Captain Venom

(Pull enemies together & Spam Toxic Spider Missiles while detonating explosive Kegs)

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This build is a complete lvl 60 setup and is UP-TO-DATE with the Spring Update from May 25th. The subclass used is Bane. I believe the build can be amazing when geared & should be very close to the META builds in terms of DPS. Just like any build, in the right hands, this setup should be able to finish all Fazeer stages. It can dish out massive damage when we are playing it well. Good sources of damage of this build are the DPS buff of Dread Banner that gives us +25% dmg + the curse from Black Spot that makes cursed enemies take +40% dmg + the My Lil’ General‘s 25% dmg buff. When all buffs are in place we spam Venomous Maw while taking advantage of Imbue Relic as well as using Powder Keg for extra Burst DMG + Maelstrom & Broadside for extra trickling DoT. Maelstrom also serves as crowd control to group enemies in a cluster. The idea of the build is use Imbue Relic (from the Ancient Ember Boots) as a “battery” that allows us to spam more Venomous Maw projectiles by re-filling our energy to 100. The Frostwall Shield + either a North Mace OR a Glacier’s Edge (sword) lowers the cooldowns of item-granted skills such as Imbue Relic by 25% or 50% with the set bonus which further helps with spamming Venomous Maw more. Add to this Wraith Walk for mobility and an escape mechanic and it’s a well rounded build.

Build Video footage:

The skills I use:

• Maelstrom OR Plunderbuss – our spammy DPS skill + Doubloon consume. Plunderbuss seems the best for DPS but I like the pulls of Maelstrom which is amazing synergy for this setup. Consider slotting in legendarium the legendary item for Plunderbuss (Fortune’s Spire) if you go for it instead.
• Powder Keg – Is amazing source of BURST DPS. Can either use quick 3 kegs or make pauses between the uses. It’s best to have 3 of those ready for big boss fights on the initial dmg burst wave.
• Broadside – Is a solid choice of additional dps on a cooldown that also recharges the cooldown by 1.5 sec. after using any other Piracy skill.
• Dread Banner – we use it to stun enemies as well as to give us and our allies +25% dmg (as well as +25% attack speed, movement speed, & crit chance) but the dmg is what we care about here.
• Black Spot – we use it to apply a curse, making enemies take 40% more dmg and it also does some additional dps if the enemy dies or the curse ends.
• Wraith Walk – our escape mechanic and a movement skill. This also pulls nearby doubloons to us and help keep us at full without needing to run around and collect.
• Imbue Relic – fully re-fills our Relic energy. Granted by the Ancient Ember Boots. This helps us spam Venomous Maw more and do bursts of up to two full energy bars’ worth the skill casts. (when using Frostwall + North Mace/Glacier’s Edge).
• Venomous Maw – It’s a major source of DPS. A piercing spider ‘missile’ that poisons and damages enemies. Tier 1 makes it cast two of those side by side. Egg of Mayhem lets us cast 1 more relic “small cost'”skill every time we cast this too.
• Take a Swig – It’s a filler skill so you can replace it for whatever you want. I like this as it gives some extra dmg reduction and also can heal if needed.

The gear I recommend using is:

MY IDEAL EQUIPPED GEAR:

• A good rolled + socketed 1 handed weapon from the Arctic Armaments set – Glacier’s Edge sword or the North Mace OR Blue weapon + a good rolled & socketed Frostwall Shield
• Must wear 3 Commodore Set pieces! I suggest wearing: Commodore Cape + Jacket + Pauldrons:
  • Commodore‘s Cape – gives +1 Piracy Skills (+2 with the 3 piece set bonus) [I’ve tested it now gives you extra levels and DMG if the skill is already lvl 10 and you can use this to overcap skills]
  • Commodore‘s Pauldrons (Shoulders) – When you pick up a Doubloon it grants a 10% dmg & gold luck buff for 10 seconds (20% with the 3 piece set bonus)
  • Commodore‘s Jacket (Chest) – gives +1 Cursed Skills (+2 with the 3 piece set bonus) [I’ve tested it now gives you extra levels and DMG if the skill is already lvl 10 and you can use this to overcap skills]
• Ideally also wear Ancient Ember, Arc-Powered, or Winterweave pieces! I suggest those be: Ancient Ember Boots (or Woodsbeast Boots) + Winterweave Pants + Winterweave Gauntlets:

You’ll be looking for flat dmg, optionally % elemental dmg and/or Crit dmg/chance, +%Evasion +%Block Chance, +%DMG to Powder Keg (OR to Plunderbuss if using it) , + X lvl to any skill you use as active (I suggest to try and get +X lvls to Powder Keg and/or Venomous Maw) and have more than 1 point into, + others.

