In the process of trying something..

[Bonescorpion]

I am currently working on an Assassin I call the Thunder Scorpion. She is designed to be an untwinked, solo d/c assassin.

Following Skills
20 CoT
20 PS
20 Venom
20 Sw (yes warrior, just my personal preference)
5 in traps to get to DS
6 pre reqs in ma tree (no tail, no flight to save points)
7 pre reqs in disciple tree including mb and cos (but no master to save 1 pt)
98 Skill pts, any more into CM for ar purpose, If I have ar problems I may just sacrifice a few points from warrior into cm.

My thoughts are that it is very easy to prebuff venom at a high lvl. I nromally have a +3 shadow amulet, +3 helm in my stash. So along with 2x +3 shadow claws I can get a nice 795-815 damage venome (not including shadow charms) that will last about 4 minutes. This coupled with a +2 assassin amulet, +2 helm, + 3 martial gloves, i will get a decent CoT slvl of 27 (assuming I dont find any decent claws with + skills).

I feel I will have 3 avenues of damage covered Physical ( I will conentrate on finding higher damage claws, over skilled claws) poison, and lightning. I will also have the backup of a low damage meteor from ps. It wont be quick but I think a lvl 27 meteor, with no synergy can still get the job done in a pinch.


This is not a guide and a bit vague, but I am curious at what people think.

[GenXCub]

If you can possibly get your +shadow claws on switch to have Death Sentry, that will save you 5 points to either bump your CM or DC.

[skygoneblue]

I guess I just don't see the point of synergizing a big group attack like CoT and PS and then using a complimentary skill that is only useful for single targets. BoI or FoF would work much better to deal with lightning immunes.

Not saying your build wouldn't work, I just think that using another PS synergy would be better.

SW is also basically worthless for that build. If the only trap you're using is DS, then SW is rendered pointless as you only need about 1-2 DS out at a time to waste a crowd. On top of that, her charge skills will be half of yours, and that's IF she gets them charged and used properly (which I doubt will happen).

And one last thing, its the DISCIPLINE tree, not DISCIPLE. Just a heads up. ;)

[Bonescorpion]

Lol, discipline, disciple big difference, whoops. Thats actually the point to be able to concentrate on a single target while also killing groups. As far as synergizing a sw, I have used warrior for some time, and am rather good at it. But thats just my personal preference, I also love warriors controllability and I can force her to get a decent lvl venom and fade to add to her tankability. Casting the occasional Cot doesnt hurt as well. I know it works I have played sw/cot assassins for some time now. I had a fully synergized meteor ps, and truthfully barely ever used it, i just stuck with Cot and when I had a lightning immune just dc it or let my merc handle it, many times i charged up CoT on it just to get charge up and release to clear out other enemies in the area. I am just trying to do something different, it is not designed to match uber killing machines :)


P.s. Sw also gets 1/3 of her level + 1/2 urs, so It is close to ur lvl, and in ds case it will be better then mine. I plan on casting her with slvl32 so 32/3 = 10 (rounded down). So at minimum she will have a nice ds.

[BIGeyedBUG]

I am currently working on an Assassin I call the Thunder Scorpion. She is designed to be an untwinked, solo d/c assassin.

Following Skills
20 CoT
20 PS
20 Venom
20 Sw (yes warrior, just my personal preference)
5 in traps to get to DS
6 pre reqs in ma tree (no tail, no flight to save points)
7 pre reqs in disciple tree including mb and cos (but no master to save 1 pt)

I think it will work. Have you used high-level Venom in Hell though? It gets the job done, but it isn't inspiring. Too much poison resistance and immunity. Also, you can probably get by with a lower level Warrior. My highest one is between 20-25 after +skills, and seems to hold up pretty well.

If I have ar problems I may just sacrifice a few points from warrior into cm.

Expect to have AR problems untwinked. You probably know the spiel: eth runes, CoS, Fools prefix, blah blah blah. I have one untwinked SW martial artist using a HF merc, the others are using BA and having a slightly easier time.

