Frost Blades
Trickster Build

Updated for Patch 3.25

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Frost Blades is a Cold Strike Skill with an amazing Strike Range and one that releases Projectiles on Hit, which makes it one of the best Melee Skills for fast-paced mapping. We've already covered two builds that also use this ability - a Berserker and a Raider. Trickster is lately the most popular choice despite dealing lower damage than a Berserker and being not as efficient with Elemental Damage/Ailments as a Raider, its selling point is durability and easily-accessible damage that you can source from Polymath, Frenzy Charges, and Elusive buff. Hit-based Cold Damage builds also tend to use Heatshiver Helmet because of the 30% of Cold Damage added as Fire Damage against Frozen enemies. You will be able to Freeze every enemy with enough damage and Crit Chance. You may need Southbound Gloves too. Combine it with Yoke of Suffering Amulet for Resistances, the ability to Shock, and to make enemies receive increased damage. It's one of the most popular starter builds. Take into account the price of the aforementioned Uniques and a good weapon, it might be exceptionally high during the first week of a new league.

You will need a good Claw with a lot of added Damage - focus only on Physical Damage if you plan to convert it, but the most efficient would be to also have added Cold Damage, or better yet, all kinds of Elemental Damage. Such weapons are very expensive. Claw is the best option due to the Claw nodes and Masteries you can allocate, and you can wear a Shield with it. The most important Ascendancy passives are Polymath, One Step Ahead, Swift Killer, and Heartstopper. Notice the lack of any exceptionally good defensive nodes - we would have to go through Escape Artist which we cannot afford. The defenses are still very good - it Freezes, has high Evasion, instant Life ES on kil, 100% Spell Suppression Chance, powerful Elusive buff, cycling damage reduction from Heartstopper, Fortify (from a Tattoo), and it protects itself from Physical Damage by taking a portion of it as Elemental Damage.

For the 3.25 update, we've made a fair amount of changes - Heatshiver can no longer generate Resonances so we had to make it more of a Cold Damage build than a mixed Elemental DPS one. Ancestral Totems have been removed, making space for Automation setup. We have added Tincture and updated flasks, the Passive Skill Tree, items, and gem setups.

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

1. Gameplay

Use Frost Blades as the sole damaging ability. During boss fights, activate your Tincture. Assassin's Mark will be applied automatically on Hit. For a Guard Skill use Steelskin, and select Frostblink for better mobility (it will be linked to a Bonechill Support too). To generate Frenzy Charges you will use Blood Rage (Mark Mastery to have them during boss fights). For Auras we've selected Hatred, Herald of Ice, Grace, and Precision.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

You can start with Frost Blades. After allocating Polymath your DPS will significantly improve. After that go for the extra Frenzy Charges and allocate Swift Killer. it combines well with Ice Bite Support. Upgrade your weapon to keep up with the content. After finishing the campaign invest more into Critical Strikes with passives and Support Gems such as Nightblade.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Frost Blades setup
	Frost Blades - Use it at level 1.
	Added Cold Damage Support - Adds additional Cold Damage to your Attacks. Later, switch it with  Nightblade Support.
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - Grants more Elemental Damage to Attacks, at the point which you can use it all your damage should be converted to Cold via Cold Mastery.
	Inspiration Support - lowers the Mana Cost, increases Elemental Damage, and Critical Strike Chance.
	Ice Bite Support - Get it after the second Lab for more Damage per Frenzy Charge.

Auras setup
	Hatred - More Cold Damage and extra Cold Damage based on your Physical Damage.
	Herald of Ice - Adds and increases Cold Damage, additionally Frozen enemies explode on kill.

Curse and Leap Slam setup
	Frostbite - A Curse to lower the Cold Resistance of your opponents.
	Lifetap Support - You spend Life instead of Mana on linked Skills.

Bandits:

Kill all three bandits and be rewarded with two additional Skill Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

38 Points Passive Tree
Get the Cold Mastery first, but keep in mind your Life and Accuracy have to stay high too.
 

73 Points Passive Tree
After allocating Polymath start gathering all the useful Masteries. As you start using Auras, get Charisma and Reservation Efficiency. After allocating Swift Killer, get the two Extra Frenzy Charges.

Recommended leveling items:

Le Heup of All - One of the best Rings due to all the Resistances, Attributes, and damage.

