The Frostbite Frost Claw Runemaster strides into battle wielding the potent Frost Claw as its Skill of choice. With each swift cast, Frost Claw releases a barrage of projectiles, all capable of converging upon a single target. This relentless assault not only deals Damage but also has the power to Freeze foes in their tracks. Thanks to its fast Cast Speed, it can maintain a relentless offensive assault, while also accumulating protective Ward to fortify its Defenses.
This is an Ailment based build that scales Frostbite and Cold Damage. Its Damage primarily comes from Frost Claw and Elemental Nova. The build also has insane tankiness and CC thanks to permanent Reowyn's Frostguard and Flame Ward plus the ability to Freeze enemies.
While this setup doesn't require any Uniques to function, Snowdrift and Frostbite Shackles dramatically bolster the build's potential. That being said, both of these Uniques are easily acquired. A Sceptre with T7 Spell Damage and Reduced Mana Cost is needed to make Frost Claw cost no Mana. Without one, you will need to manage your Mana Pool.
Overall, the Frostbite Frostclaw Runemaster is a great build suited for all content in the game, even in Hardcore. Taking advantage of so many layers of Damage Reduction, it is truly perfect for Hardcore. If you are looking for a Cold based build with the ability to almost permanently Freeze enemies, this build is perfect for you!
Runic Invocation
Flame Ward
Flame Rush
Frost Wall
Frost Claw
This article assumes you have a Level 70 Character. Reach Level 70 with our Runemaster Leveling Guide.
If you are looking for a different playstyle check all our Build Guides.
Strong CC ✔
Easy to Play ✔
Good Damage ✔
Extremely Tanky ✔
❌ Low Movement Speed
❌ Needs Uniques To Shine
❌ Mana Intensive Without T7 Sceptre
❌ Needs Good Idols To Scale Damage
Skills
Frost Claw
Frost Claw is your main Damage Skill. Gift of Winter and Frozen Reign are mandatory for Mana management. Volley of Glass enables all projectiles to hit the same target. This setup scales Frostbite via Artor's Sceptre and Frost Beyond Time. Celestial Conflux is used to proc Elemental Nova for better AoE clear. Shiver Shell and Reowyn's Veil provide Ward on cast, while Cold Star further increases your Damage output.
Alternative Skills & Tips
Passives
Passives provide powerful effects that dictate the playstyle of a Class and its Masteries. Remember that you can allocate Passives on the first half of all Masteries regardless of the one you chose.
- Freezing Point enables the use of Armour Shred to inflict Frostbite.
- Intelligence scales both Ward Retention and Damage. Max all Passives with it.
- Arcane Focus and Edict of the Scion provide a good amount of Ward on cast, helping with sustain.
- Arcane Momentum, Mage Flurry, Unsealed Mana and Rune of Dilation scales Cast Speed, helping with Damage, sustain and CC.
- Rune of Dilation and Essence of Celerity are great for their Movement Speed.
- Sphere of Protection is a great Defensive Passive.
- Inscribed Instruments provides good Ward Retention with a Sceptre, which we use in this setup.
- Ancient Inscriptions is great to lower all Cooldowns.
- Rune of Winter scales your Damage and CC thanks to Snowdrift.
- Mental Catalysis allows you to get even more benefit from your Catalyst, providing a high amount of reduced Bonus Damage Taken from Critical Strikes.
- Decree of the Burning Wind is a Damage Multiplier and always doubled since you use a Rah Rune and Frost Wall.
- Runeword: Inferno adds to your tankiness by scaling Armour per stack of Shock on the attacker.
Make sure to complete the Campaign to get all your Passive Points.
Gameplay
This Runemaster attacks enemies from mid range, ensuring that all the Skills at his disposal can hit the target. Make sure you are familiar with enemy mechanics to know when to use your Support Skills to stay alive. Pay attention to dangerous telegraphed attacks and be aware of ranged enemy threats.
Skill Usage/Rotation
- Before engaging enemies, start by casting Frost Claw to accumulate Runes.
- Cast Reowyn's Frostguard with Runic Invocation on Cooldown.
- Place a Frost Wall at least 2 meters from you to gain more Mana and Ward when going through it.
