2hs + assassin skills

How viable would it be pre-150? The assassin skills already have some abilities that I really like (Backstep, Serum, Evasion) but there's also the problem of 2h not being able to equip daggers. I was hoping to have Assassin Stab be the big damage ability while I still don't have access to level 4 skills. I'll definitely reset into a proper build once I reach 150 if the combination of 2h + assassin doesn't scale well, I just need something that I can use to level and not be seen as a massive leech.

 

Assasin stab can be used by all(hence the massive study and a big pile of dandruff on the floor) arcane strike is out of any weapon that don't sub a dagger and it is broken af(just grab an ohs lol!) Afaik it scale with your attack and not by stat, that is a sure fire close range skill at best.(arcane deals dps by sheer mana capacity but that is not the flat rate and other variables is still under study)

Kancho strike is best done by a stealth dps(so you can move to position better) but if you got gud in boss dancing you got no problem shoving it in one way or the other(sure you get wayy too deep under there to get that kancho strike up front-under-and back)

 

So I'd be better off without it or just changing to ohs + dagger?

 

Other than arcane strike that have a dagger pre-requisite, it is usable to all. Great for evasion/dodge build if i were to add.

 

The only viable skill in the entire tree is Backstep, which you can use as an opener or closer. Assassin stab lost too much multiplier without dagger which makes it not viable.

 

What about Evasion and Serum?

 

Far as i know, Evasion has 2 aspects on it; the evasion and the remove ailment. The evasion aspect of it is only viable on knuckles since THS prefers to tank the hits head on or avoid it with meteor. For the remove ailment part, Recover from the support tree is a 1 mp skill that gives you back mp when you dispel an ailment, and it removes every ailment with the exception of flinch, tumble, knockback, and stun.
Tl;dr: No evasion unless knux, and Recover > ailments.

 

Backstab without a dagger has a low multiplier. 2h swords can make up with their high attack, but it remains situational, as it still requires all of it's buff skills to be effective.
Back Step recovers only 50mp without a dagger, but it can be used in combos. it makes a good combo ender, especially for slow combos. you can also use it as combo starter for a buff combo.

Evasion is only useful for AGI builds. you can do it with 2h too. Rampage greatly benefits from this, since it doesn't reduce Dodge and higher aspd makes you finish faster.

Serum is best used in a buff combo. without daggers the duration is only 30s, but it works well in a combo with Evasion and Back Step as opening skill. you can extend it with Warcry, since it also lasts 30s. (watch out for aggro!)
the actual effect of Serum has not been determined yet, but based on what i have observed, it appears to reduce the duration of Poison and Ignite by 10s, making you immune if they have a duration of less than 10s. (some mobs inflict 5s poison with their normal attack. especially for AGI builds poison is deadly.
Kaikiri inflicts 10s ignite on the user, if Serum works like i think it does, it would negate the burn damage.)

Foresight lowers the enemies Hit, making your Dodge more effective. it also increases the final damage of Backstab by 50%.
if you intend to use Backstab, you definitely need this skill, as the base damage is quite low compared to other skills available to 2h.