Overall, a good and thoughtful guide. I'll just add in my own experience playing as a /Poison MM who works primarily in groups. As far as I've seen, the effects of Envenom do not stack - though I believe the effects of Weaken do.
The only other thing I'd disagree with you about is Antidote, which is actually rather handy in groups, especially if you're going up against highly mez-capable enemies such as Freakshow or Rikti. It has a very long duration - throw it on the whole team before the fight and it usually lasts all the way through, a good preemptive measure to keep people from getting held. Like all such powers, it's also good for breaking status effects already on your temmates.
Iscariot's Guide to the Tri-Form Warshade, version 2.1
I'm sorry that math > your paranoid delusions, but them's the breaks -- Nethergoat
P.E.R.C. Rep for Liberty server
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As far as I've seen, the effects of Envenom do not stack - though I believe the effects of Weaken do.
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Correct. Like Benumb from the /Cold Domination Corruptor set this power wrecks AV's/Heros/Elite Bosses/etc and is very good in PvP.
Especially handy against Controllers, Fear users, and Energy Melee.
Interesting. I'll check it out and alter the guide accordingly.
Looks like neurotoxic breath is pretty similar to shiver then?
I'll point out that the 'choke' on Neurotoxic Breath does seem to be a hold. It's a random chance so not always reliable but I have held bosses at least briefly by stacking Paralytic Poison and Neurotoxic Breath. Doesn't last long as a hold but I have seen it happen.
It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination.
Nice guide. I rolled a Necro/Poison MM (Only L15 at the moment) out of sheer concept, and with the slow attack rate and high hitpoints of my zombies, this set feels like it meshes very well. Defense debuffs are a godsend for zombies, as they've got crap for attack speed, but the damage makes up for it. Defense is the crippling factor for zombies, as if they miss... it's quite a while before they get another whack. Poison makes a nice patch for the slow attack speed, by ensuring the chance that they'll land that attack when it comes around.
I'm playing Ninja/Poison right now, and I was wondering if you thought Antidote would be worth getting for them. They don't have any hold, etc. protection, so it doesn't look like it would be that bad a power. What do you think?
Wrath smash good.
Great guide! Just got NB and can't wait to use it. Had high hopes for the poison trap, but eh, sounds pretty bad. And I'm sure the 38 power comes into its own. Sounds like a great debuff. And I loves me some debuffs!
Two comments. First, Alkaloid really demands a couple endurance reduction enhancements. It is a very greedy heal, and you're going to run dry in a big hurry if you're having to prop up your minions/teammates. I don't think even Stamina will do much to compensate. As good as they are, all the Poison powers really need some endurance reduction.
Also, Neurotoxic Breath's slow effect is extremely handy against those AVs that love to run around a lot. Movement speed debuffs are normally of questionable value, but against immob-resistant foes and riding along with a substantial slow effect, it's a very useful component. I'd personally suggest grabbing it much sooner.
Other than that, pretty much spot on. Highly underrated set in my opinion. It's absolutely brutal to be able to debuff literally every aspect of a foe's arsenal.
Arc #41077 - The Men of State
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Has anyone had good experiences with Poison Trap? It just sounded really, really useful. Hope it's one of the powers that comes into its own eventually, or is buffed by devs, etc. The rest of the set is very solid.
Oh, and I grabbed NT Breath early and I'm not regretting it. It could use 2 acc DOs, but that'll be soon. Very very useful so far with only 1 acc TO in it. I've always been a big fan of flows.
Very good guide. I myself have a level 38 Ninja/Poison MM and have all the poison powers cept antidote and poison mine.
I rarely see my ninja being held and if they are it is usually the genin. If I see one asleep I just use Alkaloid to wakwe him up. (Something I didn't even know heals could do till I made this toon.) I doi team quite a bit but I usually team w/ a /kin corrupter so he has that cvered 
While I do have Noxious Gas I have only been in a rather large team doing my missions on Ruthless so the few times I did use it, it was so hetic that I couldn't pay attnetion to the numbers. Hopefully soon I will be able to.
