Return of Reckoning

Hey all,

I played WE almost exclusively on live, and after a hiatus i've been back to RoR for the past month (give or take) and noted that trying to get information from some of the more established WE can be like pulling teeth! I don't blame them, as they are just trying to play the game, but I figured that my random thoughts and questions might be better served on the forums than trying to chat in game.

Builds:

With the update to the WE, I thought that I would see a greater diversity in builds, but it seems that most boils down to either a carnage/treach or suffering/treach build, which was the standard on live as well. I do see more sac stab builds, and i've personally been playing with sac stab, but I want others thoughts on the utility of sac stab and how to build using it. I've tried:

1. Sac stab with suffering up to BLB (and EoS)
2. Sac stab up to pierce armor (and EoIB)

I always seem to miss black lotus blade when I don't have it, more than I miss not having pierce armor, but then I obviously miss out on armor pen going with suffering tree.

For those going all in with sac stab, are you upping your WS at the cost of your S in order to make up for the lack of armor pen?
I'm guessing more go with EoIP and pierce armor with sac stab, then suffering/treach.

Random Questions:

1. I saw some interesting discussions on how to make some of the lackluster abilities of the WE class better (see envenomed blade in the rejected part of the forums). Are changes still in the works to make some of this happen? Does anyone out there try to make envenomed blade work? Making use of the septic blade tactic?

2. Bleeding Edge - I tried this tactic for a bit, and honestly really liked it. Made RA better, felt that my basic rotation even without RA had a little more impact, and felt I had more flexibility in what tactics and rotation I was using. Anyone else like this or made use of it?

Ah, one more thing:

1. Mark of Morathi - Since this requires a finisher to use, obviously it's nicely paired with sac stab. However, I can see this fitting more of a sustain build rather than burst, as it increases damage after a finisher (deeper in rotation) and requires you to stay alive and engaged a bit longer (need better survivability). For that reason, while it looks appealing, I can see it also taking the backseat to other burst oriented tactics. When using this, are you feeling like you need to up your defenses at the cost of offense?

almost any tactic outside +15% dmg, IP and probably BF is meh
if WE had 5 or better 6 tactic slots you probably can start thinking about 3s lolbuffs AFTER appling finisher.

Did you ever attempt more experimentation with the Sac Stab build? I think I'm gonna give it a go.

Yeah, I have somewhat ADHD with builds, and I cycle through everything when the mood hits me.

I still use Sac Stab occasionally, as it's rewarding when you get a nice crit and the tides in a fight turn quickly to your favor. I also pair it with Suffering up to BLB, as I feel like the heal debuff is generally more important than Pierce Armor.

It's definitely more of a "specialist" build, because Sac Stab really does terrible dmg with high armor, and if you're speccing that high it can be a downer. That may be a reason to keep experimenting with EoIP, but lately I feel like BLB is a must, and EoS has so much utility that I really find it hard not putting some points in Suffering.