[2.5] 2600+ Int Whispering Ice Guardian. Wonderous Wizard of Wisdom
 I adore the design of whispering ice. Letting int be both an offensive and defensive stat allows you to really focus and its quite satisfying watching the number climb and climb as you level 2600 Int achieved at level 94. The final build at level 100 would have 2800 Int. Its kinda nice having that goal to shoot for. Its important to note that my Int is near perfect for my current level. Most of my stuff has max Int rolls and I'm using legacy rings. Without legacy rings my Int goes down to 2370 and my damage and ES falls a bit but it isn't really that noticeable for most content. I have included stats wearing both legacy and non legacy rings The main strength of this build is the physical mitigation. Unwavering faith gives 7% reduced physical damage and combine that with 6k armour and you remove the problem that most high ES builds have which is spiky physical damage shredding through them before their leech can activate. Chaos golem, arctic armour and defensive flasks can be added for even more layers physical protection The build also gets 81% all elemental resistances which makes you laugh off elemental damage Damage is still not really a problem, facerolls red maps and excels at boss killing by stacking up the storms to deadly levels Hand of Wisdom and Action This build can also transition into a Hand of Wisdom and Action build if desired, I had alot of fun with them and they were just as strong, hopefully they survive the nerf thats being targeteted at them. After playing around with it my conclusions are that mapping with the claws is much faster. Boss kills are about the same. Claws get more ES and fortify but I think Icestorm is safer because you can keep a large distance and attack from the edge of the screen. Build for the claws can be found here https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1830377 2.5 UPDATE
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With cast while channeling released there is a new tool that can be utilised in this build Pros: - Really really good for leveling - Mana cost trivially easy to sustain - Does more damage against bosses by lowering their resists - Scorching Ray does damage as well Cons: - More clunky to map as the storm won't cast and kill immedietly but takes a third of a second to activate which does feel worse - Haste is no longer that beneficial so you lose 15% movement speed when you change it into other options, that will also slow down clear speed a bit Conclusion: Cast while channeling will result in less casts per second but the damage increase, more importantly resistance penetration will result in higher damage. Cast while channeling is recommended for leveling and if you don't mind the slightly more clunky mechanics it is worth keeping in endgame. You'll kill the map trash slower but the bosses faster. Easy maps will go slower and harder maps will go faster How to swap this build into cast while channeling: Swap Faster casting -> Cast while Channeling Spell Echo -> Scorching Ray Controlled destruction -> Cold to Fire Cold Penetration -> Fire Penetration Spend a point on avatar of fire in the tree. (Using a Pyre ring wouldn't be worth it as the damage loss of not using a signit ring would be more then we'd gain) Haste and clarity are now no longer essential. Using at least a level 1 clarity is still reccomended to reserve more mana and get that extra 1% physical protection. Haste can be replaced with herald of ice and arctic armour or a blasphemy setup Videos
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Tier 15 core map https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIpyj4XW9Fo&feature=youtu.be Did a normal Atziri as well for the heck of it. Wasn't paying as much attention and took a vaal slam to the face without flinching https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgwNAFuVH18 Tier 16 pheonix, it vaaled with enfeeble, -15% max resistances and 200% monster damage, was a bit worried it would be dangerous but went pretty smoothly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8cptema988&feature=youtu.be I'll record other tier 16 and uber atziri next time I have those drop for me. I don't really want to buy them while I'm saving for other stuff Character stats
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Using legacy 3% Rings (only obtainable in standard)
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First there is the highest tooltip version with concentrated effect and ele overload up  Then the standing in hideout number using faster casting instead of concentrated effect (smoother for mapping)  Defenses  Using non-legacy 2% Rings (obtainable in new leagues)
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First there is the highest tooltip version with concentrated effect and ele overload up  Then the standing in hideout number using faster casting instead of concentrated effect (smoother for mapping)  Defenses  Why Scale Int so insanely High and why chose Guardian?
