Staff / Dagger PvP Build Guide

Last Updated:November 22, 2024|Changelog

Welcome to the Spellblade Staff / Dagger PvP Build Guide. Staff users are the kings of AoE. Judgment Lightning and Chain Lightning quickly cause massive AoE damage with the correct Skill Specializations. Dagger's skills complement Staff's kit while providing flat offensive stat boosts like Wrathful Edge.

You aren't just a glass cannon though, as you have fantastic defensive options. Salvation Chain with the Redemptive Barrier specialization provides you a hefty barrier, enough to give your healer time to save you. Camouflage Cloak provides an incredible escape tool and can be used offensively for the guaranteed Crit. Shadow Walker and High Focus with the Victorious Energy Specialization offers an incredible boost to your Evasion as well. Played to its fullest potential, you're an incredible asset to your team.

End Game Staff / Dagger PvP Build

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

Pros

High AoE Burst
High Survivability
Long Range Burst

Cons

Weak to Melee
Requires Cooldown Speed

Skill Builds

Large Scale PvP

Arena PvP

Dominion

The Dagger's weapon mastery, Master of Evasion, gives you an additional 105 Evasion while you have a dagger as your active weapon. If you have your Staff out, it will not activate.
Consider taking off all Specializations off from Ice Spear and using only Bind to bind groups of targets.

Active Skills

Damage Skills

Chain Lightning and Judgment Lightning are your instant cast AoE abilities.
Ice Spear Bombardment is mainly used to nuke down single targets.
You use Focused Fire Bombs for large burst AoE damage. You can cast it at any point in your charge.
Inferno Wave is just another AoE skill you can use. While you would do more damage with Burn stacks, Large Scale PvP fights rarely allow you to stack Burn.
You use Infernal Meteor to bomb large groups of players, either at your own discretion or at certain engage timings.

Utility Skills

High Focus is a mandatory pre-buff before engagements.
Redemptive Barrier is one of your best defensive skills. It lets you survive long enough for your team to notice.
- Always have Healthy Milk on hand to regen Mana or swap a skill with Inner Peace mid-battle to regain Mana if you lost it all.
One of your best CC skills is Icebound Tomb as it not only mass AoE roots, but also decreases enemy Evasion.
Use Shadow Strike for its utility. Silence enemy players or Shadowstep away if you are in a precarious situation.
Camouflage Cloak can be used offensively or defensively. It can break you out of Bind or be used to make sure your next skill is a Crit.

Passive Skills

Assassin's Instincts, Wrathful Edge, and Forbidden Sanctuary are your flat damage boost passives.
Mana Amp is mandatory for the extra Health.
While Echoic Barrier isn't too useful for your first CC, it helps prevent multiple follow-up Sleeps and Binds, assuming you survive that long.
Shadow Walker is essential to keeping high Ranged and Magic Evasion to avoid any incoming ranged attacks. You can constantly upkeep this passive by using Block Blade Roll or Frost Smokescreen.
Assassin's Step helps you move around the battlefield after you get kills or assists and gives you Mana Regen.
Assassination Stance will proc if you dodge skills while in Phantom Smokescreen.

Healing Debuff Alternative

Infernal Meteor is specced for Healing debuff.

No Shield Alternative

Ranged Playstyle

Melee Build

The meta in Arena and Small Scale PvP is currently high Melee Evasion. Because of it, you won't be able to hit geared players with your Melee skills. Thus, you want to use a playstyle that incorporates mostly Staff skills as Magic Evasion is harder to have as much of unless opponents use a Dagger for Shadow Walker.

Active Skills

Damage Skills

You want to soften targets with Ice Spear Bombardment, Chain Lightning, and Judgment Lightning. You remove the AoE specializations because players won't be as clumped.
You don't use the Focused Fire Bombs Specialization for Serial Fire Bombs because skilled players will see you casting it and block it.
- Followup with Inferno Wave and Fireball Barrage for incredible single target damage and Mana Burn.
- Consider using Focused Fire Bombs if you feel your opponents aren't of high caliber.
Phantom Smokescreen is an amazing defensive tool in Arena to survive against Ranged and Magic players.
Use Knife Throwing to decrease enemy healing in Arena PvP.

Alternative

Replace Knife Throwing with Frost Smokescreen.