- Use Flame Rush to go through it and gain Flame Ward's Buffs.
- Spam Frost Claw to deal damage to enemies. Aim for priority targets and let your Elemental Nova procs deal with weaker enemies.
- Keep track of your Mana. If you do not have a Sceptre with T7 Spell Damage and Reduced Mana Cost, you may need to take short breaks from Frost Claw spam. Consider Warmth from Flame Ward to help with Mana Regeneration.
- Just before your Flame Ward is about to expire, use Frost Wall and Flame Rush through it to refresh your Flame Ward. Keep permanent uptime on it by repeating this process.
- Use Flame Rush for positioning and to avoid telegraphed attacks.
Mapping
- Flame Rush through Frost Wall and rush to your objective.
- Place Frost Wall far away but directly on your trajectory to gain Haste for the maximum duration possible.
- Group as many enemies as possible before attacking with Frost Claw to maximize its AoE.
- Use Flame Rush to leave dangerous enemies behind.
Bossing
- Take advantage of all your Defensive Buffs and keep them active.
- Make sure you have some mana available at all times to use your Defensive Buffs.
- Place Frost Wall directly on Bosses for extra Damage.
Advanced Skill Tips
Learn more about how to maximize your gameplay in the Build Scaling section of this guide.
Gear
Gearing in Last Epoch revolves around finding Items and then using the powerful Crafting System to enhance them. As long as an Item has Forging Potential left, players can upgrade or modify their Affixes up to Tier 5. However, the powerful Exalted Tier Affixes are drop only and can't be modified by players.
Using the correct Item Bases allows you to make use of their amazing Implicits, this is fundamental for gearing efficiently. Combine Implicits, Passives, Idols and Blessings to cap your Resistances and other defensive layers, while fitting as much Health related Affixes, Ward or Endurance Threshold into your gear as possible. Plan ahead for your next upgrades and consider the final Empowered Blessings of your build while gearing. Finish up by farming Uniques with Legendary Potential and Sealing Affixes into Exalted Items to unleash all of your build's power!
Here are the Stat Goals for this build:
- Capped Resistances
- 100% Reduced Bonus Damage Taken From Crits
- 60+ Intelligence
- 7000 - 10000+ Ward (while in combat)
- 500%+ Ward Retention
- 30% - 40%+ Armour (Pre Buffs)
- 2000% - 2500%+ Freeze Rate Multiplier
- 600% - 800%+ Frostbite Chance
- 100%+ Cast Speed
- 600%+ Increased Damage
- 2000+ Health
- 30% - 60%+ Movement Speed
Gear Progression
Milestone 1
Look for Snowdrift in the Spirits of Fire Monolith Timeline by targeting Unique Boots Echo Rewards or using Rune of Ascendance. They enable you to scale your Frostbite Damage further by giving you Cold Penetration from Freeze Rate Multiplier. Thankfully they are easy to acquire.
Milestone 2
Farm Frostbite Shackles in the Blood, Frost, and Death Monolith Timeline by defeating Formosus the Undying. It is a Rare drop but will greatly enhance the power of your build.
Milestone 3
Farm Twisted Heart of Uhkeiros from Emperor of Corpses on Empowered difficulty and Bleeding Heart in the Reign of Dragons Monolith Timeline by targeting Unique Amulet Echo Rewards. This combo will generate a ton of Ward while keeping a good Health pool. Brightfrost negates the Bleeds from Bleeding Heart.
Milestone 4
When all your core Defenses are covered, start working on your Damage. Look to get as much Cast Speed as possible. Not only will it scale your Damage, but also your Defense via Ward generation. Freeze Rate Multiplier and Elemental Damage Over Time are also great upgrades.
Milestone 5
As you finish up your Empowered Blessings keep your Resistances capped. Your goal is to have items with 4 valuable T5 Affixes, also known as T20.
Learn the basics for crafting gear with our Beginner Crafting Guide.
Check our Unique Item & Set Farming Guide and learn how to get them!
Want to know more about Legendary Items? Check our Legendary Guide!
