Game Mechanics Atrocious Acrobat Assassin Ability: Lacerate (Please God, Somebody Help)

So, I've been playing Wynncraft for a few days now, and I've been having a hell of a time with the Assassin build, placing all of my ability points into the Acrobat route. It's like playing Metal Gear Rising, as I dash around and eviscerate anything in my path- Jack-The-Ripper style. It was all fun and games, up until I unwittingly spent two of my ability points on the "Lacerate" perk, which adds extra damage- and movement to the spin-attack.

Now, before I begin to describe to you just how absolutely atrocious this perk has been on the acrobat build- I must first humble-brag about how good the assassin has been doing for me. I'm slicing through enemies twice my level, dashing across the map and wreaking havoc on anything I come across. The speed of the assassin is not in vain; it absolutely rocks anything and everything- even having the capability to evade projectiles if you're fast enough. Almost every item I've looted has been leagues ahead of my character's level, not that that's done anything to get in the way of my bloodthirsty conquest.
Now, from the beginning of the game- your main-staple move as an acrobat is going to be spin-attack. It's excellent crowd control, it hits from a distance, and it costs like dirt to use. Having beefed up my wisdom stat, I can dash around and slice accordingly to the tune of Red Sun, and spam Spin-Attack when I have mana at my disposal. I was effectively playing a one-hit one-kill bullet hell, and it wasn't unfeasible at all. All of a sudden, crashing in like a drunken step-dad at a little kid's birthday party- comes "Lacerate."

I cannot begin to describe to you, the sinking dismay that built up in my stomach as I entered the combo- "Right-Left-Right," and was taken through the choppy motions of 'Lacerate.' Where it had once been a safe-haven for crowd-control combos, it was now a suicidal death-sentence, and an utter waste of mana and combo space. Now, Spin-Attack is the ability I dread ever 'accidentally' using, for fear that I will almost instantly be killed. Where spin attack kept me at a safe distance, Lacerate causes your character to be thrust forward right into the enemy you're facing- taking whatever damage they have to dish at you. As if that weren't enough, it proceeds to send you upwards in this awkward motion, taking additional time where the original spin-attack move only took a split second.

I have died countless times to slow-moving melee enemies, only because I accidentally entered the spin-attack combo as I was fighting. Beyond the extra damage, Lacerate functionally has no purpose- and can even cause you to take damage from the low-level zombies in front of Ragni upon use. It is an absolute stain on the acrobat moveset- and upon getting it, I have felt increasing waves of regret- for having ever gone down the Acrobat route. I remain hopeful, eager for the discounted dash, or the attack-dash, or the shuriken ability later down the line. The quirky, fun, and fast-paced gameplay makes the acrobat build enjoyable, and gives you a reason to play- despite its difficulty rating being 10/10 on the classes scale.

To change Lacerate, you must remove the extra movement it adds to your spin attack. The spin attack is good to begin with, because it is safe- and it maintains crowd control. It becomes functionally null, if it launches you into the center of the crowd you are attempting to safely dispatch of from a distance. Don't add movement to the spin attack, and don't over-extend the time it takes to perform said attack. Dash works wonderfully for movement, because it is quick, direct, and can be mastered because of this. Dash takes a split second to work, and it moves you around. Because of this, other moves launching you forward become redundant- and counter-intuitive. Have Lacerate just do more damage, or cause bleed/poison. Maybe have it extend the range of spin-attack.

The sooner this is seen to, the better I will sleep at night. Knowing that the acrobat build is cursed with Lacerate haunts me, like the portrait of Cthulu- towering over me in my dreams, steadily moving forward with a maddening cadence of antediluvian horror. I beg of you, dispatch of Lacerate, and deliver the Acrobat build from the ravenous, clutching shadows-

-of mediocrity.

 

Solution: turn 60 degrees to the side before casting. It's called Acrobat for a reason.

________________________________

^ I probably should've taken into account that you're not at endgame - I can see it being weirder before that, without all the other mobility tools that Acrobat offers.

 

Lacerate is definitely a downgrade during early game honestly. It should be swapped with something deeper in the tree since Lacerate can barely do its function during the early game due to mana costs and janky mobility. I don't blame any new players for complaining about how unreliable it is, it really shouldn't be the first thing on the acrobat tree.

I don't doubt that it can be good but it really is a complicated ability compared to most important first upgrades right now.

