ShakCentral's Class Builds For Everyone, Episode 1: Intro and Leveling. More details in the comments.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LATEST CHANGELOG ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- CURRENT GUIDE VERSION => 1.2.1 || 2022-04-28 -- [ Added ] More explanation of the CI transition | Anointment & Catalyst options | Energy From Within to "Lvl 100 Trade" tree [ Added ] Notes on: Build flexibility, Off-color socketing, reminder for Trade to use SSF (CI) links until you swap to Low Life, multiple flask notes [ Added ] Cluster Jewels and crafting, Arrogance and Life Reservation Mastery, Stacking Mana for auras, Leveling gems and aura swap timing [ Changed ] Trade "Lvl 100" Tree pathing: Divine Judgment, Melding, & Asylum and removed Heart of Ice, Foresight, and Leadership [ Changed ] Lategame Trade Amulet | Trade - Vitality, Frost Bomb, Punishment out; Brand Recall, CWDT + Molten Shell, Defiance Banner in [ Changed ] Shortened Links | SSF Lategame Boots to Atziri's Step. [ Fixed ] Spelling / grammar corrections | 1 step in the Helmet crafting process [ Removed ] Orb of Storms removed from leveling gems. > Previous Changelogs can be viewed here: https://bit.ly/shakcb4e ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LINKS AND NON-BUILD INFO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Forum Guide: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2661120 > Discord / Twitch / YouTube: https://discord.gg/tkzCFtN | https://www.twitch.tv/shakcentral | https://www.youtube.com/c/ShakCentral > Community Global Chat Channel: /1919 (Right click the "Global" chat button in-game) > Other "Class Builds For Everyone" Guides: > (Ranger) Toxic Rain for Everyone: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3254104 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TABLE OF CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------- BUILD OVERVIEW AND GENERAL NOTES ------------------------------------------------------- > Opening Notes - PLEASE READ > PoB Setup & Configuration > 3.17 Updates (Influenced Items, Glancing Blows) > General "Sectionless" Notes ---------------- ENDGAME ---------------- > General Endgame Notes > SSF (Chaos Inoculation-oriented) > Trade (Low-Life-oriented) > Items and General Crafting --------------- LEVELING --------------- > General Leveling Notes > Act 1 Vendor Recipes > Gems (with leveling notes) > Leveling Uniques and Starter Mapping Trade Links ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BUILD OVERVIEW AND GENERAL NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Opening Notes - PLEASE READ > If you haven't read the forum guide, PLEASE do so. The information in this PoB relies on it. > THE DPS, RESISTS, AND ATTRIBUTES IN THIS POB ARE NOT ACCURATE. > This is because the items were designed to be as helpful as possible for new players, not to make the left-side stats panel look good. > Most of the modifiers are not calculated in PoB, as they are custom mod lists to give examples of good mods for each item slot. > Remember that items in PoB aren't real; use the modifier lists on each item to make informed decisions for your crafts and trades. > The "Custom Modifiers" box in the Configuration tab has a custom mod granting +135% to all Elemental Resistances. > This simulates -60% from Kitava and capping resists for endgame at 75%. Get resists wherever possible - you MUST be capped. > Chaos Res (for non-CI builds) is different. 0% is a good early endgame goal. Get as close to 75% as possible eventually. > PoB only calculates 1 Brand. To see accurate Brand DPS enter the text below into "Custom Modifiers" in Configuration: > Wintertide Brand deals 180% more damage. > The SSF version of Cold DoT is designed to be Chaos Inoculation and the Trade version is designed to transition into Low Life later on. > Be flexible; Trade players can stay CI and SSF players can farm or find a Shav's and go Low Life. > The PoB's Configuration is set to show bossing DPS. > PoB Setup and Configuration > Click "Tree" above the stats display on the left. In the skill tree window use the bottom dropdown menu to select your skill tree. > There are 5 leveling trees and the SSF and Trade builds each have a lvl 80, 90, and 100 skill tree. > In the "Skills" tab, make sure your version's links are enabled and the other version disabled. > Select the appropriate equipment in the "Items" tab using the