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WK "In and Out" Build - Opinions and Questions
crystal892f
Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 385 Arc User
Hey guys,
I actually never thought of playing a TR (based on how much I, with CW as first class, hate facing good (geared) ones in PvP
), but since WK offers an (for me) interesting alternative of a TR build, I just leveled one to 60 and made the first experiences.
Here is my build.
I mainly play PvP, so that's the focus of my build.
Equipment and Stats
I focus on Crit and ArP and with Battlefield Scavenger Set (+Weapons), Piercing Berserker Accessories, every offensive slot with Rank 5 Dark Enchantments (for now - fresh 60 and not that rich, mind you :P) and for now missing Shirt and Pants better than the standard ones, I have:
Crit: 2282 (~15% Crit Chance)
ArP: 3092 (~26% Penetration)
I will upgrade this in time with Battlefield Skulker, of course.
Race and Ability Scores
Well, I originally wanted to become a perma-stealth WK, so I chose Wood-Elf (+2 DEX and INT) and at level 60 I have the attributes described here by fellow TR todesfaelle.
Min-maxing in mind, it might not be perfect, but since you can't reroll your Ability Scores and I'm too lazy to level another TR to 60, I stick with it.
(By the way: Does anybody know why I couldn't maintain perma-stealth with Battlefield Scavenger, the same feat setup and then about 1700 Recovery? I basically did exactly what fellow TR x3lade demonstrated here, but there was some time missing (about 1 - 2 seconds) to maintain it.
Sure, Battlefield Skulker increases stealth duration by 5%, but I just can't imagine that this little percentage offers the missing 1 - 2 seconds.)
Playstyle, Setup and Basic Rotation
My thanks to fellow TR kweassa and her / his forum posts here, because he / she was who made me curious to try the kind of "in and out"-playstyle (I always liked Marvel's Nightcrawler :P) - and offered valuable information.
Class Features:
Dagger Threat
Advantageous Position
Encounters:
Dazing Strike (DaS)
Vengeance's Pursuit (VP)
Shadow Strike (SS)
At-Wills:
Sly Flourish (SF)
Disheartening Strike (DS)
Dailies:
Lurker's Assault
Hateful Knives or Bloodbath
Basic Rotation
1.) Stealth
2.) VP mark
3.) DS (if possible within 20 ft for the Dagger Threat damage bonus) till crit or Stealth is close to run out (= because of feat Distracting Knife this also increases any further damage against the target by 5%)
4.) VP teleport (= out of stealth it shortly stuns, which allows to chain the next one)
5.) DaS (buffed by feats Cunning Ambusher (+6%), Whirlwind Sneak Attack (+15%) and because of class feature Advantageous Position I keep the Combat Advantage damage bonus, which is also increased by feat Underhanded Tactics)
6.) SS (to refill stealth again)
7.) SF (full rotation of SF's 4 hits was in my PvP matches against targets mostly possible - basically I attack until the "being-dazed" animation above my targets head vanishes)
8.) dodge away to avoid attacks and get some space again
9.) repeat
I actually never thought of playing a TR (based on how much I, with CW as first class, hate facing good (geared) ones in PvP
), but since WK offers an (for me) interesting alternative of a TR build, I just leveled one to 60 and made the first experiences.Here is my build.
I mainly play PvP, so that's the focus of my build.
Equipment and Stats
I focus on Crit and ArP and with Battlefield Scavenger Set (+Weapons), Piercing Berserker Accessories, every offensive slot with Rank 5 Dark Enchantments (for now - fresh 60 and not that rich, mind you :P) and for now missing Shirt and Pants better than the standard ones, I have:
Crit: 2282 (~15% Crit Chance)
ArP: 3092 (~26% Penetration)
I will upgrade this in time with Battlefield Skulker, of course.
Race and Ability Scores
Well, I originally wanted to become a perma-stealth WK, so I chose Wood-Elf (+2 DEX and INT) and at level 60 I have the attributes described here by fellow TR todesfaelle.
Min-maxing in mind, it might not be perfect, but since you can't reroll your Ability Scores and I'm too lazy to level another TR to 60, I stick with it.
(By the way: Does anybody know why I couldn't maintain perma-stealth with Battlefield Scavenger, the same feat setup and then about 1700 Recovery? I basically did exactly what fellow TR x3lade demonstrated here, but there was some time missing (about 1 - 2 seconds) to maintain it.
