In thisPath of Exile 2article, we will be taking a look at how to put together the Snow Sorceress build for you to use to get into the late-game or end-game of the game. Path of Exile has become notorious for the sheer amount of skills and build possibilities available in the game, and the sequel follows suit with an extensive skill tree and a multitude of skill gems. This guide is here to help you get through all that and lay out a path for you to follow as you reach the end of the campaign and prepare you for your cruel playthroughs or endgame.
Introduction
The Snow Sorceressis a spellcasting build that will enable you to decimate your enemies using the element of ice and cold. With this build, we will try to maximize the effectiveness of our ice spells, freezing our enemies in their tracks and splintering them into tiny pieces.
Starter Class
For this build, we will be starting withthe Sorceress Class, which is one of the seven available at the moment.
On the expansive skill tree, similar tothe Witch,the Sorceress classwill start on the northern side. This side of the skill tree consists mainly of passives related to spell damage, spellcasting, energy shield, and mana, which we will take advantage of to maximize our effectiveness with this build.
Passive Skill Tree
For our passive skill tree, we will focus on maximizing our damage using all the various types of spells available to us, mastering the elements by going for the more offensive route among the two main paths available. We will take the nodes that increase our spell damage, includingthe Raw Power node.
Afterwards, we will take the three nodes that increase our cast speed, includingthe Practiced Signs node.
Next, from the three elemental paths available to the north ofthe Raw Power node, we will take the middle branch withthe “Path of Winter” node, which will increase ourCold Damageas well as increase our freeze buildup.
From here, we will go for the tri-branch passive skill group dealing with all the elements and put our points into the ice branch of the group. This will increase the resistance penetration of our spells, allowing us to deal more damage using our cold damage-based spells.
While also increasing our damage,the Breath of Ice nodewill increase our intelligence attribute, raising our maximum mana and mana regeneration.
Following this, we will go to the opposite side and put our points into a skill branch that will increase our spell damage. We will not be going forthe Potent Incantations nodebecause while the passive will increase our spell damage, it will reduce our cast speed, making casting each spell longer, so it is more detrimental to invest in this point early.
Also, we will invest our points in the opposite branch towardsthe Roil passive skill node.
These passive nodes will increase the area of effect of our spells, making it easier to deal damage to a larger area, helping with clearing out mobs of enemies but at the downside of reduced area spell damage.
Afterwards, we will go for the passive skill node group that is close to our Roil branch and aim towardsthe Ruin passive node.
This branch will increase our spell area damage while reducing our area of effect. Although it may look likethe Roil and Ruinbranches are canceling each other out, investing in both of these branches of passive skills will result in a net positive in both area damage and area of effect of your spells.
On our way tothe Ruin group, we will also invest points into the four nodes with“Sudden Escalation”at the end. This group will increase the critical chance and critical damage of our spells, adding to our damage output.
Another branch we will invest in is the passive skill group withthe Climate Change node.
These passives will increase freeze buildup as well as increase both cold damage and fire damage. Although we will not be using fire spells with this build, the increase in cold damage will help with our overall damage output.
Following these, we will continue northwards along the central axis and move towards the outer ring of the passive skill tree, where we will invest in the snowflake passive skills group that increases our effectiveness with all our ice-based spells.
These passive nodes will increase the damage we deal with our ice spells, increase their resistance penetration, and raise the magnitude of chilling and freezing inflicted by our spells. The most powerful node is the“Endless Blizzard”passive node, which will increase the level of all our ice-based spells by 1 to the skill gem level, increasing their effectiveness.
These passive skill groups form the core of our build and will maximize our efficiency when playing through the campaign and while leveling up.
After these nodes, the build can scale reliably into the endgame by either investing in more defensive nodes that increase our maximum energy shield, helping with survivability, or, if you want to go for the more glass-cannon route, you’re able to keep investing in nodes that increase spell damage, elemental damage, critical damage, and critical chance, maximizing your damage output while providing little defensive value.
Ascendancy Class
Regarding the Ascendancy class for this build, we will be choosingthe Stormweaver class. This will allow us to usethe Heavy Snows and Shape of Winter nodes.
