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Staff / Dagger PvE Build Guide

Last Updated:October 12, 2024|Change Log

Welcome to the Staff / Dagger PvE Build Guide! This is the closest you get to playing a Mage Assassin in Throne and Liberty. The build leverages the strengths of both weapons for satisfying, single-target burst damage comparable to other weapon combinations.

At its full potential, Staff provides up to 200 extra Heavy Attack Chance and 150 extra Skill Damage Boost. Thanks to the Dagger Passives Assassin's Instincts, Destructive Fang, and Wrathful Edge, your Judgment Lightning and Thundercloud Bombing hits like a truck.

Due to the high cooldowns in this build, you need plenty of Cooldown Speed for this build to feel good. Without high Cooldown Speed, you have downtime where a DPS skill isn't up for use. Grouping with a Longbow user with Deadly Marker should alleviate this issue.

End Game Staff / Dagger PvE Build

If you're interested in PvP, check out our Staff Dagger PvP Build Guide!

Pros
  • High Mobility
  • High AoE Damage
  • High Burst Damage
Cons
  • Requires High CDS
  • Heavy Attack Reliant

Skill Builds

Bossing
PvE Mobbing

Active Skills

Damage Skills

  • Focused Fire Bombs is your Burn stacking skill. Inferno Wave helps to upkeep your Burn stacks and deals significantly more damage against targets with higher Burn stacks.
  • Use Lightning Infusion to build your Thundercloud stacks. Once at 20 stacks, use Thunderclouds Bombing to maximize the skill's single-target damage.
  • Always use Cleaving Moonlight for the additional Attack Speed buff.
    • Don't spend your second charge until the Attack Speed buff is about to expire, because using the skill again consumes the buff.
    • Once you acquire Lequirus's Thorny Edge, Cleaving Moonlight also procs the passive for additional 50 Base Damage.
  • Use Ankle Strike before Thunderclouds Bombing and Cleaving Moonlight. The extra offhand proc chance from the Specialization helps you do more damage on average.
  • Judgment Lightning, Ice Spear Bombardment and Fireball Barrage are great single target DPS skills.
  • Hellfire Rain is one of your strongest skills since each meteor hits a boss due to their large hitbox.

Utility Skills

  • With the correct Specialization High Focus offers more Base Damage.

Passive Skills

  • Assassin's Instincts, Destructive Fang, Wrathful Edge are your flat damage boosts.
  • Flame Condensation, Asceticism, Forbidden Sanctuary offer free stat boosts.
  • Mana Amp is a great utility passive for additional Health.
  • There aren't any other good damage options for your last slot, so you take Manaball Eruption.
  • Murderous Energy is a good skill to prolong the last tick of Thundercloud until Lightning Infusion can be cast again.
    • With enough Cooldown Speed and Buff Duration later in the game, this Passive is no longer needed.

Alternatives

  • Inner Peace or Ankle Strike can be replaced.
  • Shadow Strike and Icebound Tomb offer nice utility for certain dungeons.
  • Use Camouflage Cloak for a guaranteed critical on your next attack. This is a significant DPS boost when used correctly.
  • Fatal Stigma can be a great skill to use, but hard to weave into your rotation since Thunderclouds Bombing consumes all 20 Thundercloud stacks.

Full Range Build

  • You can use this full Range build if you prefer a more Ranged playstyle.
  • You must get in range for Fatal Stigma and stay at that range.
  • This is 100% a lower damage output build.

Active Skills

Damage Skills

  • Chain Lightning and Judgment Lightning are your hard hitting AoE clearing skills.
  • Inferno Wave is an additional mobbing skill.
  • Ice Spear Bombardment is for ranged targets or high HP targets that your AoE abilities cannot clear.
  • Cleaving Moonlight is your AoE clearing ability at Melee range. Combine it with Thunder Spirit for more AoE damage.

Utility Skills

  • When Specialized High Focus, offers both Cooldown Speed and Base Damage.
  • Camouflage Cloak can help you out if you aggro too many mobs and can set up Infernal Meteor without being hit.

Passive Skills

  • Assassin's Step is a great Passive for moving from mob to mob.

Skill Prioritization

  • Use Quality Marind Ore to craft Quality Passive Skill Growth Book and Quality Active Skill Growth Book
  • Use Rare Marind Ore to craft Rare Passive Skill Growth Book and Rare Active Skill Growth Book.
  • Prioritize getting all these skills to blue first before getting them to purple. These are universal skills you always use.
  • Upgrade the rest of your skills as you play the game.

