D2R Solo Assassin Leveling Guide

This guide is going to be able to give you valuable information and strategies so that you will be able to efficiently level an Assassin whether it be in Ladder or Non-Ladder. This guide is going to go into specifics but should remain as a guideline to help you determine what you think the best way for you to level in D2R is. D2R is a constantly evolving game so make sure to always be open to learning.

Mainly this guide is going to teach you how to be able to optimize your skills. Some skills are only good when they scale and some skills don’t scale so well. Although they can assist you in leveling. We are also going to be tackling the stats so that you will be able to transition through your gear efficiently. Hopefully, by the end of this guide you are going to be able to breeze through the game, overcome an area where you were stuck, or improve your leveling strategy.

Skill & Stats

The Assassin that we are going to be playing is going to be a trap assassin. This is going to be our staple build while we are going to be leveling. Utilizing Wake of Fire and Fire Blast at the start of the game you are going to be able to clear out monsters quickly. Cresting Nightmare and Hell we are going to be transitioning to Lighting Sentry, Death Sentry along with Mind Blast for added protection.

Looking into the stats we aren’t going to put plenty or any for a matter of fact into Dexterity. Our main focus is going to be Vitality for survivability, Strength to be able to comfortably transition and equip your gear, and lastly, Energy which is not increased ever with the Assassin class but is going to be crucial in maintaining Mana while leveling.

Skills distribution:

Level 2-5:  Fire Blast

Den of Evil:  Claw Mastery

Level 6-7:  Burst of Speed

Level 8:  Fire Blast

Level 9-11:  Burst of Speed

Level 12-13:  Wake of Fire

Level 14:  Wake of Fire

Radament:  Fire Blast

Level 15-20:  Wake of Fire

Izual:  Fire Blast

Level 21-26:  Wake of Fire

Level 27-31:  Wake of Fire

Radament:  Fire Blast

Level 32-38:  Fire Blast

Stats distribution:

Level 2-3: All into Energy

Level 4-10: All into Vitality

Level 11: All into Strength

Level 12-13: All into Vitality

Level 14-21: All into Vitality

Level 22-25: 2 Into Vitality, 18 into Strength

Level 26: Up to 48 Strength

Level 27-38: All into Vitality

Respec

Cloak of Shadows - 1 Skill Point

Mind Blast - 1 Skill Point

Burst of Speed - 3 Skill Points

Lightning Sentry - 15 Skill Points

Death Sentry - 9 Skill Points

Charged Bolt Sentry - 10 Skill Points

Max out in Order

 Lightning Sentry

 Charged Bolt Sentry

 Shock Web

 Fire Blast

Important note:

For your attributes you just need to allocate enough Strength so that you will be able to wear all of your gear. Then dump the remaining Stat Points into Vitality. From Levels 39-75 you are going to want to put all your attribute points into Vitality. With the exception of changing gear if ever.

Progression & Leveling:

Levels 1 - 12

Starting off you are going to want to proceed to the Den of Evil. Along the way you are going to be killing a few zombies and quill spikes. When you reach the Den of Evil you are going to have some levels. The way you are going to distribute your stats is going to be into Strength and Vitality. You don’t need to worry about Dexterity since it won’t be any use to you. 

From levels 1-8 you are going to want to pump it all in Vitality to ensure your survival in the earlier levels. At level 9 you are going to want to place all stats into Strength in preparation of equipping gear. Then from levels 11-12 you are going to want to add Energy since you are going to need the extra mana while leveling up. Although this isn’t something you are going to level when reaching the end game.

For your skills you are going to be focusing on your Traps skill tree. The reason is because this is going to allow you deal a lot of damage and have wave clearing capabilities without having to rely on your gear. So you can start by adding 1 point into Fire Blast. This is going to be a powerful AoE skill early on.

When you can you will want to equip a dagger or its inherent fast attack speed. Since traps cast is dependent on Fast Attack Speed and not Faster Cast Rate. While you keep leveling up keep adding Fire Blast until it’s level 4. Fire Blast is going to be our main attacking skill. Make sure to utilize the AoE of Fire Blast by trying to gather enemies before using your skill.

