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View Full Version : 4E Assassins- Cool, or gamebreaking?



Nota Biene
2009-09-14, 07:38 PM
I'm not an expert number cruncher, but from what I have seen so far of assassins has been- terrifying. They seem better at maneuvering, guranteed pain round after round, infiltration, etc, then any other strikers we've seen before, and their secondary role of controller supports that pretty well.

Question- Did Wizards create something cool, or did they consign every rogue ever to "the guy who wishes he was an assassin (except occassionally when a few skills come up?"

Tiki Snakes
2009-09-14, 07:51 PM
I've only tried it out in one (tough) encounter so far, but the assassin certain seems like it'll be a laugh to play.

But it's not what i'd call a game-breaker, that's for sure. The damage is definately not out of line. Sure, it's nice to do something on a miss, but if you're chargin your big hit up for four rounds and then miss, you can only get so much comfort from 3d6 damage on it's own with no bonuses for the four rounds you just spent waiting to get those shrouds in place.

It is a class that will escape tpk pretty reliably though, because they are pretty suited to sneaking about. Which was lucky, frankly, in a two-person both-striker party against a tough encounter.

10hp +con at first level is not formiddable health levels.

Mauril Everleaf
2009-09-14, 08:07 PM
I actually looked at the Assassin and thought "kinda weak". Almost all of its powers have keywords that are often immunities (if I am remembering my MM correctly). Until some feats come out allowing partial damage for immune creatures, their regular attacks are going to be awesome or useless depending on the foe.

Their shrouds are kind of like Hunter's Quarry that you have to activate every round. If you plan on building them up on a target for their stacking effects, then it might be worth it, but using them as a constant bonus (like Curse or Quarry) they kinda lag.

I'll wait until all three tiers are out until I make a full judgment. Calling the thing assassin seems disingenuous though. Feels more like what I know about the hexblade than the assassin.

Tiki Snakes
2009-09-14, 08:13 PM
Worth noting, the encounter in question was against undead. Yeeeeah. I basically had to fall back on my at-wills and work on the hit-and-run stuff. Was quite tricky, really.

With the amount of non-attack options they have, though, (and a hideously pumped stealth score between ability, background, race and etc) it did make for a really engaging encounter. Admittedly one I only escaped alive, in the end, due to the Drow orb-of-darkness racial power and a well timed retreat...

Sir_Elderberry
2009-09-14, 09:27 PM
I played with an Assassin at my local game store Saturday. He was fun to play with, and effective, but certainly not gamebreaking, and his damage wasn't anything extraordinary, although I often play with a barbarian friend of mine, so my expectations for strikers are high.

Nota Biene
2009-09-14, 10:13 PM
Glad to see my fears were (probably) unwarranted. Assassins are a cool concept, but the archetype seems to go best with lone operatives, and in this case is flavored to seem pretty amoral at best- in other words, this is a class which kind of pulls against the assumptions of the "standard" game. That said, it can probably be made to fit most groups, and it sure feels like it could be fun to play.

The_Pyre
2009-09-15, 07:08 AM
You can usually play an assassin in place of a rogue or a warlock in terms of flavor. I think assassins are that middle ground between those two strikers.

I can't wait to play a revenant assassin, too. Not only are the ability scores in all the right places, the flavor is also awesome.