Active Skills

No new descriptions from previous setups.

Passive Skills

No changes from previous setups.

Skill Prioritization

Active Priority

Passive Priority

PvP Gameplay and Skill Rotation

Large Scale PvP

Arena PvP

Stealth Bomb

Camouflage Cloak
- Focused Fire Bombs
- Infernal Meteor

Camouflage Cloak will guarantee that your next skill is a Crit.
Using either skill will break you out of Stealth, but hopefully, you can get your cast off before the enemy team notices.

Pre Buff

High Focus
Redemptive Barrier

Before engaging in any fight, pre-buff with any of these skills to increase your damage and survivability. If you're a high-value target to enemy players, you might get jumped immediately once you engage. So precasting your buffs is important to surviving your initial engagement.

AoE Skills

Inferno Wave
Chain Lightning
Judgment Lightning

You can follow up Focused Fire Bombs with Inferno Wave.

Pre Buff

High Focus
Redemptive Barrier (If you have it)

Before engaging in any fight, pre-buff with any of these skills to increase your damage and survivability.
Be careful when using Redemptive Barrier. If all your Mana gets depleted, make sure you have Healthy Milk to get your Mana back. If you have no Mana, you might as well be dead.

Fire Combo (Ranged Build)

Serial Fire Bombs
Inferno Wave
Fireball Barrage

This is your Mana Burn Combo that you can cut short easily. It's not necessary to use all 3 charges of Serial Fire Bombs.

Melee Finisher (Melee Build)

Shadow Strike
Ankle Strike
Cleaving Moonlight x2
Thunderclouds Bombing

This is your engage combo to finish off players.
This works well against players that don't have much Melee Evasion.

Other Skills

Use Knife Throwing to reduce Healing on a target.
Phantom Smokescreen is your get out of jail free card. If you're being focused down by Ranged and Magic users, cast it to gain a brief window of time to recover and analyze your situation.
Use Icebound Tomb to remove important targets from the fight.
Ice Spear Bombardment is your bind skill which you can follow up with Chain Lightning or Judgment Lightning.

Tips

The Dagger's weapon mastery, Master of Evasion, gives you an additional 105 Evasion while you have a dagger as your active weapon.
- To capitalize on this bonus, always set your dagger as your primary weapon when moving around in PvP.
- You can switch your weapon main-hand back to Staff when attacking.
Time to Kill in this game is short if your opponent is not geared. If this is true, you usually ignore most combos and setups and focus on spamming AoE. You want to be more conscious of your ability usage once players become more geared.
If you have it, use Frost Smokescreen preemptively, as it does not break you out of Bind. If you do get CC'd, use it immediately after using Precious Purification Stone or once the CC is over.
Use Camouflage Cloak at your discretion. Only you can determine when to use it offensively or defensively.
Always use mobility skills like Block Blade Roll or Frost Smokescreen to proc Shadow Walker.
- If you see someone gunning for you, consider preemptively using Frost Smokescreen.
- You always want to upkeep high Ranged and Magic Evasion to reduce the chances of getting caught.
In small-scale PvP, your role isn't as defined. Sure, you can still do as you do in Large Scale PvP, but you have so much more potential with using your Melee abilities as well. You won't be as protected since you won't be in a ball; thus, you must use your utility skills wisely.
Camouflage Cloak can still be used offensively, but be careful not to get yourself in a precarious situation when it's not up.
Phantom Smokescreen, with its specialization, blocks many key Melee engage tools. (NOT WORKING AS STATED IN LATEST AGS PATCH. WORKS ON KOREAN VERSION.)
- Shadow Strike, Chain Hook, and Devastating Smash are some skills that count as Melee Projectiles.
- If you do get Chain Hooked, cast Phantom Smokescreen to give yourself time to survive attacks.
- Evading attacks here will trigger Assassination Stance, which will hopefully get Camouflage Cloak back up ASAP.

Stat Priorities

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

Primary Stats
- Strength and 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 our points based on acquiring these bonuses.

Early to Mid Game Gear

In PvP, Hit and survivability are incredibly important. So want 30 Perception for 100 extra Hit and 30 Strength for 750 extra Max Health.

Mid to End Game Gear

You have several options here. If no one on your server goes for Magic Evasion, you don't need much Hit Chance. This means you don't need to go for 60 Perception. You want to start working towards hitting the 60 Perception for the additional 120 Hit and 50 Strength for the extra 100 Heavy Attack Chance.

