Gear ideas for low lvl MA Assassin

[StoryOfReign]

I'm starting a PVE Martial Arts Assassin with quite a low budget. Anyone have any ideas on some gear i should look into getting? Lvl 29 atm, and as it sits right now, i'm surviving with rares for the most part. Anyone have any ideas?

As of right now, all my gear is looking to be tweaked... only "keepable" item i have on me now is Bloodfists. Thanks for the help guys.

Randy

[come back zinc]

Try your luck here. (http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=617277)

We can twink you formidably, if you like. We've got lots of stuff that could work for a MA Assassin.

Stop by the op xbananax channel and ask around.

[STINGER]

Strength
2 Socket Melee Weapons Amn + Tir
35% Enhanced Damage
25% Chance Of Crushing Blow
7% Life Stolen Per Hit
+2 To Mana After Each Kill
+20 To Strength
+10 To Vitality

It dont look like much but if you dont have a good deal better it will still work well especially if you kick more than punch.

Bartucs at 42, there really isnt anything else to go with.

What is the plan on skills? I mean MA can mean alot of different builds really.

[Master Zap]

MA sin , Are you Dtalon?

Right off, I'd say use:

Ik belt, boots and gloves
Pcrown helm / rockstopper
Twitch armor
angelics rings/ammy

this can and will easily get you until nm
Next thing I'd replace would be twitch for treachory when your leveled enough to equip it.
The ik stuff can be used for the rest of the game unless you happen to find some Goblin toe boots (double up them) or goreriders (up these too when able ) or Shadow dancers.
(look for the best rare boot class for your level is also ideal)

what level are you and what's your skill breakdown?

For the wep there is alot of good options

Crushflange mace
Rixot keen
Gface helm (not a wep, but endgame helm for a ma sin)
General's Flail for the slow
Crecent moon
Lawbringer

Claws : to many options to name
( I like 1 bartucs, 1 jade talon)

[StoryOfReign]

Right now i'm dual full charging Cobra and Tiger Strike for Maximum Dmg and Leech... haven't decided if i want to start lvling Kick as a finishing move or not. Not sure on the advantages of that. Basically, as a whole, i'm hoping to have a merc that can deal some much needed dmg and take some of the hits off me... get a very good level Shadow Master for the same reason. And basically pray that my leech can counter the dmg i'm taking. Other then this skill build so far... i have yet to decide what to go past this. Prolly gunna stop at lvl 13 Burst of Speed. Not sure if fade is worth it or not.

As of now I'm sitting at lvl 31.

[StoryOfReign]

Nub question...

What is Ghelm?
And... anyone know the level req of Treachory?

[come back zinc]

Nub question...

What is Ghelm?
And... anyone know the level req of Treachory?

It's got a Lem in it, so I'd imagine it's lvl 43.

As for the G-helm... it's probably Guillaume's Face, which is a set helm with lots of Crushing Blow (removes 1/10th of your enemy's remaining health with each CB hit).

[StoryOfReign]

Thanks a lot for ya'lls replys. Helped a bunch. Another question tho...

Should i go with kick as a finishing move? Would it increase my overall dmg? Or should i stick with normal attack to finish? Or is there another finishing move which is best?

[catsmasher]

I've got an MA charm if you want it. I doubt I'd get anything for it in trade and it's just taking up room on a mule; it's a plain skiller, but yours if you want it.

[come back zinc]

Likewise, I've got some MA rare amulets and gloves should you want them.

*khlavkhalash or *comebackzinc

[STINGER]

You will want 1 point Blade Fury to deal wiht Iron Maiden and other badies you dont want to be next to when they die.

DTalon is a nice skill

You may have some issues with PIs if you dont have something for them.

I personally wouldnt go full TS I would go Pheonix + 1 Synergy if I went with punching. TS is actually pretty good not even lvled as a way to help with immunes to whatever elements you have wiht a few +skills, or use Talon.

Now, if you do go max TS then you might go DTail for the Fire.

I am also a big fan of spending the extra points to get a lvl 1 Death Sentry to toss around. It is mighty good even at lvl 1 + skills and will really pay off.

Fade is good, not just the resists, but the 1% PDR/lvl. IMO its a 1 point or Max skill as something like 5% isnt making a big difference.

As for BoS, I never add to this myself for PVE, but there are break points you may want to hit with your weapons if you really want to maximize things out.

[StoryOfReign]

I've got an MA charm if you want it. I doubt I'd get anything for it in trade and it's just taking up room on a mule; it's a plain skiller, but yours if you want it.

Wow... thanks to both of ya'll. Zinc, you weren't logged on... My acc is *stonewall21 Catsmasher, if you give me a holler, i'm on now... and i'l be around more today. :)

[StoryOfReign]

You will want 1 point Blade Fury to deal wiht Iron Maiden and other badies you dont want to be next to when they die.

DTalon is a nice skill

You may have some issues with PIs if you dont have something for them.

I personally wouldnt go full TS I would go Pheonix + 1 Synergy if I went with punching. TS is actually pretty good not even lvled as a way to help with immunes to whatever elements you have wiht a few +skills, or use Talon.

Now, if you do go max TS then you might go DTail for the Fire.

I am also a big fan of spending the extra points to get a lvl 1 Death Sentry to toss around. It is mighty good even at lvl 1 + skills and will really pay off.

Fade is good, not just the resists, but the 1% PDR/lvl. IMO its a 1 point or Max skill as something like 5% isnt making a big difference.

As for BoS, I never add to this myself for PVE, but there are break points you may want to hit with your weapons if you really want to maximize things out.

