Last Epoch Shadow Dagger Build

If you are looking for ways to quickly navigate between monoliths and deal with enemies in Last Epoch, check out our guide.

Rogue Zooming Build Shadow Daggers (0.9.2)

This build primarily targets Monolith runs. Its centered around achieving high movement speed to swiftly progress from one Monolith to the next, crushing enemies along the route. Surpassing 500 corruption easily, although I haven’t extensively tested it at 600 yet. It handles T4 bosses quite decent too.

Skills

Overview Umbral Blades:

We cast it through Shift with Umbral Remnant plus Lasting Presence and Dancing Shadows. Since we’re scaling Shadow Daggers damage and not Umbral Blades we can convert it to Cold for the Chill.

• I. Lethal Darkness
• II. Loathing
• III. Umbral Remnant
• IV. Coldsnap Strike
• V. Twilight Assault

After achieving these nodes your damage is already pretty good. Now we increase it even more by filling up Steel Torrent, Jagged Carvings and Dawnfall.

Overview Synchronized Strike:

When you use Synchronized Strike correctly, you can hit a single target with a lot of Shadow Daggers. Here’s how: First, use Perfect Coordination to increase the number of Shadows that hit the target. Then, quickly use Shift to trigger Shadow Cascade with each Shadow.

• I. Umbral Assassination
• II. Perfect Coordination
• III. Dark Allies
• IV. Crimson Storm

Now we put 2 points in Dynamics to lower the costs

Overview Shift:

Shift serves as your primary movement skill, enabling the casting of both Shadow Cascade and Umbral Blades, and offering an execution through Consumed by Shadow. Additionally, it grants brief invulnerability and dodge capabilities, effectively fulfilling roles in movement, offense, and defense.

• I. Dancing Shadows (3x Momentum on its way)
• II. Consumed by shadows
• III. Elusive

Put 3x Velocity in the beginning if you want to be quicker right away. Otherwise put the last point in the end.

Overview Smoke Bomb:

Smoke Bomb, usually a defensive utility skill, here serves our offense. Knives in the Dark continuously applies Shadow Daggers, while Eroding Fumes reduces armor. Smoke Blades grants a stacking damage buff while within the smoke, enhancing our offensive capabilities.

• I. Knifes in the Dark (fill up Swirling Fog right after)
• II. Moonlight Bomb
• III. Smokes Blades

Overview Shadow Cascade:

Avoid placing Shadow Cascade directly on your skill bar. Instead, equip unmodified Decoy and keep it as a panic button to Taunt enemies when needed. Shadow Cascade triggers automatically each time you use Shift, generating a significant number of Shadow Daggers stacks.

• I. Shadow Elegance
• II. Fight in the Shadows
• III. Daggerflow
• IV. Incapacitate

Last point goes into Dismantle to shred the armor of enemies even more.

Passive Points

The screenshot displays all allocated points. You can observe the precise order detailed below.

Rogue Passive Tree:

• Swift Assassin8x
• Guile
• Evasion5x
• Twin Blade
• Agility5x

We are level 20 now and choose Bladedancer as Mastery. We start now putting points into that passive tree.

Bladedancer Passive Tree:

• Pursuit 5x
• Once 8x
• Cloak of Shadows8x
• Shroud of Dusk4x
• Blood Dancex5
• Argent Veil
• Shroud of Duskx4
• Asuvons Pact
• Perfection
• Confidence
• Asuvons Pactx5
• Perfection
• Critical Eye
• Exuberance
• All inx5
• Perfectionx3
• Confidencex4

The Bladedancer passive tree is done now. We are finishing up the rogue passive tree with the next 5 points into Dodge and Parry and 8 points into Steady Hand. This gives us Glacing Glow and a extra stack of dexterity, which makes the playstyle more forgivable.

Marksman Passive Tree:

• Focus Firex8
• Assassin Quiverx2
• Missile Mastery
• Wound Makerx3
• Prolonged Demisex8
• *The screenshot shows 7 points in Prolonged Demise as I only hit level 99 now. Last point will go into here as well. DoT can hit hard in higher corruption

Play Experience

• Keep moving and utilize Shift whenever it’s available.
• Use Synchronized Strike against elite enemies and packs.
• Use Smoke Bomb especially in boss fights to boost your damage from Smoke Blades and gain haste to make it easier to dodge attacks.
• Keep in mind that you always have a panic button called Decoy. It buys you time to reposition yourself and gain health again.
• Shift if you are on low Mana and use Synchronized Strike when its full [in boss fights].
• Mapping becomes easy as Umbral Blases and Shadow Cascade proccs everytime you use Shift which kills everything behind you. Leveling is insane fast that way and literally flying through Monolith. Keep an eye on the items that are getting dropped. As they die behind you, you might miss the one or another when you just keep going.

Gear + Blessings + Idols

My thumb of rules + goals for this build:
getting near these stats already shows where we want to go with this build. You dont need to check every box here!

• Capping Resistances (around 75% is fine)
• Capped Critical Strike Avoidance
• 60% Endurance
• 2000 – 2500 Health
• 30% – 40%+ Dodge Chance
• 1000+ Armor
• 50%+ Armor Shred Chance
• 130+ Flat Phys Damage
• 96%+ Physical Penetration with Shadow Daggers
• 120%+ Critical Strike Multiplier
• 50% – 65%+ Movement Speed (without any buffs) 45% already feels very good
• 30+% Increased Mana Regen
• 30+ Dexterity

Blessings:

• Grand Echo of Solarum – Void Resistance – The Black Sun
• Grand Survival of Might – Critical Strike Avoidance – Reign of Dragons
• Grand Embers of Immortality – Endurance – Spirits of Fire
• Grand Bulwark of the Tundra – increased Armor – The Age of Winter
• Grand Bastion of Divinity – Lightning Resistance – Ending the Storm

Idols:

• 4x Stout Lagonian Idol with increased + Health
• 1x Large Shadow Idol with Increased Health + Increased Shred Armor Effect
• 2x Large Shadow Idol with Physical Penetration with Shadow Daggers + Increased Shred Armor Effect
• 1x Large Shadow Idol with Increased Health + Elemental Resistance