Viper Strike/Herald of Agony
Pathfinder build

Updated for Patch 3.8

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: medium

Viper Strike is one of the best Poison skills in the game. The Poison it applies has twice the base duration of a regular Poison, which allows us to endlessly scale its damage. This build, in theory, can apply up to 150 Stacks of Poison against single-target enemies - when it comes to AoE, and overlapping Attacks with Ancestral Call + Melee Splash, this number is even further multiplied. Your DPS gets higher and higher the longer the fight - each Growing Agony Jewel grants 2% increased Damage per Poison stack on the enemy without a cap. We also use Herald of Agony for some extra DPS and clearing power; Agony Crawler is an irreplaceable companion for the leveling phase.

You can also check our other Path of Exile builds at Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

Viper Strike is a Melee Attack which has 50% of its damage converted to Chaos and applies Poison with twice the base duration of regular Poisons. In order to increase clear speed and AoE potential, we use Ancestral Call and Melee Splash which makes every Hit overlap on the same enemy, allowing us to stack multiple Poisons with each attack. It's advised to switch to Melee Physical Damage and Multistrike versus Bosses for maximum single-target DPS. With Herald of Agony active, every time we Poison an enemy, we get Virulence Stacks and have Agony Crawler summoned to aid us. Agony Crawler has very decent DPS and Maims enemies slowing them down and increasing your Physical Damage against them. 

This build also utilizes several defensive mechanics including high Life Pool, Dodge Rating, Evasion, Arctic Armour (assuming you decide to use The Perfect Form), and insane Life Recovery from equipped Claws (up to 80 Life for each enemy Hit with your Attacks).

0:06 Tier 14 Caldera 0:24 Tier 16 Guardian of the Chimera 1:11 Tier 16 Guardian of the Hydra 1:51 Shaper The video was recorded on a level 89 Pathfinder dual-wielding The Wasp Nests and wearing Starkonja's Head and Belly of the Beast. It was recorded pre 3.8, but the gameplay mechanics haven't changed since then

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

When leveling you should try to increase your Movement Speed, and defensive stats(Life, Elemental Resistances) as you will notice that these are the attributes that you are heavily lacking on lower levels. On the other hand, your DPS will be based mainly on your Passives so you shouldn't worry about offensive stats at all - just make sure to upgrade your weapons once in a while. Low-level unique Claws are very cheap so you shouldn't have any problems acquiring them within hours after you start playing. You should also prioritize AoE clearing during this phase, so Ancestral Call and Melee Splash are the most critical Support Gems

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Viper Strike setup
	Viper Strike - primary Attack used in this build which can be socketed right after you enter town on level 2
	Ancestral Call - makes your supported Attack Hit two additional enemies
	Melee Splash Support - allows insane overlapping of attacks when combined with Ancestral Call
	Lesser Poison Support - helps you reach 100% Chance to Poison on lower levels - as you progress and get the Passives that does it, you can replace this Gem

Utility Gems
	Herald of Agony - increases your Chance to Poison and Poison damage. It's best to socket it in Embalmer Gloves as you get them at level 50
	Herald of Purity - grants extra Physical Damage to Attacks
	Summon Lightning Golem - grants increased Attack and Cast Speed
	Whirling Blades - Movement Skill used in this build

Bandits:

We recommend killing all the Bandits for two additional Passive Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

33 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Poisonous Fangs 2) Herbalism 3) Claws of the Pride 4) Thick Skin 5) Fatal Toxins

60 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Blood Drinker 2) Fangs of the Viper 3) Trickery 4) Soul Rake 5) Acrobatics

Recommended leveling items:

Blackheart - one of the best leveling Rings for this build. You use two of those for insane DPS bonuses
Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks 5% increased Physical Damage Adds 1 to 3 Chaos Damage to Attacks +(20-30) to maximum Life (2-4) Life Regenerated per second 10% chance to Cause Monsters to Flee

Last Resort - low-level Unique Claw which has very solid DPS and grants insane bonuses when you get to Low-Life
+3 Life gained for each Enemy hit by Attacks 25% increased Attack Speed when on Low Life (80-100)% increased Physical Damage Adds 2 to 10 Physical Damage 100% increased Claw Physical Damage when on Low Life 100% increased Accuracy Rating when on Low Life

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

114 Points Final Skill Tree
114 Points Path of Building(PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Nature's Reprisal
2. Master Toxicist
3. Nature's Adrenaline
4. Nature's Boon

