Rogue Fighting Style

[Zestee]

I often wonder how other rogues fight. For example, when I get to the boss, I like to get up close, and hold down then release. Rather than tap tap tap tap I mean. It's easier on the fingers/wrists! But on the times I change to tap tap tap, I feel like he dies faster. Am I imagining this?

Also, lots of rogues use their bow on the boss, but it's sooooooo slow!! I bought the best legendary bow available to me, and it still doesn't kill as fast as my daggers. But I seem to be the only rogue who feels this way. Maybe the day I bought my bow there wasn't much good stuff available?

My main weapon: 193.5dps, 45dex
My bow: 121dps, 31dex, 2.15 crit

I know the bow numbers are significantly smaller, but I'm told that's pretty normal, that they still do more damage....???? Confused....

[kinzmet]

My own PVE style with rogues are:
Daggers for mobs
Bows for bosses

Its all about the skill build, my choice of skills when figthing mobs were smoke, trap, noxiousbolt and shadow piercer. However I change the skill set when I reach the boss, they would be smoke, aimshot, noxious and shadow piercer.

Skills
Mobs
Use daggers for faster clearing.
-Traps : I set the traps on strategic position, in such a way the most mobs will step on it.
-Smoke : I love this skill, +armor and +damage. Works great specialy on elite maps.
-Noxiousbolt : Theres a guild on how to effectively use this skill, its called the noxbox. Try to learn it http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?109038-The-Nox-Bolt-Box
-Shadow piercer : It has a bug that allows shadow piercer to hit as hard as the Aimshot if it crits, only in PVE. This skill will save you a lots of health potions.

Boss
Use bow for faster boss kill.
-Smoke : Same as I mentioned above.
-Noxiousbolt : Same as I mentioned above.
-Shadow piercer : Same as I mentioned above.
-Aimshot : This skill is what makes rogues the fastest killers on timed runs, the strongest skill in the arsenal.



PS: The Razorshield is also a viable skill, specially on norder maps.

[Zestee]

Someone else told me they use more than one arrow, but I'm not sure why? And how can you have all those skills on one char, do you not get 5/5 for all of them? I'd be interested to know your choice of skill breakdown on one char to compare.....

[kinzmet]

-Some skills or upgrades are glitched.
-Some aren't good enough to get due to buff stacking glitch. (ei., the passive Damage skill will be override by happy bonus of damage pets)
-Some are really just not good enough. (ei., the Shadow storm shot)

This is not my PVE build, but this one is a good sample of a skill build. Its a level 41 build for elite runs.


Active skills

The main skill for killing enemies such as bosses
• 5/5 Aimed Shot

The poison DoT skill
• 4/5 Noxious Bolt
-Don't upgrade the Serated arrow head its glitched.

For faster movement and health potion saver
• 4/5 Shadow Piercer
-Don't upgrade the Leading dagger, its not worth the upgrade.

Choose a defensive skill, I prefer the Shadow Veil.
• 5/5 Medic Packs
or
• 4/5 Shadow Veil
-Don't get the Combustion Decay
-put the extra skill point to passive Critical

Bleed skills, I prefer the trap when combined with Shadow veil
• 4/5 Razor Shield
-Don't use the Increase duration upgrade its glitched.
or
• 4/5 Entangling trap
-Don't use the Combustion tank upgrade.


Passive skills

• 5/5 Agility

• 5/5 Knowledge

• 5/5 Might

• 4/5 Critical
-use this passive or go for Durable
-skill point can vary based on the active skills above

In the end it is still based on your play style or on what your comfortable way of doing things. Experiment on builds if you got respec kit or extra plats.

[Newcomx]

I mostly use bow, because i don't have good dagger :D ... And for tapping auto attack, if the weapon have weapon proc, don't charge it, the more often you tapping the auto attack, the more likely the proc will be activated.

[GoodSyntax]

I often wonder how other rogues fight. For example, when I get to the boss, I like to get up close, and hold down then release. Rather than tap tap tap tap I mean. It's easier on the fingers/wrists! But on the times I change to tap tap tap, I feel like he dies faster. Am I imagining this?