dropdown menu at the top. > Configuration settings: > Both versions - Check "Do you always have Energy Shield", "Have you Cast a Spell Recently", and "Is the enemy Chilled". > "Is the enemy a Boss" should be set to Sirus, and "# of Brands attached to the enemy" should be 3. > SSF - Check "Are you always on Full Life". > Trade - Check "Are you always on Low Life", "Have you been Hit Recently" and "Do you use Endurance Charges". > 3.17 Updates > Conqueror-influenced items are now gated behind T14 maps, making it harder to obtain the following items: > Crusader shields and belts, Hunter gloves and amulets, and Redeemer boots and amulets. > Don't allocate Glancing Blows unless you have a Shaper or Crusader shield with "Recover (3-5)% of Energy Shield when you Block". > General "Sectionless" Notes -- ELEMENTAL FOCUS AND HYPOTHERMIA -- > Ele Focus prevents Wintertide from chilling. The SSF version no longer uses it; it's optional for Trade with Hypothermia as the alternative. > At level 5, Awakened Ele Focus gives +1 gem level and is too strong not to use. Non-Awakened Focus vs Hypo is preference. > In the Skills section the Trade Wintertide 6L has a disabled Hypothermia as the Ele Focus alternative. -- WINTERTIDE BRAND (WTB) MECHANICS -- > When a brand attaches to an enemy, it applies a stackable "Wintertide" debuff. It gains a "stage" and damage every 0.25 seconds. > When the brand is removed for any reason (death/duration/Brand Recall), it creates an un-stackable debuff called "Wintertide's End". > Wintertide's End (WTE) is a NON-stackable debuff applied via a circular AoE. It is NOT chilled ground and deal NO area damage. > WTE chills and deals Cold DoT equal to the final stage of the Wintertide debuff that it originates from (I know that's confusing). > Socketing Wintertide in a Rime Gaze is pure downside, as Concentrated Effect would only nerf the WTE application AoE. > Increases to Cast Speed let WTB gain stages faster, and increased Duration allows the brand to stay attached for longer. -- BANE AND CAST WHEN DAMAGE TAKEN SPECIAL RESTRICTIONS -- > Both Bane and Cast When Damage taken include the line "This Gem can only Support Skill Gems requiring Level 'x' or lower". > If the skills that Bane / CWDT support are higher than the 'x' threshold, they will NOT be supported. > For Cold DoT you can run CWDT at any level from 10-20; make sure your Molten Shell doesn't level out of range. -- FLASK MODIFIERS -- > You can fully automate flasks by collecting 5 Instilling Orbs and Glassblower's Baubles per flask and craft "Use when full" from your bench. > The elemental flasks give defensive benefits equivalent to ~80% resists. Do NOT use them to cap resists in place of item modifiers. > You can use other flasks if desired (Quicksilver, Basalt, etc). The best flasks to replace are: > With Aegis Aurora, replace Sapphire (Cold res is already +5%). Without Aegis, you can replace either Topaz or Sapphire. > Supressing Spell damage and Blocking count as being "hit". Because of this, there is a best flask prefix: > "Gain x Charges when you are Hit by an Enemy" is broken and will almost guaruntee 100% uptime. All flasks should have this prefix. >There are no flask suffixes in the Items tab; use the ones that fit your needs best. Good suffixes to consider: > Bleed / Ignite / Curse immunity, Armour, Movement Speed, Cast Speed, and Poison Immunity (Low-Life only) > You can have 100% reduced Curse effect with the Asylum wheel & notable (30%), Armour & ES mastery (20%), and a flask suffix. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ENDGAME ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Both Versions > Transitioning from the Act 9+10 Life build to Chaos Inoculation requires passive skill planning. > Save up the respec points you get through the Acts (2 per Act; 20 total). You can also buy regrets from town vendors for 2 Scours. > Start by connecting the right side passives at the Witch start to the rest of the tree, allowing you to respec the left-side points. > See the SSF section below for my preferred transition method - farming the Act 10 Ossuary and switching to CI before killing Kitava. > Mana is a common issue for new Cold DoT players. Because of Vitality / Clarity, you need a large mana pool, not just high Regen. > Don't neglect the Intelligence wheels or disregard mana modifiers on items. Ideally you want as close to 2,000 mana as possible. > Attributes