Do you love the spin to win playstyle of whirlwind but the Barbarian isn’t your cup of tea? Try out the Whirlwind Assassin as one of the few builds that can successfully use a damaging Skill from a different Class. In this case, the Assassin steals the iconic Barbarian Skill whirlwind and calls it her own through the Claw-exclusive RunewordChaos.
Along with Whirlwind she uses the powerful Corpse Explosions of Death Sentry to deal devastating Area of Effect (AoE) damage.
Whether you want to clear out whole areas or simply hunt Elite Monsters, this guide has you covered.
Note: Be aware that this build is very item dependent. It requires quite a bit of investment, especially in your Charm Inventory.
Very Tanky ✔ Fast Paced ✔ Unique Playstyle ✔ Rewards Excellent Gameplay ✔
❌ Very Gear Dependent ❌ Dangerous Melee Combat ❌ Not The Best Act Boss Killer ❌ Very Technical And Difficult Gameplay
Sunder Charm Setup
This build does not benefit from the new Sunder Charm because the Assassin cannot apply any additional -x% Damage Reduction to enemies herself. Her Mercenary can apply Decrepify or Amplify Damage, but this is too unreliable to farm areas with monsters Immune to Physical. It also becomes much harder to survive with the Whirlwind Assassin playstyle.
✔ The Secret Cow Level - High Density, No Immunities ✔ Flayer Jungle + Flayer Dungeon - High Density, Low-Life enemies, No Immunities ✔ Tristram - High Density, No Immunities, Many Elite Groups ✔ Catacombs ONLY - High Density, Many Elite Groups, Bosses ✔ Pit - High Density, No Immunities
Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills: 1. Cloak of Shadows 2. Mindblast
Max out the following Skills in this order: 1. Claw Mastery 2. Weapon Block 3. Fade 4. Death Sentry 5. Fire Blast (Only to Level 18) 6. Remaining Skill Points into Venom
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Damage
Whirlwind* is your main Damage Skill. The Character spins around, "phases" through monsters, and deals damage to everything around them. While active, you cannot consume Potions or change anything in your Inventory.
Venom* adds powerful Poison Damage to your attacks. This Damage over Time (DOT) deals with Physical Immune monsters for us.
Death Sentry* is used as a secondary damage source in all versions. Its damage comes from casting Corpse Explosion on slain monsters.
Mindblast* stuns your enemies in a small squared-shaped area around your cursor and has a % chance to convert enemies hit. Converted enemies fight alongside you for a short period of time.
Cloak of Shadows* can be a real lifesaver. For a period of time, the area around the Assassin becomes extremely dark and blinds enemies. This drastically decreases their aggro range and their Defense.
Weapon Block* provides an alternative way to block attacks when dual-wielding Claws.
* Faster Cast Rate Skills (FCR) * Skills that do NOT utilize either FCR or IAS
Attributes
Note: This section provides you with the standard Stat Point allocation. Build Variants can require a different allocation!
Strength
Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to equip all of your gear. Take into account how much Strength your gear provides when equipped.
Dexterity
Allocate enough Stat Points into Dexterity to equip all of your gear. Take into account how much Dexterity your gear provides when equipped.
Vitality
Allocate any remaining Stat Points into Vitality after meeting Strength, Dexterity and Energy requirements.
Energy
Do not allocate any Stat Points into Energy. Mana costs are covered by “x% Mana Stolen per Hit” or “+x Mana after each Kill” on gear.
Miscellaneous
Gear Options
While every Stat in the Desirable Stats column is useful for this build, we highlighted the Priority Stats in Teal so you can review the recommended Items and more easily identify the Most Important Stats on them.
Hover over any Item in the Item Options to see a pop-out with the full Item description.
Gear/Base Notes: Any Items with specialized or niche uses have a superscript that refer to a Note listed here. 1) This is the build enabling item that cannot be replaced. Feral Claw is the best base, but other claws can be an option too. +1x% Enhanced Damage is desirable as a Superior Mod. 2) Only used in full Natalya's Odium setup! 3) Only used in combination with the other Angelic Jewelry piece.
