01-19-2005, 07:58 AM
After much more thought, I've come up with three potential plans for my Dual-Dagger Wielding Poison Rogue. They are as follows:
Assassination:
Improved Eviscerate - 3
Malice - 5
Murder - 2
Lethality - 5
Vile Poisons - 5
Improved Instant Poison - 5
Cold Blood - 1
Combat:
Lightning Reflexes - 5
Deflection - 5
Precision - 5
Dagger Specialization - 5
Subtlety:
Master of Deception - 5
Focus on Poison and 5 pt. Eviscerate backed by Cold Blood (I know, I know - it just SCREAMS cookie cutter; but after a LOT of thought, I figured I might as well TRY it :P). 100% crit on Evisc., with 15% extra damage already, can be pretty deadly. And it does technically fit the RP aspect of the character, although certainly not the "variant" goal.
Assassination:
Malice - 5
Murder - 2
Improved Slice and Dice - 3
Lethality - 5
Vile Poisons - 5
Improved Instant Poison - 5
Cold Blood - 1
Combat:
Lightning Reflexes - 5
Deflection - 5
Precision - 5
Dagger Specialization - 5
Subtlety:
Master of Deception - 5
Only difference here is pushing focus away from Cold Blood + 5 pt. Eviscerate, and more towards outright speed (from Slice and Dice) to really dish out the Poison and the occasional Cold Blood induced attack (whatever suits me at the time). 45% longer Slice and Dice means that even at 1 pt. SnD, it will last slightly longer (1.05 sec.) than a 2 pt. SnD, without the added Energy input. And it only gets better from there (5 pt. SnD yields a whopping 30.45 sec.).
Assassination:
Malice - 5
Murder - 2
Improved Slice and Dice - 3
Lethality - 5
Improved Instant Poison - 5
Combat:
Lightning Reflexes - 5
Deflection - 5
Precision - 5
Dagger Specialization - 5
Subtlety:
Master of Deception - 5
Camouflage - 5
Ghostly Strike - 1
Ah, and here we deviate somewhat from the original plan of mass Crits & Poison, and instead move into the realm of stealthy and nimble combat. +15% movement while Stealthed will allow me to maneuver better for those critical first blows, as well as escape that much faster while Vanishing. And let's not forget improved scouting ability. :) Ghostly Strike, OTOH, not only gives me a new bread 'n' butter combo-builder (albeit an expensive one), but it also gives me a 15% Dodge bonus. Given my already high dodge bonus, I wouldn't be surprised if I hit +50% Dodge with this engaged, WITHOUT Evasion. Tacking Evasion on there would just make me utterly immune for a short period of time, with Parry picking up any slack if something wears off. :) I do lose out on a 15% damage bonus to both Instant Poison and Deadly Poison (which I don't see myself ever using), but hopefully the 10% extra proccing combined with a quick Slice and Dice will make up for that. And besides, I gain a really cool ability that not only dishes out moderate damage, but also sets me up for improved Tanking. :)
Tough call on them. The real problem lies in the Assassination tree: I am FORCED to choose either 3 Imp. Evisc., 3 Ruthlessness, or 3 Imp. SnD, none of which do I truly NEED. Imp. SnD is nice, but not necessary. Ruthlessness is only mediocre to me, since most of my damage comes from my normal attacks (crits and Poison), and not from combos, and Imp. Evisc. just sends me down that road of cookie-cutter. Now, if Improved Expose Armor were among those choices as well, it'd almost be a no-brainer, but it's one row further down, so I cannot even open it up with one of the above investments. The other thing with Imp. Expose Armor is that, again, most of my damage is coming from Crits (which Imp. EA would help) AND Poison, which would get no benefit from Imp. EA.
One of the things I like about this build is its non-reliance on high-damage weapons, nor on pumping up huge combos for those one-hit kills. Instead, speed and lethality are the key, with poison playing a huge role in added damage. Think about this: with roughly 20% - 25% Critical Hit rate, 40% chance of proccing my Instant Poison (which, at Rank 6 with 5 Imp. Instant Poison equals out to 128.8 - 170.2), and incredible base attack speeds, I can dish out a fair amount of damage all without ever getting a single combo point. Combine that with DoTs, SnD for insane attack speeds, and perhaps even Cold Blood for the occasional guaranteed Critical, and I won't be hurting for damage nor energy, provided I play the style right. A very high Dodge rating, paired with strong Parrying skills provide me with enough protection to tank for short periods of time, especially with a dedicated Tank and Healer at my side. Essentially, I can be a combination DPS machine and secondary Tank, with the proper support. And that's without activating things like Evasion, Gouge, or Vanish. And of course I'll always fulfill my role as Scout and crowd controller (boy do I ever LOVE Distraction & Sap! Best non-caster skills in the game, IMHO).
At any rate, those are my continued thoughts and plans for the future of this Rogue. Time and playesting may change my views on it all, but somehow I truly think Blizzard not only intended for my relative build to be viable, but actually pulled it off (kind of like the Trapassin of D2 fame - skills designed for support becoming the main body of the character's repertoire, with the right playstyle adjustment). So far, I have seen few problems soloing much of anything, provided I'm not careless. And in groups it's just rediculous what I can do with proper support. :) So, I'm not worried yet about long-term viability, nor for that matter do I plan to deviate from the ORIGINAL goal (Crits, Poison, and Dodge / Parry, with dual Daggers for speed; and of course to HAVE FUN! :D).
