Feedback:User/Damysticreaper/Assassin skills

Assassin skills
User	Damysticreaper
Categories	Skill feedback → Assassin  → Other

Improving the skills of the assassin and introducing a new skill type. Based on the GW2 skill type of the same name and used by the thief, the assassin's spiritual successor, the Trick. Tricks do not have an activation time and increase the power of attack skills.

Critical Strikes

For each rank of critical strikes you gain +1% chance to critical hit. Whenever you critical hit, you gain 1 energy at ranks 3 and above, 2 energy at ranks 8 and above, and 3 energy at 13 ranks above. While in PvE for each rank of critical strikes you gain +1 armor while attacking.

Assassin's Promise 5 1 45 Elite Hex spell (5...13...15 seconds). Deals 5...13...15 damage each time target foe is hit with an attack. You gain 5...13...15 energy and all your skills recharge if target foe dies.

Assassin's Remedy 5 10 Trick (10 seconds). Your next 1...3...4 attack skill[s] remove a condition.

Critical Eye 5 20 Skill (30 seconds). You have +3...13...15% chance to critical hit. You gain 0...1...1 energy whenever you critical hit.

Critical Strike 5 6 Dual attack. Deals +10...34...40 damage. Automatic critical hit. Gain 1...3...3 energy. Must follow an off-hand attack.

Deadly Haste 5 10 Stance (2...10...12 seconds). You attack 25% faster. No effect unless you are wielding daggers.

Fox's Promise 5 1 30 Elite Enchantment spell (4...9...10 seconds). Your attacks are unblockable and deal +5...13...15 damage. Renewal: every time you land a critical hit.

Locust's Fury 5 10 Elite Stance (2...10...12 seconds). You attack 25% faster, have +5...29...35% chance to critical hit and have +50% chance to double strike. No effect unless you are wielding daggers.

Malicious Strike 5 1 Melee attack. Deals +10...26...30 damage. Automatic critical hit and counts as an off-hand attack.

Palm Strike 5 ¾ 7 Elite Touch skill. Deals 10...54...65 damage and inflicts cripple condition (2...8...10 seconds). Gain 1...3...4 strike[s] of adrenaline. Counts as an off-hand attack.

Sharpen Daggers 5 ¼ 20 Enchantment spell (30 seconds). Your dagger attacks inflict bleeding condition (5...13...15 seconds) and have +5...13...15% armor penetration.

Seeping Wound 10 ¼ 10 Elite Half range Hex spell (1...8...10 seconds). Target foe moves 50% slower. While suffering from a condition target foe takes 5...21...25 damage each second.

Pvp version

10 ¼ 10 Elite Half range Hex spell (1...6...7 seconds). Target foe moves 50% slower. While suffering from a condition target foe takes 5...17...20 damage each second.

Unseen Fury 5 20 Skill (30 seconds). While holding a non-dagger weapon you have +3...27...33% chance to critical hit. You gain 33% more adrenaline whenever you critical hit.

Way of the Fox 4 10 Trick (10 seconds). Your next 2...4...5 melee attacks are unblockable.

Way of the Lotus 2 10 Trick (10 seconds). You gain 3...13...15 energy and critical hit with your next melee attack.

Way of the Master 5 10 Trick (10 seconds). You gain 1...3...3 strike[s] of adrenaline and critical hit with your next melee attack.

Way of Perfection 6 4 Trick (10 seconds). Your next melee attack removes a hex and heals for 30...126...150.

Dagger Mastery

Black Mantis Thrust 5 1 4 Lead attack. Deals +8...18...20 damage. Inflicts crippled condition (3...13...15 seconds) if target foe is hexed.

Black Lotus Strike 5 1 4 Off-hand attack. Deals +10...26...30 damage. Gain 5...17...20 energy if target foe is hexed. Must follow a lead attack.

Black Spider Strike 10 4 Dual attack. Deals +10...34...40 damage. Inflicts poison condition (8...22...25 seconds) if target foe is hexed. Must follow an off-hand attack.

Golden Fox Strike 5 1 4 Lead attack. Deals +10...26...30 damage. Unblockable if you are enchanted.

Golden Lotus Strike 5 1 4 Off-hand attack. Deals +10...30...35 damage. You gain 5...9...10 energy if you are enchanted. Must follow a lead attack.

