Jerrett
05-12-2007, 01:57
Introduction:
What is a Harmassin, you ask? Well, a Harmassin is an Assassin that uses Harmony, a ladder only runeword (available on the realms or in single player through the RWM) as her main weapon. Aside from this, she functions similarly to a regular Trapper. This particular character does not need amazing gear to function well, but I make recommendations covering a great range of gear selection in addition to skill point distribution that cover a variety of playing styles.
Pros of the Harmassin:
- She uses Harmony as a weapon. This provides you with an amazing amount of bonuses included a Vigor aura, an extra summon in the form of the Valkyrie skill, extra mana, and the ability to raise Revives.
- You can run this build with nearly base stats, allowing you to have a gigantic life pool.
- You will have 3 minions (Mercenary, Shadow Master, Valkyrie), two of which are summonable, and are, arguably, the best summons in the game.
- Your minions engage enemies much more quickly, thanks to the Vigor aura.
- You will also use traps and kill from a distance. Resistances will not be a significant problem.
- She has access to multiple damage formats if you desire (in the form of Fire Blast and lightning traps).
- She moves incredibly quickly, thanks to the Vigor aura. In fact, you'll more or less be benefiting from both Burst of Speed and Fade with this build.
- She does not require expensive gear or runewords to be successful.
Cons of the Harmassin:
- She does not kill as quickly as a pure lightning Trapper. This is due to the fact that you're missing out on up to +6 to all Trap Skills in addition to staffmods on the two claws you will not be using.
- No form of blocking whatsoever.
- Low defense.
I hope that you will try this fun variant on a standard Trapper.
Table of Contents:
1. Skills that will be Used.
2. Equipment that will be Used.
3. Stat Point Allocation.
4. Your Mercenary and how to Equip Him/Her.
5. Gameplay Style
1. Skills that will be Used.
Martial Arts Tree: 0 points.
You will not be needing any of the skills from the Martial Arts Tree.
Shadow Disciplines Tree: 8+ Points**
Claw Mastery: 1 point
Weapon Block: 1 point
Shadow Warrior: 1 point
Shadow Master: See below
Burst of Speed: 1 point
Fade: 1 point
Venom: 0 points
Psychic Hammer: 1 point
Cloak of Shadows: 1 point
Mind Blast: 1 point
**Aside from Psychic Hammer, Cloak of Shadows, and Mind Blast, many of the above skills are possibly optional, depending on your gear. See Weapon Switch Slot(s)below for details.
Discussion of Shadow Disciplines Skills:
Psychic Hammer - This skill is used to push back unstunabble enemies, or to push back enemies and conserve mana while your minions and traps deal damage.
Cloak of Shadows - This skill's primary use is to halt the A.I. of enemies from attacking you or approaching you. It is also useful for lowering the defense of enemies so that your minions can hit more frequently.
Mind Blast - This skill functions to knock back and stun groups of enemies. Keep in mind that it does convert them occasionally, so if you do not want to convert a convertible monster, use Psychic Hammer instead.
Burst of Speed - This skill is useful for the Harmassin's early career as well as for an additional boost to running speed for moving through areas. With your Vigor aura active, you will move very fast when this is activated.
Fade - This an absolutely fantastic skill. It makes us stay alive longer. With its bonuses to resistances, physical resistances, and curse duration reduction, it is an amazing skill to have.
Shadow Master - Place enough points in this skill so that your minion is summoned at at least level 17. This provides her with the best gear available to help her survive. The addition of the rare amulet at level 17 to her gear also helps her in her chances for becoming immune to certain elements. She will be your elemental damage shield. Getting to level 17 can depend greatly on your gear selection.
Shadow Master Gear by Level:
Lvl 17 Rare Amulet
Lvl 13 Rare Ring left
Lvl 11 Rare Suwayyah, War Fist or Scissors Suwayyah in right hand
Lvl 11 Rare Battle Cestus, Runic Talons or Scissor Suwayyah in left hand
Lvl 11 Rare Vambraces or Ogre Gauntlets
Lvl 11 Rare Ring right
Lvl 11 Rare Armor; same type as Assasin
Lvl 11 Rare Helm; same type as Assasin
Lvl 9 Magic Ring right
Lvl 6 Magic Suwayyah, War Fist or Scissors Suwayyah in right hand
Lvl 6 Magic Battle Cestus, Runic Talons or Scissors Suwayyah in left hand
Lvl 6 Magic Bramble Mitts or Vambraces
Lvl 6 Magic Armor; same type as Assasin
Lvl 6 Magic Helm; same type as Assasin
Lvl 5 Superior Bramble Mitts, Vambraces or Ogre Gauntlets
Lvl 1 Superior Suwayyah, War Fist or Scissors Suwayyah in right hand
Lvl 1 Superior Battle Cestus, Runic Talons or Scissors Suwayyah in left hand
Lvl 1 Superior Armor; same type as Assasin
Lvl 1 Superior Helm; same type as Assasin
Traps Tree: All Remaining Points
Fire Blast: See Below
Shock Web: See Below
Charged Bolt Sentry: 20 Points
Lightning Sentry: 20 Points
Death Sentry: 20 Points
Wake of Fire: 0 or 1 Point
Blade Fury: 0 or 1 Point
Discussion of Traps Skills:
Lightning Sentry will be your primary lightning damage dealing skill. You will want to synergize this with at least Death Sentry and Charged Bolt Sentry. You will then have the option of further synergizing it by adding points to Shock Web or gaining a secondary damage type through Fire Blast. The choice is up to you, but I feel that the investment in Fire Blast is well worth it due to the fact that its damage is good, it can be used while your laid traps are firing, it makes your Death Sentry last longer (fire more bolts) and it does damage of a different type.
Charged Bolt Sentry will not see much use unless you decide to invest heavily in Shock Web and Fire Blast, requiring you to either be at a very high character level, or using the alternative Shadow Disciplines skill placement covered in Weapon Switch Slot(s). Otherwise, it is there primarily to synergize Lightning Sentry. It can be a great boss killer or large monster killer, however, if fully synergized.
Death Sentry makes this build really shine. With the ability to use Revives and a form of Corpse Explosion, this Assassin is a little Necro at heart. The radius on Death Sentry is fantastic, typically 0.6 yards better than a Corpse Explosion of the same level. It does less damage (40-80% of corpse life instead of 60-100%), but it also synergizes many of your other Traps.