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

Blackheart - Another great choice, it adds a lot of Chaos Damage to Attacks and can be worn at level 1.

Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks Adds (10-15) to (20-25) Chaos Damage to Attacks Regenerate (10-15) Life per second 10% chance to Cause Monsters to Flee

The Halcyon - Great Amulet for low-level Cold Damage builds that Freeze.

+(20-30) to Dexterity (10-20)% increased Cold Damage +(35-40)% to Cold Resistance 30% increased Freeze Duration on Enemies 10% chance to Freeze 60% increased Damage if you've Frozen an Enemy Recently

Goldrim - It is a staple of leveling builds but switch to Heatshiver as soon as you can.

+(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)

Tabula Rasa - It's the best Body Armour for leveling since you can have a six-link setup from the start.

Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Item has 6 White Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden)

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

116 Points Final Passive Tree (doesn't include Cluster Jewels)
123 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Polymath
2. Swift Killer
3. One Step Ahead
4. Heartstopper

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Solaris: 6% additional Physical Damage Reduction while there is only one nearby Enemy; 20% chance to take 50% less Area Damage from Hits

Minor God: Soul of Abberath: 60% less Duration of Ignite on You; 10% increased Movement Speed while on Burning Ground, Unaffected by Burning Ground

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Frost Blades setup
	Frost Blades - The main damaging ability. It's a Strike Skill that releases Projects on impact. Be sure that your Projectiles Pierce or that the Freeze Proliferates.
	Nightblade Support - The most important Support Gem that you will upgrade with Claw and Dagger Masteries to avoid damage, have high movement Speed, Critical Strike Chance, and Crit Multiplier.
	Added Cold Damage Support - Additional Cold Damage.
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - Grants more Elemental Damage with Attacks.
	Ice Bite Support - Adds Cold Damage per Frenzy Charges, so it's excellent with your Swift Killer Passive and two extra Maximum Frenzy Charges.
	Multistrike Support - Skill repeats with an additional Attack Speed but deals less Damage, it's still great.

[UTILITY] Mana-reserving Spells setup
	Grace - Adds and increases Evasion Rating, the main defensive ayer.
	Hatred - Grants more Cold Damage and Extra Cold Damage sourced from Physical Damage.
	Herald of Ice - Adds Cold Damage to Attacks and Shatters Frozen enemies, which massively enhances clear speed.
	Enlighten Support - Lowers Reservation Cost of all linked Skills. It's expensive but allows you to fit Precision into the build too.

[UTILITY] Assassin's Mark setup
	Assassin's Mark - Massively increases Crit Chance and Crit Multiplier against Marked enemy. It also grants Power Charges on Kill and on Hit via default Quality.
	Mark on Hit Support - Mark is applied automatically on any Attack against Rare and Unique enemies.
	Lifetap Support - Skill costs Life instead of Mana. It is quite expensive.
	Enhance Support - Enhance the Quality of Assassin's Mark to generate Power Charges faster during boss fights.

[UTILITY] Immortal Call and Enduring Cry setup
	Frostblink - Chills enemies and creates Chilled Ground. Chilled enemies will take increased Damage after linking it with Bonechill. Use it also as a mobility Skill.
	Bonechill Support - Chilled enemies will take increased damage equal to that of a Chill Effect from a linked Skill. Use the Divergent version, it's a minor upgrade.
	Unbound Ailments Support - Increases Chill Effect. You can also use  Frost Bomb as relying only on Frotblink alone may not suit you.
	Lifetap Support

[UTILITY] Various Gems
	Precision - Adds Accuracy and increases Critical Strike Chance. Adjust it level depending on your Mana Reservation Efficiency. Linking it up with the  Arrogance can be a good idea if your Reservation Efficiency is particularly low.
	Blood Rage - Use it to generate Frenzy Charges on Kill, Leech Life, and to increase Attack Speed. It drains your Life over time. You may want to link it up with  Automation in the setup below if you tend to forget about it.
	Whirling Blades - A movement Skill to didge attacks and move faster.