Also, lots of rogues use their bow on the boss, but it's sooooooo slow!! I bought the best legendary bow available to me, and it still doesn't kill as fast as my daggers. But I seem to be the only rogue who feels this way. Maybe the day I bought my bow there wasn't much good stuff available?

My main weapon: 193.5dps, 45dex
My bow: 121dps, 31dex, 2.15 crit

I know the bow numbers are significantly smaller, but I'm told that's pretty normal, that they still do more damage....???? Confused....

Fast auto attacks (i.e., tap, tap, tap) inflict damage faster than charged auto attacks. This is the DPS part.

Bows inflict more DMG per attack, which is why most rogues prefer them.

Or, you can do what I do, use a bow, fight in melee range with an aimed, nox, pierce combo, followed by tap, tap on auto, then repeat. It's not for the faint of heart though....

[Dvsk]

Simply bows for Damage
Daggers for DPS

The DPS shown of bows and daggers, it may show the bows being much less, but the DPS is acutally more. As it means Damage Per Second, bow fires at a faster rate than daggers, which means that it has a better/powerful attack. This is fully explained on a guide calling DPS VS DMG, (if someone could link thread would be useful) I forgotten the thread.

Bows are also helpful against bosses due to the range that they give, as rouges are quite weak (in terms of HP) just like mages, a ranged attack is good to hold against those one hits.

As well as that, tap tap tap would do more dmg than hold and charge. Again it is explain in DMG vs DPS. :)

[Zestee]

Thank you for posting that kinzmet, very helpful, I just re-spec'd to try it. Firstly, I really do like having more than one arrow. A question about it though. Let's say I am fighting boss, I have aimed shot and nox, plus tappity tap on the main one. But I've forgotten to change my weapon to the bow and am still holding daggers. Will that impact me greatly? Will I do much more damage if I had remembered to switch to the bow?

One more question for you, I don't understand your choices for the passive skills. Someone told me rogue is kill or be killed, that there is no need to invest in things like strength or knowledge, because those are for warriors or mages. So why use them?

Thank you!

[Zestee]

Or, you can do what I do, use a bow, fight in melee range with an aimed, nox, pierce combo, followed by tap, tap on auto, then repeat. It's not for the faint of heart though....

Just tried your combo on a boss, love it!

[Zestee]

Thank you DVSK, I had a lightbulb moment when I read what you said about bow firing faster than daggers... NOW it makes sense! I will look up the DPS VS DMG guide you mentioned too :)

[GoodSyntax]

Thank you DVSK, I had a lightbulb moment when I read what you said about bow firing faster than daggers... NOW it makes sense! I will look up the DPS VS DMG guide you mentioned too :)

It's the other way around. Daggers are much faster to attack than bows. As an example, if a bow can perform one auto attack once every second, daggers can attack twice every second, which is why daggers generally have superior DPS.

On the other hand, bows provide more DMG, and it is the DMG stat that is used to scale up your skill damage. To see an example, equip a dagger and check your skill damage on aimed shot, noxious bolt and shadow pierce. Then, equip a bow - you will see a jump in DMG, but a big drop in DPS. Compare skill damage once again, and usually, you will see that the bow gives more skill damage.

This is one of the reasons why most rogues prefer bows, especially in elite maps.

Daggers are terrific for normal maps, or anywhere that you can kill things in one to three auto attack hits. Plus, you get AoE damage on charged auto with daggers, which is also another nice feature. I typically prefer daggers when farming for eggs on normal maps, because I can charge auto and kill 3 mobs each time; whereas bows are single target only, so daggers dramatically speed up runs on normal maps.

[Zestee]

With Daggers:
damage = 370.9
DPS = 667.6

With Bow:
damage = 435.1
DPS = 435.1

That's what you'd expect? I have to be honest, I still don't really get the difference between damage and DPS, but I do understand daggers for mobs, bows for bosses. I guess that's enough ;)

[GoodSyntax]

With Daggers:
damage = 370.9
DPS = 667.6

With Bow:
damage = 435.1
DPS = 435.1

That's what you'd expect? I have to be honest, I still don't really get the difference between damage and DPS, but I do understand daggers for mobs, bows for bosses. I guess that's enough ;)

This is a good example actually.

