Assassin 90–99: Crit and Penetration builds

What an Assassin (the Russian version of the game calls the class "Разбойник") at level 90–99 should wear, learn and slot. Two play styles — Attack + Crit and Attack + Penetration — and three modes: Abyss, League Trial and Secret Realm. Numbers come from the game data as checked on 13.10.2026; names are the ones used in the English version of the game. What the portal calculated is marked (calculated), what the data cannot confirm — (not verified), and what follows from reasoning rather than from the tables — (logic). The fight against the Alliance boss is called "League Trial" in the game (the name "League Expedition" also occurs).

Key points

• At 90–99 the Assassin plays Bloodlust. It is the Core skill; the Dark Gate set, the Impulse Dagger and the Mirror Demon Gauntlets all boost it. It is used three times as often as the Tactical one (4.3 s against 13 s cooldown) (calculated).
• The effects of the dagger, gauntlets and set only work when the node of the skill is learned. Cull needs the Elimination Dagger and the Shattered Mirror Gauntlets (the set works for both skills). Names are doubled: the Russian version calls the set "Тёмный Портал" and its items "Тёмные Врата" (in English both are Dark Gate); the same for "Воля смерти" and "Желание смерти" (both Death Wish).
• Skills: Basic — Aggravate, Core — Bloodlust, Tactical — Toxic Mist (Shroudmist in the Secret Realm), Ultimate — Emperorfall (logic). The portal rotation does not see the damage of Tactical skills or continuous damage, so there are no build shares here; by visible direct damage Crushdance is ahead of Emperorfall by about 10%, but Emperorfall adds vulnerability and bleeding (calculated; which is better is not verified).
• The "Attack + Crit" style matches the class's list of "valuable" stats in the game data; Penetration is not in the list. A Penetration gem does not fit into the weapon. Stable Victory is a percentage of Hit Rating, not a victory. At 90–99 gems reach level 9.
• The Assassination Specialization is built on the ambush: after 2.5 s without using skills the hero gets +25% damage for 5 s, and the first hit in the ambush triggers Shadow Burst. By the model the burst gives 36–38% of the damage it sees; in the League Trial one point in Hidden Killing Intent lifts the layout from 53% to 100% of the optimum (calculated; assumptions are logic).
• The Assassin is a melee class. In the League Trial an AI walks the Assassin up to the boss (about 4.5–5 m) instead of leaving it "behind the tank" (client code of 23.09.2026). Which side of the boss it stops on and whether the tank is in the way, the data do not say ❔.
• Night Shadow Leopard is not in the data: there is no such pet in this version of the game.

Equipment

There are no level 99 items in the game. Items come in steps, and by the end of the range you wear the best that exists:

Slot	Weapon	Gloves	Cloak	Shoulder pads	Chestplate	Legguards	Ring	Necklace	Bracers	Mark
Item level	96	96	90	90	92	92	94	94	98	98

Dagger and gauntlets

For Bloodlust take the Impulse Dagger and the Mirror Demon Gauntlets (first row). The others are tied to other skills and work only while that skill's node is learned. Whether the dagger's Core cooldown −15% stacks with the same set bonus, the data do not say ❔.

Skill	Dagger (weapon, Lv. 96)	Gauntlets (Lv. 96)
Bloodlust	Impulse Dagger: Bloodlust releases faster and ends with a dash forward dealing high damage (damage rate 763.2%); Core skill cooldown −15%	Mirror Demon Gauntlets: after a Tactical skill, the next Bloodlust deals +180% damage
Cull	Elimination Dagger: Cull damage +40%; an execution deals chain damage to surrounding enemies (damage rate 424%); Core skill cooldown −15%	Shattered Mirror Gauntlets: after a Tactical skill, the next Cull deals +180% damage
Shroudmist	Mist Ghost Dagger: Shroudmist damage +27.5%; on a dodge or 2 s without damage +5% damage bonus for 4 s; Tactical skill cooldown −15%	Poison Mist Gauntlets: after a Core skill, the next Shroudmist deals +55% damage, recovery 4.5 s
Toxic Mist	Acid Rain Dagger: after taking poison damage from Toxic Mist 3 times, the target is poisoned (damage rate 246.9%) and its healing taken is reduced; Tactical skill cooldown −15%	Blade Mist Gauntlets: after a Core skill, the next Toxic Mist deals +55% damage, recovery 4.5 s

The Impulse Dagger ends Bloodlust with a dash forward. Whether the game counts the dash as movement that resets Contemplation and Hidden Killing Intent, the data do not define ❔. If the dash is in the way, play Cull with the Elimination Dagger and the Shattered Mirror Gauntlets: Dark Gate boosts both skills.

Set: cloak, shoulder pads, chestplate, legguards

Wear Dark Gate. It boosts the same Bloodlust as the dagger and gauntlets.

Cloak · Shoulder pads · Chestplate · Legguards

• 2 pieces — +2.5% Combat Attack Boost, Core skill cooldown −15%;
• 4 pieces — Bloodlust and Cull: damage +120%.

The Russian version calls the set "Тёмный Портал" and the items "Тёмные Врата"; in English both are Dark Gate. The 4 pieces turn on when the node of Bloodlust or Cull is learned.

