AION 2 Assassin Build: Best PvE & PvP Builds (November 2026)

Best Assassin PvE farming build in AION 2 (November 2026)

For open-world farming the Assassin runs the stigmas Throw Shadowblade, Illusive Clone, Swift Contract and Triniel's Dagger, all at 20. At 20 Throw Shadowblade becomes an AoE skill and resets its cooldown on a kill, and the macro chains Throw Shadowblade, Insignia Explosion and Infiltrate. Stat priority: Attack, Critical Hit, Combat Speed, Cooldown Reduction. You clear packs without waiting.

Why this build

• Throw Shadowblade 20, Illusive Clone and Swift Contract appear in all four farming builds on questlog.gg: l4z4i (27 likes, 6 Nov), alan218, teivor and malpia.
• Throw Shadowblade resets its cooldown on a kill at 10, always crits at 15 and hits an area at 20. That's why the farming build takes it to 20, while you leave it out against bosses.
• Macro according to l4z4i: Throw Shadowblade > Insignia Explosion > Infiltrate. teivor also puts Throw Shadowblade in the macro and keeps Swift Contract on a separate key.
• Storm Rampage takes 5% HP absorption and Multi-Hit (teivor), Ambush 3% HP absorption and Infiltrate 300 stamina and +10 m range, so you don't have to stop between packs (l4z4i).
• The farming builds don't list stats or Daevanion; those are taken from the PvE build.

How it differs from the other modes

• Compared with the dungeon build: Throw Shadowblade instead of Savage Fang, Triniel's Dagger at 20 instead of 10, Storm Rampage with HP absorption instead of −1 s cooldowns, Ambush and Infiltrate at 12.
• Alternative: Shadow Walk instead of Triniel's Dagger (alan218).

Best Assassin dungeon build in AION 2 (November 2026)

For dungeons (Nightmare, Expedition, Transcendence, Ludra) run the stigmas Swift Contract 20, Illusive Clone 20, Savage Fang 15 and Triniel's Dagger 10. The core is Quick Slice, Heart Gore and Insignia Explosion at 20: Heart Gore resets on crit and Savage Fang applies five Insignia at once. Stat priority: Attack, Critical Hit, Combat Speed, Cooldown Reduction. Most creators agree.

Why this build

• alan218 (PvE Boss, 25 likes, 2 Nov), grobmotoriker (44 likes, 6 Nov), teivor and l4z4i all run the same four stigmas. According to gamewith.ai, 98% of top EU Assassins run Illusive Clone, 97% Swift Contract, 92% Triniel's Dagger and 79% Savage Fang.
• The 28 Oct patch cut the Illusive Clone cooldown from 90 to 60 s, so the window where Heart Gore has no cooldown comes around more often.
• Storm Rampage now takes Multi-Hit and −1 s on all skill cooldowns instead of the mobile variant (teivor, delcatta, kxyba, l4z4i). Nellan97's guide from 2 Nov has a whole chapter on why Storm Rampage is OP.
• Heart Gore takes 1 Insignia per hit at 20 instead of +20% Critical Hit against fewer targets (alan218, l4z4i), so Insignia Explosion has more marks to detonate.
• In dungeons the community tier list ranks the Assassin only B, and on the global rankings it has index 75 in Nightmare and 79 in Transcendence (tier list in cooperation with aion2.gaming.tools, 22–23 Oct, before the 28 Oct patch).

How it differs from the other modes

• Compared with October: Storm Rampage with Multi-Hit instead of the mobile variant, Heart Gore with Insignia instead of +20% Critical Hit, Savage Roar at 16 instead of 12, Whirlwind Slice at 12 with Multi-Hit. Stigmas, hotbar and macro stay the same.
• Alternative: Evasion Stance instead of Triniel's Dagger or Savage Fang for bosses with a strong AoE attack (teivor, delcatta, aLuckyRO).

01Overview

The Assassin is a melee DPS with a Dagger. In PvE most of the damage comes from Heart Gore: it only triggers after a critical hit, but at level 16 its cooldown resets on every crit, so you press it over and over. The second pillar is Insignia, marks on the target. Savage Roar stacks them, clones from the passive Exploit Weakness add more, and the stigma Savage Fang applies five at once; Insignia Explosion then detonates them and hits harder with every mark.

Most multipliers only work from behind: Ambush deals 30% more from the back and the passive Rear Smite does nothing without back attacks. That is why the Assassin has so much mobility. Shadowstrike puts you behind the target and stuns it, Flash Slice moves you to the other side of the target and Infiltrate jumps behind it from 10 m. Infiltrate works two ways: in combat you trigger it after a Shift dodge, and while flying in the Abyss you can use it directly.

