Viper Strike of the Mamba
Assassin build

Updated for Patch 3.29

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Viper Strike of the Mamba is a very unique Skill that fundamentally changes how the Poison archetype plays. It can inflict only one stack of Poison, but its Damage is massively boosted. It also combines both your Weapon Hits into one stronger hit. Its true potential unlocks once you start stacking Low Tolerance Notables on your Cluster Jewels, each increasing your Poison Damage by 300%, but only against Enemies that are not already Poisoned, which suits this Build perfectly. You can expect 6 such Jewels. Combined with a similar Poison Mastery, it increases your Damage by 2100%. 

The Low Tolerance Jewels solve your scaling, but you still need a source of base Damage. The solution for that is the Whispers of Infinity Amulet. It adds a large amount of flat Chaos Damage to your Attacks based on your Mana, and converts your Skill Costs to Energy Shield. It allows you to use powerful Weapons for their Unique properties instead of worrying about their DPS, and reserve 100% of your Mana with Auras. 

Another important interaction comes from Bino's Kitchen Knife. It spreads your strongest Poison upon killing an Enemy, which leads to insane AoE coverage and very satisfying Clear Speed. This spread also ignores the limitation of your Poison stacks. It is great for mapping, but you can also take advantage of it against powerful Bosses if you equip the Hateful Accuser Ring, which is the sole source of the Penance Mark Skill. It summons weak Enemies when you hit your target, allowing you to spread multiple Poisons. However, this Mark has to be used manually, so if you do not plan on fighting Uber Pinnacle Bosses regularly, we recommend using the Alchemist's Mark, as it can be automated. It creates a Caustic Ground, which deals 80% of your single Poison Damage. It is obviously not as strong as Penance Mark, but significantly more comfortable to use. 

You can pick Assassin Ascendancy to further scale your Damage through the Perfect Agony Keystone, Critical Strike Multiplier, and Elusive Effect. It allows you to invest more into Energy Shield and Evasion. Alternatively, you can pick the Pathfinder Ascendancy for powerful Flask sustain and extreme recovery, but it requires pressing your Life Flask manually every few seconds. 

You can also find our other Path of Exile builds right over here Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

Use Viper Strike of Mamba against non-poisoned Enemies. Against Bosses, you will want to apply Alchemist's Mark with Whirling Blades first. To further improve your Damage, cast Despair Curse or empower your next Attack with Ambush. 

Full gameplay video:

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Leveling with Poisons is possible, but usually slower than other alternatives due to its ramp-up nature and lack of early scaling. We recommend following our Blight of Contagion Trickster Build instead, which is very powerful during the campaign and shares many features on the Passive Tree, making it very easy to transition to your final Setup. 

Bandits:

We recommend killing all the Bandits for the additional Passive Point, but helping Alira is also a good option.

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

77 Points Final Skill Tree (doesn't include Unique or Cluster Jewels)
120 Points Path of Building (PoB) link
 

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Toxic Delivery
2. Knife in the Back
3. Opportunistic
4. Mistwalker

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Arakaali: 10% reduced Damage taken from Damage Over Time, +40% Chaos Resistance against Damage Over Time

Minor God: Soul of Ralakesh: 25% reduced Physical Damage over Time taken while moving, Moving while Bleeding doesn't cause you to take extra Damage

5. Final Gem Links

[DPS] Viper Strike of the Mamba setup
	Viper Strike of the Mamba - Attack with both Weapons and combines both their Hits into a single, powerful Poison. It cannot Poison Enemies that are already poisoned.
	Nightblade Support
	Melee Physical Damage Support
	Void Manipulation Support
	Swift Affliction Support
	Damage on Full Life Support

[UTILITY] Aura setup
	Purity of Elements - makes it easier to cap Elemental Resistances and grants Immunity against Ailments.
	Discipline - another defensive Aura that grants a decent amount of Energy Shield.
	Malevolence - an offensive Aura that provides a solid amount of Damage for your Poison.
	Clarity - you don't need Mana Regeneration, but you can use a level 1 Clarity to enable Watcher's Eye modifiers.
	Enlighten Support

[UTILITY] Curse setup
	Despair - a powerful Curse that reduces enemy Chaos Resistance. You should cast it manually against Bosses.
	Alchemist's Mark - nearly doubles your total DPS by mimicking the strongest Poison via Caustic Ground.
	Mark on Hit Support
	Enhance Support

[UTILITY] Automation setup
	Immortal Call - a Guard Skill that greatly reduces incoming Damage. It requires a lot of Strength to use at maximum potency, but even level 1 is worthwhile.
	Withering Step - inflicts the Withered Debuff on nearby Enemies. It is your only source of Wither on this Setup.
	Automation - automatically triggers linked Instant Skills whenever they are ready to be used.
	Enhance Support

[MOBILITY] Mobility setup
	Whirling Blades - a fast dash towards a targeted location; it is the only non-cooldown mobility Skill you can use with this Setup.
	Faster Attacks Support
	Brutality Support - disables Chaos Damage, ensuring it won't accidentally Poison while moving around, which would conflict with the Viper Strike.

