The level30 LS/kicker hybrid:
This is honestly my favorite LLD, but the reasons why are my own and kind of weird. This assassin can be highly competitive, but is very item and skill intensive. I won’t lie, it is a twitch build where lag or improper technique will have you dieing often… but at the same time its ALWAYS a fun duel, and immensely satisfying when properly played. This assassin is not as forgiving as a pure trapper, and will take some practice. Ultimately however, I found it worth it.
Now that I’ve bored you with my its my favorite character, lets outline the character. The idea is to have a strong (although not maxed) kick attack combined with respectable traps. Even with almost ideal gear, the trap damage won’t be touch a pure c/c trapper; but at the sacrifice of a bit of kick dmg you can turn LS into a source of damage instead of a means to a stunlock. You still LIVE by stunlock, but now your traps will be taking life in the interm. This is more important than it sounds because, with enough mana, it gives a lot of tactical flexibility to a duel. If the opponent a character you won’t beat with kicks (WW barbs and smiters for one), lay down your traps and MB away, and only use kicks in a hit-n-run style. Is the opponent a runner instead? They lay out some wide traps, keep your SM out and DF everywhere to catch them, then launch a kick salvo for a good chunck of life. There is also a lot of flexibility in how you build your LS/kicker hybrid, and there room to customize to your taste or available gear.

Skills
If hell-rushed you get 41 skill points @ lvl30. I’m assume a full hell-rush for this as its almost impossible to do hybrids with a normal rush.

Martial Arts tree: Dragon Talon 11+
(You want atleast lvl12 for 3kicks at all times, with any gear swap. I never remove my jewelry, so I went with 10)
+DF from claws

Shadow Skills:
1pt in claw mastery/BoS/weapon block (3 points total)
Also want MB/SM/venom/Bladesheild, but we can get those from gear

Traps: the rest
1 fire blast
15-17 shock web (the rest of your points)
1 charged bolt sentry
7 lightning sentry (maxed)
1 Wake of Fire (optional)

41 skills, leaving you none free…. But you have room to maneuver. WoF, Bladesheild, SM are not absolutely required depending on your play style (but they are recommended). You can also add and subtract based on what your claws are.

Gear
There are multiple options for gear, depending on what breakpoints you plan to hit. Ideally you want to hit the 42 or 65fcr BP, 30fhr, and max kick/trap speed with BoS. After that, +skills and life are the big focus. Your claws are the key to this whole build. In fact, I’d recommend not even trying to build a hybrid kicker until you have some very nice claws. They will save you many points to use on trap synergies. You should aim to get +LS on both claws, and DF/MB/SM/blade shield as the extra skills on your claws. Without them, you can’t put as much into trap synergies. You can hit the trap BP with just IK if your BoS is +4 or better after your plus skills. I’m going to list what I used and the cheap alternative, then some explanations below. The explanations aren’t required but understanding the logic is helpful if you want to experiment, or attempt this without all godly gear. I started off with a much cheaper version (which did ok) and it was only the rebuild that had access to such nice jewelry/circ/claws.

What I used
Helm: Rare circlet (+1/30frw/20fcr/50life/res)
Armor: Jewelers MP of squid (3soc/80life) with 20ed/stat/res jewels (I had 60ed/11str/7dex/30lr, cr, fr)
Primary claw: Strength r/w hand scythe with +skills (3LS is base, should have 2 of your desired 4 skills: MB/DF/BS/SM)
Off-hand claw: magic/rare hand scythe: +1sin/3ls/your OTHER 2 desired skills not found on the STR (Wof can work also, it saves 1pt)
Sheild: Wistrams (cheap and easy block), ATSOD (more dmg/stats), Up’d swordback (OW)
Gloves: IK (The combo gives 25ias toward trap BP, 65stats, and resists. There is NO other option worth mentioning)
Belt: IK (see above)
Boots: Rare Warboots - 30frw/10fhr/tri res (your source of dmg)
Ammy: +1/fcr/life/mana/etc (I used +1/10fcr/60life/66mana/fr)
Rings: 2x fcr/100+ar/sta/60+mana rings. (I use 10fcr/95ar/9str/19life/75mana + a 10fcr/100ar/19life/90mana/res ring)

Cheaper option
Helm: Peasants crown (Lacks 20fcr/15frw, but good stats and cheap)
Armor: Vipermagi (+1/FCR/35 res), Spirit shroud (+1/cnbf/liferep)
Claws: 3ls/1df + 1sin/3ls/1skill is about the cheapest possible without killing the build, ideally you still want 3useful skills per claw
Sheild: Wistrams (cheap and easy block), ATSOD (more dmg/stats), Up’d swordback (OW)
Gloves: IK
Belt: IK
Boots: good rare warboots or Up’d Gtoes
Ammy: a good rare +1sin ammy (work on stats/fcr later if necessary)
Rings: 2x ar/stat/mana rings (work on fcr/res later if necessary)

Item choice discussion (Optional read, skip if not interested):
Headgear: Reguardless of your helmet, +1sin is vastly superior to +2skill tree. You gain a lot of benefit from the +1: more Dtalon, more clawblock, more traps, etc. The rare circlet is better since a good one will give more frw than peasants, and more importantly some much needed FCR so you don’t HAVE to use Vipermagi. Anything less than the 42fcr BP is just way too slow of a MB. Stats/res are just icing on the required +1/30frw/20fcr.