Slot
Item Options
Desirable Stats
Weapon
Chaos1
+x% Enhanced Damage +x to Weapon Block +x to Death Sentry +x to Venom
Off-Hand
Shadow Killer (Jewel) Jade Talon (Jewel) Chaos Rare Claws (Jewel) Natalya's Mark (Jewel)2 Fury Feral Claws
+x% Enhanced Damage Ignore Target's Defense +x to Weapon Block +x to Death Sentry +x to Venom x% Mana stolen per hit All Resistances +x +x to Mana after each Kill Repairs 1 Durability in x seconds Ethereal Sockets (x)
Weapon-Swap
Call to Arms
+x to All Skills +x to battlecommand +x to battleorders +x to battlecry
Off-Hand-Swap
Spirit Monarch
+x to All Skills
Helmets
Guillaume's Face (Jewel) Crown of Ages Kira's Guardian Vampire Gaze Rare Helmet Natalya's Totem (Jewel)2 Temper Ground Cure
+x to Character Skills +x% Enhanced Damage +x% Mana stolen per hit +x% Life stolen per hit x% Chance of Crushing Blow All Resistances +x Damage Reduced by x% x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items Socketed [x]
+x to All Skills +x% Faster Hit Recovery +x% Enhanced Damage +x% Damage to Demons +x to Teleport +x to Life X Resist +x% +x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Gloves
Laying of Hands Trang-Oul's Claws Blood Crafted Gloves Rare Gloves
+x% Increased Attack Speed x% Bonus to Attack Rating +x% Damage to Demons x% Chance of Crushing Blow +x to Strength / Dexterity
+x to All Skills +x% Faster Hit Recovery +x% Life stolen per hit +x to Vitality Damage Reduced by x% x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Boots
War Traveler Shadow Dancer Waterwalk Sandstorm Trek Gore Rider Natalya's Soul2
+x% Faster Run/Walk +x% Faster Hit Recovery Adds x-X damage X Resist +x% All Resistances +x x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Amulets
Highlord's Wrath Metalgrid Angelic Wings3
+x to All Skills +x to Attack Rating X Resist +x% All Resistances +x
Rings
Raven Frost Ring Wisp Projector Angelic Halo3 Crafted Ring Rare Ring
+x to Strength / Dexterity +x to Attack Rating X Absorb x% Cannot Be Frozen
Charms
Grand Charm Large Charm Small Charm
+x% Faster Run / Walk +x% Faster Hit Recovery +x to Maximum Damage +x to Attack Rating +x to Attribute + Life X Resist +x% x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Unique Charms
Gheed's Fortune Hellfire Torch Annihilus
+x to Assassin Skill Levels +x to all Attributes All Resistances +xx% x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Farming Spots
The areas below are efficient farming locations that make use of the build’s strengths. Other farming spots might not be as effective due to immunities or bad layouts.
Anything that has a ✔ in the "Starter" column can be farmed with the Starter Variant.
Uniques Sets Max Area Level Leveling (Baal for Level 97-99)
Mercenary
Your Mercenary can serve an incredibly important role to the overall success of your build. Whether it’s serving as a front line tank, bringing a pivotal Aura to your arsenal, or employing Physical Damage to kill monsters with an Immunity to your skillset.
Act 2 Desert Mercenary
The Act 2 Desert Mercenary can be hired from Greiz. He can be equipped with a Spear or a Polearm, a Body Armor and a Helmet. Every Act 2 Mercenary has access to an Aura and uses Jab as his base Attack. The Aura activates once the Mercenary has engaged in combat and remains active between traveling to and from town. The Auras available are based on what difficulty you hire the Mercenary from.
Might Reaper's Toll
Might Reaper's Toll
Reaper’s Toll, Might
We recommend the Might Aura version, as it provides us with a significant damage boost to our Physical Damage attacks. The Reaper’s Toll has a 33% Chance to cast Decrepify on striking, which slows your enemies down as well as increase any Physical Damage dealt to them. Decrepify can also break some Physical Immunities (Immunities Resource).
