Core Mechanics You Must Master ⚙️

Mara flows when you respect three pillars:

1. Stealth Windows
2. Stealth empowers key builders. Use it to open from behind, inject poisons/bleeds, and set up a guaranteed burst. Treat every stealth as a damage window you plan around, not a panic button.
3. Energy & Combo Points

• Builders generate combo points (and often Energy).
• Finishers consume 1–6 combo points and scale hard with more points.
• Aim to never cap Energy or combo points; drift them into a finisher or a spender as soon as you’re safe to do so.

1. Poison + Bleed Synergy
2. The two dominant endgame lines are:

• Bleed/Hemotoxin (Generalist) – simple to learn, very strong on bosses and cleave.
• Malevolence/Poison (Endgame scaling) – higher ceiling, more buff tracking, insane when executed cleanly.

Stat Priority for Most Players 📊

Prioritize the primary stat from item level first, then:

Agility > Expertise > Critical Strike > Spirit ≈ Haste

Notes:

• Don’t throw away big item-level upgrades chasing perfect substats.
• Crit pairs naturally with combo generation and burst windows.
• Haste feels better in AoE spam and heavy dungeon tempo; Spirit adds survivability/comfort.

Build 1: Bleed/Hemotoxin – The All-Purpose Route 🩸

This is the best “plug and play” setup for new Mara players and a staple in raids and dungeons. It keeps your Energy economy healthy, gives you strong single-target pressure, and converts that pressure into safe cleave.

Talent Pathing (Level-by-Level Feel)

• Early picks: grab your bleed accelerators and Energy smoothing. These nodes make your Hemorrhage-style effects tick faster and keep the blue bar flowing so you can maintain finishers on time.
• Mid picks: take talents that reward spending combo points and amplify finishers when used after stealth.
• Later picks: layer in shadow clone/echo effects and “on-spend” procs to push burst. By this point, your finishers should feel like mini-cooldowns.

Short checklist as you build:

• A bleed that ticks faster or lasts longer
• A finisher damage amp (especially after stealth)
• A couple of talents that refund or generate Energy
• A “proc engine” talent that pays you for spending combo points

Single-Target Opener (Safe Version)

1. Pre-pull: Stealth behind target.
2. Back hit builder → apply first bleed/poison.
3. Builder again if Energy allows; avoid capping combo points.
4. Damage cooldown (your 10–20s self-buff window).
5. Finisher at 5–6 combo points.
6. Maintain bleed; re-enter stealth when safe to empower your next builder chain.
7. Repeat: builder x2–3 → finisher → maintain bleed uptime → stealth re-entry on CD.

ST Loop Rules

• Spend at 5–6 combo points; never sit capped.
• Keep your primary bleed up (refresh late, don’t clip early).
• Use stealth proactively to empower the next builder.
• Align big finisher with burst buffs or proc windows.

AoE/Cleave Gameplan

• Open in stealth and tag packs with your empowered builder.
• Spread bleed/volatile poison effects, then spend into your AoE finisher.
• Round-robin short CC and kicks; keep your Energy churning (don’t over-dodge out of your own ground effects).
• In large pulls, err toward more frequent finishers at 4–5 combo points rather than greedily waiting for 6 if it’ll cap you.

When to Pick Bleed/Hemotoxin

• Learning Mara’s flow
• Raids with high boss uptime
• Dungeons where packs live long enough to benefit from bleeds ticking
• Groups that already bring strong external buffs and want you stable and consistent

Build 2: Malevolence/Poison – The Endgame Specialist ☠️

This variant stacks damage multipliers on your key finishers. It demands better buff tracking, but the payoff is enormous once your rotation becomes second nature.

Play Pattern

• Use stealth to inject a stronger poison application or stealth-empowered builder.
• Build to 5–6 points rapidly, spend on your empowered finisher to gain a Malevolence-style buff.
• Chain finishers so you keep the buffed variant rolling.
• Time big windows with your Spirit (haste) and main damage cooldown to double-dip.

Who Should Play This

• Players comfortable tracking short buffs, stealth timers, and proc states
• Groups who can route dungeons for big, coordinated pulls
• Boss fights with predictable burn phases

Single-Target Rotation Cheat Sheet 🔁

Priority list rather than a rigid script:

1. Don’t cap Energy. If you’re high, spend.
2. Don’t cap Combo Points. At 5–6, finisher now.
3. Keep main bleed active and ticking. Refresh very late.
4. Use stealth off cooldown unless a mechanic would waste it.
5. Press your damage cooldown on script (every time it’s good, not “only when everything is perfect”).
6. If a “guaranteed crit” or “shadow clone” effect is available, pair it with your main finisher.
7. Kick casts; missing a kick in high keys or raids is a raid-DPS loss.

