Dota 2

Venomancer

Universal ranged hero, often played as a support, nuker or initiator.

Venomancer
Universal

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Full history

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Reworked in 7.41

Reworked in 7.41 Mar 2026

Venomancer changed enough that old habits may not hold. The kit further down is how Venomancer plays now.

  • ◆
    Snakebite New Basic Ability
  • ◆
    Noxious Plague Ability reworked
  • ◆
    Poison Sting Now an innate ability
  • ▼
    Noxious Plague No longer has AoE effect, now affects only the host
  • ◆
    Noxious Plague Now when the plague spreads, it also carries all debuffs placed by Venomancer

3 buffs and 1 nerf since the rework: trending stronger.

Biggest ability changes

  • ▲
    Snakebite Initial Damage increased from 40/60/80/100 to 40/70/100/130adjusted 2 times across 2 patches, net buff
  • ▼
    Poison Sting Movement Slow decreased from 10% to 8%

Base stats

  • ▲
    Intelligence gain increased from 1.8 to 1.9
  • ▲
    Damage gain per level increased from 3.0 to 3.1
Talents changed
  • ◆
    Lv15 talent Poison Sting Slow increased from +7% to +10%
  • ◆
    Lv20 talent +40% Snakebite Damage replaced with +100 Snakebite Initial Damage

Most recent change patch 7.41e, Jul 2026

  • ▲
    Snakebite Initial Damage increased from 40/60/80/100 to 40/70/100/130
Current abilities
  • Venomous GaleLaunches 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.
  • SnakebiteVenomancer 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.
  • Plague WardSummons 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.
  • Poison Sting innateVenomancer's attacks slow enemies and deal damage over time.
  • Noxious PlagueInfects 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.

What players buy on Venomancer

Starting items

Early game

Mid game

Late game

Most bought first, from item purchases in recent professional matches (OpenDota, Nov 2026). Public games can differ.

Every Venomancer change, patch by patch

All 172 changes Valve listed for Venomancer since patch 7.06e, newest first. Reworked in 7.41 (Mar 2026). Noxious Plague reworked in 7.33. Last changed in 7.41e (Jul 2026).

Patch 7.41e

  • ▲
    Snakebite Initial Damage increased from 40/60/80/100 to 40/70/100/130

Patch 7.41d

  • ▲
    Base stats Intelligence gain increased from 1.8 to 1.9
  • ▲
    Base stats Damage gain per level increased from 3.0 to 3.1

Patch 7.41c

  • ▼
    Poison Sting Movement Slow decreased from 10% to 8%
  • ◆
    Snakebite Damage per second rescaled from 20/25/30/35 to 10/20/30/40
  • ▲
    Lv15 talent Level 15 Talent Poison Sting Slow increased from +7% to +10%
  • ◆
    Lv20 talent Level 20 Talent +40% Snakebite Damage replaced with +100 Snakebite Initial Damage

Patch 7.41 Hero rework

  • ◆
    Removed Septic Shock innate ability
  • ◆
    Poison Sting Now an innate ability
  • ◆
    Poison Sting Imbues Venomancer's attack with poison, which deals damage per second equal to 9 + 1 per level and slows movement by 10%. Duration: 4.5s + 0.5s per level
  • ◆
    Venomous Gale Aghanim's Shard upgrade reworked
  • ◆
    Venomous Gale Increases cast range and projectile speed by 25%. Creates 2 Plague Wards around every enemy hero hit
  • ◆
    Snakebite New Basic Ability
  • ◆
    Snakebite Venomancer summons a Spawn of Aktok to sink its fangs into an enemy, dealing 40/60/80/100 magic damage and applying a deadly toxin which does 20/25/30/35 magical damage per second for 6 seconds. When the target attacks, they take the initial magic damage again. Cast Range: 600. Mana Cost: 70/80/90/100. Cooldown: 20/18/16/14s
  • ◆
    Noxious Plague Ability reworked
  • ▼
    Noxious Plague No longer has AoE effect, now affects only the host
  • ◆
    Noxious Plague Now when the plague spreads, it also carries all debuffs placed by Venomancer
  • ◆
    Noxious Plague Doesn't stack. Applying plague to an already plague-infected unit will deal projectile damage again, but won't affect the remaining debuff duration. Duration of carried debuffs is fixed and cannot be altered with Status Resistance or Debuff Amplification
  • ▲
    Noxious Plague Mana Cost decreased from 200/300/400 to 200/250/300
  • ▼
    Noxious Plague Duration decreased from 5s to 4s
  • ▼
    Noxious Plague Initial Damage decreased from 200/300/400 to 150/200/250
  • ◆
    Noxious Plague Initial Damage is now non-lethal
  • ◆
    Noxious Plague Now spreads a second time, but all spreads after the first one deal no initial damage
  • ▼
    Noxious Plague Spread Radius decreased from 800 to 700
  • ▼
    Noxious Plague Max HP as damage decreased from 3/4/5% to 2/3/4%
  • ◆
    Noxious Plague Now upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter
  • ◆
    Noxious Plague Decreases cooldown by 35s. Reduces Magic Resistance of affected units by 20% and allows additional spreads to deal initial damage
  • ▲
    Lv15 talent Level 15 Talent Poison Sting Slow increased from +5% to +7%
  • ◆
    Lv15 talent Level 15 Talent -1s Plague Ward Cooldown replaced with +75 Noxious Plague Spread Radius
  • ◆
    Lv20 talent Level 20 Talent +50 Base Damage replaced with -2s Plague Ward Cooldown
  • ◆
    Lv20 talent Level 20 Talent +1% Noxious Plague Max HP Damage replaced with +40% Snakebite Damage (applies to both initial damage and damage per second)
  • ◆
    Lv25 talent Level 25 Talent Noxious Plague Aura reduces 200 Attack Speed replaced with Snakebite Undispellable

