Venomancer · Soft Support (pos. 4)
Venomancer Guide
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This guide is assembled by the site from match data and the game's own information — nobody wrote it by hand. Official and community guides appear alongside it when they exist.
Overview
Venomancer is a ranged Universal hero that Valve tags as Support, Nuker and Disabler. It is played mainly as Soft Support (pos. 4): 56% of the public matches we measured, by starting lane and starting items. In this guide you play it as Soft Support (pos. 4): your job is to help your offlaner win the hard lane, rotate for kills and make space with your spells. Its ultimate is Noxious Plague. This patch, Venomancer wins 47.5% of the 241,972 public matches we measured (C tier on our ladder).
Strengths
- Takes towers quickly: Valve lists it as a Pusher.
- Heavy magical burst: Valve lists it as a Nuker.
- Clear job in the team: help your offlaner win the hard lane, rotate for kills and make space with your spells.
Weaknesses
- No escape in the kit: without good positioning and vision, Venomancer is easy to catch.
- Low base armor (0): vulnerable to physical harass early on.
- Plays on little gold: expensive items arrive late.
Build cheat sheet
Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.
- Most-played buildBalancedRecommendedThe items most bought with this hero, phase by phase. Pick it when you don't have a clear reason to deviate. Built from what Venomancer players buy in the public matches we measured.
- Damage buildOffensiveAdvancedMoves the popular items that add damage — Orchid Malevolence and Maelstrom — to the front. Choose it when your lane went well and you can afford to be greedy. Built from what Venomancer players buy in the public matches we measured.
Builds
Most-played build
When to use it
The items most bought with this hero, phase by phase. Pick it when you don't have a clear reason to deviate. Built from what Venomancer players buy in the public matches we measured.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
244%147%- OfflaneMain47% of matchesOff lane next to your offlaner, as Soft Support (pos. 4).
- Safe lanePriority 244% of matchesSafe lane next to your carry, as Hard Support (pos. 5).
Starting items
Early game
Core items
- 1Spirit Vessel
- 2Glimmer Cape
- 3Mekansm
- 4Force Staff
Boots
Late game
Skill order
Max order:Plague Ward›Venomous Gale›Snakebite
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
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Talents by level
- 2.5x Plague Ward HP/DamageSnakebite Undispellable25
- +100 Snakebite Initial Damage-2s Plague Ward Cooldown20
- +75 Noxious Plague Spread Radius+10% Poison Sting Slow15
- -5s Venomous Gale CD15% Poison Sting Health Regen Reduction10
Damage build
When to use it
Moves the popular items that add damage — Orchid Malevolence and Maelstrom — to the front. Choose it when your lane went well and you can afford to be greedy. Built from what Venomancer players buy in the public matches we measured.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
244%147%- OfflaneMain47% of matchesOff lane next to your offlaner, as Soft Support (pos. 4).
- Safe lanePriority 244% of matchesSafe lane next to your carry, as Hard Support (pos. 5).
Starting items
Core items
- 1Orchid Malevolence+35 Attack Speed, +20 Damage, +2.5 Mana Regeneration. Active: Soul Burn.
- 2Maelstrom+25 Damage, +25 Attack Speed.
- 3Witch Blade+40 Attack Speed, +12 Intelligence, +1.5 Mana Regeneration.
- 4Specialist's Array+15 Agility, +20 Damage.
Boots
Late game
Skill order
Max order:Plague Ward›Venomous Gale›Snakebite
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | ● | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| · | ● | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
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Talents by level
- 2.5x Plague Ward HP/DamageSnakebite Undispellable25
- +100 Snakebite Initial Damage-2s Plague Ward Cooldown20
- +75 Noxious Plague Spread Radius+10% Poison Sting Slow15
- -5s Venomous Gale CD15% Poison Sting Health Regen Reduction10
Abilities
- Venomous Gale21 / 20 / 19 / 18s95 / 105 / 115 / 125 mpLaunches a ball of venom in a line, poisoning enemy units so that they take both initial damage and damage over time, as well as suffering slowed movement. Venomous Gale deals damage every 3 seconds over its duration.
- Duration
- 15
- Initial damage
- 25·50·75·100
- Damage per tick
- 10·40·70·100
- Slow
- -35%·-40%·-45%·-50%
- Projectile speed
- 1200
- Snakebite20 / 18 / 16 / 14s70 / 80 / 90 / 100 mpVenomancer summons a Spawn of Aktok to sink its fangs into a target, dealing magic damage and applying a toxin that does damage every second. When the target attacks while infected, they take the initial damage again.