Also an added note for other Ninja Poison mms, Noxious Gas, like the Smoke Flash Power in Ninja, "triggers" the Hide power that the Jounin gain from the Kuji in Zen upgrade.
Also, I love how I can use my Paralytic Poison and my Oni's Char to hold Bossees and Elite Bosses (at least until both our end floors).
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Michel Frosts Guide to /Poison
9) Noxious Gas: As far as a final power goes, gas is disappointing. This power is an AoE click targeting a minion that will release a 10 radius cloud that debuffs Acc, Dam, Def, and Res, while carrying a small chance to cause a brief hold. The downsides are: 1) If you dont have pets that engage in melee, it is unlikely that you will have the opportunity to use this power. So robo/merc MMs will get very little play out of this, unless you want to send a minion into the midst of your foes. 2) Its expensive, about a quarter of your power bar 3) it has a long reload, on the order of 5 minutes. This is a power that can be useful, but I found my power-pool choices to have more utility. Id like to hear from a necro/undead MM concerning the viability of this power.
Overall Rating: 5/10 If you actually get this power to work, it can be incredibly devastating, effectively giving an AoE Envenom/Weaken/Paralytic Poison all in one convenient package.
Recommended Slotting: 2 Acc/3 recharge/whatever else
Power Pools
I have to disagree on this comment if ya know how to use it
it's so powerful i use robot/poison all i do is through a def insp
on my assault bot put nox gas on him and run him in 1st. It's
true sometimes it doesn't look like it's doing anything but when
you see a purple boss or an elite boss sitting there and no bots are taking dmg that's a beautiful sight. 
one fall back with robots is they knockback and your assault bot usually won't
run after it he'll just sit back and nuke but to start things off
and get neuro breath and envenom and weaken it's pure ownage....i've seen so many people that take like 2 or 3 powers
even in the mid 30's of poison, it blows my mind lot of people
don't see how powerful that poison is.
Well that's my 2 bit cents :P l8r
okay finally was able to use my ninja/poison mm solo last night. In the mish I put all my pets cept the Jounin on passive. w/ Jounin on aggressive I tped a baddie to them (A Rularuu Brute btw) and watched for one to do their Golden Dragonfly attack (being easiest to see as it's the only 3 digit attack it has). W/o Noxious Gas it did 112 damage. With it 138. If I am caluctaing it correctly (112/138) I came up w/ .81. So I would think its safe to assume it's really a 80% debuff. And that was w/o Envenom.
and also, noxious gas does NOT take acc. Just recharge, end reduce, and something else that didnt seem worth slotting for.
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okay finally was able to use my ninja/poison mm solo last night. In the mish I put all my pets cept the Jounin on passive. w/ Jounin on aggressive I tped a baddie to them (A Rularuu Brute btw) and watched for one to do their Golden Dragonfly attack (being easiest to see as it's the only 3 digit attack it has). W/o Noxious Gas it did 112 damage. With it 138. If I am caluctaing it correctly (112/138) I came up w/ .81. So I would think its safe to assume it's really a 80% debuff. And that was w/o Envenom.
and also, noxious gas does NOT take acc. Just recharge, end reduce, and something else that didnt seem worth slotting for.
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You did the math wrong their. It should be 138/112=1.232 Drop the 1, and that means it's around a 23.2% resistance debuff. (An 80% debuff would make that 112 * 1.8 = 201.6 :P )
It would have been best to get all the damage ranges your Jounin do to that Rularuu brute. 'cause it is possible that the 138 you saw, came from something that does just shy of a triple digit.
EDIT: Better idea. Use a Genin without any upgrades. He'll have a single melee attack and a single ranged attack.
Damage Proc Mini-FAQ
Just noticed Damage Proc Mini-FAQ wasn't working with new forums, it's been updated.
Ya I just realized that earlier today that I did that math wrong. I apoligize.
And as for another attack being the 112/138s I doubt it as the next highest attack they have (from what I was watching anywas) was 78. And both the 78 and 112 was pre-noxious gas. Plus it's pretty easy to watch for Golden Dragonfly as it involaves a little jump up w/ a downward slash where all their other attacks are a double slice, a downslice, a upwards slash and their poison arrow (point arm followed by a recoil) and caltrops.