Blade Fury and its pre-requisite, Wake of Fire. Some people might want to invest in this option as a way to trigger %ctc items (like Peace Runeword or Dracul's Grasp).
2. Equipment that will be Used
The basis of this build is the use of a Harmony runeword missile weapon.
Harmony
4 Socket Missile Weapons
Tir + Ith + Sol + Ko
Level 10 Vigor Aura When Equipped
+200-275% Enhanced Damage (varies)
+9 To Minimum Damage
+9 To Maximum Damage
Adds 55-160 Lightning Damage
Adds 55-160 Fire Damage
Adds 55-160 Cold Damage
+2-6 To Valkyrie (varies)
+10 To Dexterity
Regenerate Mana 20%
+2 To Mana After Each Kill
+2 To Light Radius
Level 20 Revive (25 Charges)
Based on the requirements for different missile weapons that are relatively quick and have the ability to have the number of sockets needed for the creation of Harmony, I recommend three different missile weapons, shown below.
Trap Laying Speeds for Different Missile Weapons
-10 Base Weapon (Hunter's Box - Req. Dexterity: 28)
IAS Frames per Trap
0 % 14
6 % 13
16 % 12
30 % 11
52 % 10
89 % 9
-40 Base Weapon (Repeating Crossbow - Req. Strength: 40, Req. Dexterity: 50)
IAS Frames per Trap
0 % 11
7 % 10
26 % 9
-60 Base Weapon (Chu-Ko-Nu - Req. Strength: 80, Req. Dexterity: 95)
IAS Frames per Trap
0 % 10
2 % 9
As you can see, the requirements for a Hunter's Bow are incredibly low. You can easily get by without having to place hard points into stats to use this bow (provided you can procure a +8 bonus to Dexterity somewhere, and even then the bonus granting item could then be removed as the bow is self-sustaining--beware of corpse pickup issues) and have a larger life pool. The faster weapons, the crossbows, are quicker for placing traps, but the requirements are higher. If you are planning on using staffmods to account for your skills in Fade and Shadow Master, you will need a decently high Strength and Dexterity due to the fact that staff mods cannot appear on claws lower than Hand Scythe (which requires 73 Strength and 73 Dexterity to equip). Also, depending on your choice of gear, you may have to place more points into Strength. An Assassin comes with a base Strength of 20 and a base Dexterity of 20.
Now for the rest of the equipment. Your weapon slot(s) will be occupied by Harmony, so now you just have to choose the rest of your gear.
Things we will be looking for:
-Bonuses to all skills, not just Assassin skills or Traps. This is because we want to be able to cast our Valkyrie at as high a level as possible. This will give her more life and better equipment, helping her to survive as a shield for you. Bonuses to skills will also help our trap damage.
Valkyrie Gear
Lvl Item Upgraded / Added
1 Rare Full Plate Mail, Rare Spear
2 Magic Heavy Gloves
4 Magic Heavy Boots
5 Magic Heavy Belt
7 Rare Chaos Armor
8 Rare Lance
10 Magic War Gauntlets
11 Magic War Boots
12 Magic War Belt
13 Magic Amulet
14 Magic Circlet
16 Rare Sacred Armor
17 Rare War Pike
19 Rare Crusader Gauntlets
21 Rare Mirrored Boots
23 Rare Colussus Girdle
25 Rare Amulet
27 Rare Tiara
- Faster hit recovery. Being able to recover quickly from hits is important since we will not have any form of blocking and our defense will be low. We will have a large life pool, so the hit recovery animation will not occur that often, but when it does, we will want to get out of it as quickly as possible.
Assassin Hit Recovery Speeds
%FHR Frames for recovery
9 0
8 7
7 15
6 27
5 48
4 86
3 200
- Resistances to everything, including physical damage. Getting hit can kill you, we want to minimize the power of those hits.
- Other useful modifiers like Cannot Be Frozen and Faster Cast Rate which helps when using Shadow Disciplines skills (Mind Blast, etc.).
Note: For each item slot below, I give one recommendation for one peice of gear. This recommendation is based on utility provided but also on the overall necessary Strength requirements. The difference between 50 points invested in Strength instead of Vitality is 150 Life for the Harmassin. Also note that the gear that is what helps the Harmassin excel, not just succeed. This build is very viable without the best of the best as you have all the makings of a Summoning Necromancer (minions, enemy, AI control, and Corpse Explosion).
Helmet Slot:
Candidates:
- Tarnhelm (Str. Req. = 15) : Grants +1 to skills as well as magic find %.
- Peasant Crown (Str. Req. = 20) : Grants +1 to all skills in addition to a nice bonus to Vitality and Energy. Also has Faster Run/Walk (15%) and Replenish Life.
- Harlequin Crest (Str. Req. = 50) : Grants +2 to all skills as well as a large bonus to life and mana, 10% physical damage reduction, a small bonus to all attributes, and magic find %. This item is my recommendation.
- Nightwing's Veil (Str. Req. = 96) : Grants +2 to all skills, a bonus to Dexterity and some cold absorb.
- Andariel's Visage (Str. Req. = 102) : Grants +2 to all skills, a large bonus to poison resistance (in exchange for a penatly to fire resistance), and a large bonus to Strength. This has a high Strength requirement, but can allow you to wear even heavier items. It also has IAS% to help with Trap placing speed.
-Delirium Runeword : Grants +2 to all skills, a bonus to vitality, some magic find %, and most importantly, crowd control if you get struck. At the price of an Ist rune, I do not recommend this item. You have Cloak of Shadows and Mind Blast to take care of crowds already.
- Lore Runeword : Grants +1 to all skills, damage reduction, mana per kill, lightning resistance, and some energy.
- Sazabi's Mental Sheath (Req. Str. = 82) : Grants +1 to all skills and 15-20% resist fire and lightning.
Armor Slot:
Candidates:
- Silks of the Victor (Str. Req. = 100) : Grants +1 to all skills.
- The Spirit Shroud (Str. Req. = 38) : Grants +1 to all skills, cannot be frozen, replenish life, and magic damage reduction. This is an excellent source of cannot be frozen (or if you want to wear a second + skill granting ring).
