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Diablo 2 Assassin FAQ
7/11/01
Version 1.0
Author:  Bill Wood
Billw81@yahoo.com

CONTENTS:

I. INTRODUCTION
II. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
III. SKILLS
IV. MY ASSASIN
V. ITEMS
VI. TIPS
VII. THANKS

I. INTRODUCTION

Welcome to my Assassin Guide!  Right now I have a level 37 Assassin who has just finished Act 1 on Nightmare difficulty.  This guide is being written for anyone who plans on starting an Assassin and needs some help.  Good luck and enjoy!!

II. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Assassin is a master of Martial Arts and Traps.  She is mainly a hand-to-hand fighter, using small quick weapons called claws.  These weapons are extremely fast but weaker than other weapons.  To compliment her fighting ability, she is a master trap layer.  She uses traps to take out large groups of enemies at once.  The Assassin is also the only character that doesn't need keys to open locked chests.
This saves space in your inventory by not having to carry keys.

III. SKILLS

Note:  When I say "level 1" and "level 20", I am referring to the amount of skill points, not actual character level.

A) MARTIAL ARTS

This tree consists of two different types of skills: Charge-up moves and finishing moves.  Charge-up moves add extra bonuses to finishing moves, such as elemental or enhanced damage.
Finishing moves also have their own bonuses.  You can only have 3 charges at any given time, but they can be different types.

TIGER STRIKE (Charge) Pre: None  Mana: 1

Tiger Strike improves the attack rating and damage of finishing moves.  Even though it is a level 1 skill, you will use this throughout the entire game.  This is THE charge-up skill to use when facing bosses and uniques.  At level 1,
Tiger Strike is +40% attack rating.  Charge 1 is +100% damage,
Charge 2 is +200%, and Charge 3 is +300%.  At level 20, it gives a +230% attack rating and the 1st charge is +480% damage, 2nd charge is +960% damage, and the 3rd charge is +1440% damage!!!  Put as many points as you can into this skill.

DRAGON TALON (Finish) Pre: None  Mana: 6

This is your first finishing move.  The kick gives a bonus to attack rating and damage.  At higher levels, more kicks are added.  At level 1, Dragon Talon performs 1 kick, +40% attack rating, and +9% damage.  At level 20, it performs 3 kicks at
+268% attack rating and +142% damage.  Only put 1 point into this as a prerequisite, there are much better finishing moves down the line.

FISTS OF FIRE (Charge) Pre: None  Mana: 2

This skill adds fire damage to your attack while improving your attack rating.  The 1st charge adds fire damage, the 2nd adds an area effect, and the 3rd increases the burning time slightly.  Only the first charge increases with levels.  With 1 point in this skill, you get +50% attack rating and 6-10 fire damage.  At level 20, +240% attack rating and 201-205 fire damage.  Put only 1 point into this as there are better charge-up skills.

DRAGON CLAW (Finish) Pre: Dragon Talon  Mana: 2

This skill can only be used with 2 claw weapons equipped.  The double attack increases in damage with levels.  At level 1,
Dragon Claw is +50% attack rating and +50% damage.  At level
20, +240% attack rating and +140% damage.  Again, there are better finishing moves, so only put 1 point here.

COBRA STRIKE (Charge) Pre: Tiger Strike  Mana: 2

Cobra Strike adds no damage to finishing moves, but steals life and mana instead.  The first charge steals life, the 2nd steals life and mana, and the 3rd steals even more life and mana.  At level 1, +60% to attack rating.  The 1st charge steals 40% life, the 2nd 40% life and mana, and the 3rd 80% life and mana.  At level 20, +345% attack rating and the 1st charge steals 135% life, the 2nd 135% life and mana, and the 3rd 270% life and mana.  This skill is nice for when you are out of potions, or, at a high enough level, can probably replace them altogether.  I didn't want to put many points here, but choose according to your play style.  I suggest putting points into skills that actually deal damage, but again, your call.

CLAWS OF THUNDER (Charge) Pre: Fists of Fire  Mana: 4

This skill adds a different lightning spell effect for each charge.  Charge 1 deals Lightning damage, Charge 2 deals Nova
Lightning damage, and charge 3 deals Charged Bolt damage.  At level 1, +80 attack rating and 1st charge deals 1-80 damage, 2nd charge deals 1-20 area damage, and charge 3 deals 1-40 bolt damage.  At level 20, +365% attack rating and 1st charge 351-
430 damage, 2nd charge deals 1-465, and 3rd charge does 1-740 damage.  This skill could have been great, but it is not.  The first charge deals great damage, but the lightning shoots in a straight line, which isn't great for swarms of monsters.  It deals a lot of damage to one creature, but Tiger Strike deals much more.  The other 2 charges have incredible damage potential, but are useless because of the minimum damage of 1.
You have just as much chance as doing 1 damage as you do 740!
Phoenix Strike comes along later and is much better for taking out groups of enemies.

DRAGON TAIL (Finish) Pre: Dragon Talon; Dragon Claw  Mana: 10

This finishing move adds a percentage to the damage inflicted and knocks back a group of enemies.  At level 1, +40% attack rating and +50 fire damage.  At level 20, +173% attack rating and +240% fire damage.  I move this move more than any other finishing moves because of it's knockback effect against groups of enemies.  I didn't put any extra points here because the knockback doesn't improve, but it's up to you.