PvE Gameplay and Skill Rotation

Boss/Elite Openers
PvE Mobbing

Opening Rotation

  1. Lightning Infusion
  2. High Focus
  3. Hellfire Rain
  4. Focused Fire Bombs
  5. Inferno Wave
  6. Ankle Strike
  7. Cleaving Moonlight x1
  8. Thunderclouds Bombing
  9. Fireball Barrage
  • You want to play mainly in Melee range. On stationary bosses, make sure you don't move around too much so that you get the 100 Heavy Attack Chance from Asceticism.
  • Hellfire Rain gets you to high Burn stacks to activate Flame Condensation.
  • After the opening rotation, feel free to use your DPS skills whenever they're up. Prioritize getting 20 Thunderclouds stacks and consistently using Thunderclouds Bombing.
  • Combine Ankle Strike with Cleaving Moonlight and Thunderclouds Bombing to boost your off-hand proc chance.
  • If you proc Off-Hand Attack for Thunderclouds Bombing, Cooldown ▼ will activate twice. In this case, it's important to get 20 Thundercloud stacks again and Fireball Barrage will help you do that.

Tips

  • You must always be at Melee range when bossing.
  • Upkeep 10 Burn stacks as much as possible. It might be hard unless you have high Cooldown Speed. Hellfire Rain and Inferno Wave can help you refresh the debuff on the boss.
  • Use Fireball Barrage and Ice Spear Bombardment to easily upkeep high Thunderclouds stacks.
  • Always use Cleaving Moonlight for the additional Attack Speed buff.
    • Don't spend your second charge until the Attack Speed buff is about to expire because using the skill again consumes the buff.
    • Once you acquire Lequirus's Thorny Edge, Cleaving Moonlight also procs the passive for additional 50 Base Damage.

Basic Fire Combo

  1. Serial Fire Bombs
  2. Inferno Wave
  • This is your basic combo.

Lightning Combo

  1. Chain Thunder
  2. Judgment Lightning
  • This usually takes care of any grouped mobs.

Melee Combo

  1. Thunder Spirit
  2. Ankle Strike
  3. Cleaving Moonlight
  4. Thunderclouds Bombing
  • If all your other Staff skills are down and mobs are still up, you can use part of this combo to finish off grouped mobs.
  • Cleaving Moonlight can be used to finish weakened mobs.

Stat Priorities

Use the following stat priorities when playing a Staff / Dagger build in PVE:

  • Primary Stat
    • Dexterity, Wisdom, and Strength
  • Secondary Stat
    • Perception

You have 49 Stat Points you can freely allocate to any of the 4 primary Stats. Once you put 20 points into an individual Stat, it takes 2 points to increase the Stat by 1. Do not put more than 20 points into a Stat unless you are trying to reach a certain breakpoint.

You get bonuses for every 10 Stat Points you invest from 30 to 60. You invest your points based on acquiring these bonuses.

Dexterity not only adds maximum Weapon Damage but also increases your Crit Chance, Evasion, and Attack Speed. Increasing Dexterity is your best method of increasing your damage output. Wisdom is the next best stat for improving your Weapon Damage. Each added point into Wisdom also provides extra Cooldown Speed and Mana Regen.

Early Mid Game

For PvE, you care mainly about maximum damage output. Put as many points into Dexterity and Wisdom for the early damage output. You won't be able to reach any major breakpoints other than 30 Dexterity. 50 Strength will give you 100 extra Heavy Attack Chance, and 40 Perception will give you 5% extra Buff Duration. These are your 2 primary stats to work towards with Dexterity being a tertiary stat.

Mid End Game

With enough Purple Gear, you can now reach 50 Strength for the 100 extra Heavy Attack Chance and 40 Perception for the 5% extra Buff Duration. These are your 2 primary stats to work towards, with your remaining points into Dexterity and Wisdom.

PvE Gear Progression

If you plan on PvPing in the future, just use the PvP gear shown in our Staff/Dagger PvP Build Guide for PvE. Unless you're going for record clears, you can use the PvP gear to clear all content.

Story
Gear
Mid
Game
End Game
Shadow Harvester
End Game
Solo Self Found
End Game
Archboss

Story Gear Staff / Dagger PvE Build

All these blue armor pieces are from the Story Codex Rewards. If you have completely different gear, don't worry. You're not going to stay in this gear set for too long. You replace many blue armor pieces once you start doing Co-Op Dungeons. So don't trait any of your pieces until you look at the Early-Mid section of this gear progression.

DO NOT UPGRADE Heroic Armor of the Resistance. Leave it at 0.

You should do contracts immediately to acquire Contract Coins so you can buy Quality Lithograph: Weapons, Quality Lithograph: Armor, and Quality Lithograph: Accessories to craft Green Gear to complete Lithograph Book entries for Blue Gear.

  • Make sure you have enough materials to craft by taking some contracts that reward you Rare Base Material Selection Chest and Rare Polished Crystal.
  • If you happen to Crit craft an item (20%), sell the item on the Auction House for Lucent.

Lithograph Book

  • Elite Resistance Staff
    • Staves from Archwizard
  • Elite Resistance Knife
    • Sharp Blades that Cut Through Darkness
  • Lethal Fortune Ring
    • Rustic Mother Nature Rings
  • Elite Sharpshooter's Cloak
    • Cloaks that Wield Victory
    • Dark Assassin in Shadowed Crypt
  • Elite Tracker's Belt
    • Sources of Abdominal Strength!