- Skin of the Vipermagi (Str. Req. = 43) : With faster cast rate, +1 to all skills, magic damage reduction, and good resistances to all elements, this is a good armor.
- Skullder's Ire - (Str. Req. = 97) : Grants +1 to all skills, magic damage reduction, and lots of magic find %. Very good for magic finding.
- Que-Hegan's Wisdom - (Str. Req. = 55) : Grants +1 to all skills, faster hit recovery, faster cast rate, a bonus to energy, mana per kill, and magic damage reduction.
- Guardian Angel - (Str. Req. = 118) : It's Strength requirement is high, but if you like having great resistances, this is a good armor. It's other mods, aside from the +1 to all skills, are wasted on the Harmassin.
- Arkaine's Valor - (Str. Req. = 165) : With a very high Strength requirement, this may not be an option, but it can grant +2 to all skills and it comes with faster hit recovery, damage reduction, and a nice bonus to vitality.
- Chains of Honor and Engima Runewords- Great options, but the runes are very hard to find legitimately. One can dream, though.
- Peace Runeword : This is more of a pre-buff armor than anything else. You can wear it while using Harmony and it will create a level 15 Valkyrie for you. You can then unequip the Peace and stash it away, keeping the Valkyrie since you do actually have the Valkyrie skill.
Treachery Runeword :
3 Socket Body Armor
Shael + Thul + Lem
5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Fade When Struck
25% Chance To Cast level 15 Venom On Striking
+2 To Assassin Skills
+45% Increased Attack Speed
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
Cold Resist +30%
50% Extra Gold From Monsters
This armor has it all! It gives you a bonus to your Assassin skills (unfortunately not to all skills), a large bonus to IAS for Trap placing, faster hit recovery, some resistances, and a chance to cast Fade when struck. Fade can be pre-buffed and then either re-cast or allow Treachery to take over with its own castings. This armor, along with the Vigor aura, gives you the bonuses of Burst of Speed while also providing Fade. Truly awesome, and for the price, well worth it.
Belt Slot
Contenders:
- Bladebuckle (Req. Str. = 60) : Notable for its bonuses to Strength, Dexterity, and 30% FHR.
- Gloom's Trap (Req. Str. = 58) : If you're having Mana problems, this belt can help you considerably. It also provides a good bonus to Vitality.
- Thundergod's Vigor (Req. Str. = 110) : This belt has a high Stength requirement, but it also provides a hardy Strength and Vitality bonus, not to mention the lightning absorb helps you against Burning Souls.
- Arachnid Mesh (Req. Str. = 50) : This grants +1 to skills, faster cast rate, and a small bonus to maximum mana. This is my recommendation.
- Verdungo's Hearty Cord (Req. Str. = 110) : This belt gives Arachnid Mesh a run for its money by providing % damage reduction, 10% FHR, and a very gracious Vitality bonus.
- Credendum (Req. Str. = 106) : A well rounded belt that grants +10 to Dexterity and Strength as well at 15% resist all.
- Immortal King's Detail (Req. Str. = 110) : This belt is nice for its 31% lightning resistance and 28% fire resistance. It also provides +25 Strength.
- Tal Rasha's Fine Spun Cloth (Req. Str. = 47) : This belt provides 30 Mana, 20 Dexterity, 10-15% magic find, and 37% damage taken to mana.
- Trang-Oul's Girth (Req. Str = 91) : This belt provides 25-50 Mana, 66 Life, and the all important cannot be frozen modifier.
- Rare belts also deserve a mention here. You can find a ton of useful mods on belts that help fill the gaps in your character.
Gloves Slot
Contenders:
- Dracul's Grasp (Req. Str. = 50) : This set of gloves is an unexpected contender. However, it is highly useful. It gives Life per kill, a bonus to Strength, and the chance to cast Life Tap on striking helps your minions out a lot during boss fights.
- Bloodfist : With +40 Life, 10% IAS, and 30% FHR, this set of gloves provides many of the things the Harmassin needs. This is my recommendation.
- Frostburn (Req. Str. = 60) : These gauntlets are useful because they greatly increase your mana pool if you're having mana issues. Other than that, they provide nothing.
- Rare gloves, like rare belts, can also be very useful here in filling gaps in your character.
- Chance Guards (Req. Str. = 25) : These gloves are useful for magic finding. Feel free to throw them on if you don't need your glove slot for much else.
Boots Slot
Contenders
- Tearhaunch (Str. Req. = 70) : These boots give 10% to all resistances and +5 to Strength and Dexterity along with 20% FRW.
- Waterwalk (Str. Req. = 50) : These boots give 45-65 to Life and 10 to Dexterity along with 20% FRW.
- Silkweave (Str. Req. = 65) : These boots can help with Mana problems as they give 10% to maximum Mana and +5 Mana per kill along with 30% FRW.
- War Traveler (Str. Req. = 95) : These boots are not just good for magic finding by bringing 30-50% magic find, they also come with 25% FRW, and +10 to Strength and Vitality.
- Sandstorm Trek (Str. Req. = 91) : With 20% FRW,20% FHR, +10-15 to Strength and Dexterity, and great poison resistances, these boots are nice.
- Shadow Dancer (Str. Req. = 167) : With a gigantic Strength requirement, few would use these boots, but they do provide +1-2 to Shadow Disciplines, 30% FRW, +15-25 Dexterity, and 30% FHR.
- Aldur's Advance (Str. Req. = 91) : These boots provide many useful mods. With +50 to Life, 40% FRW, 30-50% fire resistance, and 10% damage to mana, these boots are great.
- Natalya's Soul (Str. Req. = 65) : These boots provide 40% FRW and 15-25% resistance to both cold and lightning.
- Sander's Riprap (Str. Req. = 18) : These boots are often overlooked. With 40% FRW, +10 to Dexterity, and +5 to Strength, these boots are very useful for the Harmassin. This is my recommendation.
- Rare boots can also spawn with nice mods thas help you out more than named boots.
Amulet Slot
Contenders:
- The Eye of Etlitch : Useful to the Harmassin only for its +1 to all skills.
- Highlord's Wrath : Typically a melee amulet, this is useful for its +1 to all skills, 20% IAS that boosts Trap placing speed, and its 35% lightning resistance bonus.
- Mara's Kaleidoscope : With +2 to all skills, +5 to all attributes, and 20-30% resist all, Mara is queen. This is my recommendation.
