WaffleChan's Guide to becoming your inner Assassin.

Introduction:
So you may wonder, what is this guy going to post that is any different than all of the other attempts at nonstickied posts? I will go indepth to a number of applications to the class that have not yet been covered in any guides yet; including interval, a way to appropriately calculate attack speed increases, how to reach 5.0 attacks per second, power dash canceling amongst other secrets hidden among our brotherhood. Remember my assassin bretheren, nothing is true, and everything is permitted.

Table of Contents:
I. What is an assassin?
II. Stats.
III. What is interval?
-Interval inverses
-% increases
-5.0 attack speed
IV. Skills.
V. Conclusion

I. What is an assassin?
Informant: Altair, can you lend a hand? Perhaps a blade?

What is an assassin, is this class for you? We are the prime damage dealing class of Perfect World. With blades in hand, we deliver a multitude of status effects from the shadows. We strike hard, we strike fast, and deliver our fury in the form of spark bursts often! We have the ability to gain chi like no other class (used to cast certain skills), and aid our allies in numerous ways. Though not always the direct aggresive target of a monster, we are always there to deliver the first and last blow.

---

II. Stats
Al Mualim: I abide my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly.

There are a number of builds I will go over. You will always need at least 3 dex per level to reach the next set of daggers (they usually span in intervals of 27 more dex.) Both dex builds are assumed to be in light armor (level+4 dex/str per level to wear)

Straight dexterity (4 DEX, 1 STR every level)
Pros:
-Best damage dealing build
-Highest crit % of all builds (each crit effectively adds 1% more damage per second in terms of overall dmg)
-Highest accuracy and evasion of builds (lets you dodge/hit enemies now abbreviated EVA?ACC)
Cons:
-Least HP of builds (not by much though)
Well, not many cons to really list...

Dext/Vit (3 DEX, 1 STR, 1 VIT every level)
Pros:
-More HP than straight dex
-Slightly more defense than straight dex
Cons:
-Significantly less damage
-Slightly less crit
-Significantly less EVA/ACC

NOVELTY: Heavy Armor
There is no set number of stats per level for these builds, as they always require an extra stat per level not possible to be acquired. To balance this build out you will need pieces of gear that either have the modification (-% Requirement) or +stat gear to supplement the missing str and/or dex. It is recommended you avoid this build, as it takes away from the true experience of an assassin.

In total you will need:
299 DEX by level 99
250 STR by level 99
in order to wear all end game equipment.

---

III. What is interval?
Ezio: A minute is all I need... Wait... That came out wrong

Interval, interval, interval. It's all about speed when it comes to us assassins. 'Well wait man, how can we be faster than we already are?' Well let me tell you. Have you ever seen gear that included modifications that look like (increase attack interval -.05 or -.10)? These gear increase how fast you attack per second! This is an excerpt from the amazing ElenaCostel's Intro to basic Intervals.

Mathematically, attack speed is defined as the "number of attacks per second" or "attacks divided by time". This is the number listed in the weapon description and character menu. That value in the menu is the number of attacks made in 1 second. The attack duration (also called attack interval) is the entire time it takes to execute a single attack, including "cooldown" prior to the next attack. These values are inverses of each other.

1/Attack Speed = Attack Duration
1/Attack Duration = Attack Speed

Now, for an example, for those eager beavers, that are still slightly confused.

A dagger attacks 1.25 times per second, which basically states each duration of the attack animation takes 0.8 seconds.

1/1.25 atk/s = 0.8 s/atk
1/0.8 = 1.25

See? This is how you convert attacks per second into interval and vice versa.

So how does this apply to me?
Basically, the more attacks you do per second, the more damage you accumulate over time, thus making us one of the best damage dealers in game.

This helpful chart, also from ElenaCostel's guide, will help you determine your speed when you add -interval gear to your build.