Golden Fang Strike 10 4 Dual attack. Deals +10...42...50 damage. Inflicts deep wound condition (5...17...20 seconds) if you are enchanted. Must follow an off-hand attack.

Golden Phoenix Strike 5 8 Dagger attack. Deals +10...26...30 damage to target and 10...26...30 damage to adjacent foes. Counts as an off-hand attack if you are enchanted.

Golden Skull Strike 5 15 Elite Dagger attack. Deals +10...26...30 damage. Causes a knock down (2...3...3 seconds) if you are enchanted.

Nine Tail Strike 5 4 Dual attack. Deals +10...34...40 damage. Unblockable. Must follow an off-hand attack.

Pvp version

5 8 Dual attack. Deals +10...34...40 damage. Unblockable. Must follow an off-hand attack.

Lotus Strike 4 1 Dagger attack. Deals +5...17...20 damage. Gain 1...8...10 energy.

Desperate Strike 4 1 Dagger attack. Deals +5...17...20 damage. Deals +10...26...30 more damage if you hit a foe with more health than you.

Vampiric Assault 6 Dagger attack. Double strike. Steals 10...34...40 health.

Blades of Steel 8 1 Dagger attack. Double strike. Deals +15...43...50 damage.

Horns of the Ox 8 Dagger attack. Double strike. Deals +1...9...11 damage and causes a knock down. You lose all adrenaline.

Wild Strike 5 6 Dagger attack. Deals +10...30...35 damage. Unblockable and removes a stance. Non-dagger attack skills are disabled for 2 seconds.

Pvp version

5 Dagger attack. Deals +10...30...35 damage. Unblockable and removes a stance. Non-dagger attack skills are disabled for 2 seconds.

Shattering Assault 8 1 Elite Dagger attack. Double strike. Unblockable. Removes an enchantment. Removal effect: deals 5...41...50 damage.

Temple Strike 5 ½ 10 Elite Dagger attack. Interrupts an action. Interruption effect: inflicts blind condition (1...4...5 second[s]) and daze condition (1...4...5 second[s]) if you interrupted a skill.

Disrupting Stab 5 ½ 10 Dagger attack. Interrupts an action. Interruption effect: if you interrupted skill that is disabled for 3...13...15 seconds.

Exhausting Assault 5 ½ 10 Dagger attack. Interrupts an action. Interruption effect: causes 5...9...10 overcast if you interrupted a spell.

Flashing Blades 5 5 Elite Trick (10 seconds). Your next 1...4...5 dagger attack skills deal 15...43...50 slashing damage to adjacent foes.

Deadly Arts

Crippling Dagger 6 Trick (10 seconds). Your next dagger attack skill inflicts bleeding condition (3...13...15 seconds) and cripple condition (3...13...15 seconds).

Dancing Daggers 5 10 Trick (10 seconds). Your next 3 lead attacks deal +5...29...35 earth damage and count as off-hand attacks.

Dark Apostasy 5 ¼ 5 Elite Hex spell (5 seconds). Causes -1...4...5 health degeneration. Your dagger attacks deal +5...13...15 damage to target foe and adjacent foes if target foe is suffering from a condition. Renewal: if target foe is suffering from a condition when this hex ends.

Disrupting Dagger 5 10 Trick (10 seconds). Your next dagger attack skill interrupts an action. Interruption effect: deals +10...34...40 damage.

Enduring Toxin 5 ¼ 5 Hex spell (5 seconds). Causes -1...4...5 health degeneration. Renewal: if target foe is suffering from a condition when this hex ends.

Entangling Asp 6 Trick (10 seconds). Your next melee attack skill inflicts poison condition (3...13...15 seconds) and weakness condition (3...13...15 seconds).

Expose Defenses 2 10 Trick (10 seconds). Your next 1...4...5 melee attack skill[s] have +25% armor penetration and inflict cracked armor condition (2...6...7 seconds).

Expunge Enchantments 5 ¾ 20 Touch skill. Removes 1...2...2 enchantment[s] from target foe. Removal effect: gain 1 strike of adrenaline for each enchantment removed.

Impale 8 Trick (10 seconds). Your next dagger attack skill inflicts cracked armor condition (3...13...15 seconds) and deep wound condition (3...13...15 seconds).