- Seraph's Hymn : With +2 to all skills and a bonus to attack rating versus demons and undead, this gives you all the skill bonus of Mara's and will also help you hit should you decide to use your bow (or Blade Fury should you decide to invest) for anything (e.g. triggering life tap with Dracul's).
- Telling of Beads : This grants +1 to all skills, 18% resist cold, and 35-50% resist poison.
Ring Slots
Contenders:
- Ravenfrost : You knew it was coming. This ring provides cannot be frozen, +40 mana, +15-20 Dexterity, +150-200 to attack rating should you want to attack, and 20% cold absorb. You could take two and feel far less pain from cold damage, notably the skeletal mages at the Throne and Baal's Hoarfrost. I recommend using one of these.
- Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band : With +1 to all skills and a decent bonus to life, using one of these would brighten your Harmassin's day.
- Dwarf Star : Grants +40 Life, 15% fire absorb, and magic damage reduction.
- The Stone of Jordan : Grants +1 to all skills, +20 mana, increases maximum mana by 25%. This has always been an ideal caster ring. I recommend using one of these.
- Rare rings that provide resistance, Strength, Life, and/or Mana can all be very helpful for the Harmassin.
Weapon Switch Slot(s)
- Look here for claws that help you out. Two claws that grant +3 to Shadow Disciplines is ideal here, especially if you can find them with low attribute requirements.
Note: If you're using a low Strength and Dexterity build (never greater than 50 with equipment), you're going to have to go without using staffmods unless you want to socket and double Hel your claws to bring the requirements of all exceptional katars down to 50 or lower.
Note Two: You can actually get away without having to invest any points in Fade or Shadow Master (thus having stronger traps) if you can find a decent claw (or two) that grants staffmods to those skills with, ideally, bonuses to Shadow Disciplines or Assassin skills. Remember that your end goal is to cast your Shadow Master at level 17 or higher, so without any points invested, you will need to get +17 from your gear. Non-weapon equipment recommended above can account for much of this (+2 helmet, +2 amulet, +2 armor, +1 belt, and a +1 ring for a total of +8), but you'll still need to make up the difference with +1 to Shadow Disciplines Grand Charms and your weapon switches, unless you don't mind and assassin with less equipment. Similarly, if you are to do it this way, you can save yourself 6 skill points (Claw Mastery, Weapon Block, Shadow Warrior, Shadow Master, Burst of Speed, and Fade). Even if you are able to do this, you will miss out on the speed utility of being able to cast Burst of Speed if you want to. Now, if you can find a claw with a bonus to Burst of Speed too, then you're in the clear.
- On your switch you might also want to use the Call to Arms Runeword. Though expensive to create, it provides you and all three of your minions with nice boosts to their skills, Life, and survivability if you use Battle Cry in battle against difficult foes. You would then pair this weapon with a weapon that grants +1 to all skills. A Splendor Runeword shield can provide this bonus in a low requirement shield, or if you'd like to save runes, you can use Lidless Wall (however, it's Str. Req. = 58 which could be reduced by a -15% requirements jewel to bring it to 49).
Note Three: No matter what switch you use, use it quickly. The game will occasionally check to make sure you still have skills in Valkyrie, and when you're on your switch, you will not. It is not a gigantic deal, as you can just recast her, but it is something to note. You won't need split-second reflexes or anything, just switch quickly. Sometimes the check cycle occurs as you're switched and sometimes it won't. This is especially important if you're using the Peace Runeword to pre-buff your Valkyrie to level 15.
Summary of Recommended Gear
Harmony Runeword Missile Weapon (Repeating Crossbow) : + 10 to Dexterity, +Valkyrie, +Vigor aura, 20% Regenerate mana, +2 mana per kill.
Harlequin's Crest : +2 to all skills, +1XX to Life/Mana, 10% PDR, +2 all attributes.
Treachery Runeword Armor (Light Plate or Breast Plate) : +2 Assassin skills, 20% FHR, 45% IAS, 30% cold resist, %ctc Fade, %ctc Venom.
Arachnid Mesh : +1 to all skills, 20% FCR, +5% maximum Mana.
Bloodfist : 10% IAS, 30% FHR, +40 Life.
Sander's Riprap : 40% FRW, +10 Dexterity, +5 Strength.
Mara's Kaleidoscope : +2 to all skills, +20-30% resist all, +5 all attributes
Ravenfrost : cannot be frozen, +40 Mana, +15-20 Dexterity, +150-250 attack rating.
The Stone of Jordan : +1 to all skills, +20 Mana, +25% maximum Mana.
This gives us the 48% FHR breakpoint (4 frames), the fastest Trap laying speed, big bonuses to mana and life, and enough Dex (at a minimum) to equip a Harmony (Repeating Crossbow) with base Dex. We also net a +10 Strength bonus from sub-fifty Str. Req. items. Finally, we get +6 to all skills with an additional +2 to Assassin skills.
3. Stat Point Allocation
Strength: Depends on your purposes for the build and what you desire to use it for. Part of the advantage to using a Harmassin is that you can get away with almost no investment in Strength and have a lot of Life. I prefer to have 50 Strength, which means that with the Assassin's base strength of 20, I need 30 strength from external sources* before you can even equip the heaviest of the items that I recommend (Harlequin's Crest, Arachnid Mesh) Mara's Kaleidoscope and Sander's Riprap provide a total of +10, leaving 20 Strength to go, which is not a steep investment and could even be partially/fully made up for with charms. If you are going to use switch weapons that have a Str. Req. greater than 50, you'll need to get more Strength somewhere (item sockets or charms are a great way to work this in to your current gear selection).
*: I play single player. I do not have access to an Annihilus Charm or a Hellfire Torch. If you do, these requirements will be much easier to use.
Dexterity: Base. There is usually no need for Dexterity here. Your end game gear will provide you with all that you need for you to equip your items. However, if you're planning on using staffmoded claws that have a total Dexterity requirement greater than what your Dexterity currently is, you'll need to make up points somewhere.
Vitality : Everything else. If you use a low Strength requirement gear loadout, you will have a lot of Life. If you do not, then your Life will not be so large.
Energy : Base. There are plenty of recommended items that provide you with Mana and Energy. You shouldn't have large Mana problems. If you do, down a potion or two. Traps are relatively cheap, Mana-wise, compared to other caster classes.
