Freezing Pulse
Crit Elementalist build

Updated for Patch 3.6

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: low

This Freezing Pulse Elementalist build is one of the most suitable builds for Path of Exile beginners. It requires no specific items, yet provides decent DPS, clear speed, and enough defenses to start mapping on the currency you find during the leveling phase. The Freezing Pulse spell had received a long-range damage buff in Patch 3.3 which made it even better. With further damage increase in Patch 3.6, Freezing Pulse became one of the best Cold Spell in Path of Exile.

You can also check our other Path of Exile builds right over here: Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

This is a typical spell-caster build that revolves around the Freezing Pulse spell. Freezing Pulse fires a projectile which pierces all targets, making it a great tool for leveling up and farming low-tier maps. This is also a Crit. build which causes Freezing Pulse to Freeze nearly all the enemies it passes through. Freeze is one of your core layers of defense.

0:06 Tier 9 Plateau 0:34 Tier 10 Shaped Peninsula 0:59 Tier 11 Bazaar 1:22 Tier 12 Castle Ruins This video was recorded on a level 86 Berserker with Xoph's Nurture, Kaom's Heart and The Nomad belt

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

This build is fun and easy to play starting at level 1. You can get Freezing Pulse Gem as soon as you complete the first quest in the game, and you can start using it right away. It's also advised to pick up Raise Zombie Gem, and have Zombies tank big portion of the incoming damage. During the leveling phase, you should focus more on getting Life and Spell Damage, and leave Critical Strike Chance for later levels when decent Crit. gear becomes relatively cheap.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Freezing Pulse setup
	Freezing Pulse - your primary DPS spell starting at the very first levels
	Faster Casting Support - increases Cast Speed of supported spells
	Arcane Surge Support - grants Spell Damage, and Mana Regeneration Rate bonuses after spending enough Mana on supported spell
	Added Cold Damage Support - additional Cold Damage to your Freezing Pulse

Raise Zombie setup
	Raise Zombie - Zombies act as meatshields and tank incoming damage
	Minion Life Support - increases your Zombies' Life and survivability

Utility Gems
	Frostbite - the recommended Curse for this build during leveling
	Herald of Ice - adds Cold Damage to your Spells and causes AoE explosions after killing Frozen enemies
	Clarity - provides increased Mana Regeneration rate

Bandits:

Help Alira for increased Elemental Resistances and Crit. Multiplier

Leveling Skill Trees:

29 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Heart and Souls 2) Elementalist 3) Light of Divinity 4) Quick Recovery

60 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Annihilation 2) Cruel Preparation 3) Coordination 4) Coldhearted Calculation 5) Deep Thoughts/Soul Siphon

Recommended leveling items:

Praxis - one of the best spellcaster's leveling ring in PoE
+(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

Goldrim - the best leveling unique helmet. Grants enough Resistances to cover up all your needs for them during earlier levels
+(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)

Tasalio's Sign - amazing Spell DPS ring for this build. It can be fairly powerful even during early mapping stage
+(20-30)% to Cold Resistance Adds (7-10) to (15-20) Cold Damage to Spells and Attacks +(200-300) to Evasion Rating 50% chance to Avoid being Chilled 10% chance to Freeze Adds 40 to 60 Cold Damage against Chilled Enemies

Tulborn - great leveling wand for Cold spellcasters
(15-19)% increased Spell Damage (10-15)% increased Cast Speed 50% chance to gain a Power Charge on Killing a Frozen Enemy Adds 10 to 20 Cold Damage to Spells per Power Charge +(20-25) Mana gained on Killing a Frozen Enemy

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Pendulum of Destruction
2. Mastermind of Discord
3. Shaper of Desolation
4. Beacon of Ruin

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] Freezing Pulse
	Freezing Pulse - your primary DPS spell
	Spell Echo Support - makes supported spells repeat additional time with increased Cast Speed
	Controlled Destruction Support - grants a very high Spell Damage bonus
	Hypothermia Support - grants increased chance to Freeze and Chill enemies, also increasing the damage you deal with Hits again chilled enemies
	Slower Projectiles Support - slows down Freezing Pulse projectiles but increases its damage
	Arcane Surge Support - greatly increases your Spell Damage after you spend a certain amount of Mana on Supported Skills

[UTILITY] Herald skills
	Herald of Ice - grants added Cold Damage and causes AoE explosions
	Herald of Thunder - grants added Lightning Damage
	Enlighten Support - optional Gem which reduces Mana Reservation of your Herald Skills

[UTILITY] Golem
	Summon Lightning Golem - increases your Attack and Cast Speed
	Cast When Damage Taken Support - will automatically resummon your Golem

[MOBILITY] Flame Dash
	Flame Dash - your main mobility skill. It is used also to gain the Arcane Surge buff
	Faster Casting Support - increases the movement speed with Flame Dash
	Arcane Surge Support - needs to be on a low level to match the Mana threshold with the Mana cost of Arcane Surge to gain the buff with every cast

[UTILITY] Frost Bomb
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - will auto-cast Frost Bomb. Keep this Gem at level 1
	Frost Bomb - area spell that pulses for no damage reducing affected monster's resistance to Cold Damage