Assassination:
Improved Eviscerate - 3
Malice - 5
Murder - 2
Lethality - 5
Vile Poisons - 5
Improved Instant Poison - 5
Cold Blood - 1
Combat:
Lightning Reflexes - 5
Deflection - 5
Precision - 5
Dagger Specialization - 5
Subtlety:
Master of Deception - 5
Focus on Poison and 5 pt. Eviscerate backed by Cold Blood (I know, I know - it just SCREAMS cookie cutter; but after a LOT of thought, I figured I might as well TRY it :P). 100% crit on Evisc., with 15% extra damage already, can be pretty deadly. And it does technically fit the RP aspect of the character, although certainly not the "variant" goal.
Assassination:
Malice - 5
Murder - 2
Improved Slice and Dice - 3
Lethality - 5
Vile Poisons - 5
Improved Instant Poison - 5
Cold Blood - 1
Combat:
Lightning Reflexes - 5
Deflection - 5
Precision - 5
Dagger Specialization - 5
Subtlety:
Master of Deception - 5
Only difference here is pushing focus away from Cold Blood + 5 pt. Eviscerate, and more towards outright speed (from Slice and Dice) to really dish out the Poison and the occasional Cold Blood induced attack (whatever suits me at the time). 45% longer Slice and Dice means that even at 1 pt. SnD, it will last slightly longer (1.05 sec.) than a 2 pt. SnD, without the added Energy input. And it only gets better from there (5 pt. SnD yields a whopping 30.45 sec.).
Assassination:
Malice - 5
Murder - 2
Improved Slice and Dice - 3
Lethality - 5
Improved Instant Poison - 5
Combat:
Lightning Reflexes - 5
Deflection - 5
Precision - 5
Dagger Specialization - 5
Subtlety:
Master of Deception - 5
Camouflage - 5
Ghostly Strike - 1
Ah, and here we deviate somewhat from the original plan of mass Crits & Poison, and instead move into the realm of stealthy and nimble combat. +15% movement while Stealthed will allow me to maneuver better for those critical first blows, as well as escape that much faster while Vanishing. And let's not forget improved scouting ability. :) Ghostly Strike, OTOH, not only gives me a new bread 'n' butter combo-builder (albeit an expensive one), but it also gives me a 15% Dodge bonus. Given my already high dodge bonus, I wouldn't be surprised if I hit +50% Dodge with this engaged, WITHOUT Evasion. Tacking Evasion on there would just make me utterly immune for a short period of time, with Parry picking up any slack if something wears off. :) I do lose out on a 15% damage bonus to both Instant Poison and Deadly Poison (which I don't see myself ever using), but hopefully the 10% extra proccing combined with a quick Slice and Dice will make up for that. And besides, I gain a really cool ability that not only dishes out moderate damage, but also sets me up for improved Tanking. :)
Tough call on them. The real problem lies in the Assassination tree: I am FORCED to choose either 3 Imp. Evisc., 3 Ruthlessness, or 3 Imp. SnD, none of which do I truly NEED. Imp. SnD is nice, but not necessary. Ruthlessness is only mediocre to me, since most of my damage comes from my normal attacks (crits and Poison), and not from combos, and Imp. Evisc. just sends me down that road of cookie-cutter. Now, if Improved Expose Armor were among those choices as well, it'd almost be a no-brainer, but it's one row further down, so I cannot even open it up with one of the above investments. The other thing with Imp. Expose Armor is that, again, most of my damage is coming from Crits (which Imp. EA would help) AND Poison, which would get no benefit from Imp. EA.
One of the things I like about this build is its non-reliance on high-damage weapons, nor on pumping up huge combos for those one-hit kills. Instead, speed and lethality are the key, with poison playing a huge role in added damage. Think about this: with roughly 20% - 25% Critical Hit rate, 40% chance of proccing my Instant Poison (which, at Rank 6 with 5 Imp. Instant Poison equals out to 128.8 - 170.2), and incredible base attack speeds, I can dish out a fair amount of damage all without ever getting a single combo point. Combine that with DoTs, SnD for insane attack speeds, and perhaps even Cold Blood for the occasional guaranteed Critical, and I won't be hurting for damage nor energy, provided I play the style right. A very high Dodge rating, paired with strong Parrying skills provide me with enough protection to tank for short periods of time, especially with a dedicated Tank and Healer at my side. Essentially, I can be a combination DPS machine and secondary Tank, with the proper support. And that's without activating things like Evasion, Gouge, or Vanish. And of course I'll always fulfill my role as Scout and crowd controller (boy do I ever LOVE Distraction & Sap! Best non-caster skills in the game, IMHO).
At any rate, those are my continued thoughts and plans for the future of this Rogue. Time and playesting may change my views on it all, but somehow I truly think Blizzard not only intended for my relative build to be viable, but actually pulled it off (kind of like the Trapassin of D2 fame - skills designed for support becoming the main body of the character's repertoire, with the right playstyle adjustment). So far, I have seen few problems soloing much of anything, provided I'm not careless. And in groups it's just rediculous what I can do with proper support. :) So, I'm not worried yet about long-term viability, nor for that matter do I plan to deviate from the ORIGINAL goal (Crits, Poison, and Dodge / Parry, with dual Daggers for speed; and of course to HAVE FUN! :D).
Roland *The Gunslinger*