VenomBladeDanceAssassin
InsightKnight’s “Venom” Build Guide
Assassin Venom Blade Dance Build
ven·om /ˈvenəm/ noun extreme malice shown in someone's attitudes, speech, or actions.
PD2 Armory: https://www.projectdiablo2.com/character/VenomKnight
Synopsis:
My goal was to create a Blade Dance Assassin that could reach +20,000 character sheet damage in combination with +20,000 Attack Rating. I have been a long time Whirlwind Assassin since back in the Lord of Destruction Witch Hunter days but wanted a build that could be well rounded enough to compete with all end game content. This guide will cover all of the core components to making a Venom Blade Dance Assassin. Please note that the Best in Slot craftable claws are extremely expensive for most players and so reaching optimal damage output may take some rune currency to obtain. No worries though as even half of the total possible damage of this build is more than enough to clear all available maps, especially with a Level +45 Lower Resist Necromancer in the party.
Equipment:
This build is designed around a Cobra Strike poison melee Assassin but converted for use with the Blade Dance skill granted via Chaos Runeword. The total sustain comes from a combination of massive attack rating, decent leech rate and layered defenses. Using best in slot gear will grant over +400 total vitality points which allows for roughly +2,000 HP before Battle Orders/Oak are applied. This is due to the overall low stat requirements on poison based gear. The Attack Rating will also reach +20,000 and is a major factor in total damage output from Blade Dance. Below is a complete breakdown of all the gear upgrades that can be used as you progress. Any substitute item is acceptable to equip as long as you meet the overall required breakpoint thresholds.
I only list below the exceptional mods on gear not total mods available!
Entry Items:
Starter Weapon - Venom Greater Talons (Tal/Dol/Mal) +20% Chance to Cast Level +28 Poison Nova on Striking Ignore Target Defense +400 Poison Damage over +3 seconds +7% Mana Stolen per Hit -20-30% to Enemy Poison Resistance Prevent Monster Heal +20% Enhanced Damage Corruption: None Sockets: Runeword
Offhand Weapon - Plague War Fist (Cham/Fal/Um) +25% Chance to Cast Level +35 Poison Nova on Striking +30% Chance to Cast Level +35 Lower Resist when Struck Level +15-17 Cleansing Aura when Equipped +1-2 to All Skills +20% Faster Cast Rate +340-380% Damage to Demons -20% to Enemy Poison Resistance +0-37% Deadly Strike +3 Freezes Target Corruption: None Sockets: Runeword
Armor - Treachery Dusk Shroud (Shael/Thul/Lem) +25% Chance to Cast Level +15 Venom on Striking +15% Chance to Cast Level +21 Mind Blast when Struck +2 to Assassin Skills +45% Increased Attack Speed +20% Faster Hit Recovery +30% Cold Resistance Corruption: None Sockets: Runeword
Belt - Snakecord Light Belt +4-6% to Poison Skill Damage +5-15 Replenish Life +25% Poison Resistance +50% Poison Length Reduction Corruption: +10% Faster Run/Walk
Ring - Raven Frost Ring +150-250 to Attack Rating +15-45 Cold Damage +15-20 to Dexterity +5% Cold Absorb Cannot Be Frozen Corruption: +3-4% Mana Stolen per Hit
Amulet - Magic Amulet +3 to Shadow Disciplines +10-30% to All Resistance Corruption: +1 to All Skills
All other gear slots can be filled with any item that you find on the way to maps.
