Kicksin

The Kicksin is a hybrid Assassin build that balances the use of melee attacks and Traps, making her less gear-dependant than othre melee builds and play through the game with relatively little resistance. The array of options available to the Assassin for crowd control and damage makes her a great contender for newer players.

• 1 point to all prerequisites

• 20 points to Dragon Talon — Main single-target damage skill, required

• 20 points to Venom — Big Damage boost, required

• 1 point to Dragon Flight — Useful for teleporting and repositioning Mercenary, required

• 1 point to Cloak of Shadows — Useful for crowd control, required

• 1 point to Mind Blast — Useful for crowd control, required

• 1 point to Burst of Speed — Buffs movement and attack speed, required

• 1 point to Fade — Buffs damage reduction and Resistances, required

• 1+ points to Shadow Warrior — Choose this or Master depending which you prefer; Warrior is better for utility, Master is better for tanking, optional

• 1+ points to Shadow Master — Choose this or Warrior depending which you prefer, optional

• 20 points to Death Sentry — Useful for blowing up corpses to prevent them from being revived, optional

• 20 points to Lightning Sentry — High alternative damage source, optional

• 1+ points to Charged Bolt Sentry — Synergy for Lightning Sentry and Death Sentry, optional

• 1+ points to Shock Web — Synergy for Lightning Sentry and Death Sentry, optional

• 1+ points to Fire Blast — Synergy for Death Sentry, optional

The following section discusses how many attribute points should be allocated to each of the primary stats.

How much Strength Does a Kicksin Need?

Enough for gear — For a Kicksin using a Spirit Monarch or Stormshield, this will be 156 Strength as that is usually the highest Strength requirement for commonly used gear. If choosing to use another shield or claws with lower Strength requirements, then just adjust your Strength to that value. This number always changes based on the gear you are using, though, so make sure to always double check the requirements for each piece of gear you have as well as how much Strength each piece will provide once equipped.

How much Dexterity Does a Kicksin Need?

Enough for Gear — Dexterity is great for increasing Block Chance, but if you are not planning on investing points to max that out, it is often not worth taking any additional Dexterity, as the return on Attack Rating and Defense is very low. If you wish to maximise your chance to block, it is possible with Stormshield, but will require over 150 Dexterity total, which you can in your Character Sheet.

3.2.1. How much Vitality Does a Kicksin Need?

Everything else into Vitality — 250+ Vitality. Every excess attribute point should be allocated to Vitality, as long as you can meet the Strength requirements of your items by the time you wish to equip them. If trying to achieve maximum chance to block, you can allocate your attribute points to a mix of Vitality and Dexterity while leveling to maximise your survivability. An approximate 5:3 ratio of Vitality to Dexterity should keep both your Life and chance to blockat a reasonable level until you reach your Dexterity target.

3.2.2. How much Energy Does a Kicksin Need?

Nothing — Allocating attribute points to Energy in a final build is universally considered sub-par for almost every character due to the widespread availability of Mana Potions. While leveling, if you find yourself struggling with Mana you can allocate a few points to Energy that you can then remove with a respec later on.

You can either hire a Defensive ( Holy Freeze) or Offensive ( Might) Desert Guard Mercenary in Act 2, Nightmare difficulty, depending on whether you want to slow monsters for added safety or improve the overall damage of your Mercenary.

• Weapon: Ethereal Infinity

• Body Armor: Ethereal Fortitude

• Helm: Andariel's Visage socketed with a Ral Rune