Venomancer Guide to Skills

The Venomancer is a versatile class. It's important to understand what their skills do and how to use them. Skills are not absolute and may fall into more than one category. For the purpose of this guide, skills were categorized based on their primary usage. This guide does not cover Glyph skills; for that see Venomancer Glyphs.

Attack Skills
Venomous Scarab is the main damage dealing skill. It has a short cooldown and can be spammed, therefore it is one of the skills that should be leveled as soon as possible. Sage Venomous Scarab has a chance to give additional chi making it a great chi building skill. Demon reduces the opponent's Wood defense increasing your overall damage. The PWI Elysium upgrade increases the skill's damage and adds bonus damage when a pet is summoned, making it one of the hardest hitting Venomancer skills.

Ironwood Scarab is one of the hardest hitting Venomancer skills even from the early levels. It also reduces the target's physical defense, a debuff that helps your pet and other physical classes deal more damage. It should be leveled as soon as possible. Sage increases the power and duration of the debuff; an asset to have in squads. Demon has a low chance to activate the debuff, but when it does it reduces physical defense to zero regardless of gear. The Demon version is primarily a PvP skill and is one of the most powerful debuffs in the game. Ironwood Scarab can be combined with Blazing Scarab to create Redstone Venomworm. It is a very good upgrade for Sage, but a nerf for Demon.

Blazing Scarab is the weakest damage dealing skill because the direct damage is low and the DoT rarely gets to run its full duration. It's a decent skill to use in long boss fights, but you'll mainly use it for the extra chi. Sage increases the Fire DoT's damage. Demon decreases the DoT duration so it ticks faster. Neither upgrades are particularly great, but you can later combine this skill with Ironwood Scarab to create Redstone Venomworm.

Frost Scarab is a decent damage dealing skill but the chi it costs to cast is not worth it when you have better skills to use chi on. You can leave this skill at level one until you have spare spirit. Sage increases the proc chance and speed debuff. Demon immobilizes the target and increases the speed debuff. The Demon upgrade is nice, but it loses its usefulness once you start upgrading other skills. Once again, the chi cost is not worth it.

Noxious Gas is the main AOE skill Venomancers have. It has a fairly short cooldown, but it has a long channeling time so it's not a good skill to use on single targets unless you want some extra chi. Sage increases the overall damage while Demon decreases the cooldown.

Fox Wallop is the main damage dealing skill in Fox Form, but if you follow an Arcane Armor build you won't have a lot of uses for this skill except when fighting monsters with increased magic defense. Level this skill if you play melee, otherwise it's not a priority. Sage version has a chance to not consume chi. Demon has a chance to make all hits critical, which is great for melee Venomancers. Later you can combine Fox Wallop with Befuddling Mist to create Grudge Strike.

Befuddling Mist is the main AOE damage dealing skill in Fox Form. It's a useful skill to have regardless of build. Sage increases the overall damage. Demon adds a speed reduction debuff. Later you can combine this skill with Fox Wallop to create Grudge Strike.

Malefic Crush is the hardest hitting Fox Form attack and it's also an AOE. It's a nice skill to have regardless of build, but it's a leveling priority only for melee Venomancers. Sage decreases the mana burn duration making it faster and Demon increases the amount of mana burnt. The Primal upgrade turns this skill into a control skill by adding a Paralyze effect.

Arcane Antinomy is human form attack that deals physical damage based on your magic attack and maximum mana. It has a long cooldown and costs chi so this skill is mainly used in PvP. The most popular usage is in tandem with Demon Ironwood Scarab's proc which reduces the target's physical defense to zero allowing Demon Venomancers to deal a fatal blow, usually killing the opponent. It's also used on casters for its powerful speed and chanelling debuffs or simply to deal physical damage which casters are weak against.

Control Skills
Lucky Scarab is the main control skill Venomancers have. The stun duration is short but the skill's cooldown is also fairly short so you can use it at frequent intervals. Lucky Scarab is the only magic attack skill that deals immediate damage; every other magic attack skill is projectile meaning the damage is delayed. It's a really useful skill so it should be leveled as soon as possible. Sage increases the stun duration. Demon decreases the skill's cooldown.

