To Jade or not

[TheDarkSide]

So Im making a new phoenix striker sin to run with a friends new WW druid and wondering about a few things . Im currently using dual Bartucs and coming along nicely in NM . When I head to Hell mode Im going to need some more resists and wondering if the Jade Talon would be good to swap out one of my Bartucs with . Its 48 all resist but only +1 , +1 skills . I also noticed its speed is only - 10 compared to - 30 on Bartucs so Id probably need to shael / jewl it .

So heres my plan on skills after reading skygoneblue's ps guide
20 fists of fire
20 claws of thunder
20 phoenix strike
17 shadow master after skills cause she rocks
1 dragon claw ( finisher )
1 claw block - going for about 50 % block so might need a few points
1 bos - whats optimum here - cant figure out the calculator
1 mind blast - crowd control
1 claw mastery
1 cloak of shadows
1 all pre reqs for these skills

Curious as to whether Id be better putting remaining points in claw mastery or dragon claw . If ya made it this far thanks for reading . Feel free to give advice as this is only the second assassin Iv'e ever made ..

[ilkori]

I'd work towards one point in Death Sentry and Blade Fury; then pop your remaining points into Claw Mastery since it will help your charge-ups in addition to adding that nice double damage from Crit Strike.

You'll need to check the speed sticky for your speeds (I or someone else can help you out if you get stuck). Remember that IAS will only help from one of your claws (usually glove-side), so only one claw is worth socketing.

Congrats on making one of the most fun builds for assassins, hope you enjoy it in Hell. Don't forget that Nat's set is there if you want it.

[TheDarkSide]

I'd work towards one point in Death Sentry and Blade Fury; then pop your remaining points into Claw Mastery since it will help your charge-ups in addition to adding that nice double damage from Crit Strike..


Does Blade Fury stay active after using BOS ? I was actually thinking of 1 point in Ds cause its great crowd control skill . Wasnt sure if Id have enough points left for it though .


You'll need to check the speed sticky for your speeds (I or someone else can help you out if you get stuck). Remember that IAS will only help from one of your claws (usually glove-side), so only one claw is worth socketing.

Didnt know the IAS comes from one claw - thanks . So I should shael / jewl the Bartucs then as it is faster ?? Confused me on the glove side comment ..


Congrats on making one of the most fun builds for assassins, hope you enjoy it in Hell. Don't forget that Nat's set is there if you want it.

I made a Nat Set Sin last patch but never got to level 79 with her and eventually she expired - so heres part 2 .. Thanks for the advise ..

[Yokomohoyo]

Does Blade Fury stay active after using BOS ? I was actually thinking of 1 point in Ds cause its great crowd control skill . Wasnt sure if Id have enough points left for it though .

blade fury is a ninja star that is tossed so its not like a fade like ability... and yes you can toss the stars wile bos is on.

[TheDarkSide]

blade fury is a ninja star that is tossed so its not like a fade like ability... and yes you can toss the stars wile bos is on.

Ooops was thinking of Blade Shield .. Hmm the damage doesnt seem to be much at all at 3/4 in hell ? Whats the benefit of this skill ??

[ilkori]

Blade Fury doesn't dish lots of damage on its own. What it does do is transfer procs (i.e. Crushing Blow and Open Wounds) and give you a solid way of dealing with the Chaos Sanctuary. I usually do a crowd strafe with it. Hold down the button without aiming at one monster, and then sweep across the whole crowd while holding it down.


The glove-side comment has to do with the game choosing your "primary" weapon. Your primary is the only one that has IAS counted for the C/C attacks and Phoenix Strike. It defaults to the weapon slot above the gloves, which is why I recommend putting a shael there. Which weapon (tucs/jade) doesn't matter a whole lot, though I would shael Nat's claw and have Bartucs as secondary for end-game.