Patch 7.40

  • ◆
    Facet Plague Wards created by Venomous Gale have 75% health and damage
  • ▼
    Septic Shock: Base Damage per Debuff decreased from 10% to 8%

Patch 7.39e

  • ▲
    Base stats Base agility increased from 24 to 25
  • ▲
    Base stats Damage at level 1 increased by 1 (from 45–48 to 46–49)
  • ▲
    Plague Ward Ward damage increased from 14/22/30/38 to 16/24/32/40

Patch 7.39

  • ◆
    Facet Septic Shock: Allows Plague Wards to deal Septic Shock damage based on their damage
  • ◆
    Facet When Venomous Gale impacts enemy heroes, 2 Plague Wards are created around them based on the current level of Plague Ward
  • ▼
    Aghanim's upgrade Septic Shock: Aghanim's Scepter no longer gives Plague Wards the ability to deal Septic Shock damage (moved to Plague Carrier facet)
  • ▲
    Aghanim's upgrade Septic Shock: Aghanim's Scepter Base Damage per debuff increased from 20% to 25%
  • ▲
    Plague Ward Ward HP increased from 120/230/340/450 to 150/250/350/450
  • ◆
    Plague Ward Gold Bounty rescaled from 15/17/19/21 to 10/14/18/22
  • ◆
    Lv20 talent Level 20 Talent Gale Creates Plague Wards replaced with +50 Base Damage

Patch 7.38b

  • ▼
    Venomous Gale Slow decreased from 50% to 35/40/45/50%

Patch 7.38

  • ▲
    Base stats Base Damage increased by 21
  • ▲
    Base stats Damage at level 1 increased by 5 (from 40-43 to 45-48)
  • ▲
    Base stats Strength gain increased from 2.0 to 2.1
  • ▲
    Base stats Agility gain increased from 2.0 to 2.8
  • ▲
    Base stats Intelligence gain increased from 1.4 to 1.8
  • ▼
    Base stats Damage gain per level decreased from +3.8 to +3
  • ▼
    Base stats Damage at level 30 decreased by 27 (from 179-182 to 152-155)

Patch 7.37e

  • ▲
    Facet Ward Health from Carrier's Max Health increased from 1/1.5/2/2.5% to 1.5/2/2.5/3%

Patch 7.37d

  • ▲
    Noxious Plague Minimum Movement Slow increased from 0% to 15%

Patch 7.37b

  • ◆
    Septic Shock: Now counts one debuff per unique ability/item (e.g. Shiva's Guard will count as 1 debuff instead of 3)

