Dagger Bird Guide by OmiGodANinja

[dudetus]

The Dagger Bird Guide V2



This is the guide for high lvl Dagger Birds. When the new items after Nuri update came to PL they introduced powerful daggers (Glyph Daggers Obedience and Mimicry and also Reptilian Daggers). I've seen many Dagger users but I've noticed that actually very few can actually use these Daggers well. Especially Full Dex Birds. So I made this guide in order to help you guys out.

All of the things I have said over here can be applied to Bears and Enchantresses. The Skill Setups are obviously diffirent but especially knowing Hit and Run and Second Wave method are useful for any kind of Dagger user.



WHY TO DAGGER?



Daggers offer the best DPS (Damage Per Second) than any other weapon in PL atm. They're a killer for every single boss. The only bad part of the Daggers are their low base damage compared to as for an example bows. Also when the base damage is low, skill damages are also lower.

But Dagger + Wing combo is the only solution for Full Dex Birds to remain super rushy like I am because of those super monsters at Nuri's and Mt. Fang.

If your playstyle is moderate and you like to be the supporter guy this is just not for you.
So if your playstyle is to be like a Rambo trying to kill everything on your sight and leading the group this playing style is for you. But I warn, this playing style isn't the easiest.



This guide is divided into diffirent sections as described below.



CONTENTS:



1. Equipment



2. Skill Setups



3. Battle techniques

3.01. Second wave method

3.02. Hit and Run method

3.1. Fighting mobs

3.2. Fighting single targets

3.3. Fighting bosses


4. In general and conclusions



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1. Equipment



Oh the eternal question: which items to use? Try to aim for pink daggers as they offer the best damage compared to their 2h alternatives. Therefore the actual weapon damage difference is not that big and the high DPS greater than the 2h weapons. Armoring combo is with wing. Again, pink items are the ones to aim for as they offer the best alltogether stats. Set bonuses with dagger can be achieved with Nuri's Obedience set and Mt. Fang's Sanguine set.

For the Ring I would recommend something which grants bonus damage and/or crit to increase the damage itself. The armor is rather good with the wing so I wouldn't recommend armor boosting rings. But still it is about preferences.

And actually as Noobian pointed out it's possible to go dual spec with both str and int with dagger birds. Str equipment offers better defence but damage itself is low (at least IMO). Int equipment offers slightly better armor with a bit better skill damage and higher crit chance with a bit less base damage.

I haven't really investigated these options but they seem to work for some people. I won't take dual spec ideas any further since this guide is for full dex birdies. I've put them to show u guys that there are still other options.


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2. Skill Setups



The most basic and the most effective skills for the Dagger Birds are Thorn Wall and the bird combo (Shattering Scream + Blast shot). Thorn wall to hit and root multiple enemies and after they are immobilized the combo to wipe them out.

The buffs of the bird (Focus and Evasion) are VITAL for the Dagger Birds. Focus offers you a huge damage bonus by increasing your crit and Evasion offers you a chance to dodge some of the enemies attacks which sometimes saves your life.

Other quite useful skill is the Restore. It might sound a bit weird but the boosted health regen is very useful in fighting any types of hard hitting enemies to give u some extra time to spam those health potions if needed.

The Battle Strategies section offers more detailed guide for the skills usage in various battle situations and only the basics were described here.


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3. Battle techniques



All of these tactiques and skills are from my own experiences. Even though I represent them here these are still only SUGGESTIONS how to play. But still the tactiques and skills have been largerly tested by me and noticed to be effective. The strategies may vary outside Nuri's and Mt. Fang but their basis still remains the same.

The basic PvE gaming for full dex dagger birdies is tricky. Basically there are two options for effective dagger bird when fighting.



3.01. Second Wave Method



Second Wave Method is the strategy I would recommend in the beginning. It's quite simple. You let someone else lead (tank, pally, juiced..) and come right behind him/her. The point of this is that the leader gets the aggro and so you are able to do almost
whatever you like without having the concern of being killed.