If you're still having trouble, I or someone else can help you out with the speeds. BoS is usually best left at one point, though - your +skills usually provide more than enough of a boost. Hopefully a friend of mine will have a good calculator up soon so we don't have to use the tables. :)

[Omikron8]

just remember blade fury does require AR to hit

even with claw type weapons you will probably have AR problems with blade fury

[TheDarkSide]

Blade Fury doesn't dish lots of damage on its own. What it does do is transfer procs (i.e. Crushing Blow and Open Wounds) and give you a solid way of dealing with the Chaos Sanctuary. I usually do a crowd strafe with it. Hold down the button without aiming at one monster, and then sweep across the whole crowd while holding it down.

Ahh I see - still uncertain if Ill have enough points left for these 2 skills though .


The glove-side comment has to do with the game choosing your "primary" weapon. Your primary is the only one that has IAS counted for the C/C attacks and Phoenix Strike. It defaults to the weapon slot above the gloves, which is why I recommend putting a shael there. Which weapon (tucs/jade) doesn't matter a whole lot, though I would shael Nat's claw and have Bartucs as secondary for end-game.

got ya - didnt make sense at 4am int he morning !!

If you're still having trouble, I or someone else can help you out with the speeds. BoS is usually best left at one point, though - your +skills usually provide more than enough of a boost. Hopefully a friend of mine will have a good calculator up soon so we don't have to use the tables. :)

Im looking at using the following items - Rockstopper , Bartucs , Jade talon , Ravenfrost , Manald , Telling of beads - till I find something bettter , Nosferatus or String o ears , sigons boots - Lol till I get better , Skins of the viper Magi .

So that would give me roughly +4 to skills

[Yokomohoyo]

Ooops was thinking of Blade Shield .. Hmm the damage doesnt seem to be much at all at 3/4 in hell ? Whats the benefit of this skill ??
Just use a weapon that has major damage with some nice mods... Right now my monk sin has a 2 hander (its blue and I forget the name) that has a 12% chance to cast lvl 4charge bolt and a 10% crushing blow ontop of that it has a nice 225-250 damage and its got 4% mana leach (I think those are the correct percentages... Ill check the damage when I log on later today and take a screenshot of it) ontop of that I smack in my lvl 26 venom (20 original and +4 from items and +2 from 2 gc's) just to run amuck and prevent healing wile my sm and merc run into the swarm... Wile fighting a boss I switch over to a white 2hander that had 3 spaces that I tossed in the poor mans remedy for life leach 3 p skulls for hp regen and mana regen (that way I can keep kicking without chugging my regen pots) but anyways thats besides the point...

Just like ikori said bf is not a hurt skill its a sort of delivery system where you can have a good weapon its a great way to hit the person or mob and risk getting hit. Also if you stack up on crushing blow it is a nice way to deliver it, so if you have a charger comming at you can toss a few stars his way and hopfuly get some damage in before he reaches you (I really dont pvp I mostly just practice cowardly run and hide hehehehe and with a BOS of 10 I dare a non sin to catch me before I run and open a tp)

[bergbusen]

i also have a phonix striker lvl 80, think its one of the most fun builds ive made, mine has +10 skill. Shadow master is i belive lv 15 or soo. My main problem that i have is getting hit often, and i got low life, around 700 (compare to my pala which has 3300>). I say max block is important and 50 dr, also have a strong master and use mind blast and cloak of shadows.

[Yokomohoyo]

i also have a phonix striker lvl 80, think its one of the most fun builds ive made, mine has +10 skill. Shadow master is i belive lv 15 or soo. My main problem that i have is getting hit often, and i got low life, around 700 (compare to my pala which has 3300>). I say max block is important and 50 dr, also have a strong master and use mind blast and cloak of shadows.
if you want some additional damage reduction pick up some lvls in fade it gives you (correct me if Im wrong guys) 1dr per skill lvl when active... so say in your case you place 1 point in fade since you have +10 skillsyou would have a fade of 11 and that would give 11 more damage reduction... I think that could help you a bit more on you situation.

[ilkori]

You get hit with CoS and Mind Blast? For Shame!

..





Ok, it's not quite that bad, but don't be afraid to do some major crowd control before putting on the damage.