Although Parasitic Nova is one of the hardest hitting Venomancer skills, it is primarily used for its ability to immobilize and seal large groups of monsters or enemy players. It's not a priority in the early levels, but it should be leveled quickly when AOE situations become more frequent. Sage has a chance to consume one spark instead of two. Demon curses targets to take more damage, turning Parasitic Nova into a both control and debuff skill.

Stunning Blow is Fox Form's control skill and a high priority for melee Venomancers. It's not very reliable for Arcane Armor builds because of their low accuracy but the Primal upgrade makes the skill never miss. Sage has a chance to not consume chi. Demon has a chance to stun the target on top of immobilizing them.

This is the Primal upgrade of Malefic Crush. Although the skill was covered under attack skills, the upgrade changes it completely so it's worth mentioning it here, too. The upgrade decreases the chi cost, increases the cooldown, makes you immune to damage while casting and paralyzes the target while dealing damage and consuming mana. Sage increases the Paralyze chance. Demon increases the mana drain.

Bewitch is a PvP skill and is one of the best control skills in the game. It transforms the player into a animal depending on which version of Bewitch is used. This skill knocks players out of their transformation state (Barbarian Tiger Form, Venomancer Fox Form, Stormbringer Reaper Form etc.), it knocks people off flyers, it cannot be purified and it cannot be prevented by anything except complete immunity or status evasion skills. In PvE it acts as a normal seal.

Debuffs
Amplify Damage is one of the most important Venomancer skills and should be leveled as soon as possible. It makes everything die faster and it's the primary reason Venomancers are wanted in PvE squads. It's also a good debuff in PvP. Sage increases the debuff's power. Demon increases the debuff's power (less than Sage) and duration. This is a curse skill; if you use other curse skills Amplify Damage will be overwritten by the new curse.

Soul Degeneration is a nice skill to use on bosses that have a really high HP regeneration rate. However, if your or your squad's collective damage is strong enough, it's better to simply use Amplify Damage. It can be used in situations during which the squad is trying to regroup and nobody is hitting the boss. Preventing the boss from regenerating can save some time. It's an essential skill in Territory Wars as they can prevent the enemy towers or crystal from regenerating. In PvP the regeneration curse doesn't prevent players from using heals or potions, so Soul Degeneration is not used on players unless it's upgraded to Sage. Sage reduces target's maximum HP by 20%. Demon reduces target's evasion by half. This is a curse skill; if you use other curse skills Soul Degeneration will be overwritten by the new curse.

Crush Vigor is a PvP skill since monsters have no chi. It's a strong curse, especially on targets that are getting attacked by multiple players. Sage increases the amount of chi the target loses. Demon has a chance to give one spark, making this an essential chi building skill. This is a curse skill; if you use other curse skills Crush Vigor will be overwritten by the new curse.

Myriad Rainbow is instant and has strong debuffs so it's a good skill to use in both PvE and PvP, whenever chi allows you to. The human form one is single-target and ranged. The Fox Form one is short-ranged but AOE. It might apply one, multiple, all or no status effects.

Chi Burn drains a part of the target's chi instantly. Monsters have no chi, but in PvP this is one of the most important skills Venomancers have.

Fossilized Curse is Fox Form's magic attack, but it is usually used for its powerful debuffs. It makes any monster or player miss if they are using physical attacks. It can be used as a partial Purge as well because it removes their magic defense buff.

Ultimate Summoning is one of the Venomancer's best debuff skills. It has a long casting time and can be interrupted easily, so be mindful of your positioning when casting it. Ultimate Summoning has a five minute cooldown so try to pick the right targets and right moments to use it, such as when your squad has gathered a group of monsters or stunned a group of players. The skill's debuffs are performed by pets so if you cast it on an area where pets cannot be summoned, the skill will fail to debuff and it will only deal damage. You don't need to own any pets in order to use this skill; the pets are part of the skill itself. The first level of this skill only deals damage, so level it up as soon as you gather the required materials.

