Vade's Electrofield Assassin [Miniguide]

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Great guide and funny commentary.
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Anonymous:
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Grasshopper
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Tiefling Form question.

When I go into a game some items are red (as expected) before I cast Tiefling. So I cast it, but I still have to go into inventory and do something to make the game notice that I have more dexterity etc and the items come available. Ok, not fantastic but I understand that's how the game works...

What I don't understand is that when I go into Tiefling first of all, I look like a little skeleton figure. After I move the items around, the look is different. Now it's like a normal assassin with a sight blue haze around her.

Is there anything to know here? Is Tiefling definitely working properly? The stats seem about right but the different look for no reason bothers me.
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Nitz
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Grasshopper wrote:Is there anything to know here? Is Tiefling definitely working properly? The stats seem about right but the different look for no reason bothers me.


Different armors have different models. Maybe you can't wear your body armor before so it looks different. Yes tiefling is a dark shadow over your char. Pressing weapon switch is the easiest method to make the game recognize it. If you get HP, Dex, energy factor and +1 to all skills then it definitely works.
Grasshopper
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Nitz - brilliant. That would be it. I didn't realise body armour affected the Tiefling look. Thank you!

My previous post in this thread I maybe should have posted in your guide since you posted all the assassin builds there and electrofield was one of them.
Just that AnubisQQ was thinking along the same lines as I have been and he posted his thoughts here. No offence intended. Your guide is fantastic.
AnubisQQ
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Grasshopper wrote:@AnubisQQ. I have been through the same line of thinking at the present time.

I have been leveling then playing as LL according to Nitz's guide and started finding some difficulties:

    1. LL has too many areas where you have nowhere to stick it.
    2. Tiefling does not give enough in return for so many points. Defence = 0 is bad, but at least I can run. I wonder if I need defence with new passive anyway?
    3. Phase Bomb has so many issues. Can kill self (when using Shadow Refuge) and summons and it seems it may not break immunity anyway since only -25% (Some monsters have > 125% immunity???). And the mechanic of the skill is too slow in combat.

So I was thinking along same lines as your build. But I have some thoughts/comments:

    1. Why not at least 1 point in Vampiric Icon?

    2. If using Fire Sentry as backup skill I think I would not want a fire merc. So I am also considering a barb merc (since no PB). is that a good idea? Abjurer is pointless if using Light Sentry and I think the cold Act 3 merc is not very good still?
    Act 1 merc possible but it would be useful to have a tank in front of a caster. I am assuming that the summons will still be weak even without PB since they are not buffed with minion resists or life (perhaps this could be a good place to use any available MO space?).

    3. My expectation with WotG is that it would give the +10% per level to lightning damage from spells but the flat damage is weapon damage so we would not get that (except when using Shadow Refuge of course).

    4. It may also make Shadow Refuge not so worthwhile since Nitz recommended 50% damage reduction between this skill and others (what is EQ by the way?). Again, perhaps not needed with new passive.

    5. The overall downside is giving up a 1 point secondary skill such as PB and replacing with Fireball Sentry (and WotG needs more points since it will not be a 1-point skill I imagine). But we have some free now from Tiefling of course. So. Regarding choice of secondary skills...

Possible secondary skills:

Hailstorm from amulet. It could also be a useful helper skill for bosses.
Unfortunately I wanted to use Black Dwarf as amulet (but its Supernova skill would not work here as alternative to Electrofield). Psionic Storm is possible. It has a small area of effect and costs a lot of mana especially when it has to be cast many times on fast moving enemies. Overall it does seem just about ok.

Psionic Storm. Also gives access to psionic Scream which may be useful when lots of monsters come all at once.

Fireball Sentry. Many skill points and may need some gear and MOs. Is it effective without +fire %damage and -enemy fire resistance?

Overall I'm tempted by Psioinc Storm since there is no need or possibility to gear for it (magic damage). Is there a reason this would be a bad choice? Sorry for so many questions. I need more experience at this game as yet.

