RIVALS Daggers Guide: How to Master the Dual Blades

The Daggers are RIVALS' fast, low-commitment melee option: quick strikes, short range and a playstyle built on hit-and-run trades rather than the long lunges of the Katana or the dash of the Scythe. This guide covers what the Daggers do well, the melee contract milestones worth grinding, and the loadouts that cover the blades' obvious weakness — getting to your target alive.

Note: the URL of this page is a leftover from our early drafts, but everything below is about the real Daggers melee that exists in RIVALS.

How the Daggers Play

Melee in RIVALS trades range for risk, and the Daggers sit at the fastest, shortest end of that spectrum. They reward players who close distance behind cover, land a quick combo, and immediately reset to safety.

Because the blades have no built-in mobility or defensive trick, your movement keys are the utility. Slide-jumping into a trade and jumping out of it is the core loop; the reward for doing it well is that most duels are decided before the opponent's heavier swing lands.

Melee Contract Milestones

Melee contracts progress faster than primary contracts — each elimination counts roughly double — which makes the Daggers one of the cheapest ways to farm contract rewards while you practise close-range positioning.

Quick melee also counts: assigning your melee to an easy key (the default is F) lets you finish a wounded opponent with the blades without fully swapping, which is where most Dagger eliminations actually come from in normal play.

Loadouts That Cover the Blades

The Daggers need a primary that forces opponents into the ranges where the blades win. Two pairings cover most maps:

The Medkit pairing deserves a note: every melee trade costs health, and the Medkit is the strongest sustain tool in the game. If you find yourself dying during the disengage, that slot is the fix, not a different melee.

Where the Daggers Win and Lose

Favourable: tight maps and interiors — Arena corners, Backrooms corridors, Construction interiors — where the opponent cannot create distance before your strikes connect. Also favourable against reload-dependent primaries: a dry weapon is a free melee kill.

Unfavourable: long sightlines (Docks, Museum post-rework) where you take chip damage on every approach, and any matchup against a Shotgun or Scythe played patiently. Against those, close distance only when their weapon is empty or their dash is on cooldown.

Practising the Combo

Five minutes in the Shooting Range per day is enough to build the habit chain that makes the Daggers work:

1. Approach with a slide jump so your path is hard to track.
2. Fire your primary until the opponent is below half health.
3. Quick melee (F) to finish the elimination without a full swap.
4. Jump out of the trade immediately — the blades have no defence once the opponent reacts.

Once the sequence is automatic, take it into Free-For-All matches where frequent respawns give you more close-range repetitions per minute than standard duels.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the Daggers better than the Katana?

They are faster but narrower. The Katana's projectile deflection and longer reach make it the safer all-purpose melee; the Daggers win when you can control the engagement distance and strike first.

Do melee eliminations count toward weapon contracts?

Yes — melee contracts need roughly half the eliminations of primary contracts for the same reward tier, so grinding melee is one of the most efficient uses of contract time.

Can the Daggers hit through a Riot Shield?

Melee strikes connect around shields at very close range, but a shield user who keeps you centred will win the exchange. Bait the shield up with your primary, then quick melee from an angle.

What utility pairs best with the Daggers?

The Medkit for sustain during trades, or the Molotov to block the escape route of the opponent you are diving. Both cover the blades' weakness: losing the trade you initiated.