Scorpion - Crossbow + Dagger Large Scale PvP Build
- High Burst Damage
- Versatile
- Assassin
- High Skill Ceiling
- Squishy
- Falls off in Late Game
Overview
Crossbow and Dagger build for large-scale PvP which focuses on dealing high AOE damage quickly before enemies can react, killing groups of enemies in bursts before dying and reviving to do it again. While not as common as other DPS builds, it can be surprisingly effective when played by experienced individuals who understand the importance of positioning and timing well. With a proactive playstyle, this build requires a high level of skill to maximize its potential even though the mechanical skill required is considerably lower. You should focus on both aiding the group and making plays that would create openings for your zerg.
While it's not advisable to have too many players using this build due to its specialized nature, skilled individuals can effectively contribute without becoming a burden to their guild while playing this build.
Attributes
Dexterity
Perception
Strength
WisdomMaximizing damage output is crucial for this build, making Dexterity and Perception the primary attributes to focus on. By allocating points into these stats, you can significantly enhance your DPS, ensuring that you can deal good damage throughout each fight. Additionally, investing in Wisdom for extra mana regeneration can be good to sustain yourself, although the primary focus should remain on maximizing damage through Dexterity and Perception. Do not neglect 30 points into Strength though as it offers a good amount of extra health, especially useful in the late game when the Crossbow falls off a bit.
Skills
As your goal remains to cause chaos and deal high damage quickly, you should make sure to upgrade the correct skills as quickly as possible. The main one would be 
Merciless Barrage as is the skill you will use the most in large scale PVP. Follow up by upgrading 
Quick Fire, 
Brutal Incision and 
Cleaving Moonlight to enhance your damage potential further as these are the skills you will use to burst down solo enemies and assassinate your targets as these abilities play a significant role in your damage output.
Improving mobility goes a long way too as both 
Shadow Strike and 
Ankle Strike help you lock down single targets. Additionally, upgrading 
Selfless Diffusion can provide valuable survivability, helping you to escape thanks to its specialization, getting away from skills like 
Ensnaring Arrow or Shadow Strike while remaining mobile.
Choosing the right passives is crucial for maximizing this build's efficiency though. Focus on upgrading passives that enhance your damage and provide additional resistances. 
Shadow Walker offers increased evasion, while 
Wrathful Edge and 
Assassin's Instincts boost your critical hit damage, improving your overall damage output. Additionally, 
Ambidexterity and 
Eagle Vision provide further damage bonuses. By prioritizing these passives, you can ensure that your build is optimized for dealing significant damage while offering you the defense you need to remain in prolonged fights.
Equipment
These are the first items you should strive for through the leveling period as they are very easy to get and upgrade or trait as needed. However, you shouldn't try to trait these items too much as you won't be spending too much time playing with this setup before you start changing pieces into the Midgame. The green accessories however are very easy to trait as you can craft many of them quickly in order to get the correct traits so you should consider traiting them until you change into purples. The same goes for the blue ring as you keep it for a long time.
This is the gear you should transition to once you're leveled to 50 and start grinding gear. It is comprised of gear you can get either from dungeons or by completing Litographs, they are relatively easy to trait up and you will spend most of the time wearing this set before advancing into the late game so traiting these items is very important and should be your main focus.
This is the current endgame gear you should aim for, and while it isn't easy to acquire, it offers great power without the need of acquiring archboss gear pieces. However, items like 
Tevent's Fangs of Fury or other archboss weapons are superior but difficult to acquire for the majority of players. If you do manage to get the archboss weapons for your build, feel free to use them over the weapons shown here.
