Its really too bad that Nolan North does the Jedi Consular instead of the Sith Inquisitor, because then he would run into Phillip Proctor (on Tattooine I think?) which would make all the Assassin's Creed fans

I'd love to see it, but I'm STILL holding out for a hood toggle that would (probably) involve how hoods work with kalig's countenance. And we've been waiting for that since like...launch? Sooo...feel free to stay optimistic but don't hold your breath.

I started a thread on this a while back: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=616798 And while there were a LOT of different opinions, this is what I ended up picking. It obviously depends on what you're going to do (pvp, pve, raids, leveling), but this seemed to be the best overall build. http://www.swtor-spy.com/skill-tree-calculator/sith-assassin/11/?build=020332201121023002120203020200100302000000000000000000000000000000220000000000000000000000000000&ver=20

Since I'm rolling darkness tank, I've been experimenting with Xalek as a DPS: changing his stance, prioritizing willpower over endurance, etc. and so far its working just fine. But I haven't found a focus worthy of replacing his current shield, and I've had trouble figuring out which secondary stats (power,crit,surge,etc.) to prioritize. Has anyone else tried this?

I basically picked Assassin because of the holonet pic and description. Which is ironic, because there really aren't a ton of armor options that look anything like the holonet pic. And the inquisitor story doesn't really have any deception or manipulation like it says in the description. Yet somehow I still ended up loving the class and it is now my main

As I was going through the story I kept thinking...why does this suck? Those are two reasons I didn't think of that completely make sense. My main frustration (as it appears to be with everyone else) was...where is the manipulation? Where is the palpatine-esque backstabbing and deceit that are the very basis of what a "sith" is (not to mention part of the basic description of a sith inquisitor on the holonet). Also, the whole "oh you're super powerful now that you've binded these ghosts" and then subsequently "ok now you're super weak cause you can't control them" had literally no effect on gameplay. Not that I want to be a weakened, stumbling mess during act 2 but you can't have something like that in the story if you aren't going to make it at least appear to be a real "issue" during normal gameplay. It all felt like one big jedi mind trick of dontworryaboutit.

One thing I forgot to put in the rotation (can't believe I forgot it but hey, this was off the top of my head) that often comes in handy for PVE is electrocute. Its up to you where you put it, but honestly I have it up there around #2 on the priority list because I'm a huge fan of cc and it also works as an interrupt in some cases. If assassin tanks have a weakness, its against large numbers that can kill our stacks of dark ward. So being able to stun an enemy while you wail on another can be pretty valuable.

As a tank, I instapop almost every time, even if I only join the queue for a single flashpoint.

http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/25000000/Change-LOL-XD-south-park-25090788-1260-1596.png Anything that will give me more dps is change I can believe in

Well, their total damage over the whole fight was about even. But each maul hit for 2040.33 and each thrash hit for 669.14. Even if its counting each thrash hit individually, thats still 2040>1340. If the idea is that you're replacing a thrash in the rotation with a maul whenever it procs, I'd say its worth it.

Its more of a priority list than rotation: 1. Keep all defensive cooldown's active (dark ward, deflection, etc.) and use interrupts or force shroud when you can see big attacks coming. Most important is dark ward. They've made it so that your best utilization is to re-activate DW just before you run out of stacks, since its effectiveness increases the fewer stacks are left. 2. HARD hitting attacks like maul (when it procs from conspirator's cloak so you can use it frontal) or assassinate (when target is below 30% health) 3. Force Lightning when it has 3 stacks of harnessed darkness (HD stacks are gained by using shock and wither, and with 3 stacks this causes massive damage AND self-heals you. If your health starts to get low, this becomes priority numero uno since its the only way you can get your health back up without a healer.) 4. Shock and Wither to get stacks of harnessed darkness. 5. Discharge (more for the debuff than damage) 6. Thrash (procs maul because of conspirator's cloak, and procs the talent energize which finishes the cooldown on your next shock and makes it an autocrit. Maul also procs energize, but thrash does it twice as fast since it hits twice) 7. Saber strike (if you are out of force, which will be rare) As an added note, try to activate recklessness and overcharge saber JUST before you use your force lightning with 3 stacks of HD. Also, there are situational abilities that also need to be utilized. Taunts (mind control, mass mind control) are important as a tank because your whole job is to keep enemies off the fragile DPSes and healers. Use them whenever you see a team member getting killed or a healer running for his/her life. Lacerate can also be useful, but only if there are at LEAST 4 mobs around you. Otherwise its not worth the foce cost, especially at the expense of derailing your rotation. As you can tell, this is not a simple rotation. Thats what makes assassin tanks frustrating/hard/fun/awesome. Over time you just get a feel for when to use each ability.

I started a thread about this, and so far the best build we've come up with is this: http://pts.swtor-spy.com/skill-tree-calculator/sith-assassin/222/?build=020332201121023002120203020200100302000000000000000000000000000000220000000000000000000000000000&ver=20 Which is apparently considered to be the "standard" darkness build.

A few of us discussed it on this thread: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=622731 and Hockaday ran a parse on False Emporer's Malgus fight: http://www.torparse.com/a/177158/24/0/Overview which shows: Maul Average Damage Per Hit: 1694.88 Thrash Average Damage Per Hit: 509.8 Overall it looks like mauling to the face is DEFINITELY worth it when it procs. Huge damage, and it has the same force cost if both points in conspirator's cloak are taken.

