[3.25] Wintertide Brand Trickster Build

Ascendancy order: One Step Ahead -> Polymath -> Escape Artist -> Spellbreaker Leveling Tips for Wintertide: Act 1: At level 12 after grabbing the waypoint in the cavern of anger, you can talk to Nessa to purchase Wintertide Brand (2nd page) for one Transmute Links: Wintertide Brand - Efficacy - Arcane Surge Try to find a shield somewhere, purchase shield charge for faster leveling anytime during act 1 Act 2: After rescuing Helena, take Skitterbots/Cold Snap, buy the other gem from vendor. After Weaver, take controlled destruction/elemental focus, and buy the other gem the vendor Links: Wintertide Brand - Efficacy - Controlled Destruction - Elemental Focus Cold Snap - Arcane surge - (any spell damage gem if you have room) Act 3: After General Gravicious, take frostbite as quest reward, pick up grace or malevolence from vendor Quality on your Wintertide Brand is High Priority, prioritize adding quality to Wintertide on all of your Labyrinth fonts (unless you get a rare font craft) Act 4: Pick up bonechill from quest reward, link to Cold Snap For the rest of the acts, your double 4-link setup will probably be below as links permit: Wintertide Brand - Efficacy - Controlled Destruction - Elemental Focus Cold Snap - Arcane surge - Bonechill - Controlled Destruction Hypothermia can be slotted in BBBG gear if needed, or added as a 5th link Act 6: Consider purchasing your other major gems to start leveling in your offhand. Act 8: Try to have the below masteries allocated around the time you grab Polymath from your 2nd Lab: -Brands attach to a new enemy every 0.3 seconds (Brand Equity) +30 to max life (Cruel Preparation) -exposure applies at least -18% (Snowforged) +15% skill effect duration (Acrimony) Act 9/10: Take Evasion/ES 4-link chests as quest rewards, so that you have something for your Escape Artist Bonus. You can Spec into Eldritch Battery and Mind Over Matter around your third lab, make sure you have Discipline & Ghost Shrouds. => RuneBinder is NOT a significant boost to damage early on. Since most of our damage comes from the Wintertide's end debuff, you do not have to rush to Runebinder. I usually pick up somewhere between level 40-55. Top 3 early upgrades to make before you start collecting low life transition uniques (prism guardian, brutal restraint, etc.) -Decent Weapon with cast speed (you don't have frenzy charges yet and also eldritch battery prevents you from spending mana to activate arcane surge) - see items for example weapon -6-link Evasion/ES base (no explanation needed) -Rime Gaze (big damage) First two watchstones should be easily obtainable with above upgrades. 3rd and 4th also doable, but might be slightly difficult as EB MOM version damage falls off. => Your ultimate goal is to switch to low life as soon as possible. The increases to damage and defense in the low life version are very significant.