Strikes hit lighter, but every auto deepens a ramping toxin on the target; Venom Cloud spreads AoE poison and chill. The slow death wins long fights.
"The slow death is the surest death."
When a Rogue reaches level 10 and you select Poisoner, two things change permanently:
Venom Cloud: Releases a venom cloud that poisons all living enemies for [3 + AP × 0.3]/tick and chills them simultaneously. Passive: every auto-attack deepens a stacking [ATK × 0.06, min 1]/tick poison on the target (ramps up to 10 stacks), in trade for 25% lighter autos.
Poisoner grants the following ability score bonuses on top of the Rogue base scores:
These bonuses stack with ability score points allocated from levelling. They cannot be removed without retiring the hero.
A Poisoner put through the Bloodline Forge leaves a Legacy Item carrying this passive — at the level 50 cap: 50% chance to apply Poison on hit. The number scales with the hero's level at forge time, and any hero can equip the item.
Chaos (Venom Transmutation for poison+burn combo), Speed (faster attacks = faster proc rate).
See the Skill Tree deep dive for the full 119-node reference and routing advice, or the Rogue build guide for a complete path recommendation for this class.
Both subclasses unlock at level 10. Compare them to choose:
| Poisoner | Assassin | |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Strikes hit lighter, but every auto deepens a ramping toxin on the target; Venom Cloud spreads AoE poison and chill. The slow death wins long fights. | Each crit chains into the next — sustained crit streaks melt single targets. |
| Stat Bonus | +2 Agility, +1 Intelligence | +2 Dexterity, +1 Agility |
| Details | This page | Assassin page → |
The choice is permanent — use a Scroll of Divergence consumable to re-select without retiring the hero.