Idlechasing for assassins

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Warning.png WARNING: This page contains information about idlechasing, which has undergone significant changes.

As of 2024, all commands that give xp give 20x gp as experience, if there has been 10 unique commands in between.
XP is no longer shared in a group due to changes[1] to the game. Grouped TMs are still possible.
The creators have proposed missions as a way to gain experience and money without combat.

You should read the Idlechasing article and understand the basics of idlechasing before this is expected to make any sense.

Idlechasing is very productive as an NPK assassin, and a great way to advance the skills you'll need prior to the run. Idlechasing post-run may not be feasible unless you are very active at your keyboard, because you are an easy stationary target. In addition to TMing some useful skills (covert and faith mostly, maybe a musical instrument for inhuming), you can also funnel hundreds of millions of xp into essential non-primaries like adventuring.health and adventuring.perception.

October 2016 - Note that it's not possible to attack shearers any more, and there do not appear to be any portable NPC combat targets at the present time. You can still do non-combat things to your shearer, like serenading or peeking.

Making Assassin Aliases

Because we have a lot of high xp commands, we don't have to worry about having 5 minutes between restarting the alias, and can use 11 or more commands instead to make sure you get full xp every time you use you alias. If you're lower level, you might want to throw in every command you can use, even crafts and such, to TM. If you're past the point of TMing much of anything, it's good to focus on the high xp commands.

Assassin Commands

A great list of assassin commands, their GP use, and xp return rate is linked from the main page of this site. Basically, use all the 30x ones as a priority, then add in things you want to TM, preferably at 15x return rate. Some commands are a bit tricky however and require special equipment or techniques.

Assassin 30x XP rate Commands

  1. Abscond
  2. Ambush
  3. Assess
  4. Backstab
  5. Conceal
  6. Disable
  7. Hide
  8. Inhume
  9. Palm
  10. Pick
  11. Probe
  12. Slip
  13. Unconceal
  14. Unhide

Keep in mind that a some of those can't be used unless you're PK, or have a shearer and calm, or have a package. An NPK without a package or shearer can only use 7 of the 30x commands. Not good - get a package (listed below). With the package you add pick, probe and disable to your 30x command list - that way you only need one 15x "filler" command (low gp use recommended for filler commands). With a shearer and calm, you add abscond or backstab to your list, taking you to the magic number of 30x commands - 11. Going PK adds inhume and assess, but with the package and calm, you don't need them. As a PK you can skip calm, as even without abscond, backstab and inhume, PKs still have 11 30x commands.

General Commands

These commands have no special requirements and can be done anywhere, and include: ambush, conceal, hide, palm, slip, unconceal, and unhide. These are the basic 7 assassin commands that have a 30x return, and should be included in your idle alias as soon as they are learned. Note that ambush has two steps, the preparation (laying the ambush) step, and the execution (ambushing a target) step, but only use the first step in your idle alias, since they count as the same command for the purpose of xp return (and therefore you get a lot less xp for the second step) and the preparation step requires no target.

Package Commands

These commands work great if you get a locked package from the Harbor Master, located in an office on the North side of the docks in Genua. All three of these commands give 30x return, so add them to your alias as soon as you can.

Pick

You need a sub alias so you can "stop" right after you start picking without stopping your entire alias. If you don't stop, you might succeed in unlocking the package and it will disappear. Requires a lockpick.

Disable

The package doesn't have a trap, but you can still use the disable command and get full xp.

Probe

This needs a lock, and the package is a great lightweight portable locked item.

Targetted Commands

These commands can't be used unless you idle at a training dummy, which is likely to be unwise. Be warned.

Abscond

Use this any time after starting combat with the dummy. Good for TMing covert and it gives 30x return, so great for your xp rate.

Backstab

This can be used on dummies, or on imps from watches. For the imps, unholding your weapons or using a rubber weapon may be necessary to avoid killing them.

Inhume and Assess

You have to be PK to get these. Assess doesn't start combat and neither does inhume (if done with a rubber weapon). 30x return.

Peek

You can still peek at a sheep shearer or any living thing besides yourself ("peek living thing except me"). Only gives 15x return, so replace it with a 30x command as soon as you can.

Plant

This is difficult to do on NPCs in AM if you want your stuff back. Luckily, kissing your shearer causes him to drop everything. Another 15x command.

Throw

As a throwy assassin, I like to throw rubber knives at my shearer. They bounce off so do no damage and don't start combat. Another 15x command.

Assassin Alias Examples

Example 1 (Without Combat or Stealing)

If you don't have a shearer and stealing isn't an option, the following alias is still good for 194,400 xp per hour (tested at 4 gp regen):

plant stick on vulgaris;
hide;
unhide;
ask vulgaris to drop stick;
conceal package;
get small stick;
slip stick into pack;
peek vulgaris;
palm stick from pack;
probe package;
ambush;
unconceal package;
lpick

"vulgaris" is the name of my Genuan dog, I don't steal the stick because it's only a 15x command and uses too much gp, and lpick is a nested alias that contains "lockpick package;stop" to interrupt the picking - and it can't TM as a result.

In easier to paste form:
plant stick on vulgaris;hide;unhide;ask vulgaris to drop stick;conceal package;get small stick;slip stick into pack;peek vulgaris;palm stick from pack;probe package;ambush;unconceal package;lpick

This alias has the minimum 11 xp generating commands, 9 at 30x for assassins, and 2 at 15x for assassins. I chose two 15x commands (peek and plant) that use very little gp (10 each), so I can get back to my 30x commands faster. At 4 gp regen, I can run the alias every 75 seconds (or run it 3 times every 3 minutes and 45 seconds).

Comment: substituting disable for one of the 15x commands would increase the yield of this alias.

Example 2 (PK Without Combat)

This is a great no-combat alias of 11 30x return commands for PKs who have assess (NPKs, just substitute "peek <living target>"). Need a lockpick, a weapon capable of inhuming, and a package from Genua, and to set "alias lpick pick package;stop".

hide;
unhide;
ambush;
palm package from backpack;
get package from backpack;
conceal package;
unconceal package;
lpick;
disable package;
probe package;
assess <living target> by <method> <weapon>;
slip package to backpack;
put package in backpack;

Example 3 (NPK With Combat)

An alternate of Example 3 with backstab replacing assess/peek. In addition to the lockpick and package as above, you also need a green obble and calm or a calm baton (if you aren't a follower of Sandelfon) and enough skills to succeed in using it. Note that holding the baton (you might get away without this if your backstab with the baton isn't enough to kill the shearer) and performing calm both count as 15x commands, so a training dummy which automatically stops combat after a certain time can remove the need for these and boost efficiency slightly. Adding abscond before calming the shearer also makes it slightly more efficient, as more gp would be used on 30x commands on average.

unhold all;
kiss obble;
backstab shearer;
hold baton;
perform calm on shearer from baton;
kiss shearer;
hide;
unhide;
ambush;
palm package from backpack;
get package from backpack;
conceal package;
unconceal package;
hold lockpick;
lpick;
disable package;
probe package;
slip package to backpack;
put package in backpack;