Iron Palm 5 ¾ 15 Touch skill. Deals 5...41...50 damage. Causes a knock down if target foe is suffering from a condition or a hex. Counts as an off-hand attack.

Mantis Touch 5 ¾ 7 Touch skill. Deals 5...41...50 damage and inflicts cripple condition (3...13...15 seconds) to target foe. Counts as a lead attack.

Mark of Death 5 ¼ 20 Hex spell (5...17...20 seconds). Inflicts deep wound condition (5...17...20 seconds) and deals 15...43...50 damage the next time target foe is hit with a melee attack skill.

Mark of Insecurity 4 ¼ 4 Elite Hex spell (5...17...20 seconds). Target foe cannot block attacks. Interrupts and action and removes an enchantment and a stance the next time target foe is hit with an attack skill.

Mark of Instability 10 ¼ 20 Hex spell (5...17...20 seconds). Target foe is knocked down the next time target foe is hit with a melee attack skill.

Sadist's Signet 1 8 Signet. Gain 10...34...40 health (maximum of 250) and 0...1...1 strike[s] of adrenaline (maximum of 5) for each condition target foe is suffering.

Shameful Fear 10 1½ 20 Hex spell (5...13...15 seconds). Target foe moves 50% slower. Your attacks deal +1...8...10 damage if target foe is moving.

Signet of Deadly Corruption 1 12 Signet (20 seconds). Your melee attacks deal +1...8...10 damage against conditioned foes. Initial effect: deals 10...34...40 damage (maximum 130) for each condition target foe is suffering.

Signet of Shadows ¼ 15 Signet (15 seconds). Inflicts blind condition (2...8...10 second[s]) to adjacent foes. Damage you take is reduced by 5...17...20. Ends after taking damage 5 times.

Way of the Assassin 6 Elite Trick (10 seconds). Your next melee attack deals a critical hit and inflicts bleeding-, cracked armor-, poison- and weakness condition (3...13...15 seconds).

Way of the Empty Palm 5 15 Elite Trick (10 seconds). Your next melee attack causes a knock down and inflicts cripple condition (3...13...15 seconds).

Shadow Arts

Blinding Powder 4 4 Trick (10 seconds). Your next off-hand attack interrupts an attack and inflicts blind condition (3...13...15 seconds) to target foe and adjacent foes.

Death's Charge 5 ¼ 30 Spell. Shadow step to target foe's location. You are healed for 65...173...200.

Death's Retreat 5 ¼ 15 Spell. Shadow step to target ally's location. You are healed for 45...129...150.

Mirrored Stance 10 30 Stance (5...17...20 seconds). Whenever you take damage, 1...8...10 damage is dealt to the source instead of you.

Shadow Form (PvP) 5 1 20 Elite Enchantment spell (60 seconds). You gain 1 energy whenever your attacks hit. You are healed for 5...41...50 whenever you use an attack skill. While attacking you take 1...12...15 less damage.

Shadow Shroud 5 ¼ 15 Elite Enchantment spell (8 seconds). You gain +4...9...10 health regeneration. Initial effect: adjacent foes shadow step directly away from your location. End effect: adjacent foes are knocked down.

Shadow of Haste 5 12 Stance (3...7...8 seconds). You move 33% faster. You are healed for 1...8...10 each second while moving.

Shadowy Burden 5 1 15 Hex spell (10 seconds). Target foe moves 25% slower. End effect: you are healed for 45...129...150.

Shroud of Distress 5 ¼ 15 Enchantment spell (3...7...8 seconds). You have 75% chance to block. Initial effect: removes a condition. End effect: heals for 25...85...100.

Shroud of Silence 10 ¼ 15 Elite Enchantment spell (6 seconds). The next 1...3...4 enemy spells that target you fail. Initial effect: nearby foes are interrupted. End effect: nearby foes are interrupted.

Smoke Powder Defense 5 12 Stance (1...4...5 second[s]). You have 75% chance to block. End effect: inflicts blind condition (0...3...4 second[s]) to adjacent foes.

Viper's Defense 5 15 Stance (1...5...6 second[s]). You have 75% chance to block. Block effect: inflicts poison condition (5...17...20 seconds) to adjacent foes whenever you block an attack skill.

