ZRated Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Got him to Lvl42 and wow.... suddenly he has become so squishy that I can barely handle a 3 man mob of standards same level (with Ashara). I spent 2 days on my alts crafting blue and purple gear for my level and it helped slightly. I WAS spec'd with Darkness but decided maybe Madness was more practical... made no difference. Through the majority of the levels I have had fun with this character and got my "combos" etc. down for it.... but all the sudden... I am at 50% health within 5 seconds of entering a fight. I have to spam medpacks and even run from a -2 level Elite now bc I am less than 15% health before I know it. I really don't want to have to finish the class out playing with Talos for heals like I did with Quinn on my Marauder... So.... I am into PvE atm... what is a good balance or tree for me?? I was thinking of going tank with this one...but getting 2 shotted by an Elite doesn't seem to be very tank-worthy. My damage is pretty good.... here are my stats as of right now. HP = 10,265 I have been gearing in this order Willpower/Endurance/Power/Shield/Crits I use any cc I can in fights but my damage intake is so heavy I barely make it through the fight anymore... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maranea Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Well, I don't really know the class so all I can do is offer some generic advice. You're trying to play with a medium armor DPS companion, while you are a light armor DPS yourself. So no real tank, and no healing. No wonder you're struggling against tough foes. Things might go better if you go with either a healing (preferably) or tank companion. You can also try tank spec yourself. The talents give quite a bit of mitigation/avoidance and you could probably even keep running with Azshara that way. The trade-off is that you'll do a bit less damage as a tank. Did you pick up Insulation, btw? IIRC that adds a nice armor boost for DPS assassins. Gearing for shield rating as DPS is useless, as you won't (shouldn't) be using a shield generator but a focus, so you won't have a shield. You'll probably get much better advice in the Assassin forum though, so I suggest you try there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaster_for_hire Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Not sure how you're having this much difficulty. I leveled my Assassin from 10-50 as Darkness (tank) Spec and hardly ever dropped below 85% health using Ashara as well. If you wish to go back to tank spec then you can follow this advice. Always kill weaker enemies first as they die the fastest and it reduces the over all damage coming in. One of your strongest attacks is shock, particularly with Energize procs. Keep in mind that shock also stuns standard enemy types throwing their damage back. Try to use this a lot. Wither is a strong aoe damager that also reduces damage done by the enemy. Also acts as an aoe slow so enemy melee mobs will have trouble moving. You should use this on CD Keep darkward up. Darkward maximizes the chance for your shield to proc thus reducing over all incoming damage. Downside is it has limited charges and duration however it is easily counteracted by having a low CD & Cost. Use Force Lightning at 3 Stacks of Harnessed Darkness. The damage will be boosted by 75% and you'll be healed for 3% of your total health every sec of the duration. This can end up happening a lot in any given fight and affords you a lot of health. Use Thrash and basic melee attack as a filler move in between shocks & withers. Use Discharge during aoe situations as well. It does decent aoe damage and reduces the enemys chance to hit. (less damage coming in) When an enemy is below 30% always replace using thrash with Assassinate. Also keep in mind you can start out a fight by CCing an elite humanoid from stealth. using your stun on elites is the best choice for it. Interrupt enemys trying cast abilities. You can use Spike as a second method to throw off the enemy cast time. You can knock enemys off cliffs for fall damage or even to their death. If things really get tough you can Rotate defensive cooldowns. Deflection, Force Shroud, Relics. (at 50 overcharge saber) Keep your companion as geared as you can. The better geared they are the better off you are too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eternalnight Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Gearing for shield rating as DPS is useless For DPS it is. but... Even in tank spec assassin while they may want some shield rating, both the absorb rating and defense are higher priority. Shield chance is already pretty high with dark charge + dark ward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AresGOW Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I have a Sith assassin also and am curious how do you know the difference between tank and DPS and which one you are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eternalnight Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I have a Sith assassin also and am curious how do you know the difference between tank and DPS and which one you are? Uhm... Where do I even start? Whatever you choose to be... Make your choice Tank = you pull the enemies to attacking you DPS = you stand behind the enemy and stab it into back while it is attacking whoever is the tank (companion or another player) Now if you go all the way tank or all the way dps and not some weird hybrid Tank: -Spend your skillpoints mainly in the Darkness skill tree -Use shield in off-hand -Use Dark Charge -use gear with more endurance than willpower -use secondary stats like defense rating, absorb