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Int already scales flat damage, %increased damage, flat duration and % increased ES so the only thing that Int didn't scale was flat ES and resitricts gear choices into things with higher ES. There are 3 ascendancies that allow you to scale flat ES from Int. This allows us to cut all the defense from tree and gear to focus on damage and Int while still getting the high ES total Since flat ES is the most appealing stat we look at what classes give flat ES. Lowest is occultist with 100. Next is trickster with 250 while as the guardian has the best with radiant faith giving around 400. Radiant Faith gives my character about 480 Flat ES since it gets that much mana anyway. Heirophant and Scion also have notables that scale flat ES off mana but since GGG doesn't want those classes to be viable their conversions don't include the mana gained from %increased mana. This about halves their effectiveness so even the Heirophant which totally focuses on mana and gives a whopping 25% of their base mana (before increases) into flat ES it still only barely gives more ES then the guardian does. Guardian just has too much value to ignore. 15% of reserved mana into flat ES, flat armour for reserved health, % ES and armour scaling, aura effectiveness scaling and block chance. All these goodies make the build so very tanky Some Math on Int value
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18% increased Int from staff, 27% increased Int per legacy ring, 15% increased Int from helm, 6% from emperors wit, 7% from emperors mastery = 100% increased Int The Int per point value varies and is generally around 15 Int average per point not counting the normal spell damage and cast speed on many of the notables. That is doubled from the %increases into 30Int This 30 Int gives - 6% increased ES - 15 base mana x 1.59 %mana = 23 actual mana - 23 x 0.15% of mana = 3.5 flat ES (this sounds small but remember just how much %increased ES it goes through) - Roughly 11% increased damage - Minor Icestorm duration that eventually stacks up into noticeable increase With non legacy rings and without the jewels thats still 69% increased Int which turns the 15 Int into 25Int and the numbers are only somewhat lower. Looking at some of the better damage nodes of the tree the breath of ice cluster averages at 14% damage per point. The best ES nodes in the tree is the starting witch ones which average at 9.5% ES per point. So 1 point into each grants 14% damage and 9.5% ES 2 points into pure Int gives 22% damage, 12% ES and 7 flat ES So the only way that pure Int can be beaten in value is if you only want ES or only want damage but really why choose when you can have both Map mods
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This build can do all map mods except blood magic (which is no longer a thing so now the build can run anything) - I don't bother running but manageable tier Reflects elemental (annoying because you keep using your cold resistance flask so your ES doesn't lower) no mana/life leech (leech is gone so need to play super careful) - Annoying tier no mana/life regen (swap cold resistance gem into mana leech gem and make sure not to miss) Temporal chains (unlike most builds actually barely notable. 25% reduced curse effectiveness on you combined with the good cast/movement speed from boosted haste cancel it out) Chilled ground (use immune to freeze/chill flask to make these less sluggish) - Potential risk tier Elemental weakness (build isn't overcapped so play a bit more careful and ready to use sapphire flask if you see reflect Lower max resistances (similar to ele weakness, less of a deal for this build with its higher max then most) Lots of damage mods (yeeah you shouldn't need this one explained) Gem Selection
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Please read the 2.5 update at the top of the build for information on the cast while channeling setup Life Leech - Faster Casting - Spell Echo - Cold Penetration - Elemental Focus - Controlled Destruction For big bosses I swap controlled destruction for Concentrated Effect. Concentrated effect doesn't have that much extra damage but the smaller aoe causes more overlaps in the storm which make single target damage more effective Helmet (+1 to socketed gems) Enlighten- Discipline - Purity of Fire - Purity of Ice Haste - Enlighten Blood Magic - Purity of Elements - Purity of Lightning - Clarity- Enlighten While you're still leveling and before you have enlightens you should run arctic armour or herald of ice instead of haste. After you get a level 3 enlighten you should have enough mana to swap into this setup. Check the "aura" tab for some leveling examples ---- Which you choose from the following is more about your taste in gameplay. I use none of these and use their spots to level gems during normal mapping. Lightning warp and frost bomb are my preferred Vaal Discipline - Increased Duration will keep you immortal for a while and a good panic button. Lightning Warp - Faster Casting or Flame Fash is pretty essential for lab runs and smooths out gameplay while mapping by hopping ledges Frost Bomb - Increased Area of Effect -Cast when damage taken Lowers their cold resistance Cast when damage taken (lvl 20) - Enfeeble or Warlords Mark Obviously you can't use this with gentle touch gloves but if you have upgraded to acuity or using something like voidbringers then its nice to have an automatic defensive curse trigger on bosses Cast when damage taken (lvl 20) - Molten Shell I quite like this one as the build scales armour well Orbs of storms - Increased Critical Strike Chance to force proc elemental overload on bosses Enduring Cry - Increased Area of Effect Could also use your 8th ascendancy on prayer of glory for immediate cast time and extra cast speed on your storm after using a warcry. requires you to press the button a bunch though which is more effort then I like to bother with. Helps overcap resistances for elemental weakness maps for those who have trouble playing around elemental damage Summon Flame Golem/Summon Chaos Golem/Summon Lightning Golem Personal preference. Your auras do a good job of keeping them alive Decoy Totem Another minion that your auras will grant tankiness and keeps attention off you Aura Explanation