are also a concern. Be willing to deviate from the PoB if needed for +30 Notables, Practical Application, or other attribute points. > Skill rotations for mapping and bossing are straightforward: > While mapping, cast WTB as needed and use Flame Dash and Brand Recall as often as possible. > For bossing, cast WTB every 2-3 seconds. Use Bane and Frost Bomb to apply curses and Cold Exposure. Flame Dash as needed. > Avoid Brand Recall while bossing. This disrupts the flow of Wintertide's End and can cut significantly into your boss DPS. > SSF (Chaos Inoculation-oriented) > Start preparing for Chaos Inoculation ASAP in Acts 9-10. The Act 10 Ossuary is a great place to collect starter endgame items. > Look for ES item bases requiring level 60+ and a Heavy Belt, Amulet (Citrine if possible), and multiple resist ring bases. > The goal for starter endgame items is simple: ES, Armour, resists, and a wand with 2-4 damage mods. > Best starter crafting methods (as available): League Mechanic, then Essences / Fossils / Bindings, then Alteration spam. > If you're comfortable dodging enemies, you can swap to CI intuitively. If you're new, try to accumulate around 4,500 ES first. > The lategame SSF Boot is Atziri's Step. If you're unfamiliar with the fight, see this old but still great guide: https://youtu.be/NHLl6Z6-ZeU > Make sure you understand the Reflect part of the fight and the trio of bosses before Atziri. > Video link to help with crafting and the CI transition: https://youtu.be/iwsFiPdAx4Y > Trade (Low-Life oriented) > Until you acquire a Shav's, you should go CI using the SSF Skill gem links. > The level 80 Trade tree is set to CI because most league-starting players will be CI at that point. > Move to Low-Life as soon as feasible. The damage and QoL from Low-Life will make even a 4L Shav's feel great until red maps. > If you don't have a Shav's by lvl 90, don't allocate Pain Attunement. Take some of the lvl 91-100 skill points until you get it. > Until Arrogance Support is leveled and you have the Life Res Efficiency mastery, link it with a 35% aura (Tempest Shield / Discipline). > If you don't use Rime Gaze, you can socket Vortex in an Essence Glove with "Socketed Gems deal 30% more DoT". > Crafting > The crafting methods below are mostly "general use"; they're meant to help you craft good, usable items, not perfect T1 mirror gear. > Specific / in-depth crafting methods will be labeled as "endgame", with a "general use" method included afterward. > Off-Color Socket Trick > If you need 2-4 off-colors on a 4-socket item with high attribute requirements (i.e. non-Gs on Atziri's Step), DON'T SPAM CHROMES! > Put the item in your crafting bench. set it to 2 sockets, and use the bench to color them as needed (either 15 or 25 Chromes). > If you need more off-colors, set it to 3 sockets. If you don't hit the color, go back and forth between 2-3 sockets until you do. > This method uses mostly Jewellers and saves a lot of currency. > Endgame Wand 1. Obtain an ilvl 2 Driftwood Wand from the Coast or an ilvl 2 Demon's Horn. > ilvl 2 Horn is only possible by turning in Dark Temptation sets with a lvl 2 character, Vaal-bricking it, and vendor recipe-ing it. 2. Spam Deafening Essences of Woe for "+1 to level of all Cold Spell Skill Gems". > If you're ok with a lower Spell Damage modifier, SSF players can use Shrieking / Screaming Woes. 3. Use Orbs of Annulment to try for an open prefix AND suffix. If you annul Spell Damage or the +1 Gems, start again at step 2. 4. Craft "Prefixes cannot be changed". Use a Scouring Orb to remove all suffixes, leaving a rare wand with only 2 prefixes. 5. Craft "Can have up to 3 Crafted Modifiers", then "18-20% Cold DoT Multi" and "21-30% increased DoT". 6. Wand has 1 open mod. Get a Fenumus beast via trade / Einhar missions and fight it to craft "Aspect of the Spider". > If you're Low-Life, swap to CI for the Fenumus fight. He will murder you. > "General use" wand crafting can be done with Essences of Woe or Aetheric / Frigid Fossils. > Shield > Dense Fossils on a Shaper or Crusader base for the ES-on-block mod. > Body Armour > Dense Fossils or Essences of Woe for high Energy Shield. > Endgame Helmet (ONLY for rich players; Rime Gaze or Crown gives you 95% of this power for very cheap) 1. Buy or Alt spam ilvl 85 Redeemer Hubris Circlet with -9 Cold Res and NO other redeemer mod(s). 