ATing stealth doesn't seem to make a huge difference, those 77 points don't mean a whole lot. Would probably AT the first few points, but not all the way to 48.

39 pierce/39 stealth/39 envenom/ 39 CS/16 CD - assumes no RRs since BGs will be dead and roaming the frontiers is a horribly painful experience.

Anything wrong with this spec? Never gotten serious play time on a stealther, but I really want to for 2.0, thanks for responses.

Not a terrible starting spec. After some RR gain, you can drop points from Stealth and Envenom if you have respecs.

Other option would be to go for 44 pierce - you can then go for 34 CS to make the points up which is a pretty decent option and still keep a decent bleed in your arsenal. Would look something like this -- 44 pierce , 39 stealth (could go 38 tbh) , 37 envenom (or lower if you feel like you wont need the high end poisons or if you wont have respecs for later on) , 34 CritStr , 18 CD (for the side stun which is pretty awesome)

A few solo kills or even some leaching and you'll be RR2 in no time, so the latter spec is pretty viable. RR3 will come pretty quick if you really go for it so IMO its better to start with a lower spec in stealth and envenom otherwise you'll be respeccing all the time or just wasting points that arent doing anything.

If you really feel brave - 44 pierce, 34 CS, 18 CD, then Envenom and Stealth as low as you feel comfy with depending on RR.

A lot to think about with NS imo. Really fun class to play and look at.

No need to go beyond 51 combined pierce really, you won't be using the styles much (except for the lvl25 stun, and this one will be followed up by the CS after-evade-chain anyways).

This means, put the points where they really give you more damage, that is, in the CS style line.

If you care for details, I'll copy/paste my answer from another post

shade wrote:The Crit Strike styles are superior in all regards:

- The Garrote/Achilles anytime chain has the highest damage multiplier in the whole game (for anytime styles). On top of that, you have a snare effect AND a combat speed debuff, something which no other anytime style chain has (afaik).
- The pincer side-style does more damage than the CD side styles.
- The Perf and backstab do more damage than ice storm. Moreover, they penetrate/remove bladeturn (very important on casters) and they can't be blocked/parried/evaded (very important on tanks).
- The after-evade chain has the highest growthrate in the whole game. So even after you stun with diamondback (25 pierce), you will use the CS evade chain afterwards.

So in all regards (anytime, positional, reactional) the Crit Strike styles are superior to pierce and CD, except for the after-evade stun and the side-stun.

I recommend you try it out, especially in Beta. I think it's always important to build your own oppinion, not purely rely on others.

Regarding AT, it really depends on your attitude, that is, on how perfectionistic/pedantic you are

- Do you dig in your Joghurt cup for the last spoonful of Joghurt?
- Do you fill the gas tank of your car to the brim, just to get another 20 km range?
- Do you shave your legs before you go running/swimming?
- Do you curse when you spill a drop of beer (for the beer, not for your pants)?
- Do you cut your cheese/sausage to as many pieces as it takes to fit perfectly onto the slice of bread (which translates into: are you a "good German"?)
- Do you trim your lawn with a scissor (which translates into: are you a "good Englishman")?
- Do you show your middle finger to Pareto?

If the answer to a good portion of these is "yes", then you should AT

Seriously, if you plan to play this one toon for the next 5 years on the server, by all means do AT, because in the long run your happiness about the small benefit will outweigh your sadness of underperforming in BGs (pursuit of happiness is why we play DAOC, right? )

If this is one of many toons and you play it mainly for fun in the BGs (which will be extremely short on Uth 2.0), then go skip AT.

At your target level for CD, AT would give you 3-4 extra points of CD, translating into ~2% more offhand swings, just to give you a number.

Is it important? No.
Does it give you an advantage? Rarely. (Maybe in 1 out of 10 fights in the "extra CD" case..)
Does it bring you closer to "the edge"? Yes. A little bit.
Does it make you happier? You decide.

shade wrote:...

Thanks a lot for the well thought out response! I am hardcore and a min/maxer at core, I really do believe that ATing is probably the best way to min/max and most of the lifetime of a character is spent @ 50, so why not give yourself the best possible advantage you can? Sure it may be minimal, but every bit adds up. Thanks again for your constructive response, I had my curiosities about some things you mentioned and your post also saves me scouring the interweb for more information. TY!

barto22 wrote:Not a terrible starting spec. After some RR gain, you can drop points from Stealth and Envenom if you have respecs.

Other option would be to go for 44 pierce - you can then go for 34 CS to make the points up which is a pretty decent option and still keep a decent bleed in your arsenal. Would look something like this -- 44 pierce , 39 stealth (could go 38 tbh) , 37 envenom (or lower if you feel like you wont need the high end poisons or if you wont have respecs for later on) , 34 CritStr , 18 CD (for the side stun which is pretty awesome)

A few solo kills or even some leaching and you'll be RR2 in no time, so the latter spec is pretty viable. RR3 will come pretty quick if you really go for it so IMO its better to start with a lower spec in stealth and envenom otherwise you'll be respeccing all the time or just wasting points that arent doing anything.

If you really feel brave - 44 pierce, 34 CS, 18 CD, then Envenom and Stealth as low as you feel comfy with depending on RR.

A lot to think about with NS imo. Really fun class to play and look at.

Valid points, on a fresh server it might be wise to error on the side of slightly under cap to give myself some growth than force myself to spend what could possibly be A LOT on an RA respec stone. I doubt my NS will be a first or even a 2nd char, but I am researching NS vs Ranger now, and so far NS has the edge for downtime stealthy solo activities when nothing else going on. Plus I would like to have it PL'd so I can AT without worry for that aspect.

I forgot to mention the CD Style snow shower. Has a back Snare and is quite essential, can be easily Spammed on running targets even if the dmg is not that great on a NS. But this one is at 12 ish CD, so nothing to worry about, any common spec will have it.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I agree with shade. CS styles have the best growth rates in the game and most other hib styles are complete garbage by comparison. Much better off taking the hit to pierce for the extra points in CS. And yea, garrote / Achilles chain is monstrous anytime damage.

I also think, personally, I'm gonna AT just to do it. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and as you already mentioned the bgs will be a dead zone anyhow, so stealth is an easy AT for the extra points.

tsujin wrote:I agree with shade. CS styles have the best growth rates in the game and most other hib styles are complete garbage by comparison. Much better off taking the hit to pierce for the extra points in CS. And yea, garrote / Achilles chain is monstrous anytime damage.

I also think, personally, I'm gonna AT just to do it. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and as you already mentioned the bgs will be a dead zone anyhow, so stealth is an easy AT for the extra points.

yep, might as well min/max since RvR while 1-48 will be minimal due to dead BGs... wandering the frontiers as a stealther is painful as well, unless you are a masochist. I plan to just camp DF with mine and clear out all those late night, sleepy, clueless, free RP farmers

sounds like quite the plan there Falken, may be easier to do with a Ranger though if thats all your looking to do.

barto22 wrote:Not a terrible starting spec. After some RR gain, you can drop points from Stealth and Envenom if you have respecs.

If you have respecs

I assume during the first months respec stones will be really rare and expensive. I would never spec for rr1 - never. RR2 and RR3 come really fast and you can save a lot of points (and money) if you just start with a RR3 (for zergers, go rr4) spec.