Sure, Battlefield Skulker increases stealth duration by 5%, but I just can't imagine that this little percentage offers the missing 1 - 2 seconds.)
Playstyle, Setup and Basic Rotation
My thanks to fellow TR kweassa and her / his forum posts here, because he / she was who made me curious to try the kind of "in and out"-playstyle (I always liked Marvel's Nightcrawler :P) - and offered valuable information.
Class Features:
Dagger Threat
Advantageous Position
Encounters:
Dazing Strike (DaS)
Vengeance's Pursuit (VP)
Shadow Strike (SS)
At-Wills:
Sly Flourish (SF)
Disheartening Strike (DS)
Dailies:
Lurker's Assault
Hateful Knives or Bloodbath
Basic Rotation
1.) Stealth
2.) VP mark
3.) DS (if possible within 20 ft for the Dagger Threat damage bonus) till crit or Stealth is close to run out (= because of feat Distracting Knife this also increases any further damage against the target by 5%)
4.) VP teleport (= out of stealth it shortly stuns, which allows to chain the next one)
5.) DaS (buffed by feats Cunning Ambusher (+6%), Whirlwind Sneak Attack (+15%) and because of class feature Advantageous Position I keep the Combat Advantage damage bonus, which is also increased by feat Underhanded Tactics)
6.) SS (to refill stealth again)
7.) SF (full rotation of SF's 4 hits was in my PvP matches against targets mostly possible - basically I attack until the "being-dazed" animation above my targets head vanishes)
8.) dodge away to avoid attacks and get some space again
9.) repeat
Post edited by crystal892f on
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Comments
Powers and Feats
Razor Action
I tested this class feature. Even feated with the +50% DoT damage bonus. But the damage is obscenely low. Is there any use for this skill?
Action Advantage and Cunning Stalker (AP gain)
Sure, I'm in Combat Advantage (= Action Advantage) most of the time, but attacking with DS, SF and DaS, I didn't notice much of a difference in AP gain; building AP as TR is slowly in general, so I don't think 10% of "not much" increases the AP gain enough to take this feat. The main part of my AP comes from Action Rush, anyways.
Stealthed (= Cunning Stalker) I only use the VP mark and DS (and Cloud of Steel, if I need to keep distance) - but that doesn't generate much AP as base to start with (same as above) - so is this feat worth it? I basically only took this feat to get to tier 2. Therefore I also could've taken Speed Swindle. Any experiences with that? I mean, with VP, nobody escapes me, anyways, but the 10% speed debuff might help my teammates to catch up. What do you think?
Nimble Blade vs. Seething Knives
Without the Executioner's Critical Teamwork, and because of "only" 20 DEX, I have a ~35% crit chance. Because of this I decided to go for Nimble Blade. Sure the stealth gain is nice, and if Razor Action would deal relevant damage, this would be good as well. But if I wanna gain stealth / stay in stealth I use Lurker's Assault. So why Seething Knives?
Mocking Knave vs. Catspaw Style
I went with Mocking Knave, because I mainly use SF. And if I need to keep my distance I replace SF with Cloud of Steel - both powers getting buffed by this. But with Catspaw Style, DaS also reduces the target's defenses by 10%, so my attacks afterwards getting also buffed - and not only for me. Hmm... What do you guys think? What's better for this kind of build?
VP teleport to DaS
I experience massive problems hitting this combo on moving (not dodging) targets. Even VP teleport itself. If the target keeps moving, I get teleported slightly behind, so the teleport itself doesn't even hit sometimes. Even if it hits, "stun" doesn't mean "root" - so the target still moves. Which makes it hard to follow up with the stationary DaS. And the out-of-stealth VP teleport stun is too short to run after my target and DaS when I'm closer - so if I would do that, I get mostly CC'ed myself then. Dodge-cancelling the VP teleport and chain DaS this way didn't seem to fix this issue, either.
Any advice here would be greatly appreciated.
Enchantments
Armor Enchantment
I guess Soulforged is best for this playstyle as well, right?
Weapon Enchantment
I'm torn between Vorpal and Plaguefire. I crit ~1/3 hits, so if I crit, Vorpal will increase its damage. But ~2/3 hits aren't crits. And Plaguefire would increase my OVERALL damage.
I also tested Bilethorn, but the damage didn't impress me at all. What could Bilethorn be good for?
What enchantment would you recommend for this playstyle?
