If you love sneaking around, striking from the shadows, and watching enemies drop before they even know what hit them in Avowed, then this Shadow Stalker build is for you. This setup is all about versatility, burst damage, and staying unseen while dishing out serious pain. We’ll be focusing on a deadly Elemental Dagger + Pistol combo, allowing you to handle different enemy types while also making exploration easier!
Best Early Game Stealth Build Shadow Stalker
With two out of the three essential elemental types (Fire and Shock), you can bypass environmental obstacles without constantly burning through consumables. Plus, thanks to stealth mechanics, you can stay nearly permanently invisible early on—something that’s normally tough to pull off. And when it’s time to strike, this build hits hard, making short work of even tougher enemies.
Let’s break it all down so you can start assassinating enemies like a true Shadow Stalker!
Weapons
1. Caeroc’s Pride (Shock Pistol) – Your Ranged Bread & Butter
A must-have for any Shadow Stalker. This pistol stacks Shock accumulation, eventually stunning enemies and triggering a chain lightning burst—perfect for controlling groups or finishing off a tough opponent.
Location: To grab this beauty, head down to a small island, southeast of Shantytown, southwest of Ondra’s Reach and west of Castol’s Folly (refer to the map below for the exact location), where you’ll find a bounty target named Tempestous Luandi. Take them out, and the pistol is yours.
- Shock damage stuns enemies, giving you easy kill opportunities.
- It helps with electric-based puzzles, saving you from carrying extra grenades or spells.
- Great for ranged stealth kills when you don’t want to get too close.
2. Sheathed In Summer – Fire-Based Dagger
Your go-to melee weapon for early-game stealth kills. This dagger burns enemies with every hit, and each combo ends with a fiery explosion—excellent for raw DPS and also useful for burning obstacles like cobwebs.
Location: You’ll find it at the Godless Ruins by defeating Octav the Firebrand—a dwarven boss who, honestly, is easier than he looks. I took him down at level 2 with some patience and a few well-placed backstabs.
- Fire damage melts enemy health bars.
- Combos end with a fire burst, adding extra AoE damage.
- Useful for exploration (burning obstacles, lighting fires, etc.).
Once you reach the second map, swap this out for the Survivor’s Guilt Dagger (more on that later). Get it enchanted for Cold + Poison damage, giving you even more variety.
3. Survivor’s Guilt Dagger – Mid-Game Upgrade
Once you reach the second map, replace Sheath in Summer with Survivor’s Guilt. You’ll need to defeat a bounty to get it, but it’s worth it.
Location: Inside Belderreno’s Lair (Bounty Quest). At the entrance, climb up a root, then continue upwards along a few ledges—you’ll find it next to a skeleton.
- Enchant it with Cold + Poison damage to stack multiple elemental effects on enemies.
- Combine this with a ring that adds poison on crit (found in the first area).
- With all your sources of burn, shock, poison, and physical damage, plus your companion’s bleed damage, you’ll be dishing out insane multi-type damage.
Armor & Gear
1. Blackwing Armor – Stealth Damage Bonus
This armor is essential for a stealth-based build. It gives you a 30% boost to stealth attack damage, making every backstab and surprise strike hit even harder.
Location: You’ll get this during the main questline (An Untimely End quest) while tracking down the person who shot you at the start of the game. (Spoiler alert: You can either spare or kill them, but I personally chose the latter.)
- Stealth kills become ridiculously powerful.
- Unseen attacks = massive burst damage.
- With this, you can easily hit 1500+ damage early on, deleting enemies in one strike.
2. Blackwing Gloves – Extra Crit Damage
These gloves aren’t the best overall, but they provide +10% increased crit damage—and since this build crits often, that’s still a solid bonus.
Location: You can find these near where you were first shot in town. Super easy to grab.
3. Arcanist’s Boots – Movement Speed & Healing
These boots give you extra movement speed and passive healing, making them the best early-game choice for a Shadow Stalker.
Location: Found at the top of the Lighthouse near the tutorial area. Just climb up, loot the chest, and you’re set.
Accessories
1. Steel Garrote Medallion – Extra Resolve
Gives +1 Resolve, which boosts your stamina and makes your Second Wind ability more efficient.
Location: Inside the Ruinous Caverns (watch out for spiders). Look for a hidden path to the right as you enter.
