Poison 101. A lesson from The Master.

Dearest Deputies.

The Master has received several complaints lately. Mostly from goblins. Something about being dissolved. I will not be taking questions about that.

What I WILL address is this: too many of you are using Poison wrong. And frankly, it is an insult to the art! Not Gobbo, though. His latest build was inmaculate, even though it seems to have gotten him into trouble.

View store page Want to achieve his levels of venomous awesomeness? Sit down, relax, and try to resist the toxic fumes while The Master tells you all about it.

Lesson One: What is Poison?

Poison works in stacks. Think of each stack as one drop of venom seeping into your enemy's bloodstream. Unpleasant for them... But delightful for you!

Every second, Poison deals 10 damage for every stack on the enemy. So:

• 5 stacks = 50 damage per second

• 10 stacks = 100 damage per second

• 20 stacks = 200 damage per second

You are not shooting them so much as you are committing to a slow, satisfying inevitability. The Master respects this.

Lesson Two: The Catch

(Oh for — yes there is a catch. Pay attention.)

After every tick, Poison burns off its own stacks. At least 25% of them, gone. The more stacks on an enemy, the faster they decay.

This means big stacks hit HARD up front, then taper off. So what do you do?

You keep shooting. You keep reapplying. You do not stand around admiring your work like some kind of amateur.

Lesson Three: The Bullets

The Master recommends starting here, in order of ascending sophistication:

Poison Tipped Bullet — 4 stacks per shot. Reliable. Humble. A solid foundation. Even you cannot mess this up.

Concentrated Poison — 8 stacks in a single shot. Twice the venom, half the effort. The Master approves.

Noxious Contaminator — Does not apply poison directly. Instead, it secretly loads your next bullet with bonus stacks before it fires. Sneaky. Underhanded. Frankly impressive.

Noxious Fumigator — Lower stacks per shot, but hits every enemy in the room simultaneously. The goblins have filed complaints specifically about this one. The Master is unmoved.

Lesson Four: The Build

(For those of you that still aren't convinced.)

Start here. This works. You do not need luck. You do not need perfect RNG. You just need to follow The Master's instructions for once in your life and get a hold of these beauties:

Poison Tipped Bullet — your main shot, every room, no exceptions.

Concentrated Poison — fire this first, then follow up with Poison Tipped to keep the stacks topped up.

Rattlesnake (relic) — every time you inflict Poison, you get a free bonus stack. It adds up. Fast.

That is it. That is the whole lesson. And The Master did not even charge you for it!

Lesson Five: Advanced Wisdom

There are many more bullets and relics in the crypt for a perfect poison build: the most daring deputies might even want to try combining poison with a bonus shot effect for maximum damage. Or maybe powering up poison-less bullets (I'm looking at you, Slayer) and kick the strategy up a notch. Build your magazine. Experiment with it. And if you get killed, remember that's always YOUR fault, not the Master's.

Now go. Prove to The Master you have the skills to pay his bills.

(And whatever you find in the crypt, do NOT ask where the goblins went. Some things are better left undissolved. Undiscussed. You know what I mean.)

— The Master (The gun slinging, deep thinking, root beer drinking, feet stinking. The one. The only.)

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