Rift Assassin Guide

Frozen Orb* is the Rift Assassin's Primary Damage Skill triggered by Rift. These Cold Damage orbs pass through enemies, shooting tiny bolts of ice outward in all directions; it explodes at a set distance, dealing its highest damage.

Dragon Talon* is a Secondary Damage Skill that serves as the main trigger of Frozen Orbs from Rift. It executes a series of Physical Damage kicks onto the selected target, applying the Kick Damage from Boots.

Death Sentry* is a Secondary Damage Skill used for additional AoE damage. It uses Corpse Explosion which causes nearby corpses to explode for a 50/50 mix of Fire and Physical Damage. If there are no bodies to target, it fires off a weak Lightning Bolt if it’s close enough to a target.

* Increased Attack Speed Skills (IAS)
* Skills that do NOT utilize either FCR or IAS

Dragon Flight* allows you to reposition yourself and your Mercenary, teleporting both to a targeted monster. This Skill is great for mobility as a pseudo Teleport on a Starter or Budget setup (see Build Variants).

Venom* is a buff that adds Poison Damage to every attack while active.

Blade Shield* casts a shield that deals a fraction of your Weapon's Damage as Physical Damage to enemies in proximity of the Assassin. It mainly serves to trigger additional Frozen Orbs from Rift on this build.

Burst of Speed* provides you with a massive Movement Speed and Attack Speed buff. This increases your mobility, your Dragon Talon Attack Speed, and the rate at which you lay Death Sentry Traps.

Mind Blast* briefly Stuns your enemies in a small squared shape 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* temporarily Blinds enemies around the Assassin. This drastically decreases their aggro range and their Defense. It is an incredibly useful Skill to use when facing dangerous ranged enemies such as Burning Souls and Dark Archers.

Shadow Warrior* summons a mini-Assassin that mimics your Skills on your Right-Click. You can utilize their ability to lay Death Sentrys to reduce the amount you have to cast. It also acts as a damage sponge or distraction.

Shadow Master* summons a mini-Assassin AI that uses Skills independently of your own. It mostly serves as a damage sponge and distraction. Shadow Master is tankier than Shadow Warrior against most monster types.

Fade* provides you with a large amount of +x All Resistance, Damage Reduction, and Curse Duration Reduction when cast. Each Soft Point grants 1% Damage Reduction. (Soft Points include + to Skills from gear and buffs).

* Increased Attack Speed Skills (IAS)
* Faster Cast Rate Skills (FCR)

While every Stat in the Desirable Stats column is useful for this build, we highlighted the Priority Stats in Teal so you can easily identify the Most Important Stats on them.

Hover over any Item to see a pop-out with the full Item description.

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 or Budget Build Variant.

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Act 4

Act 5

Your Mercenary serves an incredibly important role to the overall success of your build. They can be a front line tank, provide a pivotal Aura, and/or deal Physical Damage to kill enemies with Immunity to your Skill set.

Act 2 Desert Mercenary

Infinity, Might

Use a Desert Mercenary with Might Aura for a significant damage boost. Equip him with Infinity to reduce enemy Resistances and Defense with its Conviction Aura, drastically boosting damage and Chance to Hit. This Aura is also capable of breaking monster Immunities, including Cold and Fire.

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. Mercenary Types and Gear Options at each Gear Level perform equally well in different situations; choose based on Farming Spots and/or personal preference.

The Mercenary is hard to keep alive until you have the minimum gear recommended in this guide. 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. Keep that in mind and decide if the Mercenary is currently worth the cost.

General

• Before each Magic Find/Experience run, cast Burst of Speed, Blade Shield, and Venom on your Weapon-Swap with more + to Skills. Refresh these Skills as soon as they expire.
• Summon your Shadow Warrior on your Weapon-Swap with more + to Skills and switch back to Burst of Speed. The Shadow Warrior only uses the Skills that you have active on your Skill Bar. Wait until he buffed himself with Burst of Speed, then switch to Death Sentry on your right Skill. Re-summon your Shadow if it dies.
• Lay 1-2 Death Sentry Traps upon locating Elites, then engage them with Dragon Flight. When you are in melee range, switch to Dragon Talon and use it to proc Frozen Orbs. Your Death Sentry Traps deal massive Area of Effect damage with their Corpse Explosions.
• If you do not have an item source of Teleport, reposition yourself and your Mercenary with Dragon Flight when necessary.
• Cast Cloak of Shadows to temporarily Blind dangerous ranged enemies as needed (Dark Archers, Burning Souls, etc.).
• You can also use Mind Blast to Stun and Convert nearby threats.
• Strategically re-summoning Shadow Warrior or Shadow Master in front of scary mobs is an effective survival tactic.
• Fade increases your Damage Reduction, Resistances, and Curse Duration Reduction at the expense of the Attack Speed and Movement Speed provided by Burst of Speed.

