Important Tree Nodes

The best ascendancy order is Brutal Fervour, Endless Hunger, Bane of Legends, and Headsman. A Watcher's Eye jewel should be used for increased life, increased energy shield, increased mana, 60% increased cold damage while affected by Hatred, and damage penetrates 15% cold resistance while affected by Hatred. You should also use a large cluster jewel in the bottom left of the tree with increased cold damage and elemental damage notables, a medium cluster jewel with increased critical strike chance and critical strike notables, and a 6% increased mana reservation efficiency small cluster jewel with Sublime Form for Grace has 50% increased mana reservation efficiency. The Fortify Mastery should also be taken for 23% reduced damage taken from hits without Fortify Support which allows you to use a better support gem. The Mana Mastery is also important for increased mana reservation efficiency so that you can use the recommended reservation skills. This is a melee build so make sure and take plenty of the nearby life percent nodes for survival. Note: The skill tree above has been updated for the new season (3.25).

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Defensive Layers

You will have 100% increased maximum recovery per life leech and take 10% reduced damage while leeching and life leech effects will not be removed at full life with the Brutal Fervour ascendancy. You will also have stun immunity and Bleeding immunity while leeching with the Endless Hunger ascendancy and you will leech life even when you are at full life. Endless Hunger also gives 20% of overkill damage as leeched life. The Fortify Mastery reduces your damage taken from hits by 23% and Enduring Cry generates Endurance charges which reduce your physical damage taken and your elemental damage taken. You will also be completely immune to reflected physical damage with the Bane of Legends ascendancy.

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Gems

 

Weapon (6-link)

Vaal Haste

Empower Support

More Duration Support

Summon Flame Golem

Minion Life Support

Dash

 

Armour (6-link)

Frost Blades of Katabasis

Awakened Ancestral Call Support

Awakened Added Cold Damage Support

Awakened Cold Penetration Support

Awakened Elemental Damage With Attacks Support

Empower Support

 

Helmet (4-link)

Grace

Hatred

Summon Skitterbots

Enlighten Support

 

Gloves (4-link)

Steelskin

Empower Support

Enduring Cry

Urgent Orders Support

 

Boots (4-link)

Cast When Damage Taken Support

Cold Snap

Power Charge On Critical Support

Increased Critical Strikes Support

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Reservation Skills

Grace is the best defensive aura for this build and gives very high evasion. Hatred significantly increases your cold damage and is the best offensive aura for this build. Summon Skitterbots applies Chill and more importantly Shock and is the best aura skill for the amount of left over mana. Summon Skitterbots can be used once you have the mana reservation efficiency from the Mana Mastery, a Replica Dragonfang's Flight for 5-10% reservation efficiency, an Eldritch Ichor implicit with mana reservation efficiency added to your helmet, and a level 4 Enlighten Support to lower the mana reservation cost of your skills.

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Gem Notes​

1. Steelskin is the recommended guard skill for this build because Immortal Call requires you to use potions more often and Molten Shell requires very high armour to be effective.

2. Vaal Haste can have its Vaal ability used without reservation once you have enough souls from defeating enemies to use it. Vaal Haste gives high increased attack speed and increased movement speed for a short to medium duration.

3. Cold Snap generates Frenzy charges when enemies die in its skill effect area and generates Power charges on critical strikes when linked to Power Charge On Critical Support.

4. The Enduring Cry warcry is used for Endurance charge generation and up to 10% life regeneration per second. Endurance charges reduce your physical damage taken and reduce your elemental damage taken.

5. Summon Flame Golem gives a 21% damage increase and provides an extra target for enemies to attack. Culling Strike Support is not needed to kill enemies at 10% life because you will kill enemies at 20% life with your ascendancies.

6. If you would like another build that teleports through enemies and still does excellent damage you can also check out the Impale Flicker Strike Champion Guide here Impale Flicker Strike Champion Guide.

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Equipment

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Weapon

Rare Maelstrom Staff

Look for the highest damage per second Maelstrom Staff you can find. A Maelstrom Staff is the preferred base because it has high damage for a staff and a high block chance.

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How Do You Craft A Great Starter Frost Blades of Katabasis Staff?

To craft a starter staff you can purchase an ilvl 85+ Maelstrom Staff with a tier one attack speed fracture and roll Deafening Essences of Contempt which give high added physical damage until you get a high combined increased damage and accuracy modifier ideally with an open prefix. If needed you can also use an Orb of Annulment to remove a prefix. You should then roll up to 129% increased physical damage at the crafting bench. You can use an Exalted Orb for another modifier if needed. If the weapon rolls high enough the next step is to use Tempering Orbs for a chance at an increased physical damage enchantment. Be aware that Tempering Orbs also sometimes reforge the sockets and it can take several tries to get the enchantment. Finally you should fix the sockets if needed and the end result is a very strong starter Frost Blades of Katabasis weapon.