It is also one of the easiest classes to get wrong. Bad skills, gear, rotation or macro turn the Assassin into a weak class, especially in the early game. mein-mmo's tier list from 6 Oct 2026 puts it in A tier for DPS: the highest burst in the game, but also the lowest tolerance for mistakes. Game8 rates it A in PvE and S in PvP, 5 out of 5 for damage and 1 out of 5 for survivability and ease of play. On the global rankings (22–23 Oct), though, it reaches the top 5% less often than its player share would suggest in all six activities; the closest is the Abyss with index 92 (100 = fair share). Those rankings predate the 28 Oct patch, which cut the Illusive Clone cooldown to 60 s.

02Global Season 1: what changes

• The global version has four stigma slots, opening at 22, 27, 32 and 37, and stigmas cap at level 20. aLuckyRO points out a common mistake: at 22 you unlock more stigmas and can put points into them, but you can only equip as many as you have open slots.
• The level cap is 45. Daevanion has five boards on global: Nezekan from 12, Zikel from 20, Vaizel from 30, Triniel from 40 and the PvP board Azphel from 45. The Korean PvE board Ariel is not in the global version.
• The Daevanion boards have smaller numbers on global: white stat nodes give less and Combat Speed is weaker. The layout of skill and passive nodes is the same as on the Taiwanese boards, so the pathing logic still applies (aLuckyRO).
• The 28 Oct patch gave the Assassin 1,000 base HP (from 4,702 to 5,702), Heightened Sixth Sense now gives 1,000 / 2,000 / 4,000 HP at level 5 / 10 / 20, and Illusive Clone has a 60 s cooldown instead of 90 s. The 4 Nov patch didn't touch the Assassin, but it added Chaotic Outer Reshanta, where stats and skill and stigma levels are equalized and only specializations count.

03Skills

A skill gets 10 levels from points; Daevanion nodes, rings and Arcana cards add more. Specializations open at 8, 12 and 16; until level 19 you pick two and the third only at 20. The order is simple: first Quick Slice, Heart Gore and Insignia Explosion to 20, then points into four passives (Rear Smite, Assault Stance, Exploit Weakness, Impact Hit), and only then the rest of the active skills. The other actives need only 8 to 16; don't put extra points into them in the early game.

Quick Slicetarget 20

Deals 61 damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m and restores 100 MP.

Basic attack with no cooldown that hits up to 4 targets and restores MP. One of the three skills you take to 20 first. Until 16 take HP absorption and −1 s Insignia Explosion cooldown per hit; at 16 swap absorption for the guaranteed crit that ignores Block and Evasion. At 20 you have all three: Multi-Hit, Insignia Explosion cooldown reduction and the guaranteed crit.

• 8+50% Multi-Hit on hit
• 12-1s [Insignia Explosion] cooldown on hit
• 16Ignores Block and Evasion and lands as a Critical Hit

All specializations (5)

• 8+20% MP restored
• 8Absorbs 0.7% HP
• 8+50% Multi-Hit on hit
• 12-1s [Insignia Explosion] cooldown on hit
• 16Ignores Block and Evasion and lands as a Critical Hit

Heart Goretarget 20

Triggers on landing a Critical Hit, dealing 111 damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m and restores 100 MP. 5 Stagger Gauge Damage

Triggers after a critical hit, hits up to 4 targets and restores 100 MP. The second of the three main skills. Until 16 take HP absorption and Multi-Hit; at 16 swap absorption for the cooldown reset on crit, and from then on you spam it nonstop. At 20 add 1 Insignia per hit (alan218, l4z4i), so Insignia Explosion has more marks to detonate. Illusive Clone removes its cooldown entirely.

• 8Engraves 1 Insignia for 10s on hit
• 12Multi-Hit on hit
• 16Resets [Heart Gore] cooldown on landing a Critical Hit

All specializations (5)

• 8Absorbs 0.7% HP
• 8Engraves 1 Insignia for 10s on hit
• 8Up to +20% Critical Hit when less targets hit
• 12Multi-Hit on hit
• 16Resets [Heart Gore] cooldown on landing a Critical Hit

Insignia Explosiontarget 20

Selects a target within 20m and deals 663 damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m, inflicting Stun for 3s. Stun chance is doubled on NPC targets. Damage and Stun chance increase based on Insignia stacks. 1 stack: 742 damage, 10% Stun chance 2 stacks: 822 damage, 20% Stun chance 3 stacks: 902 damage, 30% Stun chance 4 stacks: 981 damage, 40% Stun chance 5 stacks: 1061 damage, 50% Stun chance 7 Stagger Gauge Damage

Detonates the Insignia on a target within 20 m and hits up to 4 targets around it. It hits harder with every mark. Third main skill: until 16 take +50% Multi-Hit and keeping 2 marks, at 16 swap Multi-Hit for −3 s cooldown, and at 20 take all three. It hits hardest at five marks, which Savage Fang applies in one go.