rating, shield rating DPS: -Spend your skillpoints mainly in one of the other 2 skill trees -Use focus in off-hand -Use use one of the other lightsaber Charges (depending which skill tree) -use gear with more willpower than endurance -use secondary stats like crit rating, surge, power and so on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZRated Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 Well..at first in the lower levels I was just playing the class to learn it. Once I picked up guard I figured tank...so I originally went with HP over Dmg and went straight on for absorbs, shield, defense attributes. It was rockin' through the 30s and then it hit a brick wall. I just got to Belsavis at lvl42 and any mob same level or lower gets me down to 20% health etc. The above tips I pretty much do.. I keep mt defense buffs running and time some of them. I even tried sending Ashara off to take aggro for a bit and then pull aggro off her to me later on. I already don't like Madness tree so I will go back to Darkness again. So keeping Dark charge is the way to go?? I have kept it through all levels but changed over to the Lightning Charge for Madness... Surely there is something I am missing as far as spec here. I'm about to shelf this alt for crafting and go back to leveling my Jug to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeBeforeDeath Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 (edited) I WAS spec'd with Darkness but decided maybe Madness was more practical.... Well there's your problem! you went from the tank spec to Madness, which is the worst assassin spec ! Edited March 18, 2012 by LifeBeforeDeath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZRated Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 Yea just spec'd back to darkness... I was more used to it anyways. Madness does suck... I used it for about 2 hours and hated it. Seemed real buggy too.... The death field parameters aren't set right... I can have 3 enemies right in that circle and only get one heal for it.... Going to re-gear (again) and see about replacing some of my crit mods etc with defense and shield... I am sitting at 28% resist, 20% defense chance and 30% shield chance right now.... I think maybe absorb needs to be in there a little better... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyradin Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Also look at what lightsaber charge you are using, if you aren't using the tank form, you get ZERO benefit from using a shield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eternalnight Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 (edited) Also look at what lightsaber charge you are using, if you aren't using the tank form, you get ZERO benefit from using a shield While the hints you get to see while in a loading screen do seem to be written in a way that seems to suggest this, after having tested it, I'm quite sure that is not entirely true. Whenever you have a shield equipped, even if you're not using your tank mode (dark charge for assassin) you still have 5% shield chance. Turning on the tank mode increases this by 15% to a total of 20% shield chance. After that it gets increased further by various things from the tanks spec skill tree and beyond that by the shield rating stat. And either way, the shield chance increase is not the only reason of the tank stance. Among other things it increases threat which helps to hold aggro. Edited March 18, 2012 by Eternalnight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ki-tec Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 No insult intended here but have you repaired your gear? Happened to me before where I had not repaired it for a good while and was getting insta gibbed by same level mobs. Repairing my gear put me back on track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edj-C Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 so I know I want to go dps and I'm an assassin, im trying to follow the tips im reading on here but I still find im getting my A** kicked and my level progression has slowed ! *I am a noob with mmo's so anyone have some extra basic tips for me ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swtonewbie Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 so I know I want to go dps and I'm an assassin, im trying to follow the tips im reading on here but I still find im getting my A** kicked and my level progression has slowed ! *I am a noob with mmo's so anyone have some extra basic tips for me ? What level, talent tree and companion(s) are you using? I havent played my assassin in a while, but she is 41 and in Belsavis right now, always use Khem and i spec'd into the middle tree (i forget what its called). If you know how to use your skills then you can burst down each mob in a pack. You can either help Khem, or have him take one while you take the others. Here's a tip too for assassins, or any stealth class. When you are stealthed if you target a mob that is say 20 meters away and tell your companion to CTRL+1 (attack) or leap/charge, they will unstealth (and so will you of course). However if you pick a melee attack such as close range AOE (cleave, consume essence) or guardian strike (close range attack that buffs armor) then instead they will stay stealthed walk to the target and unstealth once they are close enough. Here is how i handle a typical pull 3-4 mobs (if you dont have Voltaic strike, use Thrash instead) -Target mob in middle of pack, cast Khems Consume Essence AOE -Pick a ranged target on the edge of the pack -Maul > Voltaic Strike > Voltaic Strike > Discharge > if still at 10-30% hp then Assassinate -next target, Shock to stun them, Tumult, Voltaic until they are 30% then Assassinate -Target Khems target, Maul if Exploit Weakness is up otherwise Voltaic -clean up For a strong i usually crushing darkness > Voltaic > Voltaic > Shock > Maul if Exploit weakness is up, Blackout if i need more Force. