Contents
Introduction
The Assassin class is unlike any other character class for Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction. It is the only class that is a "hybrid" build by nature to be successful, frequently relying on skills from all three Skill trees for maximum effectiveness in both PvM play and PvP play. The most powerful minion of the game, the Shadow Master, is also an Assassin skill. Playing an Assassin requires guile, cunning, and agile fingers to manipulate the hotkeys for maximum effectiveness.
Basic Terms and Abbreviations
AoE: Area of Effect
AR: Attack Rating
BoI: Blades of Ice
BoS: Burst of Speed
BF: Blade Fury
C/C: Claw/Claw (dual wielding claws)
C/S: Claw/Shield (using a claw and a shield)
CoS: Cloak of Shadows
CoT: Claws of Thunder
CS: Cobra Strike
DC: Dragon Claw
DEF: Defense Rating
DF: Dragon Flight
DR: Damage Reduced (a mod on items)
DTalon: Dragon Talon
DS: Death Sentry
DTail: Dragon Tail
EIAS: Effective Increased Attack Speed
ED: Enhanced Damage
FoF: Fists of Fire
IAS: Increased Attack Speed
LS: Lightning Sentry
MA: Martial Arts, usually referring to the Martial Arts skill tree
MDR: Magic Damage Reduced (a mod on items)
Nat's: Natalya's Odium (the assassin set)
PS: Phoenix Strike
PvM: Player Vs. Monster
PvP: Player Vs. Player
SD: Shadow Discipline Skill tree
SLVL: Skill Level
SM: Shadow Master
SW: Shadow Warrior
TS: Tiger strike
WoF: Wake of Fire
WoI: Wake of Inferno
WB: Weapon Block
CSS: Cruel Scissors Suwayyah
CSSQ: Cruel Scissors Suwayyah of Quickness
CSSE: Cruel Scissors Suwayyah of Evisceration
Misc/Item FAQs
What claw do I use when determining the WSM Kicks use, when C/C?
Use your right-hand claw's WSM (the left weapon slot in the Inventory screen).
What mods work on the Blade skills and Kicks?
For Blade Sentinel (main claw only: i.e. the claw you equip first or the one that's left behind if you unequip one. Shields transfer their effects normally)
What works
- Deadly Strike
- Elemental damage/Venom (3/8)
- Physical/Weapon damage (3/8)
- Pierce Target (natural)
- Prevent Monster Heal
What doesn't work
- Hit Causes Monster to Flee
- Hit Freezes Target
- Open Wounds
- Hit Slows Target
- KnockBack
- Hit Blinds Target
- Crushing Blow
- Chance to cast on Striking
For Blade Fury (main claw only: i.e. the claw you equip first or the one that's left behind if you unequip one. Shields transfer their effects normally)
What works
- Ignore Target Defense
- Deadly Strike/Critical Strike from Claw Mastery
- Crushing Blow
- Hit Causes Monster to Flee
- Knockback
- Chance to cast on Striking
- Hit Freezes Target
- Elemental Damage/Venom (3/4)
- Leech
- Open Wounds
- Hit Blinds Target
- Prevent Monster Heal
- Hit Slows Target
- Physical/Weapon Damage (3/4)
What doesn't work
- Chance to cast on Attacking
- Pierce Target
For Blade Shield (main claw only: i.e. the claw you equip first or the one that's left behind if you unequip one. Shields transfer their effects normally)
What works
- Deadly Strike
- Elemental Damage/Venom (1/4)
- Leech
- Physical/Weapon Damage (1/4)
What doesn't work
- Open Wounds
- Crushing Blow
- Hit Causes Monster to Flee
- KnockBack
- Hit Freezes Target
- Chance to Cast on Striking
- Pierce Target
For Kicks (main claw only: i.e. the claw you equip first or the one that's left behind if you unequip one. Shields transfer their effects normally)
What works
- Leech (both from equipment and CS)
- Elemental Damage/Venom (note: Venom is only applied on the monster you target DTail on, not the AoE. However, elemental damage on equipment is added onto the AoE. Elemental damage/Venom is applied on every kick of DTalon, and on DF)
- Crushing Blow
- Open Wounds
- Prevent Monster Heal
- Chance to Cast on Striking
- Hit Causes Monster to Flee
- Ignore Target Defense
- Hit Blinds Target
- Hit Slows Target
- Hit Freezes Target
- Chance to Cast on Attacking
- KnockBack (natural)
What doesn't work
- Weapon damage
- Pierce Target
- Deadly Strike (includes Critical Strike from Claw Mastery)
Hit Recovery, Cast Rate, and Attack Speed Breaks
Hit Recovery Frame Rates
0% - 9 frames
7% - 8 frames
15% - 7 frames
27% - 6 frames
48% - 5 frames
86% - 4 frames
200% - 3 frames
4680% - 2 frames
Faster Cast Frame Rates
0% - 16 frames
8% - 15 frames
16% - 14 frames
27% - 13 frames
42% - 12 frames
65% - 11 frames
102% - 10 frames
174% - 9 frames
Block Frame Rates (applicable for both Shield block and WB)
0% - 5 frames
13% - 4 frames
32% - 3 frames
86% - 2 frames
600% - 1 frame
Faster Attack Frames Rates
Refer to Appendix A. Fuzzbox/Lunatic's Assassin Claw/Shield and Claw/Claw Increased Attack Speed [IAS] Breakpoints with Burst of Speed.