Assassin

General
The Assassin is a ninja-themed profession introduced in Guild Wars Factions.

"The Assassin moves through the shadows like a ghost, invisible to enemies until it's too late. The dagger is usually the Assassin's weapon of choice, and the critical hit is the tool Assassins use to inflict massive damage over a very short period of time. The Assassin can use daggers to string together a chain of potent and painful attacks, often giving the enemy little time to react.

''Assassins favor lightweight armor that doesn't restrict movement. Magical skills include hexes that lower the target's defenses and spells that protect the Assassin from harm. Perhaps the Assassin's most notable ability is the Shadow Step--an innate talent that appears in many Assassin skills and allows instant teleportation to a distant target.''" ~The Official Factions Guidebook

Relying on luck and illusion, the patron goddess of Assassins is Lyssa, though dealing in death they also have ties to Grenth.

The primary Assassin's base armor provides 70 armor, +5 energy, and +2 energy recovery. A starting primary Assassin begins with 25 base energy and 4 energy recovery.

The Assassin's primary attribute is Critical Strikes, which increases critical hit rates and chances to double strike.

Dagger Attack Chains
All Assassin dagger skills chain into a combo - certain attacks must follow other attacks.
 * 1) A lead attack can be made at anytime. If a lead attack is successful, a slash mark [[Image:LeadAttack.png]] will appear on your opponent's health bar.
 * 2) An off-hand attack usually requires a lead attack mark on the target. If an off-hand attack is successful, a cross mark [[Image:OffHand.png]] will appear on your opponent's health bar.
 * 3) A dual attack usually requires an off-hand attack mark on the target. If a dual attack is successful, a starburst mark [[Image:DualAttack.png]] will appear on your opponent's health bar.

The next attack skill in the sequence must hit before the required mark fades. Each mark lasts for about twenty seconds from when it is given. Normal attacks and/or other skills may be used in between without interrupting the attack sequence.

If a successful attack hits, it will reset the sequence with its position in the chain. That is, if a lead attack hits a target who is already marked by an off-hand attack, it will reset the target's status back to a lead attack.

If a dagger attack skill is used out of sequence, the skill consumes energy as normal, but the attack misses and recharges instantly. Since out-of-sequence attack skills always miss, they have no effect on the skill chain.

Some off-hand and dual attacks have exceptions to this chain, such as Falling Spider, which is an off-hand attack that must hit a knocked down foe, but does not need to follow a lead attack. Some non-attack skills and spells act as lead or off-hand attacks like Dancing Daggers. Other skills must follow lead attacks or off-hand attacks, such as Blinding Powder.

For more help on dagger chains, see the quick reference for Assassin chain attacks.

Skill chains are crucial to the Assassin's damage; since daggers have the lowest damage of any weapon in the game (7-17 maximum damage), even their blazing attack speed (from double strikes and a high critical hit rate from Critical Strikes) will result in little more than pinpricks of damage against any but the weakest foes. However, the Assassin shines in the armor-ignoring bonus damage granted by attack skills, most notably dual attacks as any bonus damage they do is doubled - assuming both attacks successfully hit. Many players who are new to the Assassin class focus more on their high critical hit rate (an understandable fixation, given how much critical hits hurt when used with, say, hammers or scythes), and thus overload their skill bars with defensive shadow steps or other trickery, relying solely on their critical hits and natural attack speed to deal damage. These players are misguided, however, since without their attack skills, an Assassin is bereft of the damage for which they are famed.

Cons
Assassins are very vulnerable to damage due to their weak armor. You should never charge into the middle of a fight but rather look for key foes such as Mesmers that may shut down your Monk. Assassins focus on killing their enemies quickly before they have a chance to mount a counter-assault, even more so if you attract the attention of their Monk. While an Assassin should focus on causing damage, some healing skills are required such as Way of Perfection or defensive skills such as Critical Defenses to stay alive. If things go bad, escaping from battle is advised by using protective buffs such as Shroud of Distress or Feigned Neutrality. However, Assassins are key to some of the most powerful groups, as dealing hard, swift strikes allows for an easy run.

Attributes

 * Critical Strikes (primary attribute): For each rank in Critical Strikes, your chance for critical hits increases by 1%, and you gain 1 energy for 3 ranks or above, 2 energy for 8 ranks or above, or 3 energy at 13 ranks or above each time you successfully land a critical hit.
 * Critical Strikes skills
 * Dagger Mastery: With a skill list of rapid chain attacks, Daggery Mastery increases the damage you do with daggers and the chance to inflict a critical hit with daggers. Each rank also increases your chance to double strike by 2%.
 * Dagger Mastery skills
 * Deadly Arts: With an ensnaring skill list, Deadly Arts increases the effectiveness of hexes that make enemies more vulnurable to your attacks.
 * Deadly Arts skills
 * Shadow Arts: With a defensive skill list, Shadow Arts increases the effectiveness of self-augmentative and shadow-stepping spells.
 * Shadow Arts skills

Profession Combinations
see Secondary professions for an Assassin

Related Articles

 * Skills quick reference
 * Skills by category
 * Armor types
 * Armor crafting quick reference
 * Collector armors
 * Collector weapons
 * Unique items quick reference
 * Daggers
 * Effective assassin guide
 * Attack Chain Quick Reference
 * Assassin skill nomenclature
 * Assassin dance information
 * Assassin quick references (category)
 * Assassin elite skill locations