• 8+50% Multi-Hit on hit
• 8Keep 2 stacks of Insignias after [Insignia Explosion]
• 16-3s cooldown

All specializations (5)

• 8Adds rotate effect
• 8+50% Multi-Hit on hit
• 8Keep 2 stacks of Insignias after [Insignia Explosion]
• 12+1s Stun duration
• 16-3s cooldown

Savage Roartarget 16

Deals 68 damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m and engraves 1 Insignia for 10s. 2 Stagger Gauge Damage

AoE hit with no cooldown that applies 1 Insignia. Two specializations: first +20% Skill Speed, at 12 −1 s Shadowstrike cooldown per hit. The newer builds (alan218, teivor) take it to 16 for the extra damage, but only after the main skills and passives. Beginners put it at the top of the main row as filler.

• 8+20% Skill Speed
• 12-1s [Shadowstrike] cooldown on hit

All specializations (5)

• 8-20% MP consumed
• 8+20% Skill Speed
• 8Deals up to 12% more damage when less targets are hit
• 12-1s [Shadowstrike] cooldown on hit
• 16Pulls nearby targets on using [Savage Smash]

Shadowstriketarget 8

Moves behind a target within 20m and deals 52 damage, rotates, and inflicts Stun for 3s. 10 Stagger Gauge Damage

Moves you behind a target within 20 m and stuns it for 3 s. The only specialization that matters in PvE is +20% Critical Damage Boost for 10 s after the hit, so level 8 is enough. It opens the rotation right after your buffs and also triggers the passive Ambush Stance.

• 8+20% caster Critical Damage Boost for 10s on hit

All specializations (5)

• 8+1s Stun duration
• 8+20% caster Critical Damage Boost for 10s on hit
• 850% chance to inflict Seal for 5s on hit
• 1250% chance to inflict Root for 5s on hit
• 16Changes to AoE Skill

Ambushtarget 16

Deals 126 damage to a target within 4m. Increases damage by 30% on landing as a Back attack. 7 Stagger Gauge Damage

Close-range strike that is 30% stronger from behind. In PvE you only use it when you're low on HP: with 3% HP absorption and three consecutive uses at 16 you can refill HP whenever you need. Take it to 16, but after the main skills and passives.

• 8Absorbs 3% HP
• 16+2 consecutive uses

All specializations (5)

• 8Engraves 2 Insignias for 10s on landing as a Back attack
• 8Absorbs 3% HP
• 8Breaks Protective Shields on hit
• 1250% chance to trigger [Whirlwind Slice] on hit
• 16+2 consecutive uses

Storm Rampagetarget 16

Deals 107 damage to a target afflicted with Stagger within 4m.

Only works on a target in Stagger and has no cooldown. The November meta takes Multi-Hit and, at 16, −1 s on all skill cooldowns per hit (teivor, l4z4i, delcatta, kxyba). That's why it sits right above Insignia Explosion in your main row: once the boss is Staggered, you hammer it with Storm Rampage and everything else comes back faster.

• 12Multi-Hit on hit
• 16-1s all skill cooldowns on hit

All specializations (5)

• 8Absorbs 5% HP
• 8Restores 120 MP on hit
• 8Changes to mobile skill
• 12Multi-Hit on hit
• 16-1s all skill cooldowns on hit

Whirlwind Slicetarget 12

Deals 300 damage to a target within 4m with a 40% chance to rotate and inflict Stun for 3s on Evasion. 100% to inflict Stun on NPC targets. 7 Stagger Gauge Damage

Strike with a Stun chance, 100% on NPCs. In PvE it is mostly a gap closer: at 12 take +16 m range and +50% Multi-Hit.

• 8+50% Multi-Hit on hit
• 8+16m range

All specializations (5)

• 8+50% Multi-Hit on hit
• 8Changes to AoE damage
• 8+16m range
• 12+20% Stun Chance
• 1625% chance to reset [Whirlwind Slice] cooldown on Evasion

Flash Slicetarget 12

Moves to the opposite side of a target within 4m and deals 181 damage to up to 4 enemies, with a 40% chance to inflict Blind for 3s. 100% chance to inflict Blind on NPC targets. 7 Stagger Gauge Damage

Moves you to the other side of the target and hits up to 4 enemies. Important in PvE because it keeps you behind the boss: at 12 with +6 m range and one extra use you cast it twice in a row and end up where you deal full Back Attack damage.

