Reaper Endgame centered Assassin

[Tronko]

But I think posting your unbuffed stats and then a list of things you use to boost them would be far more useful. How you hit those numbers is clearly confusing many people here who didn't realise you've taken a screenshot including reaper bonuses along with every relevant buff running at the time, some of which are very short and can't be consistently maintained. Claiming 426 mp for example while including prowess and melee power boosts is a little cheeky, much like claiming 41% dodge which only occurs when you're fully stacked on nimbleness.

Hey! I understand that some things may be confusing for some people, but in the thread title I explicitly stated "Reaper Endgame" and - at least in my ideal world - reaper endgame should be played by those who have already assimilated some knowledge and skills.
41% dodge comes from Measure the Foe, not from Nimbleness (which is absolutely useless because it does not increase the dodge cap) and as I wrote, playing an assassin, you should always keep it fully stacked.

 

[Blerkington]

Fair point on nimbleness, although keeping MTF stacked up all the time is impossible unless you are never fighting bosses that take more than 10 seconds to kill or break off attacking to go back into stealth in order to prevent MTF from expiring. So it ends up a choice between losing some dodge or DPS, but there's no avoiding it.

It does look like you've done everything you can to maximise DPS and that makes me curious about how far ahead DPS wise your build is compared to the DC based builds like Carpone's or other more conventional ones. Clearly there's a trade-off between DPS and survivability and everyone has to balance staying alive and making a good contribution.

One of the things I like about your build is that you make a case for using assassination in high difficulty content. It can be a scramble to use it effectively in fast groups but with practice it can be done even when running with very capable players. I find the higher the difficulty the more useful it becomes, because stuff isn't just falling over to ranged attacks or single hits from other melees.

Once again thanks for the write-up and answering people's questions, and have fun running your rogue. And my apologies also if it seems like I was throwing shade your way as the other poster incorrectly inferred.

 

[Tronko]

Fair point on nimbleness, although keeping MTF stacked up all the time is impossible unless you are never fighting bosses that take more than 10 seconds to kill or break off attacking to go back into stealth in order to prevent MTF from expiring. So it ends up a choice between losing some dodge or DPS, but there's no avoiding it.

True. You need to activate sneak, but the very brief pause is compensated by 30 melee power. It's a bit like activating an epic strike with a bad animation, like Shadowstrike In my opinion, it's definitely worth it. Additionally, if you're playing in DC, you can activate Smite Evil together with sneak so you don't lose practically anything.

It does look like you've done everything you can to maximise DPS and that makes me curious about how far ahead DPS wise your build is compared to the DC based builds like Carpone's or other more conventional ones. Clearly there's a trade-off between DPS and survivability and everyone has to balance staying alive and making a good contribution.

No, I wouldn't really say that this setup is meant to maximize DPS. If I wanted to maximize DPS, for example for a raid, I would probably use Adrenaline as an epic strike and LD for T5. I would also take Deadly Strike in T5, maybe leaving only one rank in Measure the Foe. And perhaps even choose a different race
I would like to add that if you want the maximum single-target DPS, as valid as the assassin may be, it's not at the top of the food chain.
My goal was to build an all-around assassin, capable of being fast and effective even in quests thanks to Lotus and the chains (and the three jumps, and the epic moment for warp speed in stealth ).

One of the things I like about your build is that you make a case for using assassination in high difficulty content. It can be a scramble to use it effectively in fast groups but with practice it can be done even when running with very capable players. I find the higher the difficulty the more useful it becomes, because stuff isn't just falling over to ranged attacks or single hits from other melees.

Once again thanks for the write-up and answering people's questions, and have fun running your rogue. And my apologies also if it seems like I was throwing shade your way as the other poster incorrectly inferred.

Assassinate is absolutely fantastic, it's a bit like Quivering Palm for monks, with some disadvantages (primarily the cooldown) but also advantages (dual targeting).
You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. I always enjoy it when there are different opinions and perspectives.

 

[Levina]

i don't have isle of dread pack yet but am having trouble breaking down the DEX...

24 from items, 3 from reaper, 3 from augments, where is the other 78 DEX coming from exactly?

 

[Tronko]

i don't have isle of dread pack yet but am having trouble breaking down the DEX...

24 from items, 3 from reaper, 3 from augments, where is the other 78 DEX coming from exactly?

