blades

[stomper_boi]

Got a noob question about Assassin blade skills. Is the 3/4 weapon damage doing +3/4 on top of the weapons damage or only 3/4 the weapons damage? Am gonna attempt a blade sinner, but before I do I need to know about the 3/4 thing. It could make or break this character

Comments

[xalit]

3/4 means .75, not 1.75. Blade skills are very low powered (Blade Shield can be a reasonable 1pt investment for a character with huge crushing blow if you also have some +skills for the duration).

That said, don't let me put you off. Make it, beat Hell Baal, then move on to another wonky build!

Phoenix and Fort will add damage, but they're probably a lousy way to go about things. You'd be better off searching for some site or other than has accurate information on what effects work with each blade, and go from there. Crushing Blow, for instance, is a good place to start. A number of lousy melee builds can beat Hell on players 1 via crushing blow and very little else.

[stomper_boi]

That sucks. Yeah the only site I know of that's still up is Arreats Summit. I've looked through it a bit, but was hoping for more info. Hopefully by the time I reach late NM, I'll have plenty of cb and other fun stuff to help out.

Thanks again for all the help!

[modighen]

I'd skip on the ED, even if it works with blade skills. The strength of a kicker is in the boots, which doesn't work with fortitude and phoenix. I could be wrong, but the point to blade skills is to charge up the damage for your finishing move, so something fast with attack bonuses or even, dare I say it, a dagger called Fleshripper? It's not a claw, but its bonuses are definitely something to have around, even if it's not your main weapon.

Stick with the CoH, and maybe add a Gerke's for block or Stormshield to lower physical damage if you're willing to go the route of claw/shield. Dual claws aren't necessarily more effective, but they do add some style.

EDIT: I realized I was using the other MA build, the talon kicker. The one you're using is the Phoenix Sin. My bad. :/

[xalit]

For the sake of clarity, http://www.mannm.org/d2library/faqtoids/skills_eng.html#kicks . Fort and Phoenix would help kicks (probably the best for raw physical damage, but I'd probably go with COH/SS too, indeed, my last kicker did just that

[modighen]

The blade skill I'm familiar with having a set attack speed is Blade Fury, which has similar properties, and it's also listed as a Shadow Discipline. Properly done, though, it can be a terror and it doesn't necessarily need to be a power build. As a 1-point skill, it was very handy to have around.

Leave it to me to discover this on the Summit today:

+% Damage (except from weapon)

I interpreted the "+ damage" in the second part to include the %ED.

Stormlash would also be a preferred weapon for a kicker simply due to the horrible effects you can inflict on your opponents. Fleshripper's a bit easier to find, though.

On topic: I realized that after I posted. Purely blade, I agree, but there are a few things he can pick out of the other tabs to ease the pain as well as commonly overlooked items. As a chronically poor player, it's a must for me.

[stomper_boi]

Ok, ok maybe I worded that wrong. I meant the blade skills from the trap tree. Not the Martial Arts tree. I plan on finding items with plenty of damage, deadly strike and crushing blow. Thinking of Death rune word in a ethereal axe I have. As for the shield and armor, still undecided. Gloves are obviously Laying of Hands.

[forwardknight]

I tried a blade assassin... and i sucked horribly at it...