Armor: I like the custom jeweled squid armor because of the life and added kick dmg, although the jewels are just hard to find. If your missing FCR or res somewhere else though, Vipermagi is a good temporary. Just make sure you make up the res if you ever stop using Magi. Spirit shroud…. Not a lot to say about it; use when you need CNBF and no other time.

Main Claws: These ARE your build. You need so many skills on your claws to make this viable its not even funny. You want +LS on both claws to boost LS dmg, you want DF/BS/MB/SM as your other skills split between the 2 claws so you can save points on the skill itself and on the pre-reqs. If you in a pinch Blade shield and shadowmaster aren’t absolutely required, but they certainly help. Your SM will MB for you, DF on the enemy, and even lay weak traps. The most important thing the SM does though is attack the enemy from the back. When you DF on someone the SM gives minion stack, then when you talon it starts hitting the opponent in back. This back attack + MB + traps makes for ferocious stunlocking. Strength is great as your primary claw: cb for more dmg, 20str for more dmg, 10vita for 30more life. The only time I would use something else is if you have a +fade claw for buff in stash and are going to duel a melee char faded. Even then I probably wouldn’t unless the claw had amp, 2soc, some skills.

Buff claws: Ideally you want +5venom and +5venom/with Fade, but any type works. Just make sure atleast ONE of your claws has +venom on it, since you will NOT put a hard point into it. SO cheap solution = +3venom claw & 2shadow plain (for 5 instead of 10 possible in venom).

Sheild: Not a lot to say about this. Any of the 3 choices works, find what you like.

Gloves n Belt: I’m real big on the IK combo, especially for a hybrid. Some people like +2martial/10ias gloves with a different belt, but I’ve never found the massive stat and IAS loss to be worth it. Without 25ias and good BoS you won’t hit last trap BP, nor the follow up kicks last bp. Who can turn down 65str anyway, when that’s about another 65kick dmg by itself?

Boots: The rares really are your best bet, but if you have enough res and frw somewhere else Gtoes are NOT bad either. The extra CB helps offset the lower kick dmg somewhat. Just remember that you will be losing atleast 100kick dmg by swaping boots. I still like keeping some up’d Gtoes in the stash if you want to purely melee duel for some strange reason.

Jewelry: This is a place to pick up the rest of your FCR. If you don’t like MB, or are using magi and already hit the fcr BP you want, then you have more room to get really phenomenal ar/stats on your jewelry. Again let me re-iterate, in any situation where you could get +skills… you want +1sin, not 2skill tree.

Charms 40x 15lifers. You can go pretty cheaply on these to start off, as you don’t need a lot of res from charms if your gear is solid. However, in an ideal world you want 1/3 1max/20ar/15life (for the AR only) and 2/3rds 12mana/15life scs. With 30frw boots, 30frw circlet, and a good BoS level you don’t really need any frw in charms. Also since assassins have such fast fhr BPs, you can probably get by with 30 FHR.

Stats
Stats placement (with gear on):
200+str (STR = dmg, your maxing this or coming close)
73dex (enough to equip hand sycthes after gear)
Life – none or 30

Your character will vary depending on what you did, but these were my stats:
FHR: 30
FRW: 60 + BoS
IAS: 25 + BoS
Kick dmg: 560 max kick dmg (rare warboots)
Lightning sentry dmg: 735 or 800 (if squid armor vs +1)
1040life/550mana/75all with lots of extra cold/light stack without anya quests
39% weapon block

My original claws:

These complement perfectly, but sadly both are +2ls.

Currentl claws:

These still aren't ideal, but are +3LS and complementary. I have 2trap with wof as spare skill.... meaning I hard stated MB. But I gained about 150LS damage, and now I still have DF/MB when using a sheild

Perfect claws:
3ls/1-3df/1-3mb 2soc strength runeword handscythe
+
1sin/3ls/1-3shadow master or warrior/blade sheild or wof

Dueling strategies:
In general you will run at you opponent, place some LS, dodge attacks and try to MB them. Once MB’d, DF on them, then go into a kick salvo. If they are in fhr, MB again then kick some more, if you stunlocked them good it might finish the fight here. If not, run out after the 3kicks finish and try to get more traps layed, rinse and repeat. Mix in a WoF before the DF as needed. Of course you won’t always get this ideal situation, in which case you can just directly DF on them, get a quick kick salvo or MB…. but not again some characters obviously. Anything else comes down to practice, and the character your matched up against.