Mercenary Gear Options
Your Mercenary needs maximum Resistances, Life Leech, a high damage Weapon, and high Defense and/or Damage Reduction to stay alive reliably. Cannot Be Frozen is also a great stat for maintaining Mercenary DPS and leech. Ethereal gear is preferred since it doesn't lose durability.
Slot
Early-Game
Mid-Game
End-Game
Weapon
Insight Lawbringer
Insight Lawbringer
The Reaper's Toll
Body Armor
Smoke Lionheart Rockfleece
Treachery Duress Shaftstop Duriel's Shell
Fortitude Treachery
Helmet
Bulwark Undead Crown Temper Ground Cure
Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest Vampire Gaze Crown of Thieves Stealskull Rockstopper
Andariel's Visage Vampire Gaze
The Mercenary is hard to keep alive until you have the minimum gear recommended in this guide. To help survive various scenarios, remember you can drag Healing Potions onto the portrait, or shift + 1/2/3/4 to directly feed them a Healing Potion from your belt. The Mercenary also gains bonus Resistances from Thawing Potions and Antidote Potions.
If your Mercenary dies in battle, you can revive them from any of the Mercenary NPCs in each Act. This does come with an increasing cost, capping at 50,000 Gold. So keep that in mind and decide if the Mercenary is currently worth the cost.
Playstyle
General
Buff yourself with Burst of Speed and proceed to your farming location of choice.
Switch the buff to Fade and approach your targets.
Density Clearing
Pull together enemies to create density for your Death Sentry Traps.
Lay down 2-3 Death Sentry Traps before jumping into battle. They are the key ingredient for blowing up big monster groups.
Engage the mobs with Whirlwind. Ideally you just spin through the middle dealing as much damage as possible, but there are scenarios you need to be careful in:
When faced with Mana Burn or high damage melee attacking monsters, use Whirlwind on the edge of the density.
When faced with numerous ranged enemies, use Cloak of Shadows to blind them or Mindblast to convert some of them. This decreases the damage you take during Whirlwind. Remember - You cannot use Potions while spinning!
Boss Farming
When engaging bosses, use Whirlwind in small triangles around them. This gives you moments to use your Potions if necessary. The main goal is to reduce the time “spinning into the void” (Not hitting anything of importance).
Immunities
When you are fighting in the recommended farming spots, you won't face many Physical Immune monsters. Death Sentry'sCorpse Explosion deals 50% Fire Damage and can dispose of any you encounter.
Chaos also provides you with some Magic Damage and you gain Poison Damage from Venom.
Your Mercenary uses The Reaper's Toll which has a chance for Decrepify on hit, which often removes the Physical Immunity.
Late Game
Cast Battle Command twice and [/d2planner-skill]Battle Orders[/d2planner-skill] in your Weapon Swap before engaging in combat. Refresh these buffs as soon as they run out.
Use Teleport in your Weapon Swap. Your damage setup does not have any Faster Cast Rate, which feels terrible.
Breakpoints
Breakpoints in Diablo 2 are the minimum values required to reduce the frames of an action. Below are the important breakpoints considered for this build. For more information on the mechanics involved, check out our in-depth Resource: Breakpoints.
Faster Cast Rate (FCR)
Faster Cast Rate (FCR) is not required for this build, but early breakpoints can be utilized. Note: FCR only controls the animation speed of the Character, and not any internal Cooldowns spells have.
Frames
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
FCR
0
8
16
27
42
65
102
174
Increased Attack Speed (IAS)
Increased Attack Speed (IAS) speeds up your attack animations. Weapon bases have different IAS breakpoints. Values for recommended weapon options provided below. Consult the d2planner for other bases. You reach the highest Breakpoint of every Claw with the recommended gear.