No Attribute

Assault Enchantments 5 10 Elite Trick (10 seconds). Your next dual attack removes all enchantments from target foe.

Aura of Displacement 5 ¼ 5 Elite Enchantment spell. Shadow step to target foe. End effect: return to your original location and this skill is disabled for 15 seconds. Ends when you cast this spell while being enchanted by it.

Lift Enchantment 5 20 Trick (10 seconds). Your next dual attack removes an enchantment from target foe for each hit.

Recall 5 ¼ 20 Spell. Shadow step to target foe.

Scorpion Wire 5 1 20 Spell. Half range projectile. Target foe is interrupted and shadow steps to your location.

Shadow Meld 5 ¼ 10 Elite Spell. Shadow step to target foe or ally.

Shadow Prison 5 ¼ 20 Elite Hex spell. Shadow step to target foe. Target foe moves 90% slower (3 seconds).

Spirit Walk 5 ¼ 8 Spell. Shadow step to target spirit or ally.

Swap 5 ¼ 20 Spell. You and target foe shadow step to eachother's location.

Summary

The problems I want to fix with this suggestion are the first the Assassin's lack of diversity and flexibility with it's attack chains that leads to a very monotonous playstyle in both PvE and PvP since you are always going to the most optimal chain, leaving a lot of attack skills unused. Second, the lacking usefulness of Deadly Arts for both primary and secondary Assassins and third being the fragility of the Assassin in high-end PvE and PvE in general where hit-and-run tactics do not work nearly as well nor are they as desired as in PvP.

To open up the Assassin's option for it's attack skills I changed sever of it's Dagger Attacks from either Lead, Off-hand or Dual Attack into just regular Dagger Attacks that do not require a chain or disrupt a chain. This allows dagger chains to be optimized much easier while opening up other dagger attacks to be as toolbox attacks like disruption or stance removal or simply add additional damage. To make this easier for the Assassin I added adrenaline as a cost to the Assassin's skills since the dagger is able to accumulate adrenaline at a fast pace and has a Furious modification as well. This allows you to dedicate your energy to your primary attack chain while building up adrenaline for your utility skills.

To improve Deadly Art I came up with Tricks. Tricks are skills that have effects that trigger on attacks skills, be it dagger attacks, melee attacks or simply any attack skill and mechanically are a mix between Preparations and Flash Enchantments. Like Flash Enchantments they do not have an activation time or an aftercast and do not stop an action and are designed as utility skills that fit the Assassin's aggressive playstyle but like Preparations only 1 Trick can be active and you cannot stack the effects of multiple Tricks. When I designed the Tricks I want them to be appealing to both primary and secondary Assassins and Assassins who focus their builds on their secondary profession. Making the Assassin skills more friendly as a secondary profession was also a big motivator to add adrenaline as a cost so that a profession with a limited energy pool like the Warrior has an easier time using the Assassin skills. This also works in the other way where the Assassin has an easier time using adrenaline skills from a secondary profession with it's newly added adrenaline management skills increasing the builds an Assassin can play in both Pve and PvP.

To make the Assassin more resilient in PvE I added a simple buff to the inherent effect of Critical Strikes, I added a +1 Armor per rank while attacking. This let's the Assassin to take hits better while maintaining staying in line with it's aggressive playstyle. The Dervish with the same base 70 armor rating received the same buff but with an Armor increase while enchanted to survive high-end PvE easier and the Assassin needs such a buff as well.

Dagger Attacks and Attack Chains

When I changed the Dagger Attack skills I looked at which attack chains are used with which attacks skills to preserve these chains and which new attack chains I could add or optimize and which Dagger Attacks skills can be changed to be removed from those chains. These are the chains I preserved and/or added.

• The Death Blossom chain; Jagged Strike > Fox Fangs > Death Blossom. The most used attack chain in PvE and for a lot of Assassins probably the only one in PvE.

• The Seeping Wound chain; Seeping Wound > Black Mantis Thrust > Jungle Strike > Trampling Ox > Falling Lotus Strike > Twisting Fangs. A staple attack chain used in PvP.

• The Palm Strike chain; Palm Strike > Trampling Ox > Falling Spider > Iron Palm > Falling Lotus Strike > Twisting Fangs. The predecessor of the Seeping Wound chain in PvP. The one change I made in this attack chain is that Iron Palm replaced Horns of the Ox as the second knock down, although Horns of the Ox can still be used in this chain.

