Spear / Dagger PvE Build Guide
Last Updated:March 6, 2025|Changelog
Welcome to the Spear / Dagger PvE Build Guide! Spear Dagger, or Shadowdancer, is a high mobilty DPS class that specializes in fast-hitting combos and hard hitting bursts. Although not as complex as Crossbow Dagger, Shadowdancer still has quite a bit of complexity to its rotation and rewards mastery of the class.
Thanks to skills like Gale Rush, Fatal Precision and Death Knell, Shadowdancer quickly becomes one of the fastest attacking classes in the game. Combine this with Crit rate from Dagger and the Heavy Attack buffs from Spear for a potent combo comparable to the best PvE builds available.
Alongside its great damage potential, Shadowdancer also brings great party utility featuring Heavy Attack buffs fromSentinel's Bastion as well as plenty of crowd control from Tempest Strike and Abyssal Cleave. This ensures Shadowdancer is a welcome addition to any party in Throne and Liberty!
End Game Spear / Dagger PvE Build w/ Runes
If you're interested in PvP, check out our Spear Dagger PvP Guide here!
PvE Gear Progression
If you plan on PvPing in the future, just use the PvP gear shown in our Spear / Dagger PvP Guide for PvE. For higher tiers of Challenge Dungeons, you want a full PvE set.
Chaos Harbinger Set
- The 6-Pc Murderous Chaos set is chosen for the extra Critical Hit Chance at 2-Pc and Critical Hit Damage increase at 4-Pc.
- Alternatively, you can settle for 4-Pc Chaos Harbinger and go for the 2-Pc set below:
- 2-Pc Ancient King's Armor with the Ancient King's Armor: Solar Stone for the Active Skill.
- All pre-Talandre builds will be revamped once it releases.
- They will use T2 Blue gear instead.
Ghost Wolf
Field General
2-Abyss 2-Pc Seeker
Spear / Dagger PvE Build w/ Runes
Ghost Wolf
The primary goal with this gear set is to take advantage of the Bonus Damage granted by 2 set Ghost Wolf Set. With all of the multi-hitting skills from both Spear and Dagger this bonus damage adds up to a large increase in overall DPS.
Lequirus's Wicked Thorns Should be up 100% of the time thanks to the relatively short Cooldown of Cleaving Moonlight when each use is spaced out.
Two set Death Set is a no brainer for this build due to the high Crit Rate and Crit Damage.
Hover over (PC) or Tap (Mobile) items in the Plannner to see sources for gear pieces.
PvE Stats and Traits
- Hover over each item to see the specific traits recommended.
- Prioritize the Offensive Traits on Weapons and Accessories.
- The main Offensive Stats to focus are Crit Hit, Heavy Attack and Attack Speed for the most damage.
- Next up is Mana / HP Traits on Armors and Accessories.
- Evasion is good defensively as it helps evade attacks from NPCs.
PvE Runes
PvE Runes are straightforward. You want the most damage output, so use Boss Heavy Attack Chance and Skill Damage Boost. Skill Damage Resistance and Max Health also help you survive Challenge Dungeons.
Armor Sources
- Reaper's Black Mask
- Adentus
- Valley of Slaughter
- Archpriest's Devotion
- Cave of Destruction
- Shadow Harvester Grips
- Temple of Slaughter
- Swirling Essence Robe
- Island of Terror
- Shadow Harvester Boots
- Carmine Rage Island
- Avolos Tracker in Sanctum of Desire
Accessory Sources
- Slaughterer's Collar
- Marienne's Recommended Necklace Collection Lithograph Book entry.
- Kowazan
- Specter's Frost Bracers
- Tyrant's Isle
- Unshakeable Gold Ring
- Demonhoof Tracker and Demonhoof Head Shaman in Syleus's Abyss F5-F6
- Tycan's Bloodlust Belt
- Aridus
Spear / Dagger PvE Build w/ Runes
Field General
The primary goal with this gear set is to push your Melee Heavy Attack Chance to its limit thanks to the 2 set bonus from Imperator Set in combination with 50 Strength and the Heavy Attack boost from Sentinel's Bastion.
Lequirus's Wicked Thorns Should be up 100% of the time thanks to the relatively short Cooldown of Cleaving Moonlight when each use is spaced out.
