Introduction
The Frost Bomb and Frost Wall Sorceress features a ranged playstyle that deals explosive cold damage. Frost Bomb deals damage in a massive area to clear packs of enemies.
Frost Wall is utilized to quickly kill elites and bosses.
This build is designed to get started in endgame maps immediately after completing the campaign. No items are required to begin playing the build, and its performance can be scaled easily with an extremely low budget.
If you have not yet finished the campaign, follow the Frostbolt Cold Snap Leveling Build Guide.
Strengths and Weaknesses
- Low-budget build capable of starting endgame maps
- Huge area explosions to clear groups of enemies at range
- High burst damage to quickly kill elites and bosses
- Requires a cheap unique helm to scale damage
- Frost Bomb has a delay to deal damage
- Moderate survivability
Build Mechanics
The unique helm, Indigon, is highly recommended to provide a massive amount of increased Spell Damage as you spend Mana. The effects of Indigon are scaled by stacking Maximum Mana and Mana Regeneration Rate to allow for more consumption.
Occasional casts of Frost Bomb build up a moderate amount of increased Spell Damage to clear groups of enemies. You should have enough Mana Regeneration Rate to sustain repeated casts of Frost Bomb when it is not on cooldown. Mana Regeneration Rate is also helpful to recover damage taken with Mind Over Matter.
Against elites and bosses, Mana is rapidly spent with Frost Wall to maximize the damage granted by Indigon. Maximum Mana is usually the bottleneck for damage output, as your skills will eventually have a Mana cost higher than your Maximum Mana. With a low investment budget, you should be able to obtain about 4,000 Maximum Mana.
Skill Rotation
Follow the basic skill rotation below to clear groups of enemies in endgame activities.
- Drag packs of enemies together and cast
Frost Bomb to deal damage. Repeat this step, continuing to move forward and cast Frost Bomb when its not on cooldown.
- If additional damage is needed against tough elites, cast
Frost Wall before
Frost Bomb explodes to cause more explosions.
- Cast
Cold Snap to finish off any remaining Frozen enemies.
- Save
Ice Nova as a panic button to immediately Freeze enemies when in danger.
Execute the steps below to optimize damage against bosses. Once your skills have a mana cost higher than your Maximum Mana due to the effects of Indigon, wait a few seconds to restart the boss killing rotation.
- Cast
Sigil of Power (Weapon Set 2) to buff damage.
- Cast
Frost Bomb to apply Cold exposure.
- Cast
Frost Wall once to surround the boss with exploding Ice Crystals.
- Continue to alternate casts of
Frost Bomb and
Frost Wall while keeping
Sigil of Power active.
- Cast
Cold Snap to finish off a Frozen boss.
Skill and Support Gems
The Frost Bomb Wall Sorceress utilizes the following Skill Gems and Support Gems, listed in order of socket priority. Be wary of socketing support gems with high cost multipliers, like Magnified Effect, as they can prevent you from casting skills when Indigon is equipped.
Skill Gems | Support Gem 1 | Support Gem 2 | Support Gem 3 | Support Gem 4 | Support Gem 5 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Spirit Gems
The Spirit Gem setup requires 108-123 total Spirit. Defeat The King in the Mists (Act 1, Normal Difficulty) and Ignagduk (Act 3, Normal and Cruel Difficulty) for 100 base Spirit. Obtain the remaining 8-23 Spirit from a Body Armor or Amulet.
An additional 8 Spirit is required to activate Blasphemy with
Temporal Chains and
Hypothermia slotted. Increase the gem quality of Hypothermia with Gemcutter’s Prism for reduced reservation cost.
Clarity can be slotted into
Hypothermia if you have an extra 15 Spirit.
Blink is an optional weapon swap tech that can be activated only for Weapon Set 2. Swap weapons to access Blink when needed. Set
Frost Bomb,
Frost Wall,
Cold Snap to only be used with Weapon Set 1 to automatically swap back when they are cast. Ensure
Blasphemy is only active for Weapon Set 1 to enable this setup.
Spirit Gems | Support Gem 1 | Support Gem 2 | Support Gem 3 | Support Gem 4 | Support Gem 5 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() (Weapon Set 1) | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | – |
![]() (Weapon Set 2) | ![]() | ![]() | – | – | – |
Ascendancy
Stormweaver is the recommended Ascendancy for the Frost Bomb Wall Sorceress. Select your first Ascendancy after completing the Trial of the Sekhemas in Act 2. The trial is not difficult, so complete it within the level range of 20-30. During the early access of Path of Exile 2, you have the option between Stormweaver and Chronomancer. Your chosen Ascendancy can be changed by repeating a Trial of the Sekhemas or Ultimatum.
Stormweaver
The Stormweaver is the best Ascendancy choice due to the Mana Regen and damage increases within its nodes. Allocate the Ascendancy nodes in the following order:
- Constant Gale and Force of Will — The Arcane Surge nodes are highly beneficial for more Mana Regen and more Cast Speed. A separate multiplier to Mana Regen is needed to sustain the increased Mana costs from Indigon. Both effects become more potent as Maximum Mana is increased.