Survival Skills
Metabolic Boost heals a percentage of the Venomancer's HP. It cannot be used on other players; it's a self heal only. It should be leveled as soon as possible. Sage increases the percentage of HP healed. Demon decreases the cooldown.

Soul Transfusion swaps your HP with your MP. It works as percentages so a low amount of HP can translate into a lot of MP or vice versa. The skill doesn't require any chi to use, but it will consume up to 100 chi when used. Soul Transfusion works instantly so it is one of your most important survival skills. It essentially turns your MP bar into a secondary HP bar or vice versa.

Leech is a great skill for melee Venomancers and and useful skill to have during low levels or for botting (Auto-Cultivation). It becomes rather useless at endgame because it doesn't restore HP based on a percentage, but you can combine it with Consume Spirit to create Dark Taboo, which is a significant improvement.

Bramble Hood is an essential skill for a Venomancer's survival so learn it as soon as it's available. Bramble Hood can be purged so be mindful of when or where you use it; even some bosses in PvE have purging abilities. The reflect damage doesn't work in open world PvP, but it works in any instanced PvP.

It's a weaker version of Bramble Hood, but it costs less chi. It also has the perks of reflecting both melee and ranged physical damage and the reflect works in open world PvP.

Feral Concentration is one of the most important survival skills as it makes you completely immune to everything. You get stunned for its duration, but you can resist the stun using the Genie skill Fortify or other anti-stun skills before channeling Feral Concentration.

Utility Skills
Fox Form is one of the defining skills of a Venomancer. It gives you access to a separate set of skills and enables you to play as a melee instead of a caster. It is a transformation state so it cannot be purged, but it can be canceled by Bewitch. The boost in physical defense helps you survive against physical attacks. Sage version gives a bigger physical defense and accuracy boost. Demon versions increases your movement speed for a few seconds. By switching forms, Demon can maintain a constant speed increase. Fox Form can be further upgraded after completing a quest line at level 100. The upgraded Fox Form no longer decreases your mana. It also gives Sage chi whenever they switch forms and it gives Demon a buff that reduces the chance to receive Critical Hits.

This is what Venomancers are known for; purging the target's buffs. While other classes have access to purge effects, Venomancer is the only class to have a guaranteed one. It's mainly a PvP skill and purging a player's buffs instantly makes them easier to kill. However, there is a good amount of bosses that buff themselves and purging is essential. You won't need Purge during the early levels but make sure to level it up once you start running instances. Sage turns Purge into a short AOE. Demon decreases the skill's cooldown.

Bramble Guard is a buff you can give to yourself or other players. It reflects a part of the attacker's melee attacks back to them. It's not an important skill to have during the low levels, but level the skill up once you start running instances with squads. Give this buff to tank classes in particular; reflected damage generates aggro so it helps them keep a boss's attention. Other classes may not want to have this buff so it's best to ask them first. The reflect doesn't work in open world PvP.

Summer Sprint increases your speed as long as it's active. This skill makes Venomancers one of the fastest moving classes. Summer Sprint is instant and lasts for several minutes so it's essentially a permanent speed boost. Sage is a self purify. Demon grants a temporary immunity to stuns and movement debuffs.

Nature's Grace restores a percentage of your MP. This skill used in tandem with Soul Degeneration and Consume Spirit is one of the reasons Venomancers can keep fighting with no rest and without having to spend coins on potions. Sage restores a higher percentage of MP. Demon decreases the cooldown of the skill.

Lending Hand consumes 100 of your chi to pass them to your target. It's an important skill to have for when you are in squads. Sage version has a chance to not consume your chi. Demon has a chance to pass your target 200 chi instead of 100. Sage/Demon Lending Hand can be cast on yourself for a chance to gain an extra 100 chi.

Consume Spirit is useful during low levels or botting (Auto-Cultivation) to restore some mana, but it loses its usefulness once your mana pool grows bigger because it doesn't restore based on a percentage. You can later combine it with Leech to create Dark Taboo. Dark Taboo does not restore mana however.