Not to mention Golden Dragonfly has a Red Flash as it hits.
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Has anyone had good experiences with Poison Trap? It just sounded really, really useful.
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I've got a Robotics/Traps MM that uses Poison Trap, which I believe is identical to /Poison's own version of this. It is quite useful for when your minons or fellow brutes have drawn aggro and gathered a large mob.
While they're pounding away, fly/sneak into the middle, drop the mine...and ka-boom. Watch those cookies get tossed. I don't so much slot it for the debuffs as much as I do for the massive hold and recharge/end.
Note: If ANY creature walks through the cloud, they're affected by the gas and will randomly choke...they don't have to stay in the same area where the mine went off. Depending on how you use your personal tactics, poison trap can be a godsend. Though it might drive up your shoe-shine bill with the amount of vomit. 
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Has anyone had good experiences with Poison Trap? It just sounded really, really useful.
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I've got a Robotics/Traps MM that uses Poison Trap, which I believe is identical to /Poison's own version of this. It is quite useful for when your minons or fellow brutes have drawn aggro and gathered a large mob.
While they're pounding away, fly/sneak into the middle, drop the mine...and ka-boom. Watch those cookies get tossed. I don't so much slot it for the debuffs as much as I do for the massive hold and recharge/end.
Note: If ANY creature walks through the cloud, they're affected by the gas and will randomly choke...they don't have to stay in the same area where the mine went off. Depending on how you use your personal tactics, poison trap can be a godsend. Though it might drive up your shoe-shine bill with the amount of vomit.
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True, the /Traps version rocks. It is saddly not the same as the /Poison version, which sucks. Hopefully the devs will fix this in I7...
Poison/Mercs.....
Great informative guide to poisons... I wish it was up when I started. I decided to give poison/mercs a run, and I've had some great success.
I'll let you know now, my toon is only a lvl 32 atm, so I haven't played with the higher end poison powers, but...
rather than slotting my mercs up for damage, I decided to continue with debuffs.
Soldiers: 1 acc, 1 dmg, 2 defense debuff, 2 heal
I pretty much count on my medic to keep me alive when soloing... Slotting them with 2 SO heals gives a substantial heal
Spec Ops: 1 acc, 2dmg, 3 to hit debuffs
Commando: 1 acc, 2 dmg, 3 defense debuffs
as far as the rest of my build goes, I've slotted up all the debuffs to 3 SOs, 1 acc, 1 endred and I may add a recharge rate to them eventually.
I have the slogan 7 deady debuffs for my Find comment, and it holds true. I can watch the decline of damage on an enemy double after i hit them with envenom, and it progressively gets faster with my mercs hitting them. With the to-hit debuffs, i rarely have to rez my men. Despite the nature of poison - seemingly a great tool for melee minions, i've found it really compliments the debuff nature of mercs. I'll post my build with further comments once I get a bit higher.
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Kick the Clown lvl 50 - spines regen scrapper (virtue)
Stacks - lvl 32 poison/mercs (protector)
Mortonator - lvl 32 ss/invul tank (protector)
Executive Decision - lvl 26 dark/archery def (victory)
Kick the Clown - lvl 50 spines/regen - Virtue
Stacks - lvl 40 mercs/poison - Protector
Executive Decision - lvl 28 dark/archery - Victory
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4) Neurotoxic Breath: [...] The cone is immense-, easily the broadest Ive ever seen, at a good 60 degrees.
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Actually, Terrify probably has the largest cone in the game, seeing as how you can hit enemies you can't even see with it...
Issue 16 made me feel like this.
Warning: This poster likes to play Devil's Advocate.
On my way to 40 I picked up the remaining powers in the Poison set, and although I was a bit skeptical about not taking the last two powers, I have to agree with everyone else, they were rather disappointing... and aside from disappointing - they were pretty worthless with ranged attackers.
