Post-Patch Assassin Strategy Discussion

Let me start off by saying that this is my first post, but I have been lurking and reading the forum since the game has been launch. In fact, when I first played Crossfire I was downright abysmal with most classes and did not understand what I was doing wrong. With the help of some truly well written and thought out class guides, I was well on my way to becoming a respectable player.

I mostly play as Assassin and have played for about 4 hours this morning since the Patch, and I have to say I love the changes. There are a number of things that I have read on the forums, saying the the class is now "unplayable". Respectfully, I could not disagree more. After the patch, I am now considering playing exclusively as the Assassin.

For starters, I play with Armor, Rate or Fire, and Speed as my custom class, and I buy Passive and Sprint as my first two upgrades at the start of any game.

My game priorities are always Kill Bots, Get Juice, Destroy Turrets. I never go out of the way to kill other Pros, unless the are directly in the way of my killing bots or turrets while I am juiced.

The reason I love the changes to the level 2 passive is that you can now kill a Blackjack in 2-4 hits depending on if you use the RB attack into the group of bots. This means to me is that you are now able to earn more juice much faster, allowing you to take out your opponent's turrets even quicker.

You can still take out a smoke-bombed Rocket turret before it kills you with the level 2 dagger and Gold Armor. I realize that it is a different story if your opponents are overhealing their turrets, however numerous times this morning I was able to use my juiced level 2 dagger to take out both Rocket turrets and a few others (be it Firebase, Level 3 LaserBlazer, Long Shot, what have you.)

At that point, I have enough money to buy my sword, and I am just a few kill/taunts or bot kills from having the money for the Annihilator, which is way better post patch as well, since it ruins any momentum your opponents may have been getting from pushing a side you are not on.

This is just my opinion, but I am a fan of the changes that were made to the game and specifically, the Assassin class. After one match this morning I had an opponent accuse me of using the "Juice Glitch" (to my knowledge, there is no such thing), and that person refused to believe me when I told them that I do not use juice as an endorsement.

I would love to hear others weigh in on my comments, specially those that feel the class is ruined post patch. I realize that everyone has different game styles, and that your style may have been killed post patch, but I feel that what I wrote above seems to be working. Thanks for reading my ramble-infused diatribe.

P.S. You can still lunge/grapple with the dagger, just do it to someone with half health.

I don't really get all the doomsaying, either. I go after pros more aggressively than you do, and so far I don't think the patch has changed my playstyle at all. Luckily, I started trying to play as though the patch were already out once I found out about the changes - such as no cloaking during a grapple - so the adjustment isn't as harsh for me.

Have that many assassins been leaning on the dagger lunge, or counting on their melee to kill pros? I never just swing my blade unless I'm following up a grapple or finishing off a wounded pro.

The main thing is to understand your limits. You are that person who brought a knife to a gun fight, and you have to be sneaky.

I really wish some of the other guys would listen to your opinions on this matter. It has been non stop belly aching all day. Bravo to you good Sirs.

Yeah my playlstyle hasn't changed either, but it will eventually. Just can't kill supports anymore without dying.

It is really easy to kill supports and their firebase once you have juice. Most supports I play against tend to stand close to their turret healing it. Run in cloaked, smoke-bomb, then activate juice. You can destroy the turret before it starts firing again and then attack the newly helpless support. This works even with the level 2 dagger.

You can also destroy any firebase from out of range with your Shirukens, even if the support is healing it at the time. It just takes patience and no one else trying to attack you. I am pretty certain that this is only works on the firebase though, other turrets can be healed back to health even as you ninja star them.

Cloak/Crit shurikens still works, and does take out the bigger, slower targets. I haven't tried the lunge yet (I never really relied on it), so I'll probably play around with it more later tonight (before or after I pop 99). I'll list my endorsements and game summaries.

Maybe it's just me, but the assassin seems even stronger with the update. I mean the sword still works fine, shurikens actually hit and hurt people rather than people eating your shurikens like cookies, and the grapple detection is borderline ridiculous in it's accuracy. Just use shurikens more until you get a sword. At least that's what I do now.

You have to play it now the way it was supposed to be played. It's really not even difficult. Just kill bots and push the lanes so you can earn money and juice. Use the juice to kill turrets and players if you want. You really shouldn't be engaging or fighting people head-on, nor should you ever have been. You are the best lane-pusher and game-winner in the game. Don't forget that shurikens are amazing, try that bronze clip size.

After some more time post-update, I'm amending some of what I've been saying. Playing assassin is like thermonuclear war: the best move is not to play.

Seriously, unless you're just totally in love with assassin, pick a different class. Otherwise, you may eventually be successful, but it is going to take more effort for less return compared to any of the other classes.

That's what makes if fun, the challenge it poses.