Grinding, PvP, and Sanctum

Grinding:

Tuesday started off rough for me. I was at level 37 and really didn't want to go to lower level zones such as Wild Lands or Khopshef to grind out quests so I decided to head to the Noble District solo. I picked up a couple of quests and began killing (one at a time, very cautiously) level 41-42's. Each mob required that I use at least one cooldown to be able to kill it whether it be snap kick, lotus extract, or a potion/evasion.

Around 39 I ran into a level 39 PoM that was also soloing. We needed a change of pace so we partied up and grinded to 41.

PvP:

During my grind I got ganked, a lot. One person in particular from 'Rising Arms' who was level 41 or so continually killed me while I was fighting mobs and having just arrived, was still level 37. He was a PoM. After the third time, I decided it was time to put all that talking I've done on the Assassin forums to the test. I managed to kill him 3-4 times in as many encounters from full health, with little to no challenge. The fights went something like this:

1) Sneak Attack: 60% HP
2) Double Tap W, Swing, Swing: 40% HP
If the stun doesnt hit on the first two swings, immediately Snap Kick.
3) Snap Kick, Combo (either Quick Strikes or Cunning Strikes): Dead

On occasion I would duck behind a building and restealth if he got away but with Snap Kick, Lotus Extract, and potions I just wasn't dying easily. I played it much like an arena in World of Warcraft where my strategy was open up as hard as I can, if I don't think they're going to die look for a reset or a pillar to play 'pillar craft' on while they're still trying to stabalize. On one occasion I ended up crossbowing him to death when he sprinted off, it hits surprisingly hard. Generally though he died fast enough that he didn't have a chance to run.

Sanctum of the Burning Souls:

Around 41 we picked up two of the Priests friends that I was grinding with from 39-41 and decided we would give Sanctum a go. Our group makeup was:

40 Tempest of Set
41 Priest of Mitra
38 Assassin
41 Assassin

The instance was relatively easy even with 4 people and a subpar group makeup. The cloak and other instance drops (dagger, cloth chest, mace) were all decent and we completed 6 quests that pulled in around 10,000 exp each which was a welcome change. The difficulty and depth of the instance didn't seem impressive and to be honest, it felt really bland. The size was impressive, but the bosses and their mechanics were mediocre at best.

Takeaways from Sanctum:

Flesh Necrosis. I've seen several posts on the Assassin forums saying the skill is useless and this instance has shown me that it is clearly not. Literally every mob we would take down would get to a (5) stack of Flesh Rot and using Flesh Necrosis became almost second nature. It was hitting for around 450 which is a pretty significant chunk for a non-stamina using ability. I'm very pleased with the skill and this is where I've found it most useful so far. I'd venture a guess that in PvP it's useful against heavily armored targets where the fight may be prolonged out of the regular 20s 'comfortable' range of how long it takes us to kill a caster.

If you're going to do an instance you should absolutely bring stamina food/potions if you want to maximize your effectiveness.