What is a Harmassin, you ask? Well, a Harmassin is an Assassin that uses Harmony, a ladder only runeword (available on the realms or in single player through the RWM) as her main weapon. Aside from this, she functions similarly to a regular Trapper. This particular character does not need amazing gear to function well, but I make recommendations covering a great range of gear selection in addition to skill point distribution that cover a variety of playing styles.
Pros of the Harmassin:
- She uses Harmony as a weapon. This provides you with an amazing amount of bonuses included a Vigor aura, an extra summon in the form of the Valkyrie skill, extra mana, and the ability to raise Revives.
- You can run this build with nearly base stats, allowing you to have a gigantic life pool.
- You will have 3 minions (Mercenary, Shadow Master, Valkyrie), two of which are summonable, and are, arguably, the best summons in the game.
- Your minions engage enemies much more quickly, thanks to the Vigor aura.
- You will also use traps and kill from a distance. Resistances will not be a significant problem.
- She has access to multiple damage formats if you desire (in the form of Fire Blast and lightning traps).
- She moves incredibly quickly, thanks to the Vigor aura. In fact, you'll more or less be benefiting from both Burst of Speed and Fade with this build.
- She does not require expensive gear or runewords to be successful.
Cons of the Harmassin:
- She does not kill as quickly as a pure lightning Trapper. This is due to the fact that you're missing out on up to +6 to all Trap Skills in addition to staffmods on the two claws you will not be using.
- No form of blocking whatsoever.
- Low defense.
I hope that you will try this fun variant on a standard Trapper.
Table of Contents:
1. Skills that will be Used.
2. Equipment that will be Used.
3. Stat Point Allocation.
4. Your Mercenary and how to Equip Him/Her.
5. Gameplay Style
1. Skills that will be Used.
Martial Arts Tree: 0 points.
You will not be needing any of the skills from the Martial Arts Tree.
Shadow Disciplines Tree: 8+ Points**
Claw Mastery: 1 point
Weapon Block: 1 point
Shadow Warrior: 1 point
Shadow Master: See below
Burst of Speed: 1 point
Fade: 1 point
Venom: 0 points
Psychic Hammer: 1 point
Cloak of Shadows: 1 point
Mind Blast: 1 point
**Aside from Psychic Hammer, Cloak of Shadows, and Mind Blast, many of the above skills are possibly optional, depending on your gear. See Weapon Switch Slot(s)below for details.
Discussion of Shadow Disciplines Skills:
Psychic Hammer - This skill is used to push back unstunabble enemies, or to push back enemies and conserve mana while your minions and traps deal damage.
Cloak of Shadows - This skill's primary use is to halt the A.I. of enemies from attacking you or approaching you. It is also useful for lowering the defense of enemies so that your minions can hit more frequently.
Mind Blast - This skill functions to knock back and stun groups of enemies. Keep in mind that it does convert them occasionally, so if you do not want to convert a convertible monster, use Psychic Hammer instead.
Burst of Speed - This skill is useful for the Harmassin's early career as well as for an additional boost to running speed for moving through areas. With your Vigor aura active, you will move very fast when this is activated.
Fade - This an absolutely fantastic skill. It makes us stay alive longer. With its bonuses to resistances, physical resistances, and curse duration reduction, it is an amazing skill to have.
Shadow Master - Place enough points in this skill so that your minion is summoned at at least level 17. This provides her with the best gear available to help her survive. The addition of the rare amulet at level 17 to her gear also helps her in her chances for becoming immune to certain elements. She will be your elemental damage shield. Getting to level 17 can depend greatly on your gear selection.
Shadow Master Gear by Level:
Lvl 17 Rare Amulet
Lvl 13 Rare Ring left
Lvl 11 Rare Suwayyah, War Fist or Scissors Suwayyah in right hand
Lvl 11 Rare Battle Cestus, Runic Talons or Scissor Suwayyah in left hand
Lvl 11 Rare Vambraces or Ogre Gauntlets
Lvl 11 Rare Ring right
Lvl 11 Rare Armor; same type as Assasin
Lvl 11 Rare Helm; same type as Assasin
Lvl 9 Magic Ring right
Lvl 6 Magic Suwayyah, War Fist or Scissors Suwayyah in right hand
Lvl 6 Magic Battle Cestus, Runic Talons or Scissors Suwayyah in left hand
Lvl 6 Magic Bramble Mitts or Vambraces
Lvl 6 Magic Armor; same type as Assasin
Lvl 6 Magic Helm; same type as Assasin
Lvl 5 Superior Bramble Mitts, Vambraces or Ogre Gauntlets
Lvl 1 Superior Suwayyah, War Fist or Scissors Suwayyah in right hand
Lvl 1 Superior Battle Cestus, Runic Talons or Scissors Suwayyah in left hand
Lvl 1 Superior Armor; same type as Assasin
Lvl 1 Superior Helm; same type as Assasin
Traps Tree: All Remaining Points
Fire Blast: See Below
Shock Web: See Below
Charged Bolt Sentry: 20 Points
Lightning Sentry: 20 Points
Death Sentry: 20 Points
Wake of Fire: 0 or 1 Point
Blade Fury: 0 or 1 Point
Discussion of Traps Skills:
Lightning Sentry will be your primary lightning damage dealing skill. You will want to synergize this with at least Death Sentry and Charged Bolt Sentry. You will then have the option of further synergizing it by adding points to Shock Web or gaining a secondary damage type through Fire Blast. The choice is up to you, but I feel that the investment in Fire Blast is well worth it due to the fact that its damage is good, it can be used while your laid traps are firing, it makes your Death Sentry last longer (fire more bolts) and it does damage of a different type.
Charged Bolt Sentry will not see much use unless you decide to invest heavily in Shock Web and Fire Blast, requiring you to either be at a very high character level, or using the alternative Shadow Disciplines skill placement covered in Weapon Switch Slot(s). Otherwise, it is there primarily to synergize Lightning Sentry. It can be a great boss killer or large monster killer, however, if fully synergized.
Death Sentry makes this build really shine. With the ability to use Revives and a form of Corpse Explosion, this Assassin is a little Necro at heart. The radius on Death Sentry is fantastic, typically 0.6 yards better than a Corpse Explosion of the same level. It does less damage (40-80% of corpse life instead of 60-100%), but it also synergizes many of your other Traps.
