[1.2][Beyond] Crit Ice Nova Build w/ Glacial Cascade (Work in Progress)

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I've come up with very late end-game non-crit and crit passive trees. Note that it's a templar start instead of witch for non-crit. Let me know what you guys think.

Non-Crit 1.2 tree

https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgUABVuLjO98PAWf3xRNgziiAASz8B_hc-0gRtddxrUEuJPYvf4Ktz5Bh_nogsco-uvuNZJN4_6PplfyRTrhj0anCJuhrJj31yKBnqFWSo48F1RMLREPU9SNgtHknwGD21XGOlhfKnRVTLMEBz1fUlOXlZf0akPAVAj0bRm86tsLgh4UsOwYwcWIQuNW5Os3gVKySVHw1QcelS4OSBGWXfIC_t-EQsOMNmHiVUsWvyaVU1JFnZrgf8Yvb9kTcLvkIhpsna4kqhZv42o26Rcv-tJk54CkVdbGnhB_DH1q-g5cRX4=

Crit 1.2 tree

https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgMA37CCEAelLJxJsgLjBULQ9UGWrrNMs5f0UlOXlT1fbRlqQ8BUCPS86lAwEQ_bXqyYVcY6WF8qdFWD249Gm6H316cIGmydrhZv42o26SSqFy_60mTngKRV1tsLgh4UsEwtj_rBxYhC8h1knev1SVHw1QcelS4OSBGWXfJwUonTcNXfhELDjDYC_mHiVUsWvyaVIoGeoVZKjjwXVOQitvr3po5khX0pT2ND6-64k1NSRZ2a4Pnogsco-saeEH8Mfbc-QYfYvf4KTeP-jzWSOuGmV_JFL2_ZE3C77Bhq-g5cRX6Cmw==

Which way are you leaning atm? I am sort of thinking crit myself but I haven't played the build as deep as you have in prep for Beyond.

One very important question remains:

Aoe or non-aoe.

Aoe has lower per hit dmg but way higher n7mber of targets can be hit.

No-aoe uses conc effect for 50%more dmg but its target cap is pretty low.

Third option (no aoe, no conc effect) has no visible advantages and option with both costs too many links imho.

As the glacial cascade is the single target anyway i lean more to aoe version after playing with it longer.

It is true that one hit mignt deal 1/3 mobs health but while one hits 20 mobs the total damage dealt (not dps that is paper value) is quite good.

Funily enough my 2300dps aoe ice nova in 4link clears faster than 11k gc in 5link (gems linked on previous page). With ice nova i have not to worry about aiming nor range (covers pretty much entire targetable area).

It seems that this gem isnt THAT bad after all but one has to accwpt it is pure-aoe skill

Btw i didnt enjoy nova with echo. I hate that immobility of second cast.. but it is just preferrence

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JohmaSho wrote:

Which way are you leaning atm? I am sort of thinking crit myself but I haven't played the build as deep as you have in prep for Beyond.

I'm leaning towards crit, although the option to get a lot more life without crit is appealing. However, not going crit would change a lot about the build and I'm not sure I don't really want to do that. No power charges means not being able to use cold snap and I'm not at all comfortable jumping into the middle of a bunch of monsters without it. It also probably means using arctic breath instead of glacial cascade for single target. The 6% base crit chance is part of what makes glacial cascade really good as a single target option for this build. Without crit, I think shotgunning with GMP arctic breath might be more effective.

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sidtherat wrote:

One very important question remains:

Aoe or non-aoe.

Aoe has lower per hit dmg but way higher n7mber of targets can be hit.

No-aoe uses conc effect for 50%more dmg but its target cap is pretty low.

Third option (no aoe, no conc effect) has no visible advantages and option with both costs too many links imho.

I'll probably end up using increased AoE later on when I'm level 85+ and gems hit level 20. I'm going to be leveling one up anyway, so it's not a decision I need to make until later. Conc effect reduces the area too much without increased AoE in my opinion, so I don't think it's viable to use by itself and I agree that using both doesn't make sense.

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sidtherat wrote:

Btw i didnt enjoy nova with echo. I hate that immobility of second cast.. but it is just preferrence

I know what you mean. I didn't like using echo with my glacial cascade build for the same reason. Also, it can lead to longer streaks of non-crits which can be annoying. I may end up swapping echo out for something else if I have similar feelings with ice nova. The immobility part shouldn't be as bad for ice nova since standing in one spot isn't nearly as bad when you have 360 degrees of freeze.

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I'm leaning towards crit, although the option to get a lot more life without crit is appealing. However, not going crit would change a lot about the build and I'm not sure I don't really want to do that. No power charges means not being able to use cold snap and I'm not at all comfortable jumping into the middle of a bunch of monsters without it. It also probably means using arctic breath instead of glacial cascade for single target. The 6% base crit chance is part of what makes glacial cascade really good as a single target option for this build. Without crit, I think shotgunning with GMP arctic breath might be more effective.

Yea I am going to roll witch and plan to go crit as well. Hopefully I get a good feel for it without an untimely death.

