Hey all,

As with any game, I've always chosen assassins, because that is what I excel at - never been much good at that frontline malarkey. Lurking in a bush, stalking and planning my next move has always been my modus operandi. But one thing has me thinking;

"What is an assassin's role in a three way battle, that includes hundreds of people?"

As with every other MMO, assassins always seem to get eaten alive once exposed, so what can we do in a battle where being detected is pretty much a given? and even if we aren't spotted right away, we're surely done for after we've opened up on our target, right?... Because I'm sure it's not gonna be a one shot, with a fancy cinematic, like in Skyrim.

Is there anything a rogue type character can do, other than guarantee his death in Cyrodiil, to turn the tides of battle, or is it simply a numbers game? ... And before anyone suggests Archery, I've never been one for ranged assassination. Getting my hands bloody is more of a rush.

I hope this post isn't blanketed by the NDA

You can hide near the borders of faction occupied territory in Cyrodiil and kill soloers so they A waste soul gems reving or b cant be used in an actual fight because there all the way back at some sort of spawnpoint. or hide near dungeons in Cyrodiil and kill explorers. or you can get with other assassins and ambush 4 man groups.

If you want to be useful in a actual fight I suppose you and other assassins can be a first-strike unit. or kill those who are on the edges of battle/ running

We really need to see how the PvP mechanics work before can we answer. I really want this to be viable, even though I'm generally a ranged killer type of guy. A more intimate kill can me more... satifiying ever once in a while!

Aye, I do normally go for the stragglers of the herd, but with so many players around, that would be hazardous. Coordinating with other assassins would be difficult, unless we lay in wait on a road, not really contributing to the huge battle near the White-Gold tower. What I really meant was a particular role in the thick of it, not random ambushes around Cyrodiil.

you could kill people trying to reinforce the enemy army from outside the battle. one less enemy player is one less problem for the warriors/battlemages to deal with. You could also attack from behind the enemy possibly casting aoe spells/skills but you said you want to be non ranged but you could still attack the most powerful attacks then run weakening the enemy. Or the best thing would be attacking there ranged attackers which will be in the back(most likely)

You have to realize that the strength of an assassin type is the first strike that should be mostly devastating. Every build is going to have strengths and weaknesses, if the assassin type were able to survive as well as a front liner then they wouldn't have a weakness.

And that would be [censored] stupid.

If MMO PvP history proves anything, it's that an assassin doesn't really have a true place on the battlefield, other than to harass the enemy, or take down the wounded, so I really hope melee combat is viable after an initial opener.

I've read that there is a 50 yard range cap for archers (not sure about casters), so they still have to be pretty close to the main pack to be of any use. it'll be interesting to see how this will be handled, because I don't wanna have to be an archer to circumvent weak melee skills in PvP.

I understand that there has to be a strong opener, but it's what happens afterwards that bothers me. I can't see this game having one shot take downs, or even two, so it's what happens after exposure that interests me. I don't wanna be forced to take a ranged spec.

Well, it's impossible to play this game like Assassins Creed or Skyrim where everyone is an NPC. So, I think you'll just have to adapt. As everyone else said, your target will most likely be stragglers and weaklings who wander in your generel direction. That type of character definitely sounds like an alt to me, to be honest unless you are very patient and are happy getting few kills in PvP. On the other hand, for PvE or role playing it sounds like a very fun char to play.