Death Wish and Tactical skills. It gives Shroudmist and Toxic Mist +110% damage; two pieces give +1.5% Combat Crit Boost and Tactical cooldown −15%; its items are called "Желание смерти" in the Russian version:

Cloak · Shoulder pads · Chestplate · Legguards

Bloodlust is used three times as often as a Tactical skill (4.3 s against 13 s cooldown) (calculated). The portal rotation cannot see the damage of a Tactical skill (clouds, poisons, doubles), so Death Wish (with the Acid Rain Dagger and the Blade Mist Gauntlets) cannot be compared with Dark Gate by the data ❔. The main choice for every mode is Dark Gate (logic, not verified).

Accessories

Each slot has two effects to choose from. Which is better depends on your build.

Slot	Main choice	Replacement
Ring, 94	Shimmering Vision: +3% damage bonus and another +0.5% for each socketed gem of level 9 or higher, up to +8%	Demon Hunter: damage to mobs and bosses +5%
Necklace, 94	Elven Artificer: +3% damage bonus and another +1% for each Soul Forging level on this item	Step into Eternal Night: after the Ultimate skill, damage +10% for 10 s
Bracers, 98	Pack Leader: after a pet skill, 8% of the energy spent is returned	Thunder Curse Domain: when a basic attack hits, 30% chance of a lightning strike (damage rate 400%)
Mark, 98	Swordplay Master: while health is above 30%, +6% damage bonus	—

The ring counts gems of level 9 and higher: change it together with the gems. The two kinds of bonus (damage bonus and damage to mobs and bosses) cannot be compared by the game's formula ❔.

Gems, special effects, refinement

In the Gem column: crit / penetration. A Penetration gem does not fit into the weapon, so it takes Crit in both styles.

Slot	Gem	Special effects (calculated order, best on the left; * = crit build only)	Refinement: crit	Refinement: penetration
Weapon, 96	Crit	Courage Blessing, Unyielding, Sharpness, Accuracy	Attack Bonus, Penetration Bonus, Attack	same
Gloves, 96	Crit / Penetration	Boom Boom Boom Boom!, Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Luck	Crit Bonus, Hit Bonus, Crit	same
Cloak, 90	Evasion	Courage Blessing, Stable Victory, Penetration, Sharpness	Attack Bonus, Damage Bonus, Penetration	same
Shoulder pads, 90	Attack	Boom Boom Boom Boom!*, Courage Blessing, Penetration, Sharpness	Attack Bonus, Damage Bonus, Penetration	same
Chestplate, 92	Evasion	Courage Blessing, Unyielding, Sharpness, Luck*	Attack Bonus, Penetration Bonus, Crit	Attack Bonus, Penetration Bonus, Attack
Legguards, 92	HP	Boom Boom Boom Boom!, Unyielding, Penetration, Luck	Crit Bonus, Damage Bonus, Crit	Crit Bonus, Damage Bonus, Penetration
Ring, 94	Crit / Penetration	Courage Blessing, Stable Victory, Penetration, Sharpness	Hit Bonus, Attack Bonus, Damage Bonus	same
Necklace, 94	Crit / Penetration	Courage Blessing, Unyielding, Sharpness, Accuracy	Attack Bonus, Penetration Bonus, Attack	same
Bracers, 98	Evasion	Boom Boom Boom Boom!*, Courage Blessing, Penetration, Sharpness	Crit Bonus, Attack Bonus, Damage Bonus	same
Mark, 98	Evasion	Courage Blessing, Unyielding, Sharpness, Luck*	Attack Bonus, Penetration Bonus, Crit	Attack Bonus, Penetration Bonus, Attack

• "Attack" is a flat amount, "Attack Bonus" is a percentage (the same for Crit, Penetration and Hit Rating); " Damage Bonus" increases all damage.
• In the game data the Assassin has its own list of "valuable" stats: Attack, Crit, Attack Bonus, Crit Bonus, Damage Bonus. Gems, emblems and badges of the "Attack + Crit" style are taken from it; Penetration and Penetration Bonus are not in the list, and the "Attack + Penetration" style does not match it. Refinement lines are chosen by the formula, not by the list, so Penetration appears in them in the "Attack + Crit" style too. For the damage formula a point of Penetration and a point of Crit are worth the same (until the crit chance hits its cap) (calculated).
• Refinement lines belong to the set of possible lines of their slot; which of the game's two sets applies to you, the server decides ❔.
• Four special effects only appear on Golden Flashing items, a regular Mythic item has two or three — pick them from left to right. Which effect can roll on which slot the data does not say ❔.
• On bracers, Boom Boom Boom Boom! (+17% Crit on items 90–98) is better than Boom Boom! (+6.8%). Defensive gems (HP, Evasion) do not change damage (calculated).