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I've come up with very late end-game non-crit and crit passive trees. Note that it's a templar start instead of witch for non-crit. Let me know what you guys think.

Non-Crit 1.2 tree

https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgUABVuLjO98PAWf3xRNgziiAASz8B_hc-0gRtddxrUEuJPYvf4Ktz5Bh_nogsco-uvuNZJN4_6PplfyRTrhj0anCJuhrJj31yKBnqFWSo48F1RMLREPU9SNgtHknwGD21XGOlhfKnRVTLMEBz1fUlOXlZf0akPAVAj0bRm86tsLgh4UsOwYwcWIQuNW5Os3gVKySVHw1QcelS4OSBGWXfIC_t-EQsOMNmHiVUsWvyaVU1JFnZrgf8Yvb9kTcLvkIhpsna4kqhZv42o26Rcv-tJk54CkVdbGnhB_DH1q-g5cRX4=

Crit 1.2 tree

https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgMA37CCEAelLJxJsgLjBULQ9UGWrrNMs5f0UlOXlT1fbRlqQ8BUCPS86lAwEQ_bXqyYVcY6WF8qdFWD249Gm6H316cIGmydrhZv42o26SSqFy_60mTngKRV1tsLgh4UsEwtj_rBxYhC8h1knev1SVHw1QcelS4OSBGWXfJwUonTcNXfhELDjDYC_mHiVUsWvyaVIoGeoVZKjjwXVOQitvr3po5khX0pT2ND6-64k1NSRZ2a4Pnogsco-saeEH8Mfbc-QYfYvf4KTeP-jzWSOuGmV_JFL2_ZE3C77Bhq-g5cRX6Cmw==

Just looking quickly at your crit tree - drop four points from the Scion life wheel to take up the Athleticism wheel = +30Str and +5% Effect of buffs and no downside for the same investment. I would probably still go that route with the non crit build (dropping 5 points from scion wheel) as that one extra point needed to reach it means: -5% Life = 10Int + 30Str + 5% Buff Effect.

After the buff, does Ice Spear make a contender as single target?

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monkeydave wrote:

After the buff, does Ice Spear make a contender as single target?

It will def be viable but i still think GC will take the cake esp since they buffed GC's damage overlap

How might you change this for softcore?

Also, is this good with Arctic Armor?

I'm still intrigued by this build. :) Also considering to make this my main character for the next league, since it's different from what I played before. Loved my Nova sorc in D2, and Ice Nova is the closest thing (that actually works). Mostly, I want something that has "easy" AoE, that is fps-drop-friendly (actually, does Ice Nova cause fps hits on average machines? -- I may have to test that today), is somewhat safe, and has decent clear speed.

My only concern (sort of) is Atziri. Is she do-able with Ice Nova/Glacial Cascade?

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Mahanen wrote:

Just looking quickly at your crit tree - drop four points from the Scion life wheel to take up the Athleticism wheel = +30Str and +5% Effect of buffs and no downside for the same investment. I would probably still go that route with the non crit build (dropping 5 points from scion wheel) as that one extra point needed to reach it means: -5% Life = 10Int + 30Str + 5% Buff Effect.

Thanks, that's definitely better for the crit version. It's a lot closer for non-crit though there's a good chance the strength is necessary anyway and taking athleticism for one extra point is clearly better than grabbing a 30 str node instead.

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monkeydave wrote:

After the buff, does Ice Spear make a contender as single target?

I feel like ice spear is a bit awkward for single target. If you're close to the enemy you don't have the insane crit chance of the second form and if you're further away then it's hard to hit one enemy with all your projectiles. I think glacial cascade remains superior for single target. It's actually quite good for single target.

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monkeydave wrote:

How might you change this for softcore?

Also, is this good with Arctic Armor?

For softcore, you could probably drop the aura nodes and inner force and load up on damage. Dual-wielding wands/daggers/doryani's (lol if you're rich!) would be an obvious choice in softcore whereas in hc I'm still torn between that and using a shield for some more life and resists. Beyond that, I'm not really sure. If I were in softcore I'd like to do a build with the new Cold to Fire and Avatar of Fire with ice nova. I've thought about doing that in Beyond, but I feel the freeze is needed for survivability in hardcore. I'm still going to level a cold to fire to play around with though :)

AA isn't just good for the build, it's a must have in my opinion. I feel MoM is a must too, but you might be able to do without it in softcore and use a carcass jack instead of cloak of defiance.

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Mivo wrote:

My only concern (sort of) is Atziri. Is she do-able with Ice Nova/Glacial Cascade?

I think you'd need to use a pure glacial cascade build and drop ice nova to be honest. It's a stretch goal of mine to kill atziri in beyond with my glacial cascade build. The builds are similar enough that it will be pretty simple to just transform this build into a more powerful glacial cascade build (more powerful imo, but most likely slower clear speed). My initial thoughts on atziri are to drop cold snap for a self-cast immortal call setup and find a way to run purity of fire. I firmly believe it's possible, but it will require a bit of work and of course really solid gear. I don't think this build is the best choice if killing atziri is really important to you, but I also don't think it's impossible.