This coupled with a +2 assassin amulet, +2 helm, + 3 martial gloves, i will get a decent CoT slvl of 27 (assuming I dont find any decent claws with + skills).

You've got to get at least 4 +skills (and hopefully more)from those claws. Slvl 27 CoT is not going to cut it. Gamble gamble gamble.

I will also have the backup of a low damage meteor from ps. It wont be quick but I think a lvl 27 meteor, with no synergy can still get the job done in a pinch.

An slvl ~30 unsynergized Meteor on my 1.09 Phoenixer seemed to do *ok* through Hell Act 3-4 when I tested her in 1.1. But I'm a very patient player. And she couldn't get even 100 feet outside the gates of Harrogath. All she could do was run around sucking down potions and recasting her SM.

You didn't specify BoS or Fade. I nearly always use BoS through NM and then switch to Fade. I play hc though. If you can manage to get the resists, or without the resists, BoS makes things much easier untwinked IMO.

]SW is also basically worthless for that build. If the only trap you're using is DS, then SW is rendered pointless as you only need about 1-2 DS out at a time to waste a crowd. On top of that, her charge skills will be half of yours, and that's IF she gets them charged and used properly (which I doubt will happen).

Better try it before you knock it, sky. SWs have a lot of things to offer in this and other builds. :)

[Bonescorpion]

I think it will work. Have you used high-level Venom in Hell though? It gets the job done, but it isn't inspiring. Too much poison resistance and immunity. Also, you can probably get by with a lower level Warrior. My highest one is between 20-25 after +skills, and seems to hold up pretty well.


Hmm I may have to try that, I have never really used venom in hell besides the little bit I get from prebuffing it with shadow stuff. On most my assassins its just there. Yea the last thing I will max will be the shadow, so if I find a lvl where she has good survivability I will probably rotate some pts into cm and dc.



Expect to have AR problems untwinked. You probably know the spiel: eth runes, CoS, Fools prefix, blah blah blah. I have one untwinked SW martial artist using a HF merc, the others are using BA and having a slightly easier time.



Yea I know the spiel, Been playing Assassins a long time :) I am already at lvl 51 and using a hf merc. I had BA merc until I got my hf merc. They are very undervalued merc, for a low ar character BA is awesome. One of the nice things about sw, is if she casts CoS not only is it gonna be a higher lvl then mine, because its one pt wonder for me, but I can override it with mine if hers lasts too long.


You've got to get at least 4 +skills (and hopefully more)from those claws. Slvl 27 CoT is not going to cut it. Gamble gamble gamble.


Yea untwinked is another way to say sell everything u find so u can gamble because u have jack squat :). Hopefully with some luck I can find some decent claws, even +2 cot with some decent damage. The main problem I have found with this type of character in hell, is that w/o a decent damage, I cannot leach enough to survive long. So I tend to concentrate on high damage claws first then skills later. I also plan on using my gems to reroll stuff, maybe get lucky. This is what I enjoy most building up from scratch, takes a lot of work.



An slvl ~30 unsynergized Meteor on my 1.09 Phoenixer seemed to do *ok* through Hell Act 3-4 when I tested her in 1.1. But I'm a very patient player. And she couldn't get even 100 feet outside the gates of Harrogath. All she could do was run around sucking down potions and recasting her SM.


Yes patience is something I have, I never been one to use "traditional" builds and tend to enjoy playing the game, strategizing through areas and stuff like that.

You didn't specify BoS or Fade. I nearly always use BoS through NM and then switch to Fade. I play hc though. If you can manage to get the resists, or without the resists, BoS makes things much easier untwinked IMO.


I always go BoS, I will look for high resist stuff, I have to get at least +50 resists in hell, and will probably end up sacrificing ma/shadow charms to get higher resists, then work backwarsd when I start finding better equipment. I can always pray for a duriels or HEL and FAL rune for lionheart.



Better try it before you knock it, sky. SWs have a lot of things to offer in this and other builds.