Basically u rely on dodging for that little extra stealth missing in between cooldowns.
- Not in PvP. Razor Action is more of a PvE skill, and not even one for epic-class dungeons. It's more of "use your daily on the lieutenant/boss grade mob, and then let the 'trickle down' damage deal with trash mobs at the same time" sort of concept. As it is, it doesn't have enough oomph, or even any other situational use in PvP. Strictly for PvE IMO.
- Unfortunately, no. At least not for WKs. Maybe it makes a difference with MI builds that make a habit out of dealing sustained and repeated fluff damage with Cloud of Steel from stealth, but WK (at least, my style) generally attacks at lower frequency but with higher concentrated damage. Like I've mentioned I've experimented with taking EVERY AP-related feat possible. That still doesn't help one bit.
In the end, for PvP purposes, Action Rush is all you need. The initial 5 points for tier1 feats would be better invested with Toughness and Weapon Mastery.
- 20% relative speed difference is pretty hard to really notice. In my case, I use those 10 points left to Executioner, to go through Dazzling Blades and end up with Determined Pursuit. The 'Interrupt' part of that feat isn't as useful as it seems, but the 40% slow does make a very noticeable difference. It is very brief (less than 5 secs, IIRC), but very useful according to different situations. Landing the "Rolling Slash" technique on fighters are especially worth it, as GFs don't have any movement speed modifiers, and most clearly demonstrates the speed debuff. Landing one on GWFs from time to time also pays off, as it really does make them slow to chase, and forces them to use stamina to sprint.
- No reason, at least not with my style. The general premise of Seething Knives is that after you've proned that guy, you have to fill up stealth while he is down and run away again since HK is obviously not as powerful as that (bullshi*) unavoidable Shoxecution MIs use. The problem is, the usefulness of filling up stealth after this one occurrence, is greatly outmatched by the benefit Nimble Blade provides.
If you have 40% crit chance, out of 10 attacks you use 4 of them will land at 1.75 times stronger than base damage. Among the rest 6 attacks, 2 of them will land at 1.2 times stronger. So out of 10 attacks a total of 6 attacks will hit much stronger than it is originally supposed to -- and this applies all the time.
Besides, after developing the VP-HK-DaS combo, its usually the other guy that tries to frantically run away and distance themselves from me, rather than me having to worry about the other guy angry and ready to retaliate. HK will hit for around 6~8k damage depending on enemy defense (5~6k against fighters;;), the subsequent DaS hits for 7~8k, and then the follow-ups with Sly Flourish add in another 4~5k damage (Perfect Plaguefire 45% defense debuff + DaS 10% = 55% damage debuff on enemy), and then a finishing touch of Disheartening Strike will add an extra 6k damage over 5 ticks.
No reason to go Seething Knives at all.
Depends. If you use a serious defense-debuff scheme like mine, then Catspaw, definately, as it adds a defense debuff to your most crucial DaS. If not, then Mocking Knave.
Definately needs practice...and a LOT of it as well. The DaS is guaranteed on a "good hit", but there are number of factors that may hinder a good hit. For one thing, CWs, TRs, HRs all have an "Immunity" dodge, that can be sometimes unpredictable in immunity duration with internet latency. Other times, if they move around a lot, especially away from you, then where you end up after VP mighy be slightly away from where the opponent is stunned.
The best option is to eyeball your opponents. Don't rush it, take your time. See that moment where he stops, and that's your queue. There are other techniques as well in actual combat, that you may use to significantly increase your chances of landing the DaS.
- That's why I use Determined Pursuit. It lasts about 5 seconds IIRC. Land the VP stun and landing DaS takes about 1.0~1.5 seconds. Afterwards, you have 2.5 seconds to go berserk with Sly Flourish, which small advancing motions are enough to land you 3~4 hits even if you don't move. Afterwards, at the remaining duration of that daze, as the enemy runs out of melee range, plant a Shadow Strike, or VP(mark), or Disheartening Strike according to situation.
- I'll try to come up with vids of extra methods and techniques to demonstrate the point. One tip: Use the Rolling Slash technique when someone is moving straight away from you. VP(teleport) -> Rolling Slash forward direction... and what happens is you teleport, slash the enemy from behind, he is now slowed, but you roll forward and end up in front of the opponent, at exactly a distance where you activate DaS, and the enemy runs into it.