Hey! Here's a breakdown:

18 Base
+2 Racial
+8 Level ups
+8 Tome
+4 Racial PLs
+2 Completionist
+2 Racial Completionist
+6 Enhancements
+15 Item
+6 Insightful
+3 Quality
+3 Artifact
+2 Profane
+2 Exceptional
+2 Reaper stats helm
+2 Festive
+5 Filigree (or +18 for trance using a full swap)
+5 Reaper
+2 Ship
+2 Yugo pot
+2 Remnant pot
+4 Alchemical (Tenser)
+3 Push Through the Line
=108

Obviously, you can further improve your DEX with external assistance.
Fairly 'common' buffs are:
+4 Morale (Primal Scream ally)
+2 Competence (Inspire Excellence ally)

There are also Hezrou cookies for +4 Profane DEX (thus a gain of +2), but I don't use them.

 

[Levina]

Hey! Here's a breakdown:

18 Base
+2 Racial
+7 Level ups
+8 Tome
+4 Racial PLs
+2 Completionist
+2 Racial Completionist
+6 Enhancements
+15 Item
+6 Insightful
+3 Quality
+3 Artifact
+2 Profane
+2 Exceptional
+2 Reaper stats helm
+2 Festive
+6 Filigree (or +18 for trance using a full swap)
+5 Reaper
+2 Ship
+2 Yugo pot
+2 Remnant pot
+4 Alchemical (Tenser)
+3 Push Through the Line
=108

Obviously, you can further improve your DEX with external assistance.
Fairly 'common' buffs are:
+4 Morale (Primal Scream ally)
+2 Competence (Inspire Excellence ally)

There are also Hezrou cookies for +4 Profane DEX (thus a gain of +2), but I don't use them.

ah so nowhere near a "in town, just after logging in" score. I was wondering how my 72 DEX was so far away from that benchmark you showed.

 

[Spook]

looks like 92 in town unbuffed so 72 is about 20 short (8 from past lives)

 

[Tronko]

looks like 92 in town unbuffed so 72 is about 20 short (8 from past lives)

93 "in town, just after logging in" (with both potions expired)

 

[Jack Jarvis Esquire]

There you go:

15 Assassin tree
30 Measure the foe
24 Dread Adversary
72 Epic/Legendary Power
5 Scion
55 ED cores
4 Tome
15 Artifact
15 Profane
10 Augment
62 Filigrees
39 Mythic/Reaper bonuses
-
50 Prowess Boost
-
30 Damage Boost
-
10 Enhanced Bloodrage
-
15 Potion

So Tronko I'm looking at 3 MP from my current gearset Mythic and reaper bonuses (TBH I tend to trade all my reaper stuff if I can for the, eventual helm), though from recollection I think the best I've ever achieved is 10-12, but man, 39?

I can only dream! How much effort is required to pimp all those items, and is there a method to your apparent success in obtaining them?

Or is it pure sweat and effort cleverly disguised as sheer dum luck?

(PS I farmed the raptor tooth and associated gear Tetris, and it's great! )

 

[Tronko]

How much effort is required to pimp all those items, and is there a method to your apparent success in obtaining them?
Or is it pure sweat and effort cleverly disguised as sheer dum luck?

It takes tears, sweat, and blood... joking aside, the loot system in DDO is a real nightmare. It's a jackpot system that rewards the most brazen luck.
The recently introduced reaper crafting helps a bit, but overall, it's not much because you can only craft melee power on rings (+5 each) and necklace (only +2 though). Reaper crafting is very expensive too.
What you can do is play and play and play and play and play and play the quests that drop the items you need and keep your fingers crossed. In my experience, the difference in drop quality between R1 and R10, if any, is minimal.

(PS I farmed the raptor tooth and associated gear Tetris, and it's great! )

I'm glad to hear that!

 

[Scrag]

Thanks for sharing the build, does the invisibility guard augment stack with ethereal? And is the int gearing just for trapping?

I didn't see invisguard slotted, but, as a DH I can tell you that it has massive benefits. First, coming out of invis you get +wilderness lore sneak dice (+20 sneak dice for me at 20+). Second, I believe (unsure) that it counts as some helpless factor for additional damage. When invisguard pops, I generate pretty crazy damage for 10 seconds. Its not reliable, but it happens, and when it happens its like christmas.