Now when you reach level 5-7 you are going to want to add Claw Mastery in the Shadow Disciplines treejust as a prerequisite for getting Burst of Speed which you are going to skill twice at level6 and 7. You are going to want to keep Burst of Speed up at all times. This skill is going to increase your Run / Walk Speed and your Increased Attack Speed which is going to benefit your Trap Skills.

You can supplement your Fire Blast with a Strangling Gas Potion which is going to assist you in dealing with strong and large amounts of monsters. From level 8 you are going to a point into Fire Blast. Then until level 11 you are going to want to place it all into Burst of Speed.

By level 9 you should have the Strength to be able to equip a belt that can help you hold more potions. Now starting at level 12 you are going to put all your points into Wake of Fire. If you find yourself with skill points and Wake of Fire is still unavailable. Instead add those skills into Fire Blast since it synergizes with Wake of Fire giving it more damage. Wake of Fire is going to be a fire and forget skill, simply cast it and run into the next room. Usually monsters die from 2 hits of Wake of Fire. With stronger enemies you are going to want to combine Fire Blast to increase dps.

It’s good to note that only up to 2 Wake of Fire traps can damage a single enemy. This is due to a weird mechanic. Just remember that you can maximize your damage with only 2 Wake of Fire traps.

Levels 13-23

When you progress further into ACT I you are going to be farming The Countess. When you kill her you are going to want to exit and refresh and kill her again. Repeat this process and keep farming TheCountess until you can collect each of the following runes which are Tal, Eth, Tir, Ral. You are going to save these to create rune words later on into the game.

Now when you reach level 17 you are going to want to make and equip the Stealth rune word. You can do this by socketing a Tal and Eth in that order in a (2) socketed armor. You can easily buy this from Charsie. If you don’t find her selling it then you are going to just refresh by leaving and coming back. You are going to be able to use Stealth all the way to Hell. It is going to give you a wide range of stats like 25% to Faster Run/Walk, Faster Cast Rate, Faster Hit Recovery aside from other stats.

Stealth

Magic Damage Reduced By 3

+6 To Dexterity

+15 To Maximum Stamina

Poison Resistance +30%

Regenerate Mana 15%

25% Faster Run/Walk

25% Faster Cast Rate

25% Faster Hit Recovery

Remember that you are going to want to put this in a non magic base because rune words don’t work in magic bases. Although there are some equipment that have options and are not considered magic. In which case rune words are going to work.

Now when you reach level 19 you are going to make the Leaf rune word. To make this rune word you are going to need a (2) socketed short staff. Then you are going to want to insert Tir and Ral in that order. You can easily buy this from Akara in ACT I. If you don’t find her selling it then you can do the same thing you did with Charsie and refresh by re-entering The Rogue Encampment. 

Leaf is going to be a powerful runeword for you since this gives +3 to Fire Skills which is going to enhance the power of your Fire Blast and Wake of Fire since they are both fire skills.

Leaf

Adds 5-30 Fire Damage

+3 To Fire Skills

+3 To Fire Bolt (Sorceress Only)

+3 To Inferno (Sorceress Only)

+3 To Warmth (Sorceress Only)

+2 To Mana After Each Kill

+ (2 Per Character Level) +2-198 To Defense (Based On Character Level)

Cold Resistance +33%

Make sure that before you reach level 24 you are going to want to buy a Staff of Teleportation from Ormus in ACT III. For the Staff of Teleportation to spawn from Ormus. Being a mobile character with movement you cannot run through walls which the staff allows you to. 

It’s good to note that you won’t be able to use this until level 24 but we are going to be using the red background to easily find and buy the item instead of having to scan each and every staff. When you reach level 24 you are going to turn it into your swappable weapon.

Levels 24 to Nightmare 

Now when you finish normal mode you are going to have access to The Secret Cow level and you are going to want to farm it for a Crystal Sword. The Crystal Sword is going to be the base for your Spirit rune word. 

To access The Secret Cow level you are going to want to collect Wirt’s Leg in Tristram. First you are going to want to take the waypoint to Stony Fields. Then from there you are going to want to make your way to the portal. 

When you enter Tristram you are going to want to run to the west wall where you are going to find Wirt’s Corpse you are then going to be able to get his leg and head back to The Rogue Encampment.

To spawn the portal to The Secret Cow level you are going to want to put Wirt’s Leg into your Horadric Cube with A Tome of Town Portal combine it and the portal should appear. The Secret Cow level is going to be a great place to farm EXP and items. When you are done killing everything in The Secret Cow Level you can simply exit and restart and do it again.

