Ah, Bloodstalker. This is the build that redefines “one-trick pony”. If you need anything other than single-target DPS on a raid boss, then this is probably not what you’ll use.

But when you can pull it off, it’s worth it. Bloodstalker will do more single-target damage than any other spec in the right circumstances.

At this point, you may be wondering “What is Bloodstalker?”. It’s the common nickname given to a hybrid Assassin/Riftstalker build, mainly because mixing the two soul names together wasn’t particularly appealing. Bloodstalker combines the powerful bleeds from Assassin with the crit and damage bonuses from Riftstalker’s teleports in order to maintain very high single-target DPS.

A German guild named Nemesis has put together a list of Champion and Assassin talents and root abilities from their time spent at GamesCom this year. They have since been transcribed into the Telarapedia as well. A quick comment on each; the assassin shouldn’t surprise anyone being a poison based class with stealth and positional attacks. The champion seems to be your typical “arms” warrior from Warcraft, a charging, two-handed wielding warrior that’s bent on wrecking havoc.

Telarapedia links: Champion, Assassin

It looks like Trion is ramping up their information release for GamesCom this week. Another Rift: Planes of Telara soul was revealed today at MMORPG.com.  It isn’t much of a surprise since it was shown at E3 this year, so if you haven’t guessed it already, it’s the Assassin.

“I breathe shadow, caress with fingers of razor-sharp steel, and weep tears of poison. Mine is the name of your sudden, messy death.”

Overview:

Masters of subtlety and subterfuge, an Assassin’s ability to walk in the shadows allows them to bypass obstacles and launch devastating surprise attacks. A rare few victims survive the initial assault, only to succumb to virulent poisons.

Find out the rest on MMORPG.com. Stay tuned at Rift Junkies for further coverage.