Very helpful... As of now, i'm at 5 TS and 5 Cobra. Wanted to make sure i'm getting a "full juv" type leech, as i've been using all untwinked and have quite low life / block. 1 point in Blade shield and Death Sentry is a lot of just pre-req. I decided on going with pheonix strike. I think this will give me enough elemental to deal with immunes. Thanks a bunch guys.

[come back zinc]

Wow... thanks to both of ya'll. Zinc, you weren't logged on... My acc is *stonewall21 Catsmasher, if you give me a holler, i'm on now... and i'l be around more today. :)

hehe

I'm at work.

I don't normally come on till after 9 PM EST.

[StoryOfReign]

Anyone willing to Baal me to 42 so i can use bartucs? I'm having a hard time doing dmg in a5 soloing in a pub game. (only way i can get exp) Would be greatly appreciated. Account: *Stonewall21 gimme a holler.

Randy

Edit: I'm 39

[StoryOfReign]

Little update... i put one point in kick for a finishing move... and i think it's increased my dmg by 1/3. Not sure how, but it massively rocks. :) I can solo ancients in normal with terrible gear. This gives me hope for the future of this build.

Randy

[catsmasher]

Wow... thanks to both of ya'll. Zinc, you weren't logged on... My acc is *stonewall21 Catsmasher, if you give me a holler, i'm on now... and i'l be around more today. :)

Sorry for the delay in responding; I'm on now and in the banana channel. I found the mule with the MA charm all we need is a game name.

edit: *born(2)die

[STINGER]

Those pre-reqs for DS are well worth it to have a 5 shot CE!

[Dahkar]

You might want to check out some guides in the assassin forum, sure there meant for softcore but they can be adapted. There's a couple main variations of MA sin:

Phoenix Strike(Charge up sin) - Uses a combination of phoenix strike/COT etc to kill enemies.

D-Talon: (Requires a little more gear IMO, but still doable)

DTail: Max TS/D tail, good damage and alot of freedom.

[StoryOfReign]

Dead at lvl 50. Rebuilt so far to lvl 25. Luckily had someone in to loot me. But all my gear was too high lvl. Now i'm stuck at lvl 25, with no way of killing. :(

[STINGER]

Whats the FINAL build you are shooting for?

If its Pheonix then it is suggested to boost one of the synergies and the one many like is Claws of Thunder at lvl 18 which would indeed give you a way to kill things!

Several reasons why people choose CoT over the others....

Higher max damage.

Lightning tends to have less immunes to deal with especially in late Hell.

Its the 2nd charge on Pheonix so you can release faster than going to a full charge.

It also gives you a quick skill to pump at the low lvl of 18 that you wont regret the investment in!

[StoryOfReign]

Luckily i had loot on death. And i'm shooting for this build.

Max Tiger Strike
Max Dragon Tail
Max Claws of Thunder
1 death sentry
1 blade fury
As many spare as i can in shadow master.
1 bos
1 fade


So far I find this build to be MUCH better suited for killing almost anything. With same gear, i seem to be doing twice the dmg. I just need to work on merc's gear, and i'll be gravy.

[STINGER]

Merc is simple! One can always go Insight even if you dont need the mana as it has a great ED value on the word, and there are also tons of poles that do a fine job but there are indeed many that do it better. Obediance isnt a hard runeword to do and rocks. Armors...any ETH high D armor will do well, but I would focus on his resists over D, so if you have say a 500 D triple resist armor its probably better than a 1000 D no resist one!

Leech is the main issue and speed, you want a pole that is fairly quick, so Warpikes, Lances, Pikes for instance with few exceptions are not a good choice.

Helms...you can usually find something along the way, and those Normal Unique Necro helms are ideal for a cheap solution to life leech, Undead Crown and Wormskull. Tals mask later in game is excellent as it also offers some resists and is a pretty common drop thus cheap to get. Crown of Thieves is probably my fav if I have one!

If you get leech from the weapon or even armor then the helm becomes a spot for some fun add ons. Couple helms that can be nice is that Blackhorns Face or Darksight even. Of course a Vamp Gaze always works, and there is also Gullieums Helm for alot of CB, Steal Skull..etc Hell you could even make use of a Duskdeep, or any random magic/rare that might drop with good mods.

Most my Mercs rarely get "investment" into them. My guys usually end up wiht some rare ETH armor with 1200+ D, some commonly dropped Unique Pole, or ETH one, or same with a Sword if I use a Barb, and then if I invest anywhere and I mean its just a found item ueually then its the helm to get leech!!!

Sure you can go and get him awesome gear and it will sure help, but its far from a necessity IMO as you can do very well with very common stuff.

Hell, in new ladder seasons i usually grab the first decent eth socketed pole I can find and slap in a bunch of skulls, maybe a saphire and go....usually they do just fine until you get ready for hell if you keep upgrading as you find better. I find it hard to beleive a guy could actually quest this game and not find (1) decent rare/unique pole for a merc or make Insight and be able to smoke NM!

[StoryOfReign]

Your replies are great. I just owned chaos with pure Blade Fury. Didn't even strike once untill diablo came out. Not taking the risk. I was 1 shotted as my death in nm chaos the first time around. But i changed my build for the better, and i've surpassed my level that i was with IMO a better build. Btw, my merc is wearing... Insight / Crown of Theives / Dury's shell. So i feel pretty well prepared for hell mode. Gunna hopefully hop on some nm baals sometime today in the banana channel.

[STINGER]

Btw, my merc is wearing... Insight / Crown of Theives / Dury's shell.

Hell, my Mercs would say "I will put that to good use" and really mean it if i gave them "all" such Godly gear!

[Tai.]

Sounds like endgame gear to me

[StoryOfReign]

Ya, that was the idea. I traded for the stuff after my post thinking about what gear i was going to use. So far... it's worked out very very well. Only merc death's have been to IM in NM sanc. Which Blade Fury has been owning up.