Poison Trap: I used the poison trap a few times.... it had terrible accuracy - rarely went off even when slotted with an accuracy SO, and then when it did go off, the effects were pretty mild - I'd rather pick up something more worthwhile than something that is less effective than brawl.
Noxious gas: I pretty much knew that this power would be ineffective with mercenaries, but I took it anyway, just to give it a whirl... Low and behold! It was completely useless! The way I play my mercs is that if anyone gets too close, I use paralytic poison, noxious gas, etc. and let them go to town... but it's pretty rare that anyone ever gets close enough to them for noxious gas to be effective so I now recommend to people not even bother with this power if you have mercs.
In lieu of these powers that I respec'd out - I picked up stealth to up my defense a wee bit and hide me a wee bit. Since I'm not dealing any damage, the weaken, envenom, neurotoxin, and paralytic don't seem to hold aggro nearly as much with stealth on since my pets are bright an obvious with their guns
Here is my list of disappointments:
Serum - it's faster to retrain my commando than to use the serum, and it wears off as soon as the baddies turn the heat up. If he's gonna get one-hit to death, Serum will make that last for maybe 2 hits to death. Either way I'm retraining
M30 grenade - for being a knockback AoE assault with minimal damage, it didn't knock back anyone when I needed it too - was going to try to use this for when all my pets died and I needed to make a quick escape - I don't recommend it - slug had better knockback but too much damage so now I just run like a wimp
Poison trap - see above, this power is useless
Noxious Gas - This could be useful if you have Zombies or ninjas ????
Slotting: I still keep the debuffs slotted in my guys rather than damage, it seems to kick severe [censored]....
I also put two heals in the Soldiers since when I solo (which I do quite frequently on Relentless), my Medic is my personal healer - and 2 SO heals gives him a solid heal.
Kick the Clown - lvl 50 spines/regen - Virtue
Stacks - lvl 40 mercs/poison - Protector
Executive Decision - lvl 28 dark/archery - Victory
I'll be rolling up a Thugs/Poison once I7 goes live, as I have the character concept of a sort of street urchin/drug dealer type of villain in mind.
Anyway, assuming the actual debuffs themselves are sound in Noxious Gas, would it not be prudent to toss it on, say, ones Bruiser for a heavy duty fight such as an EB/AV? Even though (as I understand it) the Bruiser needs a firm goto b!tchslap to enter melee, it would seem that this power would work perfectly for him, operating similarly to a Brute and all.
Also, do the effects of Noxious Gas stack with the single target debuffs in the set like Weaken and Envenom? I would assume they do, but figured that this would be the best place to get confirmation.
They do seem to stack, yes.
And yes, using it on a melee minion is a good option. However, keep in mind that the power has an accuracy debuff as well, and if you put it on a ranged minion, you can stand next to him and feel safe knowing that anything coming to melee you is getting debuffed.
Course, Thugs has both types.
I've started a Thugs/Poison MM and am very pleased so far. I know that Poison Trap was supposed to get better with I7. I'm wondering how much better it is, and if anything else was changed/buffed/nerfed?
Protector: Tulare 50 Inv/SS/EM-ph1x3r 47 Bots/Traps
VIP: VIC-29(Traps/AR) - Corinth(Grav/FF) -Wrecka(Claws/SR)
I just got Noxious Gas, and I'm a Necro MM. I thought it'd be great since my zombies generally melee, and had been looking forward to it a lot. I was very very disappointed. My lowest tier guys, which can be relied on to run into battle, also often get one- or two-hit KOed so I don't like to use it too much on them. My second tiers, which shine in melee, like to be stupid and stand back using ranged attacks when I want them to run into battle so I usually have to waste time forcing them up. My main complaint about the ability is the duration is so SHORT while recharge is pretty long. Its basically a waste to cast it before battle starts, because it barely lasts a portion of the battle before it wears off, and then you have to wait another 4 battles or more for it to recharge (if you're powering along without resting, which I tend to do as a MM.) You also have to to babysit who you cast it on and try to maneauver them to have the greatest effect, since the radius doesn't seem all that big. I have yet to see anyone vomit from it. I usually can't seem to affect more than one or two guys and since most of the effects are status its really hard to tell if its doing much at all. I'm going to give it the benefit of some more solo testing and slots, but so far I'm sorely disappointed. Pretty useless in teams since your members tend to scatter and kill the mobs so fast. Oh and you cant' slot it for Accuracy, only Recharge, End cost, and something else I forget but I'd never put in it. If it doesn't get any better I'm definately respecing out of it, I wish I'd taken Neurotoxic Breath and still have plans to get it, but I havn't had room yet since I took Leadership and Stamina. The graphics for casting NG are also nothing special, its about the same tossing of a poision thing as everything else, and your minion gets a little green gassy cloud around him.