Two set Death Set is a no brainer for this build due to the high Crit Rate and Crit Damage.
Spear / Dagger PvE Build w/ Runes
Hover over (PC) or Tap (Mobile) items in the Planner to see sources for gear pieces.
PvE Stats and Traits
- Hover over each item to see the specific traits recommended.
- Prioritize the Offensive Traits on Weapons and Accessories.
- The main Offensive Stats to focus are Crit Hit, Heavy Attack and Attack Speed for the most damage.
- Next up is Mana / HP Traits on Armors and Accessories.
- Evasion is good defensively as it helps evade attacks from NPCs.
PvE Runes
PvE Runes are straightforward. You want the most damage output, so use Boss Heavy Attack Chance and Skill Damage Boost. Skill Damage Resistance and Max Health also help you survive Challenge Dungeons.
- Certain conditional mastery passives have not been implemented yet.
DPS Spear / Dagger PvE Build
Stats and Gearing Logic
- The main focus for this gearset is to push Dexterity as high as possible with every item. More Dex is more Damage and Attack Speed making it the ideal stat for PvE.
- You also get a damage boost from both set bonuses.
- 2-Pc Abyss Slayer Set combined with your very high Crit Hit Chance makes for a great damage boost.
- 2-Pc Imperial Tracker Set goes even further by boosting your Critical Damage, taking full advantage of the high Critical Hit Chance.
Gear Alternatives
- Stone Cold Heart Cloak is also slotted if you ever are lucky enough or rich enough to acquire it.
- Stormy Wind Spear can be comfortably swapped into the build with only a minor Stat adjustment.
Gear Sources
- Coming soon. Mouse over the items to see the item drop location.
Skill Builds and Rotation
General
Mobbing
Dungeon Bossing
Gate of Infinity / Solo Dungeon
- This is a general bossing build and can be used in most situations that require Single Target DPS.
- Something to keep in mind is both skill-sets can be pretty Mana hungry. If you find yourself struggling, make sure to use Quality Mushroom Stir Fry, Mana Regen Potion and Nature's Blessing from Longbow players.
Damage Priority
- Gale Rush -> Fatal Stigma Culling Arc x2 -> Abyssal Cleave -> Phoenix Barrage -> Rising Slash
- Use this opener to get out as much burst as possible.
- Culling Arc x2 -> Brutal Fury x3 or Culling Arc x2 -> Rising Slash
- Your bread and butter sustain DPS combos. Rising Slash is stronger when combined with the Ignite stacks from Phoenix Barrage so combine them when possible.
- Cleaving Moonlight and Brutal Incision are filler skills that should be used off cooldown.
Buffs
Below are a list of skills used mainly for buffing your damage or debuffing the enemies defenses. Best used at the start of your rotation unless otherwise specified.
- Sentinel's Bastion
- Inject Venom
- Umbral Spirit
- Use these three skills before any of your big burst combos to maximize damage.
- Abyssal Cleave
- Phoenix Barrage
- Abyssal Cleave gives the next skill cast increased Critical Damage and applies Shock. Phoenix Barrage gives increased Critical Damage for 3 seconds and gains damage against Shocked Targets thanks to Conditional Damage.
- This is your general-purpose AoE PvE clearing for the Spear Dagger PvE build. Spear has one of the best AOE clearing abilities in the game: Javelin Inferno. With proper grouping and the right buffs, you single-handedly delete entire groups of mobs.
Best AOE Combo
This is your bread-and-butter AoE clearing rotation.
- Lightning Infusion
- Thunder Spirit
- Sentinel's Bastion
- Explosive Fury x5
- Javelin Inferno x5
If anything is left alive after this combo, finish up with Flaming Arc x2 into Rising Slash. Make use of Bloodleech Aura to top yourself off while clearing.
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.
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 best Guardian for all PvE situations.
Summary
- Spear Dagger is a high skill DPS weapon combination with great mobility and AOE potential.
- Use skills such as Javelin Inferno, Brutal Fury and Phoenix Barrage to output massive damage for both single target and AOE.
- Both Heavy Attack and Bonus Damage have great synergy with Spear Dagger thanks to its hard hitting burst and rapid strikes.
Credits
Written by Nymphellas
Reviewed by Tweekz