Hay guys, I'm back with more dreadful videos but at least it's not Arcanist Brand VD any more! :D

'member Flickering Blizzard?? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2wNJmibeLA) It sort of got torn apart over the years by boss buffs and mana nerfs and so the already thin build fell apart.

I've been eyeing over the years when it was ripe for a comeback and thanks to Usurper's Penance, which grants up to 30% chance to gain a Frenzy Charge on Crit at "close range" (with no cooldown or per-skill limit apparently), we've shorn off the massive opp cost of Red Trail (and its Golden Rule + Bleed nodes requirement) into the helmet slot, allowing us to wear LL stuff, which in turn allows lots of auras!

The real star of the show is Ashes of the Stars though - initially Badge of the Brotherhood was pretty functional but Divergent Flicker Strike with 50% quality = 50% increased teleport range, making Flicker reach an insane ride I've never experienced before. Naturally, with Ashes' +1, spell scaling is included. Anomalous Ice Nova also enjoys 2.5% increased damage PER QUALITY making 30% from Ashes translate to 60% increased Damage just from alt quality alone. Not only that, as a mini-aura stacker all your auras get a +1, as does HoI. Please help push the build further - this is just a template and I'm already thinking of Mjolner variants with Shock Nova / Arc on the cards :)

The rest of this post I'm just gonna copypasta since it's the same points!

========= KEY FEATURES =======

• 50% increased teleport range Flicker Strike (Ashes of the Stars scales spells, + Divergent Flicker = "offscreen" mobs at top/bottom of screen!)

• HoI shatter all day

• Very good scaling with currency (video has no 21 Ice Nova/Spear, Bottled Faith or even Zealotry, uses cheap cold cluster, no Awakened GMP, no +2 Prism Guardian, no Hatred Crit Watcher's etc)

• Significantly cheaper than traditional Phys -> Cold Flicker with way more defensive auras (Purity of Elements, Determination, Defiance Banner) and no + Frenzy Ring / Glove / Strike requirements

• Funded by billions of failed Omniscience crafts

• TRIPLE SPEC: Cluster Swaps = Flicker Ice Spear for Pinnacle bossing. Helm Swap = Cyclone CoC (and 9k ES hurr).

• 25-30k armour with just armour flask

• ~9k VMS with Vaal Discipline for annoying Archnemesis DoTs

• Divine Shield

• Ailment immunity

• Hits 7.5k ES comfortably even with no Chayula's

• ES on Hit recovery is ridiculous (50-70 hits / sec - excluding CWDT-Ball Lightning)

• Can swap to Cyclone CoC without respec once you are too old / done for this shit (Flickering)

• Loot filter spec, backtracking SUCKS!

• Eldritch Altars make you have to control the Flicker too :(

• "Cold start" still possible but mostly fixed by Brittle Boots

======== PoB? ========

Video used a WAY worse version of this and was at about 15ex. Crucially, some clips do not feature Multistrike, which I later realised was a huge multiplier because my base AS was so low. Mapping speed went up by no less than 30%, too... So yes, the video showed some "slow" Flickering XD

This is the 20ex version I'm currently using (all content cleared.

https://pastebin.com/F5XrBDNC

"Dual Spec" Swap (only recommended for Pinnacle bosses):

Use Clusters with Eye to Eye + Repeater instead, these cost 25-40c each and 2 regrets to swap out.

Drop Wise Oak for Dying Sun

Increased Critical Strikes -> GMP (or Anomalous GMP but make sure your Ice Spear still costs at least 1 mana or Inspiration is disabled).

Assassin's Mark --> Sniper's Mark (which is insane for Multiboss Arenas too)

Your PoB will morph into: https://pastebin.com/9uMVM2ky

It is however important to note that for Pinnacle bosses you need to drop Brittle Ground - Flickering isn't considered movement so you just Flick to the target, release the button a little and walk a step, then hold it down again.

Do note that "Low Life" on bosses is now also 50% so Assassin pops off very very hard once you nuke them down with the initial Brittle drop. (11.3m sDPS with this PoB).

Pop in a Bottled Faith over Diamond Flask for 2 million more sDPS.

======== BOSSING ABILITY? ==========

Surprisingly Easy

Any Map Boss: They kind of just die even in Ice Nova form. Conquerors: Just weave Baran's shotguns if you don't nuke him quick enough. Sirus: You stick to him even if he teleports which is nuts for DPS and really satisfying. Elder Guardians: All jokes because of teleporting except Eradicator immune phase, fuck that guy. Pop VMS + Vaal Disc and run around. Eater of Worlds et all: CoC Ice Spear simply just does too much damage for these guys to matter, Flicker or Cyclone regardless.

