Poison is one of the most powerful and effective elemental damage types in unique weapons in Avowed are few and far between, but there are at least range of weapon types that deal poison damage, giving you some variety in of playstyle. There are also some excellent totem bonuses, unique accessories, and clothing that enhance poison damage.

Poison is best built using abilities from all three classes (Ranger, Fighter, and Wizard), and you can re-spec abilities and attributes based on the specific weapon you're using at the moment to get the most bang for your buck. There are a few core pieces of gear as well as specific attributes that contribute the most poison accumulation/damage, with more becoming available as you reach higher levels. Dealing the maximum amount of poison damage won't be possible until later on of course, but dealing effective poison damage is viable from as early as level 2.

Best Attributes For The Ultimate Poison Build

Perception & Might Will Increase Damage & Critical Hit Chance

A poison build focuses primarily on Power Attacks, Critical Hit effects, and dealing high damage. Therefore, Might, Perception, and Resolve are the most important stats to invest in. Depending on what type of weapon you choose, you can adjust this accordingly, as you'll need slightly less stamina for lighter weapons. It's best to re-spec your points once you find the better poison weapon options later on. For example, if you use the Star of Unbeing more than the Emerald Splitter, you might increase Perception to compensate for its lower critical hit chance.

The Totem of Defiance (Skaen's Totem from Emerald Stair) is the best choice for totem due to Bitter Thoughts, which causes critical hits to deal high Poison accumulation.

Might will increase damage all around and is your priority attribute, with Resolve and Perception being more important depending on your weapons. If you plan to cast spells as a primary source of poison damage and buildup, Intellect will be important as well, though there are ways to increase Essence that don't eat up valuable attribute points. Overall, Critical Hit Chance is likely going to be your best bet based on the available weapons.

Best Weapons For A Poison Build

There Are Poison Options For Nearly Every Playstyle

One highlight of this build is the variety of weapons available for various playstyles, with new poison-based weapons becoming available in each major region. As you advance through the game, seek out these weapons and tweak your attributes based on preferred playstyle. There are many combinations that you can mess around with, such as a heavy build utilizing one of the three two-handed poison weapons in each of your loadouts: Philosopher's Riddle, Emerald Splitter, or Hel's Tongue. Alternatively, you might opt for just one of these and dual-wield two one-handed weapons in your secondary loadout from the below chart.

My personal favorite combo is the Star of Unbeing and Umpara's Spear in your first loadout, with the Emerald Splitter in the second. Star of Unbeing's Withering Miasma enchantment upgrade is highly effective and will guarantee poison accumulation on nearly every enemy within range. The Emerald Splitter is a devastating Great Axe that will simply annihilate foes with a single Power Attack empowered by the Rotting Cloud upgrade. There's no wrong answer here, but be sure to adjust your abilities and attributes according to your primary weapon(s) of choice.

Best Armor, Clothing, & Accessories For The Ultimate Poison Build

The Vindictive Band & Poisoner's Kit Are Essential Accessories

When it comes to Avowed's unique accessories, there are some obvious and essential items that will be useful no matter what weapons you decide on, the first being the Vindictive Band ring. This will cause all critical hits to deal poison damage, making it the core item that takes this build to the next level. To further enhance poison effects, the Poisoner's Kit trinket buffs weapons to deal +5% bonus poison damage, while the Guard Sunderer ring will enhance the hit reactions from Power Attacks (you may be doing a lot of those, depending on your weapon selection above).

In of unique armor in Avowed, stamina is fundamental because of Power Attacks, making Stelgaer's Pride the best-in-slot armor, arguably. However, the Berserker Scale may be a better choice due to Critical Hit effects. More crucially, the Spellblade's Gloves are absolutely essential to this build, dealing +20% poison accumulation. Alternatively, if you intend to utilize the poisonous Wizard skills more often than your melee weapons, consider the Spiritmender light armor for Essence maintenance. Finally, the Berserker Boots are your best bet in the late game, but anything increasing stamina is good before then.

Best Abilities For A Poison Build

Balance Poison Abilities From Each Class Tree Based On Your Playstyle

While there are a few must-have abilities, how you fine-tune this build will depend on preferences and weapon selection. Tanglefoot's 2nd rank enables the roots to deal poison and should be among the first things you grab. Corrosive Siphon is another early option and is great to have in the back pocket for the entirety of your journey. Armored Grace and Devastating Criticals are useful early Fighter abilities, and Stunning Blows is overpowered once you have the Star of Unbeing. Once you reach level 15, you'll have full access to all the poison abilities you'll need, and should re-spec accordingly.

Spirit of Decay takes a poison build to the next level with each rank, and you should absolutely invest in Rank 3 Grimoire Mastery in order to access the Blackbow spell, which summons a poison damage-dealing bow and gives you a ranged bow option without taking up a loadout slot. Critical Strike is also essential for this build as you'll want to deal as many critical hits with your power attacks as possible. The below chart lists all abilities that might benefit a poison build depending on your weapon selection.

This build is especially powerful in the final stages of Avowed, and kicks online once you acquire the Star of Unbeing and Umpara's Spear or unlock the Blackbow spell and rank up Spirit of Decay. If you find that you're casting often, I highly recommend upgrading a Grimoire of Entropy for the upcasting bonus to both Corrosive Siphon and Blackbow. Also, that poison won't be effective against all enemies, which is why it's useful to invest in Perception and Might for critical hit and damage boosts. This Avowed build has everything you need to deal ultimate poison damage.