PvP Gear Progression

Acquiring Gear pieces and upgrading them is incredibly expensive and time-consuming. If you enjoy both PvE and PvP content, use these sets for PvE as well.

If you're interested in PvE Gear Progression, check out our Staff / Dagger PvE Build Guide here!

Mid Game
Transition

End Game
Umbra

End Game
Toublek/Talus

End Game
Arena PvP

End Game
No Field Boss

End Game
Archboss

Large Scale Evasion Staff / Dagger PvP Build

With the release of 2-Star Dungeons, some of your End Game purples will be acquired from them. That will take some time to get. So, in the meantime, this is a build you can use on your way to your End Game build. You can cheaply trait the armor here. This build is strictly a transition build.

Your Goals

Farm accessible gear by doing Open World Dungeons.
Trait those accessible gear.
Extract traits from gear to sell in the Auction House for Lucent.
Turn valuable gear into Lithographs and sell them in the Auction House.

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.

Stats

Your Ranged Evasion and Magic Evasion with Master of Evasion, Shadow Walker and Victorious Energy reach 1800+.

Dungeon Gear Sources

Lequirus's Wicked Thorns from Cave of Destruction
Sapphire Dimensional Band
- Precious Epic Accessory Selection Chest
  - Requires Recipe: Dimensional Essence: Salvation to craft.
- You must do each Co-Op Dungeon at least 3 times to acquire enough tokens to craft it.
Shadow Harvester Boots
- Carmine Rage Island
- Avolos Tracker in Sanctum of Desire

Open World Dungeon Gear Sources

Ant's Nest
- Elusive Hexweaver Hat from Worker Ant
Shadowed Crypt
- Hermit's Shroud from Dark Enforcer
  - Precious Epic Equipment Chest: Shadow
  - Cloak that Protected a Hero
Sanctum of Desire
- Staff of the Umbramancer from Avolos Geomancer
  - Precious Epic Equipment Chest: Desire
- Shadow Harvester Tunic from Avolos Tracker
- Shadow Harvester Boots from Avolos Tracker
Saurodoma Island
- Duskblood Gloves from Reptilian Lancer
- Phantom Wolf Breeches from Reptilian Soldier

Staff / Dagger PvP Build
Alt Weapon: Darkslayer Daggers

Squishy Full DPS Staff / Dagger PvP Build
Alt Weapon: Darkslayer Daggers

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.

Armor Alternatives

You have plenty of options for chest pieces. There is no "best" because, ultimately, it depends on what you're trying to do. You have to make the decision yourself.
- Swirling Essence Robe offers more damage. 398 versus 320 Heavy Attack Chance is around a 28% vs 24% proc rate. This is great for DPS, but the lack of Ranged Evasion takes away its attractiveness. Better for Large Scale PvP than Small Scale PvP.
- Heroic Garb of the Resistance offers more Max Health.
- Heroic Tunic of the Resistance offers more Hit Chance.
- Phantom Wolf Tunic offers more Magic Evasion.
- Shadow Harvester Tunic offers more ~300 more Ranged Evasion when traited. Fully buffed, you can reach 2500 Ranged Evasion with this chest.
With new access to Shadow Harvester Boots, you have many more options for your gloves. You mainly choose between gloves that all give Attack Speed traits.
- Shock Commander Gauntlets offers more Dexterity, Range and Ranged Evasion trait.
- Swirling Essence Gloves offers more Max Health, Range and Magic Evasion trait.
- Gauntlets of the Field General offers Max Health and Attack Speed.
- Phantom Wolf Gloves offers Max Health and Attack Speed.
I swap between these cloaks depending on what I'm trying to do. Always adapt to your PvP goals.
- Deadeye's Cloak is amazing as no other Purple cloak gives Hit Chance.
- Forsaken Embrace offers 1.3k more Max Health when fully traited.
- Relentless Assault offers more Attack Range.

Traits

Hit Chance, Critical Hit Chance, Heavy Attack Chance, Skill Damage Resistance, Skill Damage Boost, and Evasion are your most important traits.
Max Mana trait is for Redemptive Barrier
Your accessories have the option of using either Collision Resistance or Debuff Duration. It depends on whether you get hit by Tornado or more debuffs.

