HOFX Kicksin guide

Introduction

Ok, this is my first guide here, so here it is.
First, i know that there's already a couple of kicksin guides here, but i tend to make this one a little different, mainly from the choice of gear and i'll tend to explain few things that werent explained in other guides.
The kicksin is mainly a PvM character fit to own bosses like ubers. This chara isnt that effective when it comes to defeat large group of enemy on 8 players game, but a strong death sentry can help crowd control.
The kicksin use dragon talon as his main attack and rely too on venom to dmg enemy.

Effects that works with dragon talon :
- Mana and life leech
- Elemental Damage/Venom
- Crushing Blow, open wound (not deadly strike)
- Prevent Monster Heal
- Chance to Cast on Striking
- Hit Causes Monster to Flee
- Ignore Target Defense
- Hit Blinds Target
- Hit Slows Target
- Hit Freezes Target
- Chance to Cast on Attacking
- KnockBack (natural)
-Speed BASE of your weapon
-Increased attack speed except from weap


Goal with this built :

-Reach 100% crushing blow (effect of crushin blow here http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/magic.shtml#sma )
-Get lvl 36 Dragon talon (7 kick instead of 6)
-Reach the Fhr breakpoint wich is 86
-Get 50% Dr
-Get high stack resistance for owning uber meph.
-Get -40 attack speed w/o BoS, to reach Breakpoint.

Stats attribution

-Strenght : Enough for gear, about 60-80
-Dex : As needed, for blocking and AR
-Vitality : Rest here
-Energy : None

Skills attribution

-Dragon talon : 20
-Venom : 20 (Even if dmg dont add on the screen, it does in real game, same for any other magical dmg.)
-Shadow master : To reach lvl 17 with +skill, but feel free to put more has it will increase his tanking.

Ok now you come to the personal part for the rest of the skills. A powerful death sentry, with a decent corpse explosion radius and nice charges is effective. Another path would be using fire traps for stun lock.
Mind blast can also be a useful skill, no need to invest more then 1-5 points in it.

As you can see you don't need to be lvl 95 to get this built complete. Level 85 will do the trick.

Gear

Helm

Recommended:

Um'ed guillaume helm (mainly for CB, and also will make you hit Fhr breakpoint easy)

Def : 257
+120% Enhanced Defense
+30% Faster Hit Recovery
15% Deadly Strike
35% Chance of Crushing Blow
+15 To Strength

Other choice:

Crown of Ages (Let you hit Fhr breakpoint too, but with this helm you will lack of Cb. Also the Dr is pointless since you'll get 50 easy with other gear. If you go with that get a 70 Cb Last wish since you'll loose Guillaume Cb. Really great res tough and possibilty to get 2 os, which is great. But still I really prefer Guillaume.)

Def : 349-399
50% Enhanced Defense
+100-150 Defense (varies)
+1 To All Skills
Damage Reduced By 10-15% (varies)
All Resistances +20-30 (varies)
+30% Faster Hit Recovery
Socketed (1-2) (varies)
Indestructible

Weapon

Recommended:

Last Wish PB (Do not use any other then PB, since base weap speed is -30 and youll NEED this. Also, speechless, great mods, and crushing blow, the main point of this build. Get a 65%cb or more, and dmg % is pointless)
6% Chance To Cast Level 11 Fade When Struck
10% Chance To Cast Level 18 Life Tap On Striking
20% Chance To Cast Level 20 Charged Bolt On Attack
Level 17 Might Aura When Equipped
+330-375% Enhanced Damage (varies)
Ignore Target's Defense
60-70% Chance of Crushing Blow (varies)
Prevent Monster Heal
Hit Blinds Target
+(0.5 per character level) 0.5-49.5% Chance of Getting Magic Items (Based on Character Level)

Other choice:

Ber'd Fleshripper (The only other alternative if you can't afford Lw, but seriously i dont recommend this. You'll also need to get more Ias from ure gear since the speed base is -20)
+200-300% Enhanced Damage (varies)
-50% Target Defense
25% Chance of Crushing Blow
33% Deadly Strike
50% Chance of Open Wounds
Prevent Monster Heal
Slows Target By 20%