[UTILITY] Ambush setup
	Ambush - grants a large bonus to your Critical Hits. It is only useful during Boss fights.
	Cooldown Recovery Support

5. Gear Setup

This Build utilises a very synergistic combo of Unique Items. The Whispers of Infinity Amulet covers your Flat Damage, allowing you to use Bino's Kitchen Knife for amazing Clear Speed, and Essentia's Sanguis Claw for incredible sustain. The Foulborn Le Heup of All is used to boost your global Defenses, but it also provides amazing value through a large amount of Resistances and Attributes. The Shavrone's Revelation grants an insane amount of Mana and decent sustain for Energy Shield. The Traitor Keystone obtained through Brutal Restraint Jewel greatly improves the sustain of your Flasks, while Voices allow you to use multiple Medium Clusters with the Low Tolerance Notable. The Light of Meaning and Watcher's Eye are used mostly for their defensive capabilities. 

Your remaining Rare Gear is devoted to improving your survivability, but you can sneak in a bit of Damage by improving your Mana, either by flat bonuses or improving your Intelligence. Thanks to permanent uptime on Bismuth Flask, you can fit in much more Spell Suppression or Attributes on your Suffixes. Additional Accuracy and Bleeding Avoidance are also very beneficial to have. You will use a lot of Jewels. Try to fit in some Resistances and Attributes on them. 

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - you should use a pure Intelligence Helmet to maximise the Energy Shield. Use Eldritch Implicits to redirect Physical Damage to be taken as Chaos Damage, to which you are Immune.

Min. requirements: +400 to Energy Shield +50 total Attributes or Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: +# to Accuracy Rating +#% chance to Suppress Spell Damage (Crafted) % increased Despair Curse Effect (Exarch) % of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Chaos Damage (Eater)

(Body Armour) Rare Armour - your Body Armour should provide a large amount of Energy Shield and Evasion. At a higher budget, you can include Spell Suppression. The Eldritch Implicit helps with Flask Sustain and Physical Damage mitigation.

Min. requirements: +600 to Energy Shield +1500 to Evasion Rating Optional affixes: Elemental Resistance Attributes +#% chance to Suppress Spell Damage  Flasks gain a Charge every 3 seconds (Exarch) % of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Chaos Damage (Eater)

(Weapon) Bino's Kitchen Knife - spreads your strongest Poison to nearby Enemies upon killing your target, which also bypasses the restriction of Mamba's single Poison. It also features a quite high Critical Strike Chance.

(40-45)% increased Global Critical Strike Chance Adds (140-155) to (210-235) Physical Damage (40-50)% increased Critical Strike Chance +(15-25)% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier +(17-29)% to Chaos Resistance On Killing a Poisoned Enemy, Enemies within 3 metres are Poisoned, and you and Allies Regenerate 400 Life per second for the Poison's duration if within 3 metres

(Weapon) Essentia Sanguis - the Lightning Damage of this Weapon is completely wasted here, but it's still a very good Weapon as it provides a large amount of Energy Shield and Leech.

Adds 1 to (650-850) Lightning Damage (20-30)% increased Attack Speed +(200-300) to maximum Energy Shield Energy Shield Leech Effects from Attacks are not removed at Full Energy Shield Maximum Recovery per Energy Shield Leech is Doubled Ghost Reaver

(Boots) Rare Gloves - use Int bases for a greater amount of Energy Shield, or hybrid Int/Dex if you plan on getting Spell Suppression. You can also sacrifice some ES to get more Mana instead. Make sure to get additional Strike Target via Eldritch Embers.

Min. requirements: +150 to Energy Shield +50 total Attributes or Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: +# to Accuracy Rating +# to maximum Mana +#% chance to Suppress Spell Damage (Natural/Crafted + Eater) Non-Vaal Strike Skills target 1 additional nearby Enemy (Exarch)

(Boots) Rare Boots - your Boots have the lowest capacity for Defense, since you have to get some Movement Speed as well. They can also make you Immune to Bleeding.

Min. requirements: +100 to Energy Shield +30% increased Movement Speed +50 total Attributes or Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: +# to maximum Mana +#% chance to Suppress Spell Damage  +#% increased Action Speed (Exarch) #% chance to Avoid Bleeding (Crafted + Eater)

(Belt) Rare Belt - you can use Crystal Belt to get a decent amount of Energy Shield, or Micro-Distillery Belt to improve the effect of your Flasks. It should also improve the amount of Charges you gain. You can add decent Regeneration via the Crafting Bench if you have Suffixes to spare.