[Bonescorpion]

Hey big eyed I forgot to tell u thx, u always give great responses to my far off the beaten path threads :)

Finally had two strokes of luck, shopped a +2 cot greater talon and a sweet pair of gloves

+2 martial
2o%ias
3% ll
15 fire resist
5% to ar

those are the type of gloves that can stick with u for an entire career, obviously be better if +3 but oh well, I may scrap crafting blood gloves for those, just because thats basically what I would look for in a blood craft except maybe more ll and ml.

[BIGeyedBUG]

Sweet gloves. Yeah, the odds of crafting something better than that are pretty slim. (You can't get +3 on rares or crafts anyway.)

As far as responding to your threads goes, you just happen to bring up things I like and have some experience with. Believe me, I benefit as well from your perspective.

Gogo untwinked martial artists! :) (Just lost a level 65 BoI/CoTer tonight though. Stupid hc... :lol: )

[OscarWong]

Actually, why do you need to put 1 point in MB?
Stun just lasts for serveral seconds and the chance is quite low(though you have +skills) but spends 15 mana once!?
Maybe it is not a good skill for Martial Artist...

[Bonescorpion]

Mb stun is important for just that reason. It allows a few converts in a huge pack, it also stuns for a while to give u some more time. MB is very important, especially for a MA

[Bonescorpion]

Sweet gloves. Yeah, the odds of crafting something better than that are pretty slim. (You can't get +3 on rares or crafts anyway.)

As far as responding to your threads goes, you just happen to bring up things I like and have some experience with. Believe me, I benefit as well from your perspective.

Gogo untwinked martial artists! :) (Just lost a level 65 BoI/CoTer tonight though. Stupid hc... :lol: )


And thats why I dont play HC, I dont die often, but I do die, I dont think I would be happy remaking characters every few days, I do not get to game that much. Doing trav runs and that stupid fire explosion almost always gets me when I kill a fire enchanted one. I actually drop a meteor on him and mb him into the fire :). Lvl 55 and counting.

[BIGeyedBUG]

Doing trav runs and that stupid fire explosion almost always gets me when I kill a fire enchanted one. I actually drop a meteor on him and mb him into the fire :). Lvl 55 and counting.

That's actually what did it too. I was coasting in Act 5 NM but a friend needed help with the council in Act 3. Just got careless. But that's why I like playing melee hc--most of the time my attention is forced to be 100%.

Her successor has already started. She won't really be untwinked because she gets her predecessors equipment--such as it was. lol

[Bonescorpion]

Big eye, u on west or east, maybe when I am done with this project we can run together.

Woo Hoo 100 posts, I only been here for over a year and only a 100 posts :)

[Bonescorpion]

Well, for anybody who cares I am currently at lvl 69, what number are u thinking of? 69!! (Bill and Teds excellent adventure, if u have to ask u really dont want to know) I am having serious difficulty in Hell Act1, its more of a issue with resists as all are - save my fire which is barely + then damage dealing. Looks like its back to Mfing Baal and meph.

Oh yea I can solo Baal w/o much trouble, isnt godly speed but is decent for having crappy equipment. My wonderful equipment so far, I have had a few nice finds.

DuskDeep Helm - +15 resists are why I keep this bad boy

+1 assassin amulet with +13 replenish life (woo hoo big woopdee doo)

Magical armor with +90 life and +30 lr (glad I dont rely on defence)

Cruel scissors of evisceration "eth" (I actually shopped this, too bad its a normal item)

+3 martial art claw on off hand, it has a wonderful 10-14 damage, glad It has skills

Ml and LL rings with some fire resist and ar (glad I got gidbim gogo ormus)

Goblin Toe - cb is always nice

Nice +2 ma, ias, fr, ll gloves found off of my newest budy icefist in the council

as far as charms, i do not have anything to speak of besides a 42 mana, 12 fhr gc, too bad I dont need mana :(.

