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| Class | Assassin | |
| Skill Tree | Shadow Disciplines | |
| Level | 30 | |
| Prerequisites | Claw Mastery, Psychic Hammer, Weapon Block, Cloak of Shadows, Shadow Warrior | |
| Damage Type | None | |
| Mana Cost | 35 | |
| Other Stats |
Doesn't work with Shadow Warrior | |
| Synergies | None | |
Shadow Master is an Assassin Skill in Diablo II.
- Active Effect: Calls upon a spectral shadow of the Assassin to aid her in combat.
- Required Level: 30
- Prerequisites: Claw Mastery, Psychic Hammer, Weapon Block, Cloak of Shadows, Shadow Warrior
- Gives synergy to: None
- Receives synergy from: None
Usage
The upgrade to Shadow Warrior this skill allows the shadow to use skills the Assassin herself might not even know. Though this can be useful, using Master instead of Warrior does have pros and cons.
Overall the shadow master is stronger and tougher, with a random assortment of items, which can gain magical bonus as the skill level grows, including ones that boost skill levels, or resistance boosts that are capable of giving the Master immunity to certain elements (her resistance does not suffer from Nightmare and Hell's penalty, nor are they capped at 75%). The Master can also use skills that the assassin does not possess - for example, it can throw death sentries for a martial artist, or use Phoenix Strike for area of effect freeze for trappers.
On the other hand, the Master's ability to use all skills can be a hindrance. For trap-oriented assassins, the Master's traps share the same 5 trap limit, so she may end up laying a relatively harmless Charged Bolt Sentry that overrides a deadly Death Sentry. The Master's fondness of spamming Mind Blast can disrupt a martial artist assassin's rhythm, as it may convert the monster that the assassin is charging up on, causing her to end up running aimlessly in place while trying to click the now untargetable monster, or maybe even straight into the heart of a horde of monsters. Also, against enemies that are capable of destroying the shadow minion in a few hits, the fairly long casting delay on this skill will prevent the Assassin from refreshing her tank in time.
Using which shadow depends on preference and situation. As the Assassin gains levels and becomes more experienced as a player and has better gear, Warrior might be a better choice in some situations, allowing you to tweak what skills the shadow uses.
The Skills a Shadow Master uses are:
Cloak of Shadows (rarely)
Mind Blast
Fade
Burst of Speed
Death Sentry
Venom
(some Martial Arts and other traps)
The Items for Shadow Master:
Lvl 17 - Rare Amulet
Lvl 13 - Rare Ring left
Lvl 11 - Rare Suwayyah, War Fist or Scissors Suwayyah in right hand
Lvl 11 - Rare Battle Cestus, Runic Talons or Scissors Suwayyah in left hand
Lvl 11 - Rare Vambraces or Ogre Gauntlets
Lvl 11 - Rare Ring right
Lvl 11 - Rare Armor; same type as Assassin
Lvl 11 - Rare Helm; same type as Assassin
Lvl 9 - Magic Ring right
Lvl 6 - Magic Suwayyah, War Fist or Scissors Suwayyah in right hand
Lvl 6 - Magic Battle Cestus, Runic Talons or Scissors Suwayyah in left hand
Lvl 6 - Magic Bramble Mitts or Vambraces
Lvl 6 - Magic Armor; same type as Assassin
Lvl 6 - Magic Helm; same type as Assassin
Lvl 5 - Superior Bramble Mitts, Vambraces or Ogre Gauntlets
Lvl 1 - Superior Suwayyah, War Fist or Scissors Suwayyah in right hand
Lvl 1 - Superior Battle Cestus, Runic Talons or Scissors Suwayyah in left hand
Lvl 1 - Superior Armor; same type as Assassin
Lvl 1 - Superior Helm; same type as Assassin
These items are generated randomly on each cast and are based on skill level.
History
This discipline allows an Assassin to project an even more powerful shadow avatar. The Shadow Master has access to all of the Assassin skills, also skills you don't have yet.
Skill Progression
| Level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mana Cost | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 32 |
| Life | 376 | 432 | 488 | 545 | 601 | 658 | 714 | 770 | 827 | 883 | 940 |
| Bonus Attack | 40% | 80% | 120% | 160% | 200% | 240% | 280% | 320% | 360% | 400% | 440% |
| Resists to All | 5% | 16% | 25% | 32% | 38% | 42% | 46% | 49% | 51% | 54% | 56% |
| Level | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mana Cost | 32 | 33 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 35 | 35 | 36 | 36 | 39 |
| Life | 996 | 1052 | 1109 | 1165 | 1222 | 1278 | 1334 | 1391 | 1447 | |
| Bonus Attack | 480% | 520% | 560% | 600% | 640% | 680% | 720% | 760% | 800% | 1000% |
| Resists to All | 58% | 59% | 61% | 62% | 63% | 65% | 65% | 66% | 67% | 71% |
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