Trap Assassin Tips?

[Dixen Andomiel]

Okay, first attempt at a Trap Assassin... and I'm rather impressed. Points are spread all over the place while I toy with this and that trap... but I'll be if I can't really nail down what I want to do.

I like the Lightning Sentry, but the Death Sentry *really* holds my curiosity as of now (still not level 30). I have quite a number of skill points saved and nearly all of my stat points saved as I'm still unsure of my direction.

Tips, hints... bugs, that's a big one... what *bugs* should I be aware of.

All help is appreciated.

[XOblivionX]

Making a trap assn is pretty simple as far as i know.

Also depends on the place where your using the traps

Fire//death sentries (not inferno, just wake of fire) are good for clearing cows, so you might want to invest some in those

Also (not sure if its a good idea) get a shadow and mana leech, or just put alot of points in energy.

correct me if im wrong on the above statement, cuz im really not sure

[ShadowHM]

Also (not sure if its a good idea) get a shadow and mana leech, or just put alot of points in energy.

correct me if im wrong on the above statement, cuz im really not sure

Traps don't leech anything. Mana regen is good. My trapper is just a baby......42 or so, and she is still delighting in her Civerb's Icon amulet to let her spam traps.

Shadow Master is handy. A spare and spammable tank is a good thing. :D I picked a Prayer mercenary and am still dithering over a Holy Freeze one.

[Nicodemus Phaulkon]

Why the Hell are you posting a reply then?

You claim it's easy, but you don't cite any experience. You offer advice that indicates a PROFOUND lack of understanding of the build...

and why?

So I have to load and cache that monstrosity of a signature you bear?

Cripes, man. You not only talk like a fool, you post like one too.

[Nicodemus Phaulkon]

Here, I took five minutes of my life and gave you some charity. There's only about a hundred Trapper threads in the achives, try doing your own homework from here on out, neh?

thread

thread

thread

[XOblivionX]

I dont recall saying that i didnt have any ''experience"

[ShadowHM]

I dont recall saying that i didnt have any ''experience"

You didn't cite any experience, and admitted to not knowing whether or not mana leech would do any good.

I have 'been there, done that' in terms of handing out advice when I don't know enough about the topic. I have had to learn the hard way to either wait for a knowledgable person to post (as in a couple of days worth of waiting) or really be careful of what I claim.

Now it is your turn. :huh: I hope you are a faster learner than I have proved myself to be. :lol:

[Nicodemus Phaulkon]

I dont recall saying that i didnt have any ''experience"

Really. Is that a fact, now? I do recall you saying:

Also (not sure  if its a good idea) get a shadow and mana leech, or just put alot of points in energy.
correct me if im wrong on the above statement, cuz im really not sure

Which "shadow" would that be? Mana leech... on a character that doesn't rely on personal combat? Alot of points in Energy... well thank you so much. All of which you prefaced with a vague allusion to clearing cows (which is certainly the single most challenging aspect of the game, I'm certain). <_<

If you do have experience, one would have to ask why you didn't learn a bloody thing?

Further, here's some reading material:

Keep your pictures small.
For the sake of the dial-up modem users out there, please limit the maximum size of your pictures used in signatures and avatars to 30 kilobytes. Understandably, if you're posting a game screenshot it could be large; however, when you put large pictures in your signature you are continually slowing down everyone who loads threads with your posts in them.
-Lurker Lounge Rules page

[D2Player69]

I also thought his comments weren't very useful, Nico, but let's try to keep the Lounge a supportive, welcoming place. There's no need for that kind of invective here.

[Occhidiangela]

Works great. It is not a tweaker skill, spammed quickly, but it only takes one point in Mind Blast to make it lethal.

Find a little group, Mind Blast, Drop down five Infernos (or four and a Death Sentry) and you would be surprised how fast the life goes down as the critters stand there stunned for a few seconds. Those that convert die when the Death Sentry blows up when the conversion wears off and all the other bodies provide ammo. :)

At level 20 average is 196 per shot.
At level 24 average is 245 per shot
At level 30 average is 318 per shot.

Now, with five slvl 24 inferno traps shooting 10 times, that is, for example, 50X245 = 12250 points. I realize the issue of damage over time makes Wake of FIre attractive. It has a lower mana cost as well. Style really drives this choice.

At 20 62 points per shot.
At 24 78 points per shot
At 30 102 points per shot

And only five shots per trap. Now, you get to recast them two or three times before you would have to recast the WoI, maybe four, but the raw damage seems to be quite a bit less.

4X5X5 x 78 = 7800 if you can cast 4 times per WoI cycle.

Use a bit of Mind Blast, or a Shadow Tank to hold the boss in place, or even Psychic Hammer, and you cook most everything with WoI without a lot of effort. :)

[Nicodemus Phaulkon]

I also thought his comments weren't very useful, Nico, but let's try to keep the Lounge a supportive, welcoming place. There's no need for that kind of invective here.