-- The Attack Interval Chart --

0.63 attacks / sec (1.60 secs / attack) Crossbow
0.65 attacks / sec (1.55 secs / attack) ☆Hurricane Spray, ☆Returning Squall
0.67 attacks / sec (1.50 secs / attack) Bow, ☆Windcatcher, ☆Punishing Thunder
0.69 attacks / sec (1.45 secs / attack) ☆Crimson Horn: Soulsmasher
0.71 attacks / sec (1.40 secs / attack) Slingshot, ☆Heaven Shatterer, ☆☆Bow of the Demonhunter
0.74 attacks / sec (1.35 secs / attack) ☆Sinister Shooter
0.77 attacks / sec (1.30 secs / attack) ☆Wind and the Clouds
0.80 attacks / sec (1.25 secs / attack)
0.83 attacks / sec (1.20 secs / attack) Dual Hammers, Dual Axes
0.87 attacks / sec (1.15 secs / attack)
0.91 attacks / sec (1.10 secs / attack) Dual Swords, Dual Blades, Polehammer, Poleaxe
0.95 attacks / sec (1.05 secs / attack)
1.00 attacks / sec (1.00 secs / attack) Poleblade, Club, Pike
1.05 attacks / sec (0.95 secs / attack)
1.11 attacks / sec (0.90 secs / attack) Sword, Blade
1.18 attacks / sec (0.85 secs / attack)
1.25 attacks / sec (0.80 secs / attack) Dagger
1.33 attacks / sec (0.75 secs / attack)
1.43 attacks / sec (0.70 secs / attack) Fist (weapon), Claw
1.54 attacks / sec (0.65 secs / attack)
1.67 attacks / sec (0.60 secs / attack)
1.82 attacks / sec (0.55 secs / attack)
2.00 attacks / sec (0.50 secs / attack)
2.22 attacks / sec (0.45 secs / attack)
2.50 attacks / sec (0.40 secs / attack)
2.86 attacks / sec (0.35 secs / attack)
3.33 attacks / sec (0.30 secs / attack)
4.00 attacks / sec (0.25 secs / attack)
5.00 attacks / sec (0.20 secs / attack) Maximum Attack Speed / Minimum Attack Interval

There is the possibility to reach that max attack speed on assassins, in the following section, we will learn how.

What about increased attack speed by a %?
The players have not figured out how to correctly reverse engineer the proper formula as of yet, but thanks to the hard work of Sakubatou of Sanctuary, we have all the breakpoints conveniently listed:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/37673827/BM-Attack-Speed-Increase
These properties can be found via demon spark, genie skills like relentless courage/wind shield, cleric's heaven's wrath, etc.

In order to achieve 5 attacks per second, you will need the following:
-A level 6 or 7 tome with -.05 interval (Pangu's or Love: Up and Down)
-TT99 Ashura's Gloves and Shoes
-G13 Nirvana Myriad Blossom Greaves
-G13 Nirvana daggers: Barrier Thorn - Nirvana
-TT99 Physical Defense Ornaments, Lionheart necklace/belt
-Rank 4 or 6 armor.
-Energetic Robe - Lunar Glade

---

IV. Skills
Desmond Miles: I'm a bartender for crissakes! What do you want me to do? Teach you how to mix a martini?

Whew, arent you glad all that mathmatical mumbo jumbo is done? Now we have the meat of the guide; skills. Listed will be the skill's name, its statistics, and its usefulness in PVP/PVE. For further research on demon/sage versions refer to http://ecatomb.net/skillpwi.php

Twin Strike
Range Melee
Mana 2
Channel 0.1 seconds
Cast 0.9 seconds
Cooldown 3.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Spiritual Initiate
A stabbing thrust with both daggers.
Deals base physical damage plus (fixed damager per level)
You start of with this skill, quite frankly, it does little to no damage at all. Don't bother leveling it, period.