Refinement, special effects and gems recalculated with the game formulas (calculated)

Refinement lines, special effects and gems are recalculated with the game's formulas (the client's CalCulatePhysDamage, tools/theorycraft.py in the portal; miss follows the client rule: step 0.01%, cap 75%) on the data of 13.10.2026; the game is rebalanced weekly (calculated). The base is typical: the shape of the "live mage" from the portal tests (Attack 29,480, Crit 14,123.5, Hit Rating 7,882.1, Penetration 12,936, Damage Bonus 108.8%), there are no real Assassin builds (not verified); shifting any single stat by ±50% does not change the best triples. In the Penetration build three Crit gems (gloves, ring, necklace) are swapped for Penetration gems. A line is taken at its expected roll value; the gap to the best triple of a different make-up is 1.9…3.0 pp.

• Ring and "Hit Bonus". The line pays off while Hit Rating is below 25% of the sum of Attack, Penetration and Crit (about 13.9% for the base; with twice the Hit Rating it gives 0) and adds about 3.0 pp to the best triple without it. If the character screen already shows 0% miss, take Penetration (calculated).
• Penetration build: "Crit Bonus" instead of flat Crit (Legs, Bracers, Gloves). The gain is +3.6 pp at the typical base and +1.0 pp at the crit_on threshold (13.3% of Attack + Penetration; about 33% for the typical base) (calculated).
• Special effects. The percentage effects Boom Boom Boom Boom!, Courage Blessing, Stable Victory and Unyielding rank above the flat ones (calculated).
• Gems. The four offensive gems (Attack, Penetration, Hit Rating, Crit) are worth the same: +0.42% damage per gem (calculated). The model was not tested in combat, each slot is calculated separately from the other nine (not verified).

Skills and passives

Which skills to take

Max out each of the four branches: the skill, Skill Enhancement and the top of the branch; with the root that is 10 points, 40 in total. Another 9 go into the three passive rows and 1 into Assassin Stats. 50 out of 50 in total.

Slot	Abyss and League Trial	Secret Realm
Basic	Aggravate	Aggravate
Core	Bloodlust	Bloodlust
Tactical	Toxic Mist	Shroudmist
Ultimate	Emperorfall	Emperorfall

• Core skill — Bloodlust. The dagger, gauntlets and four pieces of Dark Gate boost exactly it (a series of hits and a powerful fan-shaped slash). Next to it in the same branch is Cull (executes enemies with low HP; weaker by visible direct damage: 9.92 against 12.72 per cast (calculated)): the set boosts it too, but it needs a different dagger and gauntlets (the Elimination Dagger and the Shattered Mirror Gauntlets), and the nodes are mutually exclusive.
• Basic skill — Aggravate: each hit lowers the target's defense (up to 10 stacks). By visible direct damage it and Venomblade are almost equal (3.43 and 3.42) (calculated); Aggravate is kept for the defense reduction (logic).
• Tactical skill. In the Abyss and League Trial — Toxic Mist (blindness for 1 s and poison damage over an area), in the Secret Realm — Shroudmist (on first entering the area 60% dodge for 2 s: survivability when mobs are around) (logic). The portal rotation does not see the damage of Tactical skills, so the six Tactical skills cannot be compared (not verified).
• Ultimate skill — Emperorfall (a blade, vulnerability and bleeding) (logic). By visible direct damage Crushdance is stronger (39.00 against 22.21 per cast): that is about 10% of the visible damage of the rotation (calculated). But the vulnerability and bleeding of Emperorfall are not part of the calculation ❔, so which Ultimate is better is not verified; the Thousand Gate Key artifact and its Cruelty core require two kinds of debuffs on the target.

Visible direct damage is what the portal sees in the action tables: damage per cast on one target in shares of Attack (1.0 = 100%). Continuous damage, buffs, vulnerability and the damage of created entities are not included, so build shares as for other classes were not made (calculated). The range of all chosen skills is 5 m, of the Ultimate 10 m (melee).

Slot	Skill	Cooldown, s	Direct damage per cast (× 100% Attack, one target)
Basic	Aggravate	1	3.43
Basic	Venomblade	1	3.42
Core	Bloodlust	4.3	12.72
Core	Cull	4.3	9.92
Tactical	Tactical (Toxic Mist, Shroudmist, Smokebomb, three Mirror Images)	13	no direct damage: it comes from clouds, poisons and summoned doubles
Ultimate	Crushdance	21	39.00
Ultimate	Venom Waltz	21	38.80
Ultimate	Kingfall	21	37.99
Ultimate	Emperorfall	21	22.21

Passives: Class Core Passive and Core Passive

Row	Bonus 1 (3 points)	Bonus 2 (3 points)	Attack + Crit	Attack + Penetration
IV	+7.5% Combat Attack Boost	+11.7% Combat Crit Boost	Bonus 2	Bonus 1
V	after the Core skill, +11.25% Attack Bonus and +6.75% Crit Bonus for 10 s, cooldown 15 s	the same after a Tactical skill	Bonus 1	Bonus 1
VI	+5% Combat Attack Boost	+7.8% Combat Crit Boost	Bonus 2	Bonus 1

The three bottom rows of Talent: in each you pick one node, Bonus 1 or Bonus 2 (that is what the game calls them), and a row takes 3 points. Rows are unlocked by class promotion, not by level: Assassin T4, T5 and T6, the condition is Inscription Rating 1,000, 2,500 and 7,000.