The bow attacks once every second. The daggers attack once every 0.55 seconds.

With the bow you get a higher damage stat, but auto attacks are slower. Skill attacks operate on their own cooldown, but all skills are based on your DMG stat.

The daggers attack roughly twice per second, so if you are doing mostly auto attacks, you can push out more damage in the same time as you can with a bow. The flip-side is that your skill damage will be slightly lower, which is why daggers are more popular on normal maps, because you are not so reliant on skill damage. Bows are still the recommended weapon for elite maps though, because elite mobs still take a while to kill (they are almost equivalent to normal bosses in some cases).

Basically, any time that you get into situations where one or two hits will kill a mob, use your daggers (because they are faster), but if you encounter something that takes a lot of hits to kill, then use your bow, because most of the damage you inflict will be skill based damage (aimed/nox/pierce/traps/etc) which is based on DMG, not DPS.

[Serancha]

Also remember that daggers hit multiple mobs, whereas bows are single target.


The only thing I charge is nox when I am circling a large group of mobs. The aoe upgrade is a charged effect, and is very efficient in a dps-only elite run. Otherwise, veil requires charging, but everything else is generally tap tap tap.

With daggers especially, charging is never recommended unless you need to stun something, and even then it's usually a waste of effort. The whole benefit of daggers is the fast multi-hit autoattack. So (just an example) aim, nox, tap tap, aim, nox, pierce, tap tap, charge veil aim tap tap.....

[GoodSyntax]

Also remember that daggers hit multiple mobs, whereas bows are single target.

Yes!

Also, charged daggers typically can stun (or kill) up to three mobs at a time. This is particularly useful in elite maps when you are making a run to the boss. It gives you just enough time to get ahead of mobs and avoid taking any damage. What I usually do is fight with a bow, use a tanking + dagger loadout for the run, charging daggers and unloading on mob clusters along the way to slow them down, and finally swap back to my DMG set when I reach the boss.

In the end, it's best to have both a bow and a set of daggers as they are both useful.

[Serancha]

I'm going to start calling you fast-fingers-kali..

[Qamr]

1st, thanks for that thread and all that Pro information.
2nd, what is that
_____________________
The poison DoT skill
• 4/5 Noxious Bolt
-Don't upgrade the Serated arrow head its glitched.
________________________________________________

I can't understand that Part, if you explain it that will be so generous.

[GoodSyntax]

1st, thanks for that thread and all that Pro information.
2nd, what is that
_____________________
The poison DoT skill
• 4/5 Noxious Bolt
-Don't upgrade the Serated arrow head its glitched.
________________________________________________

I can't understand that Part, if you explain it that will be so generous.

The Serrated Arrow upgrade (+15% Impact Damage) actually reduces damage instead of increasing it! That's why the recommendation is to skip that specific upgrade.

[Qamr]

Wow, i didn't know that.
time to use spec scroll then. :D

so what you recommend kali for that point
SP couging rush or durable :)

[GoodSyntax]

For my build, I use the following (I'm pure PvE, I don't engage in PvP anymore):

Skills:
Shadow Pierce (Unlock only, no upgrades)
Noxious Bolt 4/5 (All upgrades except Serrated Arrowhead)
Aimed Shot 5/5 (All upgrades)
Entangling Trap 3/5 (Add Adept Construction and Net Retraction [1, 4])

Passives:
Durable (Armor): 5/5
Critical Shot: 5/5
Agility (Dex): 5/5
Knowledge (Int): 5/5
Quickness (Speed): 2/5
Might (Str): 5/5

There are a few options here. Some players prefer Shadow Veil, some like Razor Wire and some like Traps.