For all Hardcore gameplay, your primary concern is increasing your Resistances, Damage Reduction, Chance to Block and Maximum Life. This can mean sacrificing overall power level for a more secure playstyle.
This build is Hardcore viable. If you are unaccustomed to this playstyle, we recommend trying this build on Softcore to gain experience on how to successfully pilot it.
Build Variants
Starter
Standard
Magic Find
Natalya's Odium
Setup
Getting the Whirlwind Assassin started is already a somewhat expensive endeavor. Chaos is the build-enabling item. Jade Talon is a well-rounded Off-Hand that helps with Resistances and Mana recovery. Make sure to put a Shael Rune into it to reach the highest Attack Speed Breakpoints!
The Angelic Ring + Amulet combination gives you a much-needed boost in Attack Rating. Laying of Hands, Duress, and Charms with +x to Maximum Damage, Attack Rating and Life bring you up to a decent amount of damage.
Raven Frost (or any other source of Cannot Be Frozen) is required for this build to feel smooth because it relies on its Attack Speed. With all of this out of the way, you only need to worry about Life Recovery, which can be handled by a string of ears that also grants much-needed Damage Reduction.
Mercenary
The minimum equipment of the Mercenary evolves around The Reaper's Toll for the Chance to cast Decrepify on striking. Add some Life recovery and Damage Reduction from Bulwark and Attack Speed from Treachery. His Might Aura provides you with a nice damage boost.
Skills
Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills: 1. Cloak of Shadows 2. Mindblast
Max out the following Skills in this order: 1. Claw Mastery 2. Weapon Block 3. Fade 4. Death Sentry (18 Skill Points)
Attributes
Allocate enough Strength and Dexterity to wear all of your gear. Put any remaining Attribute Point into Vitality for maximum Life.
Setup
This variant hits a great balance between high damage output and decently high mobility. It excels in areas with many Demons. The Charm inventory and the Off-Hand are EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE! Enigma provides the Assassin with Teleport and Faster Run/Walk for mobility. You only have Faster Cast Rate in your Weapon-Swap, so switch to it for teleporting!
Highlord's Wrath and War Traveler provide great boosts in damage. A Rare Ring or Blood Crafted Ring fills up the second Ring slot. f you don't care for mobility as much, slap on a Fortitude for maximum damage!
Mercenary
With an Ethereal The Reaper's Toll (socketed with a Jewel), Fortitude, and an Andariel's Visage (socketed with a Jewel) he becomes virtually immortal and hits his maximum Attack Speed Breakpoint to proc Decrepify often.
Skills
Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills: 1. Cloak of Shadows 2. Mindblast
Max out the following Skills in this order: 1. Claw Mastery 2. Weapon Block 3. Fade 4. Death Sentry 5. Fire Blast (Only to Level 18) 6. Remaining Skill Points into Venom
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Attributes
Allocate enough Strength and Dexterity to wear all of your gear. Put any remaining Attribute Point into Vitality for maximum Life.
Setup
We found a use for Stealskull! This Helmet provides us with Mana Leech, Life Leech, and Magic Find. It opens up the second Ring next to Raven Frost and the Belt slot for even more Magic Find!
By replacing all Charms with a Gheed's Fortune and Fine Small Charm of Good Luck to increase our Magic Find to a whopping 450+%!
Mercenary
With an Ethereal The Reaper's Toll (socketed with a Jewel), Fortitude, and an Andariel's Visage (socketed with a Jewel) he becomes virtually immortal and hits his maximum Attack Speed Breakpoint to proc Decrepify often.
Skills
Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills: 1. Cloak of Shadows 2. Mindblast
Max out the following Skills in this order: 1. Claw Mastery 2. Weapon Block 3. Fade 4. Death Sentry 5. Fire Blast (Only to Level 18) 6. Remaining Skill Points into Venom
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Attributes
Allocate enough Strength and Dexterity to wear all of your gear. Put any remaining Attribute Point into Vitality for maximum Life.
