[2.0] Boom Nova - Ice Nova with Auto-Cast Discharge

Hey all,

this is my first guide and i'm not a native english Speaker, so feel free to correct me ;-)

Why another Ice Nova Build?
Spoiler

When i searched the Forums for an interesting Build for the Awakening, i found several Ice Nova Builds. Since i always liked ice Nova and wanted to Play it as main skill (i already got it in an coc cyclone Combo a Long time ago) i decided to give it a try.


Who should try this build?
Spoiler

I try do describe my playstyle, so if it fits to yours, this build could be something for you.
1. I never Play hardcore. My chars sometimes pulverise my previous death Counter records because i ignore def at first.
2. I never Play full tank. Clear Speed with aoe spells is my first priority. I hate conc effect on my Aoe spells. I know it's a huge damage buff, but i don't like the smaller area. As Long as the kill Speed is okay, there is no need for me to Switch on conc effect.
3. I hate to click on Mobs. Every time i play a melee char with melee splash there is a Point around lvl 80 where im fucked up with it and begin a new one ;-)
4. I like the 1-click-loot-playstyle. Curses should be Auto cast, no situational buffs without auto-cast, just kill and loot.
5. When playing with mana, i like to have more than 10% of my mana free for casting.



If you are still reading this build, you either skipped all the Spoiler because you want to see my links (since my gear is mostly lvl 30-60 selffound rubbish i won't link it) or you are really interested.

This build uses Ice Nova with high crit Chance and high crit Multiplier and spelldmg to permafreeze almost everything in your path.
You will have 7 Power Charges and 3 Endurance Charges up almost all the time.
You will have dual curse (Warlords Mark + Assassin's Mark) with Herald of Thunder Auto-Curse.
You will have a Molten Shell + Discharge Cwdt Combo for the extra boom effect.


The Gear
Spoiler

The only unique you will need for Dual Curse is
. If you can't afford it, you will want to use warlords mark for leech, else you will die too often (i wouldn't have imagined ever saying something like that).
I use
too, because i like having power charges even in Bossfights without adds and after the discharge bomb exploded.
a 4 Sockets voll's costs 1c.
The rest of the gear is max-life + resi Gear, mostly with ES because it's easier to roll blue sockets there, will perhaps Switch to Armour / ES gear when i am not that lazy to roll and link the sockets (i think it will never happen, who Needs armour when you have crit and huge dps?)


The Links
Spoiler

Main spell:
Ice Nova + Spell Echo + Crit Multiplier + Faster Casting ( + added chaos + added cold + "OMG where is my mana???")
Single target:
Arctic Breath + Spell Echo + added chaos + conc effect (on my single target it's ok to use it)
Auto Curse:
Herald of Thunder + Curse on Hit + Warlords Mark + Assassin's Mark
Boom:
Cwdt + Discharge + increased area of effect + Molten Shell
Random gems:
Flame Golem, lightning warp, warlords mark (self cast for Boss fights without adds)and herald of ice (turned off for clarity at the Moment because i have slight mana issues with curse immune Mobs)


Why Boom, it makes absolutely no sense? Take def instead!!!
Spoiler

No!
More damage is never senseless.
Think about the situations where you are not concentrated and just run around Long hallways with your charges up, and a wild Group of sneaky Brittle Archers appear. One Boom, one problem less for you to solve!
Or the times when you are too lazy to identify the yellow strongboxes and you realize too late the "freezes you when activated"-Stat. Don't worry, boom is there for you.


The current Tree (lvl 78)


I don't take Vaal Pact. I gave it a try and i decided to put the Points in life/manareg instead.

The end-game Tree (lvl 87)

Why no celestial Punishment / Judgement?
[spoiler]
I have to Options to either go into the Templar + Shadow start or take the celestial-circle.
celestial circle brings us 38% Spelldmg and 2% Pen for enemies without a status alaignment with an Investment of six skill Points (because i am one int note away from the circle). When i'm not totally wrong, a frozen enemy takes 53% from that circle. The start Areas bring us flat 56% more dmg for a 5-point Investment.
[/spoiler]

Bandits
[spoiler]
Oak for life on normal
Alira for cast Speed and Power Charge on cruel and merciless
[/spoiler]

But i want more def!!!
[spoiler]
ok, if you still prefer a more defensive playstyle:
1. The tree has many defensive Options right next to you (more life at templars area, more armour/es) you could even take more maxLife / Es nodes for a better hybrid experience (untested, doesnt make sense to take vaal pact then, es only available for head, shield and gloves, perhaps not worth a try).
2. Take another ice Nova build who focuses more on def (There is a build out there with cold to fire and AA, sounded tanky)
[/spoiler]

I hope you could get an idea about the playstyle that awaits you when following my build.
I'm looking Forward to your suggestions.

Regards,
Ueblesache
Last edited by ueblesache on Jul 24, 2015, 6:50:45 AM
Looks really promising, could you post any video?
Didn't make any Videos yet, i shall read myself into it. But i want to reach lvl 70-74 maps first, else you can't be sure that it works.
not bad, but NO hc viable and NO reflect viable
+looks like u die on even standart like drowned men on tidal island
I'm running this in the new league and I'm sorry to say that at lv68 I can't kill anything other than trash mobs. Nearly every rare mob is a massive struggle, single target damage is absolute garbage
and you are paper thin, I die.. a lot. At 68 in the new league I struggle clearing Docks, a full 4 levels below me. Maybe when much better gear presents itself things will improve, but for now this is a very challenging build.