This is going to feel like a waste of time but it isn’t since you are going to be getting good EXP and you will be able to use this time to farm your Crystal Sword. Go ahead and kill The Cow King since in D2R you will be able to continue to open new instances of The Secret Cow level even with The Cow King dead.

When you start to transition to Nightmare you are going to want to start to buy and collect resistance gear. In Nightmare your resistance is going to be lowered and the monsters are going to be stronger. You are going to want to prioritize Lighting and Fire resistance.

In Nightmare you are going to want to continue to farm the Countess again for the following runes. Tal, Thul, Ort, Amn, Sol. When you reach level 27 you are going to want to make yourself a Lore runeword. That is going to be an Ort and Sol in that order inside a (2) socketed helm. You can again purchase this base from Charsie.

Lore

+1 To All Skill Levels

+10 To Energy

+2 To Mana After Each Kill

Lightning Resistance +30%

Damage Reduced By 7

+2 To Light Radius

Lore is going to be an important runeword that you are going to be able to use until the end game. This is going to give you +1 To All Skill Levels & Lightning Resistance +30%. Which are going to be important stats.

A thing to note in Normal is that you are going to need a mercenary from ACT II to deal with 2fire immune monsters namely The Grand Vizier of Chaos and Colenzo the Annihilator. Simply equip him with a pike. You will be able to get one from Ormus.

Levels (32-35) - 75

Now when you reach these levels you are going to want to respec. What you are going to want to do is jump back into ACT I and then talk to Akara. She is going to reset all your skills and attributes. Your stat points are going to be easy. Just allocate 47 Strength and then you can dump all of your stat points into Vitality. From this point on you are going to want to dump everything into Vitality.

A thing to note is that you can pump Strength up to 60 if you ever need more to equip certain items. A good rule of thumb is not to go over 60 since you’ll lose too much Vitality.

For your skills points you are going to want to allocate it this way:

Cloak of Shadows - 1 Skill Point

Mind Blast - 1 Skill Point

Burst of Speed - 3 Skill Points

Lightning Sentry - 15 Skill Points

Death Sentry - 9 Skill Points

Charged Bolt Sentry - 10 Skill Points

Max out in Order

Lightning Sentry

Death Sentry

Shock Web

Charged Bolt Sentry

Now you are going to prioritize Lightning Sentry then Death Sentry making sure that they are maxed out. When they are maxed you are going to want to dump the next into Shock Web.When that is maxed you can then put the rest in Charged Bolt Sentry.

You are going to be using Lightning Sentry as your main damaging skill. To be able to maximize the skills damage you are going to want to stack up to 5 of them. Then when an enemy dies you can place your Death Sentry to utilize the Corpse Explosion.

Some notable skills are Mind Blast with good crowd control allowing you to even turn some enemies. Another is your Cloak of Shadows that is going to blind enemies, making it an effective tool against ranged monsters.

Now that you have reset your skills and stats, you will no longer be using your Wake of Fire. This is time to ditch your Leaf and replace it with a Spirit. To use the spirit you are going to want to give your Crystal Sword to Larzuk in ACT V. Since this is a Crystal Sword that came from The Secret Cow level it is going to have (4) sockets. 

You are then going to want to place the runes Tal, Thul, Ort, Amn in that order to be able to create the Spirit rune word.

Spirit (Weapon)

+2 To All Skills

+25-35% Faster Cast Rate

+55% Faster Hit Recovery

Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage

Adds 3-14 Cold Damage 3 Second Duration (Normal)

+75 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds

7% Life Stolen Per Hit

+250 Defense Vs. Missile

+22 To Vitality

+89-112 To Mana

+3-8 Magic Absorb

Spirit is going to grant +2 To All Skills and +89-112 To Mana which is going to benefit you the most among the other stats. This rune word is going to be used until the endgame. 

Since a Crystal Sword is a one-handed weapon you are going to have your offhand free. You are going to want to get a (3) socketed shield from Farah. You are then going to want to create the rune word Ancients’ Pledge by inserting Ral, Ort, Tal in that order. This is going to boost our resistances further into the game.