Patch 7.37

  • ▼
    Base stats Base Damage decreased by 2
  • ◆
    Septic Shock: New Innate ability. Passive, can't be leveled up
  • ◆
    Venomancer's attacks deal extra magical damage based on how many debuffs the attack target has. Only counts debuffs from Venomancer and his Plague Wards. Base Damage per debuff: 10%
  • ◆
    Aghanim's upgrade Septic Shock: Can be upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter. Increases Septic Shock base damage per debuff from 10% to 20%. Plague Wards also deal Septic Shock damage based on their attack damage
  • ▲
    Facet When attached to a carrier, ward health is now also increased by 1/1.5/2/2.5% of the carrier's max health
  • ▼
    Poison Sting No longer an innate ability
  • ◆
    Poison Sting Aghanim's Scepter upgrade removed
  • ◆
    Poison Sting Duration rescaled from 3/6/9/12/15s to 6/9/12/15s
  • ◆
    Poison Sting Damage per second rescaled from 2/6/14/22/30 to 8/16/24/32
  • ◆
    Poison Sting Slow rescaled from 3/6/9/12/15% to 8/10/12/14%
  • ▼
    Plague Ward Mana Cost increased from 21/24/27/30 to 24/26/28/30

Patch 7.36b

  • ◆
    Facet Wards attached to allies now yield 20% of the gold bounty
  • ◆
    Facet Now has 3 charges
  • ▼
    Noxious Plague Max HP as Damage decreased from 4/5/6% to 3/4/5%

Patch 7.36

  • ◆
    Latent Toxicity ability removed
  • ◆
    Poison Nova ability removed
  • ◆
    Poison Sting Now is an Innate ability. Passive, can be leveled up with skill points
  • ◆
    Poison Sting Movement Slow rescaled from 8/10/12/14% to 3/6/9/12/15%
  • ◆
    Poison Sting Damage per second rescaled from 8/16/24/32 to 2/6/14/22/30
  • ◆
    Poison Sting Duration rescaled from 6/9/12/15s to 3/6/9/12/15s
  • ◆
    Poison Sting Now upgraded by Aghanim's Scepter. Venomancer's Attacks deal 15% damage of his base damage per each of his debuffs on the target
  • ▼
    Facet The plague spreads 2 times, but the initial damage for all spreads after the first one is reduced by 100%
  • ◆
    Facet Can be cast on allies, attaching a ward onto them. While attached, wards are untargetable and die one at a time whenever the unit they are attached onto receives 100/150/200/250 damage. Wards attack the same target their attached unit is attacking
  • ◆
    Facet Dealing more damage may kill multiple wards at the same time
  • ▼
    Venomous Gale Impact Damage decreased from 50/75/100/125 to 25/50/75/100
  • ▼
    Venomous Gale Damage per tick decreased from 15/45/75/105 to 10/40/70/100
  • ◆
    Venomous Gale Now upgraded with Aghanim's Shard
  • ◆
    Venomous Gale If Venomous Gale is dispelled from an enemy, they take 300 damage and are stunned for 1.6s
  • ◆
    Venomous Gale Doesn't pierce Debuff Immunity
  • ◆
    Noxious Plague If an enemy already infected with the plague gets hit again, no impact damage is done and the debuff duration is refreshed
  • ▼
    Lv15 talent Level 15 Talent Poison Sting Slow decreased from +6% to +5%
  • ▼
    Lv20 talent Level 20 Talent Noxious Plague Max HP Damage decreased from +1.5% to +1%

Patch 7.35

  • ◆
    Plague Ward Ward Damage rescaled from 13/22/31/40 to 14/22/30/38
  • ▲
    Noxious Plague Initial Damage increased from 150/250/350 to 200/300/400
  • ▲
    Noxious Plague Cooldown decreased from 120/100/80s to 100/90/80s
  • ▼
    Lv15 talent Level 15 Talent Poison Sting Slow decreased from +8% to +6%

Patch 7.34

  • ▼
    Lv10 talent Level 10 Talent Poison Sting Health Regen Reduction decreased from 20% to 15%

Patch 7.33d

  • ▼
    Noxious Plague Initial Damage decreased from 200/300/400 to 150/250/350

Patch 7.33c

  • ▼
    Base stats Base Damage decreased by 10 (Level 1 damage decreased by 4)

Patch 7.33b

  • ▼
    Noxious Plague Max HP as Damage decreased from 5/6/7% to 4/5/6%
  • ▼
    Poison Nova Magic Resist Reduction decreased from 30% to 20%