• the Shoulders and Chest rolled for +% Crit Dmg
• the Chest, Shoulders and Pants rolled for +%dmg to Powder Keg (or to Plunderbuss if using it)
• the Pants + Chest will ideally also roll with + flat dmg
• the Boots can ideally be rolled for % Crit dmg and maybe elemental dmg + maybe %elemental (ice) dmg
• Crit Chance rolls on the Cape and Pants is not bad but not needed (unless you go for the 3 pieces Winterweave setup and drop the Woodsbeast boots & Pet Crit Aura)

Suggested Legendarium Powers (to fill in the gaps from items you’re wearing):

MY IDEAL LEGENDARIUM COMBO:

• My Li’ General (you could also wear this and slot the Frostwall here if you want more flat DMG from a socket as well as ‘middle’ affix roll, also only recommended when you wear or slot the Ancient Ember Boots)
• Woodsbeast Sandals – for crit chance (while you wear Ancient Ember Boots) OR wear the Woodsbeast then slot Ancient Ember Boots here to get Imbue Relic.
• Egg of Mayhem – to have that 2-for-1 skill casting when using Venomous Maw

Ideally you wear Commodore‘s Jacket, Cape + Shoulders also Frostwall + North Mace OR Glacier’s Edge, alongside Ancient Ember Boots + Winterweave Gauntlets + Winterweave Pants (or any other pants).

Alternatives based on availability & preference:

• Option 1: other Commodore, or Skittering, or Winterweave, or Ancient Ember, or Arc-Powered set pieces
• Option 2: Pick one of those 3:
  • Fortune’s Spire for extra row of projectiles to Plunderbuss if using it
  • The Showman for an extra Keg to Powder Keg
  • Big Fish for extra dps to Broadside (have not tested if this is any good yet cuz RNG hates me lol)
• Option 3: Or anything else you like

The non-class specific shoulders now give us an active skill to slot in the skillbar which not everyone may like.

The recommended stats to look for in your items are (the list is not in order of priority and is just listing good bonuses + there’s new stats and I might have missed some which will get added later):

• + Flat Damage (any)
• +% elemental dmg (any) – starts getting very good later on when you have a nice flat to boost with this if you match the flat with the %
• +% Damage with Powder Keg/Plunderbuss (if using it)
• +X lvl(s) to Venomous Maw/Powder Keg/Plunderbuss (if using it)
• + Health
• + Defense (the non elemental is good for any act but lesser numbers than elemental)
• +% Critical Hit Chance (the cap is 40% and we can get this with just the pet aura + Woodsbeast Boots)
• +% Critical Damage (the cap is 300%)
• +% Gear Luck (eventually try to get like 50-75% total for good drop quantity – the cap is 100%)
• +% Energy Recharge Rate is pretty good for this build
• -% Relic Energy cost is pretty good for this build
• +% Block Chance (capped at 40%)
• +% Chance to Evade damage (capped at 40%)
• +% Doubloon Generation
• +% Chance to Chill – a decent CC proc
• +% Chance to Freeze – a very good CC proc and amazing for any build
• +% Chance to Poison is a decent DoT & is needed for this build to proc Spread of Death more often
• +% Chance to Bleed decent DoT but not needed
• +% Chance to Burn is good but not needed for this build.
• +% Chance to Shock – a decent proc but not needed for this build.
• +% Additional Bolts Fired on Shock – a decent proc booster but not needed for this build
• +% Chance to Stun/Slow/Blind – good but not a very important choice

The Skills and Passives I recommend are:

IMPORTANT: Keep in mind that my setup is WITH the +2 Piracy & +2 Curse Skills levels from the Commodore Set Cape + Jacket! On top of that I did NOT “use” any extra +1,+2,+3 Skill Point(s) from a cape.

MY IDEAL/RECOMMENDED SETUP (used in the video):

WITH LVL 10 PLUNDERBUSS INSTEAD OF MAELSTROM:

WITH LVL 10 MAELSTROM + TIER 3 TAKE A SWIG:

WITH LVL 10 PLUNDERBUSS INSTEAD OF MAELSTROM + TIER 3 TAKE A SWIG:

WITH LVL 10 MAELSTROM + MAX DOUBLOON GENERATION:

How to LVLUP the Build:

lvl 2 – get Spectral Spider lvl 1 (remove the point from FIRE! and invest it into Maelstrom lvl 1 as soon as possible)
lvl 3 – get Spectral Spider lvl 2
lvl 4 – Save a point then @ lvl 5 – get Tier 1 (lvl 3) Wraith Walk
lvls 6, 7, 8, 9 – get lvls 3, 4, 5, 6 Spectral Spider
lvl 10 – get lvl 1 Dread Banner & lvl 2 Maelstrom, Also Respec the 6 Points from Spectral Spider into Venomous Maw
lvl 11 – get Maelstrom lvl 3
lvls 12, 13, 14 – get Venomous Maw lvls 7, 8, 9
lvl 15 – get Venomous Maw to lvl 10 + Powder Keg lvl 1
lvls 16, 17, 18, 19 – get Powder Keg lvl 2, 3, 4, 5
lvl 20 – get Powder Keg lvl 6 + Broadside lvl 1
lvls 21, 22, 23, 24 – get Powder Keg lvls 7, 8, 9, 10
lvls 25 to 29 – get Black Spot to lvl 6
lvls 30 to 34 – get Double Cross to lvl 6
lvls 35 to 41 – get Broadside to lvl 10
lvls 42 to 47 – get Maelstrom to lvl 10
lvls 48 to 53 – get Dread Banner to lvl 8
lvls 53 to 57 – get Energizer to lvl 5 (you will not have enough skill points at the point without the Commodore Set items)
lvls 57 and up – Start reworking the skill points after you get the Commodore’s Set Cape & Jacket. To fill the blanks you’ll need to add lvl 5 Spread of Death and remove levels from certain skills so they end up as lvl 4+2 instead of lvl 6+0 (Double Cross, Black Spot, Wraith Walk).