Hello, I am a fairly new player and a long-time clicker who has since turned to key binding.

 

I am currently a level 34 Assassin, and mostly PvP, and just do quests to get some levels.

 

I seem really squishy as a Deception Assassin, so I changed to Darkness. I read the stickied guide which says my main job is to harass the enemy. I have several keys bound as my 1-6 skills, any more than that and I tend to click the wrong buttons.

 

So just wondering, what should my main skills be when I am attacking, and are there any that are worthless to have key binded?

 

Also, I tend to jump back and forth through players as I am meleeing them. I know this causes me to miss a lot because I am facing the wrong way, but I am spamming my clicks and turning into them constantly. I am hoping this is causing them not to land some hits on me. Am I just annoying and doing it wrong, or is there a better method I should be doing?

 

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I wear dps mods while being in the darkness stance, myself. It's certainly a harassing spec, but it can still do good damage when you need it most. Darkness assasins (especially at level 51) are great node guarders.

 

One move that darkness assassins rarely use is crushing darkness, this really should only be reserved if your enemy is CCed and you can spare the extra dps that isn't any other move, however I wouldn't really recommend it much anyway.

 

In darkness you need only rely on frontal maul procs so you don't really have to move around too much, save if they are ranged or indeed moving around a lot.

 

Guarding a buddy, as well as using your taunts (when with a teamate) as often as possible is certainly a great help. Also, using spike out of stealth is a great way of denial, as is force pull. CCs like electrocute use most of the resolve bar, while smaller knock backs and whatnot don't use as much. Also slows with wither and force slow can also prove useful.

 

Force shroud is also quite important in node guarding, often what will happen is someone may try to CC just as they start node capping causing you to use your stun break, which may enable them to use a second cc and get the node capped. Each player is a little different, and it takes experience on when best to pop force shroud, but it can be very satisfying when you notice that they've tried to use a CC on you to which it didn't work. I tend to use my force shroud early in a fight, everyone is different though and it's best to just try it out.

The only time I cast Crushing Darkness in Darkness spec is when someone trying to cap a node solo while unaware of my presence. This ensures they won't be able to do any fancy vanish tricks and if they stopped capping to interrupt it, it's not like I actually care about having Crushing Darkness interrupted.

 

You should not be meleeing very often as Darkness. Usually your fighitng style would be Wither -> Shock, and use those 2 GCD to positoin yourself into melee range. If you're unable to get into melee range use Discharge or Force Lighthing or whatever else that makes sense. If you're in melee position then use Thrash and see what procs. If frontal Maul procs use that obviously. If Energize proc, start moving away from the enemy while using your Shock, because you want to be as far away from the enemy as possible when you do your 3 stack HD Force Lightning (far more ways for them to interrupt it at melee range than 10m). Darkness is basically a game of fancy footworks. Against melee you'll generally be always trying to move away from them (because they need melee range more than you). Against anyone else you move away from them before you use Force Lighting and you move toward them while buliding HD stacks.

Edited April 23, 2013 by Astarica

I only suggest you to avoid playing darkness.It is simply a noob spec.You need to struggle with fragility of deception or complexity of madness to explore this class very well. You may go darkness when you are bored of those 2 specs but if you spec darkness at the start you wont explore unique fun design of the assasin. I see many assasins go darkness on warzones but they lack basics of the class and even they win , they win because of advantages of a tanking pve spec.

I only suggest you to avoid playing darkness.It is simply a noob spec.You need to struggle with fragility of deception or complexity of madness to explore this class very well. You may go darkness when you are bored of those 2 specs but if you spec darkness at the start you wont explore unique fun design of the assasin. I see many assasins go darkness on warzones but they lack basics of the class and even they win , they win because of advantages of a tanking pve spec.

 

This translates to "I've lost against so many people who are darkness spec, that I think people should be other specs..."

 

It's like someone complaining about smash, and telling people to go vengeance because it has more utility.

 

Force pull is a very important skill, especially in rateds...

 

Again, this is a playstyle thing. If you like to defend more, control and some denial in the game field and otherwise be a nuisance with sustained DPS (depending on the gear you have), go darkness.

 

If you want great burst dps, denial and be a nuisance, go deception.

 

If you want a DOT aoe spec, with bursty and sustained dps, with some control and a little nuisance, go madness.

I play deception spec so if you don't need never sap your opponent by "Mind Trap" because this skill give to much resolve for your opponent and then you wont be use to much stuns for control fight.

1.So usually I start from "spike" and then 1st. maul (with automatically maul proc. --> from deception spec tree);

2. Immediately after use "low slash" which stun your target for 4sec. If you need wait little for regenerate force and use this time for prepare yourself for real burst so use "Recklessness" and "Overcharge Saber", and hit again by maul

3.Now your force regeneration is high so time for fun use "Electrocute" and use "Voltaic Slash" which give you some buffs for next attack like

4.use "Discharge and "Shock", if Discharge will be refresh use again.

