Survivability: Run with a dragon key- [Augur Reach] and [Brief Respite] ensure that your casts will restore your shields for gating. Pair with a [Panzer Vulpaphyla] for lowkey health restoration and to handle chip damage.

DPS: Maintain toxic lash, Venom Dose, and keep your spores ticking. For armor, pillage strips armor- with corpro, a single cast at max Molt strength should have already knocked 80% off any given enemy, which you can then finish with corrosion from [Venom Dose] and spore damage. Toxic Lash does extra hits that take elemental mods like Venom Dose into account even on stuff that shouldn't give them- a Sobek with Acid Shells, for example, or a slam attack on any heavy melee.

Alternate builds: Transient Fortitude -> Blind Rage, Terrify -> Pillage, Brief Respite -> Corpro for a different armor strip and shield restore