- Depends on preference. From my point of view, Soulforge is basically a cheesy crutch. I consider myself the clear winner when an enemy goes down and then zombies right back up and finishes me with low HP, because this outcome absolutely has nothing to do with any skill or combat, but rather simply determined by a single piece of equipment that gives someone two lives, instead of one.
Also, without powers like ITC, survival with a WK needs a lot more wits than just rotating a "God-mode" power under certain intervals. Your whole point in terms of survival, would be trying to not get into a situation where you'll be cornered like a rat and die. So in this case, use SF if you really think you need it. In my case, I hate the look, and I hate its cheesiness. I don't use it.
- This is also preference. I initially started this setup with VP-SB-SS. It started out as a team-combat support concept... and then slowly progressed into VP-WR-SS, at which point I started using Plaguefire for it to synergize with WR. Afterwards, I switched over from Mocking Knave to Catspaw style, and started using VP-DaS-SS to maintain a certain level of synergy. From my experience, Plaguefire DOES make a huge difference in damage and it is really noticeable.
However, the use of vorpal will increase direct damage in the most crucial moments, and this is also a worthwhile investment. For instance, against opponents of similar gear, when I land the VP(stun) - DaS combo against CWs or HRs, the DaS receives triple buffs from Whirlwind Sneak(15% damage increase for encounters after stealth ends), Endless Assault(6% damage increase to all encounters), Cunning Ambusher(6% damage increase after steaktg ends) and amounts upto around 8~9k damage. With Vorpal, I'd guess the damage would probably soar upto 12~13k... more decisive combos.
However, my contention is, if I'm just looking for damage, I could have simply gone Executioner. Why use just vorpal with scoundrel, when using a vorpal with Executioner would up your damage significantly? Hence, I mostly stick with Plaguefire. Helps a lot in focusing GWFs or DCs, when all your teammates land higher damage, not just you.
If there is one other enchantment I am using, its Bilethorn. I now actually switch weapons during combat, according to the enemy. If it is most normal rogues, Plaguefire is fine. But if it is one of those INT/ITC-spam rogues with a good player behind it, or if there are multiple enemy rogues, then I need to match at least the weapons on their level, as Bilethorn is clearly an anti-stealth tool.
Long story short, I don't think there's a correct answer here. You just have to experiment to see which enchantment fits your style and feel the best.
If you know something to be broken, stop using it.
Otherwise, you've got no right to be speaking of 'balance.'
EDIT: Nvm, saw your stats, but I stil think you need a bit more recovery
Great - I was hoping you would give your thoughts on my post, kweassa. Thanks for your input!
But I guess DaS itself isn't getting buffed by the 10% already, is it?
And do you have a number on how long this debuff lasts?
I'm gonna try to see if it's possible to hit the VPT-DaS combo even without the 40% speed debuff from Determined Pursuit more or less consistently. Because if it is, I can take Mocking Knave AND Catspaw Style.
Yes, vids will sure be helpful. And great tip - should've thought of that myself.
I agree. So what armor enchantment do you use, if one at all?
Endless Assault? That's interesting as well. What did you drop for that in heroic feats? Points in Twilight Adept (restore stealth while dodging)?
Completely agree. I think a Vorpal synergizes much more with an executioner and a different playstyle (i.e. perma-stealth) than with the "in and out" type. So I think I'm gonna go PF.
Why is Bilethorn better to decrease enemy TRs stealth than PF? Both apply a DoT. Is it because of Bilethorns bigger chunk after 4 seconds? Or ticks Bilethorn faster / more often?
The 40% movement speed debuff isn't for landing DaS. It's for;
(1) chasing people and stopping their escape
(2) forcing GFs to crawl around slow and/or GWFs to spend stamina as often as possible
(3) neutering the movement speed boost of most TRs while they are in stealth (since VP(teleport) tracks the enemy from stealth)
Landing DaS is simply all about timing (hence experience counts a lot). From what I find, generally speaking, when you are anywhere in the frontal 180d angle of the target's movement path (meaning: the opponent is moving either towards or perpendicular to yourself) then it hits more or less reliably. If you are anywhere in the rear 180d angle (meaning: the opponent is moving away from you at any angle) then the chance of a miss goes up.
There are other factors as well, for instance, terrain. High slopes (stairs, usually) also is an unreliable terrain and will cause misses frequently.
