Permafrost Bolts
Tactician Build

Updated for Path of Exile 2 Early Access Patch 0.5

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The idea of this Crossbow Build revolves around firing Permafrost Bolts, which are uniquely good at Freezing, and then attacking with Fragmentation Rounds, which are uniquely good at damaging Frozen enemies. Permafrost Bolts are designed to slay packs of enemies and Shatter them with Herald of Ice, so that's what the build does for the majority of the time. That's why, with this Skill, we're grabbing lots of Freeze buildup from the Skill Tree; aided by Suppressing Fire, this will let us Freeze bosses nearly instantaneously. Fragmentation Rounds consume the Freeze to deal damage so brutal that it often kills bosses on sight. If not, that's fine, since as Tactician we can access the Right Where We Want Them passive that allows all Projectiles to Pin, and makes it so enemies can't act at all while Pinned, meaning they will be quasi-Frozen even after getting blasted with Fragmentation Rounds. All of this results in very safe gameplay, where you only need to worry about damaging effects that work around this Immobilisation, such as Ground Effects.

As a Tactician, you can allocate Unleash Hell! to unlock a Skill to level up with, and A Solid Plan for Reservation Efficiency. These will not be needed in the late game, so switching to Stay Light, Use Cover, or a whole different ascendancy altogether is preferable. The build relies on flimsy defensive layers like raw Evasion and Armour with little else, so we definitely recommend a more durable ascendancy configuration. The damage and mobility are among the highest in the game, but are also tied to the quality of your Crossbows. The more high-end weapons will be immensely expensive, but the build works fine even on a budget, due to the power of its skills' synergy. It's a great league-starter.

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1. Gameplay

Permafrost Bolts is what you'll end up using for most enemies. If you stumble across a Rare enemy that's still standing, blast them with Fragmentation Rounds. Repeat this process for bosses. If you need more single-target damage and to speed up Freezing, use Freezing Mark and Thunderstorm. Your passive skills are Herald of Ice, Shard Scavenger, Eternal Rage, and Berserk; maybe Wind Dancer.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

You can start taking advantage of the Permafrost-Fragmentation combo right from the start. After the first ascension, pick Unleash Hell! Supporting Fire is a very efficient levelling Skill that you will end up using instead of other Crossbow Attacks for clearing. It's a Minion Command Skill, so adjust its Support Gems accordingly. Remember to upgrade your Crossbows often. It's just a steady and gradual process of getting better and better gear with no abrupt changes or backtracking. You should start putting more points into Freeze buildup on one Skill Tree and re-invest them into damage on the other given the opportunity.

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

Click on the image to open the Passive Tree preview in a new window Or import the build into PoB: Path of Building 2 code

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in this order:

1. Supporting Fire
2. A Solid Plan
3. Suppressing Fire
4. Right Where We Want Them

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Permafrost Bolts setup
	Permafrost Bolts - Piercing Bolts that explode on impact. They are efficient at Freezing, which is their primary function, but with damage good enough to slay weak enemies.
	Elemental Armament
	Cold Attunement
	Ice Bite
	Ricochet
	Projectile Acceleration

[DPS] Fragmentation Rounds setup
	Fragmentation Rounds - Piercing Bolts that explode upon hitting a Frozen enemy, which you can do easily with Permafrost Bolts. It's your main source of damage against Rares and Uniques.
	Elemental Armament
	Elemental Focus
	Concentrated Area
	Deliberation
	Rageforged

[DPS] Supporting Fire setup
	Supporting Fire - A Tactician's Skill that will be used for levelling; later abandoned. It covers an entire screen with Arrows. Its damage is affected by Minion Damage.
	Bidding
	Magnified Area
	Brutality

[DPS] Herald of Ice setup
	Herald of Ice - Shattering Frozen Enemies detonates them to deal Cold Damage. It cannot Freeze.
	Elemental Armament
	Cold Attunement
	Elemental Focus
	Magnified Area
	Longshot

[UTILITY] Freezing Mark setup
	Freezing Mark - Marked enemies Freeze quicker. Upon Freezing the enemy, it grants extra Cold Damage for 10 seconds.
	Prolonged Duration
	Charged Mark
	Eternal Mark
	Mark of Siphoning

[UTILITY] Thunderstorm setup
	Thunderstorm - Its role is to increase the Freezing rate. In this setup, it also applies Cold Exposure, which reduces Cold Resistance. It can stay at a low level.
	Cold Exposure
	Potent Exposure
	Prolonged Duration

[UTILITY] Shard Scavenger setup
	Shard Scavenger - Consuming Freeze reloads Crossbow. Upon doing so, your Crossbow consumes no Bolts for the next 3 seconds.
	Prolonged Duration
	Precision
	Vitality

[UTILITY] Eternal Rage setup
	Eternal Rage - Regenerates Rage. Rage grants more damage.

[UTILITY] Berserk setup
	Berserk - Increases the effect of Rage, but drains your life over time.

6. Gear Setup

You're dealing Physical Attack Damage, fully Converted to Cold with Fragmentation Rounds, and almost fully Converted to Cold with Permafrost Bolts, so that you can benefit from Life Leech and Mana Leech partially. Your two Crossbows are very similar -  you need Physical and Cold Damage on both. Look for added Physical and Cold Damage on Gloves and Rings too. Critical Damage is irrelevant. Increases to Damage come from the Skill Tree, so you don't need that on items. Gem Level for Projectile Speed will be very useful. Attributes can be found on either the Skill Tree or Items. Spirit should not be needed at all. For defences, get Maximum Life, Armour, Evasion, as many types of Life Recovery as possible, and Movement Speed.