• In T4 and T6 Bonus 1 gives Combat Attack Boost and Bonus 2 gives Combat Crit Boost. The bonus is a percentage of its own stat, so the Crit node (11.7% / 7.8%) beats the Attack node (7.5% / 5%) only if your Crit is above 64% of your Attack (7.5 : 11.7 = 5 : 7.8) (calculated). In "Attack + Crit" that is usually so (logic), so take Bonus 2; in "Attack + Penetration" Crit is lower, take Bonus 1.
• In row T5 Bonus 2 gives the same after a Tactical skill. The Core skill is used three times as often (4.3 s against 13 s cooldown), so take Bonus 1 (calculated).
• The last point of the 50 goes into Assassin Stats: node 2 (+1.5% Crit Bonus per point) beats node 1 (+0.5% Attack Bonus) while Crit is above a third of Attack, so take node 2 in both styles (calculated). Nodes 3 and 4 give Defense Bonus +1% and Evasion Bonus +1.5% per point.

Inscriptions

Inscriptions are put on in the Runes menu. The main inscription and two support ones are available at once, the 4th and 5th slots are unlocked by class promotion (not verified for the Assassin). The main inscription is listed first.

Abyss

Option	Main	Aux 1	Aux 2	Aux 3	Aux 4
Option 1	Sin Domain	Stasis Field	Snare Field	Mirror Device	Winterless Art
Option 2	Arcane Domain	Stasis Field	Snare Field	Mirror Device	Winterless Art

In a long fight all three domains give about the same (calculated, full stars): Arcane Domain — 15% constantly, Sin Domain — up to 16% (+48% for 10 s at most once every 30 s), Vengeance Domain — 15% on average over its 80 s cycle (20 s of +88.8%, then 60 s of −9.6%). The game's own Balance preset suggests the Arcane Domain. Option 2 makes sense if your Arcane Domain is leveled higher than the Sin Domain (logic).

League Trial

Option	Main	Aux 1	Aux 2	Aux 3	Aux 4
Vengeance	Vengeance Domain	Lone Lamp Art	Dreamforge Art	Daybreak Art	Dawnflower Art
Sin	Sin Domain	Stasis Field	Snare Field	Mirror Device	Winterless Art

The Vengeance option has no fields that speed up Vengeance, so it triggers at the 30th second of the fight. Vengeance is a burst that can be timed to the boss kill window, Sin is a steady bonus (logic).

Secret Realm

Option	Main	Aux 1	Aux 2	Aux 3	Aux 4
Vengeance at 1 s	Vengeance Domain	Quick Field	Rapid Field	Speed Field	Lone Lamp Art
Vengeance at 21 s	Vengeance Domain	Quick Field	Flowfire Art	Dreamforge Art	Mistveil Art

The "Vengeance at 1 s" set triggers at the 1st second by the rule below (calculated; whether the initial cooldown has a lower limit the data does not say). The "Vengeance at 21 s" set is for long fights where Vengeance is needed later: one percentage shift (Quick Field) leaves it at the 21st second (logic). After its 20 s of action Vengeance gives a penalty of up to −9.6%, so a very early Vengeance is not always better (logic).

When Vengeance Domain triggers

Without fields, Vengeance Domain first triggers at the 30th second of the fight. Fields move this time: percentages add up, and seconds are added afterwards. The rule has not been verified by the client (not verified).

Fields	Triggers at
no fields	30 s
Quick Field (−30%)	21 s
Quick Field + Speed Field (−5 s)	16 s
Quick Field + Rapid Field (−50%)	6 s
Quick Field + Rapid Field + Speed Field	1 s
Rapid Field (−50%) + Snare Field (+5 s to all inscriptions)	20 s

Specialization: Assassination Specialization

The Assassin builds up an "ambush" by standing idle. If you use no skills (2.5 s by the game tables, "1.5 s" in the node text), the hero enters an ambush for 5 s: all of its damage grows by 25% (Ambush Master adds another 1/2/3 s, Shadow Amplification +5% per level), and the very first attack in the ambush triggers Shadow Burst on the enemies nearby (up to 6 targets). Re-entering takes at least 15 s. If you hit a target from behind (relative to where it looks), a "rupture" is applied to it and its neighbours: they take 5% more damage per level of Back Ambush for 5 s. Mercy Liberation at HP above 50% strengthens the rupture (+4% per level) and the burst itself (+20% per level, so at level 5 the burst is twice as strong). Hidden Killing Intent gives a 2 s ambush without idling: it is enough to stand still for 14 s. There are 20 points, one of them taken by the core; a node opens after the required number of points is spent.

