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Whirlwind Assassin Guide

Season 8D

Last Updated:August 10, 2024|Change Log

Do you love the spin to win playstyle of whirlwind but the Barbarian isn’t your cup of tea? Try out the Whirlwind Assassin as one of the few builds that can successfully use a damaging Skill from a different Class. In this case, the Assassin steals the iconic Barbarian Skill whirlwind and calls it her own through the Claw-exclusive Runeword Chaos.

Along with Whirlwind she uses the powerful Corpse Explosions of Death Sentry to deal devastating Area of Effect (AoE) damage.

Whether you want to clear out whole areas or simply hunt Elite Monsters, this guide has you covered.

Note: Be aware that this build is very item dependent. It requires quite a bit of investment, especially in your Charm Inventory.

Ideal Standard Setup
Ideal Standard Setup

Whirlwind

Death Sentry

Teleport

Fade

This build guide assumes you have a Character at Level 75 before transitioning to it. Check out our Assassin Leveling Guide and our General Leveling Strategies to reach Level 75.

Very Tanky ✔
Fast Paced ✔
Unique Playstyle ✔
Rewards Excellent Gameplay ✔

❌ Very Gear Dependent
❌ Dangerous Melee Combat
❌ Not The Best Act Boss Killer
❌ Very Technical And Difficult Gameplay


Sunder Charm Setup

This build does not benefit from the new Sunder Charm because the Assassin cannot apply any additional -x% Damage Reduction to enemies herself. Her Mercenary can apply Decrepify or Amplify Damage, but this is too unreliable to farm areas with monsters Immune to Physical. It also becomes much harder to survive with the Whirlwind Assassin playstyle.

Terror Zones

The new Terror Zone mechanic opens up a wide range of farmable areas. Since this build doesn't benefit from Sunder Charms, the best and worse Terror Zones apply to all variants. Learn more about Terror Zones here and see how they stack up in our Terror Zone Tier List.

Best

The Secret Cow Level - High Density, No Immunities
Flayer Jungle + Flayer Dungeon - High Density, Low-Life enemies, No Immunities
Tristram - High Density, No Immunities, Many Elite Groups
Catacombs ONLY - High Density, Many Elite Groups, Bosses
Pit - High Density, No Immunities

Worst

Arcane Sanctuary - Immunities, Trash Mobility, Few Elite Groups, Tanky enemies
Durance of Hate - Low Density, Trash Mobility, Few Elite Groups, Tanky enemies
Worldstone Keep + Throne of Destruction - Immunities, High Physical Damage, High Elemental Damage
River of Flame + City of the Damned - Trash Mobility, Few Elite Groups, Tanky enemies
Ancients' Way + Icy Cellar - High Physical Damage, Hard to Leech Life

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Cloak of Shadows
2. Mindblast

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Claw Mastery
2. Weapon Block
3. Fade
4. Death Sentry
5. Fire Blast (Only to Level 18)
6. Remaining Skill Points into Venom

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Damage

Utility

Attributes

Note: This section provides you with the standard Stat Point allocation. Build Variants can require a different allocation!

Strength

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to equip all of your gear. Take into account how much Strength your gear provides when equipped.

Dexterity

Allocate enough Stat Points into Dexterity to equip all of your gear. Take into account how much Dexterity your gear provides when equipped.

Vitality

Allocate any remaining Stat Points into Vitality after meeting Strength, Dexterity and Energy requirements.

Energy

Do not allocate any Stat Points into Energy. Mana costs are covered by “x% Mana Stolen per Hit” or “+x Mana after each Kill” on gear.

Miscellaneous

Gear Options

Farming Spots

Mercenary

Playstyle

Breakpoints

Hardcore

Build Variants

Starter
Standard
Magic Find
Natalya's Odium

Setup

Getting the Whirlwind Assassin started is already a somewhat expensive endeavor. Chaos is the build-enabling item. Jade Talon is a well-rounded Off-Hand that helps with Resistances and Mana recovery. Make sure to put a Shael Rune into it to reach the highest Attack Speed Breakpoints!

The Angelic Ring + Amulet combination gives you a much-needed boost in Attack Rating. Laying of Hands, Duress, and Charms with +x to Maximum Damage, Attack Rating and Life bring you up to a decent amount of damage.

Raven Frost (or any other source of Cannot Be Frozen) is required for this build to feel smooth because it relies on its Attack Speed. With all of this out of the way, you only need to worry about Life Recovery, which can be handled by a string of ears that also grants much-needed Damage Reduction.

