Poisonous Concoction
Pathfinder build

Updated for Patch 3.19

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Poisonous Concoction is a new type of Unarmed/Thrown Attack that was initially introduced in Patch 3.15. The previous ones weren't really that popular and were considered to be badly underperforming, but the Poisonous Concoction looks completely different. It's a skill that adds base Chaos Damage by consuming charges from Life Flask and deals increased Poison Damage. The skill itself requires you to wear no main-hand weapon, but in return, rewards you with massive DPS, that can be easily scaled by increases to the maximum number of Projectiles, and bonuses to Poison/Chaos/DoT damage. 

When looking at the skill's base attributes, you notice Flask Charges and Poison damage - which are both what Pathfinder excels in, making it the truly best character class for this build. On top of increasing your Flask Charge recovery, Poison DPS, you get a lot of defensive utility from various sources, that make it a very tanky and durable build which includes:

1. Approximately 70% Spell Suppression chance that reduces your incoming Spell Damage significantly
2. Very high Evasion Rating which should allow you to avoid around 70% of incoming Attacks
3. 100% Flask uptime with incredibly quick recovery on Life Flask
4. Additional Ward from Vorana's Preparation that also debilitates enemies, reducing their damage by 10% and causing them to move 20% slower
5. Easily capped Chaos Resistance
6. Ghost Dance quickly generates a moderate amount of Energy Shield to mitigate some of the incoming damage

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

1. Gameplay

This feels like a typical Ranged build that instead of firing projectiles from your Bow, makes you throw acidic flasks that apply potent Poison/DoT effects on impact. Unlike projectiles, Flasks don't deal any damage (or hit enemies) while mid-air, so you won't benefit from Pierce/Chain or Fork. This playstyle resembles grenadiers, which is completely new to Path of Exile. On the other hand, you benefit from amazing mobility, good clear speed, and solid single-target DPS that Ranger characters usually offer. With Pathfinder's Ascendancy, and multiple defensive mechanics this build has to offer, you can easily jump into the middle of monster packs, face-tank end-game Bosses, and smoothly progress through content, making it a very well-balanced and enjoyable character build.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Leveling up with Poison/Ranger is easy, however, it's not advised to do so using Poisonous Concoction. You will be unable to sustain enough Life Flask charges to benefit from the extra damage added, and you will not have enough extra Projectiles, making this build feel very weak initially. It's recommended to use a Claw and Cobra Lash, which offers decent DPS and extra chain, allowing you to level up your character quicker. Personally, I have respected at around level 60 after completing the third Lab and having allocated Replenishing Remedies and Nature's Boon Passives. You can start using Concoction in act 4 after gaining Greater Projectile Support Gem. Below you can find some basic leveling Skill Gem setups and several very useful Uniques for this build. 

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Cobra Lash setup
	Cobra Lash - an amazing leveling Chaos/Poison Skill that offers extra Chain, increasing your clear speed by a lot
	Lesser Multiple Projectiles Support - increases the number of your Cobra Lash's projectiles
	Lesser Poison Support - adds extra Chaos Damage to Attacks and increases your chance to Poison on Hit
	Void Manipulation Support - increases Chaos Damage dealt with by supported skills
	Vicious Projectiles Support - increases Caustic Arrow's Damage over Time

Utility Gems
	Herald of Agony - Herald Skill which increases your Chance to Poison and Poison Damage
	Malevolence - the best Aura for this build which greatly increases your Damage over Time
	Flame Dash - a great mobility Spell that allows you to progress faster or avoid incoming damage
	Withering Step - grants you the Elusive buff and applies Withered to enemies, increasing Chaos Damage they take
	Despair - the best Curse for this build. Later on, it's applied by Witchfire Brew, but during the campaign, you may want to cast the Curse manually against Bosses for extra damage

Bandits:

We recommend killing all the Bandits for two additional Passive Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

34 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Heart of Oak 2) Poisonous Fangs 3) Toxic Strikes 4) Swift Venoms 5) Acuity

65 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Fatal Toxins 2) Clever Thief 3) Revenge of the Hunted 4) Entropy 5) Ballistics

Recommended leveling items:

Le Heup of All - one of the best leveling Rings for this build. At least one of these is recommended so that you don't have to worry about Attributes and Resistances