Ah yes. Quite right. My apologies. I didn't realize that support and welcome involved suffering through a plethora of "Well, I'm not sure... how about you guys?" postings. Not offering anything of substance or feedback was never an occasion to miss abusing the reply button, after all. Bandwidth was made to be used, don'tchaknow. Certainly I would start to follow suit with my own "Gosh, I have no idea, but I'm sure that someone here does. I'll just post here to indicate that I'm clueless on this one, and let you read the real replies under me." It'll be nice to put up with the level of stupidity that one sees from Dii.net posters... make the 1337s feel all warm and homey.

I'll save my "invective" for those occasions that call for it, then. Say, someone who uses "ur", "wut" and "cuz", who can't find the apostrophe if his life depended on it and whose Shift key seems to operate on its own. Someone whose postings are dwarfed in size by their actual signature which espouses a supposed wit or wisdom, 1337 d00d callsign, "quote of the month" and several oversized gifs.

...

...wait a second...

[Brista]

This guide (originally posted here) is my favourite :)

http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/in...=ST&f=56&t=3823

[Roland]

...maybe I'm just spoiled, or different, because of my years spent on the DSF. But, back then, when someone posted a question to which we had each answered a thousand times, and to which the answers were readily available in half a dozen places, it was NOT custom to trash the original poster for not "doing your own homework". After all, that was why they had come to us: to find the answers, because they didn't know. And you know what? We provided them, time and again. POLITELY. Some of us went so far as to write up a whole mini-guide each time the question was raised, instead of just posting a link pointing to where the information could be found.

Now, this may not be the DSF, but seeing as how it was founded by those who were originally from the DSF, I don't think the attitude towards people and their questions has changed any.

Next time, instead of trashing someone for posting a question, no matter how simple, why don't you try and be polite and helpful, without the dripping sarcasm? Mayhap you should do your OWN homework next time, as to the customs of the forums.

(BTW - That's TWICE. ;) Say hello to Trag'Oul for me. ;))

[davcol]

Brista thank you for that link. I'd never seen that guide before and it's both well researched and well written.

A few comments on the authors suggestions: It's possible to play a trapper effectively with no points in energy.
This frees up a lot of points for vitality and gives you a nice cushion when you miscalculate.

It's not too difficult to shop for +3 traps claws and to use a dual claw setup. I find that the added damage more
than makes up for the loss of a shield. I still leave a shield in the weapon switch, but I find that I rarely need it.

I've used both a holy freeze merc and the cold iron wolf. I mostly play in hell and I find that his cold damage
makes a nice addition to my fire and lightning.

I also have maxed the death sentry. It's certainly not needed, but it sure is fun to watch a level 37 death sentry
in a two player game. :)


-davcol

[Roland]

Okay, first attempt at a Trap Assassin... and I'm rather impressed.&nbsp; Points are spread all over the place while I toy with this and that trap... but I'll be if I can't really nail down what I want to do.

I&nbsp; like the Lightning Sentry, but the Death Sentry *really* holds my curiosity as of now (still not level 30).&nbsp; I have quite a number of skill points saved and nearly all of my stat points saved as I'm still unsure of my direction.

Tips, hints... bugs, that's a big one... what *bugs* should I be aware of.

All help is appreciated.

True, they may never match the killing speed of, say, a Firewall Sorc in the Bloody Foothills, but they have great power in their own right. And, they're a hell of alot more fun. :)

Let's see here. Tips for a Trapassin. Well, off the top of my head:

- Don't overdue Energy. Sorceress' and Necromancers use high Energy due to the demands of their skills. Their skills tend to be a) costly, B) targeted, and c) spammable. Traps are a VERY different breed; they're a) cheap, B) stationary, and c) "fire 'n forget". You don't need alot of Energy when you're only spending 20 mana per shot. Alot of mana, for a non-caster class, but not orb-breaking. And, since you can have no more than 5 Traps onscreen at any given time, you're only spending 100 mana at a go. 500 Mana is usually quite sufficient for general needs, as your mana regeneration is usually enough to counter-act your mana usage, and it would be rare that you'd be emptying your entire ball in any short period of time. And, the bulk of that you'll probably get from +mana items, rather than high Energy. I recommend getting your Energy up to around 75, and going from there. If you find yourself running short alot, jack it up to about 100, and see how it goes from there. I strongly recommend against going any higher than 150, and really any higher than 100, if you can help it, but that partially depends on personal taste, and partially on item luck.

- Learn monster resistances, and pay attention to it. The screen will tell you if the monster is immune or not, but it says nothing about whether they are resistant. Don't waste your mana with Fire traps when your enemy is Fire Resistant. Watch to see how fast the enemies' life goes down. If you think it's going down too slowly, try a different trap. Experiment, and remember what you find. It'll save you alot of frustration down the road.

