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PoE Build

3.29 Vaal Ice Nova of Frostbolts Occultist Leaguestarter

Witch

Occultist

Starter

End Game

3.29 CotA

By CamaroniNCheez

Updated on Aug 6, 2026

Aug 6, 2026

Path of Building Code

Build Overview

Day 2 PoB: https://pobb.in/eQNZ8PlFmikX

Day 3: https://pobb.in/LoPKxoZi4W2R

Day 4: https://pobb.in/ZnBiuL8Lwzu8

Day 5: https://pobb.in/XqK1x16Vw-h8

Vaal Ice Nova of Frostbolts on Occultist is an easy, beginner friendly build that will get you through the campaign and let you complete your atlas on a fairly low budget.

The build can scale immensely in the endgame, reaching DPS numbers as high as 200m+ while still maintaining high max hits and excellent recovery.

I will warn you now that cold spells are a bit painful, at least up until patch 3.29, in acts 1 & 2. Which is why you'll see most other people starting kinetic bolt or something else and then swapping to this. But I like to play whatever it is I'm going to be playing in the end game as soon as possible, so I'm going for the slightly slower act 1 & 2 and will just use cold spells.

All of the rare gear in this build is just an example. You do NOT need to get gear exactly like mine,

These are example stats of what you want. Most armour gear will want some combination of life, resistances, str/int, and armour/ES

From the lab after Act 3 onward try to get ice nova of frostbolts and/or frostblink of wintry blast. Or if you get another good gem that you can sell and trade for ice nova of frostbolts, do that. It will help your single target damage immensely.

You'll see a lot of crusader influenced gear in this latest iteration of the build. My plan for this is to use the league mechanic to give me more options when using the crusader exalted orb and pick the best option.. and only do it on gear that's pretty well crafted, since we don't really want many of the crusader mods. The main reason for them is if we get a +1 power charge bound by destiny.

So you ONLY need crusader influenced gear if you're planning on using Bound by Destiny

Strengths and Weaknesses

All-Rounder. Can do all content
Optimized this league to not need power charge uniques
Great clear with Vaal Ice Nova
Good bossing DPS with Ice Nova of Frostbolts
Gets extremely tanky on a high budget

Squishy until you have higher end gear
Doesn't map as fast as a bow build
No herald explosions
Vaal ice nova is addictive

Build Variants

Acts 1-5

Acts 5-10

Early Maps

Wand/Shield

Staff

Staff + Ralakesh

ACT 1:

Item regex: "-\w-|Runn|rint|ll g|Incl"

3.29 Leaguestart Update/
Cold spells are a bit rough in act 1/2. I'm hoping the freezing pulse buff makes this good, so I'll be planning on using that. Summon Phantasm Support linked to Holy Flame Totem is also good for clearing packs on the go in act 1. So I'll be tossing that at juicy packs so I can keep running. I'll probably also grab a Flame Wall for act 1 for some extra flat damage.
/Update

Use Frostbolt or Freezing Pulse as your main damage skill. I usually link Volley Support + Arcane Surge Support. Can also do Added Cold Damage Support + Arcane Surge Support if you get a Jade Amulet early. This is better for single target

You can link Frostblink to Added Cold Damage Support for clearing on the go

i also often buy a siphoning trap after Brutus, since spells in act 1 are a bit rough. So when I spot a juicy pack of enemies, I throw Siphoning Trap and Holy Flame Totem at them and keep running. Also helps with sustain when fighting mervail.

also buy Shield Charge + Faster Attacks Support + Momentum Support (You only get momentum if you muled a ranger. Don't worry about it as a link if you didn't.) We don't usually have enough links or a reason to use a shield in act 1, but we get the gems here.

You can link Summon Phantasm Support to Holy Flame Totem if you wish and have the sockets for it

basic skill rotation early is Frost Bomb > Holy Flame Totem > Frostbolt or Freezing Pulse.

You get Ice Nova after the caverns of wrath waypoint. You can swap to this immediately if you want, but I usually level it in an offhand and swap to it later

Gems to obtain:

Frostbolt
Frost Bomb
Volley Support
Arcane Surge Support
Shield Charge
Faster Attacks Support
Momentum Support (if you muled a ranger)
Ice Nova
Frostblink
Clarity
Holy Flame Totem

ACT 2:

Use the corruption altar on Cold Snap. If you get Vaal Cold Snap, you can either use it throughout the campaign, or sell it to get Ice Nova of Frostbolts.

I generally use Cold Snap as my main damage skill here along with Frostbolt. You can also use Ice Nova if you wish, but it's pretty bad early. Freezing Pulse is another potentially good option and you can level Frostbolt in your offhand.

For bosses, hit them with Cold Snap for the cold DoT and then spam another damage skill until the cooldown is back on Cold Snap.

I also drop Holy Flame Totem once I get Cold Snap.

Gems to obtain:

Herald of Ice
Cold Snap
Increased Critical Damage Support
Controlled Destruction Support
Power Charge On Critical Support
Faster Casting Support
Cruelty Support

Tempest Shield (ONLY IF YOU PLAN ON USING WAND/SHIELD)

Mana reservation for act 2:

Clarity
Herald of Ice

Links:
Frostbolt + Volley Support + Arcane Surge Support
Cold Snap + Controlled Destruction Support + Cruelty Support
Frostblink + Added Cold Damage Support
Shield Charge + Faster Attacks Support + Momentum Support
Clarity
Herald of Ice
Frost Bomb

ACT 3:

Grab Zealotry and start leveling it. Don't turn it on until you have some mana reservation either from the mana mastery or the mana reservation nodes

Level Discipline, Automation, and Elemental Weakness in offhand or empty sockets

Gems to obtain:

Zealotry
Discipline
Frostbite (Start using this one)

Elemental Weakness
Automation

ACT 4:

Try to get Ice Nova of Frostbolts if at all possible before Malachai. It makes the fight a lot easier. But it's not required by any means.

Change to Frostbolt + Faster Casting Support + Volley Support + Returning Projectiles Support

If you're low on sockets/links, you can drop Returning Projectiles Support and Faster Casting Support in Frostbolt, as well as Momentum Support on shield charge. You can also drop Cruelty Support and Controlled Destruction Support on Cold Snap

Ideal Ice Nova of Frostbolts links are Arcane Surge Support + Spell Echo Support + Power Charge On Critical Support. You can also use these on normal Ice Nova if you don't have the transfigured version yet.

Also set up Arcanist Brand here. Should be linked to Frostbite + Frost Bomb + Elemental Weakness (after getting Whispers of Doom notable on the passive tree)

Sometime during this act is when you'll get the charge mastery for increased duration. Big QoL for keeping your power and frenzy charges.

Gems to obtain:

Bonechill Support
Spell Echo Support
Arcanist Brand
Returning Projectiles Support

PSA: Don't link support gems to Herald of Ice

You're pretty much set up for the rest of the campaign after this as far as gems and skills are concerned. If you swap to a staff in the campaign, then you'll change Shield Charge to Leap Slam, which you can buy in act 6 after helping Lilly.

Equipment

Acts 1-5

Acts 5-10

Early Maps

Wand/Shield

Staff

Staff + Ralakesh

Just look for + to cold spells for damage. A wand + shield is ideal, so you can shield charge, but early on it's acceptable to use two wands or a staff.

Also look for movespeed boots. I also like to use a jade amulet and heavy belt for the str/dex attributes, since we need a good amount of all 3.

Other than that, just look for life and resistances on gear.