Burning Icestorm
Blood Magic Berserker
Patch 3.1 Build

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: moderately low (few Exalted Orbs)

Whispering Ice is an extremely powerful staff, that provides the unique Icestorm spell. It not only scales extremely well with high Intelligence gear (Intelligence increases Icestorm's base damage, duration and grant global Spell Damage increase) but also provides very cheap 7 linked item. Support Gems in Whispering Ice staff do not have to be linked together to buff the Icestorm spell, with the exception of Scorching Ray linked with Cast while Channeling Support Gem, which is suggested in this build.

To check the full list of our other Path of Exile Crafty Guides go here: Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

This build is based on Cast while Channeling mechanics socketed in the Whispering Ice staff. It allows to bypass high Mana Cost and greatly increases the Cast Speed of your Icestorm spell. Scorching Ray not only halves the Cast Speed but also costs only 5 Mana (Life in our case) And because you will be using Blood Magic passive, your core spell will be basically cast for free. The Berserker class also provides amazing damage and Life Leech bonuses, making it extremely durable and powerful spell-caster build. 

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Leveling with Whispering Ice is very easy. All you have to do is get to level 33 when you can equip it, and your DPS will simply skyrocket, providing you did stack Intelligence attribute on your gear. Also, it's very important to make sure you Whispering Ice is item level 50 or above, otherwise, you will be unable to craft 6 sockets on it. We recommend leveling up with any melee attack until level 16 when you start using Righteous Fire Spell Totem and Searing Bond Totem - they both deal amazing DPS without any specific Passive Skills and Spell Damage nodes required, making it the easiest way to reach level 33

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Infernal Blow setup
	Infernal Blow - one of the first available attack skills for Marauders. Should carry you till level 16 when you switch to pure Righteous Fire/Searing Bond Totems leveling
	Maim Support - increases Physical Damage taken by maimed enemies. Maimed enemies are also slowed down by a fair amount
	Added Fire Damage Support - increases the damage of the Infernal Blow skill

Fire Trap
	Fire Trap - one of the few low levels skills available to Marauders. Fire Trap deals decent damage and will help you reach level 16

Righteous Fire Totem setup
	Spell Totem Support - will spawn a Totem that will use the Righteous Fire spell
	Righteous Fire - deals insane Area Damage, while also dealing Degeneration Damage to the caster himself - in this case, this means the Spell Totem only
	Burning Damage Support - greatly increases Burning Damage dealt by your Spell Totem

Searing Bond Totem setup
	Searing Bond - spawns a Totem that will shoot fire beams towards you and your other Totems. Enemies in the beam receive high damage over time
	Burning Damage Support - greatly increases Burning Damage dealt by your Spell Totem

Icestorm setup (Whispering Ice only)
	Icestorm - core spell of this build. It's only available with the Whispering Ice staff equipped. It scales with Int attribute and does not require links to fully benefit from all the socketed Support Gems
	Added Cold Damage - adds flat Cold Damage to your spells
	Spell Echo Support - makes Icestorm repeat additional time, with greatly increased Cast Speed
	Cold to Fire Support - converts 50% of Icestorms damage to Fire, and also adds additional Fire Damage
	Increased Area of Effect Support - greatly increases leveling speed

Utility Gems
	Frostbite - a curse that reduces monster's resistance to Cold Damage
	Leap Slam - your main mobility skill during leveling phase
	Herald of Ice - increases your cold damage and causes AoE explosions on killing frozen enemies, which improves your leveling speed
	Clarity - increases Mana Regeneration, great Aura for spellcaster classes

Bandits:

We recommend killing all bandits for the additional 2 passive points

Leveling Skill Trees:

34 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Warrior's Blood 2) Retribution 3) Amplify 4) Elementalist 5) Devotion

61 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Quick Recovery 2) Deep Wisdom 3) Blast Radius 4) Elemental Overload

Recommended leveling items:

Pyre - grants insane damage bonuses to both your RF and Searing Bond Totems
+(20-30)% to Cold Resistance +(25-35)% to Fire Resistance (60-80)% increased Burning Damage 40% of Cold Damage Converted to Fire Damage 10% increased Light Radius Ignited Enemies you hit are destroyed on Kill

Ashcaller - great leveling wand, that is supposed to be used with the Totem setups
(18-22)% increased Spell Damage Adds (10-14) to (18-22) Fire Damage Adds (4-6) to (7-9) Fire Damage to Spells (40-50)% increased Burning Damage (16-22)% chance to Ignite 10% chance to Trigger Level 8 Summon Raging Spirit on Kill