2. Ondra’s Grace – Passive Healing
This ring regenerates health while you’re wet, which is way more useful than it sounds. You’ll be near water often, making this a free sustain tool.
Location: After finishing the Ruinous Caverns quest, head to a waterfall nearby—it’s hidden behind it.
Bonus: If you want even more synergy, grab the Vindictive Band from the first side quest once you exit the tutorial. It’s a fantastic addition to the build.
As for the second ring, it will ultimately depend on the build you’re going for, use whichever you find is best!
Key Fragment: Noblesse Oblige – Scales of the Oathbinder Fragment (Free Healing & Mana in Stealth)
This game-changing fragment rapidly restores health and Essence whenever you revive a companion—a stealth build’s best friend.
Location: Find it near Runyd’s House, at a Shrine of Woedica inside an infantry camp.
- If you have two companions, they’ll go down often, letting you revive them while staying in stealth.
- Constant health and mana regeneration, letting you keep using stealth abilities.
- This makes stealth near unlimited when played correctly.
Abilities
- Charge (Fighter) – Your main mobility skill, perfect for jumping obstacles, breaking walls, and knocking enemies over. It even stuns enemies when upgraded.
- Devastating Criticals (Fighter) – Increases critical hit damage, making your melee stabs devastating. Max it to rank 2 for 50% more crit damage.
- Evasive (Ranger) – Improves dodge sustain, helping you survive when stealth isn’t an option.
- Shadowing Beyond (Ranger) – This is your bread and butter stealth ability, letting you go invisible while draining Essence. Upgrade it fully for reduced Essence drain and longer stealth duration.
- Armored Essence (Wizard) – Reduces the Essence cost of Light/Medium armor, making sure that you never run out of stealth juice.
Companion Skills
If you’re using Kai, focus on:
- Fire and Ire – Your main damage skill. Use this off cooldown.
- Quick Reload – Reduces the cooldown of Fire and Ire by 50%, so you can spam it.
- Pure Lead – Improves Kai’s overall damage output.
If you’re using Marius, focus on:
- Wounding Shots – Causes enemies to bleed, adding bonus DoT damage.
- Maiming Shots / Exposing Shots – Either makes enemies deal less damage or makes them more vulnerable to your attacks.
Attribute Points
Your main focus should be:
- Perception – Increases crit chance and range. This is huge for pistols. Aim for about 10 points before diminishing returns kick in.
- Intellect – Boosts Elemental resistance and Essence pool, keeping you stealthed longer.
- Dexterity – Enhances attack and action speed, making you deadlier in both melee and ranged combat.
As you level up, unlock Critical Strikes, which boosts crit chance by an additional 20%, stacking with your Perception bonuses.
How To Play The Build
Stealth First, Burst Later
- Always crouch before engaging. Shooting an enemy from stealth guarantees a crit, thanks to your perks.
- If possible, go for a backstab first—this deals massive initial damage.
- After attacking, immediately use Shadowing Beyond to go invisible again.
- Summon Kai to unleash Fire and Ire for extra burst.
The Perfect Opener
- Backstab from stealth with your dagger.
- Summon Kai to attack while you’re still hidden.
- Use a grenade or pistol shot to finish off weakened enemies.
- Go back into stealth with Shadowing Beyond.
- Repeat the cycle.
With this loop, you can deal 3000+ damage in seconds, even against high-level enemies.
What If You Get Caught?
- Dodge often with Evasive to avoid hits.
- Use your pistol for quick ranged damage if enemies are at a distance.
- Stealth revive allies if needed (thanks to Nai Ablage Fragment, this also heals and restores mana).
- Keep moving—if an enemy is too strong, break line of sight and re-enter stealth.
Wrap-Up
The Shadow Stalker build is all about high burst damage, near-permanent stealth, and versatility, making it one of the strongest early-game setups in Avowed. Whether you’re backstabbing enemies for massive crits, stunning them with shock damage, or staying invisible for extended periods, this build has everything you need to dominate.
With the right weapons, armor, and abilities, you’ll be able to effortlessly clear encounters, bypass environmental obstacles, and assassinate enemies before they even know you’re there. Try it out, tweak it to fit your playstyle, and let me know how it works for you!