Shield

Recommended :

Um'ed stormshield (Mainly for great Dr, good def and for huge strengh bonus.)
Defense: (136-504) - (151-519)
+ (3.75 Per Character Level) 3-371 Defense (Based On Character Level)
+25% Increased Chance Of Blocking
35% Faster Block Rate
Damage Reduced By 35%
Cold Resist +60%
Lightning Resist +25%
+30 To Strength
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 10
Indestructible

Other choice :

I don't really see any replacement for this.

Weapon and Shield switch

Call to arms flail (+6 bo is a MUST)
1 To All Skills
+40% Increased Attack Speed
+250-290% Enhanced Damage (varies)
Adds 5-30 Fire Damage
7% Life Stolen Per Hit
+2-6 To Battle Command (varies)*
+1-6 To Battle Orders (varies)*
+1-4 To Battle Cry (varies)*
Prevent Monster Heal
Replenish Life +12
30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Spirit monarch (Any will do)
+2 To All Skills
+25-35% Faster Cast Rate (varies)
+55% Faster Hit Recovery
+250 Defense Vs. Missile
+22 To Vitality
+89-112 To Mana (varies)
Cold Resist +35%
Lightning Resist +35%
Poison Resist +35%
+3-8 Magic Absorb (varies)
Attacker Takes Damage of 14

Armor

Recommended :

Chain of honor AP (+2skills helps a lot, but the main reason for using this is Resistance. Also the 8 % dr will get you sure you get 50 % dr. Try to get this perfect , 971 def)
+2 To All Skills
+200% Damage To Demons
+100% Damage To Undead
8% Life Stolen Per Hit
+70% Enhanced Defense
+20 To Strength
Replenish Life +7
All Resistances +65
Damage Reduced By 8%
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Other Choice :

Fortitude AP (Can be viable too, great damage with this armor. You can get both armor and switch with the situation. Great overall armor, but i have a slighty preference for Coh)
20% Chance To Cast Level 15 Chilling Armor when Struck
+25% Faster Cast Rate
+300% Enhanced Damage
+200% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
+X To Life (Based on Character Level)*
Replenish Life +7
+5% To Maximum Lightning Resist
All Resistances +20-30 (varies)
Damage Reduced By 7
12% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
+1 To Light Radius

Belt

Recommended :

Thundergod' vigor (Great stat bonus, lighting sorb and +10% max lighting makes it really great)
Defense: 137-159
160-200% Enhanced Defense (varies)
Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage
5% Chance To Cast Level 7 Fist Of The Heavens When Struck
+20 Lightning Absorb
10% To Maximum Lightning Resist
+20 To Strength
+20 To Vitality
+3 To Lightning Fury (Amazon Only)
+3 To Lightning Strike (Amazon Only)

Other choice :

I don't see any replacement for this. Verdugoes is not really an option since you already have max block.

Gloves

Recommanded :

Dracul's grasp (Open wound is MUCH needed.It's the main idea of using those gloves)
Defense: 125-145
+90-120% Enhanced Defense (varies)
+10-15 To Strength (varies)
+5-10 Life After Each Kill (varies)
25% Chance of Open Wounds
7-10% Life Stolen Per Hit (varies)
5% Chance To Cast Level 10 Life Tap On Striking

Other choices : none.

Rings

Recommended:

2 Raven frost (for huge attack rating bonus, you NEED cannot be frozen mod, and cold sorb is really great. Get them as perfect as possible, you'll need this.)
+150-250 To Attack Rating (varies)
Adds 15-45 Cold Damage, 4 sec. Duration (Normal)
Cannot Be Frozen
+15-20 To Dexterity (varies)
+40 To Mana
Cold Absorb 20%

Other choices:

1 Raven frost and 1 Bul kathos ring (+skill at the cost of Attack rating and cold sorb. Try for youreself to see what fits you best. If you go with this get perfect bk.)
1 To All Skill Levels
+ (0.5 Per Character Level) 0-49 To Life (Based On Character Level)
3-5% Life Stolen Per Hit (varies)
+50 Maximum Stamina

Amulet

Recommended :

Mara's kaleidoscope (Obvious reason. As perfect as possible.)
+2 To All Skill Levels
All Resistances +20-30 (varies)
+5 To All Attributes

Other choices :

I guess a rare godly assasin could be better, look for yourself if u can afford it.

