Cold Chronomancer Megathread. All content cleared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Table of Contents: 1. Introduction. - Pros and cons 2. Builds. 3. League start. 4. Gear progression. 5. Crafting (WIP). 6. Videos. ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ Update log: Warning: Nerfs incoming. Too many things were discovered and elaborated on, that made Chronomancer being unfair in some situations in comparison to other classes. So we expect to get nerfed hard. I suggest you not reroll for this build now. Let's see how we can survive the next upcoming GGG nukes.
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07.01.2025 - Added video of Simulacrum waves 14-15 on max difficulty. 05.01.2025 - Guide revision. Added video guides by Ruz and PaintMaster. 04.01.2025 - Added Frostbolt + Snakepit endgame demo. 03.01.2025 - Added videos of max difficulty Xehst and 71% deli t15. 01.01.2025 - Added video of Xesht d0-d3 bossfights. 29.12.2024 - Some upgrades. Uploaded a video of the latest gameplay. 28.12.2024 - Added another t15 boss demo. Silly thing. 27.12.2024 - Added maxroll planner with gear and skills. 26.12.2024 - Added video Frostbolt vs Spark vs Fireball. 24.12.2024 - Added demo video of CoC-Comet. 23.12.2024 - Build Updated (lvl 90). Added gameplay video. 21.12.2024 - Added t16 (area lvl 82) run with boss. 21.12.2024 - Added a demo video of Snakepit Frostbolt clear. 20.12.2024 - 20.12.2024 - Build Updated (lvl 88, massive passive change). 18.12.2024 - Build Updated (lvl 87). 18.12.2024 - Added t15 map run with boss. 17.12.2024 - 15.12.2024 - Added t8 map run. Updated the build. 14.12.2024 - Added 2 approaches to building the damage on characters. 14.12.2024 - Added a demo video of Apex of the Moment. 13.12.2024 - Added a video of a random t4 map with a boss. 13.12.2024 - Guide updated. 12.12.2024 - Massive clearspeed nerf. 10.12.2024 - Added 1st map gameplay video. 09.12.2024 - Added lvl 56 passive tree and skills. 09.12.2024 - Added some Cruel vids: Act 1 final boss, Act 2 gameplay and area bossfight. 08.12.2024 - Added Act 3 video with the bossfight. 08.12.2024 - Added endgame passive tree v.0.01 by Casia 07.12.2024 - Added Act 2 passive tree and skill choice. 07.12.2024 - Added early act 2 gameplay video with area bossfight. 07.12.2024 - Added Act 1 progression. 06.12.2024 - Some questions here. 05.12.2024 - Opened the thread. Shared some thoughts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sup. Monik is here again, so it's time to make another off-meta build. This megathread is about Making Chrono Great We struggled a lot to make things work for the entire month since EA started. And we did it. Cold Chrono is perfectly viable for the highest-end content. ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ Pros and Cons. I'll be honest here about my build. - A lot of buttons to press. Not a 1-button build. - Complicated to play. - A bit slow in the early game due to defensive playstyle and cold spells. - No offscreen clear on 1 tap. - Nerfs. A lot of them. + All content viable. Any difficulty. + Superb bosser. Can be a full-party boss carry. + Can become a great support character for party play. + Defensive playstyle. Slowing enemies down, freezing them, and blocking them with the frost wall. + Endgame mapping is fairly good. + Not that expensive. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ Cold Slowmancer (gear, skill gems, passives): https://maxroll.gg/poe2/planner/goe840v6 This megathread was created and refined through collective efforts. We have different opinions on how we should play and build, there is a really huge variety. I have to post several noteworthy builds and information from other contributors too bc their opinions and approaches are totally worth knowing, so you might like the stuff they do and implement into your build. ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ Ascendancy choice:
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~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ - Now and Again is a must have. During the early game, our main damage dealers - Frost Bomb and Frost Wall both have CDs. Later we will get more CD things including Temporal Rift and Time Freeze, so it becomes even more helpful. - Apex of the Moment is the default second node for Slowmancers. It works perfectly fine and is a multiplier for other sources of Slow, such as Temporal Chains curse, Chill, and Hinder. We are using them all, it's our major defensive layer. Quick demo of it working: https://youtu.be/1wpMCmWagq0 - Temporal Rift is incredible. It is a quick reset lifesaver that will refill your life, mana, and ES. During the endgame, it is used to refill the mana for the Cast On Critical + Comet setup, which offers ridiculous boss damage per second by the cost of the entire mana pool. - Time Freeze is what makes Chronomancer the easiest solo bosser or the best bossing support class for party play (if elaborated, see below). We can prolong its duration up to 14-16 seconds very easily using a special combination of weapon set passive tree mechanics and one of the two great supportive shields. ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ Mechanics explained: Video guides: PaintMaster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY0cYlJK2hg Ruz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xLXmWwJi8U ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ Written guide: Full credit for this section goes to chobi0ne#5028, and their maxroll build page: https://maxroll.gg/poe2/planner/ilq1o0v9 The Maxroll page is just more convenient for explaining things, and I see no reason to rewrite/copy-paste that info here. Please check it for a detailed mechanics explanation in the "Notes" section. Our builds are very similar (bc we forged them in this thread through trials and errors), and there isn't much I can add. UPD: here is forum post about it https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3592843/page/59#p25793814 However, although we have many things similar, the regular gameplay is very different (feel free to check Videos). Unlike 1-button clearing with the Frostbolt, my main skill is the Frost Wall, so I use a 1-2 combo to detonate those walls with the Frostbolt (w/ Snakepit ring). This offers one the highest damage possible for clearing with the Cold Skills: Frost Wall is a very strong damaging skill by itself, so I get as much AoE as I can to make all walls overlap with each other (one of the few skills that can shotgun). Please note, that without the Snakepit ring, Frostbolt is not good enough to destroy walls. The best alternative cold option is the Frost Bomb, followed by Ice Nova + Astral Projection support (see Ruz's build below). Frost Bomb is a very strong skill (and offers the best wall detonation vs bosses), but it slows us down at mapping a lot bc it has both CD and Duration. However, it's perfectly viable to run with it before we get the Snakepit ring. If you have any questions - feel free to ask in the thread. ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ Build list: I. The Cold Slowmancer: https://maxroll.gg/poe2/planner/goe840v6 ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ II. Chobi0ne's 1-button clear: https://maxroll.gg/poe2/planner/ilq1o0v9 ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ III. Casia's current build (SSF/Low budget): https://maxroll.gg/poe2/planner/gx7k80we ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ IV. Casia's support for party play (rough sketch): https://maxroll.gg/poe2/planner/3q1n4601 ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ V. Ruz's boss carry: https://maxroll.gg/poe2/planner/so1e9n01 ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ Here are notable takes of other people about how to improve your builds (some are dated or already implemented above):
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1. Crit base of DwaneDibbley: You can get those critical nodes to significantly improve your damage and open a room for critical support gems 2. Cast of Freeze + Cold Snap base vouched by Chaplin132000 and chobi0ne: Check for more info (entire page is about that): https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3592843/page/25 Taking Energize and Dynamism on a CoF-Cold Snap significantly improves clearspeed, however you must switch Cold Snap for the Comet on bosses. Another take on CoF-Cold Snap: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3592843/page/32#p25659580 3. Snakepit ring + frostbolt combo for clear introduced by darrk14: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3592843/page/39#p25701133 It is a mandatory build enabling unique ring for reliable clearing. My video of t16(+2) clearing with it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t60Y063IZZA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ Fireball Chronomancer leveling guide on Maxroll (Recommended): https://maxroll.gg/poe2/build-guides/fireball-chronomancer-leveling-guide ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ If you wanna go Cold from the beginning, you can, but it doesn't feel as good as playing with Spark early. Still, we played with the Frost Bomb before the massive nerf of CoF, which offered a smooth sail after act 3. Most relevant and usefull tips come from DwaneDibbley in his post: https://www.pathofexile.com/account/view-posts/DwaneDibbley-4615#p25592589 tl;dr: Make use of Freezing Shards on the Gelid staff. It's more powerful than any of the cold spells before the end of act 3. Always update the staff with more lvl of Freezing Shards. Check vendor every time you enter the town. Bonus to spell damage isn't important here, we have 2 weapon sets and you can bind Freezing Shards to the Gelid staff, while all other spell to the staff with the most spell damage. ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ There was some info here before, but it is irrelevant for now. I will do another campaign run later to optimize things. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Under the spoiler is the video archive of our early struggle (EA release), before things started to get good. You won't be impressed there. Feel free to check tho if you want to know the starting point of our current endgame monsters.
