Pokie

I think we all agree that our AA's suck, but I really don't want them to, so I was going to do a little testing on frontload, but wanted to check if anyone else has before I waste the PP respeccing. Pretty sure I'll find out it still sucks anyway. Let me know if any of you have checked the following with regard to Frontload:

1) Says it doubles the trigger % on all abilities YOU maintain. I added the emphasis on you. I'm assuming it doesn't double the proc % on buffs from others? (I.E. left side effects window = doubled, right side window = fat chance (using default UI of course))

So basically, whirling blades and poisons?

2) Doubles trigger % on your equipment. Does this include crit %. I doubt it since that isn't so much a trigger % as just an overall %, but that would be pretty nice. I'm thinking just damage procs & dps/haste procs on equipment? Would loading up on dps mod items be better then gearing up with crit items? (Actually looking for some help on this one since I don't have that many dps proc items to personally test with)

What about the proc from the Freethinkers league set? I've heard that the proc from that is pretty nice in terms of zonewide % of dps in MMIS & FTH, wouldn't doubling the chance of it proccing be a decent increase in DPS? Is that a moot point in 6 months when RoK comes out and we aren't fighting vamps anymore?


Thanks for any help you can provide. I'll let you know how the testing goes when I can. May wait the 20 more days to get the respec cost down =p

Tion

I've heard frontload is pretty good to use before using our aoe's, as increases chance of hitting more mobs with poison/whirling blades, but overall I don't think it's that great.

Jayad

I'm going to experiment with it for the next month. (Along with repeated stabbing) I believe it affects base proc % from your "effects", so not a buff somebody puts on you. It should stack with other boosters like dirge but not cumulatively. (I think they all increase based on the base %)

I currently have Repeated Stabbing and Getaway. not a fan of bleeding except for the aoe booster. When I specced out of bleeding it didn't really do anything at all, just my experience. I'll move the points from the Physicality line to poisons, keeping the best ones maxed in physicality.

Does anybody know if you can cast frontload while stealthed?

Raina

Frontload doubles the base %. So a poison with a base of 5 would be 10 for that 15sec even though you may have buffs that raised it to 6.8 say it would still be 10 and not 13.6. Ive never tried casting it in stealth, but I dont think it can be since it actually takes a short amount of time to cast, its not completely instantaneous. I am specced RS and Frontload and I really like it. I love using frontload with Mental Breach because it often makes it proc quite a bit and gets the power back in a hurry.

Diceeno

that is right, for example the multi encs with four vampires in fth. using frontload and then cloaked and hemotoxin is on everyone or almost. also wb and other proc items but thats just a short hohoo and it doent affect your zw enough.
so far, as all in our eof tree isnt that great when it comes to dps but its also nice for soloing if youre using vitality breach and as raina mentioned for mental breach during raids.

it cannot be cast while stealthed.

__________________

timmeh

All this talk of using frontload with mental breach is making me not want to get it. As an assassin your job is to dps not pretend to. You need damage poison.

If you have power problems get two legendary (CHEAP) phantom pithe adornments.

Jayad

I'm playing with it now. So far I have liked it. It's hard to get two stealths off afterwards. Really could use an in-combat insta-stealth. You get noticably more hemos on aoes but it's also not a huge difference overall.

On the plus side I didn't have give up much to get it. Shows you how lame our AAs are where it doesn't really matter which crappy ones you get.

Cochy

You obviously haven't fought some of the longer fights in the game. I use hemotoxin then swap to mental breach then back to hemotoxin when I get low on Contested Mayong and a couple others.

__________________

Diceeno

you lose more dps from wearing mana drain instead of hp drain / pure dmg adorns on weaps, as if you do using mb for a short time. swap when hemo begins to tick to shorten the loss also. just a few dps but as often said, it adds all up

if youre in an casual guild, youll do probably better with one or two mana drains cause fights take much longer. i used to use one of them before i joined fable. it helped. however, now i got the mana drain on a 3rd weap that i just euip when mana needed but didnt use it by now so cant tell how much it affects our dps. shoudl be a very low value tho if that weap is equal to your usual ones.

__________________

Cochy

Only about 14 DPS lost with vampirics. I use phantom as I would lose more DPS from being out of power than having damage procs.

__________________