Min. requirements: +50 total Strength or Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: +# to maximum Energy Shield +# to maximum Mana #% increased Flask Charges gained Regenerate 150 Energy Shield per second while a Rare or Unique Enemy is Nearby

(Amulet) Whispers of Infinity - it is your main source of flat Damage; make sure to get the highest possible roll and boost it further with Abrasive Catalyst. The rolls on Energy Shield or Mana are much less impactful.

(10-15)% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge (5-10) to (20-25) Added Attack Chaos Damage per 100 Maximum Mana +(50-100) to maximum Energy Shield (60-40)% reduced maximum Mana Skills Cost Energy Shield instead of Mana or Life

Recommended Anointments: Sione's Ambition

(Ring) Shavronne's Revelation - wear this Ring in your Right slot to gain an insane amount of flat Mana and decent Regeneration for your Energy Shield. You can use Fertile Catalysts to make it even better. You can also opt for useful Corrupted Implicits, such as additional Resistances or Crit Multiplier.

(7-10)% increased Cast Speed +(60-75) to Intelligence Right ring slot: You cannot Regenerate Mana Right ring slot: Regenerate 6% of Energy Shield per second Right ring slot: +250 to maximum Mana Left ring slot: You cannot Recharge or Regenerate Energy Shield Left ring slot: Regenerate 40 Mana per Second Left ring slot: +250 to maximum Energy Shield

(Ring) Foulborn Le Heup of All - the Foulborn version of this popular Leveling Ring makes it very lucrative even for endgame characters thanks to its large bonus to Global Defences.

Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks +(10-30) to all Attributes (10-30)% increased Global Defences (10-30)% increased Rarity of Items found +(10-30)% to all Elemental Resistances

(Ring) The Hateful Accuser - you can use the Penance Mark to create weaker Enemies around your target, which allows you to spread additional Poisons. It is the best option for Damage, but it's quite clunky to use.

50% reduced Effect of Curses on you 50% increased Elemental Ailment Duration on you Grants level 20 Penance Mark (6-12)% increased Cast Speed +(30-60) to maximum Life +(7-19)% to Chaos Resistance

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - with this Jewel, you can utilise your Mana to get extra Energy Shield. It can also make you Immune to Bleed, or speed up your Poison, which is usually not very beneficial for Poison, but makes sense in case of singular Poison stacks.

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers> Recommended modifiers:  Unaffected by Bleeding while affected by Malevolence Damaging Ailments you inflict deal Damage (10-15)% faster while affected by Malevolence Gain (6-10)% of Maximum Mana as Extra Maximum Energy Shield while affected by Clarity

(Jewel) The Light of Meaning - an expensive Jewel that can boost your Energy Shield by a decent amount. The offensive variant with Chaos Damage is not very effective due to Low Tolerance stacking.

Passive Skills in Radius also grant 3% increased Energy Shield

(Jewel) Brutal Restraint - look for the Balbala version to get the Traitor Keystone, allowing you to sustain your Resistance Flask at all times. It can also provide Onslaught Buff during Clearing.

Denoted service of (500-8000) dekhara in the akhara of Balbala Passives in radius are Conquered by the Maraketh Historic

(Jewel) Forbidden Flesh Flame - the Born in the Shadows Notable borrowed from the Saboteur Ascendancy provides very solid Damage mitigation and also lowers the Accuracy requirements for yourself.

Allocates <random Ascendancy Notable> if you have the matching modifier on Forbidden Flesh

(Jewel) Voices - grants 3 Cluster Jewel Sockets, which allows you to fit in more Medium Cluster Jewels. Getting less than 5 empty Passives here is very expensive.

Adds 3 Jewel Socket Passive Skills Adds (1-7) Small Passive Skills which grant nothing

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewel - you only need the Low Tolerance Notable, which grants 300% increased Damage each. The second Notable can be skipped at first, but later on, aim for the Eldritch Inspiration to improve your Mana as well. You should also try to get some Resistances or Attributes on top of that, which quickly adds up across 6 Jewels.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Low Tolerance 1 Added Passive Skill is Eldritch Inspiration Added Small Passive Skills also grant: +#% to Elemental Resistance/Attribute

(Jewel) Rare Jewel - your regular Jewels should improve your Energy Shield and maximum Mana. You can also get missing Poison Chance here, or cover lacking Attributes and Resistances.

Recommended affixes: #% increased maximum Energy Shield #% increased maximum Mana #% chance to Poison on Hit +# to Attributes +#% to Elemental Resistance Corrupted Blood cannot be inflicted on you (Vaal Orb)

(Flask) Witchfire Brew - this Flask can be used to automate your Curse application, but it also provides a decent boost to your Evasion Rating during its effect. Enchant it to activate upon hitting a Rare or Unique Enemy.

20% more Evasion Rating Creates a Smoke Cloud on Use (-10-10)% increased Charges per use Grants Level 21 Despair Curse Aura during Effect

Other suggested Flasks: Bismuth Flask with bonus Elemental Resistance  Jade Flask with bonus Evasion Rating  Quicksilver Flask with crafted Leech

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.