Boots

Recommended :

Shadow dancer (Really the best boot a kicksin can get. Breaks Fhr breakpoint, +2 to shadow is really great , and youll really need the dex. Pick a +2 to shadow only.)
Defense: 122-144
+70-100% Enhanced Defense (varies)
+1-2 To Shadow Disciplines (Assassin Only) (varies)
+30% Faster Run/Walk
+30% Faster Hit Recovery
+15-25 To Dexterity (varies)
Requirements -20%

Other choices :

Uped Gore rider (Use ONLY if you need more crushing blow, cause if you compares Gore rider to Shadow dancer damn it sucks as well.)
Defense: 140-162
+160-200% Enhanced Defense (varies)
30% Faster Run/Walk
10% Chance Of Open Wounds
15% Chance Of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike
Requirements -25%
+20 Maximum Stamina

Charms

Ok no surprises here, hellfire torch and anni, as high as possible.
9 Martial gc ; 2 X 12% fhr , 3 X 7% frw and lifers for the rest, try to get 30+
Those charms can be tricky to find, especially the 7 frw, but you will find them ;P And also MA gcs goes cheap, dont buy from those noobs who are sayin 35-40 lifers worth 15 hrs.
20life scs, 1 X 5fhr sc, and get 1 or 2 5% all res scs if needed.

Conclusion

Allright if you followed the gear i recommended, You'll get about 3200 life after Bo , 13k attack rating, 17k dmg by series of 7 kick, 50 dr and ultra stack res.

Don't forget to cast fade before going into field, cause Lw's fade will get on after a couple hits only. Note that with current gear you get lvl 11 fade (investing only 1 point in it), so its exactly the same fade lvl from Lw. Also cast Venom and Shadow master with Cta spirit since youll get more +skills. Don't forget to recast Cloak as soon as its gone, mainly for the def bonus.

Enjoy beatin the crap outta bosses.
Leave comments, it will be appreciated

Well you put a lot of effort into it and made it pretty nice. I don't really like it that much just because I guess I'll stick with smiter because it is still the best uber killer. I'd rather a pvp kicksin guide.
Not too shabby though.

i'm making this my pvp sin ^^. gosu build.

Cool is there any char that pvp sins just own ez?

This build is pure pvm. It does poorly in pvp. If you really want to make it pvp change gears boost your psn dmg. Maybe dual claws could be nice too.

If you're going PvM i would highly suggest using Enigma, with fade you'll get enough resists and it allows for much greater mobility. Everything else is great.

For PvP you have 3 choices and it all depends on how you want to play.

1.) Shael'd Death's Web/ Um'd : Lots of venom damage, but relatively slow attack speed. Use with bramble fo evenr higher venom damage.
2. ) Beast Caddy/ Ber'd SS : Great for just Melee killing or bowzons, increase in AR and attack speed.
3.) Claw/Claw : Best for all around dueling. If you want, you can even a Chaos and go for a ww/kick hybrid and they work really well.

Make sure you get at least 1 into your traps. It might take a little bit to get used to, but when used right are a pretty good caster killer.

why dont use grief? isnt this good for a kicksin?!?! or stormlash?! i see much guides with these weapons

but i thought jsp got the best guides and now i want to know why lw is the best choice

last wish is to expensive for me^^

Greif dmg does not add to kick. If you cant afford last wish, go with a crushing blow / open wound weap. Berd fleshripper is a good one tough you would loose some speed.

what about to gloves for poison dmg?

Yeah dmg will be add, but its not that much. I rather have open wound + life tap.