- Weapon speed affects how fast you can cast Traps. This is just like a Sorceress with Lightning / Chain Lightning. It's generally recommend to go with a fast Claw-class weapon, or a good Scimitar. Not only are Claws typically fast for an Assassin, but they can boast +individual Assassin Skills, as well, and are good for +Assassin Skills and +Assassin Skill Trees, too. Runic Talons feature a -30 base speed, so they're probably your best bet. They only require 115 Strength and Dexterity, which leaves you plenty of stat points for Energy and, yes, even Vitality.

- Heavenly Garb or a "Stealth" Runeword Armor will serve you QUITE well, particularly the Stealth. Not only do they both offer a modest boost to your Mana Regeneration, but the Stealth armor adds a minor bonus to your Dexterity, and a healthy bonus to your Walk / Run Speed, and Hit Recovery. The Faster Cast Rate won't affect your Trap casting, but it WILL affect your other, non-Trap spells, such as Shadow Warrior / Master, Burst of Speed, Fade, etc. All in all a VERY nice armor, and one you may find yourself using throughout your characters entire career.

- Shadow Master is typically a better choice for a minion than Shadow Warrior. Why? Shadow Warrior uses the same skills you do. Normally, this can be beneficial, as it allows you to control EXACTLY what your minion uses. However, this actually works AGAINST you with Traps. Since there can only be 5 Traps on the screen at any given time, per owner, whenever your Minion casts a trap, it eats into that limit. If you have your 5 traps placed around monsters already, and your Shadow Warrior decides to cast a trap, the oldest trap you created gets destroyed. Sometimes this won't be an issue, as it may cast it in relatively the same place. But, more often than not, your Warrior will wander off in search of monsters, and fire off a Trap at monsters you aren't currently engaging. This can be, at best, extremely annoying, and at worst downright lethal. For this reason, it's better to stick with a Shadow Master. Plus, your Master will have better stats, and have a much greater variety of skills (such as Mind Blast and Venom), making your team that much more versatile.

- Burst of Speed will be your best friend. Not only does it make you move faster, a critical part to being a Trapassin (you need to stick and move, and run circles around your enemies in order to keep them near the traps), but it speeds up your attack speed, which invariably raises your Trap casting speed. Besides, more speed is always a plus. ;)

- Cloak of Shadow, and also Mind Blast, was especially designed to be used in conjunction with Traps. Fire off a Cloak, and your enemies are blinded, leaving you free to roam wherever you wish. This ALSO allows you to set up traps without having to worry about the monsters moving out of their firing range before they get a chance to act, a problem especially common with fast monsters. Once the monsters are damaged, the effect is cancelled, but by that time you should have them surrounded by 5 traps anyway, so the point should be moot. Mind Blast works equally well on small groups of monsters, although it doesn't work on the whole screen as Cloak of Shadow does. Mind Blasting a small pack of monsters will not only stun them for a short period, but potentially turn a few to your cause, thereby thinning out their ranks even further. While they are stunned, you can lay down traps without fear of retaliation, and your traps get in free hits without worry of the monsters wandering out of range. Now, take everything that's great about each of those skills, and combine it. Cloak of Shadow + Mind Blast is a lethal combination that can clear out any number of monsters in seconds. Use it, and use it well. It is your bread & butter. It is your entire trade.

- Your best bet is to pick two traps and stick with them. Personally, I prefer Lightning Sentry over Death sentry, but that's me. For one, Lightning Sentry has higher damage from the lightning. For another, it has 10 shots, instead of 5. For a third, it arrives sooner, and thus gets stronger more quickly. However, Death Sentry DOES add a much-needed element to your arsenal: Physical damage, or more accurately, a third damage type. Its corpse explosion ability is very useful for going up against Shaman and Ancient Horadrim, as well as any other corpse-user. And, it can deal significant damage, as well, making it a viable alternative. My main problem with it is its low number of uses, and coupled with its lower lightning damage, I just prefer Lightning Sentry over Death Sentry. But, again, that's a personal choice, as both are VERY viable. Wake of Inferno is a must-have, and will be dishing out the bulk of your damage. It takes a little getting used to, due to the nature of how the trap fires, but it's high damage rate, coupled with 10 shots per trap, make it the only choice for Fire damage. ;)

- Blade Fury is a possible skill, if you want to have a ranged, physical, skill-based attack. The trick to using it is to fire it like you would a bow, by rapidly clicking, and NOT holding it down. This saves you a ton on the mana cost side of things, and provides better damage. Each time you fire it, it shoots out 3 blades initially. If you hold the button down, and continue to fire, it shoots out one blade at a time after the initial 3. This is why it's best to fire it off with rapid clicks, instead of click & hold.