Puncture Wound
Range 4.5 Meters
Mana 53.8
Channel 0.2 seconds
Cast 1.8 seconds
Cooldown 8.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Spiritual Initiate
Deals base physical damage plus 100% of weapon damage.
Causes the target to bleed for 4210.5 physical damage over 9 seconds
One of our strongest moves for a beginning skill, it serves useful applications as an opening move in lower levels. Level it to ten only if you feel you'll be using it in the future.

Slipstream Strike
Range Melee
Mana 85.7
Channel 0.2 seconds
Cast 1.9 seconds
Cooldown 6.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Spiritual Initiate
A powerful strike with the full force of the arm.
Deals base physical damage plus
100% of weapon damage plus 2918.1.
A pretty powerful move in its own right as well. It serves the same purpose as puncture wound in low levels. I personally find it a nice spike for PVP when I need a bit of extra damage. Level sparingly if you want it.

Wolf Emblem
Mana 40.0
Channel Instant
Cooldown 60.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Spiritual Adept
Increases your critical strike damage by 30%.
Lasts 30 seconds.
WHOA, 30% crit damage increase! When fighting bosses and people, this skill is the bees knees. It wont serve much purpose in low levels. MAX it around the time you reach the 89 cultivation.

Knife Throw
Range 35.0 Meters
Mana 60
Channel 0.1 seconds
Cast 1.0 seconds
Cooldown 15.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Aware of Principle
Throw your dagger at the target.
Deals base physical damage plus 693.3.
Has a 70% chance to interrupt channeling
This move is our only ranged attack. It doesn't deal much damage, but it does have a chance to interrupt an enemy casting a spell. This move is upto you to level. Quite frankly, I have no use for it, but as a demon/sage you will find it more useful.

Deep Sting
Range Melee
Mana 107.5
Channel 0.4 seconds
Cast 0.8 seconds
Cooldown 15.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Aware of Principle
Deals a damage equals to your basic attack plus
759.2 physical damage.
Has a 95% chance to bring target to sleep for 5 seconds.

Costs 50 Chi
This move has a high chance to put enemies to sleep. In pve, I dont really see anyone use it much. In pvp, thats another story. It becomes quite useful in chaining debilitations to prevent your enemy from attacking. Level only if you plan to specialize in stunlocking in PVP.

Ravaging Slash
Range Melee
Mana 75.6
Channel 0.1 seconds
Cast 1.5 seconds
Cooldown 8.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Spiritual Adept
Deals a damage equals to your basic attack plus
1818.5 physical damage.
Decreases target's movement speed by 50%. Lasts for 5 seconds.

Costs 30 Chi.
Doesnt do much damage, slows enemies down, useless skill. Use that chi for something better, dont level this.

Rib Strike
Range Melee
Mana 156.0
Channel 0.3 seconds
Cast 1.9 seconds
Cooldown 8.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Aware of Harmony
Stab up under the enemy's ribs.
Deals base physical damage plus
100% of weapon damage plus 3975.8.
Reduce target's attack speed by 50.0% for 30 seconds
Best. Move. Ever. It deals a **** ton of damage, on top of slowing your opponent's attack speed by 50%. It makes for one of the best tanking support moves in game. Level this one to max ASAP.

Tackling Slash
Range 4.5 Meters
Mana 103.6
Channel 0.1 seconds
Cast 1.5 seconds
Cooldown 15.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Aware of Harmony
Deals a damage equals to your basic physical attack plus
2772.3 physical damage.
Immobilize target for 9.0 seconds, and increases own Chi by 50.
Basically a chi gaining move combined with an immobilization. I left it at level one, most sins state it's only for chi, and the rare running mob, not really for damage dealing.

Throatcut
Range Melee
Mana 103.6
Channel 1.1 seconds
Cast 1.3 seconds
Cooldown 8.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Aware of Discord
Deals a damage equals to your basic attack plus
100% gear attack and another
4894.1 physical attack.
Has a 95% chance to interrupt enemy channeling.
Silence target for 4.0 seconds.

