A dagger rogue built for a four-man party — no Lone Wolf, no bow, no weapon swapping. Every level from the respec to 21, with the skill purchases and gear detours where they actually happen.
4-man party
All-physical
Elf preferred
Levels 1–21
Before anything else
How to read the numbers
Every figure below is a cumulative total, not points spent this level. When a row says 25 FIN, your character sheet should read 25 after the level-up — you are not adding 25.
Two bonuses are already folded into those totals, which is what trips most people up:
Mnemonic gives +3 Memory.
Every Polymorph point refunds an attribute point.
You gain 2 attribute points and 1 combat ability point per level. Talents arrive at levels 1, 3, 8, 13 and 18 — five for the entire game, and all five are spoken for.
Civil abilities: Thievery to 5 first, then Sneaking.
Starting point
The respec
The Magic Mirror sits on the Lady Vengeance, on the deck near your quarters. It is free and unlimited, so nothing here is a permanent mistake.
Find your current level below and set your sheet to match that row exactly, then carry on from there. Respeccing at 11 means 31 Finesse, 18 Memory, Warfare 5, Scoundrel 2, Polymorph 3, Aerotheurge 2 — no matter how you arrived.
Race: Elf is strongest, because Flesh Sacrifice is +1 AP on demand. Human second for innate crit, Undead Human third.
I
Fort Joy
Levels 1–9
Your damage is bad and that is fine. This act is about collecting gap-closers so that by Act 2 you never spend AP on walking.
Lv1
Finesse
13
Scoundrel
1
Warfare
1
TalentExecutioner
+2 AP on a kill, once per turn. This is the engine the entire build runs on.
Skills: Backlash, Adrenaline, Battering Ram
Put your first civil point into Thievery
Lv2
Finesse
16
Polymorph
1
Buy Bull Horns from the Polymorph vendor in the Fort Joy camp. Bull Rush becomes your everyday gap closer.
Lv3
Finesse
19
Memory
13
Polymorph
2
TalentMnemonic
+3 Memory. It reads as a filler talent, but this build carries a very large skill bar and you will feel the shortage within one act.
Skills: Chicken Claw, Heart of Steel
Lv4
Finesse
21
Scoundrel
2
Buy Cloak and Dagger and Sawtooth Knife from Kalias
Kill Kniles the Flenser in the Fort Joy prison for Chastity & Abstinence — your first real daggers
Lv5
Finesse
23
Aerotheurge
1
Skill: Teleportation. Party-defining — you use it to pull enemies out of position and drop them next to your melee.
Lv6
Memory
15
Aerotheurge
2
Skills: Uncanny Evasion, Nether Swap
Eat the Blood Rose on the Fort Joy cliffs for a permanent attribute point
Lv7
Finesse
25
Warfare
2
Skill: Battle Stomp — it can backstab, which almost nobody realises
Lv8
Finesse
27
Warfare
3
TalentOpportunist
Free attacks on anything that disengages from you. Pairs with Chicken Claw, since the chicken is forced to run.
Take Migo's Ring from Migo in the swamp
Lv9
Finesse
29
Memory
16
Polymorph
3
Skill: Skin Graft once you have the Source point — resetting every cooldown is both your panic button and your burst button
Finish Fort Joy, then board the Lady Vengeance
II
Reaper's Coast
Levels 9–16
The longest act, and where the build comes online. Check vendors for daggers on every single level-up — a blue dagger at your level beats a three-level-old unique, every time.
Lv10
Memory
18
Warfare
4
Skill: Rupture Tendons. Combo it into Chicken Claw — they take damage for every step the chicken takes.
Lv11
Finesse
31
Warfare
5
Skill: Whirlwind (also backstabs)
Run A Web of Desire in the Undertavern for Terrorbite & Venombite
Lv12
Finesse
33
Warfare
6
Pickpocket Dashing June outside the Black Bull in Driftwood for the Gloves of Acquisition (+2 Thievery)
Skill: Sleeping Arms — Atrophy disables every weapon user in the fight for two turns
Lv13
Finesse
35
Warfare
7
TalentHothead
Crit chance and accuracy while your armour is full. With a support keeping armour topped up, it is live for most of a fight.
