See what I´ve become - Assassin solo gameplay

One of the greatest things that you can find on teh internetz when trying to decide your class in MMO are videos. Youtube is full of them (duh). However what I think people are really interested in is seeing how their class of choice will be performing in day-to-day playing sessions and not necessarily in high end dungeons and raids.

This is why I have prepared video showcasing assassin gameplay along with, what I think are, somewhat helpful descriptions and commentaries so the viewer can at least have basic understanding of "what the fuck is going on (TM)"

As a bonus I have my two old old videos from 1.4 and 1.5 eras. See what I´ve become? I haven't become better at editing videos that is for sure :X Make sure to switch to 480p in video quality settings.

Assassin solo gameplay in 1.4 patch - Hybrid build

Assassin solo gameplay in 1.5 patch - Lotus build (at that time Hybrid was heavily nerfed)

Assassin solo gameplay in 4.0 patch - Hybrid build

Suggestion box: Lotus Overload, Lotus Tainted Blood, Arcane Backlash and Corrupted Body

Since the devs are back into saddle on TL it is time to crack out some suggestions about changes to the assassin class. First on the chopping block is the Lotus Overload which is a subject of a heated debate. Lotus Overload grants 95% immunity (might as well calll it 100%) to spells if assassin gets crited.

Spell immunity means also that assassin can't be affected by those CCs that are non-combo based. LO should only work on hostile spell crits but it is KNOWN to go off on friendly heals crits. Not working as intended. LO also seems to be not having a cooldown as it can proc super often in pvp. 

Cloth armor makes assassin extremely vulnerable to any non-magic based attack, so simply nerfing down anti-magic capabilities of assassin would make him just a gimped rogue. At the same time LO is available very early on so pretty much any Hybrid build can take advantage of LO. Pretty much it's a powerful ability that needs very little investment.

I think there are some changed needed in the Lotus tree itself. First of all Lotus Overload switches it's place with Arcane Backlash. Arcane Backlash is not nearly powerful enough to be soo deep in Lotus tree and it would make acquiring LO a more conscious decision for Lotus dedicated builds. 

Second thing is Lotus Tainted Blood which should be merged with Corrupted Body. On it's own those feats are not all that great for 3/3 investment, but combined they would provide good anti-magic support for Hybrid builds. 

Lotus Overload should become an active feat. It's a powerful ability so it should take skill to be able to use it at the right time. Pretty much the core mechanic should remain: when assassin get spell-crited he should get a buff called "energized blood" for 10s with visible particle to indicate that the buff is present. During this time frame assassin can use Lotus Overload to get 95%  spell immunity for 5s. Lotus Overload should have 30s cooldown and should go on cooldown if used without "energized blood" buff being present (this would prevent LO from being spammed all the time). 

I think this would be a significant change that would allow skilled players to use LO in more conscious way while not nerfing LO to the ground. Switching around the feats doesn't make Hybrid builds awkward all the sudden while encouraging playing around with Lotus focused builds.

If you like this suggestion then go to this thread on TL forum and give your feedback to the devs.

[Guide] crafting the Spine of Dagon dagger

With crafting revamp being right around the corner (sorta of, it's more like few more months to go) this might be your last chance to acquire the legendary Spine of Dagon, a Tier 3 raiding crafted dagger.

Post crafting revamp you won't be able to craft this dagger, but every crafted weapon will stay in game and become a legacy item with both sentimental value and great stats.

SOD has not only awesome, raw DPS alone, but also it can be gemmed with Bel's Mirth which can proc spell penetration, making detonation truly DA BOMB.

Getting this dagger is no easy task, but it's within a reach of any dedicated player provided that he has both the time and the patience to get it.

In this guide I will simply assume that you want to get the materials necessary to get this project going. Actual crafting (it happens in T3 raid) is a whole different topic.You need a T3 raiding guild for that.

To craft the dagger you will need:

Spine of Dagon = 1 Cromite Ingot, 1 Eventide Ingot, 1 Well-Honed Spire, 100 Superior Hilt Piece 

Well-honed Spire is actually a simple, blue crafted dagger. You can craft it yourself or get it off the trader for cheap.