[UTILITY] Various Gems
	Steelskin - Guard Spell to take less Hit Damage and stop Bleeding. Use it as your movement key.
	Automation - Triggers linked Instant Spells whenever it's possible.
	Lifetap Support

6. Gear Setup

The Claw will be very important, and probably the most expensive item on the list. Be sure you can afford such a weapon and a Heatshiver Helmet. Yoke of Suffering is also a bit expensive during a league start, but it is the best Amulet for its price. Other unique gear pieces like The Taming, Circle of Feat, Southbound, Legacy of Fury, Taste of Hate, and Lethal Pride are definitely good, but you can use Rares instead. Attributes, Accuracy Rating, and Elemental Resistances should be taken care of first. Then, focus on Crit Chance, Chaos Resistance, Spell Suppression Chance, and Maximum Life. Last, look for Crit Multiplier, Evasion, Block Chance, and Mana Reservation. As you use Unique Helmet and Amulet there will be little to no opportunities to gain Reservation Efficiency, but it is not needed. Rare Items are definitely affordable, a lot of Resistances are granted by Uniques we've listed so you can focus just on Attributes and Suppression there. Remember your Body Armour, Gloves, and Boots have to have Evasion to activate evasion mastery for more Spell Suppression. Also, pay attention to Eldritch Implicit modifiers, especially on Gloves - we will list them.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances at 75%
2. Provide you with enough DPS and Life to start mapping

(Helmet) Heatshiver - It's pretty much obligatory. Provides you with tons of Fire Damage so you can benefit from Trinity Support and Yoke of Suffering. The only condition is that you have to Freeze enemies.

(80-100)% increased Evasion Rating 60% increased Mana Regeneration Rate +(20-30)% to Fire Resistance +(20-30)% to Cold Resistance Gain 1% of Cold Damage as Extra Fire Damage per 1% Chill Effect on Enemy Gain 30% of Cold Damage as Extra Fire Damage against Frozen Enemies

(Weapon) Rare Claw - Get a weapon with the highest possible Physical or Cold/Physical DPS, Attack Speed will be mandatory for that. For other mods seek Crit Chance, Crit Multiplier, and Emelental Penetration. It has to be a Claw.

Min. requirements: adds 100 Cold or Physical Damage 150% increased Physical Damage 15% increased Attack Speed Optional affixes: Accuracy Rating Critical Strike Chance Critical Strike Multiplier Elemental Penetration Added Fire or Lightning Damage

(Off-hand) Rare Shield - Here, get Spell Suppression, Resistances, and Maximum Life. As much as you can afford. Added Damage is good too, it can be crafted so definitely do so if you have an open Prefix.

Min. requirements: 15% Chance to Suppress Spell Damage +90 to Maximum Life +50% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance Added flat Damage to Attacks Block Chance

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - Besides Maximum Life and Elemental Resistances, aim for added Critical Strike Chance for Attacks. It's an Influence Suffix so you may abandon this idea if you want to use Eldritch Orbs on it, which will get you Fortify and Critical Strike Multiplier/Aura Effect. There's also a lot of Suppression and Chaos Resistance to be gained.

Min. requirements: +120 to Maximum Life +50% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Spell Suppression Attacks have +1% to Critical Strike Chance increased Maximum Life Evasion Rating Chaos Resistance

(Boots) Rare Boots - Here, get Maximum Life, Movement Speed, and Spell Suppression. Other modifiers are less important. For Eldritch mods, get the Brittle Ground effect and increased Elusive Effect.

Min. requirements: +90 to maximum Life 25% increased Movement Speed +50% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: chance to gain Onslaught o Kill You have Tailwind if you have dealt a Critical Strike Recently Spell Suppression Chance

(Boots) Legacy of Fury - These boots are known for the powerful Scorch effect that makes enemies take increased Elemental Damage, and for the high chance of detonating enemies on kill. Great option.

(200-300)% increased Armour and Evasion 30% increased Movement Speed Nearby Enemies are Scorched (30-50)% increased Effect of Scorch (30-40)% chance when you Kill a Scorched Enemy to Burn Each surrounding Enemy for 4 seconds, dealing 8% of the Killed Enemy's Life as Fire Damage per second (Scorched Enemies have -10% to Elemental Resistances)

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Here, get Maximum Life, Spell Suppression, Resistances, and Accuracy. For Eldritch Implicits go for Cold Exposure on Hit as the blue one, and extra Strike targeting as the red one.