Agree completely. First day on 2.0 I soloed a [Heroic 4] with just me and Talos. This was my reaction: http://www.refinedguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/4-excited-nets-basketball-fan.gif

Just got a message from KeyboardNinja on a tank thread, but its relevant here: His reasoning makes sense. And since we're obviously doing a lot more thrashing that I initially thought in we would in 2.0...new build: http://pts.swtor-spy.com/skill-tree-calculator/sith-assassin/222/?build=022332201121023002120203020200100300000000000000000000000000000000220000000000000000000000000000&ver=20

Thanks, hockaday. Lemme do a quick glance at the numbers... Maul = 2189.47 avg dmg/hit Thrash = 741.32 avg dmg/hit Wow. Well then. I stand unbelievably corrected. However: Over length of the parse (3m 5s) Maul = 32842 total damage Thrash = 103785 total damage While I realize this is a little skewed since a lot of those thrashes would be replaced by shocks/withers/discharges/lightning in a real fight, maul is proc'ed by thrash so I'd assume the ratio between these in a real fight would be vaguely similar which means the a 6% bonus to thrash will be more valuable than a 6% bonus to maul. So basically, YES use maul whenever it procs but definitely pick 2 points in thrashing blades over 3 points in assassin's mark when filling out your skill tree.

I've wondered the same thing. Both thrash and maul proc energize (along with assassinate and lacerate), which means that really isn't in consideration when comparing them. Also, given how energy conservation is now basically out the window with 2.0 that really isn't a huge concern either. With just straight damage, here is what torhead says about each: Maul Deals 1748 - 1981 weapon damage to a single target. Thrash Strikes the target twice. Each hit deals 1095 - 1168 weapon damage. So you're looking at [1748-1981] < [2190-2336]. Plus, that doesn't take into account the 6% boost to thrash damage if you put two skill points into thrashing blades. You can get a 6% boost to maul with assassin's mark, but you have to spend 3 points instead of 2 plus thrashing blades also affects lacerate (and voltaic slash, but if you're going darkness you won't end up with that). Also, you HAVE to use thrash or assassinate to proc a frontal maul so if you're having to thrash anyways why not just maximize the damage that causes and continue to thrash? I'm not an experienced theorycrafter, and I've heard that maul IS part of an optimized rotation, so take this all with a grain of salt. But I'd be interested to hear an explanation from someone smarter than me how maul is worth using over thrash.

Just played 2.0 for the first time last night using the build discussed and MAN do we have a ton of energy now. I'm seriously debating re-assigning the 2 points from torment because as Grump so elequently put it: Would thrashing blades be best? Also considering exploitive strikes or assassin's mark...

Born and raised in Grapevine, TX. Class of '09 graduate from Texas A&M (major in industrial engineering, minors in business and music). Glad to know there are some other Texas folks out there playing swtor. Does anyone know of any good guilds to join on the Jedi Covenant server? Maybe even ones with a few other members from D/FW?

I live in Texas ~20 minutes from the park so I'm up for it. Would be awesome if it just HAPPENED to be "May the 4th be with you" day (the Red Sox are in town) Oh and Texas RULES. If only there weren't so many damn far right republicans...

Good to know after all this discussion and modifying I did, in fact, end up exactly at the "standard" 2.0 build. At the very least I know mine is not crazy enough to get a "OMGWTFAREYOUDOING?!? *punt* " from anyone in an op.

Some of my favorite swtor moments are when I need 3 more kills for the bonus mission and see an explosive barrel next to a mob of 3

I thought of this too, but wasn't sure why no one else mentioned it so I kept my n00b mouth shut. Couldn't you re-allocate the two points in thrashing blades to shroud of darkness? Again, this is assuming that priority #1 is survivability as a tank. This would be that potential build: http://pts.swtor-spy.com/skill-tree-calculator/sith-assassin/222/?build=020332201121023002120203020200100302000000000000000000000000000000220000000000000000000000000000&ver=20 My only thought is that now that the force regen has been boosted we'll probably be thrashing a LOT more. Thoughts?

Yeah, an assassin tank shouldn't have to worry about aggro at all, mainly because of the x2 to threat generation for tanks. I think the conspirator's cloak talent is worth it over shroud of darkness because of the general ineffectiveness of s.o.d., but in general survivability IS your only role. Thats kind of the definition. Same reason no one complains about Peyton Manning's ability to play cornerback for the Broncos. He's the quarterback. Not the cornerback. You're a team, you have roles. Everybody does their part, which makes the unit greater than the sum of its parts.

I saw your other post in the tank role forum and hopefully KBN will repost because I'm interested to see the new rotation calcs. If maul really is a worthy addition to the rotation (we really must be getting a sizeable boost to force regen), I'd assume Shroud of Darkness would be the best place to pull those 2 points from. So, newest updated build: http://pts.swtor-spy.com/skill-tree-calculator/sith-assassin/222/?build=022312201121023002120203020200100302000000000000000000000000000000220000000000000000000000000000&ver=20 One new question though: if maul has now been inserted into the rotation, would it be better to use one point on shroud of darkness or assassin's mark in the deception tree? I'm leaning towards shroud since mark only increases the damage done by maul by 2%, and most of the time I'll only be using maul when it procs. Thoughts?