_Victory_
Character List
Michel Frosts Guide to /Poison
Hello and welcome to what may be the first guide devoted to a mastermind secondary power. I chose to write this guide since the mastermind primaries are identical in terms of essential power choices and as such barely worth discussing. Some may debate this point, but when five out of nine of your primary powers are Absolutely Indelibly Require for each and every build, I feel like theres just not that much wiggle room when it comes to power choices. With that out of the way, Ill get to the meat of this guide; poison.
/Poison: An Overview
The poison secondary is an eclectic one. Like all of the mastermind secondaries, it focuses on support that is, buffs, heals and debuffs. Poison is primarily debuff oriented. It boasts 3 single target debuffs (envenom, weaken, paralytic poison), a debuff trap (poison trap), a cone debuff (neurotoxic breath), and a minion-based AoE debuff (Noxious Gas). As far as buffs and heals go, poison has the only single target auto-hit heal (alkaloid), a mutate resurrect (elixir of life), and a status effect cure/resist buff (antidote). Thats six debuffs and 3 support powers. We can safely say that poison is a heavily debuff oriented set, focusing on powerful, single target debuffs, with some AoE eclecticism. Now, on to the powers.
Poison Powers Rundown
1) Alkaloid: This is the required 1st level power, and not a bad one. Alkaloid heals for a rather small sum, but it is the only single target heal available to masterminds. It also has a fast recharge, costs very little and gives a boost to toxic resistance for a while. I use this power both in groups and solo. I wouldve taken it even if Id had a choice.
Overall rating: 8/10
Recommended slotting: 3 heal
2) Envenom: I would go so far as to call this the defining power of the poison set. A single target debuff, it debuffs damage resistance, defense, regen rate, and the lucky recipient will be healed for less. Its relatively inexpensive (13 power), with a longish reload time (12 seconds). This power will noticeably increase the rate at which a mob dies. Its effects stack, so if you fire a second envenom before the first one wears off, it will debuff the target multiplicatively. A must have.
Overall Rating: 10/10
Recommended slotting: 3 accuracy/2 recharge/1 defense debuff (note: you really, really want this to hit so that your other debuffs/pet attacks will have a better chance to hit. You might consider trading out a recharge for another defense debuff)
3) Weaken: Envenoms twin brother, weaken debuffs one lucky mobs damage output, accuracy, and secondary effects, meaning holds, sleeps, disorients, slows, etc. All of these effects will last about half as long when fired from a Weakened mob. This power also comes highly recommended, but you can probably wait on it if need be. Really shines on hard-hitting purple bosses, elites, and AVs/Heroes.
Overall Rating: 9/10
Recommended slotting: 2 accuracy/2 recharge/2 to-hit debuff
4) Neurotoxic Breath: I didnt take this until I respected at 32, and while I dont regret the decision, Breath has been very good to me in the higher levels. The cone is immense-, easily the broadest Ive ever seen, at a good 60 degrees. Affected mobs will be slowed and have their recharge time increased. I dont have numbers on this, but it changed the pace of a battle significantly. I almost always lead with breath, followed by envenom on my attack target. As a final note, this can cause a choking effect on some mobs affected by it. Im not sure if this is a hold or what, but the choking mob cant move or act for about 3 seconds after being affected.
Overall Rating: 7/10 You can get away with skipping this, but I dont recommend it.