3.02. Hit and Run Method



Hit and Run Method is for the ones who have already mastered the Second Wave Method. This strategy is the crown jewel of the whole daggering if this is mastered correctly.

On Hit and Run method YOU are the group leader. You run first to everyhwere and gain the aggro. But still it's not recommended to stay in the centre of a mob or by the boss whole time because the armor and HP of a full Dex Dagger Bird is not that big that it would be possible for you to survive in a long run. So what to do next? You have came in the centre of the room and you have the aggro for every single enemy. Well how about running after you have gained the aggro? In Hit and Run Method after gaining the aggro and after you have used the skills it's more than recommended to run away from the enemies and let ur party come and divide the aggro. After the aggro is divided you are going to wipe the enemies out as a team. After clearing repeate the process.



3.1 Fighting Mobs



There are no differences in the skill usages between Second Wave or Hit and Run methods.

Firstable you need to Buff yourself with Focus and Evade before fighting the mobs. In some cases it is recommended to also use the Restore skill to boost your HP regen for a while before actually taking any damage. Using Restore is still a matter of taste and it isn't essential - it just helps you out a a bit.

After you are buffed you are ready to use your damaging skills.

The first skill to use is the Thorn Wall to root those enemies down so they are immobilized for a while. After Thorn Wall the Bird Combo (Shattering Scream + Blast Shot) to deal the big damage. Thorn Wall is important because of two reasons: The main reason is the rooting effective which makes enemies immobilized for a moment. The second reason is that after the enemies are being hit by the Wall they are "marked" and the combo will hit EVERYONE in about 180 degrees radius who are affected by your Thorn Wall.

After this you help the other team to wipe out the remaining enemies with the skills u prefer.



3.2. Fighting single targets



Fighting regular enemies with the dagger is not as simple as it is thought. With a full dex build birds haven't really experienced how to fight with close range daggers. This is because Full Dex Birds have only used bow - or in some cases talon before.

As for full hp single enemy I recommend the basic bird combo and if needed break armor and blinding shot. Remember to get close to let the enemy feel the wrath of your mighty DPS. About middle HP the break armor is usually the only skill you really need because it almost always hit crit when used first (with Focus) and it's downtime is as low as blast shots' but it isn't demanded for bird combo. It also breaks the armor down so if the Break Armor is not enough for killing the enemy it is just a matter of seconds when the enemy is down whether u use your skills or not.

Remember to add in the party factor because these situations really depend on how your group is playing and what classes are in it. Sometimes you don't even have to bother killing single targets if you are lucky to have a decent team with you.



3.3. Fighting Bosses



This is the part where the might and glory of daggers really get to shine. Over 500 dps (or even over 600!!) + knowing how to use skills is a devastating combo.

Skills to fight bosses have remained the same as with bow but you need to be in close distance (if you haven't yet found out it lol) to actually make ur dagger hit and to actually hit your skills. I'll put my skill using setup here in order I use them. Evade, focus, Thorn Root/Wall Root, Break Armor, Shattering Scream, Blast shot, Blinding Shot and Repulse Shot. Debuffing is still really important for Birds even though you are playing with a dagger instead of a bow.

To maximize your damage and evasiveness using Evasion and especially Focus are highly recommendable.

That's my starting combo and my main combo is Thorn Root, Break Armor, Shattering Scream and Blast Shot. I just spam other skills whenever they're available since they're not as important than those 4 skills when fighting a boss.

And what comes to repulse shot, as I have stated earlier Nuri's and Fang's bosses are immune to the "push effect" so you can spam it freely


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4. In General and Conclusions



The number of dagger birds is constantly rising and the Dagger has now (again) been accepted into the pro family of full dex equipment. The prices for the Dagger sets are still very low considered to teir affect in action.

The Era of Talons has ended and the Era of Daggers has begun

All of you Awesome Dagger Warriors! Raise your Daggers up high and wield them with pride after you have mastered all of the awesome things I have taught you in this Guide!