Maplestory 2 Assassin Skill Guide

Assassins in Maplestory 2 have the highest single-target burst DPS (damage per second). While mobile, they're finished once they get caught in an attack. Because of this, they're quite hard to master. The Assassin's high burst damage owes its existence to a high LUK stat. That stat ups the class's critical chance and damage, and that's why they have such a large damage output. As for equipment, if you have Maplestory 2 Mesos to spare, try getting equipment with Piercing, Boss Damage, or Physical Attack traits.

Its builds mostly revolve around whether you want to stay at range or support, though the latter has somewhat limited functionality. Let’s take a look at the skills of the Assassin!

Assassin Skills

Lucky Stars – Throw both your weapons at the closest enemy within 8m, dealing 121% (at max level) damage two times. It will then ricochet toward other enemies within 3m dealing the same percentage of damage. Equipped weapons on both hands affect the damage of this skill.

Shadow Chaser – Send a mirror clone to the nearest enemy within 8m, dealing 23% damage and marking them with an Assassin's Brand. The brand steals the target's energy, giving you an additional 1 spirit every 0.1 sec for 30 seconds.

Dash – Leap forward 4.5m. It can cancel other skills. Has a 40 Stamina cost.

Fragmented Star – Throw a weapon at the nearest enemy within 8m. It will shatter on impact, dealing 341% damage to 8 enemies within 3m at max level. It bases its damage on the weapon equipped on the right hand and has a 20 spirit cost.

Star Chaser – With 4 homing weapons in each hand equipped, the skills throws them at up to 8 enemies within 8m in front. Each hit will deal 66% damage at max level, affected by the weapons equipped in each hand. Costs 15 spirit to use.

Shadow Cutter – Throws your weapon forward with a spin so it comes back to you. Deals 162% dark damage twice to 8 enemies in its path, affected by the weapon on your right hand. Uses up 13 spirit.

Dark Cloak – Use dark magic to conceal your presence for 12 seconds. As long as the skill is active, move speed increases by 39% at max level, and adds 2 points to spirit recovery. You may also ambush enemies, which stuns them for 1.5 seconds. The skill gets canceled when you use a skill or get hit while hiding.

Fatal Strikes – The bread and butter of the Assassin, this skill turns all your hits into critical hits for 17 seconds at max level.

Star Flurry – Three weapons on each hand are equipped and thrown at the closest enemy within 8m in front, dealing 86% damage at max level, influenced by the weapon on each hand. Consumes 15 spirit when used.

Shadow Burst – Equips 5 thrown weapons imbued with dark magic in each hand, then throwing them all forward, dealing 337% damage twice to 8 enemies within 8m. If it hits an enemy previously marked by the ‘Mark of Death' skill, they explode, dealing additional damage with the same percentage. Weapons on both hands affect the damage of the skill. Costs 30 spirit points.

Mark of Death – When attacking an enemy with 30% or less health, there is a 25% chance to mark the target for death for 6 sec. Marked enemies receive 10% more damage at max level.

Soul Grind – Throw a huge weapon at the closest enemy within 8m in front. On impact, it will spin around rapidly, dealing 151% dark damage to 5 enemies within 3m five times at max level. Influenced by the weapon equipped in your right hand, and uses up 30 spirit when used.

Death Sentence – Summon 3 clones and send them toward 3 targets up to 8m in front. Each clone deals 128% dark damage and marks enemies for death regardless of health. It only increases damage received by 1% but stacks with marks made by the passive skill. Both have the same duration. Lastly, the clones won't attack the same target.

Shadow Web – Backstep 3m, leaving a clone on where you were. It will explode in a second, releasing webs that entangle enemies. Entanglement reduces movement speed and jump power by 28% for 4 seconds while dealing 23% damage every second at max level. Has a 28 spirit cost.

Thrown Weapon Mastery – Increases thrown weapon attack by 6.4% at max level, as long as you have throwing weapons equipped.

Shadow Arts – Increases the damage of any skill that uses dark magic (Shadow Burst, Shadow Cutter, Soul Grind, Shadow Web, and Death Sentence) by 20% at max level.

Mirror Image: Dark Blade – Marks a 2.25m-radius circular area with an insignia of darkness for 10 seconds. Clones attack up to three enemies within the marked area, dealing 380% dark damage, while also branding them. Branded enemies have their accuracy reduced by 20 for 10 seconds (does not stack), and attacks on them have a 30% chance to summon more clones to attack them. Summoned clones deal 23% dark damage 4 times once every 1.5 seconds.

Assassin Builds

The easiest build is the throwing weapon one. Lucky Stars, Star Chaser, and Star Flurry are your main skills. Get Thrown Weapon Mastery to increase damage, and Fatal Strikes so they always hit critically. Use Shadow Chaser for SP recovery, and Dash for getting out of attacks. It's easy to use as you can macro the first three skills so you can spam them.

This build's damage scales with both your weapons, so make sure you have weapons that are almost equal in damage. Variations include max level Fragmented Star and the inclusion of Shadow Cutter. The former has more burst damage, but it works only in some dungeons.

Another build is the Shadow Cutter build. It has more single target damage than the above but is more difficult because you can't macro the skills together, unlike the former. The build is recommended if you have one weapon stronger than the other and you have the finger dexterity to press 5+ buttons for skills while dodging enemies.

Shadow Cutter, Shadow Burst, and Soul Grind are your main skills. Get Shadow Arts to increase the damage, Lucky Stars and Fragmented Star for extra damage, and Shadow Chaser for SP regen. Lastly, don't forget to useFatal Strikes as your main buff, and Dash for extra evasion capabilities.

Whether you decide to follow these builds or try your own, we hope you continue enjoying Maplestory 2!