By the way. What did you mean by "I have to buff twice now" (with phase bomb)?


Omg sorry dude, I totally missed that post!

1) I don't know actually, I never used VI, same as Vade. You have to switch skills more than enough and that would just add 1 more skill to switch to, but thats personal preference really.

2) Yes that is absolutely true. I was thinking about A2 Shapeshifter because of tanking + bloodlust buff

3) Someone did the testing and he showed, that WotG still gives lightning spell dmg%, even if it doesn't show up in the skill description. And yes, you should max it. As I said, I really hate phase bomb and beacon is kinda fun but I still prefer WotG.

4) Idk what EQ means, sorry :( But shadow refuge is always worth it, keep it up all the time!

By 'buff two times now' I meant bloodbath (innate skill). This skill grants you life after each kill + (new added effect) a fraction of the damage reduction from the new skill.

I haven't really tested any secondary skill besides LL and FB sentry, so I'm maybe not the right person to ask, but I read that shuriken flurry got a pretty decent buff. Maybe it's worth looking into that, but I'm really not sure!
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Vade
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@Grasshopper

Yikes, that's a whole lot of questions! I'll try to respond in the format you asked them.

started finding some difficulties:
1. Yes, that's why I decided to go Electrofield in the first place.
2. Agreed, tiefling is not worth the investment imho, however keep on running. The mobility is worth the def while running penalty. Defense is still good, but without end game gear like
Natasha's Legacy (Xis)
our defense will be very low anyways. As a side note, the new brc skill is good but it doesn't eliminate the need for other defensive bonuses.
3. Early on when you're using skeletal flayers phase is an annoyance for sure but when you become self sufficient and get a better shield with no summons phase is your best friend, effectively eliminating the need for a secondary skill (breaks immunities on all mobs apart from a select few enemies)
As far as it being slow in combat, it's a matter of incorporating it into your rotation. A typical run for me goes: Blink, Phase, Electrofield until blink is ready, repeat. When you get into the flow it feels really smooth but takes practice and getting used to.

But I have some thoughts/comments:
1. Simplicity, plain an simple. Also I barely ever use Shadow Refuge either because it slows you down and messes with your flow. I'd rather do [Blink, Phase, Sentry, repeat] than [Shadow Refuge, Blink, Phase, Vampiric Icon, Electrofield, repeat] because you could be cruising through wrecking face, but you're fiddling around with 5 hotkeys, slowing down, and getting frustrated.
2. Mercs are largely personal preference, if I were you I'd stick with fire merc but go psionic storm for secondary if you're set on not using phase. Fire mercs have massive defense and cast inner fire, healing you to full sometimes. Nowadays though I go abjurer on every char just for the dmg output. I definitely wouldn't build around minions. Flayers are going to die fast no matter how many mo's you use, it's better if you are stronger so the enemies die faster and have less chance to hit the minions. Plus, Dar Al Harb is not an end game shield, its great for early/mid but youll want something with high pierce later on, which means sacrificing the minions.
3. Idk the exact numbers but yeah, spell dmg helps, flat dmg doesn't. SR will never be used for damage anyways, most of the time it will miss because our AR is so low. It still applies the buff when it misses though.
4. You still want as much DR as you can get, %DR is way better than flat DR (which is what the new skill gives) the more, the better. Our best defense however is the stun from blink. If you use blink on cooldown, you won't even get hit most of the time. Still good to have %DR for backup.
5. As Far as secondaries go, I'd go with Psionic Storm if you have lots of energy and mana regen to support it. Hailstorm is a slow to ramp single target killer, very slow for general farming. If you have mana troubles you can always go back to Fireball Sentry.

