Many long-time Path of Exile players have waited for the Shadow to make its return in PoE 2. A recent teaser from GGG has sparked wide community discussion around this fast, tricky hybrid class, its dagger gameplay, trap and mine mechanics, and what players can expect when 1.0 launches. This article will focus on the new class to be released along with the Duelist - PoE 2 Shadow, with its release date, ascendancies, skills, and weapons (daggers).
PoE 2 Shadow Class Release Date - When Is Shadow Coming
The 1.0 full release of Path of Exile 2 is scheduled for December 11, 2026. Current community consensus points to the Shadow arriving in this 1.0 patch alongside the Duelist, though this has not been fully locked in by GGG. Major reveals covering Shadow, Duelist and related new content are expected at ExileCon 2026 on November 6, where the dev team will host a keynote presentation to share official gameplay and details.
Early rumours first surfaced from a circulated event invitation posted on Reddit, which mentioned that attendees could test new classes while playing Act 5. At first, players debated whether this text referred to new base classes or extra ascendancy options for existing classes. After the official PoE 2 teaser, most players believe the Shadow is the class being previewed, paired with the Duelist for the 1.0 launch window.
PoE 2 Shadow Basic Identity and Passive Tree Start
Shadow is a Dexterity/Intelligence hybrid class, just like its version in Path of Exile 1. It shares its passive skill tree starting spot with the Monk. This placement gives the Shadow easy access to critical damage nodes, spell scaling and mixed attack/spell scaling paths, which fits its flexible playstyle.
This shared starting point is a big part of its design. The Monk already supports both melee strike builds and spell-focused setups, so the Shadow can naturally branch into dagger attacks, poison, traps, mines or chaos projectile skills. Unlike pure melee or pure caster classes, it does not force players into one single damage type from the start.
PoE 2 Shadow Ascendancy
PoE 2 classes launch with two or three ascendancy choices, and community speculation centres on three classic PoE 1 Shadow ascendancies: Assassin, Saboteur and Trickster. Most analysts expect only two of these to launch with Shadow in 1.0.
Assassin: Built around critical strikes, dagger hits and poison damage. This fits closely with dagger melee and projectile play, leaning into high burst and chaos ailment pressure.
Saboteur: The trap and mine specialist. This is the option players link to seismic, fire and ice trap builds. Saboteur would reward players who prefer to fight from safety by laying traps and mines before enemies approach.
Trickster: Focused on evasion, movement speed, layered defence and mixed damage scaling. It suits hit-and-run dagger builds and setups that blend offence with consistent recovery and avoidance.
One common theory is that Saboteur and Assassin will be the two launch ascendancies, while Trickster may arrive later. It is also worth noting that some community sources refer to the base class itself as “Assassin” in PoE 2, with “Shadow” used as one of its ascendancy names; this naming confusion will only be cleared up during the ExileCon reveal.
PoE 2 Shadow Skills
The Shadow’s expected kit mixes trap spells, dagger attack skills and chaos projectile abilities. All skills listed here are based on pre-release leaks and community breakdowns, and final gem tags or damage values may change before 1.0.
Trap Skills (Spell + Trap Tags)
Traps count as spells, which means they scale with spell damage, critical strike chance for spells, area damage and duration modifiers. Each trap type has its own damage theme:
Seismic Trap: Deals physical area damage. Physical damage allows players to add bleed effects to traps, making this a strong option for bleed trap builds.
Fire Trap: Creates a large fiery explosion and applies burning to enemies. Players can pair it with flammability support to stack more fire ailment damage.
Ice Trap: Spreads multiple icy projectiles on trigger. It focuses on cold damage and freeze crowd control instead of burn or bleed.
Dagger Attack & Chaos Projectile Skills
These skills carry attack tags, not spell tags, so they scale with attack, chaos damage and projectile modifiers rather than spell damage. GGG has confirmed a rework for chaos damage over time ahead of 1.0, including extra chaos damage nodes on the passive tree, to support these builds.
Cobra Lash: A chained chaos projectile attack that can poison targets. When linked with the Chain support gem, the projectile bounces between nearby enemies. Players can also add Nova Projectile support to make it spread outward in all directions.
Viper Strike: A melee dagger / claw / sword strike that converts physical damage into chaos damage and applies poison. It opens up close-range poison builds, and can work for both Shadow and Duelist.
Ethereal Knives: Fires a cone of dagger projectiles. Unlike Cobra Lash, it does not chain by default, but return support gems can make the knives fly back and hit enemies twice.
Blade Spell Skills
These are physical spell skills that scale with both spell damage and physical flat damage:
Blade Vortex: A spinning blade aura around the player, similar in concept to Righteous Fire but based on physical blade damage. It has duration and area scaling.
Bladefall: Calls daggers to fall from above over time. It has no heavy charge-up delay compared with similar arrow-falling skills seen on other classes, so it can be cast continuously as long as resources allow.
PoE 2 Daggers List and Stats
Daggers are One-Handed Melee weapons that require Dexterity and Intelligence to equip. They sit in a unique spot in Path of Exile 2, supporting both attack-focused ambusher builds and spellcaster setups that scale with dagger bases. Dagger Attacks are commonly related to ambushing or debilitating enemies. Some blade-related Spells also require a Dagger to wield. Most dagger bases feature strong critical strike potential, and several come with built-in implicits that shape how you build around them, such as mana leech, life conversion, cold conversion, or armour breaking on crit.
