To clear up your concerns with Premeditate:
- There is only ever one "Chain" stack on your character, Premeditate adds stacks to this stack.
- It is worded to imply that the 2 stacks added do not count toward the usual limit of 2-stacks-gained-per-round (or 3 with Master Assassin). So you can, in any order, gain three Chain normally and also use Premeditate to acquire a full five stacks in the same round--which is not otherwise possible (without a specific Artifact, anyway).


As for Execute (I will admit that it's been a while, but this is what I remember):
- Each hit that the skill performs can produce Chain, but does not allow you to bypass the usual per-turn restrictions.
- Execute's Chain x5 bonus consumes 5 chain when the skill is first used, and therefore it cannot "pay for itself," if you will (though it does build chain, as any other attack, if you haven't reached your per-turn limit yet).


Also, I want to reiterate that Chain stacks do not reset to zero merely from attacking different targets--one of your points made me unsure if you knew this.

Thanks, I see now.
I know that stacks aren't linked to one specific target.

It kinda makes Execute moot, doesn't it? You need to have the 5 stack prior to using it, to get the maximum potential.

Depending on the fight, perhaps. You can still build 5 Chain on a different target before using it on someone at or near full health.

I remember using it's Chain x5 bonus on squishier types that had full HP (and some late-game enemies with massive health pools), but also regularly used it without the bonus just because it does good damage while building chain anyway.

That being said, I do agree that it can be difficult to get optimal value from its bonus.

Well, you'd still have to be sure you can do over half their HP damage. I am not 100% sure, but I feel there would be better options otherwise.

@Bucketsmith: first off, thanks for posting here and discussing mod mechanics with us!

I'm not sure if it is so much a matter of "better options" as it is of "better options for your playstyle." Some skills have niche applications and will not necessarily work well in all builds/party compositions. In testing we found that a dual wielding scoundrel with the ability to create 5 chain in one turn and then immediately kill an only slightly damaged opponent was a viable and powerful build option. As Ameranth mentions, these were usually enemy utility characters, which tend to create problems via their use of CC. The high damage output of this attack also made it important for certain boss kills strategies.

That said, in the builds that I tested with scoundrel I seldom if ever used 5 chain finishers. So certainly, options exist that are at least as powerful as Execute. In one test I built a plate-wearing scoundrel that used Cruelty and Audacity on a Lone Wolf. This was envisioned originally as a support/tanking character due to it's high HP, high DR, and the contribution of heavy resistance reduction on enemy targets. However, it turned out that simply backstabbing a target about 8 times in a row with a single dagger could deal a lot of damage!

So very different build and play philosophies exist, and we tried to foster this variety as much as we could. This is the main reason that we designed the artifact-tier items: to help you define and empower your build options, and hopefully, have fun doing it.

Hmm, I see your points.

You feel single dagger is viable on a rogue? Perhaps with a single weapon, I could see Execute having a good place. But with dual wielding, I don't see it being that usefl.