Node	Max	After N points	What it does (values by level from the data)
Assassination Specialization	1	0	core: the ambush (+25% skill damage for 5 s, cooldown 15 s)
Back Ambush	5	10	a hit on an enemy that stands with its back to you applies a rupture to it and its neighbours: damage taken +5/10/15/20/25% for 5 s
Shadow Burst	5	5	the first attack in the ambush causes a burst on the enemies nearby (up to 6), damage rate 700/1400/2100/2800/3500% of Attack; radius 10 m by the text, 8.12 m by the data ❔
Mercy Liberation	5	15	at HP above 50%: rupture +4/8/12/16/20%, burst +20/40/60/80/100%
Ambush Master	3	1	the ambush lasts 1/2/3 s longer
Ghostly Presence	3	1	on entering the ambush a 50/100/100% chance of 1/1/2 charge(s) of damage immunity for 2 s
Seize Opportunity	1	5	the ambush bonus does not start at once but at the moment of the attack
Swift Shadow Step	3	1	on entering the ambush movement speed +20/30/40% for 5 s
Shadow Amplification	5	15	ambush bonus +5/10/15/20/25% (added to the 25%)
Hidden Killing Intent	1	1	14 s standing still — a 2 s ambush; the cooldown is shared with the core ambush

What the data does not say

1. Whether Mercy Liberation strengthens the burst and holds at HP below 50%. The data and the node text say yes (+20% per level), the client code does not switch the effect off when HP drops. The choice between Mercy and Shadow Amplification depends on it (table below) (calculated; the assumption is logic).
2. How the 15 s repeat of the ambush is blocked and whether Hidden Killing Intent repeats after 14 or 15 s or only once. The layout does not change, the absolute League Trial numbers change by up to a factor of two ❔.
3. How often you hit from behind (25% for the AI, 50% by hand in the calculation) (logic). If you only hit from the front, Back Ambush drops out of the optimum, but for now it is needed as a "bridge" to the 15 points for Mercy.
4. Player pauses in the Secret Realm and the Abyss: if you pause for 2.5 s before entering, the ambush gives as much as Hidden Killing Intent (standing it is about 5% weaker); on the run without pauses there is no ambush at all (calculated).
5. Other sources of the ambush bonus (stones, artifacts, inscriptions) were not searched for in the tables ❔. Survivability: Ghostly Presence and Swift Shadow Step are valued at zero damage; in the Secret Realm they may pay off in survivability (logic).

How it is calculated

The model calculates expected damage in 0.5 s steps for all 7,818 valid layouts (of 40,758 that sum to 20). Damage is in shares of "100% Attack per second", the character sheet multiplier is not included (calculated). The main layout is the robust one: in the worst of those cases it loses the least ("maximin"). The base optimum is the best layout under the base assumptions: higher on average, worse in the worst case (calculated).

Abyss: running through packs (6 targets, 60% of the time on the run, 200 s) and standing at the boss (1 target, 200 s). League Trial: the AI hero stands at the boss, mobs by the wave profile (a fight of 5 to 29 minutes). Secret Realm: a tank holds the monsters, you can stand or move (5 targets, 60 s). Durations and numbers of targets are assumptions (calculated). For the Assassin the portal rotation sees the direct damage of Basic, Core and Ultimate skills; it does not see Tactical or continuous damage. This does not affect the choice of nodes: with the rotation half as strong or twice as strong the layout does not change (calculated). Magic stones and their combinations were not part of the layout calculation.

The Assassin and mobs in the League Trial

In the League Trial an AI controls the hero: it uses everything that is ready every tick, and if the target is out of range of the shortest skill, it walks to it. The Assassin's such skills hit from 5 m, so it walks up to the boss (about 4.5–5 m) and stands there; ranged classes stay at 40 m. The Warrior and the Assassin are put in the front row of the formation (by the client code of 23.09.2026; not verified on the 13.10 version). Where the boss stands relative to the formation, whether the tank blocks the way and which side of the boss the Assassin stops on, the data do not define ❔. The AI hero never idles, so an ambush is possible only through Hidden Killing Intent (14 s standing): without it the layout gets 53% of the optimum, with it — 100% (calculated); whether the AI's walk interrupts it is unknown ❔. League Trial mobs (slimes and murlocs in waves from second 16, then every 73 s) are hit by Shadow Burst (up to 6 targets) if they are in the radius; how many are in the area is unknown ❔: with mob shares of 0, 0.5 and 1 and fights of 5 to 29 minutes the robust layout keeps 98% of the optimum (calculated; the mob share and the fight length are assumptions).

Layouts by mode

The best and the robust layouts are the same in the League Trial, the Secret Realm (standing and moving) and the Abyss (packs and boss). In a cell: the points in the robust layout and, in brackets, in the base optimum (if they differ).

Node	Max	Every mode
Assassination Specialization	1	1
Back Ambush	5	5
Shadow Burst	5	5
Mercy Liberation	5	4 (5)
Ambush Master	3	3
Ghostly Presence	3	0
Seize Opportunity	1	0
Swift Shadow Step	3	0
Shadow Amplification	5	1 (0)
Hidden Killing Intent	1	1
Total points		20

In the worst of the cases checked the robust layout gives 94.1–94.2% of the optimum (on average 98.1–98.3%), the base optimum — 92.5% (on average 99.6–99.7%) (calculated). In every mode the best and the robust layouts are the same: modes differ only in the numbers, not in the choice of nodes.

• In every mode only Mercy and Shadow Amplification differ: 4 and 1 in the robust layout, 5 and 0 in the base one
• Shadow Burst is the most valuable node: without it a layout gets 65–68% of the optimum (calculated).
• Order of spending by the tree rule: core → Ambush Master 3 → Hidden Killing Intent 1 (5 points, they unlock the Burst) → Shadow Burst 5 → Back Ambush 5 (needs 10 points) → Mercy Liberation (needs 15 points).