Patch 7.33 Noxious Plague reworked

  • ◆
    Now is a Universal Hero
  • ▼
    Base stats Base Damage decreased from 22-25 to 9-12
  • ▼
    Base stats Strength gain decreased from 2.1 to 2.0
  • ▼
    Base stats Agility gain decreased from 2.8 to 2.0
  • ▼
    Base stats Intelligence gain decreased from 1.8 to 1.4
  • ◆
    Base stats Damage on level 1 unchanged (46-49)
  • ▲
    Base stats Damage gain per level increased from +2.8 to +3.24
  • ◆
    Aghanim's upgrade Poison Nova Now a passive ability granted by Aghanim's Scepter
  • ▼
    Poison Nova: Creates a ring of poison upon death of Venomancer or an enemy hero infected with Venomous Gale. Also triggers if Venomous Gale is dispelled from an enemy hero. Enemies hit by the Poison Nova take non-lethal damage over time and have their magic resistance reduced. Radius: 900. Duration: 10s. Max HP as Damage: 3%. Magic Resistance Reduction: 30%. Travel Speed: 550. Cooldown: 10s
  • ▼
    Latent Toxicity Dispel Stun Duration decreased from 2s to 1.6s
  • ▼
    Duration decreased as a part of the comprehensive Disables Reduction
  • ◆
    Noxious Plague New ultimate ability
  • ◆
    Noxious Plague Infects an enemy with a deadly plague that does an initial burst of damage and additional damage over time based on the unit's maximum health. Enemies in a radius around the target are slowed, with values decreasing the farther you are from the affected enemy. When the target dies or the debuff expires/is absorbed, all nearby enemies are infected with a noncommunicable version of the plague. Duration: 5s. Initial Damage: 200/300/400. Max HP as Damage: 5/6/7%. Debuff Radius: 800. Max Slow: 50%. Projectile Speed: 1200. Cooldown: 120/100/80s. Mana Cost: 200/300/400
  • ◆
    Lv20 talent Level 20 Talent +5s Poison Nova Duration replaced with +1.5% Noxious Plague Max HP as Damage
  • ◆
    Lv25 talent Level 25 Talent Poison Nova reduces 100 Attack Speed replaced with Noxious Plague Aura reduces 200 Attack Speed

Patch 7.32c

  • ▲
    Venomous Gale Mana Cost decreased from 125 to 95/105/115/125
  • ▲
    Latent Toxicity Cast Range increased from 600 to 800
  • ▲
    Latent Toxicity Projectile Speed increased from 1200 to 1800

Patch 7.32

  • ▼
    Plague Ward Mana Cost increased from 20/22/24/26 to 21/24/27/30
  • ◆
    Aghanim's upgrade Latent Toxicity Reworked Shard. Grants new ability: Latent Toxicity. Applies a weak poison that slows by 10% and deals 20 damage per second to its target for 7 seconds. If this poison is dispelled in any way, the target will receive 300 damage and be stunned for 2s. Mana Cost: 75. Cooldown: 20s. Range: 600. Cast point: 0.2s. Projectile speed: 1200
  • ◆
    Lv10 talent Level 10 Talent +175 Health replaced with +20% Poison Sting Health Regen Reduction
  • ▲
    Lv10 talent Level 10 Talent Venomous Gale Cooldown Reduction decreased from 6s to 5s
  • ◆
    Lv15 talent Level 15 Talent 12% Lifesteal replaced with -1s Plague Ward Cooldown
  • ◆
    Lv20 talent Level 20 Talent -1.5s Plague Ward Cooldown replaced with Gale Creates 2 Plague Wards

Patch 7.31

  • ▲
    Base stats Base attack damage increased by 4
  • ◆
    Poison Nova Radius rescaled from 885 to 850/900/950
  • ▲
    Poison Nova Travel Speed increased from 500 to 550
  • ▼
    Poison Sting No longer deals damage on the same tick it applies the debuff
  • ▲
    Poison Sting Damage per second increased from 6/14/22/30 to 8/16/24/32. (Total damage rescaled from 36/126/264/450 to 40/128/264/448)
  • ◆
    Lv25 talent Level 25 Talent +640 Poison Nova AoE replaced with Poison Nova reduces 100 attack speed

Patch 7.30c

  • ▼
    Lv25 talent Level 25 Talent 2.6x Plague ward HP/Damage reduced to 2.5x
  • ▼
    Base stats Agility Gain reduced from 3.0 to 2.8

