Rift Assassin

Here's a guide for a Rift Assassin build in Diablo II: Resurrected (D2R). This build is designed to excel in Rifts, providing effective crowd control, mobility, and strong AoE damage.

Rift Assassin Build Guide

Overview:

The Rift Assassin utilizes the Martial Arts skill tree and focuses on utilizing the Rift Rune Word for Weapons, with an emphasis on area damage and speed. This build allows you to clear rifts effectively while being able to deal with bosses and tougher enemies.

Skill Allocation

Primary Skills:

  1. Phoenix Strike (Max this)
    • Serves as the core damage dealer with fire, cold, and lightning effects.
  2. Dragon Talon (Max this)
    • A powerful finishing move that can be used to deal massive damage.
  3. Claw Mastery (Max this)
    • Increases your damage with claws.
  4. Cloak of Shadows (1-20 points)
    • Provides a significant amount of crowd control and damage reduction.
  5. Death Sentry (1-20 points)
    • Provides AoE damage via corpse explosions.
  6. Burst of Speed (1 point)
    • Improves movement speed, allowing for faster hits and escape.
  7. Fade (1 point)
    • Boosts resistances and provides damage reduction.
  8. Shadow Master (1-10 points)
    • Useful companion for additional crowd control and distraction.

Example Skill Distribution:

  • Phoenix Strike: 20
  • Dragon Talon: 20
  • Claw Mastery: 20
  • Death Sentry: 20
  • Cloak of Shadows: 1-20
  • Burst of Speed: 1
  • Fade: 1
  • Shadow Master: 1-10

Stat Allocation

  1. Strength: Enough to equip your gear (usually around 75-100).
  2. Dexterity: Minimum amount needed for maximum chance to block (aim for a total of around 200-250).
  3. Vitality: All remaining points should be allocated here for increased health and survivability.
  4. Energy: Typically, do not invest any points here as it can be managed with gear and charms.

Gear Suggestions

Weapons:

  • Rift Rune Word: (in a suitable claw) for a significant damage boost and area effect.
  • Chaos Rune Word: If prefer faster strikes.

Armor:

  • Enigma: For teleportation and mobility.
  • Fortitude: For increased damage and resistances.

Helm:

  • Nightwing's Veil: For skills and boosted cold damage.
  • Shako: For plus skills and life/mana bonuses.

Belts:

  • Verdungo's Hearty Cord: For increased vitality and damage reduction.
  • String of Ears: For damage reduction and lifesteal.

Gloves:

  • Magefist: For faster cast rate and added fire damage.
  • Bloodfist: For more life and faster hit recovery.

Boots:

  • Shadow Dancer: For enhanced skills and agility.
  • Gore Rider: For increased damage and deadly strike.

Rings/Amulet:

  • Aim for +Assassin skills, +Stats, and resistances. Rings like Raven Frost can be beneficial for cold damage and Cannot Be Frozen effect.

Playstyle Tips

  1. Charge Up: Use Phoenix Strike’s charges effectively, building up to unleash the elemental attacks.
  2. Mobility: Rely on Burst of Speed and Cloak of Shadows to maintain mobility and avoid incoming damage.
  3. AoE Damage: Utilize Death Sentry effectively to clear out groups of enemies with corpse explosions.
  4. Objective Focus: In rift runs, prioritize the objectives and experience rather than just mob clearing.