notes on v1.10 (beta) Assassin Blade skills

[Crystalion]

The bonus is just a straight +(lvl*5) AR.  The code for the +AR% is item_tohit_percent.

I was afraid of that. With an AR of only 5 I can't even see the point of a Conviction Paly helping such a rushee out. This whole thing seems pretty broken to me (a 5% minimum to-hit attack that checks every frame and thus still hits just seems a screwy way to go about coding).

Basically correct.  The missile that is used has a built in delay of 25 frames before it can hurt the same target again.

Well, as I theorized, this still begs the question of just how it is implemented that it remembers who/when it hit. If the missile itself remembers, and uses one bucket instead of a linked list, then it will match my theory and my (admittedly error prone) observations.

The missile will be able to interact with all targets in its area of effect

Hmm. Obviously I should add missiles.txt to the list of files I scan. Just how large is this AoE roughly in terms of the "range" numbers we know and love?

Jewel of Envy, req level of 1, poison damage with rate of 103/256 per frame for 50 frames (~20 points over 2 seconds or ~10pts/sec).  I listed it out his way for what is to follow.

Ah, but you seem to be forgetting that the way SrcDam has been changed from v1.09 to v1.10.  It now also effects more than just the physical damage from the user, but also the elemental effects too.

No, I didn't forget. It's the Flawless level of poison damage with a clvl req of 1 that has drawn my attention. Getting only 3/8ths is still good enough... sockets: 3 body, 3 mask, 3 shield, 6 sword (crystal--all twinked, so why not go for max sockets here also?) should be 15x20x3/8 or 112.5 poison damage in 2 seconds (assuming the target doesn't get refreshed with poison by the "whirlygig"). Not bad for a clvl 6 "cast and forget" spell.

Also note that the 'blade skills' also have an additional factor that when using a 2-handed weapon that the SrcDam will be cut in half yet again (flag Half2HSrc=1 in missiles.txt),

Useful to know, thanks.

Also since the required level of use of the Sur Rune is 61, it is somewhat out of the scope of what Crystalion was looking at.

Strangling Gas Potions and Poison Javalin at clvl 6 seem to be pretty effective. But Walkiry mentioned that Assassin BoS (burst of speed, clvl 6) was very helpful in practice in the Great Race. (Naturally we'll twink Hsarus' boots and belt also). This suggests that getting to the monsters with BoS & +run/walk, luring them into clumps and "cast and forget" killing them with Blade Sentry has potential. The 112.5 above can be bumped at clvl 18 (perf emeralds in sword) and along the way by charms (including other +damage charms). Doorway and corridor fighting are likely to also be amenable to this technique (whereas poison javelin and blaze fall down there).

I really like the clvl 12 Blade Fury skill, so I stopped using Blade Sentinel with my Assassin once I got there. However that may have been a tactical mistake, as a deeper understanding of the mechanics of the skill and bending build and playstyle accordingly might be time efficient (at least for a twink).

While my hopes for this approach are still not so high as to imagine I can touch the fantastic leveling times possible by assisted play (as opposed to twinking) I'm still, as I've mentioned, quite interested in things one can do without having to have two characters (or humans at least) actively involved in playing at the same time.