Recommended slotting: 2 accuracy/1 range/1 recharge/1 end redux/1 slow (note: Ive yet to find a slotting combo on this as it is not 6 slotted yet. The enhancements listed are just a musing on possible slots)
5) Elixir of Life: Elixir is similar to /rads Mutation power. Its a combat resurrect with a high cost and very short range, but the resurrected player will have increased accuracy, damage, attack speed, and endurance recovery. This is a brutes best friend. When it wears off, it will cause a brief hold effect as the resurrected vomits up the potion. This cannot be used on your pets, and is therefore skippable if you solo a lot.
Overall Rating: 5/10 skippable if you solo
Recommended slotting: 1 recharge redux or 1 end redux or 1 range increase. Not worth more than 1 slot.
6) Antidote: This power will remove status effects and leave the recipient resistant to such effects. I play a Robot MM, and as such my minions are resistant to the more debilitating status effects. This has some use in groups, but I cant recommend it.
Overall Rating: 3/10 Good at what it does, which isnt that much.
Recommended slotting: 1 recharge redux if you get it.
7) Paralytic Poison: A single target hold. Holds are something, in my opinion, that is always welcome. Whether its holding a boss with the help of another hold-toting player, de-toggling a behemoths Temp. Invuln., or just holding a mob still while you gank it, hold is your friend.
Overall Rating: 10/10 How can you go wrong?
Recommended slotting: 2 hold/2 recharge/2 accuracy
8) Poison Trap: The stinker of the set. This ability drops a trip mine-like trap that, upon detonation, releases a cloud of noxious vapors that causes a sleep state in all surrounding enemies (they stand there puking their guts up). It also drains some endurance, and has a chance to hold the mob that triggers the trap. This suffers from 2 detriments. 1) Sleep is not particularly useful, particularly if you use AoE-oriented henchmen like me. 2) Mines are notoriously bad at going off on anything but a totally flat surface. If you plant this on an incline, good luck getting a mob to trigger it
Overall Rating: 3/10
Recommended slotting: 2 acc/1 or 2 recharge
9) Noxious Gas: As far as a final power goes, gas is disappointing. This power is an AoE click targeting a minion that will release a 10 radius cloud that debuffs Acc, Dam, Def, and Res, while carrying a small chance to cause a brief hold. The downsides are: 1) If you dont have pets that engage in melee, it is unlikely that you will have the opportunity to use this power. So robo/merc MMs will get very little play out of this, unless you want to send a minion into the midst of your foes. 2) Its expensive, about a quarter of your power bar 3) it has a long reload, on the order of 5 minutes. This is a power that can be useful, but I found my power-pool choices to have more utility. Id like to hear from a necro/undead MM concerning the viability of this power.
Overall Rating: 5/10 If you actually get this power to work, it can be incredibly devastating, effectively giving an AoE Envenom/Weaken/Paralytic Poison all in one convenient package.
Recommended Slotting: 2 Acc/3 recharge/whatever else
Power Pools
I find poison, despite its low individual power costs, to be a power-hungry pool. As such I took the fitness pool so I could blaze through relentless missions even faster. Fitness also helps with the End. crunch when upgrading your pets at the mission start. In groups and in pvp when youre basically chaining Envenom/Weaken/Breath it can be a life-saver. That being said, its not essential to your damage output and is therefore optional, though recommended.
As is the prevailing trend among MMs, I took the leadership powers of Assault/Tactics. This doesnt mesh with poison in particular, but I recommend it. Tactics sports a resistance to confusion, which can really be a lifesaver when going up against succubi.
Final Thoughts
Poison is a highly offensive, single target-oriented debuffing secondary with a cone-debuff gem in Neurotoxic Breath. It is a useful power set both solo and in groups, and its single target nature means it really shines when killing bosses/elites/AVs. Solo it greatly increases the rate at which you can kill minions, and can turn that purple CoT mage at the missions end into a blind kitten with no legs. Poison is weak in that it doesnt boast many defensive perks other than a heal and a rez, and its AoE debuffs, aside from breath, are situational and dicey at best. Poison is a powerful set best utilized in solo and pvp play.