1. Ethereal Blade
Physical Damage: 5–10
Critical Hit Chance: 6%
Attacks per Second: 1.5
Weapon Range: 1
Notes: Low crit chance starter dagger for early zones, suited for new players before better bases drop.
2. Glass Shank
Physical Damage: 3–10
Critical Hit Chance: 15%
Attacks per Second: 1.55
Weapon Range: 1
Notes: Very high base crit chance for its low tier, a popular early leveling base for crit-focused dagger builds.
3. Crone Knife
Physical Damage: 4–15
Critical Hit Chance: 15%
Attacks per Second: 1.55
Weapon Range: 1
Requires: Level 6, 9 Dex, 9 Int
Implicit: Leeches 4% of Physical Damage as Mana
Notes: Strong caster leveling base; the mana leech implicit keeps mana topped off while attacking or casting supported blade spells.
4. Simple Dagger
Physical Damage: 8–19
Critical Hit Chance: 15%
Attacks per Second: 1.55
Weapon Range: 1
Requires: Level 12, 15 Dex, 15 Int
Notes: Reliable mid-level general-purpose dagger with solid physical range and high native crit, works for both attack and spell builds.
5. Skinning Knife
Physical Damage: 8–22
Critical Hit Chance: 13.5%
Attacks per Second: 1.65
Weapon Range: 1
Requires: Level 16, 19 Dex, 19 Int
Notes: The fastest attack speed on this dagger list, trading a small amount of base crit for quicker hits and more frequent proc triggers.
6. Moon Dagger
Cold Damage: 11–26
Critical Hit Chance: 15%
Attacks per Second: 1.55
Weapon Range: 1
Requires: Level 20, 22 Dex, 22 Int
Implicit: 100% of base physical damage converted to cold damage
Notes: Specialized cold dagger base. All its inherent damage is cold, ideal for cold conversion, freeze, chill, and cold dot setups.
7. Engraved Knife
Physical Damage: 11–34
Critical Hit Chance: 13.5%
Attacks per Second: 1.55
Weapon Range: 1
Requires: Level 27, 29 Dex, 29 Int
Notes: Higher physical damage ceiling with slightly reduced base crit, great for stacking physical scaling modifiers.
8. Obsidian Dagger
Physical Damage: 13–39
Critical Hit Chance: 15%
Attacks per Second: 1.55
Weapon Range: 1
Requires: Level 33, 34 Dex, 34 Int
Notes: High physical damage paired with full 15% base crit, a strong mid-to-late leveling physical crit dagger base.
9. Bloodletting Dagger
Physical Damage: 18–42
Critical Hit Chance: 15%
Attacks per Second: 1.5
Weapon Range: 1
Requires: Level 39, 39 Dex, 39 Int
Implicit: 25% of Spell Mana Cost Converted to Life Cost
Notes: Build-defining implicit for life-based caster dagger builds. Portion of spell costs drains life instead of mana, pairs well with life regeneration and life leech.
10. Mail Breaker
Physical Damage: 19–44
Critical Hit Chance: 15%
Attacks per Second: 1.5
Weapon Range: 1
Requires: Level 45, 45 Dex, 45 Int
Implicit: Breaks (400–500) Armour on Critical Hit
Notes: Excellent against heavily armoured enemies. The armour break trigger on crit helps physical builds bypass enemy armour and improve effective damage.
11. Kris Knife
Physical Damage: 16–48
Critical Hit Chance: 15%
Attacks per Second: 1.65
Weapon Range: 1
Requires: Level 49, 49 Dex, 49 Int
Notes: High damage ceiling plus the fastest attack speed on higher-tier dagger bases, perfect for fast crit attack builds and frequent on-hit effects.
12. Parrying Dagger
Physical Damage: 16–55
Critical Hit Chance: 15%
Attacks per Second: 1.55
Weapon Range: 1
Requires: Level 52, 51 Dex, 51 Int
Notes: Top-tier physical damage range with consistent native crit, commonly used as a high-end craftable base for physical dagger builds.
13. Arcane Dirk
Physical Damage: 22–52
Critical Hit Chance: 15%
Attacks per Second: 1.55
Weapon Range: 1
Requires: Level 56, 55 Dex, 55 Int
Notes: Balanced high-level base, equally viable for blade spell casters and dagger attack builds that want strong physical foundation.
14. Cinquedea
Physical Damage: 21–62
Critical Hit Chance: 15%
Attacks per Second: 1.55
Weapon Range: 1
Requires: Level 65, 63 Dex, 63 Int
Notes: The highest physical damage ceiling in this dagger list. Endgame craft base of choice for many physical crit dagger builds.
PoE 2 Dagger Build Notes
Daggers have two primary use cases: dagger attack skills and blade spells that require a dagger equipped. Many players pick bases based on their implicit first, then craft the damage type they need. Fast APS bases like Skinning Knife and Kris Knife shine for trigger, poison, and on-hit builds, while high-damage bases such as Cinquedea and Parrying Dagger are preferred for heavy physical crit setups. Moon Dagger is the only cold-converted base here, making it the go-to for dedicated cold dagger builds. Bloodletting Dagger and Crone Knife cater to caster playstyles with mana/life cost modifiers, while Mail Breaker solves armour issues for physical attackers.