Mercenary

The minimum equipment of the Mercenary evolves around The Reaper's Toll for the Chance to cast Decrepify on striking. Add some Life recovery and Damage Reduction from Bulwark and Attack Speed from Treachery. His Might Aura provides you with a nice damage boost.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Cloak of Shadows
2. Mindblast

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Claw Mastery
2. Weapon Block
3. Fade
4. Death Sentry (18 Skill Points)

Attributes

Allocate enough Strength and Dexterity to wear all of your gear. Put any remaining Attribute Point into Vitality for maximum Life.

Setup

This variant hits a great balance between high damage output and decently high mobility. It excels in areas with many Demons. The Charm inventory and the Off-Hand are EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE! Enigma provides the Assassin with Teleport and Faster Run/Walk for mobility. You only have Faster Cast Rate in your Weapon-Swap, so switch to it for teleporting!

Highlord's Wrath and War Traveler provide great boosts in damage. A Rare Ring or Blood Crafted Ring fills up the second Ring slot. f you don't care for mobility as much, slap on a Fortitude for maximum damage!

Mercenary

With an Ethereal The Reaper's Toll (socketed with a Jewel), Fortitude, and an Andariel's Visage (socketed with a Jewel) he becomes virtually immortal and hits his maximum Attack Speed Breakpoint to proc Decrepify often.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Cloak of Shadows
2. Mindblast

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Claw Mastery
2. Weapon Block
3. Fade
4. Death Sentry
5. Fire Blast (Only to Level 18)
6. Remaining Skill Points into Venom

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Strength and Dexterity to wear all of your gear. Put any remaining Attribute Point into Vitality for maximum Life.

Setup

We found a use for Stealskull! This Helmet provides us with Mana Leech, Life Leech, and Magic Find. It opens up the second Ring next to Raven Frost and the Belt slot for even more Magic Find!

By replacing all Charms with a Gheed's Fortune and Fine Small Charm of Good Luck to increase our Magic Find to a whopping 450+%!

Mercenary

With an Ethereal The Reaper's Toll (socketed with a Jewel), Fortitude, and an Andariel's Visage (socketed with a Jewel) he becomes virtually immortal and hits his maximum Attack Speed Breakpoint to proc Decrepify often.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Cloak of Shadows
2. Mindblast

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Claw Mastery
2. Weapon Block
3. Fade
4. Death Sentry
5. Fire Blast (Only to Level 18)
6. Remaining Skill Points into Venom

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Strength and Dexterity to wear all of your gear. Put any remaining Attribute Point into Vitality for maximum Life.

Setup

... And we found a use for Natalya's Odium! This setup is a lot cheaper, but also suffers a big damage loss compared to our standard version.

Use the Angelic Amulet + Ring combination for a massive boost in Attack Rating and get Cannot Be Frozen from Trang-Oul's Girth. With this combination, it keeps up with the Magic Find variant of this build.

By replacing all Charms with Fine Small Charm of Good Luck and a Gheed's Fortune you can get yourself up to ~230 Magic Find.

Mercenary

With an Ethereal The Reaper's Toll (socketed with a Jewel), Fortitude, and an Andariel's Visage (socketed with a Jewel) he becomes virtually immortal and hits his maximum Attack Speed Breakpoint to proc Decrepify often.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Cloak of Shadows
2. Mindblast

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Claw Mastery
2. Weapon Block
3. Fade
4. Death Sentry
5. Fire Blast (Only to Level 18)
6. Remaining Skill Points into Venom

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Strength and Dexterity to wear all of your gear. Put any remaining Attribute Point into Vitality for maximum Life.

Mechanics

Death Sentry

Teleport

Summary

  • Allocate enough Strength and Dexterity to equip your gear. Put any remaining Stat Points into Vitality.
  • Pre-Buff yourself in this order: 2xBattle Command, Battle Orders, Fade, then activate Venom
  • Make sure to refresh your buffs whenever they run out!
  • Before using Whirlwind, place some Death Sentry Traps, so they can immediately work when you start killing monsters.
  • Use Whirlwind in short distances through your enemies or in long strides along the sides of big monster packs.

Chaos gives you the unique opportunity to use an off Class Skill in a build. This is especially great because the Assassin lacks build variety!

Good luck!

Credits

Written by Teo1904
Reviewed by Raxxanterax

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