The Mercy Liberation fork

It all hangs on whether Mercy strengthens the burst. If it does (as the data and the text say), Mercy is better; if not, Shadow Amplification 5 is better. Shares of the optimum (calculated; the assumption is logic):

Layout	Nodes	If Mercy strengthens the burst (assumption)	If it does not
Robust (main)	Back Ambush 5, Shadow Burst 5, Mercy Liberation 4, Ambush Master 3, Shadow Amplification 1, Hidden Killing Intent 1	98%	94%
Base (optimum)	Back Ambush 5, Shadow Burst 5, Mercy Liberation 5, Ambush Master 3, Hidden Killing Intent 1	100%	92–93%
Shadow Amplification instead of Mercy	Back Ambush 5, Shadow Burst 5, Ambush Master 3, Shadow Amplification 5, Hidden Killing Intent 1	88–89%	100%

The robust layout loses little in both cases.

Magic stones

Stones come in six shapes: round shield, triangle, prism, tower shield, star, moon. The combination bonus turns on when the five slots hold stones of five shapes from one of the four combinations; only the shape matters. The Assassin has four combinations, each with a star and a moon, and all of them strengthen the specialization:

• 1) round shield, triangle, prism, star, moon → Assassination Specialization - Enhanced: the ambush cooldown is 2.5 s shorter (15 → 12.5 s)

• 2) round shield, triangle, tower shield, star, moon → Back Ambush - Enhanced: the Back Ambush rupture lasts 2 s longer (5 → 7 s)

• 3) two triangles, tower shield, star, moon → Shadow Amplification - Enhanced: the ambush bonus is another +6%

• 4) two round shields, prism, star, moon → Shadow Burst - Enhanced: Shadow Burst damage rate +1000% (at level 5 3500 → 4500%)

• For combination 3: Howler Triangle, Arbiter Triangle, Strategist Tower Shield, Star of Sorrow (any Star), Moon of Tenacity (any Moon): Rapid Strike 65, Fierce Assault 65, Wound Control 130, and Rapid Strike Bonus and Wound Control Bonus of 40% each (calculated from level 3 stones).

• For combination 4: Woundmaster Round Shield, Swiftstrike Round Shield, Woundmaster Prism, a Star and a Moon: Rapid Strike 100, Wound Control 100, Wound Control Bonus bonus 60% (calculated).

• Sets without a Star and a Moon do not turn a combination on (for example, the Woundmaster Round Shield and Prism, Strategist and Commander Tower Shields and the Howler Triangle), they are just sets of stats.

Rapid Strike boosts the damage of basic attacks and the Core skill (+1% per 30 points) — for the Assassin that is Aggravate and Bloodlust; Fierce Assault — of Tactical and Ultimate skills, Wound Control — of pet skills. Which group the damage of the ambush and Shadow Burst belongs to is not recorded in the data, and the effect of all three in combat has not been checked ❔, so it cannot be said which set is stronger by its stats (not verified).

The gain from the combination itself by the specialization model (without stone stats and potentials): combination 4 gives about +10% everywhere — the burst is the heaviest part of the damage; combination 3 gives +3…+4%, combination 2 less than a percent. Combination 1 shortens the ambush cooldown: +3…+4% in the League Trial, about +11% in the Secret Realm, +8% in the Abyss, but this depends on an unknown — whether the cooldown blocks a repeat of the ambush ❔ (calculated). The combinations were calculated on the ready node layout ❔.

Combination	League Trial	Secret Realm	Abyss
Assassination Specialization - Enhanced	+3…4%	+11%	+8%
Back Ambush - Enhanced	+1%	0%	0%
Shadow Amplification - Enhanced	+3%	+4%	+4%
Shadow Burst - Enhanced	+10%	+10%	+10%

Potentials. The class potentials (Cold-Edge Assassination, Backstab Rift, Shadow Surge, Shadowburst Pursuit) strengthen the effect of their combination 1–4. Specialization Empowerment strengthens Shadow Burst and combination 4, Specialization Resonance — the ambush bonus, Shadow Amplification, Mercy Liberation and combination 3 (logic); the potential numbers in the data are raw ❔.

Artifacts

Every artifact has small cells (offensive and defensive) and a central one for the core.

Artifact	Cells (attack / defense)	Core
Dice of Babylon (Lv. 64, basic skills)	2 / 0	20-Sided Die - Trick or 20-Sided Die - Luck
Hydra Perfume (Lv. 70, core skills)	2 / 2	Hydra Venom - Crippling
Thousand Gate Key (Lv. 74, tactical skills)	2 / 2	Thief's Key - Cruelty
Shape-Shifting Mask (Lv. 80, ultimate skills)	3 / 3	Shape-Shifting Mask - Contemplation / Shape-Shifting Mask - Ecstasy / Shape-Shifting Mask - Lament

An artifact boosts the skills of one slot: Dice of Babylon (Lv. 64) — Basic, Hydra Perfume (Lv. 70) — Core, Thousand Gate Key (Lv. 74) — Tactical, Shape-Shifting Mask (Lv. 80) — Ultimate (this is how the skill nodes are laid out in the game tables) (check against the nodes in the game). The core goes into the central cell.