Immunities

• The Rift Assassin deals 4 Damage Types. You won't face monsters that are completely Immune to your damage.
• Cold Rupture and Flame Rift allow you to more comfortably deal with Cold and Fire Immunes alike.
• Cold Rupture sets all Immune to Cold monsters to 95% Cold Resistance, allowing any sources of -x% to Enemy Cold Resistance (including Conviction or Lower Resist) to take full effect.
• Flame Rift sets all Immune to Fire monsters to 95% Fire Resistance, allowing any sources of -x% to Enemy Fire Resistance (including Conviction or Lower Resist) to take full effect.

Late-Game

• Switch to your Weapon-Swap and buff yourself with Battle Command twice and Battle Orders once. Continue with Burst of Speed, Blade Shield, and Venom, and then summon your Shadow Warrior. Repeat Battle Command and Battle Orders again to buff him.
• Use Enigma Teleport to travel to your Farming Spot and between Elite Packs. You can also "Telestomp" Elite Packs into a follow-up Dragon Talon.
• Keep your Mercenary close to the enemies you are fighting. Both the Frozen Orb procs and Death Sentry benefit from his Infinity's Conviction Aura. It also increases your Chance To Hit with Dragon Talon, as it reduces your enemies' Defense as well!

Optimal Loot/Experience Farming Strategies

• Ancient Tunnels - This is one of the best Farming Spots for a fully-geared Rift Assassin. With a large number of Elite Groups in a compact area and no Cold Immunes, this area is second to none. This farm is optimal with 1-3 Players in the game or /Players1-3 in Single Player.
• Stony Tomb - This Max Level Area is an excellent Farming Spot for Rift Assassins of all gear levels. With a large number of Elite Groups and no Cold Immunes, this is a solid area. Mobs in this area also typically have relatively low Life. This farm is optimal with 1-3 Players in the game or /Players1-3 in Single Player.
• Arachnid Lair - This is one of the best Farming Spots for a Starter Rift Assassin. It is easy to access Max Level Area with no Cold Immunes. This farm is optimal with 1-3 Players in the game or /Players1-3 in Single Player.

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 speeds up your casting animation for spells. Aim for at least the 65% FCR Breakpoint on either the main weapon loadout or Weapon-Swap for Enigma Teleport cast speed. Note: FCR only controls the animation speed of the Character, and not any internal Cooldowns spells have.

Increased Attack Speed (IAS)

This build solely relies upon the Increased Attack Speed from Burst of Speed for faster attack and trap setting animations using Weapons with a Weapon Speed Modifier of -10 (Rift War Scepter or Voice of Reason). Consult the d2planner for Breakpoints with IAS on gear.

Faster Hit Recovery (FHR)

Faster Hit Recovery increases survivability. Aim for at least the 27% FHR Breakpoint.

Faster Block Rate (FBR)

Faster Block Rate increases survivability on certain Build Variants. Aim for the 32% Faster Block Rate Breakpoint where applicable.

For all Hardcore gameplay, your primary focus is increasing your Resistances, Damage Reduction, Chance to Block and Maximum Life. This can mean sacrificing overall power level for a more secure playstyle.

The Rift Assassin can become Hardcore viable with key changes to Gear, Stats, and Skill Point allocation. Review the changes below before building this character in Hardcore, as some of these changes differ significantly from the Standard Build.

Gear Changes

• Damage Reduction: There are several gear options for achieving a high amount of % Damage Reduction on a Hardcore Rift Assassin. Stormshield is the best overall option for survivability. A combination of Crown of Ages and either String of Ears or Verdungo's Hearty Cord can also work if you want to continue using Spirit Monarch or rather Jeweler's Monarch of Deflecting socketed with 4x 5/5 Cold Rainbow Facets.
• Stacking Resistances: Stack your Fire/Lightning/Cold Resistances beyond the default maximum values of 75 each (175 total in Hell). Stacking 85 additional Resistances in Hell completely negates the Conviction Aura of any Elite Boss or the Oblivion Knight's Lower Resist Curse. Beware of encountering both at the same time! Consider the primary damage type(s) of the monsters in the area you want to farm. Chains of Honor or Fortitude are possible Body Armor options if you are willing to forgo Enigma. Boots, Jewelry and Charms are also ideal sources of Resistances on this build.
• Faster Hit Recovery: Achieve the 27% Faster Hit Recovery Breakpoint on your main weapon loadout with your Boots and/or Charms. Faster Hit Recovery is not as important when going for maximum Chance to Block (75%). You mainly rely on the 32% Faster Block Rate Breakpoint you achieve with Stormshield.
• Lightning Absorb: Equip Thundergod's Vigor when farming or Teleporting through an area where Burning Souls are able to spawn such as Worldstone Keep/Throne of Destruction.

Stat Point Changes

• Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear Stormshield.
• Allocate enough Stat Points into Dexterity to achieve maximum Chance to Block (75%) while having Stormshield equipped.
• Allocate all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Skill Point Changes

• Investing Skill Points into Shadow Master instead of Shadow Warrior provides the Hardcore Rift Assassin with a more reliable tank.
• You can use Fade instead of Burst of Speed, sacrificing Attack Speed for Damage Reduction, Resistances, and Curse Duration Reduction. If you choose to do this, additional Skill Points into Fade can further improve your Damage Reduction.
  
  See the "Hardcore" Build Variant below for additional suggestions and visuals.