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

Mortem Morsu - a very powerful Unique Claw that is available early on in the campaign. It has a high base DPS and an increased chance to inflict poison. The Life Gain on Hit will simply make you instantly replenish your Life as well

+20 Life gained for each Enemy hit by Attacks (75-100)% increased Physical Damage 20% increased Attack Speed 25% increased Critical Strike Chance +40% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier (10-20)% of Physical Damage Converted to Chaos Damage 25% reduced Enemy Stun Threshold with this Weapon 60% chance to Poison on Hit

Snakebite - There are some ways in which you can get Frenzy Charges (Poacher's Mark, Blood Rage, Mark Mastery). If you're able to do so, equip these Gloves for much more Damage.

(150-180)% increased Evasion Rating +(60-70) to maximum Life 2% increased Attack Speed per Frenzy Charge 6% increased Accuracy Rating per Frenzy Charge 10% reduced Frenzy Charge Duration per Frenzy Charge Attacks have 60% chance to Poison while at maximum Frenzy Charges +5% to Damage over Time Multiplier for Poison per Frenzy Charge

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

113 Points Final Skill Tree (Doesn't include Passives from Cluster Jewel(s))
120 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

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

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Solaris: 6% additional Physical Damage Reduction while there is only one nearby Enemy; 20% chance to take 50% less Area Damage from Hits

Minor God: Soul of Ryslatha: Life Flasks gain 3 Charges every 3 seconds if you haven't used a Life Flask Recently

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Poisonous Concoction
	Poisonous Concoction - the primary Attack in this build. In this setup, it will throw an incredible amount of Projectiles and will have its' damage further amplified by Life Flasks with nearly endless Charges
	Unbound Ailments Support - greatly increases your damage with ailments which are the main source of your damage
	Greater Multiple Projectiles Support - increases the number of Poisonous Concoction projectiles, which is one of the best ways to scale this skill's DPS
	Greater Volley Support - once again you get to increase the number of your maximum projectiles, but also they appear to be thrown in a more concentrated manner, allowing you to apply more poison stacks on a single enemy
	Void Manipulation Support - increases Chaos Damage significantly, but makes the linked skill unable to deal Elemental Damage
	Vicious Projectiles Support - boots Chaos Damage over Time from linked Projectile Skills (along with other less relevant bonuses)

[UTILITY] Utility Gems
	Ancestral Protector - summons a Totem that will boost your Attack Speed when active
	Steelskin - the best Guard Spell for this build which creates a protective shield that absorbs some of the incoming damage
	Withering Step - grants you the Elusive buff for a duration and applies Withered stacks to enemies in the radius
	Enhance Support - boosts the Quality and effect of all linked Gems in this setup

[UTILITY] Flame Dash
	Flame Dash - the recommended Movement Skill for this build. It lets you progress faster through areas and avoid incoming damage
	Second Wind Support - adds extra charges to your Flame Dash Skill

[UTILITY] Auras (Socketed in Shield with increased Reservation Efficiency)
	Malevolence - the best DPS Aura for DoT builds which greatly increases your damage output and opens up various options on Watcher's Eye Jewel
	Grace - increases your Evasion Rating significantly, which is one of your core defensive mechanics
	Herald of Agony - increases your Chance to Poison enemies, and the damage you deal with it

[UTILITY] Plague Bearer
	Plague Bearer - allows you to store some of the Poison Damage dealt to gain stacks when Incubating. You can unleash the stored damage and deal it around your character, quickly killing regular enemies in the radius. The Divergent version can also increase your DPS while infecting
	Increased Area of Effect - optional support Gem which boosts the radius of Plague Bearer

[UTILITY] Wither Spell Totems
	Wither - a Spell that applies Withered debuff to enemies, which increases the Chaos Damage they take from other sources
	Spell Totem Support - allows you to summon Totems that will cast WIther at the enemies for you
	Multiple Totems Support - lets you spawn additional Totems so that you can apply WIthered faster, but also use Ancestral Protector at the same time
	Increased Duration Support - increases the Duration of your Totems and the WIthered debuff they apply

5. Gear Setup

Below you will find the recommended equipment for our Poisonous Concoction Pathfinder Build. While this build is very flexible and doesn't require any specific Uniques to work, you will be able to benefit fully from all its features only with several inexpensive Items listed below. Overall, this is a medium-budget build that could be played as a League Starter as well, however, we have not tested it in such a form so we would rather not evaluate its' capabilities in this guide. If you yourself try that out, please let us know in the comments how it worked for you!