• Trick: any skill has a 20% chance to apply burn, bleed, slow or paralysis to the target for 5 s and deal another hit, stronger for every kind of debuff on the target. Luck: after a Core and a Tactical skill there is a chance that a Basic skill fires as well. Which of the two is better is not verified (logic).
• Crippling: Basic and Core skills hit harder on a wounded target, +3% for every 15% of health it has lost.
• Cruelty: after a debuff is applied, if the target has two or more kinds of debuffs, there is a chance to cast the Ultimate skill at once; the debuffs are then removed. The chance in the data is raw (not verified).

The fourth core (Shape-Shifting Mask) — by mode:

• Ecstasy (Abyss): every 12 skills cast give +0.8% damage and healing until the end of the fight, up to 16 times (up to +12.8%).
• Contemplation (League Trial and the Secret Realm where you can stand): if you stand still for more than 3 s, damage +8%, the bonus disappears when you move (logic). Whether the game counts the Impulse Dagger dash and the AI hero's steps in the League Trial as movement, the data do not define ❔.
• Lament (when the target moves): a bleed, and the target takes extra damage for every 5 m it moves (logic).

Numbers are for top-quality cores, the other core numbers are raw (not verified). Small offensive nodes take the Power Nexus (Basic and Core skills) or the Strong Nexus (Tactical and Ultimate), defensive ones — the Stable Nexus and the Resolute Nexus. Among the forging properties there are Rapid Strike, Fierce Assault, Wound Control and the legendary Eternal Core (the core no longer loses durability), Core Enhancement and Core Overload (strengthen the core) (what to take is not verified).

Pet emblems

Each of the three pets has its own slot shape: the first has triangles (△), the second hexagons (⬡), the third diamonds (◇). No more than two identical emblems per pet ("×2"); "Unique" means one copy. Numbers are for top-rank emblems (Crypt Archer, Bone Assassin and Spider only reach rank 4).

There are no layouts with four or five identical emblems here: the limit in the data is two, and by the data such layouts cannot be assembled. A hard check of this limit when socketing an emblem was not found in the client, and a server check cannot be seen from the data ❔.

Level 90 emblems appear on the server in waves: the first from day 83, the second from day 139; there are no level 100 emblems, level 110 comes right after 90. The main rows are for a server older than 139 days, on a younger one take "before day 139". "By the model" is the portal's estimate: points of Attack, Crit, Penetration and Hit Rating are equal, percentages use the portal's weights; the model was taken from a baseline character, not from the Assassin, so a 1–3% difference is not significant (calculated).

Attack + Crit

Pet	Emblem 1	Emblem 2	Emblem 3	Emblem 4	Emblem 5	Total
First (all Unique), after day 139	Crypt Archer	Frenzied Blackdragon	Fel Hydra	Rampaging Hydra	Nightshade Blackdragon	Attack 2410, Penetration 1750, Damage Bonus 67.8%
before day 139	Crypt Archer	Hellwyrm	Frenzied Blackdragon	Fel Hydra	Rampaging Hydra	Attack 2810, Penetration 650, Damage Bonus 63.6%
Second, after day 139	Fel Thunderlizard (Unique)	Rampaging Greendragon (Unique)	Nightshade Tyrannosaur (Unique)	Phantom Lavagiant ×2		Crit 1750, Penetration 1100, Attack Bonus 26.6%, Crit Bonus 127.5%, Evasion 2200
after day 139, maximum Crit Bonus	Rampaging Greendragon (Unique)	Wind Sprite ×2	Phantom Lavagiant ×2			Penetration 1100, Crit Bonus 184.7%, Evasion 3500
before day 139	Bone Assassin (Unique)	Fel Thunderlizard (Unique)	Rampaging Greendragon (Unique)	Wind Sprite ×2		Attack 420, Crit 650, Penetration 1100, Attack Bonus 17.9%, Crit Bonus 99.7%, Evasion 1300
Third, after day 139	Lava Giant ×2	Phantom Statue ×2	Ice Bear			Attack 3500, Crit 400, HP Bonus 53.2%, Evasion Bonus 19.1%
before day 139	Ice Bear ×2	Lava Giant ×2	Obsidian			Attack 1700, Crit 800, HP Bonus 28.6%, Evasion Bonus 38.2%

Attack + Penetration

The first pet (△) takes the same emblems as for crit.

