Stinging Poison
From Duels Content
Paths > Path of the Sword > High Path of the Assassin > Stinging Poison
You coat your weapon with a painful, slow moving, but potentially deadly poison.
"I don't feel so good..." --The late Lord Elbreth Daomear
- Poisons your opponent on a successful hit if not resisted. Poisons lasts for 3 turns doing damage equal to your Precision divided by 8.
- Poisons your opponent on a successful hit if not resisted. Poisons lasts for 3 turns doing damage equal to your Precision divided by 7.
- Poisons your opponent on a successful hit if not resisted. Poisons lasts for 3 turns doing damage equal to your Precision divided by 6.
- Poisons your opponent on a successful hit if not resisted. Poisons lasts for 3 turns doing damage equal to your Precision divided by 5.
- Poisons your opponent on a successful hit if not resisted. Poisons lasts for 3 turns doing damage equal to your Precision divided by 4.
Contents |
[edit] Information
A painful concoction that damages the victim for three turns after every hit that isn't resisted. Stinging poison deals its damage at the beginning of each of the next three rounds. Multiple hits compound the damage.
[edit] Strategy
Like most assassin skills, it is dependent on both Perception and Speed. The higher these stats are the more you're going to damage someone when they are poisoned. Rather than relying on critical hits, a poison assassin can focus purely on accuracy and additional attacks for more chances at poisoning their enemy. And with a high enough precision, that damage can be significant.
Both main weapon and off-hand attacks can deal stinging poison damage, and there appears to be no limits to the number of stinging poisons that are in effect at any one time.
One other nice side effect when using poison: it's not dependent on weapon damage. So it's a good skill for a starting assassin on a budget or struggling to get new equipment as it's a skill that will add damage to your fights that is not based on a % of your current weapons damage.
Recommended companion skills: Dual Wield, Ambidexterity, Quickness
[edit] Equipment
Anything that improves speed, perception.
[edit] Final Thoughts
Unlike Apothecary which turns you into a bit of a tank, poison is truly in the spirit of the assassin trade craft.
There's one other thing to consider: you can only choose one opener per match; some consider the poison + delight path as a way to limit wasted skill points. Having 1-2 openers may be the strategy best suited for someone who likes having a wider range of "always on" skills from the basic path. Compared to being forced into choosing 3 should you be trying to reach Ambush. Or if you still wanted a tier III opener someday poison + delight + precise strikes gives you a path to power that doesn't require you to build yourself around critical strikes or maxing out your dodge.
It's often said that your first high assassin skill will define the rest of your path choices, so take your time and truly examine where you want to go up the path before making your choice. Stinging poison may not be for you; but it's undeniably one of the purest assassin choices you could make.