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 The build get 67% increased aura effect from the tree and guardian so each aura is much more effective then normal. The guardian gets extra benefit from reserving as much life and mana as possible so the best setup will change based on your max mana and if you have enlighten gems. Using lower level gems or speccing out of reservation nodes may be better if you have too much unreserved life/mana The essential auras are the 4 purities and discipline as they provide our defenses, clarity is also useful but doesn't need to be very high leveled Here is an example of a setup with just a level 13 blood magic gem and no enlightens. It has herald of ice and a low level clarity because thats what it has room for https://poe.mikelat.com/#lBPW65/jT9b.Wfb/A-.tN/9b. Once blood magic was level 20 and a level 3 enlighten was acquired (+1 in helmet becomes level 4 enlighten) This setup can be run to change herald of ice into haste https://poe.mikelat.com/#quhM85/8C0c.Wfb/tNrp.vL/9b.q From here more enlightens can be purchased and used to drop the reservation nodes in the tree. Skyforth boots also provide reservation and can save points. Here is a possible endgame setup that has 4 purities, discipline, clarity, haste, herald of ice and arctic armour. It needs an uber lab reservation enchant and three level 3 enlightens https://poe.mikelat.com/#LQPWOzb/wjUn.ii/aoEyuc.b_/tNrp.vL/xB3l.a_b Gear
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Gear cost in current standard environment (prices are subject to change)
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Current starting cost in standard Shavronne's Wrappings (unlinked) 5ex Astramentis 1ex Perandus Signetx2 (non legacy) 35c each Whispering Ice (low int roll) 2c Black Sun Crest (low Int roll) 1c Asenath's Gentle Touch 1c Sin Trek 2c Perandus Blazon 1c Total 6ex 77c As you can see the bulk of the cost is the shavs. Guardian builds need to be lowlife to function well but its doable to run a high ES chest and just run dried lake and maps without chaos damage until you can afford one. Solaris Lorica has been tried but plumets your ES levels so might be even riskier then just avoiding all sources of chaos. Then would be upgrading the gear into high rolled uniques. Getting the high Int and ES rolls really matter in this build that multiplies everything. Upgrade Whispering ice Int roll 40c Black Sun Crest Int roll 40c Perandus Signet into legacy versions 2ex each. (Shavs never needs to be linked) Full gear cost with everything upgraded: 10ex 84c Even thought its almost best in slot its all pretty cheap stuff compared to what high rolled rares would cost (shavs doesn't need to be linked). See below for why I chose these and above for cost estimates. This is the gear I recommend having as you enter mapping. They are all best in slot items that won't be upgraded except the boots and gloves that can eventually be replaced with the expensive skyforths (70 Int upgrade through better pathing) and atziri's acuity (100 Int upgrade). Neither are needed but provide a couple of levels worth of stats through their Int Why I chose this gear/alternate gear options
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every piece is just what gives most Int, we no longer need to care about resistances or flat ES since we scale everything through Int Rings - Perandus Signet give insane Int value and make a unique item with no Int on it give more total Int then a rare with a max Int roll Amulet - Astramantis Give more Int then anything possibly could while also solving all dex and str requirments the build could have Helmet - Vertex used to be my preferred option here for the ES but once again Int just too much value to give up and Black sun Crest has the juicy 15% more Int Chest - Ah here is our first let down. No Int on shavs. Still its needed to run those auras and no unique chest has that much value on it anyway. Guardians need to be lowlife and while some people get chaos resistance or just always avoid chaos damage Shavs is the best all round option Boots - These used to be rainbowstride for the resistances but I hate 20% movement speed on boots and Sin Trek gives better ES, better Int and better movement speed, those resistances are gotten elsewhere now. Skyforths lets unwavering stance get dropped and those points can be spent getting more int. Flat upgrade from Sin Trek but there are cheaper ways to get more Int first Belt - Four options for the belt Bated breath - Most ES 25 Int, flat ES, ES recharge rate. No fire resistance though so needs you to spend an extra point in the tree Doryani's cold variant - Most damage Best resistances, bit better damage then other options, 0.2% leech. No ES or ES through Int which makes it the worst defensively Perandus Blazen - Most value Most Int, gives good damage and ES, fire resistance, flask duration, quantity of items found Crystal Belt - Essence league only For legacy rings users in standard this will never be better but for non legacy users in essence if they use a Deafening Essence of Spite to get a good Int roll and also hit a good fire