The Heavy Snows passive nodelets us inflict two stacks of the chill ailment simultaneously and increases the slow effect of getting chilled.
The Shape of Winter passive nodewill allow us to inflict chill with all of our attacks, even when they do not have the inherent ability to chill. This really helps with crowd control as we will be able to slow down our enemies using all our spells.
The Scouring Winds nodewill increase your damage output by increasing the exposure you may inflict with your spells, andthe Heart of the Stormnode will increase your survivability by increasing elemental resistance and enabling you to recoup 40% of elemental damage taken.
Active Skill Setup
For our active skills, we will be utilizing all of our ice-based spells, and we will start withthe Ice Nova spell, which we will rely on a lot in this build.
This conjures up a wave of ice in all directions around you, knocking enemies back, dealing cold damage, and freezing them. It is a great tool for damaging and crowd-controlling all the enemies trying to surround you.
The second spell we will be using isFrost Bomb.
This spell puts down a pulsing orb of ice that inflicts cold exposure on your targets, which increases the damage they receive from cold damage-based attacks.
The orb will also explode after a short duration, dealing cold damage to all enemies within its radius.
The third spell, which we will use quite often, isFrostbolt.
It fires a slow-moving projectile orb that leaves chilled ground and deals cold damage to any enemies that come into contact with it.
The orb explodes upon hitting any terrain and deals additional cold damage to any enemy in the vicinity.Frostbolthas an additional feature where you can castIce Novaon the projectile instead of around you, allowing you to castNovafrom range by combining the two spells.
The next skill we will use isCold Snap.
This spell allows us to explode frozen enemies by shattering them while consuming the freeze status ailment.
This is a great tool for quickly eliminating enemies frozen by yourIce Novaand also helps with mapping.
Our next spell is a debuff curse calledHypothermia.
Upon casting, the spell lays down a curse that lowers the cold resistance of any enemy caught within the sigil and helps increase the damage output of our spells for this build.
Another spell we will use isFrost Wall, our defensive option that can also deal decent damage.
Frost Wallsummons a wall of ice that holds back regular enemies and explodes when it takes enough damage or is pushed by bigger enemies or bosses, dealing cold damage and building up freeze. This spell is great for preventing yourself from getting surrounded by mobs of enemies and is an amazing tool for mapping.
The Comet spell, which will become one of our highest-damaging spells, calls down an ice meteor that deals damage in a huge area, making it a great tool for dealing with mobs during mapping or when you want to deal ice damage against bosses.
The last active skill we will use isEye of Winter, an excellent spell for clearing out mobs of enemies.
The spell fires a slow-moving projectile similar toFrostbolt, but instead of damaging enemies directly, the projectile fires multiple shards as it spirals. If it passes over chilled ground,the Eye projectile gains additional cold damage, and if it passes over orbs or grounds of other elements such as fire or lightning, the shards released gain the corresponding damage types as additional damage.
For the spirit gem, we will be usingArctic Armourwith this build.
This passive skill gives us an icy barrier that deals cold damage to any melee attackers, giving us an additional layer of icy protection and lessening the chance of being taken out quickly.
Support Gems
For our support gems, we will try to maximize our damage output and crowd control using the various ice spells available to us.
WithIce Nova,we will usethe GlaciationandFrost Nexussupport gems.
Glaciationincreases the freeze buildup of our Ice Nova by 50%, whileFrost Nexuscreates chilled ground whenever you freeze an enemy, slowing down any non-frozen enemy.
ForFrost Bomb, we will slot inExpedite andClarity.
Expediteshortens the duration before the orb explodes, making it faster to deal damage.
Clarityworks well with this spell because the orb cannot be destroyed by enemies (unlike walls) and will persist for a specific time, helping with mana regeneration.
RegardingFrostbolt, we will useAccelerationandEncumbrance. Both are dexterity-based support gems.
Accelerationincreases the projectile speed of our Frostbolt orb, laying chilled ground and damaging enemies faster as it travels in a straight line.
Encumbranceincreases the magnitude of slow inflicted by the chilled ground left behind by your bolt, slowing your targets down even further.
ForCold Snap, we will useExecuteandCold Infusion.