- Strike Twice and Shaper of Storms — Both major nodes are required to enable your Cold damage to apply up to 2 Shock effects for a massive damage increase. The benefit of these nodes becomes more effective as Shock/Ailment magnitude is increased. If you haven’t yet obtained your final Ascendancy points, allocate Scouring Winds instead.
Chronomancer
The Chronomancer is not usually recommended due to the lack of any Mana Regen or damage increases. The benefits are instead based on survivability. Allocate the Ascendancy nodes in the following order:
- Footprints in the Sand and Ultimate Command — Time Freeze is especially useful against bosses to deal uninterrupted damage without risk.
- Apex of the Moment — Slow provides an additional layer of survivability.
- Circular Heartbeat — Damage taken Recouped as Life provides some sustainability.
Passive Skill Tree
Use attribute nodes to fulfill any Strength or Dexterity requirements, and then allocate the rest as Intelligence.
Gear
The preferred gear for the Frost Bomb Wall Sorceress is listed below, with affixes and socketables ranked in order of importance. Prioritize gear with the correct base stats and beneficial explicit affixes.
A Shield is recommended over a Focus if you are having trouble surviving.
Equipment Slot and Base Stats | Prefixes | Suffixes | Sockets |
---|---|---|---|
Wand | 2. Extra Cold Damage 3. Maximum Mana 4. Extra Lightning/Fire Damage 5. Increased Spell/Cold Damage | 1. Level of all Cold Spell Skills 3. Mana Regeneration Rate 4. Critical Spell Damage Bonus 5. Critical Hit Chance for Spells 5. Intelligence | 1. Greater Glacial Rune |
Focus | 2. Maximum Energy Shield 2. Increased Energy Shield 3. Maximum Mana | 1. Level of all Spell Skills 3. Mana Regen Rate 4. Critical Spell Damage Bonus 5. Critical Hit Chance for Spells 5. Intelligence | 1. Any Rune that grants Resistance if not yet capped. 2. Greater Iron Rune |
Shield (Armor and Energy Shield hybrid) | 1. Increased Block Chance 2. Maximum Life | 1. Resistances 3. Intelligence | 1. Any Rune that grants Resistance if not yet capped. 2. Soul Core of Zalatl |
Helmet (Energy Shield) | Indigon — Prioritize a low increased cost of skills and a high increased spell damage. | – | 1. Any Rune that grants Resistance if not yet capped. 2. Soul Core of Zalatl |
Body Armor (Energy Shield) | 1. Maximum Energy Shield 1. Increased Energy Shield | 2. Resistances 3. Intelligence | 1. Any Rune that grants Resistance if not yet capped. 2. Greater Iron Rune |
Gloves (Energy Shield) | 1. Maximum Mana 2. Maximum Life | 2. Resistances 3. Intelligence | 1. Any Rune that grants Resistance if not yet capped. 2. Soul Core of Zalatl |
Boots (Energy Shield) | 1. Movement Speed 2. Maximum Mana 3. Maximum Life | 3. Resistances 4. Intelligence | 1. Any Rune that grants Resistance if not yet capped. 2. Soul Core of Zalatl |
Amulet | Anointment: Mental Toughness 1. Spirit (8-23) 3. Maximum Mana 3. Maximum Energy Shield 4. Maximum Life | 2. Level of all Spell Skills 3. Mana Regeneration Rate 5. Intelligence | – |
Ring Slots | 1. Maximum Mana 2. Maximum Life 3. Rarity of Items Found | 1. Mana Regeneration Rate 2. Resistances 3. Intelligence | – |
Belt | 1. Maximum Mana 2. Maximum Life 4. Flask Life Recovery Rate | 2. Resistances 3. Intelligence 3. Stun Threshold | – |
Jewels
The beneficial affixes for Jewels are listed below, ranked in order of importance. Prioritize Rare Jewels with two prefixes and two suffixes.
- Prefixes
- Magnitude of Ailments
- Magnitude of Shock
- Area of Effect
- Elemental Damage or Spell Damage
- Suffixes
- Critical Damage Bonus
- Critical Strike Chance or Critical Strike Chance for Spells
- Cast Speed
Campaign Buffs
Quest rewards during the campaign offer a selection of buffs to your character. Choose the following buffs for the build:
- Valley of the Titans Altar
- 15% increased Charm Charges gained
- 15% increased Charm Charges gained
- Venom Draught
- 25% increased Mana Regeneration Rate
- 10% Chaos Resistance
For more details, check the guide on Campaign Difficulties and Permanent Stat Bonuses.
Flasks and Charms
Prioritize the following Flasks and Charms:
- Health Flasks
- Prefix: Increased Amount Recovered
- Suffix: Increased Charges or Increased Charges Gained
- Mana Flasks
- Prefix: any
- Suffix: Increased Charges
- Charms: Thawing Charm and Stone Charm.
Changelog
- April 17th, 2025: Guide created for Path of Exile II, Early Access (Patch 0.2).