Poison Lifesteal

Build Card

Recommended Weapons: Poison Flask (core DoT), Aura (extra ticks), Black Hole / Tornado (grouping), Axe (boss finisher)
Tomes (order): Damage → Duration → Quantity → Cooldown
Stats to stack: DoT uptime, Grouping, Sustain (lifesteal/HP), Area
Best fits: Amog (poison specialist), Vlad (lifesteal scaling), Spaceman (grouping)
Weak vs: Spread-out elites, Fast chargers before Duration online
Beginner preset: Poison Flask + Aura; Damage → Duration → Quantity → Cooldown; kite large packs, don’t chase stragglers.
High-Curse preset: Duration → Quantity → Cooldown → Shield; add Black Hole to pin elites in poison zones.

Core Mechanics & Gameplan

Full Poison DoT archetype with lifesteal sustain and grouping tools. Optimized for density farming and safe bossing.

Weapons & Upgrade Path

Poison Flask — Poison Flask (core DoT)
Aura — Aura (extra ticks)
Black Hole / Tornado — Black Hole / Tornado (grouping)
Axe — Axe (boss finisher)

Tome Priority & Why

Damage — rationale depends on your kit; synergizes with this archetype’s multipliers.
Duration — rationale depends on your kit; synergizes with this archetype’s multipliers.
Quantity — rationale depends on your kit; synergizes with this archetype’s multipliers.
Cooldown — rationale depends on your kit; synergizes with this archetype’s multipliers.

Step-by-step Route

Phase 1 (0–4 min) — Stabilize wave-clear and safety; lock Tome #1, secure one tool for crowds and one for elites.
Phase 2 (4–8 min) — Finish main weapon upgrades; add Tome #2–#3; set up boss damage (burst or sustained).
Phase 3 (8+ min / Boss) — Cover weaknesses (Shield/Armor/Evasion), align cooldown windows, and kite smartly.

Common Mistakes

Greeding damage before wave-clear is stable.
Ignoring shrine tempo / pot routes.
Overcapping one multiplier (e.g., Crit) and starving Quantity/Cooldown/Area.
Taking Tome picks that conflict (e.g., heavy melee commit without defensive backup).

Map Notes & Matchups

Open maps favor kiting and projectile arcs.
Tight maps require early control (Aura/Aegis) and cooldown management.
Elites with charges need spacing or grouping tools.

Patch Notes (keep updated)

Track buffs/nerfs that change weapon/Tome priority.