 1, it lasts for 20 seconds and deals 1-30
damage. At level 20, it lasts for 112 seconds and deals 96-
141 damage. The damage done is way too small for the amount
of hit we Assassins can take. I wouldn't recommend putting
any points here.
C) SHADOW DISCIPLINES
This tree consists of mostly passive skills that will make the
Assassin much more effective in combat.
CLAW MASTERY Pre: None Mana: passive
This skill adds to the attack rating and damage of your
regular attack. At level 1, +30% attack rating and +35%
damage. At level 20, +220% attack rating and +111% to damage.
Needless to say, this is a skill you want to put some points
into. Remember there are other skills that need points too,
though.
PSYCHIC HAMMER Pre: None Mana: 4-8.7
This skill pushes an enemy back and causes minor damage. At
level 1, 2-5 damage, level 20, 29-32 damage. This spell could
theoretically be useful for pushing enemies into traps, but it
isn't that hard to hit them with traps anyway. Don't put any
points here unless you want Cloak of Shadows or Shadow Master
later, then put 1 point here.
BURST OF SPEED Pre: Claw Mastery Mana: 10
This great skill increases your walk/run and attack speed for
a period of time. At level 1, +21% attack speed and +23%
run/walk speed for 120 seconds. At level 20, + 52% attack
speed and +61% walk/run speed for 348 seconds. This skill is
awesome! Your combat is much more effective and you can
travel much, much faster. The only downside is that when you
play a different character, it will feel as though you are
crawling. Oh well! Don't put more than 3 or 4 points here,
as more points don't give you much more speed.
WEAPON BLOCK Pre: Claw Mastery Mana: Passive
When using two claw class weapons, you gain the ability to
block some incoming attacks. At level 1, 26% chance to block
attack, level 20, 57% chance to block attack. This skill is
only useful if you plan on using 2 weapons, and a shield is a
must in Nightmare and Hell. Only put 1 point here as a
prerequisite.
CLOAK OF SHADOWS Pre: Psychic Hammer Mana: 13
This skill causes the sky to darken and enemies' defense to be
lowered for about 8 seconds. At level 1, -21% defense, level
20, -52% defense. I am not sure how effective this will be in
Nightmare and Hell, but I will let you know in the next
update.
FADE Pre: Claw Mastery; Burst of Speed Mana: 10
This skill raises your resistance to elemental damage and
curses for a period of time. At level 1, curse reduction by
47, all resistances +19% for 120 seconds. At level 20, curse
reduction by 82, all resistances +64% for 348 seconds. Right
now I have a few points in this skill and I use it when facing
skeletal mages or lightning enchanted Uniques. Again, it
doesn't stack with burst of speed, which I like better. Don't
put more than a few points here and only use when you are
facing lots of elemental enemies. Otherwise, stick with Burst
of Speed.
Summons a shadow of yourself that will use the first two
skills you select. At level 1, 124 life, +0% attack rating.
At level 20,, 406 life, +286% attack rating. Don't put more
than 1 point into this, there is a much better version at
level 30, or you can hire a mercenary.
MIND BLAST Pre: Psychic Hammer; Cloak of Shadows Mana: 15
The Assassin damages a group of enemies and has a chance to
convert them to fight for her. At level 1, 10-20 damage, 18%
conversion. At level 20, 96-106 damage, 36% conversion.
There are too many other skills that need points to sink any
into this.
VENOM Pre: Claw Mastery; Burst of Speed; Fade Mana: 12
The Assassin coats her weapons with poison. At level 1, 37-78
damage over 2 seconds, skill lasts for 120 seconds. At level
20, 375-415 damage over 2 seconds, skill lasts for 196
seconds. Another skill that would be pretty useful, except
that it doesn't stack with Burst of Speed OR Fade. Plus,
poison damage doesn't stack, but the damage is still very
high. If only we could use it with the other two skills! Oh
well, it is pretty easy to find a weapon with poison damage.
Same as Shadow Warrior except stronger and has access to all
of your skills. At level 1, 186 life +0% attack rating. At
level 20, 723 life +285% attack rating. Right now my
Barbarian Mercenary is MUCH more effective than my Shadow
Master, but she only has 1 point in her. If you have points
to spare (which you probably don't) put some here. If not,
you will have to decide how important this skill is to you.
