Trap Assassin Tips?

[Roland]

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.

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)