When he was saying "buff twice" I think he meant Shadow Refuge and Phase Bomb. This build can be overwhelming if you're not used to lots of skill switching.
AnubisQQ
Vampiress
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Vade wrote:@Grasshopper

Yikes, that's a whole lot of questions! I'll try to respond in the format you asked them.

started finding some difficulties:
1. Yes, that's why I decided to go Electrofield in the first place.
2. Agreed, tiefling is not worth the investment imho, however keep on running. The mobility is worth the def while running penalty. Defense is still good, but without end game gear like
Natasha's Legacy (Xis)
our defense will be very low anyways. As a side note, the new brc skill is good but it doesn't eliminate the need for other defensive bonuses.
3. Early on when you're using skeletal flayers phase is an annoyance for sure but when you become self sufficient and get a better shield with no summons phase is your best friend, effectively eliminating the need for a secondary skill (breaks immunities on all mobs apart from a select few enemies)
As far as it being slow in combat, it's a matter of incorporating it into your rotation. A typical run for me goes: Blink, Phase, Electrofield until blink is ready, repeat. When you get into the flow it feels really smooth but takes practice and getting used to.

But I have some thoughts/comments:
1. Simplicity, plain an simple. Also I barely ever use Shadow Refuge either because it slows you down and messes with your flow. I'd rather do [Blink, Phase, Sentry, repeat] than [Shadow Refuge, Blink, Phase, Vampiric Icon, Electrofield, repeat] because you could be cruising through wrecking face, but you're fiddling around with 5 hotkeys, slowing down, and getting frustrated.
2. Mercs are largely personal preference, if I were you I'd stick with fire merc but go psionic storm for secondary if you're set on not using phase. Fire mercs have massive defense and cast inner fire, healing you to full sometimes. Nowadays though I go abjurer on every char just for the dmg output. I definitely wouldn't build around minions. Flayers are going to die fast no matter how many mo's you use, it's better if you are stronger so the enemies die faster and have less chance to hit the minions. Plus, Dar Al Harb is not an end game shield, its great for early/mid but youll want something with high pierce later on, which means sacrificing the minions.
3. Idk the exact numbers but yeah, spell dmg helps, flat dmg doesn't. SR will never be used for damage anyways, most of the time it will miss because our AR is so low. It still applies the buff when it misses though.
4. You still want as much DR as you can get, %DR is way better than flat DR (which is what the new skill gives) the more, the better. Our best defense however is the stun from blink. If you use blink on cooldown, you won't even get hit most of the time. Still good to have %DR for backup.
5. As Far as secondaries go, I'd go with Psionic Storm if you have lots of energy and mana regen to support it. Hailstorm is a slow to ramp single target killer, very slow for general farming. If you have mana troubles you can always go back to Fireball Sentry.

When he was saying "buff twice" I think he meant Shadow Refuge and Phase Bomb. This build can be overwhelming if you're not used to lots of skill switching.


By 'buff twice' I meant buffing with SR and Bloodbath (since it gives as a fraction of the DR from the new skill now). This makes using phase bomb even more of a headache. But actually I don't know if the new bonus from Bloodbath is even worth it.
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Nitz
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Vade wrote:
Nitz wrote:Try it just for the cow level - it has a high range and dmg you should be able to run cows much faster. Anything above 5 minutes is way to slow.


I'll try to roll a better claw and commit to it, see how it goes.


So I did it over the past few days. Had 2 claws with +25 to nova bomb, the dmg was better than dar al harb and a skeleton, even for bosses (who don't move) it worked better. But the most important aspect about it were the mana cost I never lost a single point of mana while the electrofield sentry often forced me to go slower. And I mo'd both claws with +experience to get to 121 faster.
LG_Blitz
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Nitz wrote:
Vade wrote:
Nitz wrote:Try it just for the cow level - it has a high range and dmg you should be able to run cows much faster. Anything above 5 minutes is way to slow.


I'll try to roll a better claw and commit to it, see how it goes.


So I did it over the past few days. Had 2 claws with +25 to nova bomb, the dmg was better than dar al harb and a skeleton, even for bosses (who don't move) it worked better. But the most important aspect about it were the mana cost I never lost a single point of mana while the electrofield sentry often forced me to go slower. And I mo'd both claws with +experience to get to 121 faster.


What is the best method to reach 121?