Lv14
Finesse
37
Warfare
8
Skill: Chameleon Cloak — sets up Mortal Blow later, and saves you when a fight turns
Lv15
Finesse
39
Warfare
9
Skill: Haste, but only if nobody else in the party can cast it on you
The dwarf vendor by the Undertavern waypoint stocks good rogue gear consistently
Lv16
Finesse
40
Wits
11
Warfare
10 max
Finesse is capped at 40 base and Warfare is done. Everything from here goes into Wits.
III
Nameless Isle
Levels 16–18
Short act, thin on finesse gear. Mostly you are here to pick up the two skills that turn this character into a finisher.
Lv17
Wits
13
Scoundrel
3
Skills: Mortal Blow and Daggers Drawn. Mortal Blow doubles from sneak or invisibility and executes anything under 20% health — cloak, then delete the scariest thing on the field.
Academy Lessons: take Lesson in Finesse (+5 FIN / −5 MEM) and Lesson in Memory (−5 STR / +5 MEM). You have no Strength, so the second is free.
Sebille only: at the Spider Kiss, choose Dragon for +2 Wits / −2 Constitution
Lv18
Wits
16
Polymorph
4
TalentBigger & Better
+2 attribute points. The original guide offers Glass Cannon here — skip it. It strips your crowd-control protection, and a single unlucky stun on turn one costs you the fight.
Skill: Challenge — mark a target, kill it inside two turns, collect armour and +20% damage
IV
Arx
Levels 18–21
Source economy opens up and the full unique set is here. This is where the build stops being good and starts being unfair.
Lv19
Wits
19
Polymorph
5
Skill: Apotheosis — Source costs drop to nothing for two turns. Apotheosis into Skin Graft into Apotheosis again is the standard boss opener.
Skill: Fan of Knives. Stand tight behind a single enemy and cast from one side — most of the knives land on that one target.
Lv20
Wits
21
Scoundrel
4
Skill: Peace of Mind for the damage and crit boost
Lv21
Wits
23
Scoundrel
5
Everything past here is flavour. Take what you enjoy.
Arx uniques
The endgame set
Slot
Item
Head
Vo Charlen — +5 FIN, +3 Wits, +1 Huntsman, immune to Charmed and Terrified
Chest
Nazad Hunola — +5 FIN, +2 Scoundrel, +1 Huntsman
Belt
Last One Standing — +4 FIN, +5 Memory
Legs
Lord Ruaney Britches — +3 Wits, +2 Scoundrel, +6 Initiative
Boots
Kallisteis — +3 FIN, +2 Wits, +1 Scoundrel, immune to Knockdown and Crippled
It sits under the dog's bed on the balcony outside Arhu's quarters. If it does not appear, shift the basket with a Strength character or cast Apportation on the spot.
Respec once the set is on. The gear supplies Scoundrel and Finesse you were previously paying points for, so move those points into more Scoundrel.
Runes and frames
Weapon — Masterwork Rune (+9–15% physical damage) in a Mystical Masterwork frame (+2/3 Wits)
Amulet — Flame Rune (+4–6% crit chance) in a Mystical Flame frame
Armour — Venom Rune in a Power Venom frame (+2/3 Finesse)
Never put elemental runes in your daggers. Fire, poison and air damage hit magic armour, which undoes the whole reason an all-physical party works.
Eternal Artefacts cannot be removed once slotted and are limited, so only spend them on gear you will keep for a long stretch. Best picks: helmet (+2 Finesse, +1 Huntsman) and rings (+1 Scoundrel).
In the fight
How it actually plays
You carry more skills than you have Memory slots, on purpose. Swap them between fights to suit what you are walking into.
Open with a gap-closer that puts you behind something — Backlash, Bull Rush, Battering Ram, Cloak and Dagger, or a Teleport from a party member.
Backstab. Daggers auto-crit from behind.
Kill something to trigger Executioner for +2 AP.
Spend that AP killing something else.
Short on AP? Adrenaline — and if you are an Elf, Flesh Sacrifice — to confirm the kill and keep the chain alive.
The build lives or dies on chaining Executioner procs. Every skill on the list exists either to get you behind a target or to guarantee a target dies this turn.
Build the party all-physical. Split physical and magic damage means neither armour type ever breaks, and this character only functions against enemies whose physical armour is already gone.