Ancient's Pledge

+50% Enhanced Defense

Cold Resistance +43%

Fire Resistance +48%

Lightning Resistance +48%

Poison Resistance +48%

10% Damage goes to Mana

Notable items that you want to look out for or buy are IAS gloves, Resistance belts, FRW boots, and +1 to skill rings if you are lucky.

Gear Options or Alternatives

In this section we are going to talk about gear that is harder to come by. If you have another character that has farmed them or if you found them while you were leveling then they could be potential alternatives.

First if you are able to find the Death’s Hands and Death’s Guard you will be able to complete the 2 set bonus of the Death's Disguise Set. This is going to give you +15 to all resistance, +30% Increase Attack Speed, and Cannot be Frozen. With your Ancient’s Pledge you will not have much of a problem with resistances.

Death's Guard

Cannot be Frozen

+20 Defense

All Resistances +15 (2 Items)

Death's Hand

Poison Length Reduced by 75%

Poison Resistance 50%

30% Increased Attack Speed (2 Items)

Another good find is going to be a Raven Frost that is going to give you additional mana and is another instance of Cannot be Frozen. 

Raven Frost

+150-250 To Attack Rating

Adds 15-45 Cold Damage, 4 sec. Duration (Normal)

Cannot Be Frozen

+15-20 To Dexterity

+40 To Mana

Cold Absorb 20%

For your boots good options are going to be Hsarus' Iron Heel and Sander's Riprap both with great FRW. Although if you need more Fire Resistance you can opt for the Hsarus' Iron Heel.

Hsarus' Iron Heel

20% Faster Run Walk

Fire Resistance +25%

+ (10 Per Character Level) 10-990 Attack Rating (Based On Character Level) (2 Items)

Sander's Riprap

+40% Faster Run Walk

+100 To Attack Rating

+10 To Dexterity

+5 To Strength

Another option for your shield rune word is Splendor this is going to be Eth and Lum in a (2) socketed shield. Do this only if you want to be more aggressive and if you don’t mind losing the resistance bonus of Ancients’ Pledge.

Splendor

+1 To All Skills

+10% Faster Cast Rate

+20% Faster Block Rate

+60-100% Enhanced Defense

+10 To Energy

Regenerate Mana 15%

50% Extra Gold From Monsters

20% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

+3 To Light Radius

An option earlier in the game is Magefist although you can outgrow them quickly. So don’t go out of your way unless you feel like you need it.

Magefist

+20-30% Enhanced Defense (varies)

+10 Defense

+1 To Fire Skills

+20% Faster Cast Rate

Regenerate Mana 25%

Adds 1-6 Fire Damage

Other options for your armor is Smoke for more resistances. You can also opt for Skin of the Vipermagi which gives +1 to all skills making it an offensive option. Treachery rune word is another option because it gives +2 to all assassin skills. 

Although you need to keep in mind that when getting struck you have a chance to cast level 15 Fade. This is going to override your Burst of Speed and that is not going to be good.

Twitchthroe armor is going to give you +20% IAS (Increase Attack Speed) and Increased Block Chance. This is good if you are looking for more balance.

Smoke

+75% Enhanced Defense

+280 Defense vs. Missiles

All Resistances +50

20% Faster Hit Recovery

Level 6 Weaken (18 Charges)

+10 To Energy

-1 To Light Radius

Skin of the Vipermagi 

+120% Enhanced Defense

+1 To All Skills

30% Faster Cast Rate

Magic Damage Reduced By 9-13 (varies)

All Resistances +20-35 (varies)

Treachery

5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Fade When Struck

25% Chance To Cast level 15 Venom On Striking

+2 To Assassin Skills

+45% Increased Attack Speed

+20% Faster Hit Recovery

Cold Resistance +30%

50% Extra Gold From Monsters

Twitchthroe

+25 Defense

25% Increase chance of blocking*

20% Faster Hit Recovery

20% Increased Attack Speed

+10 To Dexterity

+10 To Strength

Conclusion:

The Assassin is going to be a fun character to play and you will be breezing through the game with Burst of Speed. You are going to have a lot of fun leveling this character with her Wake of Fire trivializing most of the game. As an endgame character you can transition her into a Mosaic Assassin. By then she is going to be powerful enough to solo most areas and be able to farm for her own gear. All in all the Assassin is a good character to focus on and level for someone who likes to clear content and be a crowd control power house.