Goldrim - the best leveling helmet. Will cover all your elemental resistances needs until the mapping phase
+(30-50) to Evasion Rating 10% increased Rarity of Items found +(30-40)% to all Elemental Resistances Reflects 4 Physical Damage to Melee Attackers Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden)

Astramentis - the best in slot amulet for this build. Not to mention it can be worn starting at level 20
+(10-16) to all Attributes +(80-100) to all Attributes -4 Physical Damage taken from Attacks

4. Final Skill tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

115 Points Final Skill Tree
115 Points Path of Building link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Crave the Slaughter
2. Aspect of Carnage
3. Pain Reaver
4. War Bringer

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Lunaris - 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%; 1% increased Movement Speed for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%

Minor God: Soul of Gruthkul - 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each Hit you've taken Recently up to a maximum of 5%

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Icestorm 2L + 4 Sockets setup
	[2L]Scorching Ray - this is your main skill. You have to channel it to trigger Icestorm through Cast while Channelling Support Gem. Because we use channeled spell on level 1, your Icestorm basically cost no Mana and is cast twice as frequent. Scorching Ray also reduces monsters resistance to Fire damage. You should not link any of the Support Gems to Scorching Ray otherwise they will increase its' mana cost
	[2L]Cast while Channelling Support - will make Scorching Ray trigger Icestorm spell
	Elemental Focus Support - increases elemental damage, but makes the supported spell unable to inflict negative status ailments
	Controlled Destruction Support - increases Icestorm's spell damage, but reduces its' chance to critically hit
	Cold to Fire Support - one of the most important Gems in this setup. Converts 50% of damage to Fire, as well as adds 25% as extra Fire damage
	Concentrated Effect Support - reduces Icestorm radius, but greatly increases its' damage
	Icestorm - your main DPS source, which is granted by the Whispering Ice staff

[CURSE] Orb of Storms setup
	Orb of Storms - one of the best spells used for applying curses
	Curse on Hit Support - will make Orb of Storms apply your supported curse
	Elemental Weakness - recommended curse option for this build. Will reduce monsters' resistance to both cold and fire damage
	Chain Support - this Support Gem will greatly increase the radius of Orb of Storms, and make it nearly cover the entire screen with your curse

[MOBILITY] Leap Slam
	Leap Slam -  your main mobility skill
	Faster Attacks Support - link it to your Leap Slam for faster movement
	Fortify Support - increases the duration of Arcane Surge buff
	Flame Golem - recommended Golem for this build. Increases your damage

[DEFENSE/UTILITY] Immortal Call / Rallying Cry
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - will trigger supported spell after you take a certain amount of damage. Keep this Gem at level 1
	Increased Duration Support – increases Immortal Call and Rallying Cry duration
	Immortal Call - grants brief immortality. Match this Gems level with the CwDT Gem
	Rallying Cry - suggested warcry for this build. Will increases your damage. This skill can be linked together with other Gems in this setup, to increase its' buff duration, but still, as a Warcry, it will have to be cast manually

5. Gear Setup

Our Whispering Ice Berserker build is very budget-friendly, considering it requires a maximum of 4 links in your gear. On the other hand, it is not suitable as a League starter, mainly because it requires quite a few specific unique items, that may be expensive and hard to get early in new Leagues. Even if you choose to use this weapon for its' free 7 links, it still remains extremely good for leveling and low tier mapping even with rare Intelligence capped gear.

If you are looking for gear upgrades and lack currency, we would like to invite you to visit our PoE Currency market. On Odealo you can buy Orbs and Unique items from regular players, which guarantees competitive prices and prompt delivery.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances 
2. Give you enough DPS/Life to start mapping successfully
3. Save you at least a couple of hours, as it's already all planned out for you!

(Helmet) Black Sun Crest - the best in slot item for Whispering Ice builds. It provides insane attribute bonuses, though high rolled Int piece will cost quite a bit. Socket your curse in it for the extra Gem level - other setups don't need it at all

+1 to Level of Socketed Gems (100-150)% increased Armour 40% reduced Light Radius (5-15)% increased Dexterity (5-15)% increased Strength (5-15)% increased Intelligence

(Weapon) Whispering Ice - build-defining item. It provides free 7 links and the unique Icestorm spell

18% Chance to Block +1 to Level of Socketed Support Gems Grants Level 1 Icestorm Skill Plays Whispering Ice sound on killing a rare Monster (Hidden) (8-12)% increased Cast Speed 1% increased Spell Damage per 10 Intelligence (14-18)% increased Intelligence