If it has any special effect for sneak dice w/ rogues, then I would recommend it for them as well.

 

[Tronko]

I didn't see invisguard slotted...

Hey! It's slotted in the armor (Essence of the Cloak of Strahd)... From my experience, it's much less effective than in other builds because (fortunately) I get hit very, very rarely.

 

[Jack Jarvis Esquire]

Hey! It's slotted in the armor (Essence of the Cloak of Strahd)... From my experience, it's much less effective than in other builds because (fortunately) I get hit very, very rarely.

How important do you think invis guard is for high r questing generally Tronko (for those of us who do tend to get a hit or two) ? I've been pondering swapping my legendary from Arborea to Ethereal to see how the added SA dice stack up Vs the loss of MP +2 enchant and imbue die. The permanent invis guard might tip the balance decisively if that useful...

 

[Scrag]

Hey! It's slotted in the armor (Essence of the Cloak of Strahd)... From my experience, it's much less effective than in other builds because (fortunately) I get hit very, very rarely.

No idea about any of the high end augments. Thats pretty slick! I just got this sands belt from iod thats got invisguard and doesnt seem terrible.

On r1 it works well, but I don't usually play higher than r1 unless I am piking and just desperately trying to minimize deaths!

 

[Tronko]

How important do you think invis guard is for high r questing generally Tronko (for those of us who do tend to get a hit or two) ? I've been pondering swapping my legendary from Arborea to Ethereal to see how the added SA dice stack up Vs the loss of MP +2 enchant and imbue die. The permanent invis guard might tip the balance decisively if that useful...

I believe Essence of Strahd is a good augment, helpful, and highly effective in specific situations. The proc rate is decent. I typically attempt to slot it into melee builds, but only if I have available space and don't need to sacrifice anything else significant.

Regarding Arborea vs Ethereal, I only consider the DPS. For some builds, one is better, while for others, it's the opposite, but it can be easily calculated based on the numbers. In many cases, the results are not significantly different anyway.

 

[VinoeWhines]

Hey! I understand that some things may be confusing for some people, but in the thread title I explicitly stated "Reaper Endgame" and - at least in my ideal world - reaper endgame should be played by those who have already assimilated some knowledge and skills.
41% dodge comes from Measure the Foe, not from Nimbleness (which is absolutely useless because it does not increase the dodge cap) and as I wrote, playing an assassin, you should always keep it fully stacked.

Was wondering if you play this build as a solo toon or are you running in a group in R10?
Would be cool to see a vid of this toon in action.
Was there a breakdown on Sneak Attack Dice?

 

[Tronko]

Was wondering if you play this build as a solo toon or are you running in a group in R10?
Would be cool to see a vid of this toon in action.
Was there a breakdown on Sneak Attack Dice?

Hey! I rarely play solo, even when I don't have friends online I prefer to join or post an LFM. That being said, if you want to play solo, it's a very solid build, but you should use DC or US as third tree to get some healing during combat.
Paradoxically, playing solo is easier because you can take your time to eliminate selected targets, skip unnecessary fights, and wait for cooldowns between encounters.

The breakdown of the sneak dice is as follows:

• Rogue 10d6
• Improved Sneak Attack 3d6
• Shadar-kai enhancements 2d6
• Assassin enhancements 8d6
• Shadowdancer 8d6
• Shadow Mastery 3d6
• Scion of the Ethereal Plane 6d6
• Goldfang 2d6
• Artifact 3d6
• Filigrees 1-2 (Treachery, Sucker Punch)

Sucker Punch 3 and Treachery 3 are two excellent sets for a Dex-based Assassin (double filigree x2 and melee power).

 

[Darkfury]

This is awesome information, thanks so much. I always learn a lot even if I don't want to run the build at this time. I also love your friendly and helpful responses to people asking questions, even when its 'please provide a breakdown of xxx' which takes a bit of time to calculate.

Also not everyone likes to share, so kudos just for doing that.

 

[VinoeWhines]

Hey! I rarely play solo, even when I don't have friends online I prefer to join or post an LFM. That being said, if you want to play solo, it's a very solid build, but you should use DC or US as third tree to get some healing during combat.
Paradoxically, playing solo is easier because you can take your time to eliminate selected targets, skip unnecessary fights, and wait for cooldowns between encounters.

