So I'm new to Median XL but after getting browbeaten by some friends, decided to give Assassin a try. None of them play Assassin or melee, so I'm kinda trying to figure things out on my own.
After experimenting with a few different skills before lvl 50, I kept coming back to a 'straight' claw assassin / Noctule build. I used it to cruise through normal and, after some gear crafting, nightmare difficulty as well. Now that I'm in hell things have turned up a notch again and I'm unsure how to proceed. Hence this topic.
First, straight forward question: is a Noctule / Claw Assassin viable without going for a Batstrike summoner build?
Second question on my mind has to do with Anathema; -150% enhance weapon damage and +5% innate elemental damage. This skill seems really strong but how does it work exactly? A lot of wrist blades don't have any physical damage it seems like. Does that mean Anathema is just a straight up damage buff without downside for those claws?
Speaking of wristblades, how do you sustain using those weapons? % based lifesteal doesn't seem to work so do I have to revert to the +30 Life on Melee Attack MO's and gear like it?
Third question: what's the difference between claw / claw and a claw + shield combination? It felt like Noctule spam was the same in both cases. The tooltip barely shows an increase in damage. As a matter of fact; according to the tooltip the damage gets lower if I equip a weaker second claw compared to just 1 claw. So is there a point in going double claws? (besides it feeling more badass )
Last dilemma; is claw block still worth it? Six skill points just to get the first lvl is a lot but it still sounds really strong. However what does 'disabled by Noctule' mean? Just when I use the Noctule ability or if you put a single point into the skill? Because that's obviously a bit awkward for a Noctule build.
A lot of questions, I know . Hopefully someone can help me out so I can find my direction going forwards. That might mean going for another build. But for now I'd like to give claw assassin a chance until I hit that brick wall