Pestilent Strike

Pestilent StrikeAttack, Melee, Strike, AoE, Duration, Chaos
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (7-10) Mana
Attack Damage: (257-472)% of base
Effectiveness of Added Damage: (257-472)%Requires Level 28Attacks with your weapon, inflicting a debuff on enemies hit by the strike. If a debuffed enemy dies while poisoned, Pestilent Strike inflicts a secondary chaos damage over time debuff on enemies around them, based on the poisons on the slain enemy. This damage is not affected by your damage modifiers. Requires a Claw or Dagger.Base duration is 1.00 seconds
Base secondary duration is 1.00 seconds
60% of Physical Damage Converted to Chaos Damage
60% chance to Poison on Hit
30% more Poison Duration
Secondary Debuff deals 50% of the total remaining Expected Poison Damage of all Poisons on the dying Enemy per second as Chaos Damage

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
(1-20)% more Poison DurationPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.

Acquisition
Drop level: 28Metadata
Item class: Skill Gem
Metadata ID: Metadata/Items/Gems/SkillGemPestilentStrike

Pestilent Strike is a melee strike skill that deals chaos damage and applies poison. If the poisoned enemy dies while poisoned it will inflict other nearby enemies with another chaos damage over time debuff.

Skill functions and interactions

The base debuff radius is 2.7m.

Enemies killed while under the effect of Pestilent Strike’s signature debuff will leave no corpse. This can be useful for bypassing some monsters’ on-death effects. It does not prevent the poison spreading effect of Master Toxicist or Bino's Kitchen KnifeBino's Kitchen Knife
Slaughter KnifeRune Dagger
Physical Damage: (150-165) to (296-321)
Critical Strike Chance: (11.20-12.00)%
Attacks per Second: 1.40
Weapon Range: 1.0 metresRequires Level 65, 81 Dex, 117 Int30% increased Global Critical Strike ChanceAdds (140-155) to (210-235) Physical Damage
(40-50)% increased Critical Strike Chance
+(15-25)% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier
+(8-12)% to Chaos Resistance
On Killing a Poisoned Enemy, nearby Enemies are Poisoned
and nearby Allies Regenerate 200 Life per secondCalling it poison would imply
that it was even edible..

Multiple debuffs can be on the same monster, but only the highest damage debuff will cause damage at any given time.

The debuff requires an enemy to die with poison on it near the enemy you want the debuff on. For solo enemy fights, Vaal BreachVaal BreachSpell, Vaal
Level: 1
Souls Per Use: 100
Can Store 1 Use(s)
Soul Gain Prevention: 40 sec
Cast Time: 2.50 secRequires Level 10Creates a breach, making you vulnerable to its powerful inhabitants.Monsters from the Breach do not grant Experience or drop Items

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
(3-60)% increased Cast SpeedCorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. can spawn enemies to spread the debuff.

The debuff takes half of the poison damage left on the monster when it died and deals it incrementally over 1 second. The gem's advanced description specifies (The Expected Damage of Poison is its Damage per second multiplied by its Duration).

• Example - An enemy dies with 3 stacks of equivalent poison damage (A, B, C), with each stack having a remaining duration of 2 seconds, 4 seconds, and 6 seconds respectively. The debuff would then deal 0.5 * ((A * 2) + (B * 4) + (C * 6)). In this case, the debuff would be dealing 6x the DPS of a single stack of poison.

Damage Calculations

Scaling

Pestilent Strikes debuff can scale poison damage in unique ways that would not be beneficial to most other poison attacks. Some examples:

• Because all sources of poisons transfer on the debuff, spells, minions and even other players with poison, can help scale the damage.
• Poison duration will increase the damage per second of the debuff. The assassin ascendancy passive Noxious Strike with many poisons landed per second is the largest source of poison duration.

