Dragon Age 2 guide----The Shadowy Assassin

"It's a ghost, it's a one hit killer, oh no it's the Shadowy Assassin"----Lieutenant


That's actually the most apt description I've found for this unbelievably powerful build, believe it or not. The Shadowy Assassin (SA) is simply an unstoppable force of nature. He moves so fast that enemies have a hard time trying to get a bead on him, annihilates weaker foes with one shot (not talking about spike damage)----even after some archers actually manage to focus on him, all they can manage to hit is a rigged decoy ready to blow into smithereens. Meanwhile the SA makes short work of them from behind, and when that Lieutenant is the only one left standing, something beautiful happens----the mage puts a winter's grasp/cone of cold on him, the SA throws something at the Lieutenant & when he thinks he's got it figured, only the cracking sound of bones getting crunched is heard----poetry in motion. The fight is over before it ever had a chance to really begin.

I've played DA2 many times over with various combinations of different classes but the SA is the most powerful build I've ever experienced. The main weakness of rogues is when they draw attention of a boss like Wyvern or a High dragon. As soon as that happens, he/she becomes a statistic. But the SA has a truckload of tricks for these occasions making this build truly nigh--invincible. With the SA, I've managed to beat the Sky-horror with ease & made short work of the Wyverns. In my playthrough with the SA, no single fight ever came close to being challenging be it the Arishok duel or the Duke prosper fight. That's why I am so enthusiastic to share this build with you. So, let's get right to it. 

Attribute allocations: Here's a simple rule----Keep your dexterity high & your cunning higher. Your dex should be high enough for your attack rating to reach 100%, pour the rest of points into cunning. Also remember, you need high amount of dex for higher chances of scoring critical hits. Don't worry about crit damage, you'll have plenty to spare but keep your dex high at all time. Here's my attributes in level 25 during Mark of the Assassin playthrough:--

Dexterity----56

Cunning----68

Specializations: Take Assassin as your first specialization & Shadow as your second. You don't need to spend a single point in Subterfuge (stealth). Shadow has much better options.

Abilities:

Assassin----The best & most damaging skill tree for rogues. Go all the way & don't look back. In case of any fight against a lieutenant, throw mark of the assassin (fully upgraded), wait for your mage to put him to brittle & follow with assassinate (hell yeah)----flawless victory.

Shadow----Pinpoint precision is alone worth the price of admission. The +50% crit damage means you can spend points on dex & don't have to worry about sacrificing anything from crit damage. Inconspicuous (indiscernable) is handy when your rogue gets overwhelmed until you get Decoy which is in my opinion, the ultimate panic button. It doesn't slow you down like Stealth, gives your enemies a target and combined with disorienting criticals + shadow veil, activating decoy means getting automatic +50% crit damage. Go full-on in this tree.

Dual Weapon----Unforgiving chain, merciless strike (works really great with high cunning), Reversed grip (again, benifits from high cunning) & Murder (for assured crits). You're done here.

Scoundrel----Blindside, nuff said.

Specialist----One word. Speed.

Gears : The SA is all about raining down FACE MELTING crits in WARP SPEED. That's why you need the Primeval Lyrium rune from Varric's mission which will grant you +23% attack speed. You can get the Dalish embossed belt for additional 1% attack speed. Look for belts & rings with +crit chance & +crit damage as much as you possibly can. For the amulet----I recommend Urzara's tooth or any other that provides bonus to all attributes. Look for armor pieces that provide a bonus to dex. Remember you need to boost your crit chance with gears. In level 25, I got a HUGE 89% critical chance & an EARTH SHATTERING 282% crit damage.

Blades: You need the absolute best here. The dlc's Bard's honor (enchanted with primeval rune & the rune of striking) & Jarvia's shank (for +3 to dex) worked for me & will work for you.

Teammates:  

Aveline----although not really necessary but pretty useful for giving your foes something to focus on while you obliterate them by flanking.

Anders----a must for this build. Keep Heroic Aura on all the time. Activate haste in fierce battles to make the SA truly untouchable with all the + attack speed gears discussed earlier. Regroup is great if things go real bad. Focus on his healing & shielding abilities than Vengeance.

The last member is totally your call.

So, that's pretty much the Shadowy Assassin. I hope you find playing with this build as satisfying as I did. Enjoy.