• 8+6m Range
• 12+1 consecutive use

All specializations (5)

• 8+2s Blind duration
• 8+6m Range
• 8Up to +20% damage when more targets hit
• 12+1 consecutive use
• 1650% chance to rotate and inflict Stun for 3s on hitting a target afflicted with Blind

Infiltratetarget 8

Moves behind a target within 10m and deals 239 damage with a 50% chance to inflict Blind for 3s after using [Dodge] or while flying. 100% chance to inflict Blind on NPC targets. 10 Stagger Gauge Damage

Moves you behind a target within 10 m. Level 8 with +10 m range is enough. In combat you trigger it after a Shift dodge; while flying in the Abyss you can use it directly.

• 8+10m [Infiltrate] range

All specializations (5)

• 8Restores 300 Stamina on landing [Infiltrate]
• 8+10m [Infiltrate] range
• 8Breaks Protective Shields on landing [Infiltrate]
• 12Adds [Dark Strike] Chain Skill
• 16+20% [Infiltrate] Blind Chance

Shadow Falltarget 8

Moves to a target afflicted with Stun within 10m, deals 465 damage, and inflicts Knockdown for 3s. Has a 5% chance to trigger on attacking a target with Incapacitated Immunity. 10 Stagger Gauge Damage

Leaps to a stunned target within 10 m and knocks it down. Keep it at 8 with 10% HP absorption, it doesn't need more. You stun the target with Shadowstrike.

• 8Absorbs 10% HP

All specializations (5)

• 8Absorbs 10% HP
• 8Engraves 3 Insignias for 10s on hit
• 8-5s cooldown
• 12+1s Knockdown duration
• 16Can be used on targets afflicted with Blind

Defiancetarget 12

Removes Stun, Knockdown, Airborne, Grab, Frost, and Fear from the caster and grants Tenacity for 5s. Tenacity: Grants Status Effect Immunity Unaffected by cooldown reduction effects.

Removes Stun, Knockdown, Airborne and other effects and gives you 5 s of immunity. At 12 take 20% HP and 1,000 stamina restored: stamina means more Shift dodges. Press it manually when the boss catches you.

• 8Restores 1000 Stamina on using [Defiance]
• 8Restores 20% HP on using [Defiance]

All specializations (5)

• 8Adds [Storm Slice] Chain Skill
• 8Restores 1000 Stamina on using [Defiance]
• 8Restores 20% HP on using [Defiance]
• 12+2s Tenacity duration
• 16+50% PvE Damage Tolerance and +25% PvP Damage Tolerance for Tenacity duration

04Passives

Passives give the most damage in the early game, which is why they get points right after the three main skills. Order: Rear Smite (Back Attack and PvE Damage Boost), Assault Stance (+1% Critical Damage Boost per level), Exploit Weakness (Attack and Critical Hit) and Impact Hit (Double Chance). Only after them the rest of the active skills, and then the defensive passives: Heightened Sixth Sense for HP, Revitalization Contract as insurance against hard boss hits and Ambush Stance, which adds only a few percent DPS.