Very hard duels: Sadly Hdins, and WW barbs will beat you atleast 50% if they are any good. WW and hammers do so much damage you really can’t get close without getting slammed, and both characters can easily get high life + full (or even stacked) resists. If you can’t get close to kick, that’s 1/2-2/3 of the build’s damage gone. Your best bet in these matchups is to hunker down and play more like a trapper, and only going in to do hit and run kicks when they are good and locked. You can try a shield vs barbs to increase survivability, but you lose a lot of trap dmg.

Sorcs:
Fball- does a lot of damage quickly, but they can’t tank like their ES/blizzard counterparts. Because of this you can be semi aggressive, but NEVER try to just tank (i.e. keep kicking and trade kicks for FBs) even if they are “almost dead”. You get good success with random DF on them, 3 kicks, step back and MB then try to setup traps again.

Blizz– They also do a lot of damage, but they are usually defensive whores and they can TANK. Prepare for a long duel by getting an insight after buff poison, and possibly use some CnbF. They play defensively and have the range so your going to have to be aggressive, or at least appear to be aggressive. Lay some wide spaced traps, but where at least 2 can fire on an opponent teleporting into the area. Then run around a blizz and DF them. They will usually tele away at this point, hopefully through your trap field. Then MB them, set a WoF under feet, MB again, then DF to Dtalon and do what damage you can. Get some distance if they start to ice blast you, same threat as Fball. There is more to it than that, but I can’t really describe it right now. Well geared and played ES/blizz sorcs are a hard duel.

Zons:
Bow– If your claws allow if, drop c/c and put on a shield. Then just run after them obliquely (do NOT run right into their arrows), lay some traps and just DF. With a maxblock switch and dodges, you likely won’t stunlock them fully. The traps won’t always trip them up, but they can help prevent their total escape from your stunlock. Then MB + a WoF to DF. If you can keep DF and MB when you use a shield you should win if careful. If not, it’s a pretty hard duel c/c, unless you DF onto them when they have bow out.

CS– They don’t have the range, and most don’t have the damage. Just make sure you have a good stunlock going, and kill them. You might need 3LS and 2WoF for this one, but then again I’ve been successful with a single trap if your kicks sync with the WoF pattern just right.

Poison – Your poison dmg is faster so you have the initial advantage, just make sure you can catch them (or else your dead). This can be further complicated if they have a strong bow hybridization. Try not to use a shield here though, you need the extra damage for a speedy kill. Then again these would be even easier if I had any poison resistance, but the one problem with the squid armor is you probably won’t also get PR on your 3 rare ed/stat/res jewels. A 75% PLR jewelry or boot swap would be the way to go… but that’s total cheese.

Barb:
WW– You won’t win often, especially vs top end barbs. I have had some success with Maxing CB: rattlecage, up’d Gtoes, str, shield, and mad trap stunlocking. I’d also won a few by just patient trapping. Reguardless this is your second hardest duel.

Warcry– very easy duel. You have ranged stunlock and he doesn’t. He has no block, you have some. Just lay 2 traps, MB, and start kicking. Did I say this was easy?

Necro:
Bone– unlike a bowazon, you CAN ALWAYS outrun his spirits. Unfortunately this is balanced somewhat by bonearmor which soaks up a lot of kicks. Venom/CB/traps will penetrate the bonearmor though, and once its down it usually only takes 2 sets of kicks. Run in circles around him (leading spirits away) laying traps, get the stunlock, the MB to DF to DT. Depending on his skill and how much he runs this can be an easy duel or moderately hard. The smarter necs will try to corral you with bonewall and bonespear, don’t get trapped into the chasing spirits, just DF out. 50/50 if you both have good chars, if not, big advantage to you. Until you get used to the proper flow of this matchup, it can be brutal however.

Poison – You win if stunlock him once, nuff said.

Druid:
]Nado– I find there is a lot of variability in how these play. Some go defensive, some have tele sticks, some block and some don’t. Keep some traps by you incase they have a tele staff, and immediately MB your feet if you see them start to tele. If you time it right you get a stunlock instead of eating a tornado, but the timing is tricky. If they don’t have a tele stick its not too bad unless they are defensive and max block. Just try to avoid DF if they block because you will too often tele into a nado. Lay some traps, stun them and keep them in traps for a bit, then get to where nados aren’t (or run between them if you can manage it) and start DT. Once you get some hits in it goes much better since druid FHR and blocking isn’t great.