AoE & Dungeons: Pull-By-Pull Mindset 🧹

• Small packs (2–3): maintain your main bleed on priority target, cleave with finishers.
• Medium packs (4–6): stealth entry → quick builder dump → finisher → spread effects; don’t over-greed 6 points if you’ll cap.
• Big pulls (7+): enter with CDs; go builder → finisher cadence and keep moving. Look for ground effect synergies to anchor enemies in your damage.
• Boss + adds: keep boss bleed perfect; tap adds with cleave builders so you get extra Energy/points, but never let boss uptimes fall apart.

Utility you bring:

• Stuns for dangerous casts
• Kick on short cooldown
• Short defensive for nasty hits so you can stay in and keep uptime

Cooldown Planning 🧨

• Press your main damage cooldown every time it’s good. Don’t hold for ages “waiting for perfect.”
• Spirit/haste burst: align it with either a high-combo finisher or a heavy cleave moment.
• If your build has “on-spend stacks” (e.g., a buff that grows as you spend combo points), make sure you cash in before a movement or downtime event.

Gearing: From Fresh to Endgame 🧬

1. Early – wear the higher item level. Don’t starve yourself chasing perfect secondaries.
2. Mid – start preferring pieces with Expertise and Crit.
3. Late – secure one poison/bleed-friendly legendary and a dagger with good weapon traits.
4. Gems & Enchants – Agility or Crit on offense; mix a defensive if you’re progressing new bosses/keys.
5. Trinkets/Relics – pick predictable on-use or stat proc items you can align with burst. Avoid procs that desync everything.

Quick sanity check:

• If Energy feels starved: you’re missing a regen node, a proc line, or you’re over-dodging.
• If your crits feel wasted: you’re capping combo points. Spend earlier.
• If you die a lot: add a defensive enchant/gem and route defensives proactively.

UI, Keybinds, and Camera 🎛️

• Track: Energy, Combo Points, Bleed/Poison uptimes, Stealth CD, Main cooldowns, Malevolence/clone-type buffs.
• Put builder and finisher on adjacent keys.
• Make Stealth reachable without hand gymnastics. You should be able to re-enter stealth instantly when it comes up.
• Camera: slightly zoomed out and offset so you always see boss back-arc and melee ground effects.

Common Mistakes and Easy Fixes 🧯

• Sitting at 6 points “waiting for the perfect moment.” Spend. Perfection is fake; empty your bar.
• Clipping your bleed early. Refresh late for full value.
• Holding stealth too long. Press it when you can convert it.
• Over-dodging out of your own ground damage. Micro-adjust instead of running marathons.
• Ignoring interrupts. A landed kick preserves group DPS.

Dungeon Notes by Affix/Mutation ♻️

• Burst weeks: plan stealth + finisher for each spawn wave.
• Tyrannical-like: boss uptime wins; play safer opener and maintain perfect bleed.
• Fortified-like: lean into AoE finishers; don’t over-greed 6 points if it costs you another spend later in the pull.
• Healer-tax weeks: take one extra defensive node or enchant and route a personal cooldown each pull.

PvP Pointers (If You Duel or Queue) 🥊

• Open from stealth and secure an interrupt or stun on their first cast.
• Spend at 5–6 points—pressure forces cooldowns; don’t fish forever.
• Abuse movement; your kit punishes players who lose track of you around line-of-sight or terrain.

7-Day Plan to Get Comfortable with Mara 📅

Day 1–2: set UI, learn a safe ST loop, never cap resources.

Day 3: practice stealth entries on cooldown dummies (simulate boss timers).

Day 4: route a couple of dungeon pulls and test AoE cadence.

Day 5: add cooldown alignment; record yourself and check for caps/bleed downtime.

Day 6: try the Malevolence/Poison variant; decide which you prefer for your group.

Day 7: push a key or two above your comfort level and audit mistakes.

Quick Reference Cards 📝

Single-Target

• Stealth opener from behind
• Builder → Builder → Finisher at 5–6
• Maintain bleed; refresh late
• Re-stealth on CD for empowered builders
• Use damage cooldowns every window

AoE

• Stealth into pack, tag with empowered builder
• Spread effects, spend at 4–5 if capping
• Keep moving; don’t abandon your own ground damage
• Kick and stun priority mobs

Stat Snapshot

Agility > Expertise > Critical Strike > Spirit ≈ Haste

Troubleshooting Checklist 🧩

• Low DPS on bosses? Check bleed uptime and finisher count per minute.
• Energy starved? Review early talents that add regen and make sure you’re not over-moving.
• Dying often? Script defensives into boss timers; small mitigation on time beats big panic buttons late.
• Inconsistent results? You’re probably holding cooldowns. Use them on repeatable timers.

Conclusion – Get Your Mara Ready to Slice 🛍️

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