[3.25] Ice Dancing Queen - Icestorm/Cyclone/CI - Viable For Everything

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WinterHiko wrote:

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Robbbb wrote:

Just in case I'm missing something.. the ascendency notes say:

1. Heartstopper
2. Escape Artist
3. Soul Drinker
4. Polymath

which I took to be in order given they're numbered. Surely for SC heartstopper is 4th no?

Indeed, you start with Polymath and Heartstopped is last.

Ascendancy nodes are listed in the safest order. Mostly for the people trying the build for the first time. Heartstopper is pretty good early on. More experienced WI players can skip it and start with Escape Artist -> Soul Drinker. Especially if you like going CI early (act 7, right after the 2nd lab).

Taking Polymath first doesn't make any sense. You don't have multiple Masteries at lv 33 to use its damage, and your hp/mana pool is too small for Polymath to restore anything that matters.

If you've played this build before and know what you are doing, you can skip Heartstopper and go for One Step Ahead as the final one:
Escape Artist -> Soul Drinker -> Polymath -> One Step Ahead.

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Graiaule wrote:

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RaGe0uS wrote:

Has anyone ever run a Cold Dot build like this one for a league starter?

https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3450602

I ran it through POB using the Whispering Ice Build Passives and it's pretty comparable.

That's a nice find! I was looking for something similar. Using whirling blades for movement is an interesting idea.

The initial bottleneck is likely to be getting BBG BGG BBB gear. Might be worthwhile to run a witch first to get two shots at the vendor to start with.

Note: you don't want to run Eldritch Battery and CI at the same time so it might be worth actually following the build today to see if there are other issues as well.

I just ran it through Act 1 to see what whirling blades was like and I'll be honest, I don't get it. I think I'd rather just use frost blink like usual. It is definitely more involved than running icicle mines like the guide suggest (which I normally do), but has better DPS by far I feel, especially on bosses. Mana is an issue atm. I'm using a pot after each mob still, but maybe it will get better as I progress and pick up that big Int cluster at the top.

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RaGe0uS wrote:

I just ran it through Act 1 to see what whirling blades was like and I'll be honest, I don't get it. I think I'd rather just use frost blink like usual. It is definitely more involved than running icicle mines like the guide suggest (which I normally do), but has better DPS by far I feel, especially on bosses. Mana is an issue atm. I'm using a pot after each mob still, but maybe it will get better as I progress and pick up that big Int cluster at the top.

Whirling blade's cooldown is 0.6 secs compared to frostblink's ~3 seconds. That's probably why he recommended it.

I can believe mana will be an issue. We should probably go for Deep Thoughts/Mana Mastery before getting the cold damage wheel. Between that and Dreamer we should be good (hopefully.) Maybe just use Eldritch Battery and remove it when we convert to CI.

Build updated for 3.24

- Nothing changed in the base build.
- PoB updated. Leveling and Budget ones are simply converted to 3.24 with no changes. Added Rational Doctrine and Simplex Amulet to the High End one. Kept a cheaper Shaper/Crusader amulet there too (switch to it in Items).
- Added the Simplex to the Gearing Guide as an ultimate luxury upgrade.

God I will miss those Explody / Str+Dex Charms. Those were the deal breaker for me why last league was SO much fun. Having no need for stats on gear has made it possible to craft really high end gear without being filthy rich, and going explode mad mapping so much more fun...
Thx Kelvynn for the update, much love man!

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WinterHiko wrote:

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vbvan wrote:

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Supp0rtguy wrote:

Super excited to start 3.24 with this, amazing work by everyone involved here.

I normally play SSFHC exclusively and rip at some point but I thought I might try something elsethis time, push the endgame and experience the whole game but I´m not 100% sure yet.

Any opinions on how this build will perform in the below environments? How hard is it to get it going? I don´t mind being patient...

A) SSFHC
B) SSFSC
C) Trade HC

Thanks
Benjo

It is harder to get the staff in SSF nowadays. You can check the advice people gave for farming the staff (see page 291, around Nov 12, 2023).
This means you likely need to find an SSFHC viable shadow build to reach early mapping first.

I built this twice in SSF. The staves are hell to farm. Last league I dropped two Brass Domes, two Prism Guardians, Aegis Aurora and multiple other such rarer uniques before I got a second staff.

You also can forget about synth belt and rings, or Split personalities.

Realistically, it's a good second build in SSF, and a great league starter in trade league.

I really wouldn't play this in SSFHC, because the items that take it into immortal territory are not realistically farmable.

This feels strange because the wiki says T2 unique is at least 10x rarer than T3 unique (pre-3.19 data is 0.8% vs. 10.9%). Maybe the base (only one unique in the pool) is much rarer than other bases? This may imply that chancing / div card (whose drop rate is likely also reduced) is a better way (assuming the unique is still T3) in SSF.

Thanks as always Kelvynn. You Rock man!

Div cards for the staff are now super rare. You're better off farming for a raw drop with IIR.

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Kelvynn wrote:

Build updated for 3.24

- Nothing changed in the base build.
- PoB updated. Leveling and Budget ones are simply converted to 3.24 with no changes. Added Rational Doctrine and Simplex Amulet to the High End one. Kept a cheaper Shaper/Crusader amulet there too (switch to it in Items).
- Added the Simplex to the Gearing Guide as an ultimate luxury upgrade.

Hey there and thanks again for continuingly updating this build! Your Whispering Ice build (Scion or Shadow) is my go-to for couple of years now.
Last league I was able to farm a lot in delve and achieved to get a Mageblood in the end - all thanks to your build!

Happy Easter and all the best to you - stay healthy!

Good job on keeping this incredible build up to date