Another factor would be special buffs -- some CWs cast that "push away" buff on themselves, which will cause you to flinch backwards when you land VP, thus causing the DaS to miss. Others seem to have cast a CC immunity buff on themselves -- I really don't know much about CW skills so I can't say what it is, but there are times when I definately land VP, but the enemy is not stunned. Obviously some type of CC protection spell.
Hunters usually cast that "dodge next attack" buff on themselves as often as possible, so its usually a safe idea to probe the target with a throw or two of Disheartening Strike to chip it off.
Among these, the most difficult one would be another rogue with ITC. Most of the times, you can poke at the target with a few throws of your knives to see if your attack is deflected. If all of your 2~3 throws are deflected, you can assume that ITC is on. Count to three from that point, and then activate VP(stun). It's really a leap of faith, especially if the target enters stealth, but there is definately a good chance that ITC is down. Your VP will track through stealth and land. But of course, you're taking a guess, an estimate. There's always a chance it might fail.
An even more difficult situation is where the TR is a very smart player with an acutely built INT/ITC/stealth build. Like I said, in my case the odds of winning against these builds in 1-vs-1 is less than 30%... because ITC comes back so fast, and the window of opportunity is just too goddarned small. Mind you, that these builds are the ones that people boast they can hold a node against an entire enemy team with. It's almost entirely built for survival and 1-vs-1, and you're trying to bring it down 1-vs-1. Very difficult job... I've met some of the better rogues, and in certain cases I did give them quite a scare sometimes when my calculations did pay off, and VP lands through the small window of opportunity where ITC was down. From their movements you could tell they are surprised. But in most of these cases, ultimately, the window of opportunity is just too small, too rare to exploit.
Nope. I thought it might, but it wasn't. IIRC it lasts around 10 seconds.
Well, embarassingly, I do not have enough ADs to buy something good, so I just got one of the cheaper ones. Currently, I'm just using that lesser Elven enchantment which cuts down on your rooted/slowed time.
My feats currently:
* Weapon Mastery (3/3)
* Toughness (3/3)
* Swift Footwokr (1/5)
* Cunning Ambusher (3/3)
* Endless Assault (3/3)
* Twilight Adept (3/5)
* Improved Cunning Sneak (4/5)
Ticks really fast and really frequently. Compared to this, Plaguefire is good, but ticks too slowly.
Now, it doesn't matter if its not the INT/ITC/ImpactShot/SS rogue. You could manage with Plaguefire. But if it is one of those rogues, and a good one at that, then the odds are he is definately using Bilethorn with his weapons. When you get hit by Bilethorn, you can see that frustrating, rapid ticks just easting away at your stealth meter.
Like mentioned I only use Bilethorn against a rogue whom I think is superior than myself, and uses an INT/ITC build. You can tell if its one of them by observing the frequency of their ITC popping out in combat. In this case, against one of the most powerful builds in the entire game, the least I could do is try to keep them off stealth as much as possible by doing the same thing to him. The more frequently he is visible, the more my chances of actually defeating one go up, since it then becomes much more easier to observe just when his ITC is up or not.
If you know something to be broken, stop using it.
Otherwise, you've got no right to be speaking of 'balance.'
For instance, from time to time there are some HRs or CWs with uncanny dodging/moving timing. I'm not sure if they sort of anticipate your attack timing or simply have that good reflexes. If its too difficult to land it, then you can simply go stealth, circle round rear angle, and then jump and activate DaS, since from stealth the activation is almost instant.
The ideal, most damaging, and most advantageous condition is where you can hit the VP-DaS combo, but if the circumstances aren't too good, just hitting the DaS becomes a priority. Just hit it and you do some form of hefty damage, and then gain enough time for extra attacks and exit strategy. If you miss, then there's nothing.
"Be like water", says Bruce Lee.
If you know something to be broken, stop using it.
Otherwise, you've got no right to be speaking of 'balance.'
Good tip. It's not always easy spotting the ITC - especially with a Greater Soulforged Enchantment they glow black all the time.
Yeah, thought so. Thanks for the duration info.
Just as I thought: You ARE dropping points in Twilight Adept to get Endless. I might respec to this setup, too.
I see.
lol, it's embarassing that I don't think about such simple solutions / alternatives myself.
Why "most damaging and advantageous"? The VPT doesn't deal much damage. Or do you mean that when you activate DaS out of stealth, you don't get the bonus damage from Whirlwind Sneak Attack and Cunning Ambusher for it?