ALTERNATIVE BUILDS:
Shadow Veil
If you typically run pure (as in no elixirs), spec Shadow Veil (all upgrades except explode, so you'll need to take a point away from speed).
The buffs to armor and damage are some of the best buffs in the game. But, with the buff/debuff mechanics, you lose the value of Shadow Veil if you use elixirs or run with pets that give you a % DMG boost. Look around the forums and check out the discoveries on buff/debuff stacking and you'll see what I mean about that.

This is the best build for pure runs and pure leaderboard times.

Traps
(This is the build I use)

If you are looking to maximize damage or want faster runs, and you don't mind spending plat/ankhs on revives or using elixirs, go with the Trap build. This build helps with crowd control and gives you a viable fourth attack option that actually provides damage. Unfortunately, Shadow Storm Shot is so weak and the cooldown is so long that it is probably the worst skill in the entire game. Traps are the best 4th offensive skill at your disposal, so this is why I use it. Be cautious about the upgrades though, I have found that the Bleed upgrade aggros all mobs in the trap, so given my preference of fighting in the middle of the mob cluster, I don't like this particular upgrade.

Another nice benefit of Traps is the Net Retraction (AKA "pull"). This pull is a great crowd control skill and really makes the two sorcerer, two rogue party viable and devastatingly fast in elite maps.

Razor
The Razor build seems to be in disarray right now because of the bugs with the Spinning Freedom upgrade conflicting with the Increased Duration upgrade. Right now, if you add the Increased Duration (to increase your razor to 8 seconds), you lose the benefits of Spinning Freedom. If you choose to go with a Razor build, you need to decide which is more important, immunity to stun/snare/root or an 8 second duration. Whichever build you go with, I recommend the Whirling Razors upgrade (+20% dodge).

If you are mainly PvE, avoid the Bleeding Cuts upgrade, as that attracts a ton of aggro and has caused many, many deaths for me.

[Serancha]

The heal on pierce has saved my life more times than I can count. It is worth a point on elite.

[Viziam]

Really good info for new rogues. Thanks guys.

I've been charging aimed shot and nox because I seem to be getting bigger damage crits, but it seems like you guys don't do that.

For pierce Ive been charging that as well.. And I took the 3 added targets upgrade.. No good?

[Kingofninjas]

Fast auto attacks (i.e., tap, tap, tap) inflict damage faster than charged auto attacks. This is the DPS part.

Bows inflict more DMG per attack, which is why most rogues prefer them.

Or, you can do what I do, use a bow, fight in melee range with an aimed, nox, pierce combo, followed by tap, tap on auto, then repeat. It's not for the faint of heart though....

Thats what I do too. I also use razor and run right into middle of mobs and damage them with me razor.

[Zestee]

I'm going to need to read all this a few times I think, thank you! A bit reluctant to ask this due to being sniggered at, but what do you mean by auto attack? Is there a setting I don't know about where I can sit back and have a cup of tea while the battle goes on without my input? :-P

[Newcomx]

I'm going to need to read all this a few times I think, thank you! A bit reluctant to ask this due to being sniggered at, but what do you mean by auto attack? Is there a setting I don't know about where I can sit back and have a cup of tea while the battle goes on without my input? :-P

Auto attack is normal attack, no specific setting

[GoodSyntax]

Really good info for new rogues. Thanks guys.

I've been charging aimed shot and nox because I seem to be getting bigger damage crits, but it seems like you guys don't do that.

For pierce Ive been charging that as well.. And I took the 3 added targets upgrade.. No good?

I only charge skills while I'm moving between mob pulls and when I am preparing to launch Ribbit or Gyrm's AA. Other than that, the only time I find it appropriate to charge Aimed Shot is in the arena, under the Proximity Curse.

Charged Shadow pierce is good for two things, evading boss red zones and piercing through single mobs to the other side so you can run through a map faster. Other than that, I don't think I ever charge pierce.

The reason for rarely charging is because in the 1.5-2 seconds it takes to charge a skill, you could launch a full Aimed, Nox, Pierce combo. Not only does the combo do more damage than a single charged Aimed Shot, but it also keeps your crit stack at its peak, which (with the right pets) means almost everything will be critting.

[Qamr]

my build is almost the same as what you post kal.
just i preferred to have 5 skills 4 passives.

