What's the "point" of DEX builds (in PvE)?

[Greywander]

Imagine you're explaining the benefits of different builds to a new player. STR gets more physical defense and you can two-hand for a whopping 50% boost to STR. INT and FTH get you access to spells. ARC is more specialized, but that just gives it a clearer niche.

But what would you say about DEX? What benefit does DEX provide that other builds don't get? Because I don't see one. Not on a pure DEX build. Sure, DEX increases casting speed, but you're not casting spells on a pure DEX build. The Lightning affinity is good (better in PvP), but not so good (in PvE) that it eclipses all other affinities. Most dragons heavily resist lightning damage, and anyway a FTH build can also get you access to lightning damage via incantations.

What it seems like is that nobody starts off with the intention to make a pure DEX build. Rather, they've settled on using a specific weapon, and that weapon just happens to have a high DEX requirement or scales better with Keen or Lightning.

One niche I feel is missing is consumables. Pots, perfumes, knives, and greases. Only some of these scale, and each with their own stats. "Toolbelts" and "gadgets" are common tropes for thief archetypes, which are also often associated with a DEX stat or system equivalent. Also, DEX/caster hybrids would just use magic to create similar effects, so they wouldn't get as much benefit as pure DEX builds. And really, damage greases should scale. But sadly, this is just wishful thinking on my part and not going to happen.

[Imperator Ricardo]

A pure Dex build can be great fun, just make sure that you use Lightning infusions rather than Keen, but that is up to personal taste, i just prefer lightning personally.
Other than that, just level Strength up to 20 and it essentially plays the same as a strength build, just with added, reliable elemental damage, since you can two-hand most weapons just fine at that point.
Excellent for both PvE and PvP, too, since Lightning resistances tend to be lower than any other of the elemental resistances!
And it gets lowered further if it happens to be raining or you are fighting in the water.

[Mad Marduk]

Quick weapons are easier to slip in hits between attacks without being punished and are better (generally) for causing procs.

[Greywander]

I think you're all missing the point. Or perhaps I'm the one missing the point.

All of the alleged benefits of DEX builds that people are pointing out are properties of the weapon, not the DEX stat. Many of these weapons do scale better with DEX, but there are exceptions to that. The Spiked Caestus, for example, is a fast, lightweight weapon with status buildup that is paired (which is better than powerstancing) and can be buffed with Bloodflame Blade, and it scales better with Heavy than with Keen.

But perhaps I'm being too dismissive. There are plenty of good weapons that scale better with DEX, and trying to limit yourself to only non-DEX weapons (or using a non-DEX affinity on a DEX weapon) may end up being more counterproductive than any benefits you'd get from using another stat. This doesn't sit well with me, though, because it implies that DEX weapons must be better than non-DEX weapons to balance out the benefits of other stats, which stops being a consideration the moment you go for a hybrid build.

[Mad Marduk]

In reality the weapon is what matters in all cases. Stat X could be anything. If you swapped STR for DEX or vice versa on any weapon scaling you'd end up with the same AR. What matters are which weapons scale with which stat and what other weapons it helps meet stat req's for. DEX weapons are just usually designed to be quick and/or apply procs. Dex weapons tend to also have the best shared scaling with arcane or int.

[Old Captain Yon]

What's the point? Double bolt of gransax. A nuke at your fingertips

[519B.]

status effects
lightning
cast speed
etc