Str Dhan(pred) Skill Build?

[AryaVarwin]

I'm trying to come up with a nice skill build for my str dhan(soon to be predator). I'm a total min-maxer, so this has been on my mind ever seen I created the char really.

Here's what I have so far at level 49:

5 Envenom
1 Hide
1 Parry
0 Mortal Rising
5 Sprint
1 Sudden Attack
1 Mirror Shield
5+2 Psychic Phantom
1 Avoid
0 Potion Value
1 Quickness
1 Boost
1 Mana Burn
5+2 Psychic Crow
5+2 Deadly Blow
1 Death Blow
1 Silence
1 Confuse

Lots of points unspent!

With the build, I'm trying to have a focus on PvP while still being able to level quickly when needed. Here's all the skills I'm torn between maxing

Hide(Some say yes, some say no. Really not sure on this one at all)

Parry(Same as above.)

Mortal Rising(Same as above.)

Sudden Attack(With this one I'm definitely leaning more toward maxing it if it works with hide spirit like I think it does as predator. Any comments?)

Quickness(Lots of people say max this as a str char, but why? 4pts for a measly 10dex at this level. I don't care about being a buffer, I just want a good build for PvP and for me.)

Boost(Most str pred builds I see don't take this, but I'm honestly leaning toward maxing it. 3% > 10% crit with a +2... 7%crit seems like a sweet deal for only 4 points)

Mana Burn(Okay okay, I know this is going to sound weird, but looking at my other choices, this one seems to take a back seat. 2sec extra on the stun IS nice, no doubt... but when you look at the other options I have to choose from, this seems like a skill better put off until later on when I'm 8x or whatever and have free points to spare)

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Can anyone help me out a little please? Oh, and if it matters, char is in very good gear and will have access to top tier gear throughout her dhans life, so I'm building with the assumption that this character will always be in top tier gear for her level.

ALSO, I plan on using a katar and I really want to max katar mastery the moment I hit predator. So a random question: Can I "save" points that I can spend in my predator tree at level 50? If so, is there a limit on how many you can carry over?

Any advice or help appreciated, preferably from experienced str preds. ^_^

[TheHellHunter]

Mana burn is an absolute must. As a specialized assassin class, if you can't terminate your target within stun/disable times then you're as good as dead yourself. Those two extra seconds could be another demolition tick without detox, two seconds to run away if you're losing, or even a whole other pp under trap to get the kill.

I feel like you have a lot of unnecessary awkwardness in there. Level 1 skills tend to be bad to have unless they max out at level 1.
Death blow is bad, and Sudden Attack really doesn't do anything at the higher levels. It scales poorly because if you think about it you might still be a low level/new player at level 30, but keep in mind that's nearly 1/3 of 99.

With the rest, I'd consult another persons' guide. I'm not an expert on predators and I don't want to send you in the wrong direction.

[AryaVarwin]

Death Blow is bad? My Death Blow 5+2 is giving me a 20% str boost... as a str dhan, I can't believe you think this is bad. That's the reason I've already invested in it: It IS absolutely essential.

As for what you said on Mana Burn, yeah, I think I agree with you. I'm definitely leaning toward maxing it, and after hearing you say this I'm even more sure.

Thanks.

[TheHellHunter]

That's Deadly blow. Death blow is the one that gives bonus damage based on your mkill bonus.

[AryaVarwin]

That's Deadly blow. Death blow is the one that gives bonus damage based on your mkill bonus.

Oh right! My mistake. Yeah Death Blow isnt that great, and I had always planned on deskilling it later on. Sorry about that.

[TheHellHunter]

Not a problem, they're easy to get confused.

[Sunraven]

Mmm... I've experimented various ways with pred. I've reset my dhan a few times, you need a lot of points as str pred. This is my current build:

Hide(Some say yes, some say no. Really not sure on this one at all)Get hide at least lvl 4+1 since lvl 5 hide has no reduction to mobility. Mine is lvl 6 because I love the 20% boost in mobi. I use lvl 2 royal dragon pet with is 30% boost in mobi, combined with hide that's 50% extra mobi. When I had epic katar it was 20%+30%+35%=85% boost to mobi. It really makes trolling spots for pk or outdistancing or stalking people a piece of cake.

Parry(Same as above.) Parry is a good skill, it'll block a lot of hits.

Mortal Rising(Same as above.) Get it lvl 7, boosts crits/crit rate

Sudden Attack(With this one I'm definitely leaning more toward maxing it if it works with hide spirit like I think it does as predator. Any comments?) It does work with hide spirit but it's my understanding as it's a waste of points, it doesn't do that much damage. But if you want to experiment have at it :P

Quickness(Lots of people say max this as a str char, but why? 4pts for a measly 10dex at this level. I don't care about being a buffer, I just want a good build for PvP and for me.) Don't get quickness, waste of points. It's just rangers and dex guards and otherwise noobs telling you to get this.

Boost(Most str pred builds I see don't take this, but I'm honestly leaning toward maxing it. 3% > 10% crit with a +2... 7%crit seems like a sweet deal for only 4 points) Get boost, especially if you'll have an epic or upgrade. 12%crit on upgrade +7 or 8% crit from boost is a lot of extra crits. The skill description doesn't say it but boost also boosts the damage your crits do.

Mana Burn(Okay okay, I know this is going to sound weird, but looking at my other choices, this one seems to take a back seat. 2sec extra on the stun IS nice, no doubt... but when you look at the other options I have to choose from, this seems like a skill better put off until later on when I'm 8x or whatever and have free points to spare) You don't have to get it now, you can get it later but for sure get it lvl 6. Pred lacks stuns, this is your one sure stun, max it!

[Sunraven]

ALSO, I plan on using a katar and I really want to max katar mastery the moment I hit predator. So a random question: Can I "save" points that I can spend in my predator tree at level 50? If so, is there a limit on how many you can carry over?

Even if you're going to use a katar I wouldn't waste points on katar mastery. The points you get at any lvl can be spent on either tree once you hit 50, in that sense they all carry over. But all of the skills on the second tree are not unlocked right away, you'll have to lvl further before you can put points in them.

[Sunraven]

Mana burn is an absolute must. As a specialized assassin class, if you can't terminate your target within stun/disable times then you're as good as dead yourself. Those two extra seconds could be another demolition tick without detox, two seconds to run away if you're losing, or even a whole other pp under trap to get the kill.

Eh, I don't believe demolition can be detoxed :P

[TheHellHunter]

Actually I've got a pred/dhan question myself...
Does secret hide only work on base hits or is it for both skills and normal hits?