Shadow Pierce 2/5 (heal upgrade only 2nd)
Noxious Bolt 4/5 (just removed the 4th upgrade)
Aimed Shot 5/5 (All upgrades)
Entangling Trap 3/5 (except decay and bleeding)
Shadow Veil 4/5 (except decay)

changing between SP and veil depending on the map power if i can't get closer to mops i do activate veil if i can i activate SP ;)

Passives str,Int,dex,crt 5/5 armor 2/5

[kinzmet]

Thank you for posting that kinzmet, very helpful, I just re-spec'd to try it. Firstly, I really do like having more than one arrow. A question about it though. Let's say I am fighting boss, I have aimed shot and nox, plus tappity tap on the main one. But I've forgotten to change my weapon to the bow and am still holding daggers. Will that impact me greatly? Will I do much more damage if I had remembered to switch to the bow?

One more question for you, I don't understand your choices for the passive skills. Someone told me rogue is kill or be killed, that there is no need to invest in things like strength or knowledge, because those are for warriors or mages. So why use them?

Thank you!

Hi Zestee! Sorry for replying so late, I was out on mountains for vacation. Anyway, looks like Goodsyntax/Kalizzaa has summed everything up. Listen to him, his one of my mentors on being a rougue from his elite farming guides.

But to answer your questions,
-Yes, damage wise holding dagger or bow will affect your boss game greatly. An example is the Elite boss Alargan, I really don't like to face him using daggers. Don't get me wrong, skilled people will still kill him without dying using daggers only. But, its just easier for me to kill him using bow. Again its personal preference, some people will take advantage on dagger's vast DPS better than bow's massive damage.

-That someone who told you about rogue's kill-or-be-killed is half right. All pro rouges go for pure dexterity build on stat distribution, but invest on gears, pets, grand gems and elixirs for health, mana and survival. Examples are mythic/arcane gears and pets, also grand gems like Tarlok wind gems. These gives the rogues completed stats to survive while still dealing massive damage.

[Viziam]

I only charge skills while I'm moving between mob pulls and when I am preparing to launch Ribbit or Gyrm's AA. Other than that, the only time I find it appropriate to charge Aimed Shot is in the arena, under the Proximity Curse.

Charged Shadow pierce is good for two things, evading boss red zones and piercing through single mobs to the other side so you can run through a map faster. Other than that, I don't think I ever charge pierce.

The reason for rarely charging is because in the 1.5-2 seconds it takes to charge a skill, you could launch a full Aimed, Nox, Pierce combo. Not only does the combo do more damage than a single charged Aimed Shot, but it also keeps your crit stack at its peak, which (with the right pets) means almost everything will be critting.

Wow Kali.. Thanks for explaining that. It's really improved my game! I'm now critting on almost all of that combo, until I run out of mana.. It's freakin awesome! Thanks man! I love the rogue community here..

[Taaraveo]

Thanks kalizza and serancha and also zestee for the topic. I learn more will reading this thrend. Also, I thought kali is a girl..

[NotYoCookiez]

this has helped me beyond words. Honestly appreciate that you guys explain all this. I love you guys and i hopefully i will become a great rogue and share my wisdom!

[Reightz]

Hey all.
Seen u talking about Shadow Pierce
"use it to avoid the red areas"
"Use it to go through mobs"

How do u control it?
Everytime i tap SP it goes straight into the crowd then i take a lot dmg from enemies =/
Of course when using in a empty area i can control it and dash in any direction i want, but how to do that when the mobs are just there?
(Seems like SP has a auto aim, wich sux imo)

[GoodSyntax]

Pierce for evasion is only effective against bosses or any time there is only one enemy on screen.

Basically, the moment a boss starts his windup (red zone) charge pierce and the instant it is fully charged, let go. This will cause your rogue to pierce into the boss and try to seek a second target (which there won't be) and ends up going through the boss and outside of the attack area.

This is a super useful strategy and has saved my life countless times!

