Frost Mage Infernalist Build Guide

Intro

The Frost Mage Infernalist build focuses on summoning Skeletal Frost Mages to deal massive cold damage, while freezing and chilling enemies to enhance survivability. With two skill gem setups available, this build provides flexibility depending on your playstyle. Whether you choose Flame Wall and Raging Spirits or Blink and Frost Bomb, this build is optimized for endgame mapping and bossing, offering powerful defenses and consistent damage output.

Skills

Skill Gem Setups

• Flame Wall and Raging Spirits:
  • Pros:
    • Higher damage output.
  • Cons:
    • Requires more button pressing.
    • Higher attribute demands.
  • Mechanics:
    • Flame Wall boosts projectile damage and summons Raging Spirits for added DPS.
    • Supports: Increased duration, damage multipliers, and Spirit efficiency.
• Blink and Frost Bomb:
  • Pros:
    • Simpler rotation.
    • Lower attribute requirements.
    • Superior mobility and visual clarity.
  • Cons:
    • Slightly reduced damage output.
  • Mechanics:
    • Frost Bomb applies Cold Exposure (-30% Cold Resistance with Strip Away).
    • Blink replaces dodge roll, doubling as a mobility and repositioning tool.

Key Minions

• Skeletal Frost Mages:
  • Core damage dealers.
  • Support with Scattershot and Wildshards to maximize projectile output.
  • Swap Wildshards for Concentrated Effect for single-target boss fights.
• Summon Infernal Hound:
  • Grants 20% reduced damage taken and applies Ignite to enemies.
• Skeletal Clerics:
  • Heals and resurrects allied minions.
• Skeletal Storm Mages:
  • Apply Shock to increase enemy damage taken.

Buffs and Debuffs

• Pain Offering:
  • Buffs minions with increased damage and attack speed.
• Eye of Winter:
  • Critical Weakness debuff for boosted minion crits.
  • Applies Cold Exposure to reduce enemy resistance.
• Hypothermia:
  • Reduces enemy Cold Resistance, significantly boosting damage.
    

Persistent Buffs

Grim Feast:

• Doubles your Maximum Energy Shield in maps.
• Optional: Support with Clarity to boost Mana regeneration.

Skill Rotation

Flame Wall and Raging Spirits:

• Cast Flame Wall to summon Raging Spirits.
• Cast Pain Offering to empower minions.
• Apply Hypothermia to weaken tanky enemies.
• Use Eye of Winter to stack Critical Weakness debuffs.
• Maintain buffs and debuffs for consistent damage.

Blink and Frost Bomb:

• Cast Eye of Winter for Cold Exposure and Critical Weakness.
• Apply Pain Offering to enhance minion performance.
• Use Blink to reposition yourself and minions.
• Cast Frost Bomb to amplify Cold Exposure and debuff enemies.

Passives

Attributes:

• Prioritize Intelligence for Energy Shield scaling.
• Invest in Dexterity for gear and skill gem requirements.
• Allocate any remaining points into Strength for survivability.

Ascendancy

Path of Ascendancy:

• Loyal Hellhound:
  • Adds an Infernal Hound to your army.
  • Provides 20% damage reduction from hits.
• Altered Flesh:
  • Mitigates physical damage if you have Chaos Resistance.
• Beidat’s Will:
  • Increases Spirit pool at the cost of Life reservation.
• Beidat’s Hand:
  • Boosts critical scaling or additional Life nodes for survivability.

Gearing

Offensive Scaling

To maximize your damage, prioritize the following:

• + Levels to All Minion Skills – Each level provides significant boosts to minion effectiveness.
• + Spirit and Increased Spirit – Enables better skill reservation and buffs.
• Minion Damage Scaling:
  • Minions and Allies have #% Increased Damage.
  • Minions have #% Increased Crit Chance and Crit Damage Bonus.
  • Minions and Allies have #% Increased Cast Speed.