Priority	Passive	What it does	Why
1	Rear Smite	Increases the caster's Back Attack Damage Boost by 3%, PvE Damage Boost by 3%, and PvP Damage Boost by 1.5%.	Back Attack Damage Boost a PvE Damage Boost. První pasivka, do které jdou body hned po třech hlavních skillech; funguje jen zezadu. Swift Contract na 10 její efekt násobí 1,5×.
2	Assault Stance	Increases the caster's Critical Damage Boost by 6%.	Každá úroveň přidá 1 % Critical Damage Boost. Druhá v pořadí, Swift Contract na 15 její efekt násobí 1,5×.
3	Exploit Weakness	Increases caster's Critical Hit by 100. Has a 25% chance to increase Attack by 5.5% for 10s, and a 7% chance to summon up to 5 clones on landing a Critical Hit. Each clone deals 17 damage and inflicts Insignia that lasts for 10s (up to 5 Insignia stacks). Clone cooldown: 1s Attack increase cooldown: 1s	Critical Hit, šance na +Attack a klony, které při kritu dávají Insignia. Třetí v pořadí, Illusive Clone na 15 její efekt násobí 1,5×.
4	Impact Hit	Increases the caster's Impact-type Chance by 11.2% and Double Chance by 0.3%.	Impact-type Chance a Double Chance. Čtvrtá z pasivek, které bereš před zbytkem aktivních skillů; Double Chance je u bossů v globálce zatím bez resistu.
5	Heightened Sixth Sense	Increases the caster's Evasion by 200 and HP by 150. Increases Max HP by an extra 6% and restores 85-102 HP on Evasion. Cooldown: 3s	Evasion, HP a léčení při úhybu. Po čtyřech hlavních pasivkách ji táhni co nejvýš, přidává HP.
6	Ambush Stance	Grants Ambush Stance for 10s when using skills that rush or involve movement. Ambush Stance: Has a 50% chance to deal 152 damage on landing an attack. Cooldown: 1s	Ambush Stance se zapne po každém skillu s přesunem a pak má 50% šanci na extra poškození. Přidá jen málo DPS, ale když už nemáš kam body dávat, dotáhni ji.
7	Revitalization Contract	Increases the caster's Status Effect Resist by 17%. Increases Status Effect Resist by 10% for 5s when hit while afflicted with Stun, Knockdown, Airborne, Frost, or Fear (up to 10 stacks). Immediately restores 35% Max HP when HP is 10% or less. Healing Cooldown: 60s Status Effect Resist Cooldown: 1s	Status Effect Resist a záchranné léčení pod 10 % HP. Dobrá obranná pasivka na bosse, kteří tě skoro složí jednou ranou.
8	Determination	Deals 228 damage when landing an attack on a target with 30% HP or less. Cooldown: 1s	Extra poškození na cíle pod 30 % HP. Na konci boje s bossem poškození roste, ale před čtyřmi hlavními pasivkami ji neber.
9	Apply Poison	Has a 15% chance to reduce the target's Incoming Heal by 12% and inflict Poison for 10s on landing an attack. Poison deals 10000~10000 Damage over Time every 1s. Cooldown: 1s	Šance na Poison a sníženou léčbu cíle. Přidá tak 1–2 % poškození, body do ní dávej až nakonec.
10	Defense Break	Reduces the target's Defense by 12% and Status Effect Resist by 11% for 10s when landing an attack on a target afflicted with Stagger or an Impact-type status. Cooldown: 20s	Sníží Defense cíle ve Staggeru nebo pod Impact-type efektem. Nízká priorita, až po všem ostatním.

05Gear and stats

Stat priority: Attack › Critical Hit › Combat Speed › Cooldown Reduction

TitanTheF takes Attack, Critical Hit and Accuracy on manastones. aLuckyRO builds the Assassin around crit and Multi-Hit, because Heart Gore doesn't trigger without a crit and without it you have no damage.

Combat Speed is a key stat for the Assassin, which is why you take Swift Contract to 20 before anything else: +20% Combat Speed for 10 s and another +10% at 20. The second stat that keeps your burst high is Cooldown Reduction. It comes from the corner nodes of Nezekan, Triniel's Dagger at 10 and the wings from the seasonal shop (Special tab, for season points), which have 4% Cooldown Reduction. Don't spend season points on anything else; until then the wings from the main questline are fine.

Don't leave Genus Insight for the late game, crystals are plentiful on global early on. On the boards watch four slots: Max Attack in the first and fifth (Attack Bonus only temporarily), PvE Damage Boost over Damage Boost in the fourth and PvE Damage Tolerance in the seventh. Never lock unique stats, even at max; heroic is always higher. At level 9 the heroic chance is 1%, at 10 it is 5%, so lock a good roll at 9 and keep leveling.

In the Pantheon take the statue from the Nightmare shop, another for 10 Drainer kills and the rest from quests. For artwork look for Illusion (Cooldown Reduction) and Wisdom (Double Chance; bosses on global have no resist yet). The market has cheap pieces with Life, Illusion and Wisdom, you don't need the expensive ones.

aLuckyRO also mentions ping. Most of your damage sits on the mouse buttons and spamming Heart Gore is fast, so lower latency gets you more hits.

06Arcana

Arcana cards add skill levels. Look for +2 to Quick Slice, Heart Gore and Insignia Explosion so they reach 20 and get all three specializations without compromise. After that, the highest passives you can get, again in the order Rear Smite, Assault Stance, Exploit Weakness and Impact Hit.

Game8 takes the Primal Vigor set, which adds PvE Attack while you're above 70% HP. On a low-survivability Assassin that makes the HP absorption from Shadow Fall and Ambush more important than it looks.

07Daevanion

You'll eventually fill the boards completely, so don't worry about what to skip. What matters is the order: on Nezekan the corner nodes for Combat Speed and Cooldown Reduction first, on Zikel Damage Boost and Damage Tolerance, and route there so the path picks up nodes for the three main skills (Quick Slice, Heart Gore, Insignia Explosion) and the four main passives. Game8 uses a different order: first all nodes for Heart Gore, Quick Slice and Insignia Explosion, then the orange stat nodes and finally the remaining passives.