Gem level progression

Level				Mana Cost	Damage Effectiveness	Attack Damage	Exp.	Total Exp.
1	28	42	29	7	257.3%	257.3%	0	0
2	31	46	32	8	266.1%	266.1%	199345	199345
3	34	50	35	8	275.1%	275.1%	285815	485160
4	37	54	37	8	284.5%	284.5%	401344	886504
5	40	58	40	8	294.2%	294.2%	554379	1440883
6	42	60	42	8	303.6%	303.6%	477437	1918320
7	44	63	44	8	313.4%	313.4%	583786	2502106
8	46	66	46	8	323.5%	323.5%	710359	3212465
9	48	68	48	9	333.9%	333.9%	1355511	4567976
10	50	71	49	9	344.6%	344.6%	1138877	5706853
11	52	74	51	9	355.8%	355.8%	1368233	7075086
12	54	76	53	9	367.2%	367.2%	1638338	8713424
13	56	79	55	9	379%	379%	1956648	10670072
14	58	82	57	9	391.1%	391.1%	3655184	14325256
15	60	84	59	9	403.6%	403.6%	3017327	17342583
16	62	87	60	10	416.7%	416.7%	7759995	25102578
17	64	90	62	10	430%	430%	15138193	40240771
18	66	92	64	10	443.7%	443.7%	26083825	66324596
19	68	95	66	10	458%	458%	62620247	128944843
20	70	98	68	10	472.6%	472.6%	211708088	340652931
21	72	100	70	10	487.8%	487.8%	—	—
22	74	—	—	10	503.4%	503.4%	—	—
23	76	—	—	10	519.5%	519.5%	—	—
24	78	—	—	11	536.2%	536.2%	—	—
25	80	—	—	11	553.2%	553.2%	—	—
26	82	—	—	11	571%	571%	—	—
27	84	—	—	11	589.2%	589.2%	—	—
28	86	—	—	11	608%	608%	—	—
29	88	—	—	11	627.5%	627.5%	—	—
30	90	—	—	11	647.5%	647.5%	—	—
31	91	—	—	11	676.7%	676.7%	—	—
32	92	—	—	11	687.5%	687.5%	—	—
33	93	—	—	12	698.4%	698.4%	—	—
34	94	—	—	12	709.6%	709.6%	—	—
35	95	—	—	12	720.8%	720.8%	—	—
36	96	—	—	12	732.3%	732.3%	—	—
37	97	—	—	12	744%	744%	—	—
38	98	—	—	12	755.8%	755.8%	—	—
39	99	—	—	12	767.8%	767.8%	—	—
40	100	—	—	12	780.1%	780.1%	—	—

Item acquisition

Pestilent Strike can drop anywhere.

Recipes

Pestilent Strike can be created from the following recipes:

Amount	Part	Description	Meta
3	The Bitter BlossomThe Bitter Blossom3Level 21 Chaos Gem Quality: +23% CorruptedThe pain you feel is of no consequence, it is evolution, to be made whole within something greater.	Random corrupted level 21 Chaos gem with 23% quality	A
6	The FoxThe Fox6Level 20 Gem"Masters of wit, strength and cunning. To survive the harsh winters, you must be like the fox." - Ezomyte Proverb	Random level 20 gem	A
3	Gemcutter's PromiseGemcutter's Promise3Gem Quality: +20%"I swore to use my position to help the people. What good is power when it just accumulates on the already-powerful?" - Erasmus, Imperial Gemcutter	Random gem with 20% quality	A
1	Gemcutter's IncubatorGemcutter's IncubatorStack Size: 10Adds an incubated Quality Gem item to an equippable item Item drops after killing {0} monstersRight click this item then left click an item to apply it. The Incubated item drops after killing a specific number of monsters.	Random gem with 1–20% quality	A
1	The VoidThe Void1Reach into the Void and claim your prize.	Random divination card set exchange	A

Quest reward

This item is given as a quest reward for the following quests:

Class →	Witch	Shadow	Ranger	Duelist	Marauder	Templar	Scion
Quest ↓
Sever the Right Hand Act 3

Vendor reward

This item can be bought at the listed NPC vendors, after completing the following quests:

Class →	Witch	Shadow	Ranger	Duelist	Marauder	Templar	Scion
Quest ↓
A Fixture of Fate Act 3 Siosa
Sever the Right Hand Act 3 Clarissa
Fallen from Grace Act 6 Lilly Roth

Related helmet enchantments

The following helmet enchantments affect Pestilent Strike.