Blade Fury and its pre-requisite, Wake of Fire. Some people might want to invest in this option as a way to trigger %ctc items (like Peace Runeword or Dracul's Grasp).
2. Equipment that will be Used
The basis of this build is the use of a Harmony runeword missile weapon.
Harmony
4 Socket Missile Weapons
Tir + Ith + Sol + Ko
Level 10 Vigor Aura When Equipped
+200-275% Enhanced Damage (varies)
+9 To Minimum Damage
+9 To Maximum Damage
Adds 55-160 Lightning Damage
Adds 55-160 Fire Damage
Adds 55-160 Cold Damage
+2-6 To Valkyrie (varies)
+10 To Dexterity
Regenerate Mana 20%
+2 To Mana After Each Kill
+2 To Light Radius
Level 20 Revive (25 Charges)
Based on the requirements for different missile weapons that are relatively quick and have the ability to have the number of sockets needed for the creation of Harmony, I recommend three different missile weapons, shown below.
Trap Laying Speeds for Different Missile Weapons
-10 Base Weapon (Hunter's Box - Req. Dexterity: 28)
IAS Frames per Trap
0 % 14
6 % 13
16 % 12
30 % 11
52 % 10
89 % 9
-40 Base Weapon (Repeating Crossbow - Req. Strength: 40, Req. Dexterity: 50)
IAS Frames per Trap
0 % 11
7 % 10
26 % 9
-60 Base Weapon (Chu-Ko-Nu - Req. Strength: 80, Req. Dexterity: 95)
IAS Frames per Trap
0 % 10
2 % 9
As you can see, the requirements for a Hunter's Bow are incredibly low. You can easily get by without having to place hard points into stats to use this bow (provided you can procure a +8 bonus to Dexterity somewhere, and even then the bonus granting item could then be removed as the bow is self-sustaining--beware of corpse pickup issues) and have a larger life pool. The faster weapons, the crossbows, are quicker for placing traps, but the requirements are higher. If you are planning on using staffmods to account for your skills in Fade and Shadow Master, you will need a decently high Strength and Dexterity due to the fact that staff mods cannot appear on claws lower than Hand Scythe (which requires 73 Strength and 73 Dexterity to equip). Also, depending on your choice of gear, you may have to place more points into Strength. An Assassin comes with a base Strength of 20 and a base Dexterity of 20.
Now for the rest of the equipment. Your weapon slot(s) will be occupied by Harmony, so now you just have to choose the rest of your gear.
Things we will be looking for:
-Bonuses to all skills, not just Assassin skills or Traps. This is because we want to be able to cast our Valkyrie at as high a level as possible. This will give her more life and better equipment, helping her to survive as a shield for you. Bonuses to skills will also help our trap damage.
Valkyrie Gear
Lvl Item Upgraded / Added
1 Rare Full Plate Mail, Rare Spear
2 Magic Heavy Gloves
4 Magic Heavy Boots
5 Magic Heavy Belt
7 Rare Chaos Armor
8 Rare Lance
10 Magic War Gauntlets
11 Magic War Boots
12 Magic War Belt
13 Magic Amulet
14 Magic Circlet
16 Rare Sacred Armor
17 Rare War Pike
19 Rare Crusader Gauntlets
21 Rare Mirrored Boots
23 Rare Colussus Girdle
25 Rare Amulet
27 Rare Tiara
- Faster hit recovery. Being able to recover quickly from hits is important since we will not have any form of blocking and our defense will be low. We will have a large life pool, so the hit recovery animation will not occur that often, but when it does, we will want to get out of it as quickly as possible.
Assassin Hit Recovery Speeds
%FHR Frames for recovery
9 0
8 7
7 15
6 27
5 48
4 86
3 200
- Resistances to everything, including physical damage. Getting hit can kill you, we want to minimize the power of those hits.
- Other useful modifiers like Cannot Be Frozen and Faster Cast Rate which helps when using Shadow Disciplines skills (Mind Blast, etc.).
Note: For each item slot below, I give one recommendation for one peice of gear. This recommendation is based on utility provided but also on the overall necessary Strength requirements. The difference between 50 points invested in Strength instead of Vitality is 150 Life for the Harmassin. Also note that the gear that is what helps the Harmassin excel, not just succeed. This build is very viable without the best of the best as you have all the makings of a Summoning Necromancer (minions, enemy, AI control, and Corpse Explosion).
Helmet Slot:
Candidates:
- Tarnhelm (Str. Req. = 15) : Grants +1 to skills as well as magic find %.
- Peasant Crown (Str. Req. = 20) : Grants +1 to all skills in addition to a nice bonus to Vitality and Energy. Also has Faster Run/Walk (15%) and Replenish Life.
- Harlequin Crest (Str. Req. = 50) : Grants +2 to all skills as well as a large bonus to life and mana, 10% physical damage reduction, a small bonus to all attributes, and magic find %. This item is my recommendation.
- Nightwing's Veil (Str. Req. = 96) : Grants +2 to all skills, a bonus to Dexterity and some cold absorb.
- Andariel's Visage (Str. Req. = 102) : Grants +2 to all skills, a large bonus to poison resistance (in exchange for a penatly to fire resistance), and a large bonus to Strength. This has a high Strength requirement, but can allow you to wear even heavier items. It also has IAS% to help with Trap placing speed.
-Delirium Runeword : Grants +2 to all skills, a bonus to vitality, some magic find %, and most importantly, crowd control if you get struck. At the price of an Ist rune, I do not recommend this item. You have Cloak of Shadows and Mind Blast to take care of crowds already.
- Lore Runeword : Grants +1 to all skills, damage reduction, mana per kill, lightning resistance, and some energy.
- Sazabi's Mental Sheath (Req. Str. = 82) : Grants +1 to all skills and 15-20% resist fire and lightning.
Armor Slot:
Candidates:
- Silks of the Victor (Str. Req. = 100) : Grants +1 to all skills.
- The Spirit Shroud (Str. Req. = 38) : Grants +1 to all skills, cannot be frozen, replenish life, and magic damage reduction. This is an excellent source of cannot be frozen (or if you want to wear a second + skill granting ring).
- Skin of the Vipermagi (Str. Req. = 43) : With faster cast rate, +1 to all skills, magic damage reduction, and good resistances to all elements, this is a good armor.