• Nezekanfrom lv. 12

  Combat Speed, Cooldown Reduction

  Nejdřív rohové uzly Combat Speed a Cooldown Reduction. Cestu k nim vol tak, aby po ní ležely uzly Quick Slice, Heart Gore a Insignia Explosion a z pasivek hlavně Exploit Weakness. Desku nakonec stejně vyplníš celou.

• Zikelfrom lv. 20

  Damage Boost, Damage Tolerance

  Rohové uzly Damage Boost a Damage Tolerance, cestou znovu uzly tří hlavních skillů a čtyř hlavních pasivek (Rear Smite, Assault Stance, Exploit Weakness, Impact Hit).

• Vaizelfrom lv. 30

  Critical Damage Boost

  Critical Damage Boost. aLuckyRO ho na začátku hry doporučuje jen Assassinovi a Rangerovi, protože kritují. Blízko linky leží pasivky Rear Smite a Apply Poison.

• Trinielfrom lv. 40

  Multi-Hit Chance

  Multi-Hit Chance (Game8, aLuckyRO). aLuckyRO desku plní postupně a cestou bere Flash Slice, Game8 znovu Heart Gore, Quick Slice a Insignia Explosion.

• Azphelfrom lv. 45

  PvP

  PvP deska (PvP Damage Boost, PvP Damage Tolerance, Status Effect Chance a Resist podle Game8). Pro PvE build ji řeš až po ostatních.

You can plot the route and count points and reset cost in the Daevanion planner on aion2.gaming.tools.

08Stigmas

Swift Contractlv. 20

Increases the caster's Combat Speed by 20% for 10s.

+20% Combat Speed for 10 s, another +10% at 20. Together with Illusive Clone it's the reason the Assassin's burst is so high. Take it to 10 first (it multiplies Rear Smite), then Illusive Clone to 15, and as soon as you have stigma shards from Abyss points, Swift Contract to 20 as the first stigma of all.

Illusive Clonelv. 20

Removes [Heart Gore] cooldown and deals 20% of damage dealt as extra damage for 10s.

Removes the Heart Gore cooldown and adds 20% of your damage as an extra hit for 10 s. Since the 28 Oct patch its cooldown is 60 s instead of 90 s. At 10 it gives +20% Critical Damage Boost, at 15 it multiplies Exploit Weakness by 1.5 and at 20 it has a 50% chance on crit for extra damage. The second of the two buffs; take it to 15 after Swift Contract 10 and to 20 only after Swift Contract 20.

Savage Fanglv. 15

Deals 1074 damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m and engraves 5 Insignias for 10s. 50 Stagger Gauge Damage

Applies 5 Insignia at once, so Insignia Explosion hits at full strength right after it. From level 15 it adds +10% PvE Damage Boost for 10 s. In the rotation it comes right after Shadowstrike.

Triniel's Daggerlv. 10

Deals 1374 damage to a target within 4m and increases all of the target's skill cooldowns by 5% of their duration. Increases damage by 30% if attacking from behind the target. 20 Stagger Gauge Damage

At 10 it reduces all your cooldowns by 10% per hit, and that's the point: you fire it after Savage Fang so Shadowstrike and your buffs come back sooner. 45 s cooldown, 30% stronger from behind.

Alternatives:

• Evasion Stance instead of Triniel's Dagger or Savage Fang: you avoid all damage for a short time and it restores MP and stamina once. aLuckyRO and teivor bring it in PvE for bosses with a strong AoE attack, for example in Transcendence; it costs you the 10% cooldown reduction from Triniel's Dagger.
• Throw Shadowblade for farming: at 10 its cooldown resets when the target dies and at 20 it hits an area. That's why the farming build runs it instead of Savage Fang. Don't bring it to bosses.
• Shadow Walk, Shadowstep and Spiral Slice are PvP stigmas; they belong in the Abyss and 1v1 builds below.

09Macro and rotation

You can stack several skills on one hotbar key. The game uses the lowest one that is available, and if it can't, it moves to the next one up. So the main row fires Insignia Explosion first, then Storm Rampage when it's on cooldown (only on a Staggered target), then Heart Gore and finally Savage Roar. That row is your basic rotation.

The in-game macro has a single step: the main row with a 10 ms delay. Put nothing else in it; you press the other skills manually, which is why the Assassin needs more keys in PvE than classes that run entirely off the macro. Set the macro key in Settings → Key settings → General → Gameplay → Macro. Skill Queue must be on in Combat and controls, otherwise skills won't chain smoothly.

The second layer is a mouse macro (for example Logitech G HUB): while you hold right click it repeatedly presses two keys, the in-game macro key and a second Quick Slice key. Add that one in Key settings → Quick slot → Skill Quick Use 1 (left click), assigned to something like [. Release the button and the macro stops.