Note that helmet enchantments are no longer obtainable since version 3.23.0 and can only be obtained in permanent leagues as already enchanted items from before this patch.

Name		Labyrinth	Stats	Spawn Weighting
Enchantment Pestilent Strike Area Of Effect 1	66	Merciless Labyrinth	Pestilent Strike has 16% increased Area of Effect	helmet 100
Enchantment Pestilent Strike Area Of Effect 2	75	Eternal Labyrinth	Pestilent Strike has 24% increased Area of Effect	helmet 100
Enchantment Pestilent Strike Damage 1	66	Merciless Labyrinth	Pestilent Strike deals 25% increased Damage	helmet 100
Enchantment Pestilent Strike Damage 2	75	Eternal Labyrinth	Pestilent Strike deals 40% increased Damage	helmet 100
Enchantment Pestilent Strike Duration 1	66	Merciless Labyrinth	Pestilent Strike has 25% increased Duration	helmet 100
Enchantment Pestilent Strike Duration 2	75	Eternal Labyrinth	Pestilent Strike has 40% increased Duration	helmet 100

Version history

Version	Changes
3.25.0	No longer has Added Chaos Damage at all gem levels. It now has 257% Effectiveness of Base and Added Damage at gem level 1 (previously 125%), scaling up to 472% at gem level 20 (previously 160%). Now has a Mana cost of 7 at gem level 1, scaling up to 10 at gem level 20 (previously 6 at all gem levels).
3.23.0	Quality now provides 0-20% more Poison Duration, instead of +0-10% to Damage over Time Multiplier for Poison.
3.16.0	The following Skills no longer have “+0-2 to Melee Strike Range”: Dominating BlowDominating BlowAttack, Minion, Duration, Melee, Strike Level: (1-20) Cost: (7-10) Mana Attack Damage: (249-458)% of base Effectiveness of Added Damage: (249-458)%Requires Level 28Attacks enemies with a melee strike, applying a debuff for a short duration. If a non-unique enemy dies while affected by the debuff, the enemy's corpse will be consumed and a Sentinel of Dominance with the same rarity, prefix and suffix modifiers will be summoned for a longer secondary duration.Base duration is 1.00 seconds Base secondary duration is 20.00 seconds Maximum 9 Summoned Normal Sentinels of Dominance Maximum 3 Summoned Magic Sentinels of Dominance Maximum 1 Summoned Rare Sentinel of Dominance 25% Chance to Summon a Normal Sentinel of Dominance on Hitting a Unique Monster Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality: Minions have (2-40)% increased Cooldown Recovery RatePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., Double StrikeDouble StrikeAttack, Melee, Strike, Physical Level: (1-20) Cost: (7-13) Mana Attack Speed: 80% of base Attack Damage: (143-409)% of base Effectiveness of Added Damage: (143-409)%Performs two fast strikes with a melee weapon.25% chance to cause Bleeding Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality: (1-20)% chance to deal Double Damage to Bleeding EnemiesPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., Vaal Double StrikeVaal Double StrikeAttack, Melee, Strike, Duration, Vaal, Physical Level: (1-20) Souls Per Use: 30 Can Store 2 Use(s) Soul Gain Prevention: 8 sec Attack Damage: (40-101)% of base Effectiveness of Added Damage: (40-101)%Performs two fast strikes with a melee weapon, each of which summons a double of you for a duration to continuously attack monsters in this fashion.Base duration is 6.00 seconds Modifiers to Skill Effect Duration also apply to this Skill's Soul Gain Prevention Doubles have (0-57)% increased Movement Speed Can't be Evaded 25% chance to cause Bleeding Maximum 8 Summoned Doubles Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality: (1-20)% chance to deal Double Damage to Bleeding EnemiesCorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., Dual StrikeDual StrikeCritical, Attack, Melee, Strike Level: (1-20) Cost: (8-14) Mana Attack Speed: 70% of base Attack Damage: (155-442)% of base Effectiveness of Added Damage: (155-442)%Attacks with both weapons, dealing the damage of both in one strike. Dual wield only. Does not work with wands.100% more Critical Strike Chance against Enemies that