10 changes this build desperately needs in my opinion;

1. more life.. and lots of it

2. swap molten shell for Immortal call. you build plenty of end charges, molten shell is a waste. The OP never said what level to keep CwDT, so I've got mine at 3, making Molten Shell level 11. It does nothing to mobs. If I raise CwDT much more I'll be dead before the reactions can go off.

3. More life.

4. Arctic Breath is doing terrible damage, I will be testing Glacial Cascade and Ice Spear.

5. I am having issues getting HoT to proc the curses. Either my crit is still too low or it is fighting with HoI somehow. It's like I either get the curses via HoT or I get the ice explosions from HoI but never both. I am considering dropping HoI in favor of Discipline.

6. More life.

7-10. More life
Update:

Immortal call + Discipline (in favor of HoI) has helped. I am less squishy, but still much more squishy that I'd like to be but I've cut deaths down by about 75%.

Dropped Arctic Breath and picked up Glacial Cascade, single target damage is much better. Linked GC + Conc Effect + faster casting in a +1 to ice dagger (will upgrade to +2 when I come across one) and the damage is significantly better. I think all the +AoE from the tree offsets Conc Effect well.

I tried Ice Spear but honestly I've never been a big fan of it unless you can get a 5L or 6L on it to really let is shine.


Added 70% more crit and 30% more multiplier and have only seen a small increase in HoT's ability to apply curses. When it works, it's nice but it does not work all the time, usually it works on trash mobs and then will keep cursing. Honestly I think it would be better to set up a second CwDT Lv1 and then link the curse on hit and 2 curses. The application of curses via HoT is unreliable at best, at least at this point.

It's too late for me to start over in the new league. My friend's incinerate build is basically carrying me until I can get better geared. He out damages me by double, is way more tanky and has reliable source of healing, while I still guzzle pots constantly.
Last edited by respwnd on Oct 6, 2015, 10:26:07 AM
"
respwnd wrote:
Update:

Immortal call + Discipline (in favor of HoI) has helped. I am less squishy, but still much more squishy that I'd like to be but I've cut deaths down by about 75%.

Dropped Arctic Breath and picked up Glacial Cascade, single target damage is much better. Linked GC + Conc Effect + faster casting in a +1 to ice dagger (will upgrade to +2 when I come across one) and the damage is significantly better. I think all the +AoE from the tree offsets Conc Effect well.

I tried Ice Spear but honestly I've never been a big fan of it unless you can get a 5L or 6L on it to really let is shine.


Added 70% more crit and 30% more multiplier and have only seen a small increase in HoT's ability to apply curses. When it works, it's nice but it does not work all the time, usually it works on trash mobs and then will keep cursing. Honestly I think it would be better to set up a second CwDT Lv1 and then link the curse on hit and 2 curses. The application of curses via HoT is unreliable at best, at least at this point.

It's too late for me to start over in the new league. My friend's incinerate build is basically carrying me until I can get better geared. He out damages me by double, is way more tanky and has reliable source of healing, while I still guzzle pots constantly.

about ice spear,
imo, that's the WORST damaging skill in poe right now. i think cast speed improvement+dmg effectiveness impr should be good, but IS won't become OP skill. incinerate still OP lol, so nothing can competite w/ it(
"
Olololoev2000 wrote:
"
respwnd wrote:
Update:

Immortal call + Discipline (in favor of HoI) has helped. I am less squishy, but still much more squishy that I'd like to be but I've cut deaths down by about 75%.

Dropped Arctic Breath and picked up Glacial Cascade, single target damage is much better. Linked GC + Conc Effect + faster casting in a +1 to ice dagger (will upgrade to +2 when I come across one) and the damage is significantly better. I think all the +AoE from the tree offsets Conc Effect well.

I tried Ice Spear but honestly I've never been a big fan of it unless you can get a 5L or 6L on it to really let is shine.


Added 70% more crit and 30% more multiplier and have only seen a small increase in HoT's ability to apply curses. When it works, it's nice but it does not work all the time, usually it works on trash mobs and then will keep cursing. Honestly I think it would be better to set up a second CwDT Lv1 and then link the curse on hit and 2 curses. The application of curses via HoT is unreliable at best, at least at this point.

It's too late for me to start over in the new league. My friend's incinerate build is basically carrying me until I can get better geared. He out damages me by double, is way more tanky and has reliable source of healing, while I still guzzle pots constantly.

about ice spear,
imo, that's the WORST damaging skill in poe right now. i think cast speed improvement+dmg effectiveness impr should be good, but IS won't become OP skill. incinerate still OP lol, so nothing can competite w/ it(


Yea, I don't get it. with all the crit I've taken and the massive crit value, Ice Spear should be destroying but it does crap damage and I don't see any extra damage in the 2nd stage. Either I don't know how to use it properly or it's broken somehow. Glacial cascade is way more enjoyable. I only wish it was a projectile so I could LMP?GMP the thing. I'd spec fully into it if I could.
errmm... the idea is good, but the build itself is a complete disaster.
I'm not Brazilian.

Report Forum Post

Report Account:

Report Type

Additional Info