BLADES OF ICE (Charge) Pre: Fists of Fire; Claws of Thunder
Mana: 3

The first charge adds cold damage, the 2nd causes an area effect, and the 3rd causes a freezing effect.  With 1 skill point, +80% attack rating, 1st charge 15-35 cold damage, 2nd charge area effect, and 3rd charge 4 sec. Duration.  With 20 skill points +365% attack rating and 1st charge 231-251 cold damage, 2nd charge area effect (doesn't increase with points), 3rd charge, 11.6 sec. duration.  Pretty good damage and effect, but I would just put 1 point here and wait for Phoenix Strike.

DRAGON FLIGHT (Finish) Pre: Dragon Talon; Dragon Claw; Dragon
Tail  Mana: 15

This finishing move will teleport you to the targeted enemy from a distance and deliver the kick, which increases damage and attack rating with additional points.  At 1st level, +100% attack rating, +100% damage.  At level 20, +480% attack rating, +575% damage.  This is THE finisher to use against bosses and uniques.  Coupled with a 3 level 20 charges of
Tiger Strike, a level 20 Dragon Flight can do +2015% damage with 1 hit!!!  Put as many points into this as possible.
(Alternatively, you could level Dragon Tail up instead.  You will miss out on some damage, but will be much more effective against hordes of enemies.  You make the call.)  This finishing move is excellent for taking out an enemy surrounded by minions.

PHOENIX STRIKE (Charge) Pre: All previous Charge moves Mana: 4

Charge 1 releases a Meteor, Charge 2 releases Chain Lightning, and Charge 3 releases Chaos Ice Bolt.  At level 1, +70% attack rating, Charge 1 20-40 fire damage, Charge 2 1-40 lightning damage, and Charge 3 16-32 ice damage.  With 20 skill points
+355% attack rating, Charge 1 370-390 fire damage, Charge 2 1-
353 lightning damage, Charge 3 124-140 ice damage.  I use this as my main attack.  It costs little mana, and is able to hit multiple enemies.  The 1st charge has great damage, but a little delay, the 2nd charge is too unpredictable to be effective, and the 3rd charge is excellent for it's freezing ability.  The is especially useful for physically immune enemies.

B) TRAPS

Traps are a great way to take out groups of enemies, although they consume quite a bit of mana.  Most traps become useless later in the game, so spend your points carefully.

FIRE BLAST Pre: None  Mana: 3-5.3

The Assassin throws a little fire device that explodes on impact, hitting a few closely packed enemies.  At level 1, 3-4 damage.  At level 20, 69-70.  Only put 1 point here, it isn't useful past the first act.

SHOCKWEB Pre: None  Mana: 6

This trap is set on the ground and emits little bolts of lightning.  With 1 point you get 6 spikes and 5-6 damage.
With 20, you get 10 spikes for 46-47 damage.  Lame damage discouraged me from putting more than 1 point here.

BLADE SENTINAL Pre: None  Mana: 7

This trap leaves a blade flying back and forth between two points.  Level 1 6-10 damage, Level 20 79-83.  It is difficult to hit enemies with this trap and, again, weak damage.  I wouldn't put any points here unless you want to get Blade
Shield later on, which I didn't use anyway.

CHARGE BOLT Sentry Pre: Shockweb  Mana: 13

This trap is laid on the ground and zaps enemies that get too close.  It has 5 charges.  At level 1, 1-7 damage, at level
20, 39-45.  I would only put 1 point here.  If you really need to use traps at this level, go with wake of fire.

WAKE OF FIRE Pre: Fire Blast  Mana: 20

This trap emits 5 waves of fire.  At level 1, 5-10 damage, level 20, 59-64.  This trap was actually pretty useful when I got it, I laid a bunch in a group of enemies and watched the fireworks.  I wouldn't put any points here, though, because your best trap doesn't need this as a prerequisite.

BLADE FURY Pre: Blade Sentinel  Mana: 3

The Assassin throws a bunch of metal blades at an opponent.
At level 1, 1 blade and 8-10 damage.  Level 20, 10 blades and
101-103 damage.  This trap actually can be useful for taking out enemies that are lightning enchanted or have spells like
Inferno.  Unfortunately, it is hard to hit anything that moves, and the skill becomes useless even before Nightmare.  I wouldn't put any points here.

LIGHTNING SENTRY Pre: Shockweb; Charged Bolt Sentry  Mana: 20

This trap will shoot a total of 10 bolts of lightning at approaching enemies before dissipating.  At level 1, 10-20 damage.  At level 20, 141-151 damage.  This trap works well when you get it, but don't put more than 1 point here, your best trap is only 6 levels away!

WAKE OF FIRE Pre: Fire Blast; Wake of Fire  Mana: 20

This trap shoots a line of fire at an enemy that approaches, similar to Inferno.  After 10 shots, it dissipates.  At level
1, 8-21 damage per second, at level 20, 189-203 damage per second.  The problem with this trap is that enemies don't stand still.  I found Wake of Fire more effective, even though it does less damage.  Either way, both traps become obsolete too quickly to put any points into.

DEATH SENTRY Pre: Fire Blast; Shock Web; Charged Bolt Sentry;
Lightning Sentry  Mana: 20