The Assassin is a class that was released along with the Blazer , the Blaster and the Shocker. The Assassin specializes in stealth and DoT (damage over time), using his Spectral Cloak and nanite toxin weaponry to sneak in and inflict heavy poison damage before making a quick get away. To accomplish this, the Assassin utilizes his Ambush Blades at close range, and his Needlers for when he wants to poison his victim from a safe distance. The Assassin can also use his Catalyze Toxins ability to inflict massive damage on targets who are already afflicted by his nanite toxins; activate the ability right after performing a whirling slash out of his Spectral Cloak, and it will bring the target to very low health if not outright killing him instantly.
Weapons[]
The Assasin class uses Ambush Blades and Needlers as its weapons.
Ambush Blades:[]
The Ambush Blades are very deadly. They have poisonous nanite enfused blades that do more damage to a target after being hit and poison the enemy.
Special Abilities[]
This is one of the most commonly used abilities in an assassin's arsenal, being useful both for landing a few good hits on a more mobile foe and for midair maneuvering and course correction. When using it offensively, it is important to remember that upon hitting a target, you can usually land a normal blow from the ambush blades before they get out of striking range. Ordinarily, upon completion of Ambush Blades Engaged, the assassin will lose all momentum, though this drawback can be negated by switching to needlers while performing the attack, and is important for maneuvering.
2. Knyphoon A more conventional 'special attack' for a melee weapon, Knyphoon, like the Mauler Slam and Doped Saber Chop, is activated by the R key. Use of this ability will cause the Assassin to whirl about, striking nearby foes up to five times with the ambush blades.
While performing this ability, the assassin will either be moving forward (and steerable) or stationary, based on whether or not you were moving before you perform he attack. Ambush blades engaged is frequently used to help land a moving knyphoon, though if you hit the target before you activate knyphoon, you will be stationary when you perform it. Knyphoon is most commonly employed against slow moving targets on the ground, such as snipers or people on the control point, though it is possible to hit airborne or fast moving targets. When attempting to knyphoon an airborne target, it is important to remain above them before beginning the maneuver, and to aim the attack using ambush blades engaged. Even then, it takes a keen player to determine when this attack is even remotely feasible. Against a faster moving target, you can perform a knyphoon in front of them, so they run into you as you're doing the attack. You will only land a few hits if you pull off that maneuver, but it's still better than nothing.
Needlers:[]
The Needlers are a pair of long range guns that are loaded with corrosive biotech nanite toxins which poison the enemy.
They appear as green flashes. Formerly employing a 0-100% recharge meter, like flamethrower, heat ray, and pulser, among other weapons, the Needlers use a 20 round clip, firing in 4 round bursts when locked on, and fully automatic otherwise. The projectiles from this gun do relatively low damage, though each hit administers a poison stack. Needlers are a clumsy weapon, with a slow flight speed in comparison to many of the other projectile weapons available, and are most effectively employed while strafing the enemy.
Appearance[]
The appearance of an Assassin strikes fear into the hearts of his enemies. He is not a hulking giant, like a Tank or a Blaster, which makes him quick and stealthy. He has 2 wing like shapes on his back (and little wing stubs on his helmet). His glasses look like a bar with 4 red dots. (2 going vertically near both of his eyes.) He is definitely one fierce figure!
Poison Damage[]
The Poison debuff, also referred to as 'Poison stacks', is what characterizes the assassin class, and is inflicted by both of its weapons (Ambush Blades and Needlers) as well as its F-bomb (The panic bomb.) This debuff lasts for ten seconds, and can be refreshed by any hit from a poisoned weapon.
How poison is calculated[]
Poison damage is a bit tricky to understand at first, though in reality, it's rather simple. Each hit from a poisoned weapon will deal however much direct damage it did over time as poison damage. The game keeps track of the last ten hits done with poisoned weapons, and the poison damage per tick is the sum of the damage of those ten hits divided by the number of ticks in ten seconds. (
Skills[]
Ultimate (Q): Spectral Cloak[]
The Spectral cloak, also known as invisibility, lasts for 10 seconds, during which time, other players cannot lock onto you (other than Blazers using spectral optics) and you are effectively invisible, though a keen eye can spot a 'shimmer' effect, where the area occupied by the Assassin is slightly distorted.
Melee (E): Catalyze Toxins[]
Catalyze Toxins removes all poison stacks from targets within a sizeable radius, dealing heavy damage to them based on the severity of the poison damage they were taking. It is an often misunderstood ability, as it's a common belief that the damage dealt is based on the number of poison stacks. While the number of stacks is loosely correlated with the damage of Catalyze toxins, the ability actually deals damage equal to the total damage that a player would take from poison over the full duration of the poison debuff. The time remaining until the buff wears off does not matter, they will take the same damage if you activate it with 1 second remaining or if you do it with a full 10 seconds on the timer.
Bomb Type (F): Panic Bomb[]
The panic bomb inflicts one of the most interesting debuffs in the game, 'Panicked', alongside moderate poison damage. This panicked debuff causes the player's screen to turn greyscale, rendering it difficult to tell friend and foe apart, while enabling the player to target and kill teammates. Supressors will target the nearest player or tech device when panicked, making this a useful ability for disrupting groups of utility classes.
Trivia[]
The Assassins poison is cured by health packs, use this when you have a high poison stack on you and you have low hp.
The Assassin has the lowest health in the game, having the same health as the Scout.
