Vaal Cold Snap
Guardian/Chaos Bloodline Build

Updated for Patch 3.27

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Vaal Cold Snap is a powerful Spell that continuously deals Cold Damage over Time around the character. With the new Chaos Bloodline, one can reach a permanent uptime of this skill - make it so that Vaal Cold Snap costs only 7 Souls and lasts over 7 Seconds. You gain one Soul every second via a small node in this new Ascendancy. Corruption's Embrace also grows in power the more Corrupted gear pieces you have put on. The Shepherd of Souls requires 4 of them, Everlasting Sacrifice requires 6, and Sacrifice of Blood - 8. It's a build with a lot of Maximum Life, so we do recommend reaching the last threshold. Priest of Kamasa asneandacy passive increases the Duration of Vaal Cold Snap.

The reason behind stacking Maximum Life is the introduction of Foulborn Rathpit Globe. Vaal Cold Snap is one of the very few Spells that scales its DoT with regular Spell Damage, "more" and "increased" alike. The aforementioned Shield increases your Spell Damage and increases Damage over Time, the more Maximum Life you have. Its non-purple version grants Spell Critical Strike Chance instead of DoT, useless for us. The rest of the build revolves around accumulating Life via means like Apostate or Kaom's Heart. Gem Level to Cold Spells from items such as Foulborn Tulborn is also critical. We're also stacking Cold Resistance to have it way more than necessary; there's a Cold Mastery for +1% Cold DoT Multiplier for every 4% overcapped Cold Res.

From the original Ascendancy, you will only be able to select two ascendancy notables. Most players tend to choose Gladiator due to its Determined Survivor and More Than Skill passives, but Guardian has Bastion of Hope and Time of Need, which are very fitting. Bastion of Hope grants 25% Spell and Attack Block Chance, and Time of Need Regenerates 100% of Maximum Life over 1 second every 4 seconds, which is extremely good with Sacrifice of Blood to build up an additional barrier over the regular life pool rapidly. Your durability stems from Block Chance, a bit of Armour, Life Regeneration, and the vast Life Pool.

1. Gameplay

Activate Vaal Cold Snap as soon as it expires. It has the Soul Gain Prevention time, but since you can store multiple uses of it, it's not a problem. Vortex is another Spell that deals considerable damage, but its main role is to boost Cold Snap. Your movement Skills are Shield Charge and Frostblink. Your Mana-reserving Skills are Malevolence, Purity of Elements, Tempest Shield, and Clarity. The best Curse is Frostbite, Elemental Weakness being the next best one.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Start with Totems. You can follow our Templar Levelling Guide using Toems. They're good at first, and you won't need to respec much later. A build like this requires a lot of Maximum Life to start dealing serious damage. You can begin transitioning once you reach the required character level to equip build-enabling unique items. That's around yellow-to-red maps.

Bandits:

An additional Passive Skill Point seems like the best option for this build, but if you have a spare point, help Oak for additional Maximum Life.

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

109 Points Final Skill Tree (doesn't include Cluster or Unique Jewels)
120 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Bastion of Hope
2. Priest of Kamasa
3. Corruption's Embrace
4. Time of Need

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of the Brine King: You cannot be Stunned if you've been Stunned or Blocked a Stunning Hit in the past 2 seconds

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] Cold Snap setup socketed in a Rare Helmet
	Vaal Cold Snap - It has a unique scaling with Spell Damage, resulting in high Cold DoT. Vaal Version is mandatory.
	Elemental Focus Support - More Cold Damage and inability to Chill or Freeze
	Efficacy Support - More DoT and increased Skill Effect Duration.
	Controlled Destruction Support - Much more Spell Damage and inability to Crit.

[UTILITY] Reservation setup
	Malevolence - More Damage over Time and increased Skill Effect Duration.
	Purity of Elements - Additional Elemental Resistances (additional Cold Res is good for Cold Mastery that grants Cold DoT Multiplier) and immunity to all Elemental Resistances.
	Tempest Shield - Added Spell Block Chance and immunity to Shock.
	Enlighten Support - Linked Spells Reserve less Mana.

[UTILITY] Vortex setup
	Vortex - Amplifies damage via Bonechill Support. Its damage is high because it scales similarly to Cold Snap.
	Bonechill Support - Enemies Chilled by Vortex take increased damage
	Controlled Destruction Support
	Unbound Ailments Support - Increases the effect of Chill from Vortex.

[MOBILITY] Shield Charge setup
	Shield Charge - A movement Skill you can use while wielding a Shield. Use it often to get Attack Block Chance from bastion of Hope.
	Faster Attacks Support - Increased Attack Speed for Shield Charge to move faster.