Well Honed Spire (blue dagger)
6 Sourmetal Salts, 4 Tussah Silk, 6 Iron, 3 coal oil, 5 superior hilt piece, 4 plain hilt piece 

100 Superior Hilt Piece and 4 plain hilt pice  - you can buy this from crafting materials NPC. 

Now here comes the hard part: you will need materials for  Strange Malleable Alloy

Strange Malleable Alloy
10 Shards of the Exiled God 
10 Black Gold; - to craft you will need 50 Black Silver, 50 Gold 
10 Darksteel; - to craft you will need10 Tin, 40 Duskmetal 
10 Purlwire;- to craft you will need 10 Magnetite Powder , 10 Copper, 60 Silver, 20 Duskmetal 
10 Royal Gold;- to craft you will need 60 Illustrium, 20 Silver, 20 Gold 
10 Tumbaga; - to craft you will need10 Illustrium , 50 Copper, 40 Gold 
10 Zhemrian Bronze; - to craft you will need30 Black Silver, 10 Tin, 30 Copper, 30 Gold 
10 Aqua Regia; Humanoid drop 
20 Crystalline Flux; Bought at 15 Silver per CF 

You will need to craft 2 of Alloys.  Here is the list of all materials for two Alloys:

Black Silver - 50 + 30 = 80 x 2 = 160

Gold - 50 + 20 + 40 + 30 = 140 x 2 = 280

Tin - 10 + 10 = 20 x 2 = 40

Duskmetal - 40 + 20 = 60 x 2 = 120

Magnetite Powder - 10 = 10 x 2 = 20

Copper - 10 + 50 + 30 = 90 x 2 = 180

Silver - 60 + 20 = 80 x 2 = 160

Illustrium - 60 + 10 = 70 x 2 =140

Aqua Regia - 10 = 10 x 2 = 20

Crystaline Flux - 20 = 20 x 2 = 40

The most important part of crafting is getting the two Ingots. Ingots are items that are archetype specifics

Priest = Atlantium Ingot
Mage = Eventide Ingot
Rogue = Chromite Ingot
Soldier = Acheronian Steel Ingot

For Spine of Dagon you will need 1 Cromite Ingot and 1 Eventide Ingot.

So to sum it up here is the complete breakdown of every single base material that is needed to craft and gem up the Spine of Dagon:

Name	Need
Shards of the Exiled God	20
Superior Hilt Piece	105
Plain hilt piece	4
Sourmetal Salts	6
Tussah Silk	4
Iron	6
Coal oil	3
Black Silver	160
Gold	280
Tin	40
Magnetite Powder	20
Copper	180
Silver	160
Duskmetal	120
Illustrium	140
Aqua Regia	20
Crystaline Flux	40
Thrusting Marquise Peridot	1
Moonstone of Bel's Mirth	1
Brutal Brilliant Royal Onyx	1

Some tips:
- look for bargain offers on trader, anything under 20g per 1 shard of Exiled God is a good offer.
- farming the rare mats like Black Silver yourself would take forever. Look for cheap mats on trader or buy crafted materials like Royal Gold straight from trader.
- need Tussah silk? Cannibal cave mobs drop it.
- need Sourmetal Salts? lvl 70 caster can drop a cache with it. Purple Lotus Swamp is generally the best for it, but there are other places, like Khesh with lvl 70 casters.
- want to craft everything yourself? Here is the recipe list:

Recipe Name	Ingredients	Batch Yield	Last Known Drop Location
Black Gold	5 Black Silver 5 Gold	5	Brokk the Smith at Atzel's Fortress
Royal Gold	2 SIlver 6 Illustrium 2 Gold	8	Brokk the Smith at Atzel's Fortress
Darksteel	2 Tin 8 Duskmetal	2	Brokk the Smith at Atzel's Fortress
Zhemrian Bronze	3 Copper 1 Tin 3 Black Silver 3 Gold	4	Brokk the Smith at Atzel's Fortress
Tumbaga	5 Copper 4 Gold 1 Illustruim	2	Brokk the Smith at Atzel's Fortress
Purlwire	1 Copper 6 Silver 2 Duskmetal 1 Magnetite Powder	1	Brokk the Smith at Atzel's Fortress

I have researched this guide as best as I could, but if you found a mistake please let me know in the comments!