Patch 7.30

  • ▼
    Base stats Agility reduced from 26 + 3.2 to 24 + 3.0
  • ◆
    Poison Nova damage rescaled from 40/65/90 to 20/30/40 + 2/2.75/3.5% Max Health in damage
  • ◆
    Aghanim's upgrade Poison Nova Scepter damage rescaled from 75/100/125 to 20/30/40 + 3/3.75/4.5% Max Health in damage per second
  • ◆
    Lv10 talent Level 10 Talent +100 Attack Range replaced with +175 Health

Patch 7.29

  • ▲
    Base stats Base damage increased from 42-44 to 44-47
  • ▲
    Poison Nova radius increased from 575 to 630
  • ▲
    Poison Nova duration increased from 18 to 20
  • ▼
    Poison Sting Slow reduced from 9/11/13/15% to 8/10/12/14%
  • ◆
    Lv10 talent Level 10 Talent changed from +15s Plague Ward Duration to +100 Attack Range
  • ◆
    Lv15 talent Level 15 Talent changed from +100 Attack Range to +12% Spell Lifesteal
  • ▼
    Lv15 talent Level 15 Talent reduced from -10% Poison Sting Slow to -8%
  • ◆
    Lv20 talent Level 20 Talent changed from +12% Spell Lifesteal to -1.5s Plague Wards Cooldown

Patch 7.27d

  • ▲
    Plague Ward Manacost increased from 20 to 20/22/24/26
  • ▲
    Plague Ward Gold bounty increased from 14-17 to 15/17/19/21
  • ▼
    Poison Sting Damage reduced from 8/16/24/32 to 6/14/22/30
  • ▼
    Poison Sting Slow reduced from 11/13/15/17% to 9/11/13/15%

Patch 7.27b

  • ▲
    Base stats Base movement speed increased from 275 to 280
  • ▲
    Aghanim's upgrade Poison Nova scepter cooldown reduced from 140/120/60 to 100/80/60 (non-scepter is 140/120/100)
  • ▲
    Poison Sting Damage increased from 6/12/18/24 to 8/16/24/32
  • ▼
    Poison Sting No longer reduces hp regen
  • ▲
    Plague Ward health increased from 75/200/325/450 to 120/230/340/450
  • ▲
    Lv10 talent Level 10 Talent increased from +12s Plague Ward Duration to +15s

Patch 7.24

  • ◆
    Lv10 talent Level 10 Talent changed from +90 Gold/Min to +15s Plague Wards Duration

Patch 7.23c

  • ▼
    Poison Sting Regen reduction reduced from 30% to 15/20/25/30%
  • ▼
    Poison Sting Damage reduced from 6/14/22/30 to 6/12/18/24

Patch 7.22g

  • ▲
    Plague Ward Base attack time improved from 1.5 to 1.4
  • ▼
    Venomous Gale Interval damage increased from 10/40/70/100 to 15/45/75/105

Patch 7.22

  • ▲
    Base stats Base intelligence increased by 2
  • ▲
    Base stats Base attack speed increased from 100 to 115
  • ▲
    Lv15 talent Level 15 Talent increased from +8% Poison Sting Slow to +12%

Patch 7.21d

  • ▲
    Aghanim's upgrade Poison Nova scepter damage increased from 60/85/110 to 75/100/125

Patch 7.21

  • ▲
    Base stats Strength gain increased from 1.9 to 2.1

Patch 7.20e

  • ▲
    Poison Nova damage increased from 30/55/80 to 40/65/90

Patch 7.20c

  • ▲
    Base stats Base agility increased by 4
  • ▲
    Lv15 talent Level 15 Talent increased from +6% Poison Sting Slow to +8%

Patch 7.20b

  • ◆
    Poison Sting Slow from 11/12/13/14% to 11/13/15/17%

Patch 7.20

  • ▲
    Plague Ward collision size increased
  • ◆
    Lv15 talent Level 15 Talent changed from +200 Cast Range to Gale Hero Impact Summons 2 Wards
  • ◆
    Lv20 talent Level 20 Talent changed from Gale Hero Impact Summons 2 Wards to +15% Spell Lifesteal

Patch 7.14

  • ▲
    Poison Nova duration increased from 16 to 18 seconds

Patch 7.10

  • ▲
    Lv15 talent Level 15 Talent increased from +150 Cast Range to +200
  • ▲
    Lv20 talent Level 20 Talent increased from +6s Poison Nova Duration to +7s
  • ▲
    Lv25 talent Level 25 Talent increased from +600 Poison Nova AoE to +800

Patch 7.06e

  • ▼
    Base stats Strength gain reduced from 2.15 to 1.9