Using this opportunity, we would like to invite you to check our POE Currency market where you can buy cheap Orbs including Exalted Orbs, Chaos Orbs, and more, from other players using real money. 

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - the best possible option for this build. You can get high defensive stats here and reduce the Chaos Resistance of enemies. It's important to pick one with Evasion if you allocated Spell Suppression Mastery as we recommended earlier

Min. requirements: 80 Maximum Life 90% Total Elemental Resistances 400 Accuracy Rating Evasion Rating Optional affixes: Nearby enemies have -#% to Chaos Resistance increased Stun and Block Recovery

(Helmet) The Devouring Diadem - You would use this Helmet if you struggle with Mana Regeneration and Mana Reservation Efficiency, two very common issues with this build. It's not good for anything else.

+1 to Level of Socketed Gems Socketed Gems have 25% increased Reservation Efficiency Trigger Level 15 Feast of Flesh every 5 seconds (180-220)% increased Energy Shield 10% chance for Energy Shield Recharge to start when you use a Skill Eldritch Battery Veiled Suffix

Helmet enchantment: Plague Bearer Buff grants +20% to Poison Damage over Time Multiplier while Infecting Poisonous Concoction enchantments

(Body Armour) Carcass Jack - a very solid and inexpensive Armour for this build. It grants extra Life, Resistances, and a lot of bonuses to AoE Damage that you are going to deal

(120-150)% increased Evasion and Energy Shield +(50-70) to maximum Life +(9-12)% to all Elemental Resistances (40-50)% increased Area of Effect (40-50)% increased Area Damage Extra gore

(Body Armour) The Covenant - One of the best Armours for more DPS, the 7th Support Gem for more Chaos Damage is extremely good, but your Skills now cost Life too requiring Life Leech to counter this effect.

Socketed Gems are Supported by Level 29 Added Chaos Damage Skills gain a Base Life Cost equal to 100% of Base Mana Cost +(20-30) to Intelligence (210-250)% increased Energy Shield 10% increased maximum Life

(Body Armour) Rare Armour - when it comes to raw defensive capabilities, a Rare piece with high bonus Life and possibly extra ES based on Maximum Life will be the best-in-slot

Min. requirements: 100 Maximum Life 10% increased Maximum Life 70% Total Resistances Optional affixes: You can apply an additional Curse Spell Suppression Chance Evasion Rating

(Shield) Rare Shield - you need high defensive stats and a 30% increased Mana Reservation Efficiency on your Shield. It's best to pick one with Evasion, but that's not mandatory

Min. requirements: 100 Maximum Life Socketed Gems have 30% increased Reservation Efficiency 50% Total Resistances Optional affixes: Attributes Chance to Suppress Spell Damage Accuracy Rating

(Boots) Rare Boots - basically for extra Movement Speed and defensive stats. You could also look for Onslaught if you can afford such a pair

Min. requirements: 30% Movement Speed 60 Maximum Life 60% Total Elemental Resistances Evasion Rating Optional affixes: chance to gain Onslaught for 4 seconds on Kill Attributes Spell Suppression

(Boots) Atziri's Step - a solid and inexpensive pair that grants extra Spell Suppression chance with Life and Movement speed bonuses

180% increased Evasion Rating +(55-75) to maximum Life 30% increased Movement Speed +(20–26)% chance to Suppress Spell Damage

Boot enchantment: 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've Killed Recently 80% chance to Avoid being Stunned if you've Killed Recently

(Belt) Rare Belt - preferably a Stygian Vise for an extra Abyssal Socket and high defensive stats

Min. requirements: 90 Maximum Life 70% Total Elemental Resistances 40 Strength Optional affixes: increased Maximum Life Increased Damage/Chaos Damage #% Chance for Flasks you use to not consume Charges

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - you are looking for a Life/Chaos DoT Multi Amulet. There are plenty of other stats you can find here, so just look for stuff that you are missing

