Is envenom weapon good? It sure is....

[porterhouse]

Most threads seem to say that at epic and legendary difficulties, that poison isn't really that powerful. Well I beg to differ. It's working great AND it gets me out of the melee. I've got the whole poison tree maxed with some poison enhancing items and gear and it decimates most creatures(minus undead of course) And yes I was using it in ACT 3 of Legendary. Anyways, any creatures that weren't dead were very low on health. So my experience with poison has been great. But if your going to go this route, you have to invest in it fully as well getting items that enhance your poison/dmg etc....As long as you do this, the payoff is awesome. At least is has for me.

[Felexitus]

3k poison damage per hit(nore on lethal strike) are very possible, thats a nice amount by itself. the problem as you said is that it needs heavy specialization and item commitment. this is what most people dont like as you can simply specialize on stronger damage versions

nevertheless i think dot builds are cool :-) thats how i started my brigand

[Corsair]

Nightshade + Batter is the bread and butter of a corsair, so yeah poison is indeed very useful.

[Burpy]

The only thing I've noticed that makes dot type damage kind of annoying is the fact that everything pretty much dies fast. Occasionally there will be a boss that this might be good for, but mostly it's overkill.

I was a bit discouraged about dot damage when I grouped with a friend who made a hunter. He literally clears most of the screen before I can even run up to the groups of monsters haha. It's annoying.

[Duerfian]

The poison line is useful not because of damage, but because of the effects it has on enemies. Also, damage that is instant is of course better than damage with duration.

I prefer maxing only Nightshade and Mandrake and go with pierce/bleeding for damage. Of course finding a Stymphalian Talon with +25% to pierce and +58% to bleeding made it even easier.

[Felexitus]

bleeding isnt any more useful than poison O.o

[southwick]

Originally Posted by Duerfian

The poison line is useful not because of damage, but because of the effects it has on enemies. Also, damage that is instant is of course better than damage with duration.

I prefer maxing only Nightshade and Mandrake and go with pierce/bleeding for damage. Of course finding a Stymphalian Talon with +25% to pierce and +58% to bleeding made it even easier.

-Where would one start searching for a Stymphalian Talon ??

[porterhouse]

If you're going to tank with an assassin, then investing much in poison or bleed isn't needed as much. I like hit and run, so it works better for me. My character has alot of speed as well so I like this sort of fighting. It seems more assassin like as oppose to just standing there and whacking away. If I was going to do that I would just be a conquerer. I like making more specialized characters as opposed to trying to make them perfect in everyway.(which is difficult to say the least) All I'm saying is that if hit and run tactics are your thing then poison and bleed work great.

[wolfcub]

porterhouse, i agree you with on hit and run. i just started a rogue character and i find that fighting has a lot more variety and is wayyy more fun. i love darting in and out of mobs, stabbing left and right with a slow attack weapon, throwing flash powder, bombs and traps. my other weapon is a hard hitter which i switch to for the occasional lethal strike.

not sure what would be the best 2nd mastery to complement this style of play tho, so i'm playing pure rogue at the moment until i decide.

[Duerfian]

Originally Posted by southwick

-Where would one start searching for a Stymphalian Talon ??

Can't remember exactly where. Possibly third telkine on Legendary. I am sure it drops elsewhere too. But it is nice to have a legendary sword with 30% pierce and nice bonuses.