2. Buy any Helmet base with level 20 Hypothermia and no other shaper mod. 3. Awaken the Hypothermia base ONTO the Redeemer Hubris. If you don't hit an open suffix, sell the helm and start over. 5. Craft "Suffixes cannot be changed" and scour to only have the awakened mods left. > If there isn't an open prefix for the meta craft above, use Harvest "Reforge keeping suffix" crafts. > Be sure to bench craft any suffix mod before using the Harvest craft or you could brick the helm. 6. Multimod in this order: "Can have 3 crafted modifiers", then "Suffixes cannot be changed". Now use Aisling's add unveiled mod. > Be sure both meta crafts are done before using Aisling. This removes "Suffixes cannot be changed" and adds an unveiled prefix. 7. Bench craft "+1 to Zombies". This blocks the highest weight veiled mod. Unveil the prefix. You want +2 to AoE for Vortex. 8. If you don't hit +2 AoE, craft "Suffixes cannot be changed", remove +1 Zombies via the bench and Annul the unveiled mod. > If you annul "Suffixes cannot be changed", craft it again and annul until you have "Suffixes cannot be changed" as the only prefix. 9. Try another Aisling and repeat until you get +2 AoE. Always bench craft +1 to Zombies after each Aisling. 10. Go to your bench and remove the crafted mods. Craft "Can have 3 crafted modifiers", % ES, and Flat ES. > Getting a Rime Gaze or a Crown drop should be fairly easy, but general helmet crafting is just Dense Fossils / Woe Essences > If you use a rare for early mapping, try to avoid over-reliance on its resists, as neither unique has any. It'll make the swap easier. > Endgame Boots 1. Buy ilvl 84 Sorcerer Boots with Fractured T1 %ES or T1 flat ES 2. Enchant the boots with 35% mana regen and quality to 30% with perfect fossils. 3. Use Dense Fossils for T1 flat or % ES (whichever isn't fractured). The result needs an open prefix and suffix. 4. Bench craft "Prefixes cannot be changed" and Aisling slam, hoping for Movement Speed / Onslaught prefix. > If you get a suffix unveil, Annul/Scour and try again. If you get a bad prefix, start over at step 3. 5. Optional: If you hit bad suffixes during step 3, craft "Prefixes cannot be changed". > Harvest "reforge defense / lightning" for a chance at high tier ES Recharge Rate or a Resist. > "General use": Shuddering fossils. You can use Scorched Fossils on Redeemer boots, as they block the only bad Redeemer mods. > Gloves > Frigid Fossils on Hunter gloves. On regular gloves use Dense Fossils for high ES or Rage / Sorrow Essences for high attributes. > Amulet > Presence of Chayula - use Defense Catalysts to convert an extra 4% of your Life to Energy Shield > Amulet are the most versatile item for Cold DoT. Crafting options include these options: > For Shaper, Frigid + Dense Fossils. You want Cold DoT Multi, and Dense fossils block bad mods while adding ES mods. > For Crusader, Dense Fossils for multiple ES modifiers. > For others, any of Aetheric, Dense, or Frigid Fossils for Damage / ES. > The +1 gems modifiers have been moved into the core mod pool. I'm not sure the best way to craft +1/+2 Amulets is yet. > Rings > Spam Rage/Sorrow Essences for high attributes and / or resists. > Crusader, Redeemer, and Hunter Rings can roll useful mods with Aetheric Fossils. > Endgame Belt 1. Buy an ilvl 84 Crusader Crystal Belt. Use Tempering Catalysts to 20%. 2. Use Dense Fossils or Corroded + Dense + Sanctified until you get T1 flat ES and T1 % ES 3. If you have 3 prefixes, keep high Armor mods or Annul if the 3rd prefix is bad. If you remove either ES roll, start over. 4. With good prefixes and open suffix, craft "Prefixes can't be changed" then Harvest "Reforge Defense" to get ES recovery. > "General use": for Shaper / Crusader Crystal Belts, spam Dense Fossils. For others use Rage/Sorrow Essences for attributes and ES. > Cluster Jewels > LARGES: 8 passives, "12% Cold Damage", ideally ilvl 49 or lower. > SSF Note: If you don't have a Cold large, there are good Notables on Spell / Elemental / Fire / Lightning damage clusters. > You want Deep Chill, Prismatic Heart, and any relevant 3rd Notable if possible. Use Frigid Fossils or Harvest Cold reforges. > MEDIUMS: 4-5 passives, "10% Damage over Time" (easier to roll than Cold DoT), ilvl 68+ > Alt Spam for Brush with Death. Rolling a good 2nd Notable (Vile Reinvig or Deep Chill) is expensive (>1000 Alt average). > SMALLS: 2 passives, "15% Armour" (for Endurance Charges) or "6% Energy Shield" (for either ES on Kill or high ES total), ilvl 68+ > Alt spam for Enduring Composure (Armour), Brush with Death (ES), or Energy from Naught (ES). > Anointments and Catalysts > Budget Anointment 1: Divine Judgment. 