[Madnex]

Charging pierce reduces the damage per target so it's generally unadvised to do so - unless you're trying to avoid a red zone. Stay away from rising death upgrade as well, it also reduces the impact damage without making up for it by the 5-6 hits that follow.

[Reightz]

Got it! Ty for being quick on answering.

Two more questions -- about traps

1. Ppl says the bleed upgrade will attract aggro but having a short range wont it attract aggro anyway since u gotta get close to launch the trap?

2. What would be the utility of trap skill when used without bleed? Snare and pull effects for CC only? (Seems not that useful)

[NotYoCookiez]

Got it! Ty for being quick on answering.

Two more questions -- about traps

1. Ppl says the bleed upgrade will attract aggro but having a short range wont it attract aggro anyway since u gotta get close to launch the trap?

2. What would be the utility of trap skill when used without bleed? Snare and pull effects for CC only? (Seems not that useful)

i have the exact same question

[GoodSyntax]

Traps is most useful for crowd control. Aside from the most useful aspect (the pull) traps set up a barrier that most mobs won't go through. So, you can use this to play a cat and mouse game and effectively kite at close range.

Also, traps can be used to inflict small damage. This is helpful when used in a combination with Clock and Nox. If the traps pull, and a sorc drops a Clock, you can use a charged Nox and create 3 separate DoT attacks. It's not a lot of damage, but every bit helps, especially when you spread the damage over a large cluster of mobs.


But, basically, traps are all about the crowd control...

[kinzmet]

1. The bleeds on traps do make mobs aggro on you, now your question is --> when you set up the trap doesn't you already aggro the mobs already by going close to them? So why remove bleed effect?

Thats how I understood it, If that was your question then heres the answer:
-When you are with party on a warrior (pve build), surely the HoR and other warrior skills have "Taunt" which pulls the aggro on them. Now if you put bleed on your trap you will make the mob target you instead of the warrior when the taunt's effect wear off.
-You don't really want to put the trap first, If you do the mobs will definately have an all out aggro on you because you came close to them. What you wanted is for your tank to aggro them and then you can place the traps strategically and safely.

2. Traps without the bleed is for CC only?
-It seems like it but no. What you really want to set-up is you Noxious Bolt, since Shadow Storm Shot is poor choice of AoE skill (AoE is very limited to rogue). You wanted the mobs to cluster in group so that the poison splash of Noxious Bolt will be maximized. Bleed effect from the Razor wire upgrade of Entangling trap is really a good addition for DoT but what you really wanted is DoT without having the mobs aggro on you, and the bleed effect makes the aggro kills you.
-In the end, no bleed traps will provide you good CC without the risk of mobs swarming on you.

[GoodSyntax]

1. The bleeds on traps do make mobs aggro on you, now your question is --> when you set up the trap doesn't you already aggro the mobs already by going close to them? So why remove bleed effect?

Thats how I understood it, If that was your question then heres the answer:
-When you are with party on a warrior (pve build), surely the HoR and other warrior skills have "Taunt" which pulls the aggro on them. Now if you put bleed on your trap you will make the mob target you instead of the warrior when the taunt's effect wear off.
-You don't really want to put the trap first, If you do the mobs will definately have an all out aggro on you because you came close to them. What you wanted is for your tank to aggro them and then you can place the traps strategically and safely.

2. Traps without the bleed is for CC only?
-It seems like it but no. What you really want to set-up is you Noxious Bolt, since Shadow Storm Shot is poor choice of AoE skill (AoE is very limited to rogue). You wanted the mobs to cluster in group so that the poison splash of Noxious Bolt will be maximized. Bleed effect from the Razor wire upgrade of Entangling trap is really a good addition for DoT but what you really wanted is DoT without having the mobs aggro on you, and the bleed effect makes the aggro kills you.
-In the end, no bleed traps will provide you good CC without the risk of mobs swarming on you.
Perfect explanation!

Also, remember that traps need a few seconds after being dropped before they are sprung. So, what I do is place a trap where I want and expect mobs to follow (i.e., choke points and corners) then aggro one or two mobs and "lead" them where I want a pull to get set up.

