If you’re looking for a fast-paced, high-damage Rogue build in Last Epoch, the Shadow Dagger setup is a fantastic choice. Based on a detailed community guide, this build focuses on applying stacks of Shadow Daggers to unleash devastating critical hits. It’s perfect for players who enjoy a nimble ‘fighter’ playstyle and works best with a dual-wielding setup.
Table of Contents
The Core Mechanic: Stacking Shadow Daggers
The entire build revolves around one simple but powerful mechanic. When you apply 4 stacks of the “Shadow Dagger” debuff to an enemy, they “plunge” into the target, dealing a guaranteed and massive critical strike. Your goal is to stack these daggers as quickly and as often as possible from multiple sources.
Key Skills and Recommended Nodes
This build uses several skills in synergy to rapidly apply Shadow Dagger stacks.
- Puncture (Your Main Attack) This is your primary damage dealer. When dual-wielding, the most important node to take is Death’s Imprint. This makes each swing apply two Shadow Daggers, meaning you’ll trigger the critical plunge every other attack.
- Umbral Blades (Area Damage) A great secondary skill for applying daggers to groups of enemies. Take the Lethal Darkness node to make it apply Shadow Daggers on hit. It’s also highly recommended to spec into the entire Sword Thrower branch, which makes the blades spin in place for 4 seconds, constantly stacking daggers on nearby enemies.
- Smoke Bomb (Utility and Stacking) Spec into the node that applies a Shadow Dagger every time the bomb slows an enemy. You can also spec into a 100% slow chance, turning this into a reliable Area of Effect dagger applicator.
- Shift (Mobility) Your movement skill can also apply daggers by speccing into Unseen Strike. However, this is considered more useful for two-handed builds that need help reaching the 4-stack threshold, and less essential for a fast-hitting dual-wield setup.
- Decoy (Optional Burst Damage) For a fun and effective alternative, you can spec Decoy into the Short Fuse branch. When paired with the unique relic Kelthan Blasting Agent, this turns your decoy into a cluster of three powerful contact grenades on a very short cooldown.
Gear and Stat Priority
To maximize your damage output, you should focus on gearing for these stats:
- Attack Speed: Helps you apply Puncture stacks faster to trigger the plunge more often.
- Critical Strike Multiplier: Since the plunge from 4 Shadow Dagger stacks is a guaranteed critical hit, this stat will massively increase your damage.
For weapons, the Level 27 unique Traitor’s Tongue daggers are a great choice for this build, as they provide valuable bonuses to both Parry and Critical Strike Chance.
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