Costs 1 Sparks
This move has a high chance to interrup channeling opponents on top of sealing them for a bit (prevventing them from attacking). This is another one of those stun locking moves, but it costs a spark, and takes a long time to cast. Recommended only for the avid PVPer

Chill of the Deep
Mana 60
Channel 0.7 seconds
Cast 1.3 seconds
Cooldown 15.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Aware of Discord
Reduces your attack speed by 100%.
Increases your Attack Level by 30.0. Lasts 10 minutes.
Increases damage by 30%, decreases attack speed by 100%. Worthless unless you are spamming skills (which is mp costly and doesnt deal as much damage as melee), or as a demon assassin with stacked -interval gear in large amounts.

Rising Dragon Strike
Range 4.5 Meters
Mana 142.6
Channel 0.2 seconds
Cast 1.8 seconds
Cooldown 30.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Aware of Coalescence
Deals a damage equals to your basic physical attack plus
100% gear attack and another
3442,4 physical damage.
Increases own Chi by 150.

100 percent accuracy.
One of the best moves in your list. It never misses, and gives you a spark and a half. Use this to your advantage in conjunction with inner harmony to maintain a near permanent sparked attack chain. (for the non interval stacked sin :P)

Earthen Rift
Range Melee
Mana 178.5
Channel 0.7 seconds
Cast 1.8 seconds
Cooldown 8.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Aware of Coalescence
Detonate the ground under the enemy. Deals base physical damage plus
400% of weapon damage to all enemy units within 8 meters.
Jeebus, one of your most powerful moves, and one of two AOEs. It is incredibly useful in leveling at 85+ in FCC. Level when you can.

Inner Harmony
Mana 168.0
Channel Instant
Cooldown 60.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Transcendent
Instantly gain 200 Chi.
This skill gives you 2 sparks at the press of a button, max it. It allows you to make creative use of your skills or retain a spark rotation which will be added into a various tips and tricks selection later.

Shadow Walk
Mana 20
Channel 0.7 seconds
Cast 2.8 seconds
Cooldown 6.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Spiritual Adept
Enter stealth mode.
Increases your Stealth Level by 10.
Enemies with an Awareness Level lower than your Stealth Level can not see you.
Costs 15 mana per second.
Only usable when out of combat.
Your cloaking move, maxing it lets monsters and players upto your level +10 unable to see you. Whats an assassin without cloaking? Max it.

Shadow Escape
Mana 100
Channel 0.7 seconds
Cast 2.8 seconds
Cooldown 90.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Aware of Harmony
Force yourself into stealth. Dispel all negative status.
Increases your Stealth Level by 10.
Enemies with an Awareness Level lower than your Stealth Level can not see you.
Costs 15 Mana per second.

A successful cast will increase one Spark.
Basically the same thing as Shadow Walk but lets you escape from battle. With Catlike Tread, this can really stay at level 1 when you are in higher levels. Not like anyone is going to be carrying the rare awareness potions (can only be made by owning the raging tide city TW territory.) Level it only if you think necessary.

Bloodpaint
Mana 406
Channel 1.8 seconds
Cast 2.4 seconds
Cooldown 15.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Aware of Harmony
Grants a shield to all friendly targets within 10 meters that will
absorb 2% of all physical melee damage.
Lasts for 1800 seconds.

Only available for Blademaster, Barbarian, and Assassin.
Only available for melee attacks.
Heals you for every attack made. Works with skills, best left at level 1 unless you go sage. This skill is incredibly useful to keep on, as the more damage you do, the more hp you can feed yourself and your party. Makes great for keeping you alive.

Focused Mind
Mana 126
Channel 0.4 seconds
Cast 1.6 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Aware of Principle
Increases your chance to evade enemy skills by 25.0%.
Lasts for 60 seconds.

Focused Mind shares a 90 second cooldown with Tidal Protection
This skill makes attacks have a chance to only do 1 damage, extremely useful in PVP. Level only if you plan on PVPing.

