Poison Strix Assassin
Why fight them head-on when you can just watch their health tick away while you hide in the shadows? This build is designed to be the ultimate counter to high-armor, high-health targets like the Mercenary and the Shield Withered Knight.
1. Core Mechanics
Instead of relying on immediate burst damage (which gets mitigated by armor), this build utilizes the Viper's Kiss dagger passive. Every hit applies a stacking poison DoT (Damage over Time) that ignores physical armor.
You are not looking for a quick kill; you are looking for an inevitable kill.
2. Skill Loadout
Primary Weapon: Dual Daggers (Viper Variant)
Ensure your daggers have the Viper passive, which extends the duration of poisons.
Active Skills
- Skill 1: Shadow Cloak
- Usage: Your engage and escape.
- Skill 2: Poison Dart / Fan of Knives
- Usage: Poison Dart is great for applying a stack from a distance to prevent them from healing. Fan of Knives applies a stack to multiple targets if you get caught in a 1v2.
- Skill 3: Smoke Bomb
- Usage: Drops a cloud that blinds enemies and immediately removes you from their lock-on targeting.
3. Best Gear & Affixes
You don't care about raw physical damage. You only care about making your poison hurt.
| Slot | Recommended Item | Key Affixes | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Helmet | Toxicant's Mask | +Poison Tick Damage | | Chest | Leather Jerkin | +Evasion | | Gloves | Venom-soaked Grips | +Status Application Rate | | Boots | Swift-Treads | +Sprint Speed |
Stat Priority:
- Poison Damage %
- Status Duration
- Attack Speed (To apply max stacks instantly)
- Evasion
4. The Hit-and-Run Strategy
Your gameplay loop is incredibly frustrating for opponents to deal with:
- Stealth In: Use Shadow Cloak to close the gap unnoticed.
- The Sting: Hit them 3 to 4 times very quickly with light attacks to apply maximum poison stacks.
- Disengage: Immediately use Smoke Bomb or roll away into cover. Do not stay and trade blows.
- Harass: Watch them panic as their health disappears. If they pull out a bandage to heal, throw a Poison Dart to interrupt the animation.
- Re-engage: Once the poison wears off, stealth in and do it again.
[!TIP] This build is exceptionally weak against Seers running "Cleansing Light". If you see a Seer cleanse your poison, retreat immediately—your damage output has been neutralized.