Min. requirements: +90 to Maximum Life +60% to Elemental Resistances Accuracy Rating Optional affixes: increased Critical Strike Chance Attack Speed Adds Cold or Physical Damage Strike Skills target 1 or 2 additional nearby Enemy increased Damage with Hits against Chilled/Burning/Shocked Enemies

(Gloves) Southbound - Not the best-in-slot pick as it grants no Evasion and cannot be upgraded with Eldritch Orbs, but it is still valuable, especially on a budget. It adds a lot of Cold Damage and increases Freeze Duration.

Adds (60-72) to (88-100) Cold Damage to Attacks (12-16)% increased maximum Life +(40-50)% to Cold Resistance 100% increased Freeze Duration on Enemies Your Hits can only Kill Frozen Enemies

(Belt) Rare Belt - Stygian Vise with Maximum Life, Strength, Resistances, and Increased Elemental Damage with Attacks is the best pick for the build.

Min. requirements: +90 to Maximum Life +70% to Elemental Resistances 40% increased Elemental Damage with Attacks Skills Optional affixes: Attributes Chaos Resistance increased Maximum Life

(Amulet) Yoke of Suffering - The build works without it, it's just not as good as it could be. The Amulet massively increases your damage by increasing damage taken by enemies and by the ability to Shock. It has tons of Elemental Reistances and some Attributes.

+(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 (5-10)% increased Damage for each type of Ailment you have inflicted on them Your Elemental Damage can Shock

Recommended Anointments: Savagery Cleansed Thoughts Ash, Frost and Storm

(Ring) Rare Ring - Go for the Rare Amulet if you need Attributes, Resistances or if you have an especially good one with added damage per Frenzy Charge. There are a lot of modifiers you can make use of.

Min. requirements: +60% to Elemental Resistances +90 to Maximum Life Optional affixes: Adds Cold Damage to Attacks Added Cold Damage per Frenzy Charge Attack Speed Accuracy Rating Global Critical Strike Chance increased Elemental Damage with Attacks Non-Channelling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost (crafted)

(Ring) The Taming - It is excellent. The Taming increases Damage and Resistances by a lot. It's especially good with Yoke of Suffering and Heatshiver. Boost it up with Catalysts.

+(8-10)% to all Elemental Resistances (30-40)% increased Elemental Damage with Hits and Ailments for each type of Elemental Ailment on Enemy +(20-30)% to all Elemental Resistances 10% chance to Freeze, Shock and Ignite

(Ring) Circle of Fear - It adds Cold Damage and Cold Resistance. For the Herald of Ice mods, seek increased Buff Effect and whatever you need the most - Cold Resistance, Reservation Efficiency, or simply Damage.

<One to three random Synthesis implicit modifiers> +(20-30) to Dexterity Adds (20-25) to (26-35) Cold Damage +(20-30)% to Cold Resistance <Two Random Herald of Ice modifiers>

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - Maximum Life and some sort of two or three offensively-oriented mods will duit this build well. You won't have much space for these Jewels - one or two at most.

Recommended affixes: increased Maximum Life Elemental Resistances Critical Strike Chance or Multiplier Attributes Optional affixes: increased Attack Speed or Damage with Swords or One-Handed Weapons Melee Critical Strike Chance or Multiplier

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - your Auras are Hatred, Grace, and Precision. We recommend Crit Chance, Cold Penetration, or added Cold Damage from Hatred. If you struggle with Mana, put on level-1 Clarity and get the flat reduced Mana Cost modifier.

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers>

(Jewel) Lethal Pride - Use it for Strength and to upgrade notables in radius. Socket it near Frenetic Notable so that it will affect tons of passives, but check the spot near Fervour too. It's a great value, no other build benefits from it that much.

(Jewel) Thread of Hope (Massive Ring) - Socket it near Supreme Ego, and allocate Sleight of Hand, Forces of Nature, Aspect of the Lynx, Weapon Artistry, Quickstep, Harrier, and Leadership. It has to have a Massive Ring.

Only affects Passives in Massive Ring Passives in Radius can be Allocated without being connected to your tree -(20-10)% to all Elemental Resistances

Commanded leadership over (10000-18000) warriors under (Akoya-Kaom-Rakiata) Passives in radius are Conquered by the Karui Historic

Other suggested Flasks: Life Flask with Bleeding immunity/removal Diamond Flask with increased Crit Chance Silver Flask with increased Movement Speed Jade Flask with increased Evasion Rating Prismatic Tincture with Elemental Penetration

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below. We are always open to suggestions and constructive feedback.

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