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Lunaris 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%; 1% increased Movement Speed for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%

Minor God: Soul of Garukhan +5% chance to Evade Attacks if you've taken a Savage Hit recently

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Viper Strike
	Viper Strike - primary Attack Skill in this build
	Ancestral Call Support - makes supported attacks Hit two additional nearby enemies allowing you to apply more Poisons with each Hit
	Melee Splash Support - each Hit (including the ones caused by Ancestral Call) deals additional splash damage to nearby enemies
	Deadly Ailments Support - increases the Damage you deal with Ailments
	Added Chaos Support - adds high bonus Chaos Damage to your Attacks
	Vile Toxins Support - increases the damage with Hits for every stack of Poison the enemy has and the damage with Poisons inflicted by supported skills
Optional(single-target) Support Gems:
	Melee Physical Damage Support - increases Physical Damage you deal with Hits and also the Poison Damage inflicted by supported skills
	Multistrike Support - makes supported attacks repeat twice with greatly increased speed

[DPS] Herald of Agony (preferably in The Embalmer Gloves)
	Herald of Agony - increases your damage with Poison and when you inflict Poison, Agony Crawler Minion is summoned to aid you which deals very solid extra DPS
	Minion Damage Support - increases the damage your Agony Crawler deals
	Pierce Support - increases the damage of your Agony Crawler's projectiles and causes them to pierce their targets
	Maim Support - your Agony Crawler will Maim enemies - increasing Physical Damage they take and slowing them down

[MOBILITY] Whirling Blades
	Whirling Blades - one of the fastest Movement Skills in PoE which we plan to use in this build
	Faster Attacks Support - increases the speed of Whirling Blades
	Fortify Support - grants a solid defensive buff on Hits with supported skills
	Blood Magic Support - makes supported skills cost Life instead of Mana

[UTILITY] Vaal Double Strike
	Vaal Double Strike - we use this Gem for the Vaal skill it provides which will summon two copies of your weapons which will continuously attack your target with greatly increased Attack Speed. It's used to quickly apply maximum Withered stacks on Bosses for extra burst DPS
	Withering Touch - grants extra Chaos Damage and applies Withered debuff on Hit, increasing Chaos Damage taken by affected enemies
	Faster Attacks Support
	Increased Duration Support

[UTILITY] Vaal Blight
	Vaal Blight - Vaal Spell which increases Chaos Damage taken by affected enemies. Do not force yourself to have it upgraded to the maximum level

[UTILITY] Ancestral Protector
	Ancestral Protector - summons a Totem which increases your Attack Speed. Mainly used against Bosses

[UTILITY] Lightning Golem
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - automatically resummons your Golem when you take a certain amount of damage
	Summon Lightning Golem - increases your Attack and Cast Speed

[UTILITY] Arctic Armour (only if using The Perfect Form)
	Arctic Armour - reduces Fire and Physical Damage taken by you when stationary. Also slows the Action Speed of enemies that hit you. Great addition against end-game Bosses

5. Gear Setup

Below you will find all the recommended gear for this build. This build has insane potential even though all the items listed below are common and easy to obtain. We encourage you to experiment with your equipment and try this build out with Delve-crafted Claws with 60% Chance for Poison to deal 100% increased damage or Essence Crafted Rings. 

Using this opportunity, we would like to invite you to visit our PoE Marketplace where you can buy cheap PoE Currency with real cash from other Path of Exile players.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances 
2. Give you enough DPS/Life to start mapping successfully

(Helmet) Starkonja's Head - one of the best Helmets for this build. It grants terrific defensive utility and high Attack Speed bonus

50% reduced Damage when on Low Life +(50-70) to Dexterity 10% increased Attack Speed 25% increased Global Critical Strike Chance (100-130)% increased Evasion Rating +(80-100) to maximum Life 150% increased Global Evasion Rating when on Low Life

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - preferably Evasion-based. A rare Helmet is always a solid option for the leveling phase. Just get the highest possible defensive stats here

Min. requirements: 80 maximum Life 25% Fire Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance 25% Cold Resistance

Helmet enchantment: 30% increased Viper Strike Duration 40% increased Viper Strike Damage

(Body Armour) Belly of the Beast - a very solid choice which grants very high bonus Life. It can be also used during the leveling phase since it has a level requirement of 46