• The Mantis Touch chain; Mantis Touch > Jungle Strike > Trampling Ox > Falling Lotus > Twisting Fangs. This is a variation of the Seeping Wound chain that deals less damage but doesn't require an elite skill and thus opens up your elite skill slot. For PvP Leaping Mantis Sting can replace Mantis Touch for a faster chain.

• The Black chain; Black Mantis Thrust > Black Lotus Strike > Black Spider Strike. This is a repeatable pressure based attack chain primarily for PvE designed to utilize the Assassin hexes in PvE while leaving room for utility.

• The Golden chain; Golden Fox Strike > Golden Lotus Strike > Golden Fang Strike. This is a repeatable high damage attack chain primarily for PvE. It recharges slower than the Death Blossom chain but deals more damage.

• The Unblockable chain; Golden Fox Strike > Fox Fangs > Nine Tail Strike. Like the name implies it's a chain of unblockable attacks that can be complimented with Shattering Assault and Wild Strike. It's primary use is for PvE although a variation of it can also be effective for PvP.

• The Moebius Loop chain; Golden Phoenix Strike > Twisting Fangs/Golden Fang Strike > Moebius Strike > Critical Strike > Moebius Strike. A looping attack chain that can be used for both PvE and PvP and can be complimented with Repeating Strike.

Although there are a multitude of attack chain variations that the Assassin can use, these 8 chains are the primary Lead Attack > Off-hand Attack > Dual Attack chains I focused on. However with several Dagger attack skills no longer being a Lead Attack, Off-hand Attack or a Dual Attack anymore, the Assassin can also play effectively without using an attack chain at all with the following Dagger Attacks.

Malicious Strike has been changed into an adrenaline Dagger Attack that functions as an Off-hand attack allowing easy acces to Dual Attacks, Blades of Steel has been changed into an adrenaline Dagger Attack that is always a double strike for a high amount of damage while Desperate Strike as an adrenaline skill deals a significant amount of damage if the target is at high health. Desperate Stab and Exhausting Assault are now 2 Dagger Attacks that interrupt a foe without requiring a chain or disrupting an attack chain making it much more easier to use them and much more consistent to interrupt a foe. Temple Strike has also been changed into a Dagger Attack but it's ability to inflict Blind and Daze is not tied to it's interruption effect. Horns of the Ox is essentially the Assassin's variant of Hammer Bash and knocks down a foe at the cost of all your adrenaline and Golden Skull Strike is a Dagger Attack that causes a knock down instead of daze and allows an easy follow-up with the Falling Off-hand attacks. Lotus Strike has been changed into an adrenaline Dagger Attack that returns energy that gives energy management in energy heavy builds without relying on critical hits to return energy. Vampiric Assault has been changed into a adrenaline attack that double strikes and steals health and Shattering Assault into an adrenaline attack that double strikes and removes enchantments. Wild Strike as a Dagger Attack costs energy in PvE and adrenaline in PvP. Functionality wise almost all of these attack skills barely changed but they have been made a lot easier to play and can be played together or in a chain without disrupting that chain to give the Assassin much more freedom with it's attack skills.

Critical Strikes & No Attribute

Critical Strikes has some skills added to it and some skills moved away from it. The changes I made here have been focused on supporting Assassin builds that use Critical Strikes for their secondary class and to add additional utility skills that are useful for almost any Assassin build.

To start off with the Tricks. Assassin's Remedy still keeps it's original function but with a reduced recharge time and a reduced amount of condition removals to make it a bit more effective to use since you will burn your attacks skills without getting full benefit from this skill in it's current form. Way of the Fox, Way of the Lotus and Way of Perfection have been moved to Critical Strikes, the first 2 because they fit the attribute better and the second one to give the primary attribute a healing skill so the Assassin can distribute it's attribute points into attributes other than Shadow Arts to rely on for efficient healing. Way of the Master has been changed into a trick that gives adrenaline, allowing the Assassin to quickly charge up adrenaline skills. Since it's original function is highly used by Assassins that used their secondary profession for damage I changed Unseen Fury into a skill that increases your critical hit chance while wielding a non-dagger weapon and moved to it Critical Strikes to fill the old roll of Way of the Master.