Pet	Emblem 1	Emblem 2	Emblem 3	Emblem 4	Emblem 5	Total
Second, maximum Penetration Bonus (both eras)	Frenzied Tyrannosaur (Unique)	Firekin ×2	Shadow Broodmother ×2			Attack 650, Penetration Bonus 128.3%, Evasion 3500
after day 139, by the model	Frenzied Tyrannosaur (Unique)	Nightshade Tyrannosaur (Unique)	Shadow Broodmother ×2	Firekin		Attack 650, Crit 1100, Attack Bonus 15.9%, Penetration Bonus 106.8%, Evasion 2850
Third, after day 139	Spider ×2	Phantom Statue ×2	Lava Giant			Attack 2850, Penetration 1320, HP Bonus 42.5%, Defense Bonus 38.2%
before day 139	Spider ×2	Bio Giant ×2	Lava Giant			Attack 650, Penetration 2620, HP Bonus 10.7%, Defense Bonus 38.2%, Evasion Bonus 57.2%

Spider is given for Bounty Quests and sold in the alliance contribution shop. Every rank step burns three copies of the previous rank, so one top-rank emblem takes nine root ones.

Pets

The team has three pets. Night Shadow Leopard is not in this version of the game; another pet takes its place.

• Abyss and League Trial: Meteor (crit) or Dancer (penetration), Light Howl, Flame Demon (logic: instead of the leopard)
• Secret Realm: Soulclaw, Light Howl, Meteor; or Landslide, Light Howl, Meteor or Flame Demon (logic: instead of the leopard)

For the Assassin the game takes the melee variant of pet skills (by the client code, not tested in combat). Meteor strikes again on a crit (no more than 2 procs per target), so it is for crit; Dancer stacks Weakness on non-critical hits, four stacks cause a weak state for 5 s, so it is for penetration (logic). Light Howl boosts damage and healing for 7 s (10 s at 6★) and is free on a new server for the seven-day event (420 points). Soulclaw needs only 0 stars. Landslide gives a stone shield for 3 s against several hits, then shatters with area damage. Flame Demon and Lady give +5% damage bonus each at 10★. Overlord is a defense pet, not a damage buff (not confirmed).

Badges

Set	Badge 1	Badge 2	Badge 3	Badge 4	Badge 5
Companion Along the Way (crit)	Gravity	Bladestorm	Elven Legacy	Ruling Sword	Twin-tailed Comet
Midnight Run (attack)	Royalty	Shadow Blades	Troll Empire	Twilight Eye	Darktide Surge
Free Rider (attack)	Meteor	Eternal Vigil	Blooming Future	Earth Ring	Destiny Tome
Long Journey (penetration)	Death Knell	Broken Barricade	Forest Ranger	Perfect Storm	Blazing Extremity

The sets are the same for all classes. Set bonuses turn on at levels 3, 6, 9 and 10; the set level equals the lowest badge level in it, so level them evenly. Crit prefers Companion Along the Way (Crit Bonus), Midnight Run and Free Rider (the last two give an Attack bonus), penetration — Long Journey (Penetration Bonus), Midnight Run and Free Rider.

Oracle

The Oracle opens at level 90. It has five stages: War Oracle, Wisdom Oracle, Future Oracle, Wealth Oracle and Mind Oracle.

How it works. Points accumulate in each stage separately. When the threshold is reached you can pray: the prayer spends its cost, and the bonus lasts 168 hours. Re-rolling the random stats costs 100 points. A stage opens when all the previous ones are open.

Stage	Threshold, points	Prayer cost
1. War Oracle	25,000	8,000
2. Wisdom Oracle	25,000	8,000
3. Future Oracle	40,000	8,000
4. Wealth Oracle	40,000	8,000
5. Mind Oracle	50,000	10,000

What earns points (the same for every stage):

Material	Points each
Statue Offerings	100 (from the Inscription Prayer and the Badge Lottery)
Inscription Core	2 (from wild map exploration, Hard Raid floors and the resource shop)
Inscription Essence	2 (from converting surplus inscription shards)
Cloths and threads	moonlight cloth 5; demon cloth 10; frostwoven cloth 20; silk thread 1; magic pattern thread 10; rune thread 100

What it gives. Permanent and random stats (Attack, HP, Crit, Penetration, Evasion and others); the values depend on the World Level of the server, not on your character level, and grow with it.

Towards level 100

• At 100 items of level 100–108 and gems of level 10 become available.
• There is no set for Bloodlust among the level 100 items: Outland Echo boosts Venomdance and Daggerrain (+120%), Blood Paladin — Enhanced Mirror Image and Explosive Mirror Image (+110%). At level 110 Eternal Imprisonment repeats Dark Gate (+120% to Bloodlust and Cull), and Sunshard Coalition repeats Death Wish. What is better at 100–109 depends on whether you stay on Bloodlust (logic). The daggers and gauntlets of level 100–106 were not examined.
• Inscription Rating 7000 means T6 and the T6 passive row. If you have not reached it yet, start now.

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(calculated) — computed from the game data, not tested in combat. (not verified) and ❔ — not confirmed by the data. (logic) — a conclusion from reasoning.

Not checked: real damage in combat, how the repeat of the ambush is blocked and whether movement or the dagger dash interrupts it, which side of the boss the AI hero stops on, whether Mercy Liberation strengthens the burst, the damage of Tactical skills and continuous damage, the effect of Rapid Strike, Fierce Assault and Wound Control, which effects roll on which slot, which Dice of Babylon core is better, what share of the League Trial mobs falls under the burst, whether the Core cooldown of the dagger and the set stacks, what to use instead of the Night Shadow Leopard, how many Idol Offerings the lottery gives.