[CURSE] Assassin's Mark
	Orb of Storms - used mainly to apply your Curse
	Curse on Hit Support - makes Orb of Storms apply the linked Curse
	Chain Support - will make Orb of Storms hit enemies even slightly offscreen
	Assassin's Mark - the recommended Curse for this build. It increases Crit. Chance, Crit. Damage and generates Power Charges

[UTILITY] Immortal Call and Clarity setup
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - keep this Gem at level 1 in this setup
	Immortal Call - grants brief immunity to Physical Damage. Use at level 1 as well
	Vaal Righteous Fire - grants increased Spell Damage while active making it a very useful buff against Bosses
	Increased Duration Support

5. Gear Setup

This Freezing Pulse Elementalist is extremely budget-friendly build. It requires no specific unique items, and none of the listed items are expensive. With mainly rare gear equipped, you can also skip Elemental Resistances on Body Armour, which allows you to find a relatively cheap 5 or 6-linked one with only the linked sockets and maximum Life bonus. 

If you ended up here, because you want to improve your in-game character, we would like to invite you to visit our Path of Exile Marketplace where you can buy cheap POE Orbs from other Path of Exile players.

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 since it's all planned out for you!

(Helmet) Rare Life/Res. Helmet - used for the defensive stats it can provide

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 26% Fire Resistance 26% Lightning Resistance 26% Cold Resistance

Helmet enchantment: 40% increased Freezing Pulse Damage

(Weapon) Rare Wand or Dagger - with added Elemental Damage to Spells, Crit. Chance, Multiplier, and Spell Damage

Min. requirements: 60% increased Critical Strike Chance for Spells 45% increased Cold Spell Damage added min. 20 Cold Damage to Spells 10% increased Cast Speed Optional affixes: increased Critical Strike Multiplier

(Weapon) Tulfall - very decent option for this build

(35-39)% increased Spell Damage (10-15)% increased Cast Speed 50% chance to gain a Power Charge on Killing a Frozen Enemy Adds 15 to 25 Cold Damage to Spells per Power Charge Lose all Power Charges on reaching Maximum Power Charges Gain a Frenzy Charge on reaching Maximum Power Charges (10-15)% increased Cold Damage per Frenzy Charge

(Shield) Rare Spell Damage/Crit. Shield - is definitely the best option

Min. requirements: 50 maximum Life 50% increased Cold Spell Damage Optional affixes: increased Critical Strike Chance for Spells

(Shield) Rathpith Globe - is a decent shield for this build and should be rather cheap

3% reduced Movement Speed (Hidden) (40-60)% of Block Chance applied to Spells (40-60)% increased Spell Damage 10% increased maximum Life (120-160)% increased Energy Shield +25% to Lightning Resistance

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - simply get as many linked sockets and Life bonus you can afford

Min. requirements: 80 maximum Life 5-6 linked sockets Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances

(Boots) Rare Life/Res. Boots - with high stats and at least 20% increased Movement Speed

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 20% Fire Resistance 20% Lightning Resistance 20% Cold Resistance 20% increased Movement Speed

Boot enchantment: 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've Killed Recently 0.6% of Damage Leeched as Life and Mana if you've Killed Recently Adds 45 to 68 Cold Damage if you've been Hit Recently

(Belt) Rare Life/Res. Belt

Min. requirements: 80 maximum Life 20% Fire Resistance 20% Lightning Resistance 20% Cold Resistance

(Amulet) Rare Life/Crit. Amulet

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 30% increased Global Critical Strike Multiplier 20% increased Global Critical Strike Chance Optional affixes: Cold Damage Attributes

(Ring) Rare Life/Res. Ring - with Opal Ring as the best possible base rings

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 15% Fire Resistance 15% Cold Resistance 15% Lightning Resistance 20% increased Global Critical Strike Chance Optional affixes: Global Critical Strike Multiplier increased Elemental Damage Attributes

(Ring) Tasalio's Sign - is a great budget option even for maps

+(20-30)% to Cold Resistance Adds (7-10) to (15-20) Cold Damage to Spells and Attacks +(200-300) to Evasion Rating 50% chance to Avoid being Chilled 10% chance to Freeze Adds 40 to 60 Cold Damage against Chilled Enemies

(Gloves) Rare Life/Res. Gloves - cap your resistances with this piece and get some extra Life

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 15% Fire Resistance 15% Cold Resistance 15% Lightning Resistance

(Jewels) Rare Jewels - all jewels should provide extra Life and at least one Damage amplification affix

Recommended affixes: % increased maximum Life % increased Cold/Projectile/Spell Damage Optional affixes: % increased Global Critical Strike Chance % increased Global Critical Strike Multiplier % increased Cast Speed

(Flask) Atziri's Promise - grants increased damage and Life Leech

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

Other suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (bleeding immunity) Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Warding (immunity to curses) Ample Quicksilver Flask of Grounding (immunity to shock) Experimenter's Diamond Flask of Reflexes (increased Evasion)

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.