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swtonewbie Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 (edited) Here is what i spec'd to going to 40, i cant remember but i may have 2 points in Insulation instead of Resourcefulness. http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#200ZhGMRkhMrtz.1 By 50 I will probably have 3/3 in Madness/Expoitive Strikes and in Darkness 2/2 Thrashing Blades, 3/3 Charge Mastery and 2/3 Electric Execution. If i were to raid as an assassin i would probably drop Deceptive Power and Obfuscation and put them in Entropic Field and something else. Edited March 18, 2012 by swtonewbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AresGOW Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Yeah I have been going up the madness skill tree but have much higher endurance than willpower but what I seem to be reading on here is that I should switch it over to the darkness skill tree. Is that right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sivenom Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 (edited) Not sure how you're having this much difficulty. I leveled my Assassin from 10-50 as Darkness (tank) Spec and hardly ever dropped below 85% health using Ashara as well. If you wish to go back to tank spec then you can follow this advice. Always kill weaker enemies first as they die the fastest and it reduces the over all damage coming in. One of your strongest attacks is shock, particularly with Energize procs. Keep in mind that shock also stuns standard enemy types throwing their damage back. Try to use this a lot. Wither is a strong aoe damager that also reduces damage done by the enemy. Also acts as an aoe slow so enemy melee mobs will have trouble moving. You should use this on CD Keep darkward up. Darkward maximizes the chance for your shield to proc thus reducing over all incoming damage. Downside is it has limited charges and duration however it is easily counteracted by having a low CD & Cost. Use Force Lightning at 3 Stacks of Harnessed Darkness. The damage will be boosted by 75% and you'll be healed for 3% of your total health every sec of the duration. This can end up happening a lot in any given fight and affords you a lot of health. Use Thrash and basic melee attack as a filler move in between shocks & withers. Use Discharge during aoe situations as well. It does decent aoe damage and reduces the enemys chance to hit. (less damage coming in) When an enemy is below 30% always replace using thrash with Assassinate. Also keep in mind you can start out a fight by CCing an elite humanoid from stealth. using your stun on elites is the best choice for it. Interrupt enemys trying cast abilities. You can use Spike as a second method to throw off the enemy cast time. You can knock enemys off cliffs for fall damage or even to their death. If things really get tough you can Rotate defensive cooldowns. Deflection, Force Shroud, Relics. (at 50 overcharge saber) Keep your companion as geared as you can. The better geared they are the better off you are too. What this guy said. If you stay madness (and my inq is when I want to DPS--this would be level 43 for you --. Normally she's a tank) It's actually very easy to return your HP as it's lost. You just need to make sure you are balancing yourself around the most needed stat. Just make sure you're using Khem at an up to date armoring level. Ashara is not a good choice for a madness assassin. I take willpower > surge > power/crit and do just fine. The most important thing is you need to make sure that you are killing in an effective order and using your Defensive cooldowns/stuns where appropriate. Edited March 18, 2012 by Sivenom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooTheDay Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I'm with the OP. At 38th level, I'm easily killed by a random encounter on the roads of Quesh. I focused on Madness, which was probably a mistake and I may re-balance. But I am disappointed with the class. Stealth is amazingly fun and cool, and I'm ok with going DPS and not being a strong tank. I know that means I'll get manhandled sometimes. But, it seems like the game sets me up for failure. Many/Most of the missions involve a one-on-one fight with the end boss (well, 2-on-1 since you've got your companion). These often happen after video cutscenes where you can't prep for the fight. I almost always die in my first attempt. When I can pick my enemies, and get the jump on them, I'm ok. But when I get hit with any kind of surprise encounter or one I can't stealth away from, i'm toast. It wouldn't bother me so much except that the game seems to set me up into so many bad situations. Just frustrating. It's sad because I love Stealth. It saves a ton of time to go around guards, rather than fight them. But eventually, it seems like every mission ends up in the "you have to play tank" moment. Ah well. Cheers, --roo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sivenom Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I'm with the OP. At 38th level, I'm easily killed by a random encounter on the roads of Quesh. I focused on Madness, which was probably a mistake and I may re-balance. But I am disappointed with the class. Stealth is amazingly fun and cool, and I'm ok with going DPS and not being a strong tank. I know that means I'll get manhandled sometimes. But, it seems like the game sets me up