This Assassin uses Siphon Speed to snare approaching attackers, Dark Prison to quickly teleport to priority targets, and Shroud of Silence to completely disable casters, followed by an attack chain that is capable of killing most targets with a few extra swipes. Serpent's Quickness is used to repeat the hex and attack chain as often as possible.

Attributes and Skills

Assassin / Ranger	Attribute Rank
Dagger Mastery	10 + 1 + (1-3)
Deadly Arts	10 + 2
Critical Strikes	8 + 1
Wilderness Survival	5 to 8

• Note: If you do not want a large health penalty from many runes, change the set up to what you want, but try to keep Deadly Arts at 12 to maximze the effects of Shroud of Silence and Impale.

TA:

Siphon Speed

Serpent's Quickness

Dark Prison

Shroud of Silence

Black Spider Strike

Death Blossom

Impale

Resurrection Signet

Equipment

• Armor: any combination of armor you prefer, as long as it boosts your energy to at least 28.
• Weapons: Zealous daggers are required to maintain energy through the attack chain.

Usage

You are primarily a caster disabler and killer with this build, but the attack chain is useful against enemies that use few spells or no spells at all. In RA, your primary target should be the most powerful or dangerous caster on the other team, such as a Necromancer, Mesmer, a blindbot, a Ritualist, or a Monk.

Energy is tight, but you should have just enough energy to cycle through the main combo once: Serpent's Quickness -> Dark Prison -> Shroud of Silence -> Black Spider Strike -> Death Blossom -> Impale.

Here are some general tactics:

• Wait for an enemy to run ahead of his group and engage your party. Cast Siphon Speed to snare him and give yourself a speed boost.
• Switch to your primary target (probably a caster), use Serpent's Quickness and cast Dark Prison to shadow step to him and snare him for 6 seconds.
• Cast Shroud of Silence on your target.
• Use your attack chain: Black Spider Strike -> Death Blossom -> Impale -> normal attacks.
• Run away if you have to while you still have Siphon Speed up, and heal with Troll Unguent.
• Snare as many enemies as you can, especially melee attackers, with Siphon Speed while you wait for Shroud of Silence to recharge.

Keep in mind that Shroud of Silence disables your spells for 15 seconds, so Siphon Speed will be unavailable. This is why it is a good idea to cast Siphon Speed on a different target before you engage your primary target. Troll Unguent is a good self-heal because it is not a spell, it's downfall being it's slow casting time. There are other options under Variants.

If there is an Assassin in the enemy's party that you think will target you first, either wait them out until they attack somebody else, or move within range of your primary target and when the Assassin teleports in to attack you, use Dark Prison to shadow step away from your attacker and to your target.

Counters

• Hex overload.
• Blind.
• Energy Denial.

Variants

• Deadly Paradox can replace Serpent's Quickness. This requires extremely well-timed usage to be effective and is probably not worth the effort.

Alternate attack chain:

For more damage but less maneuverability, drop Dark Prison or Siphon Speed and Impale and use this attack chain:

• Black Lotus Strike -> Twisting Fangs -> Black Spider Strike -> Blades of Steel.

Random Arenas:

These are self-heal or defensive skills that can replace Serpent's Quickness. Transfer Wilderness Survival points into the appropriate attribute.

• Restful Breeze. A good healing enchantment spell with a short recharge time.

• Feigned Neutrality. Decent healing spell and good protection but with a long recharge.

• Generous Was Tsungrai. Cast this before starting to fight, and when you teleport in to your target it will automatically drop. It provides a big, immediate spike heal, but is dependent on your max health.

• Hex Breaker. Obviously you would have no way to heal, except casting Siphon Speed on a target and running away to regenerate health. However, Hex Breaker is very useful for preventing many types of damage, including Assassins that require hexes for their combos.

• Lion's Comfort. As long as you can maintain the adrenaline cost, this will heal for roughly 70 points with 8 points in Tactics.

• Conviction. While you're not enchanted, it's a weak healing stance at +3 constant regeneration, but easy to use and maintain.

• Vital Boon. A decent heal at least every 20 seconds when the enchantment times out. Cast it well before going in to battle.