Deaden Nerves
Mana 106
Channel 1.5 seconds
Cast 2.6 seconds
Cooldown 180 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Aware of Discord
Avoid one attack that would kill you within the next two minutes.
Recovers 20% HP upon avoiding death.
Another useful pvp skill, useful in some PVE situations. It gives you an instant revive + 20% hp if you are about to die within the time the buff is active. Level if you have the spare coin to do so.

Tidal Protection
Mana 126
Channel 0.1 seconds
Cast 1.6 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Transcendent
Increases your chance to avoid negative status effects by 50.0%.
Lasts 60 seconds.

Tidal Protection shares a 90 second cooldown with Focused Mind.
This skill works like Focused Mind, except with status effects. I find Focused Mind to be more useful of the two. I would avoid leveling this, unless you have spare money. It really does have usefulness in some situations, but does not start to shine until later levels.

Wind Push
Mana 60
Channel Instant
Cooldown 60.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Spiritual Adept
Increases own movement speed by 100%.
Lasts for 10 seconds.
Lets you run faster! Level with spare money and spirit.

Shadow Jump
Range 30.0 Meters
Mana 85
Channel Instant
Cooldown 15.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Aware of Harmony
Instantly move to the target's location.

Costs 20 Chi
For the cost of a little chi, you can instantly teleport to your target. This move is of utmost importance in PVP. Max if you plan to pvp, it lowers cooldown and increases distance you can leap.

Maze Steps
Mana 100
Channel Instant
Cooldown 90.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Aware of Discord
Increases own movement speed by 100%.
Immune to Stun and Immobilize. Lasts for 10 seconds.

Costs 1 Spark
Allows you to be immune to movement debuffs, like slow, stun, sleep, etc. Also beefs your running speed by alot. Level at your own discresion

The following 3 moves are 2 spark lvl 59 moves, and fairly expensive to level. Choose between 1-3 of them to focus on if you want.
Subsea Strike
Range 4.5 Meters
Mana 240.8
Channel 0.3 seconds
Cast 1.3 seconds
Cooldown 30.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Transcendent
Instantly strikes all nearby targets.
Deals base physical damage plus 3485.1
to all targets within 8 meters.
Increases all damage taken by the target by 30.0% for 8 seconds.
This skill works with the Heaven's Flame skill.
This skill will cancel the Extreme Poison skill.

Costs two Sparks

Headhunt
Range 4.5 Meters
Mana 240.8
Channel 0.5 seconds
Cast 1.5 seconds
Cooldown 30.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Transcendent
Deals a damage equals to your basic attack plus
100% gear attack and another
6716.9 physical attack.
Stun enemy for 5.0 seconds.

Costs two Sparks

Power Dash
Range 4.5 Meters
Mana 240.8
Channel 0.4 seconds
Cast 0.8 seconds
Cooldown 30.0 seconds
Weapon Daggers

Requisite Cultivation Transcendent
Deals a damage equals to your basic physical attack plus
2737.9 physical damage.
Increases your Rage Damage by 40%. Lasts for 8 seconds.

Costs two Sparks

Dagger Devotion
Increases dagger damage by 60%
Self explanatory. Max it

Both of these skills allow you to hide better, and see other assassins. Mostly pvp oriented moves.
Catlike Tread
Passive Effect

Requisite Spiritual Cultivation Aware of Harmony
Increases your Stealth level by 20.
Sharp Observer
Passive Effect

Requisite Spiritual Cultivation Aware of Harmony
Increases your Awareness Level by 20.

V. Conclusion
Mario Auditore: Not sorcery but skill, boy

I hope this guide has been helpful. Making it was quite the ardous task. If you believe the assassin is the class for you, go for it, do your best, and enjoy it to the fullest. Love and respect your fellow assassin. Good luck!

PS: EXPECT UPDATES.