Guess I need to start praying for a duriels shell, or lum rune so I can make a resist armor, sigh untwinked is annoying :)

[BIGeyedBUG]

Jeeze man, you haven't been able to gamble better claws than *that*?! :P I'm afraid to say Scorp, that it looks like "if it wasn't for bad luck, you wouldn't have no luck at all." I know a bit about the Untwinker's Blues, but man... :P :P

Seriously though, congrats. Where are your skill points and stats at? Any especially tough spots?

And I'm on hclwest if you ever wanna give me a holler. :thumbsup:

[Bonescorpion]

Yea I know, I still cannot believe those are my best claw. Same with my amulet :(. I have gambled almost exclusively claws and amulets with the occasional circlet for a few days now, and nothing decent. Currently My skills are this

Cot - 26
Ps - 26
Venom - casts at 28
sw - casts at 9 (havent started pumping her yet)
rest are base + 5 ma skills from equipment, and +1 all skills from amulet.

Its no big deal, being able to solo baal will eventually net me some stuff. I actally have a halfway decent merc, found a sprire of honor some time ago, so he can kill decently.

Doh I am on useast.

[Bonescorpion]

I didnt see u wanted to see my stats, currently i have like 110 strength and dex and like 210 vitality, so I have about 1k hp's. I recently switched to dual cruel greater talons for damage (one has mana leach and +1 bf, other is plain) but since I did that I have been able to kill much more effectively so I am pretty conclusive that damage>skills on claws if u have to choose. I am currently at lvl 74, I started pumping my sw and she has gotten to be quite a nice tank when i can get her to cast fade (which sometimes she is stubborn about). I solo in nm meph, diable and baal w/o any problems. I am also able to do pit runs in Hell. I do have crappy mf, but oh well, only thing i have issues with are things that do cold damage. Not have "cannot be frozen" is horrible.

I was weaing an armor that had +90 life +30 lr, but I found a 3 socket +40 to life armor, I accidently socketed a ruby, and put a thul in (+30 cold resist i need it). The last socket I am debating another thul or a ort for lightning resists. W/o the ort I have -30 lr in hell, but I am wearing Black horns so i get some absorb so it isnt as bad as it looks. With the thul I alreadu put in I have +30 cr in hell (fire resists are fine) any advice whether to get more cold or lighting resists (does cr lower freeze duration?)

Later...

[BIGeyedBUG]

With the thul I alreadu put in I have +30 cr in hell (fire resists are fine) any advice whether to get more cold or lighting resists (does cr lower freeze duration?)

I know CR reduces freeze duration for monsters--I think it might not work that way for players though. I assume you have one half-freeze duration item, otherwise I don't know what to tell you. I've had good luck MFing Ravenfrosts in NM (2 untwinkers have them), but you know the odds of that. Maybe keep a Rhyme shield for situations where you're getting chilled a lot? You'd have to use Phoenix instead of CoT... Ehh, I don't know.

I'd definitely work on LR more than CR. 30 isn't so bad for CR--not until act 3 when you start getting Blizzards thrown at you.

I still prefer +skills to weapon damage (although I work really hard to get both :) ) but that's probably just a difference in style. From my POV it just helps so much: AR, area damage, Passives, DS, MB... Whatever works though.

[Bonescorpion]

U jinxed me man, finally found a third IO so i can make a lum, and then a smoke for some resists. I find a nice 450 dusk shroud, and socket it, DAMNIT 4 sockets, I want two arghhhhhhh, man this is my unlucky character.

But I have had a few nice drops, a +3 ma, +3 CoT, +2 Cos, (plain) scissors quhab, and trangs gloves. If my memory serves u can pre buff venom with trangs glove and the poison stays. But anyways, my pit runs are getting easier, and the stuff is starting to fall now, too bad I didnt get to play but 30 minutes today, internet was down all day, damn u charter communications.

Oh yea still crap gambling. I think its revenge because I deal cards for a living. Sigh, when u gamble u just cant win, house edge baby.

I may right a guide for this, it seems viable, but I may turn it into more of a untwinked pit runner.