are on Full Life 60% more Damage with Hits and Ailments against Enemies that are on Full Life Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality: +(1.5-30)% more Damage with Hits and Ailments against Enemies that are on Full LifePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., Elemental HitElemental HitAttack, Melee, Strike, Fire, Cold, Lightning, AoE, Prismatic Level: (1-20) Cost: (6-10) Mana AoE Radius: 10Requires Level 12Each attack with a melee weapon will choose an element at random, and will only be able to deal damage of that element. If the attack hits an enemy, it will deal damage in an area around them, with the radius being larger if that enemy is suffering from an ailment of the chosen element. It will avoid choosing the same element twice in a row.(21-609) to (40-1133) Added Cold Damage (26-748) to (49-1389) Added Fire Damage (4-118) to (80-2287) Added Lightning Damage Only Deals Damage of the chosen Element Deals no Damage of other Damage Types (30-49)% chance to Freeze, Shock and Ignite Base radius is 1 metre 80% more Area Radius against Enemies affected by an Ailment of the chosen Element 10% more Damage for each type of Elemental Ailment on the Enemy Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality: +(0.25-5)% more Damage for each type of Elemental Ailment on the EnemyPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., FrenzyFrenzyAttack, Projectile, Bow Level: (1-20) Cost: (7-10) Mana Attack Damage: (115-135)% of base Effectiveness of Added Damage: (115-135)%Requires Level 16Performs an attack with a ranged weapon that gives the character a frenzy charge if it hits. Frenzy charges increase your attack speed.5% more Attack Damage per Frenzy Charge 5% more Attack Speed per Frenzy Charge Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality: +(0.1-2)% more Attack Damage per Frenzy Charge +(0.1-2)% more Attack Speed per Frenzy ChargePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., Infernal BlowInfernal BlowAttack, AoE, Melee, Strike, Fire, Duration Level: (1-20) Cost: (6-10) Mana Attack Damage: (164-377)% of base Effectiveness of Added Damage: (164-377)% AoE Radius: 15Requires Level 12Attacks with your weapon, applying a charged debuff to enemies hit by your strike, and an uncharged debuff to any other enemies hit. Upon reaching 6 charges, expiring, or the enemy's death, the charged debuff is removed to damage that and other surrounding enemies. Enemies with either debuff explode when they die, damaging other surrounding enemies. Damage from this explosion cannot be reflected. Requires a Sword, Axe, Mace, Sceptre, Staff or Unarmed.Base duration is 0.80 seconds Explosion deals base Fire Damage equal to 6% of the corpse's Maximum Life 60% of Physical Damage Converted to Fire Damage Base radius is 2.4 metres Base explosion radius is 1.8 metres Debuff deals 66% of Damage per Charge Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality: Debuff deals +(0.5-10)% of Damage per ChargePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., Pestilent Strike, PuncturePunctureAttack, Projectile, Duration, Physical, Bow Level: (1-20) Cost: (8-14) Mana Attack Speed: 70% of base Attack Damage: (168-205)% of base Effectiveness of Added Damage: (168-205)%Requires Level 4Punctures enemies with your Bow, causing a bleeding debuff, which will be affected by modifiers to skill duration.Base duration is 8.00 seconds (30-49)% more Damage with Bleeding Causes Bleeding Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality: +(1-20)% more Damage with BleedingPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., Glacial Shield SwipeGlacial Shield SwipeAttack, AoE, Cold, Physical, Retaliation, Melee Level: (1-20) Cost: (7-11) Mana Cooldown Time: 3.50 sec Can Store 1 Use(s) Attack Time: 0.70 sec Critical Strike Chance: 5.00%Requires Level 16Retaliate against a blocked hit with a sweep of your Shield, unleashing a wave of ice in a cone in front of you.