[MOBILITY] Frostblink
	Frostblink - Another movement ability that has no cast time, but a cooldown instead.

[UTILITY] Clarity
	Clarity - Mana Regeneration Rate. Here, we don't have Blood Magic, so managing this resource is still crucial.

[UTILITY] Frostbite
	Frostbite - A Curse that lowers Cold Resistance. If you have a way to extend your Curse Limit to two, add Elemental Weakness. And cast them with one button via Arcanist Brand.

[UTILITY] Righteous Fire
	Righteous Fire - You may include RF in here for its passive bonus to spell damage, but you have to be careful with its life drain; it usually requires very high life regen and fire res to even achieve the net zero life recovery.

[UTILITY] CwDT setup
	Molten Shell - If you have spare sockets, add Molten Shell linked to CwDT to prevent some of the incoming damage.
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - Triggers Molten Shell for you after taking enough damage.

5. Gear Setup

The itemisation is very restrictive, and the build is very reliant on very few stats, so assembling it is actually not that difficult. The only hurdle is having 8 gear pieces Corrupted, but you can do it with cheap Uniques. If you have only 4 items Corrupted, you should go Low-Life with Pain Attunement and Reserve Life for Petrified Blood. You will need your Rare Items to patch up Resistances and Attributes, and get as much Maximum Life from them as possible. Cold Resistance is always good, since it increases damage via the Cold Mastery. With The Apostate, you'll need to look for items with high Energy Shield. Since you won't Leech a lot, to Recover Life, seek Life Regeneration. All the damage is gained from Gem Level and Foulborn Rathpith Globe, thus Life. Modifiers to DoT Multiplier are good, but scarce. If you plan to include Dissolution of The Flesh, be sure you can easily avoid all damaging DoTs.

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - High in ES if you wear Apostate, or only with Maximum Life if not. Here, we've made it a host for the main damaging setup with built-in support Gems and other enhancements for Gems socketed in it. That works best with Shaper's Archdemon Crown.

Min. requirements: Socketed Gems are Supported by Hypothermia (Shaper Suffix) +1 to Level of Socketed AoE Gems (crafted Prefix) Socketed Gems deal 30% more Elemental Damage (Essence of Horror Suffix) Optional affixes: Nearby Enemies take 9% increased Elemental Damage (Shaper Suffix) Maximum Life Resistances

(Body Armour) Kaom's Heart - It has no sockets, but grants 1000 Life. This build values Life the most, making it a good choice.

Has no Sockets +1000 to maximum Life

(Body Armour) The Apostate - If your Armour Items combined grant more than 1000 Energy Shield in total, The Apostate will be a better choice than Kaom's Heart.

Has no Attribute Requirements or Energy Shield (Hidden) +(30-50) to Strength +(20-30)% to all Elemental Resistances Gain Maximum Life instead of Maximum Energy Shield from Equipped Armour Items

(Weapon) Foulbron Tulborn - Get a cheap Foulborn Tulborn with +4 to Level of all Cold Skill Gems. It also enhances the Exposure effect.

Adds (14-29) to (42-47) Cold Damage to Spells and Attacks Gain a Power Charge on Killing a Frozen Enemy +(20-25) Mana gained on Killing a Frozen Enemy +(2-4) to Level of all Cold Spell Skill Gems Cold Exposure you inflict applies an extra -12% to Cold Resistance

(Off-hand) Foulborn Rathpith Globe - The more Maximum Life you have, the more Foulborn Rathpith Globe increases Spell Damage and Damage over Time, so Skills like Vortex and Cold Snap will benefit from it twice.

(10-15)% Chance to Block Spell Damage (120-160)% increased Energy Shield 10% increased maximum Life Sacrifice 10% of your Life when you Use or Trigger a Spell Skill Deal 5% increased Damage Over Time per 100 Player Maximum Life 5% increased Spell Damage per 100 Player Maximum Life

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - On Gloves, get Maximum Life, Resistances, and Dexterity if needed. If you have Apostate, be sure it has over 200 Energy Shield. For Eldritch mods, go for Exposure on Hit and Cold DoT Multiplier.

Min. requirements: +130 to Maximum Life 40% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: Dexterity Life Regeneration Chaos Resistance

(Boots) Rare Boots - Boots must have high Maximum Life, Movement Speed, and Resistances. For the Eldritch mods, get Action Speed or Scorched Ground and Life Regeneration Rate.

Min. requirements: +120 to Maximum Life 40% total Elemental Resistance +30% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: Life Regeneration Chaos Resistance

(Belt) Rare Belt - You definitely want a Hunter's Belt with a lot of flat Maximum Life, increased Maximum Life, and maybe even Strength, which gets you Life too. Besides that, it's just Resistances.

