I don't get it (swords dmg)Follow

That answer is actually pretty simple, but it's a common question with people who haven't actually leveled a rogue to higher levels. Combat sword/mace/fist rogues don't have to worry about being behind their target. They can simply open with CS, throw down 2-3 SSes, evis and the mobs are generally dead. Combat dagger rogues use backstab as their primary attack. So you're looking at CS>BS>gouge>BS>etc... That gouge to get behind again is what kills them. You have to let it go it's full duration in most cases to get back the energy needed for backstab.

In a nut shell: builds that use daggers level slower when doing a lot of solo work because you waste energy and time getting behind your target. Effectively, 1 backstab costs 105 energy (60 from BS itself and 45 from gouge) after the initial CS>BS. With that energy you get almost 3 SSes.

Now, I always recomend going combat swords/maces (lack of lower level fist itemization puts that right out) to level if you want to level fast (IE: you're leveing a twink, alt, etc...). However, there's nothing wrong with leveling as daggers. It might be preferable depending on if you plan to level solo or with a few friends. However, for solo questing/grinding combat swords is more efficient, and thus faster for most things. An exception to this rule comes later in game when you can make dagger builds that are fairly efficient. Seal fate backstab builds and mutilate builds grind/level fairly fast. Mutilate is great because the combination of high burst damage and a short initial stunlock allow you to kill things without taking much damage yourself. However, if you're just concerned with speed and efficiency, stick with swords until atleast the mid 50s.