 

Armour

Skin of the Loyal

This armour gives +2 to level of socketed gems for Frost Blade of Katabasis and Empower Support which gives a total of +7 to gem levels. Skin of the Loyal also has 100% increased global defenses, a random notable, sockets cannot be modified, and you can only socket corrupted gems in this item.

Belly of the Beast (budget)

This budget defensive armour option gives up to 40% increased life, 15% increased elemental resistances, and 50% increased life flask recovery rate.

 

Helmet

Rare Helmet

Look for high life, high resistances, optionally energy shield, nearby enemies have -9% or -12% cold resistance, and you can add +1 to level of socketed AoE gems/increased area of effect at the crafting bench. You should also use Eldritch Embers and Eldritch Ichors to roll increased mana reservation efficiency and physical damage taken recouped as life.

 

Gloves

Elemental Weakness Corruption Gloves

Look for an Elemental Weakness Corruption on the best gloves you can find. Malachai's Mark is a great option for up to 80 life, Frenzy, Power, and Endurance charge generation, and up to 25 life on hit and 25 energy shield on hit.

 

Belt

Stygian Vise

Look for high life, elemental damage with attack skills, resistances, optionally increased cold damage, and an abyssal socket. Increased cold damage has a chance to be added with a Redeemer's Exalted Orb and an open prefix. You should also use Fertile Catalysts on the belt to increase its life bonus or Turbulent Catalysts to increases its elemental damage.

Abyss Jewel

Look for high life, energy shield, increased critical strike chance, and accuracy.

 

Boots

Rare Two-Toned Boots

Look for life, resistances, Onslaught, Tailwind, Elusive, and movement speed.

 

Amulet

Replica Dragonfang's Flight

Has +3 to level of all Frost Blades gems, 16 to all attributes, up to 10% reservation efficiency, and up to 10% to all elemental resistances. You should also use Intrinsic Catalysts to increase its attributes or Prismatic Catalysts to increase its resistances.

Carnage Heart

The budget amulet gives up to 56 to all attributes, 20% increased elemental resistances, 2% of physical damage leeched as life, 50% increased recovery from life leech, and 40% increased damage while leeching. You can also use Intrinsic Catalysts on the amulet to increase its attributes or Prismatic Catalysts to increase its resistances.

 

Rings

Rare Frostbite Ring

One ring should have Frostbite on hit, high life, increased elemental damage with attack skills, and resistances. You should also use Fertile Catalysts on both of your rings to increase their life bonuses.

Rare Ring

Look for high life, intelligence, increased elemental damage with attack skills, increased cold damage, resistances, and add reduced mana cost at the crafting bench.

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Tattoo (Standard Only)

Honoured Tattoo of the Berserker (legacy)

This tattoo can replace a 30 dexterity node to give You Gain Onslaught For 4 Seconds on Hit which replaces the 12% chance to gain Onslaught on kill modifier on your boots slot.

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Utility Flasks

Bottled Faith

Gives 40% increased damage, consecrated ground, 150% increased critical strike chance against enemies on consecrated ground, and 10% increased damage to enemies on consecrated ground. You should also use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask whenever you hit a rare or unique enemy.

Taste of Hate (legacy is better)

Gives 15% of physical damage as extra cold damage, 15% of physical damage taken as cold damage (legacy modifier), 30% of fire and lightning damage taken as cold damage (new modifier), 5% to maximum cold resistance, 50% cold resistances, 30% reduced chance to be Frozen, and 30% less chance to be Chilled. The legacy version has higher cold damage and better damage reduction. You should also use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask whenever it has full charges.

Diamond Flask

Gives 100% increased critical strike chance and can have up to a 35% chance to gain a flask charge on critical strike and 17% increased attack speed. You should also use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask whenever it has full charges. If you would prefer burst damage you can also use a Prismatic Tincture which has the down side of causing mana burn with elemental resistance penetration and switch Summon Skitterbots to Herald of Ice so you have more unreserved mana.

Note: You will be immune to Bleeding while leeching from your ascendancies and immune to Corrupted Blood from the Resistance Mastery so there's no need for a Bleeding/Corrupted Blood removal flask.

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Anointment

You should anoint your amulet with Whispers of Doom for an additional curse at Cassia using three Golden Oils. This allows you to use the Frostbite and Elemental Weakness curses which improve both your cold damage and cold damage over time.