for failure. Many/Most of the missions involve a one-on-one fight with the end boss (well, 2-on-1 since you've got your companion). These often happen after video cutscenes where you can't prep for the fight. I almost always die in my first attempt. When I can pick my enemies, and get the jump on them, I'm ok. But when I get hit with any kind of surprise encounter or one I can't stealth away from, i'm toast. It wouldn't bother me so much except that the game seems to set me up into so many bad situations. Just frustrating. It's sad because I love Stealth. It saves a ton of time to go around guards, rather than fight them. But eventually, it seems like every mission ends up in the "you have to play tank" moment. Ah well. Cheers, --roo That's kind of how a stealth class plays, I'm sorry to say. The biggest deal with assassin is know what to do in the cases you DON'T have the upper hand. That separates the men from the boys, so to speak. If you noticed a lot of the class quests are designed just so as to not be the most ideal fight for your class. It's quite a unique system in that is does make you think a little. They're not forcing you to play a tank. They're forcing you to play smart. You can very well level as a madness and defeat these bosses easily, just knowing how the environment is laid out and the fight's mechanics. And not get hit. once. Just need to adapt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wardrich Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Assassin gets gradually more difficult in the 40's, Belsavis isn't too bad, but Voss the difficulty sky rockets (dream cave and the Avatar anyone?!). I levelled to 44 as Madness and then HAD to switch to survive. For Voss, or if you're having difficulty before Voss I suggest the following; - Spec into the Darkness tree. Yes it's the tank tree, however your DPS will still be on par with Deception/Madness but you have FAR better damage mitigation, force regeneration and ability to fight multiple targets. - Use Doc Trellik and keep him geared as or better than you. Keep combat (including enemy AOE) away from him so he doesn't waste time healing himself. - Learn to reduce the number of targets your fighting (2 normals + 1 strong = kill the normals first). - Learn to use your interrupts. Interrupt priority on the enemy attacks should be damage over time, channeled, AOE. - Use your crowd control. Your opening move should be whirlwind if there's a strong in the pack (usually is on Voss). - Carry presence stims. Pop one whenever you're doing a multi-stage bonus quest chain as it will gradually get more difficult. Presences boosts the effectiveness of your companion (in this case Trellik). Oh and don't be afraid to ask for assistance, you're playing an Assassin, it's basically a gimped Sorcerer with stealth and a double-bladed lightsaber! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shardie Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 When does the Assassin get its healer? If your having trouble around then, you should run with it. But the Assassin/Shadow class really comes alive at 40; thats when the awesome skills are unlocked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eternalnight Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 When does the Assassin get its healer? Healing companion? They get that in Hoth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shardie Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Healing companion? They get that in Hoth Well then at the point the OP is at he should have them. If he is DPS spec, he should be running with the healer if he is having survivability problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swtonewbie Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Well then at the point the OP is at he should have them. If he is DPS spec, he should be running with the healer if he is having survivability problems. OP is running dps/dps when he should be running tank/dps. Preferably the comp taking the tank role, because the player can put out more burst then Andronikus (smuggler type) and Ashara (Marauder type). Healer/DPS means that unless you are improving your rotation or attack routine, you're now gonna be killing packs slower then before. Also as an Assassin with healer/dps or dps/dps you miss out on a lot of Maul damage. With Khem and Qyzen their high threat AOE attack will allow you to Maul/Shadow Strike. Even if a mob is out of range of their cleave or high threat AOE attack, once you tap a mob Khem/Qyzen will taunt it so that you can hit their backside. Only problem with running Khem and me as dps is i have to heal him up after fights (or dismiss/resummon) and i have to make sure we dont get jumped by another group/patrol. But the faster kill time we both have makes up for the longer kill times i would have with a healer comp and me dps and not needing to heal us both after fights. But maybe thats just me, i run with the best comp for the given situation. Other people like their other comps or they are trying to build up affection for crafting. Because of that though, their desired comp, playstyle and spec might not mesh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AresGOW Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Yeah I have been using Khem consistently and he always seems to to get killed with a decent sized mob or a couple strong NPC's but for the most part I can heal with seethe afterward or dismiss and resummon as long as I don't get attacked by another mob. Overall though he seems to be the best for me as I just reached lvl 40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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