- Skullder's Ire - (Str. Req. = 97) : Grants +1 to all skills, magic damage reduction, and lots of magic find %. Very good for magic finding.
- Que-Hegan's Wisdom - (Str. Req. = 55) : Grants +1 to all skills, faster hit recovery, faster cast rate, a bonus to energy, mana per kill, and magic damage reduction.
- Guardian Angel - (Str. Req. = 118) : It's Strength requirement is high, but if you like having great resistances, this is a good armor. It's other mods, aside from the +1 to all skills, are wasted on the Harmassin.
- Arkaine's Valor - (Str. Req. = 165) : With a very high Strength requirement, this may not be an option, but it can grant +2 to all skills and it comes with faster hit recovery, damage reduction, and a nice bonus to vitality.
- Chains of Honor and Engima Runewords- Great options, but the runes are very hard to find legitimately. One can dream, though.
- Peace Runeword : This is more of a pre-buff armor than anything else. You can wear it while using Harmony and it will create a level 15 Valkyrie for you. You can then unequip the Peace and stash it away, keeping the Valkyrie since you do actually have the Valkyrie skill.
Treachery Runeword :
3 Socket Body Armor
Shael + Thul + Lem
5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Fade When Struck
25% Chance To Cast level 15 Venom On Striking
+2 To Assassin Skills
+45% Increased Attack Speed
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
Cold Resist +30%
50% Extra Gold From Monsters
This armor has it all! It gives you a bonus to your Assassin skills (unfortunately not to all skills), a large bonus to IAS for Trap placing, faster hit recovery, some resistances, and a chance to cast Fade when struck. Fade can be pre-buffed and then either re-cast or allow Treachery to take over with its own castings. This armor, along with the Vigor aura, gives you the bonuses of Burst of Speed while also providing Fade. Truly awesome, and for the price, well worth it.
Belt Slot
Contenders:
- Bladebuckle (Req. Str. = 60) : Notable for its bonuses to Strength, Dexterity, and 30% FHR.
- Gloom's Trap (Req. Str. = 58) : If you're having Mana problems, this belt can help you considerably. It also provides a good bonus to Vitality.
- Thundergod's Vigor (Req. Str. = 110) : This belt has a high Stength requirement, but it also provides a hardy Strength and Vitality bonus, not to mention the lightning absorb helps you against Burning Souls.
- Arachnid Mesh (Req. Str. = 50) : This grants +1 to skills, faster cast rate, and a small bonus to maximum mana. This is my recommendation.
- Verdungo's Hearty Cord (Req. Str. = 110) : This belt gives Arachnid Mesh a run for its money by providing % damage reduction, 10% FHR, and a very gracious Vitality bonus.
- Credendum (Req. Str. = 106) : A well rounded belt that grants +10 to Dexterity and Strength as well at 15% resist all.
- Immortal King's Detail (Req. Str. = 110) : This belt is nice for its 31% lightning resistance and 28% fire resistance. It also provides +25 Strength.
- Tal Rasha's Fine Spun Cloth (Req. Str. = 47) : This belt provides 30 Mana, 20 Dexterity, 10-15% magic find, and 37% damage taken to mana.
- Trang-Oul's Girth (Req. Str = 91) : This belt provides 25-50 Mana, 66 Life, and the all important cannot be frozen modifier.
- Rare belts also deserve a mention here. You can find a ton of useful mods on belts that help fill the gaps in your character.
Gloves Slot
Contenders:
- Dracul's Grasp (Req. Str. = 50) : This set of gloves is an unexpected contender. However, it is highly useful. It gives Life per kill, a bonus to Strength, and the chance to cast Life Tap on striking helps your minions out a lot during boss fights.
- Bloodfist : With +40 Life, 10% IAS, and 30% FHR, this set of gloves provides many of the things the Harmassin needs. This is my recommendation.
- Frostburn (Req. Str. = 60) : These gauntlets are useful because they greatly increase your mana pool if you're having mana issues. Other than that, they provide nothing.
- Rare gloves, like rare belts, can also be very useful here in filling gaps in your character.
- Chance Guards (Req. Str. = 25) : These gloves are useful for magic finding. Feel free to throw them on if you don't need your glove slot for much else.
Boots Slot
Contenders
- Tearhaunch (Str. Req. = 70) : These boots give 10% to all resistances and +5 to Strength and Dexterity along with 20% FRW.
- Waterwalk (Str. Req. = 50) : These boots give 45-65 to Life and 10 to Dexterity along with 20% FRW.
- Silkweave (Str. Req. = 65) : These boots can help with Mana problems as they give 10% to maximum Mana and +5 Mana per kill along with 30% FRW.
- War Traveler (Str. Req. = 95) : These boots are not just good for magic finding by bringing 30-50% magic find, they also come with 25% FRW, and +10 to Strength and Vitality.
- Sandstorm Trek (Str. Req. = 91) : With 20% FRW,20% FHR, +10-15 to Strength and Dexterity, and great poison resistances, these boots are nice.
- Shadow Dancer (Str. Req. = 167) : With a gigantic Strength requirement, few would use these boots, but they do provide +1-2 to Shadow Disciplines, 30% FRW, +15-25 Dexterity, and 30% FHR.
- Aldur's Advance (Str. Req. = 91) : These boots provide many useful mods. With +50 to Life, 40% FRW, 30-50% fire resistance, and 10% damage to mana, these boots are great.
- Natalya's Soul (Str. Req. = 65) : These boots provide 40% FRW and 15-25% resistance to both cold and lightning.
- Sander's Riprap (Str. Req. = 18) : These boots are often overlooked. With 40% FRW, +10 to Dexterity, and +5 to Strength, these boots are very useful for the Harmassin. This is my recommendation.
- Rare boots can also spawn with nice mods thas help you out more than named boots.
Amulet Slot
Contenders:
- The Eye of Etlitch : Useful to the Harmassin only for its +1 to all skills.
- Highlord's Wrath : Typically a melee amulet, this is useful for its +1 to all skills, 20% IAS that boosts Trap placing speed, and its 35% lightning resistance bonus.
- Mara's Kaleidoscope : With +2 to all skills, +5 to all attributes, and 20-30% resist all, Mara is queen. This is my recommendation.