 

Enchants (Standard Only)

Helm: Steelskin Buff Can Take 45% Increased Amount Of Damage

Gloves: Commandment of Fury

Feet: 16% Increased Attack Speed if You've Killed Recently

Belt: 300 to Armour While Fortified

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Bandits

The best bandit to help in Act 2 is Alira because she gives 15% to all elemental resistances which allows you to focus more on damage from your equipment. If you don't need the resistances you can switch to Oak for 40 life which helps with survival.

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Pantheon

Soul of Solaris is the best major Pantheon power and gives 6% reduced physical damage taken when only one enemy is present, a 20% chance to take 50% less area damage, 8% reduced elemental damage taken if you haven't been hit recently, take no extra damage from critical strikes if you've been hit with a critical strike recently, and a 50% chance to avoid elemental ailments from critical strikes. Soul of Ryslatha is the best minor power and gives 60% increased life recovery from flasks at low life, life flask charges every 3 seconds if you haven't used a life flask recently, and enemies you hit have 50% reduced life regeneration.

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Leveling Gear

 

Weapon

The Blood Thorn

A two hand level one weapon with a 30% block chance that curses enemies with Vulnerability when you block.

Limbsplit

Requires level 13 and gives high physical damage for its level, level one Gore Shockwave if you have over 150 strength, +1 to socketed strength gems, and Culling Strike which kills enemies at 10% life.

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Armour

Tabula Rasa

Tabula Rasa is an excellent level one chest armour that has 6 white linked sockets. Any color skill gems and support gems can be linked together inside of it which allows you to deal much higher damage at an earlier level. You can also look for a Tabula Rasa with a high increased damage corruption which also requires level one for fairly cheap from the trade site.

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Helmet

Goldrim

A great level one resistance helmet with up to 40% to all elemental resistances and 10% increased rarity of items found.

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Gloves

Lochtonial Caress

These gloves can be used at level one for up to 15% increased attack speed, 15% increased cast speed, and a 15% chance to generate an Endurance, Power, or Frenzy Charge on kill.

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Boots

Wondertrap

These boots require level 9 and give as much as 30 strength, 30 dexterity, 30 intelligence, and 25% movement speed.

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Amulet

Tear of Purity

This amulet requires level 5 and gives level 10 Purity of Elements, up to 20 to all attributes, 40 to life, 30 intelligence, and 10 to all elemental resistances. Purity of Elements increases your elemental resistances for a 50% mana reservation cost.

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Rings

Perandus Signets

You can use two Perandus Signets at level one that each give up to 65% mana regeneration, 65 mana, 2% increased intelligence for each unique item equipped, and 2% increased experience.

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Flasks

Quicksilver Flask

This flask can be used at level four and gives 40% increased movement speed which helps speed up the leveling process. This flask can also have increased attack speed or increased movement speed as a second modifier. You should also use Instilling Orbs until you automatically use the flask whenever it has full charges.

Taste of Hate (legacy option)

This flask only requires level 18 and gives 15% of physical damage as extra cold damage, 15% of physical damage taken as cold damage (legacy modifier), 5% to maximum cold resistance, 50% cold resistances, 30% reduced chance to be Frozen, and 30% less chance to be Chilled. You can optionally use this flask instead of a Quicksilver Flask for leveling. The older legacy versions are much better and have higher physical damage as extra cold damage and physical damage taken as cold damage. You should also use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask whenever it has full charges.

Silver Flask

This flask gives Onslaught which gives increased attack speed, cast speed, and movement speed as early as level 27 and can have increased attack speed or increased movement speed as a second modifier. You should also use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask whenever it has full charges.

Bottled Faith (use a Sulphur Flask for 40% increased damage if you can't afford Bottled Faith)

This endgame flask requires level 27 and gives 40% increased damage, consecrated ground, 10% increased damage against enemies on consecrated ground, and 150% increased critical strike chance against enemies on consecrated ground. You should also use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask whenever it has full charges.

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Leveling Gems

Frost Blades of Katabasis can be used as early as level one. Precision is the best offensive low level aura and can be used once you reach level 10 for increased critical strike chance and accuracy. Vitality is the best defensive aura for leveling by far and can be used as early as level 10. Make sure to pick up a Steelskin gem once you've reached level four for a defensive guard skill. Dash also requires level four and should be used as your travel skill at early levels.

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Upgrades

You can upgrade your weapon to Quecholli at level 22, to Stormheart at level 28, to Jorrhast's Blacksteel at level 43, to Terminus Est at level 51, and finally to your endgame weapon. Carnage Heart can be equipped at level 20 and is the budget amulet for this build. You can also benefit from upgrading to two Praxis ring at level 22 to reduce the mana costs of all skills by up to 16. The items in the leveling section above last all the way until the midgame where better items will become available.

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And that's all for the Frost Blades Guide! For more about Path of Exile you can view the endgame guide here Endgame Guide.

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