3% reduced Movement Speed (Hidden) (150-200)% increased Armour (30-40)% increased maximum Life +(10-15)% to all Elemental Resistances 50% increased Flask Life Recovery rate Extra gore

(Body Armour) The Perfect Form - our top recommendation for the chest slot. It allows us to use Arctic Armour without the Mana Reservation cost, which makes fights like Guardians/Shaper much more smooth

(30-50)% increased Evasion Rating +(50-80) to maximum Life -30% to Cold Resistance (5-10)% increased Dexterity Arctic Armour has 100% reduced Mana Reservation Evasion Rating is increased by Uncapped Cold Resistance Phase Acrobatics

(Weapon) Wasp's Nest - cheap and insanely powerful. Rare alternatives that could be considered an upgrade to those, will cost at least several Exalted Orbs each

+40 Life gained for each Enemy hit by Attacks (150-170)% increased Physical Damage (20-25)% increased Attack Speed (20-25)% increased Critical Strike Chance +(330-350) to Accuracy Rating 20% chance to Poison on Hit Attacks with this Weapon deal 80-120 added Chaos Damage against Enemies affected by at least 5 Poisons

(Weapon) Rare Gemini Claw - Delve-crafted ones with 60% Chance for Poison to inflict 100% more damage are the best in the slot but at the same time they can be very expensive

Min. requirements: 200 Physical DPS 20% Attack Speed 60% chance for Poisons inflicted with this Weapon to deal 100% more Damage Optional affixes: Poison Duration Added Chaos Damage

(Boots) Rare Boots - with high defensive stats, Life, and Movement Speed bonus

Min. requirements: 75 maximum Life 30% increased Movement Speed 35% Fire Resistance 35% Cold Resistance 35% Lightning Resistance

Boot enchantment: 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've Killed Recently

(Belt) Rare Belt

Min. requirements: 90 maximum Life 35 Strength 25% Lightning Resistance 25% Cold Resistance Optional affixes: Increased Physical Damage (Rustic Sash)

(Amulet) Rare Amulet

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 40 maximum Mana 45 Intelligence 45 Strength Optional affixes: Accuracy Rating added Physical Damage to Attacks

(Ring) Rare Rings - focus on high Life and All Elemental Resistances Bonuses. You may also need to pick 30+ Intelligence on one of the Rings

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 90% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Intelligence Added Physical Damage to Attacks

(Gloves) The Embalmer - amazing pair of Gloves which grants cheap 5-links for your Herald of Agony setup

Socketed Gems are Supported by Level 20 Vile Toxins Adds (13-17) to (23-29) Chaos Damage +(50-70) to maximum Life +(17-29)% to Chaos Resistance (20-25)% increased Poison Duration

(Jewels) Growing Agony - grants theoretically limitless DPS bonus which is based on the number of Poisons on your target

(8-12)% increased Damage over Time With at least 40 Dexterity in Radius, Viper Strike deals 2% increased Damage with Hits and Poison for each Poison on the Enemy With at least 40 Dexterity in Radius, Viper Strike has a 10% chance per Poison on Enemy to grant Unholy Might for 4 seconds on Hit

(Jewels) Rare Jewels - these should provide extra Life and damage bonuses

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased Chaos Damage/Damage over Time Optional affixes: increased Global Accuracy Rating

(Jewels) Coralito's Signature - mandatory Flask for this build. It allows you to stack a lot more Poisons (if any enemy could actually live to see that) and Poison Damage

Your Critical Strike Chance is Lucky Take 30 Chaos Damage per Second during Flask effect 25% chance to Poison on Hit during Flask effect Your Critical Strikes do not deal extra Damage during Flask effect (50-75)% increased Duration of Poisons you inflict during Flask effect Grants Perfect Agony during Flask effect

(Flask) Witchfire Brew - grants increased Damage over Time and Despair Aura which is the only way to apply Curse in our recommended setup

100% increased Evasion Rating Creates a Smoke Cloud on Use 50% increased Charges used (25-40)% increased Damage Over Time during Flask Effect Grants Level 21 Despair Curse Aura during Flask Effect

(Flask) Atziri's Promise - grants very high bonus DPS and extra Life Leech

+35% to Chaos Resistance 2% of Chaos Damage Leeched as Life during Flask effect Gain (15-20)% of Physical Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect Gain (10-15)% of Elemental Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect

Other suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (immunity to Bleeding) Ample Silver Flask of Heat (increased Movement Speed)

If you have any other build requests, please leave that in the comments below.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.