Obviously in terms of damage.
Like you said, Cunning Ambusher + Whirlwind Sneak applies at the moment you deal VP(stun) and pop out of stealth. Without Vorpal enchantments and Executioner tree my damage is mediocre at best. Normally DaS strikes for somewhere between 6~7k damage. On a successful combo this damage is pushed upto 8~9k levels.
If the build went with Vorpal and Executioner path, I'd safely assume DaS turns into a mini-LB with less than half-the recharge time but at 50~60% damage of what you'd expect from a powerful LB hit. dealing around 12~15k damage by itself, not counting the extra 2~4k you can push in after the daze effect.
The only reason I am staying with Scoundrel tree, is that; (a) Executioners are overdone, too many cookie-cutter people around, and (b) The tactical advantage of being able to use Dailies a lot more in combat, outweighs the importance of extra damage. While though the Dailies aren't as straight-up (and bullshi*) as Shoxecution, still it is very crucial at times. I've given up a chunk of damage to be more resilient to different situations.
If you know something to be broken, stop using it.
Otherwise, you've got no right to be speaking of 'balance.'
Sad but true in this game. hopefully they do something about it.
I think its up to the players to try everything humanly possible to see if it is useful or not, and then ask for buffs if indeed, it is not.
Try it, and then judge it, please
If you know something to be broken, stop using it.
Otherwise, you've got no right to be speaking of 'balance.'
I may start doing that the moment PvP becomes interesting again.
Right now it is a "cap trading facility" due to the huge numbers of leavers.
Now, as we all know, Dazing Strike activates almost instantly during stealth. MI builds are usually hesitant to use this aspect at all because they are highly reliant on stealth, and to them every moment spent in stealth = attack phase. Basically MIs rely on prolonged stealth duration, dealing steady and sustained damage from within. However, for us WKs, stealth is basically a tactical set-up, so we have a fluctuating spike-damage pattern (at least, my style does).
Hence, for WKs, it is not how long we remain in stealth that is important, but rather how we exit it, is what's really important. That's why landing the DaS is crucial, since it is a hefty damage attack that disables the opponent from retaliating, which buys WKs just enough time to set-up an exit strategy just as the enemy comes off the daze.
In that prospect, if you are having too much difficulties with the VP-DaS combo, here is the alternative:
Stealth → VP(mark) → maneuever to rear-angle (minimize visible exposure) → jumping DaS attack → post-stealth setup(refilling stealth bar with SS, replanting Disheartening Strike, etc..) → enemy maneuvers away → VP(teleport) for extra damage → stealth and get away
1. This combo pattern is typically around 3~4k lower in damage, needs to have as much stealth duration as possible(Skulker set recommended)... but in terms of stability much easier to hit than VP-DaS. When playing the game, the rear angle has very low visibility so there aren't really that many people who can visually confirm that stealthed 'shade' of TRs pop out from behind.
2. Jumping is because DaS activates so fast that it is almost instantaneous, and therefore the jump allows a final 'sprint' to the backside of the target, giving him even smaller chance to react. After DaS hits then its the set-up phase as usual, go berserk with your Sly Flourish, re-plant the Disheartening Strike, and also remember to hit with SS so you have your stealth bar full and ready again.
3. Now, usually, at the moment the daze effect dissipates, most enemies will seek to dodge away to buy some time. I've rearely seen anyone just grit their teeth and stand steadfast to retaliate. Only the most seasoned players can do this (them and any GFs and GWFs usually
4. Since you've activated DaS during stealth, the Whirlwind Sneak and Cunning Ambusher is applied to that VP(TP), and it deals around 1.5k damage with 3 slashes, amounting upto around 3~5k damage. Also, like I've disclosed in other threads, you can queue up powers while VP(TP) is being activated.
5. So, what this means is that once the daze is over, the enemy reacts and dodges away. You activate VP(TP) and then immediately activate stealth. You teleport to him and land the slashing hits, but are already invisible by that time, and then you immediately dodge away, and then plant the next VP(Mark). In a few seconds DaS will be coming up for recharge.... so you can repeat the attack.
This variation usually works well with the more 'slippery' folk, usually CWs and HRs. Feel free to experiment with this. There could be still a lot more viable attack patterns out there. I'll try to come up with some vids.
If you know something to be broken, stop using it.
Otherwise, you've got no right to be speaking of 'balance.'