[3.5] Scold Snap™ - a low-life league starter Cold Snap Occultist
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Yeah thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I got PoB so I can take notes and adjust things as needed.
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Thoughts on the new Arctic Breath, Occultist changes, and Bonechill support? The news post on Arctic Breath today seems like nothing but great news for this build!
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Can this build do elemental reflect maps? It's unclear since it seems like Cold Snap is heavily dot based from a ground effect, but I'm still going to guess no?
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" Short answer: no. The upfront damage of Cold Snap is just too damn high. That said, I have successfully done two deathless ele reflect maps on this build. It took an absurd amount of finagling and was not worth the effort at all. The maps took an eternity to clear and every fast-moving pack was spooky AF. -I swapped out Controlled Destruction, in exchange for Concentrated Effect. This makes the DoT stronger and compensates for inaccurate Cold Snap casts. -I removed CWDT, so as not to proc Ball Lightning. -I never cast Frost Bomb or Vortex. -I switched to a level 1 Orb of Storms, so I could still apply curses and proc EE. The zaps still hurt like hell, but cast OoS only after getting a few kills and the reflected damage was manageable. -I aimed away from monsters, making sure the upfront damage of Cold Snap never hit anything. Last edited by cha_siu_bao on Nov 30, 2018, 10:32:00 PM
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Gotcha, thanks for the quick and informative reply!
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" Arctic Breath changes: To be honest, I'm not 100% sure how (and if) I'd incorporate this spell into my current build. Sure, it'd be nice to have yet another source of cold DoT... but where do we get the gem sockets for it? Let's wait until we get a look at the numbers for all these spells, and then I'll weigh in. Don't forget that Vortex is getting sexy buffs in like 4 different ways too. Would now be the right time for me to pull GGG's classic, "Why don't you try it out and see for yourself?" Bonechill Support: It's a support gem, which makes me sad. As Dan (aka UberDan) said, "Seems to me it gives damage where you don't need it (trash mobs) and no damage when you need it (bosses)." I absolutely agree. Maybe we can use the built-in chilled ground and "increased effect of chill" but I highly doubt that it will outdo the scaling of Hypothermia (my weakest support gem). It should give more damage than Efficacy, but I dislike losing the utility that Efficacy provides. Level 21 Cold Snap + Level 4 Empower = OMG THE DAMAGES I think any support gem is going to have a hard time living up to that standard. Maybe we'll use it as a stand-in until we get our hands on Empower 4? Regardless, we now have some interesting options. I'm going to hold off on forming an opinion until I get to see some numbers for lvl 20 gems (and the quality benefits). Cold Snap - Efficacy - Elemental Focus - Controlled Destruction - Hypothermia - Bonechill Cold Snap - Elemental Focus - Controlled Destruction - Hypothermia - Bonechill - Empower? After thinking about this further, I think I'm going to put it on my secondary spell, keeping my Cold Snap 6L setup the same as you see in the guide: Vortex - Controlled Destruction - Hypothermia - Bonechill This would be a full utility secondary spell, meaning I'd now have 3 preparatory spells for debuffing tanky monsters. Is this an MMO? Should I get to spreadsheeting my max DPS skill rotation? :/ Occultist changes: Could be great, but it all depends on the opportunity cost. If they force me to give up two ascendancy points, it's probably going to be the extra curse. This change would likely make the build stronger against Shaper/Elder but marginally weaker in maps, and I'm okay with that. Last edited by cha_siu_bao on Dec 1, 2018, 4:40:14 AM
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RE:
Spoiler
" Thanks for the info! Yeah, a lot is dependent on numbers, etc. I'm super curious about the Occultist changes. Also, thank you for making a viable Cold Snapper in 3.4! I absolutely loved Cold Snap and had an old build guide for it in 1.3 lol. Cold Snap freeze prolif with self-cast discharge. Those were different times hah! |
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" One of my favorite things about current Cold Snap (or any heavily reworked spell) is getting to reminisce about the old versions. It was my go-to utility trap from 1.1 onward, and probably used prolif similarly to your 1.3 build. Back then Cold Snap was all about power charges, so I guess that means you were self-casting lightning discharges? Sounds like a pretty awkward way to build up power charges, to be honest. I recall an incinerate discharger from around that time that sounds very similar in playstyle, only you'd hit max charges almost instantly... did yours also use Romira's Banquet? |
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" Do you actually have to link Bonechill with Cold Snap? I think it could also work like an AOE cold damage boost, like: - You keep your current Cold Snap setup - You link Arctic Breath (utility) with Bonechill - You cast Arctic Breath, chilling the ground and applying Bonechill - Would you now deal more damage with Cold Snap? It would also be interesting to see if it is possible to use Arctic Breath as a clearing/utility skill (5l helm or something similar) while keeping Cold Snap for the single target (6l). |
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" Do you actually have to link Bonechill with Cold Snap? This is the question of the week. Based on what's been teased so far, I'm inclined to say no. The more I look at it, the more it seems like it's a support gem for supporting skills (i.e. I'd stick it in my Vortex). Based on what I understand so far, the scenario you depicted (of Arctic Breath + Bonechill + whatever as my utility spell) will give the Cold Snap more damage. Arctic Breath as a clearing skill: I honestly doubt it. Of course, we need to see some numbers and other specific skill gem info first. Arctic Breath as a utility skill: Possibly? I think it's the more likely of the two outcomes, but it depends on a lot of factors: -How much bigger is the new reworked Vortex going to be? -What's the cooldown on the new reworked Vortex? -Does Arctic Breath have any built-in utility, like increased chill effect? -How does the base damage compare? (both upfront and DoT are important, but for different reasons) |
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