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Poison: The Ultimate Damage Element in Avowed
Poison stands out as one of the most formidable elemental damage types in Avowed, providing players with unique opportunities to build powerful poison-focused characters. While there are limited unique weapons centered around poison, multiple weapon types are available that inflict poison damage, adding diversity to your combat strategy. Additionally, several totem bonuses, distinct accessories, and outfits can improve poison damage significantly.
Building a poison-centric character draws from the abilities of all three classes: Ranger, Fighter, and Wizard. You can adjust your skills and attributes depending on the weapon you’re wielding, maximizing your effectiveness. Several key equipment pieces and attributes actively boost your poison damage and accumulation, with more options becoming unlocked as you level up. Although you’ll only reach the peak of poison damage later in the game, effective poison damage can start as early as level 2.
Optimal Attributes for Your Poison Build
Might and Perception Enhance Damage and Critical Hits
A poison build excels when it emphasizes Power Attacks, Critical Hit effects, and overall high damage output. As a result, investing in Might, Perception, and Resolve is crucial. Depending on your weapon choice, you can tailor these stats; for example, lighter weapons require slightly less stamina. It’s advisable to reallocate your points once you’ve equipped superior poison weapons. If you find yourself favoring the Star of Unbeing over the Emerald Splitter, consider boosting your Perception to balance its lower critical hit rate.
The Totem of Defiance (Skaen’s Totem from Emerald Stair) is highly recommended for its “Bitter Thoughts” ability, which significantly increases poison accumulation on critical hits.
Might should be your primary focus for damage enhancement, while Resolve and Perception take precedence relative to your weapon choices. If spells are your primary means of dealing poison damage, then Intellect is also significant, although there are ways to enhance Essence without sacrificing vital attribute points. Ultimately, focusing on Critical Hit Chance will likely yield the best results based on the weapons available to you.
Top Weapons for a Poison Build
Poison Options to Suit Every Style of Play
A major advantage of this build is the array of weapons compatible with various playstyles. You’ll come across new poison-based weapons as you explore different regions in the game. As you progress, hunt for these weapons, and adjust your attributes accordingly to match your preferences. You might consider a heavy build using one of the three two-handed poison weapons in your primary loadout: Philosopher’s Riddle, Emerald Splitter, or Hel’s Tongue. Alternatively, you can choose a primary two-handed weapon and pair it with two one-handed weapons in your secondary loadout (see the chart below).
| Weapon | Type | Poison Features |
|---|---|---|
| Beothal’s Grimoire | Grimoire | Corrosive Siphon Spell |
| Grimoire of Entropy | Grimoire | Corrosive Siphon, Blackbow |
| The Philosopher’s Riddle | Great Sword | Poison Lash: +10% bonus Poison Damage |
| Emerald Splitter | Great Axe | Withering Strike: High Poison Accumulation, |
| Poison the Roots: Full Combo Attack effects | ||
| Rotting Cloud: High Poison Accumulation | ||
| Survivor’s Guilt | Dagger | Haunting Regrets: Combines Frost and Poison |
| Hel’s Tongue | Great Sword | Corrupting Parry: High Fire and Poison Accumulation |
| Star of Unbeing | Mace | Unmaking: High Poison Accumulation |
| Umpara’s Spear | Spear | Deadly Mechanism: Power Attacks launch poison darts |
Personally, I find a combination of Star of Unbeing and Umpara’s Spear for my primary loadout to be particularly effective, with the Emerald Splitter in a secondary role. The Withering Miasma enchantment on Star of Unbeing reliably ensures poison accumulation on most enemies. The Emerald Splitter, a formidable Great Axe, can obliterate foes with a single Power Attack powered by the Rotting Cloud upgrade. While there’s no single best approach, adapting your abilities and attributes to suit your selected weapon(s) is key.
Best Armor, Clothing, and Accessories for Your Poison Build
The Vindictive Band & Poisoner’s Kit Are Must-Have Accessories
In Avowed, certain unique accessories play crucial roles, regardless of your weapon loadout, starting with the Vindictive Band ring. This item enables your critical hits to administer poison damage, elevating your poison build significantly. To further amplify your poison effects, the Poisoner’s Kit trinket adds a +5% bonus to poison damage dealt by your weapons, while the Guard Sunderer ring maximizes reaction effects from Power Attacks.
| Best-In-Slot Item | Effects |
|---|---|
| Armor: | Berserker Scale |
| Blood Rage: +25% Damage when below 30% health, +50% Critical Damage | |
| Merciless Ravager: +5% Critical Hit Chance | |
| Gloves: | Spellblade’s Gloves |
| Master of Poisons: +20% Poison Accumulation | |
| Item Bonus: +10% Parkour speed | |
| Boots: | Berserker Boots |
| Frenzied Strides: +100% Stamina regeneration | |
| Trinket: | Poisoner’s Kit |
| Envenomed Weapons: +5% bonus Poison damage | |
| Ring 1: | Vindictive Band |
| Laced Strike: Critical Hits deal Poison Damage | |
| Ring 2: | Guard Sunderer |
| Power Attacks create larger hit reactions |
For unique armor in Avowed, stamina management is essential due to the frequency of Power Attacks, making Stelgaer’s Pride a strong contender for best armor. Alternatively, the Berserker Scale may provide better benefits if you focus on critical hits. The Spellblade’s Gloves are indispensable for this build due to their +20% poison accumulation bonus. If you plan to leverage Wizard skills that inflict poison more frequently than melee attacks, consider wearing Spiritmender light armor to maintain your Essence. As you approach the late game, prioritize the Berserker Boots or any gear that enhances stamina.
Best Abilities for Your Poison Build
Tailor Poison Abilities from Each Class Based on Your Strategy
While a few abilities are essential, you’ll want to fine-tune your build based on your personal playstyle and chosen weapons. The second rank of Tanglefoot is crucial, as it adds poison effects to roots and should be prioritized early on. Corrosive Siphon is another vital skill that can be beneficial throughout your journey. Early Fighter abilities like Armored Grace and Devastating Criticals are useful, while Stunning Blows becomes very powerful once you have the Star of Unbeing. By level 15, you’ll have full access to all necessary poison abilities, allowing you to respec as needed.
Ability Chart:
| Level | Ranger | Wizard | Fighter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Tanglefoot (Rank 2), Parry | Armored Essence, Corrosive Siphon | Armored Grace |
| Level 5 | Finesse, Piercing Thrusts | Grimoire Mastery (Rank 3) | Devastating Criticals |
| Level 10 | – | – | Stunning Blows |
| Level 15 | Critical Strike | Spirit of Decay, Blackbow | – |
The Spirit of Decay ranks elevate a poison build dramatically, particularly with rank 3 Grimoire Mastery, allowing access to the Blackbow spell that opens a ranged option for poison damage without consuming your loadout slots. Maximizing Critical Strike ability is crucial to increasing your chances of landing critical hits with Power Attacks.
This build shines especially in the late-game phases of Avowed, particularly when you acquire Star of Unbeing and Umpara’s Spear or unlock the Blackbow spell combined with Spirit of Decay. If you find yourself casting frequently, consider upgrading a Grimoire of Entropy for bonus damage on Corrosive Siphon and Blackbow. Keep in mind that poison is not universally effective against all foes, making investments in Perception and Might essential for critical hit and damage increases. This Avowed build has all the components necessary for dealing potent poison damage.
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