- An Act 2 Nightmare Holy Freeze Merc is an invaluable addition to your arsenal. The slowing capacity of the aura makes your job just that much easier, as it keeps your enemy in range of your traps for that much longer. This means you kill faster, more efficiently, and don't have to use as many traps. Other mercs work well, but a Holy Freeze merc is probably your best bet.

That should get you pretty well started. I'm sure I could write more, but since I don't feel like re-making an entire guide, I'll leave you with this. :) Hope it helps!

(See Nico? Was that so hard? ;) :D)

[Nicodemus Phaulkon]

(See Nico? Was that so hard?)

Depends on your point of view, Roland.

I invested 5 minutes in finding information that was already in existence and archived. I considered that generous enough.

You spent, I estimate, 30-45 minutes writing your post... which is a regurgitation of everything that's been said before. "Over and Over", as you would say.

You gave your advice. I gave mine.

*tips helm*

[Nicodemus Phaulkon]

Prevent duplicate postings.
In other words, before you go and post about a topic, make sure that the topic hasn't already been discussed within the last few days' worth of postings. The Lounge forum also has a search engine if you're asking a rather rare or esoteric question. That's what the archives are for in the technical or strategy forums - to allow for searches for old material. After you've looked around and could not find anything related to your question/topic, fire away!
-- Lurker Lounge Rules

Q: What happened to the old forums at the Lurker Lounge? Are they still available for viewing?
A: You kidding? One of the major goals of the site is the archiving of good information, so these old forums are still around to be searched...
-- Lurker Lounge FAQ

If we're going to chew our cabbage a multitude of times, "time and time again"... why do we bother with archiving, referencing, search engines or even the making of rules to make USE of them?

I did my homework a long time ago, thank you very much.

*tips helm*

[Roland]

A friendly jab at ya, Nico. No harm meant. :)

I'd wager I spent close to an hour or more writing that, but then, I was slightly distracted here and there. Still, my point was that you could have been a little more polite in your response. That's all. I wasn't trying to imply that you had to give him a long, drawn out answer that spanned 10 pages and 3 hours. Just to be a little friendlier in your reply, that's all.

These forums are here to help people. The least we can do is be polite about it when we do so. It's one thing to ask a question that's on the first page of the forums. It's quite another to ask something that hasn't been addressed in quite some time (as the fact that the answers are found in the archives would show). Had it been a case of the former, I would have agreed with your response. But, seeing as how the question hasn't been raised in some time, I don't think an abrasive reply is in order. You may disagree with me on that, but that's how it's been done for as long as I can remember.

Just my two cents. Take it as you will.

[Roland]

As time goes on, and new patches come out, information and guides can quickly become obsolete. As such, fresh discussion of an issue can not only be helpful, but is often necessary. Archives are good, and some of the data will never be out of date (unless they completely alter the function of something, instead of merely tweaking numbers), but they're no replacement for current information.

D2 is a different beast than D1. Hardly anything has changed about D1 in YEARS, and even that which did change was mostly bugfixes, rather than balancing and whatnot. As such, guides for D1 are FAR more stable, and have a longer shelf-live, than guides for D2. Hence why, again, fresh discussion can be preferable to searching through old, outdated guides.

My only gripe with your reply, as I stated down below, was in your rudeness to the original poster. Nothing more, nothing less. I simply felt you could have been helpful, as you undoubtedly were, without the acidic tone.

Besides Nico, isn't it more fun and exciting to discuss something, rather than just drop a link pointing to the answers? Maybe we differ in that regard, but I much prefer live discussion over stale reading. That's not to say I dislike the use of archived information. Quite the contrary, I feel it can be invaluable. But I also like new discussion, no matter how old the topic is. At least for me, it keeps the topic, and the interest, alive. *shrugs* Mayhap we differ on that one.

In any case, I've said my piece on the issue. I wasn't intending to harass you about it. I simply felt the need to point out something. And, I took the chance to make a friendly jab at you. I'm sorry if that came across as more flaming, as it certainly wasn't. I'm a joker at heart, but sometimes that doesn't come across too well over the internet. Apologize if my light ribbing was construed as something more malicious.

[Nicodemus Phaulkon]

In any case, I've said my piece on the issue. I wasn't intending to harass you about it. I simply felt the need to point out something. And, I took the chance to make a friendly jab at you. I'm sorry if that came across as more flaming, as it certainly wasn't. I'm a joker at heart, but sometimes that doesn't come across too well over the internet. Apologize if my light ribbing was construed as something more malicious.

Bah. Let's go for a coffee. Someone pissed in my cornflakes this morning, and I haven't been on an even keel all day.

Besides... this is starting to resemble a chat thread. ;) :D

*tips helm*