Stats

Staff of the Umbramancer allows you to hit 50 Strength and 60 Perception extremely easily.
40%+ Buff Duration allows Victorious Energy to last 5+ seconds longer.
Victorious Energy, Master of Evasion, and Shadow Walker lets your Ranged and Magic Evasion reach over 2000.
- This lets you evade over 50% of Ranged and Magic skills versus someone with 1000 Hit Chance.
Unbuffed, you reach ~1000 Hit Chance with full purple gear.
- With Victorious Energy you will hit 1300+ Hit Chance.
If you want more Max Health, swap your weapon with Darkslayer Daggers.

Co-Op Dungeon Sources

Beast King's Gilded Bracers from Cave of Destruction
Swirling Essence Robe from Island of Terror
Shadow Harvester Boots from Carmine Rage Island
- Also from Avolos Tracker in Sanctum of Desire
Phantom Wolf Gloves from Voidwastes
- Also from Demonhoof Tracker in Syleus's Abyss 5F-6F

Field Boss Drops

Talus's Resonance Staff from Talus
Reaper's Interring Pants from Junobote
- Torture Chamber of Secrets (Dec. 5)
Tycan's Bloodlust Belt from Aridus

Open World Sources

Necklace of Cold Strength
- Arena Merchant for 9 Arena Coin
Special Resistance Hawk Hood
- Black Boar in Purelight Hill
- Crown Blessed by Moonlight
- Precious Blessing Pouch
- Craft Recipe: Precious Lithograph: Heroic Hood of the Resistance.
Unshakeable Gold Ring from Demonhoof Tracker in Syleus's Abyss 5F-6F
Gauntlets of the Field General from Reptilian Soldier in Saurodoma Island

Toublek Staff / Dagger PvP Build
Alt Weapon: Darkslayer Daggers

Talus Staff / Dagger PvP Build
Alt Weapon: Darkslayer Daggers

Armor Alternatives

Read the section in the End Game Umbramancer build for logic.

Traits

Read the section in the End Game Umbramancer build for logic.

Stats

Going 50 Strength or as much Dexterity as possible is OK with either build. The only purpose was to showcase both stat spreads. It's all up to your preference.
- Be aware that 298 vs 398 Heavy Attack Chance is 23% vs 28%.
The other stats are pretty much the same as the End Game Umbramancer build.

Gear Sources

Talus's Resonance Staff from Talus
Band of the Chosen One from Island of Terror

Budget Arena Staff / Dagger PvP Build

Expensive Talus Arena Staff / Dagger PvP Build

Stats

With Master of Evasion and Victorious Energy, you reach over 2000 Melee Evasion.
Victorious Energy, Master of Evasion, and Shadow Walker lets your Ranged Evasion reach over 2000 as well.

Budget Gear Sources

Visor of the Infernal Herald from Death's Abyss
Ebon Roar Sabatons from Tyrant's Isle
Collar of Decimation
- Marienne's Necklace Collection Lithograph Book
- Kowazan
- Lycan Kowazan
Duskblood Gloves from Reptilian Lancer
Resolute Crusader Greaves from Avolos Guardian

Expensive Gear Sources

Talus's Resonance Staff from Talus
Helm of the Field General from Chernobog
Gauntlets of the Field General from Aridus
Shock Commander Plate Armor from Precious Epic Equipment Selection Chest: Abyss

Umbra Staff / Dagger PvP Build

Toublek Staff / Dagger PvP Build

The main point of this build is to provide a way to gear without being part of a Guild. You only need to do Co-Op Dungeons or Open World Dungeons to acquire all gear here.

Bellandir Large Scale 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 in PvE and PvP situations.

Lady Knight Kamarshea is your best Guardian for PvP due to its defensive shield.

Summary

Combining Staff skills with Dagger skills like Camouflage Cloak and Wrathful Edge makes you an effective nuker.
There is an emphasis on a backline playstyle in Large Scale PvP versus an assassin playstyle in Small Scale PvP.
Constant use of Shadow Walker by using Block Blade roll is crucial to staying alive in any form of PvP.
The ideal stat breakpoint you should achieve is 60 Perception and 50 Strength.

Credits

Written by Yaen
Reviewed by Tenkiei and Nymphellas