Shadow Strike Trickster

The main attack and the anchor of the three-skill rotation with Amarasta's Blade Burst and Ring of Steel. Also the binding target for Ultos's Hand of Ultos proc.

The main leveling attack early on, and it remains one-third of the endgame rotation alongside Shadow Strike and Ring of Steel.

An AoE nova that also brings freeze CC via its Ring of Frost modifier. Also the binding target for Amatok's Blizzard proc.

A dual-wield-only passive that directly boosts early damage output.

An always-on debuff aura, used as the binding target for Behemoth's Giant's Blood proc — being permanently active, it reliably catches the proc's on-hit trigger.

Veil of Shadow's modifier. Strips cold/pierce/acid resistance and forms one half of this build's two-source resistance reduction, alongside Raging Tempest.

A self-heal burst skill that adds to this build's already-strong mobility and regen-based safety margin.

A modifier node that strips enemy elemental resistance — the build's other resistance-reduction source alongside Night's Chill.

A deployable lightning skill. Early on it holds Tsunami's own proc; after Tsunami is refunded later, it takes over Murmur's Rumor proc instead.

A summoned pet skill. It temporarily holds Murmur's Rumor proc, then takes over Rhowan's Crown's Elemental Storm proc once Rumor moves over to Wind Devil.

Shaman's exclusive buff. Since v1.2.0.0 it auto-activates once learned, boosting stats with no button required.

A 1-point modifier for Pneumatic Burst. It enables melee dual-wielding on its own (no Dual Blades required), shortens Pneumatic Burst's recharge while dual-wielding, and adds health regen to it. Once taken, Pneumatic Burst can only be used while dual-wielding.

A deployable heal totem. An optional pickup for a more facetank-oriented playstyle — not required.

• ▸Start as Nightblade and pick up two "Olman's Weapons" from a house near where you fight Barrog to unlock Dual Blades early. Put 1 point in Amarasta's Blade Burst and spend the rest 2:1 on the mastery bar up through Pneumatic Burst and Breath of Belgothian.
• ▸Once you reach Night's Chill, put a point into Veil of Shadow and max it as a top priority from then on. Spend your first 6 devotion points completing Tsunami, binding its proc to Wind Devil for a big early-leveling damage boost.
• ▸After defeating Warden Krieg, farm the cave nearby for this build's two signature melee weapons (drop rate is a bit low, so expect several runs). Around the same time, farm Cronley's Thugs (Nicholas Balthazar if you want a specific target) for this build's main chest armor.
• ▸Switch to the Nightblade mastery bar at level 20-30 and grab one point each in Ring of Steel and Ring of Frost for CC. From there, split points 1:2 between Shadow Strike and the mastery bar up to Blade Spirit. On devotions, work through Raven and Jackal on the way to completing Behemoth.

• ▸Necklace: Ellena's Necklace. Once honored with Devil's Crossing, talk to the inventor (Kasparov) to unlock the Hargate's Isle quest, then kill Ellena, the First Slith to farm it.
• ▸Helmet: Ascended Diadem. Progress the aetherial essence quest with the Order of Death's Vigil leader, then kill Noveria Stormfire. Completing (turning in) the quest stops her from respawning, so farm as many kills as you want before turning it in.
• ▸Shoulders: Wendigo Bladed Pauldrons — easiest to just buy from the Barrowholm faction shop. An Ascended-series shoulder piece farmed from Torraxsteria is an alternative.
• ▸Legs: Dreeg-Sect Legguards (from the Guardian of Dreeg near Devil's Crossing). Gloves: buy from the Homestead faction shop. Boots: buy from the Black Legion faction shop.
• ▸Rings: 2x Gollus' Ring (from Gollus near Homestead — an OA affix on at least one is ideal). Medal: Ilgorr's Eternal Vigil (from Ilgorr, the Eternal at Steps of Torment).
• ▸The source guide never names the weapons or main chest armor explicitly — check its GrimTools build link directly for the exact rolls, and prioritize a Cold damage % affix on whatever you find.

• ▸Cycle the Shadow Strike / Amarasta's Blade Burst / Ring of Steel rotation — it holds up reasonably well even in a somewhat random order.
• ▸Drop Blade Spirit and Wind Devil and let them farm their assigned devotion procs on their own.
• ▸Stormcaller's Pact and Breath of Belgothian auto-activate once learned, so they keep stacking with no button management.
• ▸Watch out for reflect-aura trash — using Shadow Strike into one will hurt you back. Kite hard-hitting physical enemies in Hardcore.

Veil of Shadow's Night's Chill modifier and Raging Tempest give this build two independent resistance-reduction (RR) sources against enemies. On your own side, Black Legion faction gear covers physical resistance, with components filling the rest. Aim for roughly 80% on main resistances before entering Ultimate.

The guide is from v1.2.1.4 and hasn't been re-verified on v1.2.1.6. The source never names the weapons or main chest armor explicitly, so check the GrimTools build link ahead of time. Using Shadow Strike against reflect-aura enemies deals damage back to you, so Hardcore players need to keep checking enemy aura state.

Ellena's Necklace comes from Ellena in Hargate's Laboratory (after unlocking the Hargate's Isle quest); Ascended Diadem from Noveria Stormfire while the Order of Death's Vigil quest is still active; Wendigo Bladed Pauldrons from the Barrowholm faction shop; Dreeg-Sect Legguards from the Guardian of Dreeg near Devil's Crossing; Gollus' Ring from Gollus near Homestead; and Ilgorr's Eternal Vigil from Ilgorr, the Eternal at Steps of Torment.