Freezing Poet
Scion-Ascendant build

Build updated for Patch 3.5

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: medium

Poet's Pen is one of the best leveling items in Path of Exile. It makes your damage skyrocket regarding of the Spells you decide to socket in them. As long as you can maintain high Attack Speed and good mobility, Poet's Pen will help you finish campaign mode and start mapping. Furthermore, even there, they remain exceptionally powerful and provide the most efficient Trigger mechanism in the entire game letting you spam powerful Spells without their original Mana Cost. One of the best things about Poet's Pen builds is the fact that you can use them with almost every spell, giving players immense diversity and available options. 

You can also find the full list of our other Path of Exile Builds right here: Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

Freezing Poet is a Wander build that utilizes Frenzy Attack Skill that has very high Attack Speed and grants Frenzy Charges for increased Damage. Whenever you attack with Frenzy, Spells socketed in your Poet's Pen are automatically cast with greatly increased cast-frequency and no Mana Cost. You should aim to get over four Attacks Per Second, which will make Poet's Pen cast Freezing Pulse and Ice Spear four times per second for terrific DPS. This build also provides solid defenses, with high Life Pool and Life and Mana Leech. It's one of the best builds to level up a Scion character, however, you should keep in mind that completing end-game content even with the upgraded Ice Spear and Freezing Pulse, will require slightly higher investments in gear. 

0:06 Tier 13 Orchard 0:42 Tier 14 Cemetery 1:15 Tier 14 Relic Chambers 1:45 Tier 14 Waterways This video was recorded on a level 84 Ascendant wearing Starkonja's Head, Belly of the Beast and Maligaro's Virtuosity Gloves with Spell Crit. Chance corruption

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Poet's Pen is one of the best leveling weapons in Path of Exile. You can wield them from level 12, and you don't have to worry about the weapon slots forever. Merely upgrade other gear, which should increase your defenses (top priority) and grant Attack Speed and Spell Damage bonuses. You can use any Spell in Poet's Pen during leveling, the damage bonuses and cast frequency provided by Poet's Pen will be more than enough to carry you to Maps. 

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Frenzy setup
	Frenzy - your primary attack skill. Attacks with this skill to trigger Poet's Pens' spells. You can use any other attack until Frenzy becomes available
	Faster Attacks Support
	Life on Hit Support

Freezing Pulse
	Freezing Pulse - one of the first Spells available in Path of Exile. It grants high base damage and good clear speed with a cheap threshold jewel; First Snow
	Added Cold Damage Support - adds flat Cold Damage to supported skills
	Controlled Destruction Support - greatly increases Spell Damage

Ice Spear
	Ice Spear - one of the core Spells used in this build. It has the same level requirement as Poet's Pen Wand
	Added Cold Damage Support
	Lesser Multiple Projectiles Support - increases the number of Ice Spear's Projectiles. Very important Gem which should be used until late game when you can get the extra projectiles from other sources

Utility Gems
	Lightning Golem - will increase your Attack Speed which is the core attribute of every Poet's Pen build
	Frostbite - the recommended Curse for this build
	Herald of Ice - very useful Herald Spell which grants increased Cold Damage and extra AoE DPS

Bandits:

We suggest killing all the Bandits for two additional Passive Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

30 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Shaper 2) Quick Recovery 3) Heart and Soul 4) Annihilation 5) Arcane Potency

59 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Celestial Judgement & Punishment 2) Devotion 3) Light of Divinity 4) Discipline and Training 5) Cruel Preparation

Recommended leveling items:

Praxis - will greatly reduce your Mana Cost allowing you to spam Frenzy
+(20-25) to maximum Mana +(30-60) to maximum Mana (3-6) Mana Regenerated per second -(8-4) to Total Mana Cost of Skills 8% of Damage taken gained as Mana over 4 seconds when Hit

Doedre’s Tenure - perfect Gloves for Poet's Pen builds. They increase your Spell Damage greatly, but since you base your damage on regular attacks, the reduced Cast Speed is negligible
(50-60)% increased Spell Damage +20 to Intelligence 15% reduced Cast Speed +32 to maximum Energy Shield