1. Hotbar rows

• 2
  1Illusive Clone2Swift Contract
  Oba buffy na jedné klávese, dole Illusive Clone, nad ní Swift Contract. Nezabírají dva sloty a cooldown obou vidíš i po použití, takže nepropásneš burst okno.
• RMB
  1Insignia Explosion2Storm Rampage3Heart Gore4Savage Roar
  Hlavní rotace. Dole Insignia Explosion, nad ní Storm Rampage a Heart Gore; začátečník si nahoru dá ještě Savage Roar. Hra pustí první dostupný skill odspodu. Tenhle řádek je jediný krok makra ve hře.
• LMB
  1Quick Slice
  Quick Slice bez cooldownu na levém tlačítku. V nastavení kláves (Quick Slot → Skill Quick Use 1) mu přidej druhou klávesu, třeba [, aby ho mohlo mačkat makro myši.
• 1
  1Whirlwind Slice2Shadow Fall3Infiltrate
  Přískoky na jedné klávese: Whirlwind Slice s dosahem 20 m, Shadow Fall na omráčený cíl a Infiltrate za záda. Klávesa odvozená, ve videu není vidět.
• 3
  1Shadowstrike
  Otvírák: skok za záda, Stun a +20 % Critical Damage Boost na 10 s. Mačkáš ručně hned po buffech. Klávesa odvozená.
• 4
  1Savage Fang
  Burst: 5 Insignia naráz a od úrovně 15 +10 % PvE Damage Boost. Ručně po Shadowstrike. Klávesa odvozená.
• 5
  1Triniel's Dagger
  Na 10 sníží všechny tvoje cooldowny o 10 %. Ručně po Savage Fang. Klávesa odvozená.
• E
  1Flash Slice
  Flash Slice zvlášť, dvakrát za sebou tě vrátí za záda bosse. Klávesa odvozená.
• R
  1Ambush2Defiance
  Záchrana: Ambush se třemi použitími absorbuje HP, Defiance zruší Stun a vrátí 20 % HP a 1 000 staminy. Oba ručně, až když máš málo HP nebo tě boss chytí. Klávesa odvozená.

Order 1 = highest priority. In game, put skill number 1 in the bottom slot of the row, because the game checks the bottom slot first.

2. In-game macro

• RMB

3. What you press

• Before the fight Illusive Clone and Swift Contract from key 2, then Shadowstrike behind the target for +20% Critical Damage Boost, Savage Fang for burst and Triniel's Dagger to cut cooldowns. Then hold right click: Insignia Explosion, Storm Rampage, Heart Gore with Quick Slice in between.
• Press Flash Slice manually whenever the boss turns, so you stay behind it. As soon as Shadowstrike or your buffs come back, run the loop again.
• Use Ambush only when you're low on HP, and Defiance when the boss catches you or you need stamina for a Shift dodge. The gap closers Whirlwind Slice, Shadow Fall and Infiltrate share one key you press when you need to reach the boss or get behind it.

The Macro Helper on aion2.gaming.tools builds a macro from your own character: after login it reads skills and stigmas from the official Armory.

10Summary

• Quick Slice, Heart Gore and Insignia Explosion to 20 first, switch specializations at 16 (guaranteed crit, Heart Gore reset, −3 s Insignia Explosion).
• Then passives: Rear Smite, Assault Stance, Exploit Weakness, Impact Hit. Only then the rest of the active skills.
• Stigmas: Swift Contract, Illusive Clone, Savage Fang, Triniel's Dagger. Swift Contract 10, Illusive Clone 15, Swift Contract 20, Illusive Clone 20.
• Rotation: buffs, Shadowstrike, Savage Fang, Triniel's Dagger, then right click with Insignia Explosion, Storm Rampage and Heart Gore; Flash Slice keeps you behind.
• In-game macro is just the main row at 10 ms, the mouse macro adds Quick Slice; Skill Queue on.
• Daevanion: corner nodes for Combat Speed and Cooldown Reduction, then Damage Boost, picking up nodes for the three main skills and four passives on the way.
• Gear: Attack, Critical Hit, Combat Speed, Cooldown Reduction (seasonal shop wings); don't put off Genus Insight and the Pantheon.

Best Assassin PvP Abyss build in AION 2 (November 2026)

In group PvP (Abyss, Artifact Siege, Reshanta) run the stigmas Illusive Clone 20, Swift Contract 20, Shadow Walk 15 and Throw Shadowblade 20. At 15 Shadow Walk puts you in Stealth even in combat, Shadowstrike adds Seal and Root, and Ambush and Infiltrate break shields. Stat priority: Attack, Critical Hit, PvP Damage Boost, Status Effect Resist.