- Seraph's Hymn : With +2 to all skills and a bonus to attack rating versus demons and undead, this gives you all the skill bonus of Mara's and will also help you hit should you decide to use your bow (or Blade Fury should you decide to invest) for anything (e.g. triggering life tap with Dracul's).
- Telling of Beads : This grants +1 to all skills, 18% resist cold, and 35-50% resist poison.
Ring Slots
Contenders:
- Ravenfrost : You knew it was coming. This ring provides cannot be frozen, +40 mana, +15-20 Dexterity, +150-200 to attack rating should you want to attack, and 20% cold absorb. You could take two and feel far less pain from cold damage, notably the skeletal mages at the Throne and Baal's Hoarfrost. I recommend using one of these.
- Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band : With +1 to all skills and a decent bonus to life, using one of these would brighten your Harmassin's day.
- Dwarf Star : Grants +40 Life, 15% fire absorb, and magic damage reduction.
- The Stone of Jordan : Grants +1 to all skills, +20 mana, increases maximum mana by 25%. This has always been an ideal caster ring. I recommend using one of these.
- Rare rings that provide resistance, Strength, Life, and/or Mana can all be very helpful for the Harmassin.
Weapon Switch Slot(s)
- Look here for claws that help you out. Two claws that grant +3 to Shadow Disciplines is ideal here, especially if you can find them with low attribute requirements.
Note: If you're using a low Strength and Dexterity build (never greater than 50 with equipment), you're going to have to go without using staffmods unless you want to socket and double Hel your claws to bring the requirements of all exceptional katars down to 50 or lower.
Note Two: You can actually get away without having to invest any points in Fade or Shadow Master (thus having stronger traps) if you can find a decent claw (or two) that grants staffmods to those skills with, ideally, bonuses to Shadow Disciplines or Assassin skills. Remember that your end goal is to cast your Shadow Master at level 17 or higher, so without any points invested, you will need to get +17 from your gear. Non-weapon equipment recommended above can account for much of this (+2 helmet, +2 amulet, +2 armor, +1 belt, and a +1 ring for a total of +8), but you'll still need to make up the difference with +1 to Shadow Disciplines Grand Charms and your weapon switches, unless you don't mind and assassin with less equipment. Similarly, if you are to do it this way, you can save yourself 6 skill points (Claw Mastery, Weapon Block, Shadow Warrior, Shadow Master, Burst of Speed, and Fade). Even if you are able to do this, you will miss out on the speed utility of being able to cast Burst of Speed if you want to. Now, if you can find a claw with a bonus to Burst of Speed too, then you're in the clear.
- On your switch you might also want to use the Call to Arms Runeword. Though expensive to create, it provides you and all three of your minions with nice boosts to their skills, Life, and survivability if you use Battle Cry in battle against difficult foes. You would then pair this weapon with a weapon that grants +1 to all skills. A Splendor Runeword shield can provide this bonus in a low requirement shield, or if you'd like to save runes, you can use Lidless Wall (however, it's Str. Req. = 58 which could be reduced by a -15% requirements jewel to bring it to 49).
Note Three: No matter what switch you use, use it quickly. The game will occasionally check to make sure you still have skills in Valkyrie, and when you're on your switch, you will not. It is not a gigantic deal, as you can just recast her, but it is something to note. You won't need split-second reflexes or anything, just switch quickly. Sometimes the check cycle occurs as you're switched and sometimes it won't. This is especially important if you're using the Peace Runeword to pre-buff your Valkyrie to level 15.
Summary of Recommended Gear
Harmony Runeword Missile Weapon (Repeating Crossbow) : + 10 to Dexterity, +Valkyrie, +Vigor aura, 20% Regenerate mana, +2 mana per kill.
Harlequin's Crest : +2 to all skills, +1XX to Life/Mana, 10% PDR, +2 all attributes.
Treachery Runeword Armor (Light Plate or Breast Plate) : +2 Assassin skills, 20% FHR, 45% IAS, 30% cold resist, %ctc Fade, %ctc Venom.
Arachnid Mesh : +1 to all skills, 20% FCR, +5% maximum Mana.
Bloodfist : 10% IAS, 30% FHR, +40 Life.
Sander's Riprap : 40% FRW, +10 Dexterity, +5 Strength.
Mara's Kaleidoscope : +2 to all skills, +20-30% resist all, +5 all attributes
Ravenfrost : cannot be frozen, +40 Mana, +15-20 Dexterity, +150-250 attack rating.
The Stone of Jordan : +1 to all skills, +20 Mana, +25% maximum Mana.
This gives us the 48% FHR breakpoint (4 frames), the fastest Trap laying speed, big bonuses to mana and life, and enough Dex (at a minimum) to equip a Harmony (Repeating Crossbow) with base Dex. We also net a +10 Strength bonus from sub-fifty Str. Req. items. Finally, we get +6 to all skills with an additional +2 to Assassin skills.
3. Stat Point Allocation
Strength: Depends on your purposes for the build and what you desire to use it for. Part of the advantage to using a Harmassin is that you can get away with almost no investment in Strength and have a lot of Life. I prefer to have 50 Strength, which means that with the Assassin's base strength of 20, I need 30 strength from external sources* before you can even equip the heaviest of the items that I recommend (Harlequin's Crest, Arachnid Mesh) Mara's Kaleidoscope and Sander's Riprap provide a total of +10, leaving 20 Strength to go, which is not a steep investment and could even be partially/fully made up for with charms. If you are going to use switch weapons that have a Str. Req. greater than 50, you'll need to get more Strength somewhere (item sockets or charms are a great way to work this in to your current gear selection).
*: I play single player. I do not have access to an Annihilus Charm or a Hellfire Torch. If you do, these requirements will be much easier to use.
Dexterity: Base. There is usually no need for Dexterity here. Your end game gear will provide you with all that you need for you to equip your items. However, if you're planning on using staffmoded claws that have a total Dexterity requirement greater than what your Dexterity currently is, you'll need to make up points somewhere.
Vitality : Everything else. If you use a low Strength requirement gear loadout, you will have a lot of Life. If you do not, then your Life will not be so large.
Energy : Base. There are plenty of recommended items that provide you with Mana and Energy. You shouldn't have large Mana problems. If you do, down a potion or two. Traps are relatively cheap, Mana-wise, compared to other caster classes.