Fissure– Plays very similarly to a blizz sorc honestly. They do less damage, but are harder to kick since they usually only walk through their own fissures (and that will hit you, stopping effective stunning). Your best bet is to get them into stunlock, then MB them back out of their fissure or until it ends, then DF in and kick. You should usually win once you get used to not being able to string multiple kick salvos together because of ground fissures. Can always use range against them also (traps can cover more ground and have some intelligence, fissure if just blind). If your not patient though, or if they are very good it will be a hard duel.

Assassins:
Light Trapper – Only the C/C ones will pose much of a threat because the spirit ones have trap damage similar to yours. The C/C ones you just have to chase out of their trap field and Df on them. Its VERY hard to get an effective stunlock against another trapper, but you can get a lot of easy damage by even just clipping DFs (aka lay some traps DF them once, they get away, don’t chase, start doing traps again). Swap your weapons rapidly if they get an effective stunlock on you and run out. The big threat is if they get a lot of traps on you then switch to insight for the next FCR bp and really pin you in place. But over all, you should win 70% of the time or better.

Fire trapper – Can be a hard duel. Their damage is low, but you get locked a lot and frustraced. If you succum to the urge to just move in and tank traps while kicking, you will realize that while the individual traps do very little, the aggregate damage of several seconds stuck trying to leave a trapfeild while being MB’d is actually substantial. Winnable if you keep your cool and they aren’t liferep whores. To make you stunlocked for several seconds takes TONS of mana from them. If you see an insight it’s a duel ending opening. A well timed DF into DT can take over half of their life and is usually enough to decide the duel. Patience.

Kickers– If they are not a fellow hybrid, you can win. Just put a shield on and show them why traps that do damage as well as stunlocking are a good idea. If you start trading kick for kick though, your toast. Can range from easy to very hard duels depending on opponent. SC_eatkick had a very good pure kicker I often dueled with my hybrid, and the increased damage per kick and 5kicks to my 3 always made it a close duel. I’d say I came out 60/40 but they were both very good chars. Non-perfect pure kickers are usually an easy duel.

Paladins: except for charger your going to have a hard time here…
Hdins- you hardest duel. They desync on you, have tons of fhr and are hard to stunlock (have to click on them to MB them). If you DF on them, you always (I don’t know why) end up facing them so your lined up PERFECTLY for hammers to hit you. They also usually never close in on you so you spend half the duel chasing and eating invisible hammers at the edge of their field. I’ve rarely beat any skilled ones with this sin. You have to mostly trap, and get lucky DF’s when they are charging since their block falls and they won’t be besides you when you land. Although if they don’t have max block for some stange reason, go for it, they will fall easily.

Chargers - Variable. Even the best 2h chargers can rarely kill you in one charge, plus you have traps going for you and clawblock. Kick them when they trigger clawblock for an easy half a lifebar. Ones with shields are harder, but they still tend to have poor fhr and be glass-cannon like. You should beat almost every charger if you play it right.

Smiters – Medium. Smite always hits, they block most of your kicks, AND there attack stuns. If you both start attacking, you lose. However, if you can get a good stunlock its often possible to take a good chunk of health before they recover to smite you again. With good traps, it only takes 2 successful stunlocks on them with a few kicks. With weaker traps, this becomes a very difficult duel requiring 3, and possibly 4 separate stunlock situations capitalized by kicks.

This post was edited by KnightXENO on Oct 25 2010 06:01pm

I was just looking at this on 101 just a second ago, lol

that blade shield strenght is insane...

ty.

The bladesheild one is nice, but I lost a bidwar on a 3ls/3df/1mb last ladder qq. Would have put me at 800ls with squid armor!

I figure I'd repost this again, since I've gotten occasional PMs about it here but it was only posted on 101. Figured it was worth adding to the guides here, but time will tell I suppose.


EDIT. color coded matchups as well now. Green being easyish obviously, red being very hard.

This post was edited by KnightXENO on Oct 25 2010 06:02pm

I would have to disagree with that. ES would have a disadvantage vs a hybrid setup. Vita would be the way to go.

This.

But even so a well-built vita fber with es on is still going to outtank you.

I can very much agree with that. They'd tank just as much, and do more damage.

Well maybe it was just vita fb's with es ontop of it, but I always find es sources tend to tank kicks better and play alot more def
Defensively. Either way, a very good sorc is a hard duel, I just find defensive play was the more difficult duel for me since I tend to be very agressive with this char.

If that's the only disagreement though, not too bad.

Guide should be stickied.

Glad to see it finally made it's way from 101 to here.


Good work James!