Shadow Strike Poison Tiel
TielTiel played as his poison archetype rather than against it. Every weapon and Tarstone in the loadout exists to pile Poison stacks onto the target as fast as possible, then Shadow Strike detonates the whole pile from behind for a single hit that can clear 5,000 damage. Shadow Clone and Lasting Legacy keep you in shadow long enough to rebuild the stacks between detonations, so the loop restarts almost immediately.
Damage
Upwards of 5,000 damage per Shadow Strike. 6 damage per detonated Poison stack, +120% crit damage, 150% from behind
Survivability
Stealth and repositioning rather than mitigation. Shadow Clone soaks up to 5 strikes and poisons attackers
Boss
Melts boss health bars in single detonations. Backstab windows on large bosses are the limiting factor
Tiel
Tiel is the agile shell, built for dashing and quick strikes rather than trading blows. He generates Shadow, a resource that briefly hides him and sets up a heavy Shadow Strike from stealth. His Shadow Dash grants extra Shadow and inflicts stagger damage when timed just before an enemy connects.
The melee half of the build and the weapon that does the stacking. Fast light attack strings mean more Poison applications per opening, and because the Serpent Stone infusion is permanent at max rank every one of those hits carries Poison for free. Duality Stone doubles the light combo on top of that, so a single string applies far more than the animation suggests.
How to Obtain
The ranged half, and the reason poison is already ticking before you close the distance. Hag Stone keeps it permanently Poison infused and the Corroded Stone adds a thirty second damage over time on anything it hits, so a single opening bolt keeps contributing stacks through the entire melee exchange that follows.
How to Obtain
Combat Strategy
- ▸Get both infusions to Level 4 before anything else. Serpent Stone on the Axe and Dagger and Hag Stone on the Forgotten Crossbow both become permanent at max rank, which removes all Resolve upkeep from the build's core mechanic.
- ▸Confirm Escalation is at three tiers. Level 3 is what makes Shadow Strike itself apply 10 Poison stacks, turning the detonation into a partial refill rather than a reset.
- ▸Approach from an angle that lets you finish behind the target. Ambush is a large multiplier and it only pays out on strikes from behind.
- ▸Open at range with the Forgotten Crossbow. The Hag Stone infusion applies Poison on contact and the Corroded Stone starts a thirty second damage over time tick before you have closed the gap.
- ▸Close and run Axe and Dagger light strings. Duality Stone makes the light combo strike twice, so the Serpent Stone infusion applies at double the expected rate.
- ▸Shadow Dash through the target to leave a Shadow Clone behind. It poisons anything that hits it and buys you shadow time that Shadow Stalk converts into damage.
- ▸Keep stacking before you detonate. The single hit is worth more the longer you wait, so resist using Shadow Strike the moment it is available.
- ▸Watch your time in shadow. Shadow Stalk adds 4 damage to Shadow Strike for every half second Shadowed at three tiers, which rewards patience directly.
- ▸Detonate with Shadow Strike from behind. Poison Burst deals 6 damage per detonated stack and leaves a poisonous cloud on the target that starts rebuilding immediately.
- ▸Spend 100 Resolve on Magdalena's Memento when the target is committed. The flurry applies Weak stacks and carries +100% Critical Damage at max rank, and every strike in it is Poison infused.
- ▸Expect some backstabs to fail. The creator flags the from-behind hitboxes as inconsistent, and Tiel's Shadow Strike lunge can carry him past the target and drop the Ambush bonus entirely.
- ▸Compensate by starting the lunge closer than feels correct. Overshooting is the failure mode, not falling short.
- ▸Treat the sidearm ability stones as adjustable. Barrage, Hag and Corroded are what the creator found stacked poison fastest, but he is explicit that this trio is where you deviate to suit your own play.
- ▸Use Seal Affinity's failed guard payout deliberately. A failed Guard, Parry or Harden still returns 3 Shadow stacks, so a botched defensive input feeds the next Shadow Strike instead of wasting the window.
Sources
Verified: 2026-09-09 · All content is original with full credit to original creators.