Both support gems increase the damage we deal:Executeallows us to deal 50% more damage against enemies on low life after they are broken, andCold Infusionincreases the cold damage of the spell by 25% if they are not on low life, increasing the damage output of the spell in most situations.
WithHypothermia, we will slotDecaying Hex and Heightened Curse.
Decaying Hexallows us to deal additional damage to cursed targets, which scales with our intelligence, adding to our overall damage output, whileHeightened Curselowers the cold resistance of targets by an additional 25%.
ForFrost Wall, we will useDeep FreezeandControlled Destruction.
Deep Freezeincreases freeze buildup when the wall explodes, giving a higher chance of freezing your enemies in place, whileControlled Destructionincreases the damage of your wall explosion at the cost of critical hits. This is a good trade-off since we are not aiming to useFrost Wallas our main damage source, but the additional damage from the explosions helps, especially during mapping.
With our highest burst damage spell,Comet, we will useArcane TempoandMagnified Effect.
Arcane Tempoincreases cast speed, making it easier to repeatedly cast the spell during boss fights, whileMagnified Effectincreases the area of effect, helping with clearing mobs efficiently.
With our last active spell, Eye of Winter, we will useIce BiteandInspiration.
Ice Bite causes your shards to gain an additional 35% cold damage after freezing an enemy, and Inspiration reduces the cost of the spell by 30%, helping with mana management.
For our spirit gem skill,Arctic Armour,we will useConcentrated EffectandVitality.
Concentrated Effect increases the damage dealt when yourArctic Armourcharges explode upon being hit by melee attacks, and Vitality increases your life regeneration by 1% of your maximum health whenever Arctic Armor is active, helping overall survivability.
Setting up our skills with these support gems will allow our spells to function more effectively in all aspects: offensive, defensive, and crowd control—overall increasing the power of our build.
Gear and Equipment
The Snow Sorceress buildis designed to make use of all the different ice spells and does not require any specific unique gear to function.
It can perform well withyellow rarity gear.For our weapon slot, we will use the wand and focus combo to take full advantage of multiple buffs from two pieces of gear.
We will look for gear that offers bonuses to spell damage and additional levels to our ice spells, helping increase overall damage output. Since we did not invest in defensive passive nodes, this build also benefits from gear that increases energy shield, both in maximum value and percentage increases.
Leveling Guide
The build has little trouble while leveling because of the variety of area-of-effect spells available, making it highly efficient at dealing with mobs of enemies. The very first ice spell available to the class, Ice Nova, allows you to easily deal with groups of enemies as well as consistently damage bosses during your initial campaign playthrough. As you level up, it is beneficial to have at least 2–3 points in strength and dexterity attribute nodes to prevent limitations on support gems, since we will be using gems related to all three attributes.
Mapping and Bossing
This build is efficient at both mapping and bossing, and its performance is greatly enhanced by utilizingthe Hypothermia curse to bypass the ice resistance of some enemies.
When fighting bosses, laying downFrost Bomb and firing off Eye of Winterallows you to deal consistent damage, whilethe Comet spelldeals most of the damage to quickly bring bosses down. Even when a boss is resistant to cold damage,the Hypothermia curseand cold exposure fromFrost Bomballow you to easily bypass the resistance.
Endgame Scaling and Optimization
Endgame scaling is enhanced through cluster jewels that increase movement speed, cast speed, and spell damage.
The build has great options to scale by investing either in pure spell damage or a more defensive route by investing in energy shield nodes or maximum health nodes after getting the core passive nodes on the skill tree.
Path of Exile 2 The Arcane Ranger Build
In this article, we’ll be taking a look at how to put together The Arcane Ranger Build for getting into the endgame
This build can perform well inSSFandHardcore, but I would not recommend it for newer players.
The spellcasting class is already more vulnerable due to lower health points, and since the build focuses more on offense and crowd control, it does not focus particularly on survivability and can easily die from a single mistake during the later stages of the game, so it can be risky to use in a Hardcore run.
So, this wraps up my article for the Snow Sorceress build guide for Path of Exile 2. I hope you found this guide helpful, and if you have any suggestions or tips, feel free to leave them in the comment section.