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1. Early Act 2 gameplay footage with area boss - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64zdZgogH-Y
2. Some Act 3 gameplay with Zicoatl bossfight - https://youtu.be/-LX1avpybRE 3. Act 1 Cruel Executor deletion by hiddennames - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ3ZBzlEEFI 4. Act 1 Cruel Geonor fight: https://youtu.be/EVKfdaavsc0 5. Act 2 Cruel gameplay and twin bossfight: https://youtu.be/_Dvsxqwq5_M 6. 1st map after the Acts[recorded before the nerf of CoF]: https://youtu.be/Hp3jP8qSG5M 7. Random t4 map - https://youtu.be/zZbjI9NXgsg 8. Apex of the Moment demo: https://youtu.be/1wpMCmWagq0 9. T8 map run: https://youtu.be/5bWwMyVMrrE 10. T15 map gameplay with Boss (2 bombs, 1 comet): https://youtu.be/9-sDO6WNW8I 11. T15 map gameplay with Snakepit Frostbolt: https://youtu.be/ke5RP2eB1eQ 12. T16 (monster lvl 82) clear with the boss (difficulty +3): https://youtu.be/t60Y063IZZA 13. Latest gameplay with CoF-Comet added: https://youtu.be/sttlITIqfaQ 14. CoC-Comet showcase (t15 boss, lvl 80 d4): https://youtu.be/qvdYMuXZopo 15. Skill comparison: Frostbolt vs Spark vs Fireball. 16. Another CoC-Comet showcase: https://youtu.be/6YvUYyeBEDE 17. Current gameplay (29.12.2024): https://youtu.be/-jQ92qayatc 18. Xesht d0-d3 bossfights (01.01.2025): https://youtu.be/3oWHFXqnp1c 19. 71% deli t15 with Breach and Expo full run (Ice Nova + Frost Wall, no edit): https://youtu.be/ULyJPWxVT8U 20. Max difficulty Xesht: https://youtu.be/oWo9uiT6Gu4 21. My lastest mapping gameplay (Frostbolt w/Snalkepit + Frost Wall): https://youtu.be/RmHr02WpaCM 22. Chobi0ne's showcase video: https://youtu.be/usSiHuJQz2A 23. Ruz's build guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xLXmWwJi8U 24. PaintMaster's build guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY0cYlJK2hg 25. Simulacrum waves 14-15 on max difficulty: https://youtu.be/-BD1Z9nJxT4 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is it for now, have fun y'all. Let's see what's up here later. Feel free to share your thoughts. Last edited by monik390#5560 on Jan 10, 2025, 12:21:51 AM Last bumped on Jan 11, 2025, 2:00:38 PM
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This is what I'm looking for!
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" I'm not sure if you are aware that each support skill can only be used with one single skill across all your skills, so you won't be able to 'utilize several skills' with it. That being said, it is obviously still an incredibly good support gem to use with this ascendancy – it's just a question of which skill is best supported by it. |
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" Yeah given this fact it's not looking great for the Chronomancer, unless there are some really good skills we havn't seen that inherently have a cooldown. I'm looking through known info and I see very few long CD skills. Like, there's Cluster Grenade and Hammer of the Gods and that's it? |
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yeah, this is my thinking to try.
frost wall+fortress. possibly hourglass. need to test how much it explodes for, and what can trigger it reliably. 3 charges on its CD. so right off the bat, 3 chances for the 33%. frost bomb I expect to pair with it, with second wind. 2 CD for 33%+33%=55% chance for cd proc at least once. time snap, giving 4 casts of the CD. 33%x4. which is an 80% chance for the CD to proc at least once. "Increase limit" does frost wall, or frost bomb have a limit of 1? frost walls charges, makes me wonder if traps will use the same mechanic and thus be very good for chronomancer. secondary scaling is a bit ??? atm. heralds don't really work for this, etc. just frost bombs exposure. Time stop seems pointless. what is it doing regular freeze isn't doing? time rift ought to be more useful in poe2. less regen, less leech. a giant get out of jail free card, for anything that does not one shot you, to reset your HP back to full should be solid for bosses. recoup I'm doubtful for. seems expensive for little. slow in poe1 is just movement. seems kindof weak. The passive tree is larger in poe2. about 20%. meaning, in poe1 it takes 9 points to move from witch to templar on the outer ring. its 11 in poe2. inner ring is 11, poe2 13. everything is like this. CI is further away, MOM is further away. this will make shrapnel builds not really viable I think. although avatar of fire, resolute tech, and the mace nodes by templar are still in reach, making hammer of the gods/ignite still an ideal option. herald of ash does work for that.. |
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Chronomancer is what inspires me the most. I will certainly be contributing to some theory crafting and mechanics. This class is what brings me back with so much enthusiasm.
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Not sure if the info is accurate, but poe2db has Time Snap at a 40 second cooldown. If this is true, this ascendancy is probably not good :( Time Freeze CD is even longer at 65 seconds.
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" Thank you guys for mentioning it, I wasn't aware of 1 support gem per character thing. It's true that it messes up with my plans, but while I was writing this thing above, I actually questioned myself where should I put Hourglass support. So, 3 buttons for frostbolt, ice nova and cold snap, 4 buttons left (w/o ctrl). Comet, Frost Bomb, Frost Wall, and Time Snap are the other 4 buttons. Unleash is a must, it goes for the Comet. Frost Wall and Frost Bomb remain. Depends on which would be stronger. " I was thinking about Frostfire support on the Flameblast for the heavy ignite, it's the only use of Time Freeze I was considering if Freeze won't win enough time. 50% more cast speed node is a better option here tho. As it seems, poe 2 is way slower than poe 1, so Slow might be useful. Like for fire/lightning spells or grenades/maces. |
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" Sounds unplayable, but let us log in first. Poe 2 overall is way slower than poe 1 as it seems, so it might feel not that bad. Last edited by monik390#5560 on Dec 6, 2024, 2:53:57 AM
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