resistance then this is best in slot due to its ES until very very late game when blazen starts beating it again Gloves - Gentle touch gloves give 30 Int but unfortunately take up the curse slot, still easiest good option and can be corrupted for curses with elemental weakness on hit or temp chains on hit (vaaled version is higher level then the default mod) Voidbringers are another option. Best ES but the increased mana cost can be tricky as you need enough unreserved mana and mana regen to sustain. Other gloves can easily do 60% less mana regen maps but with voidbringer thats much harder. Overall I still think these are worth swapping to if you feel squishy as they provide good ES and free up the curse slot to use a CWDT level 20 defensive curse Atziri's Acuity are best in slot. 80 Int is more ES and damage then gentle touch while also giving nice armour Tree
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Kill all bandits Pepper the tree with Fertile Mind and Brute Force Solution Unique jewels. Every single travel node should be turned into Int, and awesomely some of the jewels overlap to make a travel node give 20 Int https://www.pathofexile.com/fullscreen-passive-skill-tree/AAAABAUDAQQHDkgQWBEtEZYXLxmKGjgajx0UHaofAiL0JLApTyo4LJwtqC9vNsU3Rz1fRUdGcUyzTlJSKVJTVdZV4FZIVw1YWlnzXIpd8l8qX2pfsGJaZOdmVGaeaFhoZWusbAttGW-ecLtyD3Kpe9d-WX5sf8aApIDggpuDCYP3hMWFe4nYj0aP-pBVkiuTJ5RvlwaXlZf0mzCbtZ7Nn8uhL6UYpwinMKyqr5uxkLQMtQS-gL6KwGbBxcM6xKLKSsrT0B_Q0NIh1abXateW2CTZE9-Y4YjkIuoY6-TsGOw47-vzm_Pd9tr3Mvjr-d360vsJ_QD-SQ== Here is a tree for the big spenders who have Skyforth and want to know what to spend the extra points on Jewels
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Every Jewel on the left hand side is Every Jewel on the right hand side is These will convert the surrounding travel nodes into Int for the best value. The jewel socket at the top of the witch area can't hit anything to convert. The best option here is or Before you can afford those ones then just using another brute force or fertile mind is good for the 20-24 Int or you could get a rare jewel with Int/spell damage/cast speed/ES in whatever combination is affordable Flasks
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Removes freeze and removes bleed flasks are essential Basalt Flask and taste of hate are good for physical damage reduction Sapphire flask is needed for running elemental weakness maps with reflect. Bismuth Flask is another easy one button option for elemental weakness maps and works on any of various resistances curses if you don't want to have to think and identify elements I run 2-3 Quicksilvers because I have the need for speed Upgrades/Improvements from the core build
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-Auras Buying level 3 enlightens give you more options with what you can do with your auras. There is a separate section for that in the guide but I highly recommend getting a level 3 enlighten into the helmet early so you can swap herald of ice into haste as the cast and movement speed makes everything feel much smoother. In very endgame uber lab reduced reservation enchant and level 4 enlightens allow more auras to be squeezed in. -Jewels Emperor's Wit and Emperor's Mastery are best in slot jewels that provide the most int. Their price starts high and goes down as more enter the market since only so many builds actually want them. -Corrupting the belt Perandus belts are super cheap even for a max roll and can be vaaled to get an implicit that matters. My preference is increased duration. Increased AOE or chaos resistance are also decent. -Gloves Atziri's acuity are best in slot gloves. Shame they are expensive but the 80 Int and armour makes them best for the build. Also frees up the curse slot which I think the best is enfeeble - cast when damage taken -Boots Skyforths best in slot as then we don't need to go all the way down to unwavering stance and they have reduced reservation on them. This is the most expensive upgrade but not the most impactful. Its last on the list to upgrade as the others do the same or more for cheaper. Leveling
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WARNING: This build is very fragile to level, especially if you don't have all the gear upfront. the high resistances depend on gem levels and the other defenses also take a while to come online. Not that unusual for ES builds though. You want the skill point from all three bandits Level firestorm until level 33 when you get to use whispering ice and most of the endgame gear The gear carries you in damage and so long as you play safe, the life leech gem with the massive damage should keep you alive until you get your defenses but you need to learn to play around stun until you are high level and have the points to get unwavering stance Ascendancy Order - Radiant Faith (core of the build) - Bastion of Hope (occasional stun immunity before unwavering stance, 5% block afterwards) - Unwavering Faith (Physical damage reduction) - Time of Need (curse resistance) Tree order is something like this - Deep thoughts and Primal Spirit for mana sustain - All the Aura nodes - Once your ES overtakes your life get Ghost reaver and Vaal Pact - Frost walker and Elementalist for resistances - Once you can equip shavs pain attunment and arcane vision - Path down to unwavering stance - Finish remaining nodes. Value higher Int first Step by step tree guide
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20 Points 40 Points 60 Points 80 Points 100 Points Last Points Last edited by WaffleT#6054 on Feb 16, 2017, 11:29:44 PM Last bumped on Apr 30, 2018, 9:36:20 AM
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So fuc**ing awesome build. Good job, I like it a lot!