IV. MY ASSASIN
In this section, I am going to list the items used at different points
in the game.
Right now I am in the 2nd Act in Nightmare Difficulty. This is the
equipment I am using:
WEAPON
Fine Wrist Spike of Gore (Magic)
One-Hand Damage: 16-44
Durability: 56
(Assassin Only)
Required Dexterity: 66
Required Strength: 66
Required Level: 24
Claw Class-Very Fast Attack Speed
+28% Enhanced Damage
+30 to Attack Rating
+10 to Maximum Damage
Although it doesn't have quite as many extras, this is more powerful
than any Rare claw I have found.
SHIELD
The Ward (Unique)
Gothic Shield
Defense: 72
Chance to Block: 51%
Durability: 40
Required Strength: 60
Required Level: 26
Increased Chance of Blocking
Magic Damage Reduced by 2
+40 Defense
+10 to Strength
Bhaal dropped this very nice Unique shield, I have used it ever since.
HEAD
Loath Hood (Rare)
Crown
Defense: 51
Durability: 50
Required Strength: 55
Required Level: 9
10% Chance to Cast Level 3 Charged Bolt When Struck
Fast Hit Recovery
+11% Enhanced Defense
Cold Resist +12 %
+3 to Energy
The great defense coupled with the other minor extras make this my
choice of headgear for now.
AMULET
Mentalists Amulet of Strength (Magic)
Required Level:15
+1 to Strength
+1 to Shadow Disciplines (Assassin Only)
This is easily the best amulet I have found, and I found it way back in
Act 2!
ARMOR
210 Defense (Magical)
Unfortunately, I don't have the information on my armor at the moment,
but I will include it in the next revision.
LEFT RING
Bitter Gyre (Rare)
Ring
Required Level: 12
+81 to Attack Rating
+2 to Dexterity
+2 to Strength
10% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
This Rare ring adds some nice bonuses.
RIGHT RING
Raven Coil (Crafted)
Ring
Required Level: 35
3% Life Stolen Per Hit
Regenerate Mana 11%
Poison Resist +30%
+26 to Attack Rating
+18 to Mana
+10 to Energy
This excellent ring was Crafted by combining 1 Ring, 1 Jewel, 1 Ral
Rune, and 1 Perfect Amethyst.
I found this set Item in Act 4, I think. Because I also have Sigon's
Wrap, my attack speed is greatly increased.
BELT
Sigon's Wrap
Plated Belt
Defense: 60
Durability: 24
Required Strength: 60
Required Level: 6
Fire Resist +20%
+20 to Life
+50 Defense (Based on Character Level)
I found this Set item in Act 5. Since I have Sigon's Gage, there is a
huge bonus to defense.
BOOTS
Shadows Sanders Riprap (Inscribed, Set)
Heavy Boots
Defense: 5
Durability: 14
Required Strength: 18
Required Level: 20
40% Faster Run/Walk
+100 to Attack Rating
+10 to Dexterity
+5 to Strength
I Inscribed this Set item. The bonus to Attack Rating and Run speed is
great!
V. ITEMS
If there is any interest, I will list all of the Rare, Unique, Set,
etc. items I have found here.
Vl. TIPS
STORAGE SPACE
I am yet to meet anyone who thinks Diablo 2 gives you enough storage
space. Here are some ways to make sure you are maximizing the space
you have:
Horadric Cube: I keep this in my inventory, it adds a little bit of
space for you to carry other things.
Alternate Weapon Configuration: Even if you don't switch between
weapon configurations, use your second configuration to store extra
weapons and shields you don't want to part with.
Mercenaries: Even if you don't want to use one, hire one and use it as
extra inventory space.
GOLD
Many players only pick up magical items to sell, because most normal
items aren't worth much. This is true in most cases, but not all.
Wands, staves, breastplates, armor (not leather), can each be worth
1000's of gold pieces, depending on their stats. Remember, a magic
item is something with 2 or more extra properties. So even a normal
item can have 1 magical property, making it worth a lot of money.
VII.
Thanks to Blizzard for making such an excellent game!
Thanks to Gamefaqs for such an excellent source of information!
Thanks to Planetdiablo.com for the crafted item recipes.
Thanks to R. Kleefstra for creating the Diablo 2 Encyclopedia, this is
where I got the statistics for each skill.
