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Description[]
Mind Blast is a defining skill of the assassin. It affords perhaps the best crowd control capability in the game. Mind blast can be casted in an area with no opponent targetted. If an enemy is in the targetted area, the enemy (provided it is not a boss) will be pushed back and stunned; (the stun is indicated by a swirling animation over the opponent's head). When used in PvP, the stunned opponent (with swirling animation) will be put into hit recovery animation by any successful attack; an oppoenent with low fhr that is repeatedly barraged by Mind Blast and another damage source can be essentially "pinned down" so that escape is impossible. Mind Blast also has a chance to "convert" an enemy into a temporary ally; (Mind Blast can only convert mobs, it cannot convert an enemy player.) Both this chance to convert and the duration of the stun increase with progressive skill levels. (The duration of stun is capped at 10 seconds at lvl 41.) The Damage of Mind Blast (Physical damage) also increases with its skill level; however, the damage, even at high skill lvl, is not very impressive.
The casting rate of Mind Blast is determined by the assassin's faster cast rate gear.
Mind Blast in PVP
In PvP it is common for builds to skill 2 hard points into Mind Blast. This is because, by many accounts, this increases the chance that the Shadow Master will use Mind Blast; this is still a source of debate. There are some PvP builds that max Mind Blast. At high lvl the duration of the stun is longer, and the relatively low damage can be effective vs opponents with low life and/or damage reduction. Regardless of skill level, Mind Blast is a key skill for many PvP Assassin Builds. It is important for both melee (whirlwind or kick) and trap based assassins. "Name locking" an opponent can allow a assassin to continue to cast Mind Blast on an opponent (for up to 2 screens away) even if the other player is not in the assassin's screen or view. Wake of fire, with its traps that hit in rapid succession over a small area, works particularly well in conjunction with Mind Blast for stun locking PvP opponents. However, the "excessive" use of Mind Blast is considered bad manners in most organized PvP.
Mind Blast in PVE
Mind Blast is also the bane of many organized PvE runs (chaos runs or baal runs.) This is because a converted enemy cannot be damaged by the assassin or other party members, so the players are forced to wait for the conversion to expire before dispatching the enemy. Because of this, assassins are not encouraged to use Mind Blast during group play unless things get out of hand. Shadow Masters, that will often use Mind Blast, are often frowned upon as well for the same reason. Shadow Warrior is usually a better option for organized PvE runs when players are more powerful than the mobs in the runs.
Assassin Skills | ||
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Martial Arts | Tiger Strike • Dragon Talon • Fists of Fire • Dragon Claw • Cobra Strike • Claws of Thunder • Dragon Tail • Blades of Ice • Dragon Flight • Phoenix Strike | |
Shadow Disciplines | Claw Mastery • Psychic Hammer • Burst of Speed • Weapon Block • Cloak of Shadows • Fade • Shadow Warrior • Mind Blast • Venom • Shadow Master | |
Traps | Fire Blast • Shock Web • Blade Sentinel • Charged Bolt Sentry • Wake of Fire • Blade Fury • Lightning Sentry • Wake of Inferno • Death Sentry • Blade Shield |