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This build looks awesome
Difference between the tri-curse popular witch one? More damage /more tankyness, etc? Edit: also, If possible can you unprivate your profile? would love to take a look at your current setup, etc! Edit2: How about the guardian's ascendancies, which ones to get first, etc? :D "Good thing they nerfed the carto, it wasn't fun to find one in every map." - Haborym Last edited by monkuar#2123 on Jul 7, 2016, 1:22:40 AM
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" I checked out that curse witch one you mentioned. If I swap faster casting gem into concentrated effect like they have then my tooltip average hit damage is higher then theirs even while being 10 levels lower then them. They do sometimes have shock and ignite from their ascendancy but thats conditional and not to my taste. Their defences also rely on a curse on hit proc while my resistances and armour are always active and work on curse immune mobs. I don't even mention my 70% block chance that occurs once every 5 seconds for example because its not always active I have unprivated my profile if you want a look, I plan to change some of it to match my recommended tree. Don't have elemental overload yet despise how good it is because again conditional effects are less reliable Unwavering Faith is the core of the build. Then Bastion of Hope is pretty neat for block and stats. Last two points don't get a keystone just armour and ES nodes. Last edited by WaffleT#6054 on Jul 7, 2016, 4:21:50 AM
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OP, how do you think your dps and ES will change if you'll use 6l plesge of hands with rain of fire instead?
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" ES would stay about the same, more mana but less % Int damage would plummet to pathetic levels as firestorm doesn't get damage from Int which is the whole point |
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What do you think of using Shavronne's Gambit? 30 int, 35% run speed, 2% ES regen.
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" Thanks for the information! And for unprivating your characters. If you have time, maybe you can upload some videos! I would love to watch them, again, thanks! I'm thinking of trying this build. I have that witch build already (lv. 85) dont really feel like leveling up a new character, as it's the same exact playstyle. Maybe if it's possible to do this build on a witch instead? But I might level up the templar, not sure, just kind of bored of the same skill. Been playing it forever lol I also don't really know if there will be any noticable differences. Obviously this build is more tanky... and seems like more DMG.. but I really just not sure "Good thing they nerfed the carto, it wasn't fun to find one in every map." - Haborym Last edited by monkuar#2123 on Jul 7, 2016, 3:19:32 PM
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" not good. Its got the same Int and way less ES. I wouldn't do that for 2% ES regen even if it did have the movement speed. The movement speed is "while at full life" and this build is never at full life |
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" no worries. I probably should make some videos. I've just already made a few back on my witch version and it feels like more of the same when the mechanics of the skill don't change just the numbers on the damage and defences Its possible to do a similar build as a witch but it needs quite a bit changed. The biggest things you'd lose would be 10% aura effectiveness which means you'd have to get more resistances from tree or gear. The witch doesn't scale mana into flat ES so you'd need to drop a lot of Int to get some base ES, probably swapping at least the helmet and belt, when I was witch I also used empower on discipline for more base ES. Lastly you lose all the physical metigation which is the hardest to make up for. Artic armour and chaos golem do some but won't be as tanky. Honestly if you are tired of the fire/ice storm skill type I would just play something else, I spent two leagues doing melee and coc stuff before returning to the spell scene. Whispering ice is famously fast to level usually only taking a day or two if you have the gear ready since everything it wears has such low level requirements but it can get very fatiguing going through all the acts again and the intital grind to act 4 when you can start using the staff |
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