HERO / GET TO KNOW THEM

Venomancer

Abilities, roles and builds with an explanation for every purchase.

VALVE · 7.41fChecked 06.10.2026Game data source ↗

HERO GAME PLAN

Ruslan Ukrainskyi· OOPS DOTA

What I want to do in the game

I control areas of the map with wards and pressure with sustained damage without exposing myself.

Venomancer brings slow death to his enemies. Sprouting an endless army of toxin-spitting watchers to defend his territory, should foes draw near he can release a massive cloud of lingering poison to weaken enemies.

Abilities at hand

01 / ROLE IN THE TEAM

A pick is not a plan yet.

My recommendation is a starting point. We choose another position together with the team and for its needs.

Support · position 4

Initial recommendation

I contribute through laning, control and movement. I adapt the expensive core route to my budget.

Offlane · position 3

My resource is the team's space: I hold the lane and build for initiation or team protection.

MY VIEW OF THE HERO

Pick for a purpose. Play with a plan.

When I pick

This suits holding space and sustained damage when the team needs to make enemy movement through an area difficult.

What I watch out for

Dispels and quick enemy recovery can shorten the pressure. Poison alone will not always stop return focus or finish a target immediately.

What I do in combat

I place wards for information and to restrict approaches. I do not walk in to check a spot that a controlled unit can reveal first.

What I check first

Poison does not always finish a target quickly: the team needs a disable or direct damage to secure the kill.

02 / ITEMS FOR A PURPOSE

What I buy and why.

This is an editorial starting plan based on hero mechanics. It is not presented as a match I have already tested or a popularity ranking.

Support · position 4

My starting plan

Here is my initial plan: I do my role's job first, then choose the items the team needs. I adapt the order and expensive purchases to the opponent.

01 / First stepArcane Boots
Provide mana for laning and regular ability use.
02 / FoundationSpirit Vessel
Improves focus fire against heroes who rely on healing and regeneration; you need charges and a chance to use it.
03 / FoundationForce Staff
Moves me or an ally out of danger; direction depends on the target's facing.
04 / Next choicePipe of Insight
Provides team protection against substantial magical damage.
05 / Next choiceAghanim's Scepter
Unlocks or upgrades Noxious Plague. The exact effects are shown below in the abilities section.

What I change for the situation 3 options

Glimmer Cape ↗

Adds a protective tool and hides the chosen ally; invisibility does not replace escaping detection.

Guardian Greaves ↗

Combine mana and health sustain for the team; useful in prolonged fights together.

Lotus Orb ↗

Lets me remove an eligible negative effect and complicates the opponent's targeted focus.

I see the minute on the clock. And the situation too.

I do not assign one ‘correct’ minute to every purchase. I look at my gold, the next fight and the problem: am I missing mana, target access, control or protection? If an expensive slot will arrive too late, I get a useful answer earlier.

03 / HERO ABILITIES

Abilities. As in the game.

Original Valve icons and descriptions. Cooldowns and mana are shown by level from the data snapshot; talents and upgrades can change the values.

Ability

Venomous Gale

Launches 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.

↻ 21 / 20 / 19 / 18 sec.Mana 95 / 105 / 115 / 125

Details and upgrades

Aghanim’s Shard

Increases cast range and projectile speed by 25%. Creates 2 plague wards around each enemy hero hit by the projectile.

Ability

Snakebite

Venomancer 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.

↻ 20 / 18 / 16 / 14 sec.Mana 70 / 80 / 90 / 100

Ability

Plague Ward

Summons 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.

↻ 5 sec.Mana 24 / 26 / 28 / 30

Ability

Noxious Plague

Infects an enemy, dealing initial damage, then slowing it and dealing damage over time based on the target’s maximum health.

↻ 100 / 90 / 80 sec.Mana 200 / 250 / 300

Details and upgrades

Infects 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.

Aghanim’s Scepter

Reduces cooldown by 35 sec. The infection reduces victims’ magic resistance and always deals initial damage when spreading from heroes.

Innates, upgrades and other forms1 ability +

These abilities are not necessarily available at the same time. I check the condition beside the name: innate ability, another form or an Aghanim purchase.

Innate

Poison Sting

Venomancer's attacks slow enemies and deal damage over time.

Full description and upgrades

Venomancer's attacks slow enemies and deal damage over time.

Aghanim’s Shard

When applying Poison Sting, deals additional base attack damage for each effect from Venomancer or a unit he controls on the target.

Mechanics note: some upgrade numbers are missing from the source; I check the exact values in the client.

Valve base stats +

Health · base: 538
Mana · base: 303
Damage · Valve field: 18–21
Armour · Valve field: 4.17
Movement speed: 280
Attack range: 450
Strength · base / gain: 19 / 2.1
Agility · base / gain: 25 / 2.8
Intelligence · base / gain: 19 / 1.9

These are fields from the official source. The hero's final values in the client account for attributes and other active mechanics.

KEEP EXPLORING

One hero. Many decisions.

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