[0.4] [NEWLY UPDATED] Permafrost Bolts Tactician League Starter and Endgame Guides

This is a low budget league starter that can scale easily all the way to endgame. It freezes most everything in one shot and follows up with fragmentation rounds for overlapping AoEs that deal a ton of damage.

streaming gameplay over at
https://twitch.tv/normalcatpictures

join the discord for frequent updates!
https://discord.gg/spPzmGdqvD

build guide here:
https://mobalytics.gg/poe-2/profile/6b47434c-462a-412e-964e-3b13bfe67cbc/builds/58419581-35ae-4e17-849e-6ff22152e1c3

league start / leveling guide here:
https://mobalytics.gg/poe-2/profile/6b47434c-462a-412e-964e-3b13bfe67cbc/builds/f2979612-9246-4acc-ba40-90d15a8db658

Leveling Guide Showcase:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N_3hMmTMzc

[Relevant 0.3 Previews]
Max Tier King


Max Tier Xesht



PoB Preview (Endgame)




If you run into issues or have any questions, I'd be happy to assist. There's also a very helpful community discord / dedicated channel where you can reach out for help.

Thanks for reading!

Why not Mist Whisper?

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todo
tl;dw: S-tier for mapping, awful for map bosses, pinnacles, and ubers.
Having to switch out makes it not worth the effort.
"All Damage from Hits with this Weapon Contributes to Freeze Buildup" would go a long way to making this less of a leveling unique (ignoring the obvious +x to levels issue)


[0.4 update] 5 Pierce pretty much makes Chain not great! this is now an even worse option. wow!

Chain II vs. Nova Projectiles for Permafrost Bolts
WIP


Chain II performs far better for high-density content.
4 Chains + Cone Shattering = OP.


Nova Projectiles is better for low to moderate density content -- not having to aim is such a huge QoL boost.

[0.4 update]: Forced pierce means chain isn't really that good of a pick now. Nova Projectiles should still be viable for Fragmentation Rounds at least.

Reserved

Updated with a crossbow crafting guide. Roughly 200ex to make a crossbow that'll let you clear all content.

Working on an updated build showcase currently.

Freeze Buildup vs T1 Xesht
Methodology: attack until frozen, record freeze buildup per attack. die, repeat.

Formatting:
Attack 1 Freeze Buildup % / Attack 2 Freeze Buildup % / Attack 3 Freeze Buildup %


THE NUMBERS, MASON...


Observation 1:
Chance and Magnitude of Ailments do nothing for freeze buildup directly. However, since this build does incorporate sources of shock, magnitude and chance do benefit us indirectly because freeze build-up is calculated post-mitigation. That's to say, the bigger the final cold damage hit, the more build-up. Since this test was mostly looking at freeze buildup of the first shot, the shock interaction is not reflected in the data.

Oberservation 2:
Reducing ailment threshold of enemies is very, very strong. If you can't easily scale the hit of the skill that is freezing, you can try reducing the ailment threshold of enemies instead.
The max hit of Permafrost Bolts in conjunction with Freezing Mark seems to only be able to generate at most 67% freeze buildup on T1 Xesht. Supplementing, or outright replacing, it with Overwhelming Presence pushes that into the 90%s~.

placeholder for testing!

Reserved

Added a T3 Crux gif to the build preview

Reserving another spot for testing The Molten One's Gift and Armour Break investment.