- Initial damage
- 40·70·100·130
- Damage per second
- 10·20·30·40
- Duration
- 6
- Plague Ward5s24 / 26 / 28 / 30 mpSummons a plague ward to attack enemy units and structures. The ward is immune to magic. Wards gain the Poison Sting level from Venomancer, dealing 50% of the full damage.
- Duration
- 40
- Ward hp
- 150·250·350·450
- Ward damage
- 16·24·32·40
Poison StingPassiveVenomancer's attacks slow enemies and deal damage over time.- Duration
- 4.5
- Damage per second
- 9
- Movement slow
- 8%
- Noxious Plague100 / 90 / 80s200 / 250 / 300 mpInfects an enemy with a plague that does damage on application then slows the target and deals damage over time based on their maximum health. When the debuff ends for any reason, all debuffs from Venomancer on the initial target and the plague are spread to nearby targets. Additional spreads beyond the first do not deal impact damage.
- Duration
- 4
- Initial damage
- 150·200·250
- Max health damage
- 2%·3%·4%
- Slow
- 50%
- Spread radius
- 700
- Spread count
- 2
Most played skill order
The most played order in the last 45 professional matches with this hero. Highlighted levels are the points spent on talents.
Max order:Plague Ward›Venomous Gale›Snakebite
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | ● | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| · | ● | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | ● | ● | · | · |
| · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | ● |
Strategy
1Early game
Position 4 starts in the off lane with your offlaner: harass the enemy carry, block or pull their camp when it helps and look for the first rotation to mid once the runes spawn. Harass when the enemy core walks up to last hit: every hit you land is gold your carry keeps.
- Early items: Urn of Shadows and Bracer.
2Mid game
Rotate to the lanes where you can get kills, smoke with your cores to catch heroes out of position and keep vision around the next objective. Your spikes are level 6, when Noxious Plague comes online, and your core items: Spirit Vessel and then Glimmer Cape.
- Core items: Spirit Vessel, Glimmer Cape and Mekansm.
3Late game
Late, your death costs little gold but your spells are worth a lot: stay behind the team, keep your save items ready and ward before the fight, not during it.
- Late items: Aghanim's Scepter and Blink Dagger.
4Team fights
Stay behind your cores, keep your mana for the key moment and protect whoever the enemy dives. Use Noxious Plague where it hits the most enemies or catches the key target.
Tips
- Buy and place wards every time they are available: vision is your first job.
- Your key purchases are Spirit Vessel and Glimmer Cape: they give your team the saves it needs.
- Plan fights around Noxious Plague: without it, Venomancer is far less threatening.
- Before each fight, check which key abilities the enemy has available.
Matchups
Strong against
- Tusk62.7%win rate in the matchup
Venomancer wins 62.7% of the 126 games measured against Tusk this patch.
126 matches
- Jakiro57.7%win rate in the matchup
Venomancer wins 57.7% of the 123 games measured against Jakiro this patch.
123 matches
- Tidehunter53.6%win rate in the matchup
Venomancer wins 53.6% of the 110 games measured against Tidehunter this patch.
110 matches
- Pangolier50.9%win rate in the matchup
Venomancer wins 50.9% of the 108 games measured against Pangolier this patch.
108 matches
- Disruptor50.5%win rate in the matchup
Venomancer wins 50.5% of the 109 games measured against Disruptor this patch.
109 matches
Weak against
- Queen of Pain45.3%win rate in the matchup
Venomancer only wins 45.3% of the 106 games measured against Queen of Pain this patch.
106 matches
- Hoodwink47.3%win rate in the matchup
Venomancer only wins 47.3% of the 112 games measured against Hoodwink this patch.
112 matches
- Rubick49.1%win rate in the matchup
Venomancer only wins 49.1% of the 169 games measured against Rubick this patch.
169 matches
Works well with
Firesnap Cookie from Snapfire gives Venomancer, who has no crowd control, a target that can't dodge.
Pit of Malice from Underlord gives Venomancer, who has no crowd control, a target that can't dodge.
Slithereen Crush from Slardar gives Venomancer, who has no crowd control, a target that can't dodge.
Changelog
- Guide created for patch 7.41.
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