Contagion vs Venom Synthesis: Optimizing Freyna’s Build in The First Descendant

Freyna, a powerful toxic-based character in The First Descendant, offers players a dynamic playstyle focused on dealing poison damage over time (DoT). Her versatility allows for different approaches in high-difficulty dungeons, specifically 400% dungeons, where optimizing her abilities can be the key to success. Two primary builds emerge for Freyna: Venom Synthesis and Contagion. This article will break down the strengths and weaknesses of both, helping you decide which is best for your playstyle and specific dungeon scenarios.

Freyna’s Core Abilities: Venom Synthesis and Contagion

Freyna’s primary strength lies in her ability to spread poison across enemies, dealing consistent DoT that can melt through mobs and bosses alike. The choice between Venom Synthesis and Contagion can drastically change how she performs in different dungeon environments, particularly when facing mobs versus bosses.

Venom Synthesis:

Strengths:

• Primarily shines in boss encounters with its superior single-target damage.
• Poison effects from Venom Synthesis deal consistent damage to focused enemies, allowing quicker takedowns of bosses and tougher enemies.
• Helps to manage longer, sustained engagements, particularly in boss fights where single-target damage is crucial.

Weaknesses:

• Slower at clearing groups of mobs due to less effective poison spread. Requires more ability casting to handle large groups efficiently.

Contagion:

Strengths:

• Excels in room-clearing scenarios with its enhanced AoE (area of effect) poison spread.
• Contagion rapidly spreads poison to multiple enemies, allowing Freyna to clear rooms with minimal effort and faster casting.
• Ideal for dungeons where mobbing is the primary challenge, making the poison effects proliferate over a wide area quickly.

Weaknesses:

• Struggles in boss fights where its poison spread is less effective in single-target scenarios, leading to slower boss takedowns.

Side-by-Side Performance Comparison: Venom Synthesis vs. Contagion

A direct comparison of the two builds shows that each has specific strengths depending on the situation—whether it’s clearing rooms filled with enemies or fighting tougher bosses. Here’s a breakdown of their performances:

Venom Synthesis:

When running a 400% dungeon with Venom Synthesis, Freyna’s single-target damage shines. The primary benefit is noticeable in boss encounters, where the focused DoT (damage over time) melts away their health. Although the room clearing is slightly slower due to less poison spread, the build is highly efficient in completing dungeons with strong boss phases. It maintains a consistent pace in damage and performs particularly well against single-target enemies.

Key Points:

• Faster boss kills due to concentrated DoT.
• Requires more ability casting for room clearing, but still effective in spreading poison over time.
• Ideal for dungeons with challenging bosses.

Contagion:

In contrast, Contagion speeds up the process of clearing rooms filled with multiple enemies. Freyna’s poison spreads rapidly across groups of mobs, making it easier to manage large waves of enemies with fewer ability casts. However, the downside becomes apparent in boss fights, where Contagion’s poison spread is less useful, and the single-target damage falls behind Venom Synthesis. The trade-off is a smoother room-clearing experience but slower boss engagements.

Key Points:

• Faster room clearing, especially in large open areas with many mobs.
• Slower in boss fights, where poison spread doesn’t contribute to single-target damage as effectively.
• Great for dungeons that are mob-heavy but lack difficult boss encounters.

Final Recommendation: Choosing the Right Build

When deciding between Venom Synthesis and Contagion for Freyna’s build, the choice depends on the nature of the dungeon you’re facing and your personal playstyle.

• For boss-heavy dungeons: Venom Synthesis is the better choice. Its ability to deal higher single-target damage will significantly shorten boss fights, which is often where the most time is spent in high-difficulty dungeons. The added benefit of reliable, consistent damage makes it more effective for tougher, drawn-out battles.
• For mob-heavy dungeons: Contagion stands out. Its superior poison proliferation allows Freyna to breeze through groups of enemies with minimal effort. If the dungeon prioritizes large rooms filled with mobs, Contagion will save time and energy by quickly spreading poison without needing constant ability casts.

Freyna Build Update: Improved Mods for Damage Output

In addition to choosing between Venom Synthesis and Contagion, updating Freyna’s build with the right mods can significantly enhance her damage output. One important update to the build is the introduction of the Power Increase mod. This mod boosts Freyna’s toxic skill power, amplifying the poison damage she deals to enemies.

• Power Increase Mod: Increases both toxic skill power and general skill power, making it more effective than older mod combinations such as Toxic Mastery. By focusing on the toxic amplification multiplier, Freyna’s poison damage is significantly improved, especially in extended fights where DoT is essential.

Mod Configuration:

• Venom Synthesis Build: The Power Increase mod should be slotted to maximize single-target damage, especially for boss fights. This will further enhance Freyna’s damage during key phases of dungeons.
• Contagion Build: While Contagion benefits from poison spread, the Power Increase mod still adds value by amplifying the overall damage per tick of Freyna’s poison across multiple enemies.

Conclusion: Personal Preference and Dungeon Dynamics

Freyna’s builds, whether using Venom Synthesis or Contagion, offer unique advantages depending on the type of dungeon. Venom Synthesis is the clear choice for players focused on efficient boss kills and sustained single-target damage, while Contagion shines in AoE scenarios, clearing rooms with ease.

Ultimately, both builds are viable, and players should experiment with which approach suits their playstyle best. By combining the right ability with updated mods like Power Increase, players can optimize Freyna’s poison damage, ensuring she performs well in both mobbing and boss encounters.

The key takeaway: Know the dungeon’s challenges and adjust Freyna’s build to maximize her strengths—whether it’s overwhelming poison spread or deadly focused damage.