Tricky

Uber Elder: Obviously, you love CoC, but don't flicker into Shaper balls or slam and that's about it, use it like a 3-round SMG burst instead of full-auto. Capiche? Feared: Sticking on a spinning Chayula is no good for your health, but honestly once you're past the 5m sDPS mark it's a nukefest.

ABSOLUTE GARBO

Maven: Please just slot Cyclone in, don't even bother trying. Flickering on the Brain WILL kill you. You can Flicker Maven herself sure, but just Cyclone the whole fight and it'll last less than a minute.

In fact, why do Maven at all this league??

==== BACKGROUND ====

FlickerCoC was an early dream of mine but a lot of build creators struggled to make it really viable back then, mostly because the IceNova/Frostbolt interaction was absent until 3.5. That combination alone scaled damage hard enough for it to tackle endgame content, and so Flickering Arc and Blizzard was born - a new way to experience Flicker Strike without having to invest in a physical weapon.

With Masteries, Aura and reservation reworks, and now Eldritch gear affording so much cheap power, the build can function as a top-tier mapper and a very strong bosser - for SOFTCORE of course. You can use this 20ex build to farm up the 100 ex to become a real phys-cold Flicker build. :D

==== FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS! ====

Occultist or Assasssin?

Assassin is the lower-budget and honestly more reliable build, primarily because of Ambush and Assassinate guaranteeing a crit fire which starts the Frenzy gen, plus shredding bosses once they hit low-life + inbuilt cull. Inbuilt Power Charge generation also frees you up from having to use PCoC.

Once you pass a currency threshold however - namely, being able to afford ES on Hit + base Hatred Crit Watcher's (so what, 30ex for just one jewel??), the gap is slightly closed. Occultist's primary gain is in slightly more ES and nuttier AoE, they gain 48% from power charges alone, making HoI really pop off even in Ice Spear spec. Resist shred is really good, and the -100% regen replaces all need for Frost Bomb. Finally they can even triple Curse and have a bunch of reduced damage taken, though at that point you kill stuff so fast you don't take damage at all.

TL:DR <20ex Assassin, >60ex Occultist. Trees are almost identical anyway, just throw a PCoC in Cospri's or something.

Can I build this on a budget / at level xx / how do I level?

I've addressed this in the video - I mean, I did actually try to build it cheap myself so I could give you an honest answer, and the answer is, don't do it. You need a 6L, off-colour Shavs and those are 5ex early league (3ex now). You need a 3ex Cluster. You need Disc on Hit ES Watcher's - and those are 4ex early league, (2.5ex now?).

So no, don't try it with less than 15ex!!! I mean, I did it with 8ex and a 5L and had a real crap time in T16s and had to bargain bin everything. Of course, if you're happy doing T14s to farm up the 15ex, by all means.

Also, level 90 is highly recommended. Just run Arma Brand to 90, seriously, not much can beat Arma Brand speed levelling even in its nerfed state.

And no, you cannot leaguestart a build using 5 rare-ish uniques, in-demand clusters and a bunch of alt-quality gems.

===== MORE TO COME! Need to finish Arceus.. And record some ER boss-abusing vids. ========

Credit to these gamers/chads:

THE BASE LL COC ICE NOVA BUILD is NOT MINE. It is almost a complete rip of themehmetbozlak's (YT) build - I spoke to him and he gave his blessing, even saying I didn't need his permission, what a gamer. If you want to stop being gimmicky and play a proper CoC build, hit up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xCJxPrUhoI - great presentation, explanation and a role model for my videos :'(

I do think this is highly similar to Qozmo's LL Ice Nova chars as well, who maintains an excellent forum guide on it.

Main adaptations: Mark on Hit for Sniper's/Assassin's, Strength focus for Determination + Divine Shield. Grace + Ghost Dance is a trap guys. Determination + Armour Flask + Freeze = much tankier and fewer random deaths.

Smash Mouth obviously, what a banger of a song, check out their new songs!

Piety Helm 1: r/Suitsizesmall (the Lab hero yes)

3D Cospri's Malice: Dark_Minaz via SketchFab, what a god

Spiderman dub: Jaboody ofc: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ30YNIcUWuSz8eVJZtLEjw

==== FINAL COMMENTS =====

Oh god, procrastination really got me, so did ER and Pokemon Arceus. I reckon we may all be in similar boats.

Forum guide for refining the build will eventually be live here:

https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3225536

Like with previous builds, I absolutely do not claim builds as my own - they are ALWAYS made stronger by community, people asking questions, suggesting changes, and minmaxing across a different variety of budgets. Apes together strong. Please head on over and ask questions here, on YT or the Forum so we can push this variant of the build to the maximum. (Plus, like I mentioned, LL CoC Ice Nova/Spear is hardly my invention so much of the minmaxing has been doing elsewhere already!)