Defensive Scaling

Defense is vital for survival in tougher encounters:

• Sufficient +#% to Fire, Cold, Lightning, and Chaos Resistance to cap your resistances.
• +#% to Maximum Fire Resistances – Essential for mitigating elemental damage.
• Scaling Energy Shield:
  • #% Increased Energy Shield.
  • +# to Maximum Energy Shield.
• Consider shields with high Block Chance like Oaksworn for improved survivability.

Equipment Priorities

Weapons

A Minion Sceptre with modifiers boosting damage is your most important weapon.

• Base Type: Preferably Rattling Sceptre for synergy with Minion builds.
• Key Stats:
  • +# to Level of All Minion Skills.
  • #% Increased Spirit.
  • Allies in Your Presence Have #% Increased Damage.
  • Allies in Your Presence Have #% Increased Cast Speed.

Dual-Wield Option

• Pair with Trenchtimbre for an additional +# to Level of All Minion Skills if sacrificing defense is acceptable.

Helmets

• Base Type: High Energy Shield bases.
• Key Stats:
  • +1-2 to Level of All Minion Skills.
  • #% Increased Energy Shield.
  • +# to Maximum Energy Shield.

Body Armour

• Base Type: Expert Altar Robe.
• Key Stats:
  • +#% to All Resistances.
  • #% Increased Energy Shield.
  • +# to Spirit and Maximum Life.

Shield

• Base Type: High Energy Shield & Armor.
• Key Stats:
  • #% Increased Block Chance.
  • +# to Maximum Life.
  • +#% to All Maximum Elemental Resistances.

Budget Option:

• Use Oaksworn for solid block chance until you find a better rare shield.

Gloves

• Base Type: High Energy Shield bases.
• Key Stats:
  • +#% to All Resistances.
  • #% Increased Energy Shield.
  • +# to Maximum Life.

Boots

• Base Type: High Energy Shield bases with movement speed.
• Key Stats:
  • +#% Movement Speed.
  • +#% to All Resistances.
  • +# to Maximum Life.

Jewels

• Key Stats:
  • Minions have #% Increased Damage.
  • Minions have #% Increased Crit Chance.
  • #% Increased Energy Shield.
  • Minions have +#% to All Elemental Resistances (required on one jewel).

Note: Use Sapphire Jewels with at least two offensive modifiers to scale damage.

Atlas Passives

Focus on monster-heavy mechanics to maximize efficiency:

• Best Mechanics:
  • Breach.
  • Ritual.
• Map Modifiers to Avoid:
  • Maps with -#% Maximum Resistances.
  • Increased Elemental Resistances.

FAQ

When should I swap from Skeletal Arsonists to Skeletal Frost Mages?

• Transition to Skeletal Frost Mages after completing the campaign. Ensure you’ve adjusted skill gems and supports for optimal performance.

How do I resolve attribute issues?

• Use the Passive Tree to allocate sufficient Intelligence, Strength, and Dexterity for skill and item requirements. Avoid gear with excessively high Strength or Dexterity demands.

I keep dying. How can I improve my defenses?

• Ensure:
  • Elemental Resistances are capped at 76%.
  • Chaos Resistance is at least 60%.
  • Your gear prioritizes high Energy Shield bases.
• Use a shield for passive block chance and increased survivability.

How do I improve single-target damage?

• Swap Wildshards for Concentrated Effect during boss fights.
• Use Frost Bomb for improved Cold Exposure.
• Ensure minions are using Critical Weakness from Eye of Winter.

Summary

The Frost Mage Infernalist build focuses on summoning Skeletal Frost Mages to deliver massive damage while chilling and freezing enemies for additional safety. Use the following tips for optimal performance:

• Equip Oaksworn early and transition to a rare shield for survivability.
• Use Sapphire Jewels to boost Minion Damage and Crit Scaling.
• Swap between Flame Wall and Blink setups to suit your playstyle.

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