ASSASSIN VIABILITY:
Ok, so I've been playing the Assassin class for some time now and I find the whole concept extremely bad-ass. There is only one small problem - she is very weak. Not only that she has been designed like a "Jack of all trades, master of none", she fails game-breakingly to progress. She fails even more than the Sorceror was considered to (at least the Sorceror has an INSURMOUNTABLE mana pool to do something with). Ok, I will now tell you a story.
My Assassin now is level 31 and made it to level 8 on Nightmare. Yes, this sounds awesome, except for the fact that ALL I DID from level 6-7 Normal on was use lightning/firewall/lightning wall/fireball on the mobs to somehow progress. Her damage output in melee (which normally should be speed-based one-handed weapons such as daggers/swords) is extremely bad. Yes, the warrior would have the same damage output BUT he has a FAR BETTER hit recovery. The Assassin, even with perked hit recovery fails to land her otherwise decent damage. So, what does a wise man try to do? Find an alternative! In the early levels, I could get by with a decent bow, because her speed isn't all that bad (I believe she is second after the Rogue in terms of attack speed with bows) but I failed to maintain this method post-cathedral levels 1-4. Ok, so what do we do? We start using spells, which after a little knowledge surely lands the attention on Lightning. Lightning is VERY VIABLE if not too viable in this game, it currently lands circa 4-400 dps and kills everything in one show. Now, why the hell would I approach someone with my bad hit recovery and moderate damage while I can rip him apart with one bolt of lightning? The answer would be SKILLS! But no, it is not Sad. The Assassin's skills are so useless (due to their mana cost and low damage output) that you don't even bother trying to use them, except when you are forced to go melee. No, to be on a side-note, I was at a certain point forced to keep gambling with savegame-repositioning to get good gear, and EVEN SO I fail to make progress in melee Sad. The class is extremely messed up in terms of survivability. I will now list an amulet that I managed to gamble, and imagine that ALL MY ITEMS ARE LIKE THAT. Even with those, I am still weak.
AMULET:
Resist Magic: +50%
Resist Cold: +52%
+24% Chance of getting magic items
+11 to magic
+20 to all attributes
Hit Points: +94
Every single Item in my arsenal gives + to all attributes, all my resistances on Nightmare are 75% and still I get bludgeoned by mobs very easily with 500+ HP (500 HP is a lot for a level 31 Assassin, since she gets only 1 HP/Vitality point -- this is very bad for a melee character, especially if she has a bad hit recovery). Her speed, that would normally go quite high with Fanaticism cannot really be done often, because of the Skill's mana cost. The Barbarian (of course because he has no mana at all) can increase his attack speed with his second skill using it as primary attack WITHOUT having to pay anything and also having a great hit recovery and 2.5 HP/Vitality point. He is viable, the Assassin is extremely frail Sad. I suggest removing the mana cost or adding other skills that would benefit her somehow, raise her HP/Vitality point, add a better hit recovery, give her some weapons she is better with (such as claws). Somehow, she has to be made better, because she is very frail.
I have the following statistics and I am still weak (note that such stats are EXTREME to a level 31 character, but I managed with hours of gambling with the aforementioned semi-cheat method - I was forced to, because I could not progress):
141 Strength --- 73 BASE
182 Magic ------ 53 BASE
148 Dexterity -- 92 BASE
128 Vitality ----- 56 BASE
Armor Class: 215
Chance to Hit: 205%
All Resistances: 75% (Nightmare)
DPS: 381
Hit Points: 527
Mana Points: 285
As you can see, there is nothing wrong with my build, in fact she should be a lot more powerful, if she had better hit recovery, some useful skills (because Stealth doesn't work when you are seen, and therefore only occasionally viable, Maleficent Strike only is viable properly when executed from behind while stealthing, Narcosis is blatantly useless because it costs far too much mana (22.5) and does a measly 16-21 DMG while the disorientation is not worth the cost and finally Fanaticism is quite good, but the speed can only be perked if you are not in a constant barrage of hits and if, of course, you have a SHITLOAD of mana). As you can see, the Assassin's skills are very useless compared to what forces she has to face, and the effectiveness of her spells wanes over time (she is no Sorceror). You can't go on building Mana to support your otherwise weak self. She would not be weak if she was better made (like the Barbarian - that class is extremely balanced, thank you and praises Very Happy). Consider boosting her in the ways I have previously mentioned (especially the skill mana costs + hit recovery + HP/Vitality) and she could be one bad-ass melee fighter. On a side-note, the way I killed bosses or stronger creatures is just plainly funny: I always went to a corner where they could not knock me back and I used Lightning Wall coupled with Firewall (both in the same place) to burn the HP of the mob down just sitting there helpless for their HP to drop using a shitload of potions because, of course, my hit recovery was too bad for me to land more than a few Lightnings. This is rediculous Sad - examples: Leoric, Butcher (both on Nightmare, because on Normal, you manage somehow), Diablo's generals, Arcane Sanctum Demon, The Smith (my God, he was a tough bastard with a barrage of attacks COMPLETELY UNBREAKABLE by the Assassin's poor hit recovery) and so on. Just think for a minute, all this chick can do is wait for the HP of the enemy to burn in a double spell wall while she prays that her potions last enough for it to die --- not good!!!
Also, she could be made able to wield two daggers or light swords to boost her damage output and speed. After all, she is the agility type. Either way, she is unplayable and completely overshadowed by the Warrior (since she cannot use her skills, the warrior does the same thing with melee weapons, only far better - shield + one handed weapon but he also has good skills, better HP, hit recovery and so on).
PS: I know that Stealth is the main source of power for the assassin, but after one strike, there is no way you can get out of sight without being bludgeoned to death (only rarely, when allowed by circumstances). If it truly were the main source of power, I would allow her to use it even when already seen --- since after one strike, you're basically a warrior with no warrior capabilities and unable to be invisible on sight again (the cooldown could remain, to keep balance). Dragon flight does not help, it still is ONE STRIKE --- all you do is plan your first move, and then BOOM, you're basically hack 'n slashing everything like a stone-age warrior. Changes are desperately needed
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I hope this little thread helps improve this otherwise EXTREMELY AWESOME, FABULOUS mod that deserves all the praises in the universe.
Eagerly waiting for replies and thank you in advance
Cheers :>