1 Sepia, 1 Teal, 1 Black. 50% increased Elemental Damage > Budget Anointment 2: Disciple of the Unyielding. 1 Violet, 1 Crimson, 1 Opalescent. More Endurance Charges + damage per charge > Best Anointment: Tranquility. 1 Azure, 2 Golden. 5% Max ES + Transfiguration of Soul (tl;dr - more damage) > Tempering (Defense) Catalysts - High ES Belt. | Imbued (Caster) Catalysts - Mark of the Shaper or other high damage jewellery. > Intrinsic (Attribute) Catalysts - Jewellery with high attributes | Prismatic (Resistance) Catalysts - Obvious; high resist items. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LEVELING ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > General Leveling Notes > If you're struggling for resists, Purity of Elements is a great crutch (at a high 50% mana reservation cost) and can be bought in Act 3. > If you need Transmutes, sell items unidentified. If you need Alterations, ID them first. > Swap Skitterbots for Determination when you feel your damage is high enough and you want more defenses. Act 9 / 10 at latest. > Take out Vitality when you go CI and stop needing Life Regeneration. > If your mana starts to feel tight, stop leveling Clarity and/or Vitality for a while until you have more mana. > Vendor Recipes > There are 2 vendor recipes that matter for spellcaster in the early game. > 1. Selling an Iron Ring with a skill gem will grant a resistance ring of that gem's associated resist. > 2. Selling a Magic (blue) wand + 1 Orb of Alteration + 1 resistance ring will grant a wand with added elemental damage to spells. > This is incredibly useful early on while leveling with non-DoT skills, especially if you can make 1-2 before Brutus or Mervail. > "Added damage to spells" mods do not work with Damage over Time, so you'll need a new wand when you swap to full Cold DoT. > Gems & Links > Don't worry too much about having perfect links while leveling. Use what you have, adjust where you can, and keep moving. > As your sockets fill up, don't forget you can level gems in your "off-hand" weapons for 6 extra sockets. > This is especially useful for leveling gems that aren't being used until later Acts or the Endgame (Discipline, 5L/6L Supports, etc) > Skill gem colors are to the right of each line. Plusses or commas between gems show linked or unlinked sockets respectively. > Example: "Stormblast Mine + Swift Assembly | B+G" <- The two gems should be linked in a blue + green socket combo. > For 4+ links, gems are listed by priority. Link as many as possible (After Act-3 don't use damage skills with less than 3 links). > Arcane Surge only triggers after a certain amount of mana is spent. From gem levels 1 to 6, this happens at 15|16|17|19|22|26 mana. > Check your Flame Dash mana cost occasionally and when it reaches a new cost threshold, level Arcane Surge. > Skill gems starting with a purple letter are given as a free quest reward. Check with quest NPCs so you don't miss these free gems. ----------- ACT I ----------- > Level 2-4 > Leveling from 1-12 (or even 28+) can be done with many different skills. If you don't like the gems below, level with your favorites. > Freezing Pulse (Drop Fireball) + Arcane Surge | B+B > Stormblast Mine | B > Mines are manually detonated. When you socket Stormblast you'll gain a "Detonate Mines" skill. > Detonate Mines is bound to D by default, but can be re-bound to any skillbar button, including left mouse. > Level 4-10 > Frost Bomb (Drop Freezing Pulse) | B > Stormblast Mine + Swift Assembly, Steelskin (Optional; put on Left Mouse for an auto-guard skill) | B+G, R > Frostblink + Arcane Surge | B+B (You can also link Frost Bomb to Surge if you have a B+B+B) > At Prison Waypoint, get Added Lightning and link with Stormblast Mine (B+G+B). Buy Efficacy (B) and level it for Wintertide Brand. > Level 10 & 12 > Replace Frostblink with Flame Dash after Brutus. > Buy Vitality, Clarity | R-B > At Cavern of Wrath Waypoint: Buy Wintertide Brand + Efficacy | B+B > Wintertide can now be your main clear skill, but remember to keep Frost Bomb leveling for Cold Exposure and the endgame. > Final Act 1 Links > Single target: Stormblast Mine + Swift Assembly + Added Lightning | B+G+B > Clearing: Wintertide Brand + Efficacy | B+B > Movement: Flame Dash + Arcane Surge | B+B > Auras and Utility: Vitality, Clarity, Frost Bomb | R, B, B ----------- ACT II ----------- > Level 16 & 18 > 16: Buy Skitterbots; Trade players buy Tempest Shield | B, B > Cold Snap is free, so it can be used as supplemental damage if desired | B > 18: Replace Swift Assembly with Trap and Mine Damage. Controlled Destruction and link with Wintertide | B+B+B > Buy Brand Recall, Elemental Focus, and a 2nd Controlled Destruction. | B, B, B > Brand Recall is technically optional, but for most players it's a large QoL boost. > Final Act 2 Links > Single target: Stormblast Mine + Trap and Mine Damage + Added Lightning | B+G+B > Clearing: Wintertide Brand + Efficacy + Controlled Destruction | B+B+B > Movement: Flame Dash + Arcane Surge | B+B > Auras: Vitality, Clarity, Skitterbots | R, B, B > Utility: Frost Bomb, Brand Recall | B, B ---------------- ACT III+IV ---------------- > Run Vaal side areas for Vaal Discipline and / or use Vaal Orbs on regular Disciplines. > Vaal Orb recipe = 7 Vaal gems + 1 Sacrifice Fragment. > Level 24 > Frostbite and buy Bane, Elemental Weakness, and Discipline (optional; see above) | 5xB > Buy Grace if you're in SSF and Malevolence if you're in Trade | G, B > Frostbite can be used immediately; the rest are endgame gems and can level in off-hand sockets. > The gems are listed in priority order if you don't have currency to buy all of them at once. > Level 28 & 31 > After Gravicius, buy Vortex and link with Controlled Destruction + Ele Focus (Drop Steelskin) | B+B+B > Run Library for Swift Affliction and buy 2x Hypothermia, Determination, Inspiration, and Molten Shell | G, G, G, R, R, R, R > If you plan to go Low-Life, buy Arrogance. If you're staying CI, buy Punishment | R, R > The gems are listed in priority order if you don't have currency to buy all of them at once. > You can swap to full Cold DoT (WTB + Vortex, drop Stormblast Mine) as soon as you have B+B+B+G and B+B+G+G links. > Final Act 3-4 Links > Single target: Vortex + Controlled Destruction + Hypothermia + Swift Affliction | B+B+G+G > Clearing: Wintertide Brand + Efficacy + Controlled Destruction + Hypothermia | B+B+B+G > Movement: Flame Dash + Arcane Surge | B+B > Auras: Vitality, Clarity, Skitterbots | R, B, B > Utility: Frost Bomb, Brand Recall (Bomb or Recall can link with F.Dash + Surge in a B+B+B), Frostbite | B, B > After Act 3, the only gem changes are in Act 4. Get Bonechill and level it as the 5th Wintertide link. > Buy Cast When Damage Taken and link with Molten Shell if you have available sockets | R+R > You have all gems after A4. Level as many as possible (don't forget off-hands!). See Leveling Notes above for aura swap info. > Leveling Uniques and Starter Mapping Trade Links > Paste the links below into your browser to trade for strong leveling uniques as well as cheap items for early endgame maps. > Wanderlust : https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Onslaught/EBoYS5 > Goldrim : https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Onslaught/nrblf0 > Lifesprig : https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Onslaught/LgaXhn > Lochtonial Caress : https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Onslaught/yddGhR > Berek's Grip : https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Onslaught/X37KsP > Astramentis : https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Onslaught/dVKOIJ > Rime Gaze : https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Onslaught/PrZ2mrDcL > Bated Breath : https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Onslaught/KYMjbDS5 > Spine of the First Claimant : https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Onslaught/3LW5i5 > 2-5C Starter Wand : https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Onslaught/jjrjZDRfX > 2-5C Starter Body Armour : https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Onslaught/4rVrbkMf9 > 2-5C Starter Armour/ES Shield : https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Onslaught/6k7kmp2iG > 2-5C Starter Boots : https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Onslaught/XD0QKJ7IP > 2-5C Starter Gloves : https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Onslaught/KD0B7ryU5 > 2-5C Starter Rings : https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Onslaught/YqMorqvhY > 2-5C Starter Amulet : https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Onslaught/W9G8q2ZSm