I feel like if you're going to lvl 2, you might as well go to lvl 3. I have trouble not going to lvl 3 once I've got them down. It's only a bit longer on top of the lvl 2 cooldown. It's just too easy to keep them on the ground with Venom up. Again, probably because I suck and have a hard time doing anything without Venom. It becomes kind of... addicting. MORE VENOM!
Has anyone timed the length of the debuff for each stage?
Edit: I just timed it.
Level 1 - 3 Seconds
Level 2 - 6 Seconds
Level 3 - 9 Seconds
It was a little longer on my stop watch, but I'm assuming that was just reaction time.
It seems like if you're going level 2, might as well go level 3. An extra 6 seconds of venom for more damage, armor, etc for 3 extra seconds of debuff. It looks like stopping at level 1 or going all the way to level 3 to me. Three seconds is so short, so I could definitely see stopping at lvl 1. It's that 6 second in between mark that doesn't work for me. Nine seconds is a long time, but so is 6 seconds.
Venom use and management is obviously key to this character more than anything else.
I disagree, you can combo stall out of level 2 venom cooldown, and its not just 3 seconds of cooldown, its 3 seconds of cooldown and massively increased damage and massively reduced output for 9 seconds. Think about it like this.
You get 6 seconds of level 3, and since you'll have at least 3 seconds of downtime on average, you are only getting about half of it. So you end up with 9 seconds, over 6. Now next time you shoot venom, which you will, you'll have basically given up 2 level 2 venom's worth of damage for one level 3. So now that you have that in mind, you've given up 3 level 2 venoms for 2 level 3s.
Assuming they kept the staple of +3/-3 +6/-6 +9/-9, you are losing -18 and gaining +18 no matter what. However, since theres not as much gap between the 2s and the 3s, you are actually losing a lot more since you lose the benefit of level 1 venom for longer, which is a necessity for staying in. Its not just about time or damage, its about utility.