(Armour) Kaom's Heart - the best in slot armour for this build. Grants almost 1500 extra Life and amazing Fire damage bonus. Since you do not use any Auras in this build, the extra sockets are redundant too

Has no Sockets +500 to maximum Life (20-40)% increased Fire Damage

(Armour) Rare Body Armour - with high Life and int bonus. You can use the extra sockets for the Frost Bomb Spell Totem setup

Min. requirements: 120 maximum Life 40 Intelligence Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances

(Boots) Rare Life/Res boots - just get the highest stats you can afford

Min. requirements: 75 maximum Life 25% Fire Resistance 25% Cold Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance 25% increased Movement Speed

(Belt) Cyclopean Coil - this belt provides a lot of additional attributes, and also increases damage dealt by around 30% (from approx. 150 of your lowest Dexterity Attribute)

+(25-40) to maximum Life +(60-80) to maximum Life (5-15)% increased Attributes Cannot be Frozen if Dexterity is higher than Intelligence Cannot be Ignited if Strength is higher than Dexterity Cannot be Shocked if Intelligence is higher than Strength 1% increased Damage per 5 of your lowest Attribute

(Gloves) Atziri's Acuity - the best in slot gloves for this build. They provide the highest Int bonus out of all gloves in Path of Exile, as well as basically double your Life Leech

+(60-80) to Intelligence +(60-75) to maximum Life (200-220)% increased Armour (25-35)% increased Global Critical Strike Chance You have Vaal Pact if you've dealt a Critical Strike Recently

(Gloves) Rare Life/Res gloves - one of the best gloves for this build, which are also very cheap.

Min. requirements: 75 maximum Life 45 Intelligence Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances increased Spell Damage

(Ring) Le Heup of All - good rolled ones are the best in slot for this build (but very expensive) You should aim to cap your resistances first, and then try to get the highest damage and attributes they provide. You can wear 2 of them, and corrupting them for increased Cast Speed is advised

Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks (10-30)% increased Damage +(10-30) to all Attributes (10-30)% increased Rarity of Items found +(10-30)% to all Elemental Resistances

(Ring) Rare Life/Res ring - you have to cap your resistances with this item. Compared to Le Heup of All this ring will provide extra Life, but it might be easier (and cheaper) to get Le Heup Rings which provide additional damage

Min. requirements: 50 maximum Life 40 Intelligence 28% Fire Resistance 28% Cold Resistance 28% Lightning Resistance

(Amulet) Astramentis - this amulet provides the highest attribute bonuses in Path of Exile, and with the other recommended gear including Black Sun Crest and Cyclopean Coil, Astramentis bonuses are multiplied

+(10-16) to all Attributes +(80-100) to all Attributes -4 Physical Damage taken from Attacks

(Jewels) Brute Force Solution - converts Strength bonuses in radius to Intelligence. You will need 3 of them in the following sockets: The left side of the tree right above Juggernaut node The left side of the tree right above Devotion node to the bottom/left of Marauder's starting point, below Constitution node

+(16-24) to Intelligence Strength from Passives in Radius is transformed into Intelligence

(Jewels) Clear Mind - this unique jewel provide insane Spell damage bonus, but you need to cap your resistances without the jewel sockets. With all the recommended uniques you may need to grab rare jewels with all elemental resistances instead

(20-30)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate (40-60)% increased Spell Damage while no Mana is Reserved

(Jewels) Rare Jewels - used mainly to cap resistances, increase Life and grant extra Intelligence

Recommended affixes: % increased maximum Life % increased All Elemental Resistances Intelligence  Optional affixes: % increased Spell/Elemental/Fire/Cold/Area Damage

(Flask) Atziri's Promise - very good Flask which provides extra damage, resistances and Life Leech

+35% to Chaos Resistance 2% of Chaos Damage Leeched as Life during Flask effect Gain (15-20)% of Physical Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect Gain (10-15)% of Elemental Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect

(Flask) Forbidden Taste - this Flask will instantly heal you to Full life. Great for emergency situations

Phasing 10% chance to Dodge Attacks 10% chance to Dodge Spell Damage Recover Full Life on use 8% of maximum Life taken as Chaos Damage per second

Other suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (immunity to bleeding) Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Heat (immunity to freeze and chill effects) Experimenter's Sulphur Flask of Iron Skin (creates Consecrated Ground on use, also provides additional armour)

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below.

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