Why this build

• alan218 (PvP, 2 Nov) and l4z4i (PvP, 6 Nov) both run Illusive Clone, Swift Contract and Shadow Walk, and kxyba (Abyss, 12 Oct) also takes Shadow Walk to 15.
• Shadow Walk gives 20 s of Stealth, guarantees a crit on attacks from Stealth at 5 and becomes usable in combat at 15, so you can drop out of a fight and reopen it.
• Throw Shadowblade hits an area at 20 and slows by 40% for 5 s. alan218's macro: Illusive Clone > Insignia Explosion > Throw Shadowblade.
• The PvP builds by alan218, l4z4i, teivor, kxyba and delcatta use nearly identical specializations: Shadowstrike with Seal and Root, Ambush and Infiltrate break shields, Defiance restores 20% HP and extends Tenacity. Since 4 Nov, Chaotic Outer Reshanta equalizes stats and levels, so only specializations decide.
• The Abyss is its best activity on the global rankings (index 92), and the community PvP tier list keeps it at S.

How it differs from the other modes

• Compared with PvE: Savage Fang and Triniel's Dagger are out, Shadow Walk and Throw Shadowblade come in; Heart Gore and Quick Slice take HP absorption, Insignia Explosion takes +1 s Stun instead of keeping 2 Insignia.
• Alternatives: Shadowstep instead of Throw Shadowblade (l4z4i, malpia); delcatta, following top Abyss player Th3EnD, runs Illusive Clone, Swift Contract, Triniel's Dagger and Evasion Stance.

Best Assassin PvP 1v1 build in AION 2 (November 2026)

For Arena of Solitude and duels run the stigmas Illusive Clone 20, Shadowstep 15, Evasion Stance 10 and Spiral Slice 20. Shadowstep hops you back into Stealth and applies 5 Insignia, Evasion Stance absorbs the opponent's burst and Spiral Slice strips up to three of their buffs. Stat priority: Attack, Critical Hit, PvP Damage Boost, Status Effect Resist.

Why this build

• kxyba (Keyba, 1v1, 12 Oct), teivor (arena, 3 Nov) and malpia (arena, 29 Oct) all run Illusive Clone, Shadowstep and Evasion Stance. j0ei (Global PVP, 29 Sep) also takes Spiral Slice.
• Shadowstep at 15 gives 3 s of Stealth, 5 Insignia for Insignia Explosion and +200 Evasion for 10 s. j0ei uses it under pressure and then reopens the fight with Spiral Slice.
• Evasion Stance at 10 has two consecutive uses and works on the move; a successful dodge restores MP and stamina.
• Arena of Solitude index is 79, below average, but the data is from 22–23 Oct, before the Illusive Clone cooldown cut. Keyba's build is from 12 Oct and teivor labels his as "still testing".

How it differs from the other modes

• Compared with Abyss: Shadowstep, Evasion Stance and Spiral Slice instead of Swift Contract, Shadow Walk and Throw Shadowblade. Active skills and specializations stay the same.
• Alternatives: Evasion Contract instead of Spiral Slice (teivor, delcatta), Triniel's Dagger (j0ei, delcatta).

LLeveling 1–45

Short, for your second monitor. The point order is the same as in the PvE build: three main skills, four passives, the rest.

Your browser remembers ticked steps. Steps with a red frame are specific to the Assassin.

How to fight while leveling

• Packs: Savage Roar stacks Insignia on the mobs, Insignia Explosion detonates them in an area and Heart Gore fires after every crit. For farming, temporarily slot Throw Shadowblade instead of Triniel's Dagger; its cooldown resets on a kill.
• Elites and bosses: Swift Contract and Illusive Clone, Shadowstrike behind the target, Savage Fang for five marks, then Insignia Explosion and spam Heart Gore. Flash Slice puts you back behind when the boss turns.
• Mana: both Quick Slice and Heart Gore restore MP. In action combat mode your character doesn't auto-attack, so you have to press Quick Slice yourself or let the mouse macro do it.
• Low HP: three uses of Ambush with absorption, Shadow Fall with 10% HP, Defiance with 20% HP restore and some distance. Game8 rates the Assassin's survivability 1 out of 5, so step out of the fight for a moment.

Leveling macro

• The in-game macro has a single step: the row with Insignia Explosion, Storm Rampage, Heart Gore and Savage Roar on top, 10 ms delay. The buffs Illusive Clone and Swift Contract share key 2.
• The rest is manual: Shadowstrike, Savage Fang, Triniel's Dagger, Flash Slice and your defensives. Set up the mouse macro that adds Quick Slice once you know the rotation.