The breakdown of the sneak dice is as follows:

• Rogue 10d6
• Improved Sneak Attack 3d6
• Shadar-kai enhancements 2d6
• Assassin enhancements 8d6
• Shadowdancer 8d6
• Shadow Mastery 3d6
• Scion of the Ethereal Plane 6d6
• Goldfang 2d6
• Artifact 3d6
• Filigrees 1-2 (Treachery, Sucker Punch)

Sucker Punch 3 and Treachery 3 are two excellent sets for a Dex-based Assassin (double filigree x2 and melee power).

Thanks for the response, I put up an LFM but some times usually just complete quest with no one joining in R10.
I was wondering if for a challenge you would do a Whispers of Return in R10 solo, I'm farming the Cloak with reaper stats on it.
I usually clear the first part and clear the first shrine to the right so that when others join, it's clear for them and they're not bamboozled in the beginning. Unfortunately it's taking me about 59 +- minutes to complete, but I clear pretty much everything and read all the notes for the extra Reaper XP.
Was wondering if you could try it out and give your take on your experiences completing the quest.
Trials of Triceratops is a bit tougher since there are no rez shrines near by. I usually aim at under 3 soulstone results or less and 5 at most, but sometimes you can get a bad run.
With 2 or more capable PUGs it's a 15-25 minute run.
One tip though with the update to healing now, you can use 3 levels of Wand and Scroll Mastery with Heal Amp offhand and gear and get healed for 400+HP out of combat. Renewal I've seen hit me for 1000+HP a tick at times.
Full disclosure though also, I'm just a first lifer toon(no past-lives), so folks it can be done.

 

[Tronko]

Hey, I'll try to respond to your various points.

Thanks for the response, I put up an LFM but some times usually just complete quest with no one joining in R10.
I was wondering if for a challenge you would do a Whispers of Return in R10 solo, I'm farming the Cloak with reaper stats on it.
I usually clear the first part and clear the first shrine to the right so that when others join, it's clear for them and they're not bamboozled in the beginning. Unfortunately it's taking me about 59 +- minutes to complete, but I clear pretty much everything and read all the notes for the extra Reaper XP.
Was wondering if you could try it out and give your take on your experiences completing the quest.
Trials of Triceratops is a bit tougher since there are no rez shrines near by. I usually aim at under 3 soulstone results or less and 5 at most, but sometimes you can get a bad run.
With 2 or more capable PUGs it's a 15-25 minute run.

• Whispers of Return. My experience as a melee player tells me that the red-named koprus are a big problem in R10, especially when playing solo. Since you can't CC them (as easily as the other orange korpus), your only chance of survival (if you don't have adequate defenses) is to avoid Mind Seeker. But predicting it in close combat is not the easiest thing in the world, as the trigger is very fast, and backing off in time is not so easy. Add a bit of lag, and you're done. Oh, right, lag has been fixed and is no longer a problem In summary, the quest itself is not a big issue, but the boss can be painful. In any case, the shrine is within reach, so if you feel like completing it, you can.
• Trials of the Triceratop: If we compare the end fights of Trials and Whispers, imo Trials is less problematic because you can rely on dodge for Crimsonfoot and spell absorption for the druid boss.
• Still on Whispers, but regarding the loot. My personal experience says that the chances of dropping bonus loot increase considerably during loot weekends, like the one that just ended. Based on what I've seen (even though I spend countless hours in this game, it obviously has no statistical or scientific relevance), the number of skulls doesn't increase the chance of dropping items with reaper/mythic bonuses, but only (and very slightly) the chance of dropping named items. In any case, considering that loot bonus weekends are not that frequent and their duration is limited, my personal suggestion is to maximize the number of drops rather than focusing on the number of skulls. If it takes you 59 minutes to complete a quest on R10, it's more worthwhile to complete 10 quests in the same time on R1. Of course, bots and friends can help. And if you're zerging through R10, there's no reason to play at lower skulls.

One tip though with the update to healing now, you can use 3 levels of Wand and Scroll Mastery with Heal Amp offhand and gear and get healed for 400+HP out of combat. Renewal I've seen hit me for 1000+HP a tick at times.
Full disclosure though also, I'm just a first lifer toon(no past-lives), so folks it can be done.

Scrolls are certainly an option. The problem is that scrolls are very slow to cast (scrolling Tenser is a pain, I don't want to inflict further suffering on myself). I'm not a big fan