The Poet’s Pen - build-defining weapons. They can be used starting at level 12 and will greatly increase the pace at which you progress through the storyline
(11-15)% increased Spell Damage +1 to Level of Socketed Active Skill Gems per 25 Player Levels Adds 3 to 5 Physical Damage to Attacks with this Weapon per 3 Player Levels (8-12)% increased Attack Speed Trigger a Socketed Spell when you Attack

4. Final Skill tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

121 Points Final Skill Tree
121 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Shadow Ascendancy - Assassin
2. Path of the Shadow
3. Duelist Ascendancy - Slayer

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

[TRIGGER] Frenzy setup
	Frenzy - your primary Attack. Frenzy Attacks will trigger Spells socketed in Poet's Pen Wands and also apply both of your Curses
	Greater Multiple Projectiles Support - increases the number of Frenzy's projectiles
	Faster Attacks Support
	Curse on Hit Support - will cause Frenzy to apply supported Curses
	Warlord's Mark - one of the recommended Curses which grant Endurance Charges on Kill and amazing Leech
	Frostbite - DPS-oriented Curse which reduces affected enemies' resistance to Cold

[DPS] Freezing Pulse (first Poet's Pen)
	Freezing Pulse - one of the two primary Spells in this build
	Hypothermia - grants increased damage against Chilled enemies
	Controlled Destruction Support - greatly increases Spell Damage at the cost of slightly reduced chance to Critically Hit

[DPS] Ice Spear (second Poet's Pen)
	Ice Spear - the primary source of DPS as it deals an insane amount of Cold Damage in the second form
	Elemental Focus - increases Elemental Damage, but makes supported skill unable to inflict elemental ailments
	Controlled Destruction Support

[UTILITY] Herald skills
	Herald of Ice - grants added Cold Damage to Spells and Attacks
	Herald of Thunder - grants added Lightning Damage to Spells and Attacks

[UTILITY] Golem
	Summon Lightning Golem - this Golem increases your Attack Speed
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - optional Gem which can be used to automatically resummon your Golem

[UTILITY] Immortal Call and Righteous Fire
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - this Gem should be level 6 in this setup
	Immortal Call - grants brief immunity to Physical Damage whenever triggered. Keep this Gem at level 8
	Vaal Righteous Fire - used only for the Vaal part of the skill which will increase your Spell Damage for a brief duration
	Increased Duration Support

[UTILITY] Frostbomb
	Frostbomb - area spell which reduces affected enemies resistance to Cold Damage
	Bonechill Support - increased the effect of Chill and makes affected enemies take increased Cold Damage based on the Chill effect (it is, however, unclear how exactly it is calculated)
	Faster Castin Support - used to increases the Mana Cost of Frostbomb to allow using a higher level of Arcane Surge
	Arcane Surge - grants increased Mana Regeneration Rate and Spell Damage after you spend a certain amount of Mana with the supported spell. It should be kept at level 6 to trigger the effect with every Frostbomb's cast (assuming all the other Gems are level 20)

5. Gear Setup

Below you will find all the required gear for this build. This is a very versatile build, which only requires the Poet's Pen Wands as your weapons, and all the other gear can be replaced with Rare gear. While Poet's Pen may seem expensive, they are totally worth it. You can use them during leveling and they will save you a lot of time, and you can also use them to level up almost every character class quickly. 