Specialty Items:
Ring (Mapping) - Carrion Wind Ring +8% Chance to Cast Level 30 Twister on Striking +6% Life Stolen per Hit +20% Faster Run/Walk +160 Defense vs. Missile +55% Poison Resistance Level +11 Poison Creeper (-15% to Enemy Poison Resistance) Corruption: +10% Faster Run/Walk
Best in Slot Items:
Mainhand Weapon - Hitpower Ethereal Crafted War Fist +12% Chance to Cast Level +15 Lower Resist on Striking +480% Enhanced Damage +Maximum Attack Rating Based on Character Level -20% Target Defense -10% to Enemy Poison Resistance Repairs +1 Durability +3 Open Sockets Corruption: -10% to Enemy Poison Resistance Sockets: (3x) Rainbow Facet Jewel - +5% to Poison Skill Damage, -5% to Enemy Poison Resistance
Offhand Weapon - Chaos Ethereal War Fist (Fal/Ohm/Um) Indestructible +295% Enhanced Damage +400 Magic Damage +2 to Blade Dance +3 to Claw Mastery +3 to Weapon Block Corruption: +3 Open Sockets Sockets: Runeword
Secondary Weapon (2x) - Caster Blade Talons +1 to All Skills +2 to Assassin Skills +20% Faster Cast Rate +3 to Venom +3 to Fade Corruption: +1 to All Skills Sockets: None
Armor - Bramble Dusk Shroud (Ral/Ohm/Sur/Eth) Level +21 Thorns Aura when Equipped +50% Faster Hit Recovery +40-50% to Poison Skill Damage +4% to Maximum Cold Resistance +30% Fire Resistance +100% Poison Resistance Corruption: +4 Open Sockets Sockets: Runeword
Helmet - Vampire Gaze Bone Visage +10% Life Stolen per Hit +10% Mana Stolen per Hit +25% Physical Damage Reduction +15 Magic Damage Reduction Corruption: +5% to Maximum Lightning Resistance, +15% Lightning Resistance Sockets: (2x) Rainbow Facet Jewel - +5% to Poison Skill Damage, -5% to Enemy Poison Resistance
Gloves - Venom Grip Demonhide Gloves +4% Life Stolen per Hit +15% to Poison Skill Damage +10% Chance of Crushing Blow +5% to Maximum Poison Resistance +30% Poison Resistance Corruption: -25% Target Defense
Belt - Rare Belt +24% Faster Hit Recovery +30% Fire Resistance +30% Cold Resistance +10% Physical Damage Reduction +25% Poison Length Reduction Half Freeze Duration Corruption: +2% to All Maximum Resistance
Boots - Waterwalk Sharkskin Boots +30% Faster Run/Walk +20% Faster Block Rate +5% to Maximum Fire Resistance +65 to Life Corruption: +15% Faster Run/Walk
Amulet - Hitpower Crafted Amulet +2 to Assassin Skills +20% to All Resistance +250 Attack Rating +20% Faster Hit Recovery +75% Poison Length Reduction Half Freeze Duration Corruption: +2% to All Maximum Resistance Desecration: +1 to All Skills
Rings - Nature’s Peace Ring Prevent Monster Heal Slain Monsters Rest in Peace +3% to Maximum Poison Resistance +3% to Maximum Cold Resistance +3% to Maximum Lightning Resistance +3% to Maximum Fire Resistance +5 Oak Sage Corruption: +10% Faster Run/Walk
Small Charms - (10x) +5% to All Resistance, +20 Life
Grand Charms - (9x) +1 to Shadow Disciplines, +40 Life
Required Breakpoints:
-45% to Enemy Poison Resistance
+50% Chance of Parrying
+86% Faster Hit Recovery
+50% Physical Damage Reduction
+150% to All Resistance (Including -100% Hell penalty)
+90/89% to All Maximum Resistance
+85% Faster Run/Walk
+100% Poison Length Reduction
+20% Life Stolen per Hit
Skill Tree:
For the skill pathing you want to first maximize Cobra Strike as your starter attack. Be sure to only put +1 point into Venom until your Treachery armor is replaced since it will continually overwrite your Venom skill with the level +15 Cast on Striking. I also suggest adding +1 point into Blade Shield immediately for the additional Life/Mana leech when surrounded by packs. I usually maximize Claw Mastery and Fade along with Cobra Strike to get the primary offensive bonuses and then move to Venom for an additional damage bonus once Treachery has been dropped. Blade Shield will be used for a secondary application of poison damage at +0.4 hits per second.
Claw Mastery - +20 Points
Mastery is the core boost of the build’s Physical damage to help with Poison Immune enemies. It also provides a good chunk of Attack Rating as well as a passive +23% Chance of Critical Strike that is added to the total Critical Strike calculation of your hits. Stacking a fair amount of Physical Damage will greatly increase survivability from Life Stolen per Hit. Extremely high Attack Rating is a major element of this build’s total damage output.