Min. requirements: +140 to Maximum Life increased maximum Life (Hunter Prefix) 40% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: Strength Chaos Resistance

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - Not many Rare Amulets can beat Replica Dragonfang's Flight. It has to have Gem Levels for Cold Spells, DoT Multiplier, and Maximum Life to compete.

Min. requirements: +120 to Maximum Life +1 to Level of all Cold Skill Gems +20% to Damage over Time Multiplier Optional affixes: +1 to Level of all Skill Gems Strength Elemental or Chaos Resistance

(Amulet) Replica Dragonfang's Flight - Get a version that improves Cold Snap. This Amulet provides considerable damage and has other utility mods like Reservation and Resistances.

+(10-16) to all Attributes +3 to Level of all <Random Skill> Gems +(5-10)% to all Elemental Resistances (5-10)% increased Reservation Efficiency of Skills Items and Gems have (10-5)% reduced Attribute Requirements

Recommended Anointments: Written in Blood Constitution

(Ring) Rare Rings - Our singular focus is Maximum Life, so getting Mirrored Rings with negative irrelevant values is recommended. Strength grants Life too. Other Attributes and Resistances should be gained mainly from rare gear, since that would be cheaper.

Min. requirements: +120 to Maximum Life Elemental or Chaos Resistance Attributes Optional affixes: Strength

(Jewel) Dissolution of the Flesh - Up to 30% more Maximum Life makes Dissolution a choice. It comes with a big downside, so most overlook it, but it's actually not that debilitating with high Block Chance and immunity to most damaging DoTs.

Removes all Energy Shield Life that would be lost by taking Damage is instead Reserved until you take no Damage to Life for 2 seconds (20-30)% more Maximum Life

(Jewel) Foulborn The Red Dream - Foulborn Red Dream can increase your Maximum Life via Fire Resistance near the Jewel's socket, which is near the Stamina notable.

Gain (6-10)% of Fire Damage as Extra Chaos Damage Passives granting Fire Resistance or all Elemental increased Maximum Life at 75% of its value

(Jewel) Rational Doctrine - If you balance Strength and Intelligence, this Jewel will get you a "permanent" Consecrated Ground that Regenerates Life and reduces the effect of Curses on you (combined with a specific Magic Utility Flask, that's quasi-curse-immunity).

You have Consecrated Ground around you while stationary if Strength is your highest Attribute 25% chance to create Profane Ground on Critical Strike if Intelligence is your highest Attribute Effects of Consecrated Ground you create Linger for 4 seconds Effects of Profane Ground you create Linger for 4 seconds

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - Cold Damage DoT Multiplier and Maximum Life are top priorities on Jewels. They can patch up missing stats, and one of them may provide a Corrupted Blood Immunity.

Recommended affixes: increased Maximum Life +#% to Cold Damage over Time Multiplier Attributes Resistances Chance to Block Attack Damage Chance to Block Spell Damage

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - Your Auras are Purity of Elements and Malevolence. Maybe Vitality or Clarity. DoT Multiplier from Malevolence is the best. Purity of Elements has Chaos Resistance, which is also very good. There's also Bleed immunity, good with Dissolution.

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

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - Increased Cold or increased Spell Damage Large Cluster Jewels have some good notables. Cold-Blooded and Deep Chill are the best ones damage-wise. Attack and Spell Block Chance can be easily gained here.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Cold-Blooded Killer 1 Added Passive Skill is Deep Chill 1 Added Passive Skill is Widespread Destruction 1 Added Passive Skill is Conjured Wall 1 Added Passive Skill is Mage Hunter

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewel - There are Cold Damage over Time Medium-sized Cluster Jewels that are perfectly suited for this build. If you have spare points, pick them for more damage.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Exposure Therapy 1 Added Passive Skill is Flow of Life 1 Added Passive Skill is Brush with Death 1 Added Passive Skill is Cold-Blooded Killer 1 Added Passive Skill is Deep Chill

(Flask) Oriath's End - Explosions on kill are for mapping, since you can deal damage only around you.

+35% to all Elemental Resistances (20-40)% increased Charge Recovery Enemies you Kill during Effect have a (20-30)% chance to Explode, dealing a tenth of their maximum Life as Damage of a Random Element

Other suggested Flasks and Tinctures: Silver Flask with reduced Effect of Curses on you Quicksilver Flask with increased Movement Speed Granite Flask with increased Armour Life Flask with immunity to Corrupted Blood Sapphire Flask with crafted Life Regeneration

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.