Setup
... And we found a use for Natalya's Odium! This setup is a lot cheaper, but also suffers a big damage loss compared to our standard version.
Use the Angelic Amulet + Ring combination for a massive boost in Attack Rating and get Cannot Be Frozen from Trang-Oul's Girth. With this combination, it keeps up with the Magic Find variant of this build.
By replacing all Charms with Fine Small Charm of Good Luck and a Gheed's Fortune you can get yourself up to ~230 Magic Find.
Mercenary
With an Ethereal The Reaper's Toll (socketed with a Jewel), Fortitude, and an Andariel's Visage (socketed with a Jewel) he becomes virtually immortal and hits his maximum Attack Speed Breakpoint to proc Decrepify often.
Skills
Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills: 1. Cloak of Shadows 2. Mindblast
Max out the following Skills in this order: 1. Claw Mastery 2. Weapon Block 3. Fade 4. Death Sentry 5. Fire Blast (Only to Level 18) 6. Remaining Skill Points into Venom
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Attributes
Allocate enough Strength and Dexterity to wear all of your gear. Put any remaining Attribute Point into Vitality for maximum Life.
Mechanics
Death Sentry
Death Sentry uniquely combines 2 Skills, (Lightning Sentry and Corpse Explosion). Death Sentry has a maximum attack count, which means that a Death Sentry with a maximum of 7 Shots can use, for example, 5 x Lightning and 2x Corpse Explosion.
Base amount of available shots is 5, which can be increased by putting Skill Points into Fire Blast. Every 3rd Skill Point, Death Sentry gains +1 shot to a maximum of 11 (with Fire Blast Base Skill Level 18).
The Lightning Sentry part will only be used if there are no corpses in the sentries' awareness range (10 2/3 yards).
The lightning beam behaves exactly as Lightning Sentry:
Monsters are pierced.
Travels in a straight line.
Every monster on the travel path takes Lightning Damage.
Death Sentry shoots at a rate of 31 Frames per cast (Every 1.24 seconds) before they expire. This rate cannot be influenced.
The Corpse Explosion is used when there are corpses within its Awareness Range (10 2/3 yards) with the following mechanics:
Death Sentry shoots at a rate of 31 Frames per cast (Every 1.24 seconds) before they expire. This rate cannot be influenced.
The Corpse Explosion is weaker than its Necromancer counterpart, dealing only 40 - 80% of the monster's regular base Life.
Damage does not increase with higher player count.
Its damage is split into 50% Physical Damage and 50% Fire Damage.
When the corpse's Monster Level > Character Level the damage is multiplied by Character Level / Monster Level.
Within the Area of Effect, the damage is always afflicted. It cannot be blocked by any means.
Teleport
Teleport instantly moves you to a selected square on the visible screen in which you can stand. The game tries to place you within a small radius around your cursor even if it would be impeded normally.
Teleport is not obstructed by walls or other impediments but can fail if your cursor is not completely passed those impediments when cast. Your Mercenary and Minions are teleported with you, Traps do not.
Certain Minions in large quantities can become “stuck” in position after teleporting. Move away from that position to give them the chance to spread out.
You can “extend” the visible screen by opening UI-windows like the Inventory or the Character screen. Continuously cast Teleport and drag your mouse to the edge of your screen.
The Mana cost of Teleport decreases with additional Skill Levels down to 1 Mana per cast.
You can use “ESC” to open the menu in single player to pause the game after a Teleport to determine if you are safe.
Summary
Allocate enough Strength and Dexterity to equip your gear. Put any remaining Stat Points into Vitality.
Pre-Buff yourself in this order: 2xBattle Command, Battle Orders, Fade, then activate Venom
Make sure to refresh your buffs whenever they run out!
Before using Whirlwind, place some Death Sentry Traps, so they can immediately work when you start killing monsters.
Use Whirlwind in short distances through your enemies or in long strides along the sides of big monster packs.
Chaos gives you the unique opportunity to use an off Class Skill in a build. This is especially great because the Assassin lacks build variety!