Fade - +20 Points
Recently Fade had a heavy handed nerf to both resistance and Physical Damage Reduction so many players choose to spend skill points elsewhere. I still think it is viable to maximize Fade on this build just to cap off breakpoints. Fade is your primary defensive skill and will greatly increase the tanking capability when cast. The combination of Faster Run/Walk mods and Act 1 Mercenary Vigor will make up for any lost move speed that Burst of Speed would otherwise grant.
Venom - +20 Points
Venom is the core damage boost of the build’s Poison damage and will help with Physical Immune enemies. Once Treachery armor is replaced this skill can be maximized and will add a few thousand damage points to your attacks. Venom applies every +1.0 seconds from hits and will also apply via Blade Shield. Be aware that poison damage from Venom does not leech Life/Mana on hit. Using the Secondary Weapon swap to buff skill damage on casting will give an outrageous +14 to Venom skill via both claws, which is effectively more bonus than a second set of Shadow Grand Charms.
Cobra Strike - +20 Points
As a starter attack you will want to use Cobra Strike since it provides a great deal of Life/Mana leech natively and is allocated at the beginning of the skill tree. Cobra Strike will add a large damage bonus to Venom as a passive synergy once maximized. You can also use a Carrion Wind unique ring for an easy -15% to Enemy Poison Resist bonus on affected enemies.
Blade Shield - +20 Points
Casting Blade Shield will give you a continual Life/Mana leech recovery method via area of effect that is very powerful. This works great when surrounded by monster packs and will also apply Venom on hit for additional damage. At high level this skill will hit twice per second and can set off on Hit/Striking mods from your gear.
Dragon Flight - +1 Point
Dragon Flight is a great tool to both enter and exit combat. In PvP this ability is perfect for catching high mobility players. Use this skill to close the gap and then Blade Dance in the direction that the target is running to attack with their movement. You can also Dragon Flight to a distant enemy for escaping if you are being overwhelmed by monster packs.
Tiger Strike - +1 Point
The passive bonus of Tiger Strike grants an additional melee splash radius of +20% at two and +40% at three total charges. Blade Dance is not considered a Finisher attack and so this allows for a permanent area of effect increase as long as the charges are active. Having the charge bonus enabled greatly increases clear speed of monster packs which is necessary on a melee style build.
Cloak of Shadows - +1 Point
Cloak of Shadows is one of the most useful skills in your toolkit for PvE combat. Casting this will render ranged attackers idle and can frequently protect from being killed, especially by multi-shot archers. I also use this ability in PvP before pouncing via Dragon Flight to shave off defense rating from the target. The defense bonus granted is not very useful however since the total amount of defense points from gear is minimal.
Psychic Hammer - +1 Point
This skill is good for keeping enemies away temporarily if for some reason attacking is not an option. Very useful for Blood Bringers on T4 maps or aura stacking melee enemies that need to be held in place for others in the party to finish them off. This skill can also be used to clear an exit path for running out of high monster density. Not a required skill but good to have as an option if needed.
Mercenary:
I tried to design this build with the fact that Mercenaries will not survive most end game fights and cannot be brought into Boss rooms. A Mercenary is not required on this build at all to meet any specific threshold or breakpoints. For this build I have chosen Act 1 Vigor for additional clear speed and Lower Resist from Pus Spitter crossbow. A Vampire Gaze helm combined with String of Ears sash will give most of the Physical Damage Reduction along with Life Leech sustain. If you can afford it, a Chains of Honor will top off Physical Damage Reduction and All Resistance breakpoints. The gloves, boots and bolts can be filled in with Attack Speed and All Resistance mods for a very defensive Mercenary. The Pus Spitter’s Lower Resist cast is incredibly strong at Level +35 and when overlapped with Poison Creeper’s debuff, will melt monsters easily. This Mercenary is primarily used as a curse caster and not so much for additional damage.
Summary:
Overall I strongly enjoy this build and think it is a well rounded design for both mapping and Boss encounters. It has viable survivability while still meeting all breakpoint requirements to clear end game content. The poison scaling is very strong once using Best in Slot gear and even with a mid-range fools claw you will have decent ability to farm Uber/Boss fights. I will update this guide and repost with notations if I find any new tech that enhances the capability of Venom bonuses. Enjoy the build and remember … what I kill stays dead. 😊
InsightKnight
Venom v3.0