(78-607) to (117-911) Base Off Hand Physical Damage (17-29) to (25-43) Added Physical Damage per 15 Armour or Evasion Rating on Shield Cannot be used by default Becomes Usable once for 2 seconds when you Block a Hit Always Freezes enemies 100% of Physical Damage Converted to Cold Damage Can't be Evaded 50% less Damage with Ailments Base radius is 8 metres Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality: (1-20)% increased Cooldown Recovery RatePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., Static StrikeStatic StrikeAttack, Melee, Strike, AoE, Duration, Lightning, Chaining Level: (1-20) Cost: (6-10) Mana Attack Damage: (150-346)% of base Effectiveness of Added Damage: (150-346)% AoE Radius: 19Requires Level 12Attack with a melee weapon, gaining static energy for a duration if you hit an enemy. While you have static energy, you'll frequently hit a number of nearby enemies with beams, dealing attack damage.50% of Physical Damage Converted to Lightning Damage Base duration is 3.00 seconds Beams Hit Enemies every (0.40-0.32) seconds Chains +1 Times Beams deal 40% less Damage (4-6) maximum Beam Targets Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality: (1-20)% increased Beam frequencyPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., SmiteSmiteLightning, Attack, AoE, Duration, Melee, Strike, Aura Level: (1-20) Cost: (7-12) Mana Attack Speed: 85% of base Attack Damage: (225-488)% of base Effectiveness of Added Damage: (225-488)%Performs a melee attack, and causes lightning to strike a nearby enemy, dealing damage in an area. Each target can only be hit once by this skill. Hitting an enemy grants an aura for a duration. Requires a Sword, Axe, Mace, Sceptre, Staff or Unarmed.50% of Physical Damage Converted to Lightning Damage Base duration is 4.00 seconds (30-20)% less Area Damage Base radius is (1.5-2.1) metres Base Aura radius is (3.6-4.2) metres Lightning strikes 1 target within 5 metres Aura grants (1-12) to (4-220) added Lightning Damage Aura grants (10-19)% chance to Shock Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality: -(0.5-10)% less Area DamagePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., Viper StrikeViper StrikeAttack, Duration, Melee, Strike, Chaos Level: (1-20) Cost: (6-10) Mana Attack Damage: (155-442)% of base Effectiveness of Added Damage: (155-442)%Hits enemies, converting some of your physical damage to chaos damage and inflicting poison which will be affected by modifiers to skill duration. If dual wielding, will strike with both weapons. Requires a claw, dagger or sword.30% less Attack Speed if Dual Wielding Each Weapon Hits separately if Dual Wielding, dealing 20% less Damage Base duration is 4.00 seconds 60% of Physical Damage Converted to Chaos Damage 60% chance to Poison on Hit Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality: Base duration is (0.05-1) secondsPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., and Wild StrikeWild StrikeAttack, Melee, Strike, Lightning, Cold, Fire, Projectile, AoE, Chaining, Prismatic Level: (1-20) Cost: (7-10) Mana Attack Damage: (219-403)% of base Effectiveness of Added Damage: (219-403)% Projectile Speed: 1800Requires Level 28Your melee weapon strikes enemies, converting physical damage to a random element. Then, depending on the element chosen, it releases a fiery explosion, an arcing bolt of lightning, or an icy wave. It will avoid choosing the same element twice in a row.Projectiles Pierce all Targets Beams Chain (4-7) Times Fires 3 Projectiles (0-19)% increased Area of Effect 100% of Physical Damage Converted to Fire, Cold or Lightning Damage Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality: (1-20)% chance to Freeze, Shock and IgnitePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket..
3.13.0	Now converts 60% of physical damage to chaos damage (from 50%).
3.12.0	Now has alternative gem quality.
3.9.0	Now gains additional Melee range as the gem levels, up to +2 at gem level 20.
3.8.0	Pestilent Strike has been added to the game.