5.Watch out when your stun (electrocute) finish, and close to end use your shields: "Blackout" and "Force Shroud"

 

At this moment your opponent should be below 50%-40% health. And he didn't touch you yet.

 

6. Time to finish him, he shouldn't hit you so much because you are under defense your shields buffs, so you can focus only on hit him and keep him close to you, you can help yourself and use "Foce slow" or "force speed".

7.Don't forget about "Low Slash" which at this moment should be close to active again use it as soon as possible. and use maul and assassinate(id he will be less than 30%health).

 

For hard opponent you can use niece and very annoying (for you opponents) trick. Try save all you fight "Force Cloak" and when your health will be less than him use it and go stealth instant.

Immediately sap him and go behind him and turn off stealth and start rest. Your health will be regenerate and your force also because you have 6sec "Dark Embrace". Keep eye on him and wait when "Mind Trap" will be close to end and use maul. Believe me I know how much players don't like this because devastate his psyche

 

But all tact working well if you wear ok, because assassins is very sensitive class for clothes. if you have poor gear your rotation takes to low dmg. Other classes can do more dmg with the same lvl gear. Ofc this is my own oppinion.

Thank you all,

 

I appreciate the feedback. I am getting better at playing the assassin and even seem to have some significant impact in the warfronts, although I am sure I am not playing to peak assassin abilities.

 

Yesterday the warzone where you put all the bombs on the doors, I placed all of them for our team and first to unlock the bridges/shields. I had very little damage because I was just stealthing, bombing doors, then running to the next. No MVP votes for me, but meh, I guess nobody is paying attention to who is doing what.

Thank you all,

 

I appreciate the feedback. I am getting better at playing the assassin and even seem to have some significant impact in the warfronts, although I am sure I am not playing to peak assassin abilities.

 

Yesterday the warzone where you put all the bombs on the doors, I placed all of them for our team and first to unlock the bridges/shields. I had very little damage because I was just stealthing, bombing doors, then running to the next. No MVP votes for me, but meh, I guess nobody is paying attention to who is doing what.

 

I love stealth capping so much, sometimes it goes unappreciated but not always. The quickest attack round I've done is 3 minutes. I love double stunning someone who has just used their stun break to get a cap.

I love stealth capping so much, sometimes it goes unappreciated but not always. The quickest attack round I've done is 3 minutes. I love double stunning someone who has just used their stun break to get a cap.

 

So much this. And the guy saying darkness is boring is a dipstick. Nothing easy about guarding, dpsing and using the most utility in the game of any class properly as a darkness sin. Even get some situational healing with the big pink circle of light.

I play deception spec so if you don't need never sap your opponent by "Mind Trap" because this skill give to much resolve for your opponent and then you wont be use to much stuns for control fight.

1.So usually I start from "spike" and then 1st. maul (with automatically maul proc. --> from deception spec tree);

2. Immediately after use "low slash" which stun your target for 4sec. "

 

.

Why would you follow with step 2? You lose the proc for Maul from IW using LS immediately after spike plus you just add to the resolve. OP you should NOT follow up with LS right after spike.

 

IMO this is what is wrong right now with deception which is causing the FOTMs and the people pulling out their Sin/Shadow. You shouldn't be able to blast people without much resistance not fully understanding the mechanics and utilizing them. Heck in under 30 WZs they are just running around and spamming Maul on people regardless of the lack of force it causes.

 

Hopefully there are some QoL changes or the damage is shifted around. I dont want to be nerfed but its annoying to see people blowing others up that dont understand the mechanics and really this translates into the class being OP.

 

No offense quoted poster I am sure you are a fine player and I am not picking on you. Just using this as an example as I make mistakes all the time and use LS before the internal CD is up thus wasting the maul proc as some situations call for it. But all and all that is sloppy play and to dominate people you shouldn't be able to play sloppy that is what calls to the FoTM players. Heck look at the threads popping up right now, demanding specs and complete rotations without doing any work themselves. It makes me sad lol.

Edited April 30, 2013 by Avicii

6 Abilities wont' cut it for darkness spec. I suggest moving back to Deception or the hybrid, or re-rolling as a sorc or marauder.

 

Albeit I mostly pve now, but even when I did pvp, I used 18 abilities min.

Edited May 3, 2013 by Hockaday

maul, maul, and more maul, oh, did i mention maul?

Darkness is easy to play in the sense that the more you die the better your team is because you're way harder than any other DPS to kill while still generally doing less DPS than they are, so any time you die means your team has gained an advantage (it could've been a DPS that's more fragile than you while doing more damage than you). Of course if your enemy team is actually aware of this and just avoid fighting you, anybody can put up insane numbers when you're not being attacked the whole game, and that's usually good enough for most people too. You basically slap a Guard on someone important (usually a healer) and then your goal is to get yourself killed as many times as possible and you'll still end up being one of the most valuable contributor to the team. Occasionally your healer might remember to keep you alive and you'd do even better.