Min. requirements: 50 Maximum Life 16% Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier 40 Intelligence Optional affixes: Attributes +1 to Level of all Skill / Chaos Skill Gems Accuracy Rating Elemental Resistances Chaos Damage

Recommended Anointments: Sovereignty (Mana management, Auras) Heart of Darkness/Corruption (DPS)

(Ring) Rare Rings - aim to fix all your Resistances and Attributes needs here, as well as provide extra Life. Bonus Attack Speed, Accuracy Rating, or Despair Curse on Hit can be useful as well

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 90% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Attributes Non-Channelling Skills have -# to Total Mana Cost Curse Enemies with Despair on Hit, with #% increased Effect Accuracy Rating

(Ring) Circle of Nostalgia - grants additional bonuses when you are affected by the Herald of Agony. Look for an increased Chaos Damage bonus and Herald's buff effect on this Ring

<One to three random Synthesis implicit modifiers> +(10-20) to all Attributes Adds (15-20) to (21-30) Chaos Damage +(17-23)% to Chaos Resistance <Two Random Herald of Agony modifiers>

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - for extra defensive stats and Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier bonus. Again, aim to get a base with an Evasion Rating

Min. requirements: 50 Maximum Life 15% Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier Evasion Rating Optional affixes: Attributes Elemental Resistances Attack Speed Damage while Leeching/Damage During any Flask effect

(Gloves) Asenath's Gentle Touch - Use it if you're able to apply more than one Curse via Whispers of Doom or a Rare Body Armour. It upgrades your clear speed and Blinds enemies for more survivability.

+(20-30) to Intelligence +(60-80) to maximum Life +(60-80) to maximum Mana Curse Enemies with Temporal Chains on Hit, with 40% increased Effect Non-Aura Curses you inflict are not removed from Dying Enemies Enemies near corpses affected by your Curses are Blinded Enemies Killed near corpses affected by your Curses explode, dealing 3% of their Life as Physical Damage

(Jewel) Abyssal Jewels - you are most likely going to use a Stygian Vise, so you will be able to use an extra Abyss Jewel. It's best to look for one with bonus Life and missing Attributes or Resistances

Min. requirements: 35 Maximum Life Missing Attributes/Resistances Optional affixes: Damage if you've Killed Recently

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - on regular Jewels you want extra Life and Chaos DoT Multiplier. You can also get some Resistances and Attributes here as well

Min. requirements: 6% Maximum Life +#% to Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier Optional affixes: Attributes Elemental Resistances

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - you should use one Large Cluster Jewel with at Least the Touch of Cruelty Passive that significantly boosts your damage

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Touch of Cruelty 1 Added Passive Skill is Unholy Grace 1 Added Passive Skill is Wicked Pall

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - one of the best Jewels in the game, which is used by the majority of builds that use any Aura. You want Watcher's Eye with Malevolence modifiers - preferably Damage over Time Multiplier on it

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers>

(Jewel) Replica Conqueror's Efficiency - reduces the base Mana cost of your Skills, decreasing the chance of running out of Mana

4% increased Skill Effect Duration +5 to Maximum Rage Non-Channelling Skills have -9 to Total Mana Cost

(Jewel) The Siege - you can use Kineticism to Maim and Knock back enemies on Hit, reducing their Movement Speed and pushing them back for your own safety

Adds Kineticism

(Flask) Vorana's Preparation - generates Ward when used, and applies to Debilitate to enemies when the Effect ends, reducing the damage of nearby enemies

Restores Ward on use (-10 to 10)% increased Charges used Debilitate nearby Enemies for 2 Seconds when Flask Effect ends Flask Effect is removed when Ward Breaks Culling Strike during Flask Effect

(Flask) Witchfire Brew - grants increased Damage over Time and Despair Aura, which is an easy way to apply your main Curse in this 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 - use this flask for extra Chaos Resistance and life leech during its effect

+35% to Chaos Resistance 2% of Chaos Damage Leeched as Life during Flask effect Gain (5-8)% of Physical Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect Gain (5-8)% of Elemental Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect

Other suggested Flasks: Divine Life Flask with increased amount recovered and Bleed removal Enduring Mana Flask of the Monkey for increased Accuracy Quicksilver or Silver Flask of Heat for Freeze removal Jade Flask with a random Ailment Removal Quartz Flask with a random Ailment Removal

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.