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - Helmet can roll Accuracy or Attributes, but that should not be needed. Focus on Maximum Life and Resistances.

Min. requirements: +120 to Maximum Life +40% total Resistance Optional affixes: Attributes Armour and Evasion Accuracy Rating Life Regeneration

(Helmet) Heatshiver - Heatshiver is a damage-oriented option that grants lots of extra Cold Damage. It has some Resistances, but no Maximum Life.

(50-70)% increased Evasion Rating +(60-100) to maximum Mana +(20-30)% to Fire Resistance +(20-30)% to Cold Resistance Gain 1% of Cold damage as Extra Fire damage per 1% Chill Magnitude on enemy

(Helmet) Constricting Command - This Helmet grants lots of Life and Attributes, but its most important feature is the one that reduces the number of enemies nearby to count as "surrounded". Combine it with "surrounded" passives on the Skill Tree.

+(80-120) to maximum Life +(10-15) to all Attributes (8-12) Life Regeneration per second Require (4-2) fewer enemies to be Surrounded

(Weapon) Rare Crossbow - Crossbow needs Prefixes for added and increased Physical Damage and added Cold Damage. On Suffixes, prioritize Level of all Projectile Skill Gems. Other mods are much less relevant. One Crossbow is for Freezing, the other one is for dealing damage against Frozen enemies, but they require similar mods.

Min. requirements: +4 to Level of all Projectile Skills high Physical/Cold Damage Optional affixes: increased Attack Speed Accuracy Rating Onslaught on Kill (Essence of Haste)

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Gloves can roll a multitude of useful mods, so Resistances must take a back seat. These are Added Damage, Attack Speed, Life recovery mods, Accuracy, and Attributes.

Min. requirements: +120 to Maximum Life Added Physical Damage Added Cold Damage Optional affixes: Life Leech Life gain on Hit Accuracy Rating Elemental and Chaos Resistance Attributes increased Attack Speed

(Boots) Rare Boots - On Boots, seek Maximum Life, Resistances, Movement Speed, and Life Regeneration or Attributes.

Min. requirements: +80 to Maximum Life +40% total Resistance 30% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: Attributes Life Regeneration

(Amulet) The Pandemonius - Pandemonius removes any further need for Cold Penetration, grants tons of Cold Resistance, some intelligence, and Blinds enemies, making Evasion more potent.

+(10-15) to Intelligence +(50-100)% to Cold Resistance Damage Penetrates 75% Cold Resistance Blind Chilled enemies on Hit

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - Amulet needs Level of all Projectile Skills. Maximum Life, Resistances, Attributes, Life Regeneration, and Spirit should be considered.

Min. requirements: +80 to Maximum Life +3 to Level of all Projectile Skills Optional affixes: Spirit Attributes Resistance Life Regeneration Anointment: Climate Change

(Ring) Rare Ring - On Rare Rings, search for Maximum Life, Resistances, and added Damage. It's also a great opportunity to gain Life or Mana Leech, or Life and Mana on kill.

Min. requirements: +80% total Elemental Resistance +80 to Maximum Life Added Cold or Physical Damage to Attacks Optional affixes: Life Leech Life Regeneration Mana Leech Accuracy Rating

(Ring) Ventor's Gamble - Ventor's Gamble may roll Spirit, Maximum Life, Item rarity, and Resistances. If it has lots of positive stats, try to fit it in.

(6-15)% increased Rarity of Items found +(0-80) to maximum Life +(0-20) to Spirit (-25-25)% increased Rarity of Items found +(-40-40)% to Fire Resistance +(-40-40)% to Cold Resistance +(-40-40)% to Lightning Resistance

(Belt) Rare Belt - Belts can get you Maximum Life, Resistances, Strength, Life Regeneration, and Armour.

Min. requirements: +80% total Resistance Strength +100 to Maximum Life Optional affixes: Armour Life Regeneration Charm slots

(Belt) Goregirdle - Goregirdle is a budget option if anything, and its cons will outweigh positives once you reach very high Armour, but it does have Life Regeneration, Strength, and Armour that may be required during leveling.

Has (1-3) Charm Slots +(100-140) to Armour +(20-30) to Strength (10-20) Life Regeneration per second Defend with 200% of Armour Maximum Physical Damage Reduction is 50%

(Body Armour) Hyrri's Ire - The best-in-slot option for a Body Armour that we heavily recommend finding a space for. It grants damage and synergizes with Evasion so well that it should be combined with Wind Dancer.

(30-40)% increased Elemental Ailment Threshold (200-250)% increased Evasion Rating Gain (15-25)% of Damage as Extra Cold Damage +(30-40) to Dexterity 25% increased Freeze Duration on Enemies Evasion Rating is doubled if you have not been Hit Recently

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - A Rare Body Armour is the best place to get defences like Armour and Evasion in huge quantities. Resistances and Maximum Life will probably be needed. Spirit is optional.

Min. requirements: +40% total Resistance high defensive stats +150 to Maximum Life Optional affixes: Life Regeneration Spirit

(Jewel) Megalomaniac - Megalomaniac with Climate Change, Inescapable Cold, Glaciation, Unforgiving, Battle Trance, Kite Runner, Aftermirage, Unsight, and similar mods could be great.

Allocates <2-3 random notable passive skills>

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - Emeralds have some damage-oriented mods, but these do very little, so focus on the utilities these Jewels can provide, like Mark Use Speed and Reload Speed. Sapphires can roll Life and Mana on Kill with Cold Penetration.

Optional affixes: increased Crossbow Reload Speed increased Magnitude of Ailments you inflict Mark Skills have increased Use Speed increased Projectile Speed Cold 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.