Weapon Masteries
Health Regen |
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Magic Defense |
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Amitoi Heal |
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Max Health |
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Magic Endurance |
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Health Regen |
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Debuff Duration |
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Cooldown Speed |
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Mana Cost Efficiency  | ||
Mana Regen |
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Ranged Hit Chance  |
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Mana Regen |
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Ranged Heavy Attack Chance |
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Weaken Chance |
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Mana Cost Efficiency |
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Ranged Hit Chance |
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Magic Defense |
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Ranged Crit Hit Chance |
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Movement Speed |
| Damage |
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Skill Damage Boost |
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Off-Hand Weapon Attack Chance |
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Damage |
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Buff Duration |
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Added Attack Speed |
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Cooldown Speed |
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Mana Regen |
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Ranged Damage Dealt |
| Ranged Defense |
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Health Regen |
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Debuff Duration |
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Mana Cost Efficiency |
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Cooldown Speed |
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Evasion |
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Buff Duration |
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Ranged Defense |
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Weaken Resistance  | ||
Movement Speed |
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Melee Hit Chance |
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Off-Hand Weapon Attack Chance |
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Weaken Chance |
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Mana Regen |
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Buff Duration |
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Silence Chance |
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Mana Cost Efficiency |
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Melee Hit Chance |
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Cooldown Speed |
| Melee Critical Hit Chance |
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Damage |
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Off-Hand Weapon Attack Chance |
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Melee Critical Hit Chance |
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Cooldown Speed |
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Critical Damage |
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Damage |
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Skill Damage Boost |
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Added Attack Speed |
Crossbow: Invest 9 points in Move and 9 points in Chain Fire to maximize your damage output and movement efficiency. Use the final point in Regen to gain a slight boost to health regeneration.
Dagger: Start by investing 9 points in Disguise to significantly boost your evasion, a key strength of using daggers as your main weapon. Allocate 9 points into Assassination to greatly enhance your damage. Place the last point in Poison to add a bit of weaken chance to your attacks.
Rotations
- This is your bread and butter rotation in Large Scale PVP. Start by buffing yourself with
Inject Venom and activating 
Mother Nature's Protest before beginning to look for an opportunity to catch multiple enemies stacked together. Use 
Camouflage Cloak to travel across the battlefield then use Shadow Strike once you found a stack of enemies to put yourself in combat. Follow up with a quick 
Nimble Leap to increase range before using Merciless Barrage to wipe out the group of enemies.
- This rotation is designed for delivering a quick burst damage to a single target before they can react. Make sure you have both Inject Venom and Mother Nature's Protest active before using Shadow Strike to bind and silence your target and use
Mortal Mark to prepare for the following burst damage.
- Use Ankle Strike to bring them to the ground before using Quick Fire, Nimble Leap and Quick Fire again to apply enough Inject Venom stacks that you can finish them off using Brutal Incision.
Camouflage Cloak: Whenever you aren't using it to engage, this has another use as it can be used like a "get-out-of-jail-free card." Employ it when you're under focused attack or need to reposition swiftly while you are CC immune throughout the duration. Keep in mind that you cannot clear already existing CCs if you enter stealth by using Camouflage Cloak! It can also serve to reset a fight and cooldowns after eliminating a target. Stealth offers various other strategic uses, so don't hesitate to get creative!
Phantom Smokescreen: This AOE ability can prove very helpful when used correctly, keep in mind however that as of 28/3/2024, Phantom Smokescreen doesn't block 
Infernal Meteor. However, you should still use it on top of your party whenever a group gets caught by the enemy as it still negates a lot of ranged damage and can help with your survival!
Selfless Diffusion: This remains your sole defensive active ability, ideal for situations where you get immobilized by bow users employing Ensnaring Arrow or if a foe with an upgraded Shadow Strike sets their sights on you.
Useful Information
- Select Lady Knight Kamarshea as your guardian; it provides essential protection with its shield, capable of absorbing damage equal to 50% of your mana. This not only aids in mitigating damage but also increases your cooldown speed in order to let you cast abilities much more often.
Comments
We are seeking an experienced Build Admin for Throne and Liberty with a deep understanding of the meta across most weapons and game modes. Get in touch with Galaxian on Discord if you're a good fit for the role or know someone else who is. This is a paid position.