From there it is a matter of dropping traps as soon as they cool down and keep hoping for a pull to keep the mobs exactly where you want them. This way the sorcs can maximize their AoE/DoT. With a tank in party, you really don't generate too much aggro with traps if you do not have the bleed upgrade.

Rogues, being a single target class, really only generate aggro on one or two mobs at a time, so long as you maintain attacks on a single enemy. Spray attacks all over the place, and you make everyone's job harder.

Remember, this is a cooperative game, and the better the teamwork and the better your group is able to compliment each other, the more successful your team will be.

[Soundlesskill]

I often wonder how other rogues fight. For example, when I get to the boss, I like to get up close, and hold down then release. Rather than tap tap tap tap I mean. It's easier on the fingers/wrists! But on the times I change to tap tap tap, I feel like he dies faster. Am I imagining this?

Also, lots of rogues use their bow on the boss, but it's sooooooo slow!! I bought the best legendary bow available to me, and it still doesn't kill as fast as my daggers. But I seem to be the only rogue who feels this way. Maybe the day I bought my bow there wasn't much good stuff available?

My main weapon: 193.5dps, 45dex
My bow: 121dps, 31dex, 2.15 crit

I know the bow numbers are significantly smaller, but I'm told that's pretty normal, that they still do more damage....???? Confused....

I suggest not to use daggers at all, because you want to get out as much single target damage as possible, the mages handle the AoE. Don't use daggers unless you got the mythic ones. For boss, rouges use bow because it has higher single target damage, that's why your Damage increases when you equip it. Whereas the daggers increases your DPS (Damage Per Second) and has a little AoE attack. I suggest you run with bow all the time and focus down the hardsst mobs, such as the mages in the new tombs, the witches, lizards, weird-green-guys in Tindrin. It may be slow when attack, but it has more damage output if it's used right.
The bow should be used with Aimed Shot, Noxious Bolt, Piercer and a skill of own choice: Veil, Trap, Razor, whatever you prefer. Eg. Heres my PvE specs:
5/5 Aimed Shot
5/5 Passive Dexterity
5/5 Passive Strength
5/5 Passive Intillegence
3/5 Noxious Bolt (I get the first (or secod, if I rememer correctly lol) and the last.
4/5 Veil, no explosion
4/5 Trap, no explosion
1/5 Piercer, or 2/5 with heal upgrade. I like the heals :D.
Rest in passive crit or damage.

I recommend not charging your attacks, it's more DPS with single target damage. I usually face tank everything and spam pots, but running around works just as well. Combo is: Non-charged Aimed -> Nox -> Auto -> Nox -> Piercer. Repeat, drop Veils and Traps when possible. For mobs, I would target the biggest problem (Witch, Lizard, Big green mob). Just spam the combo and pots!

Regards
Noisy

[carmine_blade]

But, with the buff/debuff mechanics, you lose the value of Shadow Veil if you use elixirs or run with pets that give you a % DMG boost.

Hi there, just to ensure I understand correctly, if you use a pet that gives less % damage than Veil, do you lose the pet's % damage or Veil's? thanks in advance :)

[GoodSyntax]

Hi there, just to ensure I understand correctly, if you use a pet that gives less % damage than Veil, do you lose the pet's % damage or Veil's? thanks in advance :)
You are correct.

The largest buff wins. So, 5/5 DMG passive is overridden by a 10% DMG buff from your pet (generally, it is not advisable to put points into the DMG passive). The pet buff will be overridden by the 20% DMG buff from Shadow Veil.

Another issue is that ANY debuff cancelles a buff. So, a 5% debuff wipes out a 20% buff! This is the reason why the wolves in Shuyal and Planar Tombs seem to be so devastating.

This is the buff/debuff mechanics for properties like DMG, Armor and probably Speed. Testing speed has proven to be very difficult, but enough evidence exists to support the theory that it falls under the same rules.

[carmine_blade]

Thanks for clarifying that- and wow about the debuffs... food for thought!

[AngryLucas]

quicness pasive skill doesnt works

[ivanpro11]

this is great game

[ivanpro11]

Great game