 

You might consider using trickster as it retains the original spin attack

 

The point of lacerate is basically just to keep you in the air.
If you don't like it and want better crowd control at earlier levels, just go trickster

 

yeah this is stupid and lacerate should be lower down the tree.

funny thing is how yeah in the early game assassin is insanely op then later the admins just decided they didnt like it

________________________________

i mean it got buffed but idk

 

L

 

Necropost? NOT TECHNICALLY AHAHAHA

"This archetype is an endgame archetype!"
You do realize that, quite literally, 93% of the game is not the endgame, right? Levelling is a huge part of the game (hell, it's MOST of the game), and archetypes shouldn't only be usable during the endgame. The point is that Acrobat isn't fun at low levels, and "use another archetype" isn't a great way to fix that - hell, it isn't a way at all.

nice thoughtful response to a new player posting their complaints you got there

 

Yeah, using another archetype isn't really a fix to the problem- what if you want to play acrobat at low level? But it's the only real remedy unless the ability or archetype itself is changed

 

While you're right, probably the only solution is to switch archetypes. The game is in a horrible state of balance right now and fixing a lower level issue is probably not on a priority list for atree people

 

no need to thank me

 

I really enjoyed reading this, please make more threads!

Other than that I don't really have an opinion on this, i never played assassin

 

def could see lacerate getting swapped with a difrent ability that helps during the early game. since lacerate end game is dope but early game is an early grave

 

Honestly Acrobat as a whole sucks even as high as level ~85-ish. You really have to get to the endgame where you can get enough mana regen to spell cycle continuously. It's a pretty massive issue with the archetype.
So yeah, in the current state of the game you should probably use a different archetype until you get to the endgame or this gets fixed.

 

you need even more mana with every other archetype other than arcanist or lightbender

 

"every other archetype"?
I mean, since 2.0 released, I have used Riftwalker, Shadestepper, Sharpshooter, and Acolyte-Ritualist, and probably some others that I'm forgetting, and those were all viable.
But yes there is a big problem with many archetypes not being fun at low levels, and that's really bad. Acrobat probably has it worst though.

 

the difference with those are that you don't need to spam spells
acro needs to spam spells to keep flying so it seems like you need more mana but it's actually less when compared to spamming spells with other archetypes
forgot about shaman

 

I mean I'm running acrobat assassin on my third class, and like lvl 50 so far, I guess its decent early game, I'm not sure what level you are, but assuming if you are level 30, you should rock with adventure set (GODLY SET BONUS) and do the tempo town trouble quest, get a good idea about time fragment weapons, get the katana from the mysterious merchant located in tempo town, it is really good as it provides 12/5s mana regen, which is vital for early game. Also make sure to powder your weapons as it increases damage in early game by a lot. Prioritize in mana regen for early game builds so you can spam spells effectively.

By the way, I don't suggest using lacerate as much (EARLY GAME), I suggest spamming multihit and running away with dash early game, as lacerate doesn't do as much damage as multihit and has similar mana costs. Multihit also sort of stuns enemies in place, making it a better spell overall than lacerate, you can also spam your m1s during the duration of multihit.

Lacerate + dash + dash is a cool way moving around (and if you run out of mana, get on your HORSE), although I don't know how do you fly with acrobat yet as I don't have the mana regen and ability points for the abilities you need to fly.

Assassin does like no damage end game by the way (If you're playing acrobat--) unless you got mythics so I don't suggest it being your first class, I suggest changing to another class if you're looking for damage, archer, warriors are great options. If you want an easy playthrough, Mage is the best because it got heals which almost makes you impossible to die. Additionally, its like the best class for lootrunning (best money making method if you have good luck) because you can easily cheese parkours and go to high places with teleport and move around really REALLY fast.

DON'T PICK SHAMAN BY THE WAY, ITS MY FIRST CLASS AND ITS SHIT, ITS HELL! YOU DIE REALLY FAST AND YOU DO NO DAMAGE AT ALL. ITS ONLY REASON OF EXISTING IS LVL GRIND PARTIES, RAID ROOMS AND ABSOLUTION HEALER, THE MOST EXPENSIVE SHAMAN MYTHIC.

 

Wot

 

he speaking the truth tbh, shaman dps is horrible for single target and guess what the one endgame challenge is?