One type of utility skill the Assassin always has been lacking in is the IAS dispite being an aggressive martial profession, having it's options limited to 1 PvE-only skill and an elite skill. With most of the half-range spells being changed into tricks I changed Deadly Haste into an IAS stance that increases your attack speed while wielding daggers by 25% (even though it name fits a IMS more). This gives the Assassin acces to a non-elite, non-PvE only IAS which is much needed. Since all of the Assassin's "Way" skills have been changed into tricks, I changed Locust's Fury into an elite Deadly Haste that fills the role of the current Way of the Assassin as an elite IAS stance. I also moved over the critical hit chance increase since I doubts a double strike increase alone will promote it's use over Deadly Haste and to retain the high crit hit builds that Assassins like to use with the Death Blossom spam chain in PvE together with Critical Eye, Critical Agility and Critical Defense.

Palm Strike has it's cripple duration increased a bit and has an adrenaline gain added to it. This allows for a quick charge of adrenaline and with it's snaring ability makes it an excellent tool for Assassins that use both daggers and non-daggers in both PvE and PvP. Seeping Wound has it's cost reduced a bit and for PvE it's duration increased to make it more effective in PvE, especially high-end PvE where enemies do not die as fast as in PvP. Sharpen Daggers, an echantment made for the Golden dagger attacks has an armor penetration added to it to give it a little bit more extra since it's rather lacking as a skill right now. Fox's Promise has been moved to Critical Strikes and changed into an enchantment that functions like Critical Defense and Critical Agility, renewing itself each time you land a critical hit. I made this change with the Golden chain in mind and because it currently isn't a very appealing choice to use your elite slot on since the Assassin has better options for it's elite slot. Assassin's Promise has been moved to Critical Strikes to let it be used more easily for Assassins in their attack chains since they more often that not have a higher investment in Critical Strikes than in Deadly Arts. I also added a damage buff to it to promote it's use for spiking and making a spike on the targeted foe more effective and thus this skill also more effective.

As for the skills in No Attribute, Assault Enchantment has been changed into a trick with it's function remaining practically identical, Lift Enchantment has been changed into a non-elite version of Assault Enchantment. Although nothing really changed for the use of Assault Enchantment, the change to Lift Enchantment gives the Assassin acces to an easily accesible non-elite enchantment removal that requires no investment.

Another important mechanic for Assassins I worked on is shadow steps. While the Assassin has sever good shadow step skills tied to Deadly Arts and primarily Shadow Arts, I made some changes to the shadow step skills in No Attribute to make them more easier and more appealing to use and to give Assassin primary and secondary acces to basic shadow step skills. Aura of Displacement has been together with Wastrel's Collapse one of the most used elite shadow stepping skills of the Assassin in No Attribute and has seen nerfs to it due to abuse and mechanic breaking. It hasn't been a popular skill for more casual play due to being a continuous enchantment you have to double click to disable which isn't very efficient in an aggressive playstyle. To make it easier to use I reduced it's recharge time and added the effect that it disables itself when you cast it while enchantment by it and then when it ends disables itself for 15 seconds, which together with the 5 seconds recharge makes it it's current recharge time. Functionality wise it remains pretty much identical but is easier to use.

Recall is originally designed as a version of Aura of Displacement that lets you shadow step to allies but outside certain gimmick builds has never seen practical use, Shadow Meld as it's elite version has seen even less use than Recall has. To let both these skills see use outside of some specific gimmick builds I changed Recall into a normal spell that lets you shadow step to a target foe with no additional benefit or drawback and made Shadow Meld it's elite version that allows you to target both foes and allies. Being cheap shadow step skills that require no investment and have no boon or drawback should make them very interresting shadow step skills for Assassin secondary players.

As for the ability to shadow step to allies I added that effect to Spirit Walk so it's function isn't just limited to shadow stepping to spirits. This addition makes it an excellent retreat skill for almost any profession or for the backline healers to get into range of the frontline more easily. Tactically it should make a very interresting movement skill. Continueing on the interresting movement tactics, I changed Swap into a shadow step skill that lets you swap location with your foes instead of summoned creatures. In PvE and PvP it can have some very interresting applications in a well coördinated team, bringing a foe withing reach for a spike and moving away an enemy healer from the range of their allies.

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