Staff / Dagger PvE Build

Your Mid Game build is the point from where you can farm Co-Op Dungeons and the early low level Open World Dungeons for gear.

Your Goals

  • Farm accessible gear by doing Open World Dungeons.
  • Extract traits from gear for Lucent.
  • Turn important Purple Gear acquired from Co-Op Dungeons into Lithographs and sell them on the Auction House.

Stats

  • Put as many points into Dexterity and Wisdom as possible.

Traits

  • Prioritize damage traits.
  • Acquire Trait Unlockstone through Recipe: Common Trait Unlockstone Bundle.

Dungeon Farming Priority

  • Whatever blue armor pieces you wear don't matter for PvE, as they are placeholders until your End Game gear. Use whatever blue pieces you want.
  • If you're curious, check it out in the End Game tab.
  1. Cave of Destruction
    • Lequirus's Thorny Edge
    • Archpriest's Devotion
  2. Eternal Ring of Dimension
    • Comes from Precious Epic Accessory Selection Chest.
      • Requires Dimensional Essence: Salvation.
      • You need 10 Tokens from each Co-Op Dungeon to craft.
  3. Tyrant's Isle
    • Specter's Frost Bracers
    • Toublek's Thunderous Soul
  4. Death's Abyss
    • Plate of the Field General
      • Precious Epic Equipment Selection Chest: Salvation

Open World Dungeon Sources

  1. Syleus's Abyss 3F-4F
    • Decorated Champion Crown from Wandering Soul Arbiter and Wandering Soul Knight
  2. Shadowed Crypt
    • Sabatons of the Field General from Dark Wizard
  3. Sanctum of Desire
    • Alacritous Invoker Gloves from Avolos Hydromancer
    • Alacritous Invoker Pants from Avolos Pyromancer
  4. Abyss Conqueror's Necklace
    • Craft Precious Epic Equipment Chest: Abyss.

Mask Staff / Dagger PvE Build

Pants Staff / Dagger PvE Build

Always use Transcendent Magic Ring or Queen Bellandir's Domination Wand if you acquire them.

Fully trait your blue gear before transferring over to purple gear. A fully traited blue piece will give you 960 Blessings for you to use.

  • You transition to using Reaper's Black Mask or Reaper's Interring Pants to complete your Death Set 2 piece bonus.
  • Imperator Set gives 150 extra Melee Heavy Attack Chance.

Weapon

You have a couple options: Toublek's Shattering Quarterstaff, Staff of the Umbramancer, Talus's Resonance Staff or Aridus's Gnarled Voidstaff.

  • The first two are easier to acquire, whereas the last 2 drop from Field Bosses. the Field Boss weapons have higher Weapon Damage. Thus, they are more desirable.
  1. Talus's Resonance Staff drops from Talus.
  2. Aridus's Gnarled Voidstaff drops from Aridus.
  3. Tycan's Bloodlust Belt drops from Aridus.
  4. Shadow Harvester Grips
    • Temple of Slaughter (Extremely Low RNG)
    • Use Precious Epic Equipment Selection Chest: Salvation.

Mask Build Sources

  1. Reaper's Black Mask
    • Adentus
  2. Breeches of the Executioner
    • Precious Epic Equipment Chest: Shadow

Pants Build Sources

  1. Reaper's Interring Pants
    • Junobote
  2. Heavenly Arbiter Mask
    • Butcher's Canyon

Traits

  • You focus on DPS Traits like Skill Damage Boost and Heavy Attack Chance.
  • You focus on Max Health and Skill Damage Resistance for defensive Traits.
  • Mana Regen is also an excellent trait to prioritize if you find yourself lacking Mana. Inner Peace usually takes care of your mana issues.
  • Evasion traits are nice if you intend to solo farm Open World Dungeons or Events.

SSF End Game Staff / Dagger PvE Build

  • This setup allows you to acquire all the pieces yourself through grinding. You do not need to use the Auction House.

Archboss End Game Staff / Dagger PvE Build

Guardians

Guardians are special transformations that add offensive or defensive buffs or attacks to your character for 30 seconds. These are the recommended Guardians for this class.

  • Shade Revenant Stheno is THE DPS Guardian in PvE. No other explanation is required.
  • Lady Knight Kamarshea is a useful Guardian while you learn new dungeons. It helps in dangerous situations as an emergency button to survive mechanics that deal a significant amount of damage. Not many other situations arise where this is necessary.

Summary

  • Both Staff and Dagger passives help make the Staff / Dagger weapon combination into a high burst PVE build.
  • The build revolves around maintaining 10 Burning stacks and 20 Thunderclouds stacks for high damage output.
  • The Staff / Dagger build has both high single-target damage and exceptional AoE. Dungeons and Dynamic Events are not a problem for this build.

Credits

Written by Yaen
Reviewed by Tenkiei and Nymphellas

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