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances 
2. Give you enough DPS/Life to start mapping successfully

(Helmet) Starkonja's Head - one of the most popular Helmets in Path of Exile. It provides very high defensive utility and both Attack Speed and Crit. Chance bonus

50% reduced Damage when on Low Life +(50-70) to Dexterity 10% increased Attack Speed 25% increased Global Critical Strike Chance (100-130)% increased Evasion Rating +(80-100) to maximum Life 150% increased Global Evasion Rating when on Low Life

Helmet enchantments: Ice Spear fires an additional Projectile 40% increased Freezing Pulse Damage

(Weapon) The Poet’s Pen - mandatory weapons in this build

(11-15)% increased Spell Damage +1 to Level of Socketed Active Skill Gems per 25 Player Levels Adds 3 to 5 Physical Damage to Attacks with this Weapon per 3 Player Levels (8-12)% increased Attack Speed Trigger a Socketed Spell when you Attack

(Body Armour) Belly of the Beast - very solid pick for this build. It provides very high Life bonus, making it a perfect choice defense-wise

3% reduced Movement Speed (Hidden) (150-200)% increased Armour (30-40)% increased maximum Life +(10-15)% to all Elemental Resistances 50% increased Flask Life Recovery rate Extra gore

(Boots) Rare Boots

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 30% increased Movement Speed 30% Fire Resistance 30% Cold Resistance 30% Lightning Resistance

Boot enchantment: 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've Killed Recently Adds 45 to 68 Cold Damage if you've been Hit Recently

(Belt) Rare Belt - aim to get the highest defensive stats

Min. requirements: 120 Maximum Life 30% Fire Resistance 30% Lightning Resistance 30% Cold Resistance

(Belt) Stygian Vise - also a very good option because of the extra Abyssal Socket. It is usually more expensive though

Min. requirements: 75 Maximum Life 30% Fire Resistance 30% Lightning Resistance 30% Cold Resistance Abyssal Socket

(Belt) Darkness Enthroned - a solid and budget-friendly Belt for this build. The only downside to it is the lack of Elemental Resistnaces

Has 1 Abyssal Socket Has 1 Abyssal Socket 50% increased Effect of Socketed Jewels

(Amulet) Yoke of Suffering - one of the best Amulets for this build. It grants a very high damage bonus

+(10-16) to all Attributes +(10-20)% to Fire Resistance +(10-20)% to Cold Resistance +(20-40)% to Lightning Resistance 30% reduced Duration of Ailments on Enemies (5-10)% chance to Shock Enemies take 5% increased Damage for each type of Ailment you have inflicted on them Your Elemental Damage can Shock

Rare Rings - with high defensive stats

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 30% Fire Resistance 30% Lightning Resistance 30% Cold Resistance Optional affixes: increased Elemental/Cold Damage Attributes

(Gloves) Rare Gloves

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 25% Fire Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance 25% Cold Resistance Optional affixes: increased Spell Damage

(Gloves) Maligaro's Virtuosity - a very solid pair of Gloves which grant very high bonus damage and extra Attack Speed

+(20-30) to Dexterity 5% increased Attack Speed 50% increased Global Critical Strike Chance +(20-30)% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier (60-80)% increased Evasion Rating

(Jewels) Abyss Jewels - at least one Abyss Jewel is recommended with added Fire Damage to Spells to inflict Ignite and increase your damage when you have Yoke of Suffering equipped

Recommended affixes: maximum Life Added Cold Damage to Spells Optional affixes: Added Fire Damage to Spells/to Spells while Dual-wielding

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - these should provide extra Life and damage bonuses

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased Cold/Spell Damage Optional affixes: increased Critical Strike Multiplier

(Jewel) First Snow - threshold Jewel for the Freezing Pulse Spell. You can use one or two of those for greatly increased AoE and clear speed

(7-10)% increased Projectile Damage With at least 40 Intelligence in Radius, Freezing Pulse fires 2 additional Projectiles With at least 40 Intelligence in Radius, 25% increased Freezing Pulse Damage if you've Shattered an Enemy Recently

(Flask) Atziri's Promise - grants very high Bonus Damage 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) Dying Sun - increases the number of all your skills projectiles making it one of the best end-game Flasks for this build

+50% to Fire Resistance 20% less Fire Damage taken (-10-10)% increased Charges used (15-25)% increased Area of Effect during Flask Effect Skills fire 2 additional Projectiles during Flask Effect

Other suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (immunity to Bleeding) Experimenter's Diamond Flask of Heat (immunity to Freeze and Chill) Experimenter's Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline (increased Movement Speed)

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

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.