Stealth Dagger Assassin
OrcGlass-cannon dagger assassin that stacks the 15x Assassin's Blade perk, the 2x Shrouded Gloves backstab bonus, and the Orc's 2x Berserker Rage racial into a 60x sneak attack multiplier. No Smithing, Enchanting, or Alchemy required. The Dark Brotherhood questline and the final Sneak perk carry one-shot deletes on Legendary difficulty.
Damage
60x sneak attack multiplier. 15x dagger × 2x Shrouded Gloves × 2x Berserker Rage, plus 1.98% Mehrunes' Razor instant-kill chance per swing.
Survivability
0.5x incoming damage during the 60-second Berserker Rage. Glass cannon outside that window.
Boss
One-shots High Judge Harkon on Legendary difficulty.
Orc
Native to the Wrothgarian and Dragontail Mountains, Orsimer are renowned warriors and craftsmen. Their racial power Berserker Rage deals double damage and halves incoming damage for 60 seconds once per day, on top of bonuses to Heavy Armor, One-Handed, and Smithing.
Endgame main-hand dagger. Carries a 1.98% chance per hit to instantly kill almost any opponent and has infinite charges, so the unique enchantment never needs recharging. Use it on the right hand where the slower swing speed doesn't matter. Left-hand speed governs dual-wield attack rate.
Alternatives
- Right Hand (Alt): Blade of WoeWiki
How to Obtain
The single mandatory armor piece. Grants the unique 'Backstab does double damage' enchantment, which multiplies sneak attacks on top of the Assassin's Blade perk for the 30x dagger backstab figure. The full Shrouded set is optional flavor. Only the gloves provide the multiplier.
Alternatives
- Body / Head / Feet: Shrouded Armor SetWiki
How to Obtain
Combat Strategy
- ▸Equip Mehrunes' Razor in the right hand and Iron Dagger in the left so left-hand speed governs swing rate.
- ▸Equip Shrouded Gloves. The remaining armor slots are flex. The build only needs the gloves for the multiplier.
- ▸Enter sneak mode by crouching before opening any door or transitioning into a hostile area.
- ▸Save Berserker Rage for the highest-priority target in the room. It only refreshes once per day.
- ▸Activate Berserker Rage right before the kill swing so the 2x outgoing damage applies on contact.
- ▸Approach the target while crouched and undetected. Sneak attack with the right-hand dagger to apply the full 60x multiplier.
- ▸Stand a step back from the enemy hitbox during the swing animation. Direct contact during the wind-up can cancel the sneak bonus.
- ▸Send any followers away before the engagement. Their detection state and aggro can break your sneak window before the hit lands.
- ▸During the 60-second Berserker Rage, alternate sneak attacks with dual-wield power attacks for non-sneak follow-ups.
- ▸Power attacks under Savage Strike and Dual Savagery hit for +25% and +50% respectively, layered with the 2x Berserker bonus for fast cleanup.
- ▸Reposition between swings using Shadow Warrior crouches if combat starts. Each successful break resets a fresh sneak window.
- ▸Watch the 60-second timer. Once Berserker Rage drops, the build returns to glass-cannon stats until the next in-game day.
- ▸Dual-wielding swing speed is determined by the left-hand weapon. Keep an Iron Dagger or other fast off-hand even after looting heavier daggers.
- ▸Sneak attacks fail against flying targets. Drop the daggers and pull a bow with Deadly Aim for dragons, then resume melee on landing.
- ▸If Mehrunes' Razor is unavailable, run Blade of Woe in the right hand. The Absorb 10 Health enchant adds passive sustain at the cost of the instant-kill chance.
- ▸Shadow Warrior is the build's reset button. If detected, crouch until combat drops, reposition, and re-engage from sneak.
Sources
Verified: 2026-04-24 · All content is original with full credit to original creators.