Blessings
Completing a Timeline in the Monolith of Fate lets you choose one of several randomized Blessings from its unique pool. Their benefits are permanent and persist even outside of the Monolith of Fate.
Empowered Blessings are a fundamental part of all builds, so getting the correct ones for each is key.
The sooner you reach Empowered Monolith, the faster you can start farming your desired Blessings!
Normal Blessings are not important as they are eventually replaced by Empowered Blessings. However they can still be a great source of Resistances, Critical Strike Avoidance or Life Leech for your build early on.
Pick up these Normal Blessings on your way to Empowered:
- Echo of Solarum
- Memory of Light
- Shadow of the Eclipse
- Bastion of Divinity
- Light of the Moon
- Might of the Sea TItan
- Resonance of the Sea
- Weight of the Abyss
- Dream of Eterra
- Persistance of Will
- Resolve of Humanity
- Survival of Might
- Bulwark of the Tundra
- Maw of Artor
- Protection of Heorot
- Rage of Winter
- Resolve of Grael
- Winds of Frost
- Body of Obsidian
- Embers of Immortality
- Heart of the Caldera
Note: Don't target farm Normal Blessings. Get to Empowered Monolith as fast as you can.
Learn how to farm Blessings fast with our Advanced Monolith Strategies.
Idols
Idols grant your character bonuses when equipped in the dedicated Idol Container. Unlock all the slots of your Idol Container by completing the Campaign and some of its Side Quests. Remember that some Idols are Class specific and you won't be able to equip them with other non-compatible Classes.
These are the Idols recommended for this build:
- Find three Adorned Arcane Idols with Chance To Apply Frostbite on Hit with Cold Skills and Chance to gain Lightning Aegis when hit to scale Damage and survivability. Lightning Aegis grants you a whooping 25% Damage Reduction!
- Throne of Ambition provides Multipliers for both Cold Damage and Armour. You can farm it in The Stolen Lance Empowered Monolith Timeline. It's a rare drop from God Hunter Argentus.
- Complete your setup with a situational mix of Idols to cap your Resistances. You might need extra Resistances out of your Idols early on, so keep an eye for anything useful until you get your final setup.
Other useful Idol Affixes
Make sure to complete the Campaign to get all your Idol Slots.
Learn how to be efficient with Idols with our Advanced Idols Setups Guide.
Build Scaling
The build uses Frost Claw to proc Elemental Nova, dealing both Frostbite AoE and Single Target Damage and building huge amounts of Ward through Arcane Focus, Edict of the Scion and Reowyn's Veil. Twisted Heart of Uhkeiros can bring the Ward generation to another level!
- Frostbite Chance: The more Chance you have, the more Frostbites you apply with each hit.
- Armor Shred Chance: Thanks to Freezing Point, all sources of Armor Shred Chance get converted to Frostbite Chance for Cold Skills.
- Frostbite Duration: Extending their duration allows your Frostbites to deal Damage for a longer period of time, increasing your sustained Damage. It is an effective Multiplier of Frostbite's Damage.
- Reduced Mana Cost: By bringing your Mana Costs as close to zero for Frost Claw, you are able to cast it non-stop.
- Freeze Rate Multiplier: Snowdrift lets you use this stat to scale Cold Penetration. It adds a tremendous amount of Damage.
- Cold Penetration with Frostbite: Even when using Snowdrift, Cold Penetration is always welcomed.
- Cast Speed: The faster you attack the higher your DPS is and faster you build Ward. Mage Flurry, Unsealed Mana and Arcane Momentum provide some in the Passive tree, with the rest coming from your gear.
- Elemental Damage Over Time: This powerful Prefix has some of the highest numerical values of any offensive Affix in the game. Make sure to prioritize it.
- Throne of Ambition: Provides an insane DPS boost, especially while fighting Bosses.
- Grand Weight of the Abyss: Provides another source of Freeze Rate Multiplier, giving you extra Cold Penetration thanks to Snowdrift.
- % Increased Damage: Any extra source of % Increased Cold or Damage Over Time is welcomed.
- Intelligence: All of our Damage Skills gain 4% Damage per point of Intelligence. Additionally, it grants 4% Ward Retention per point, which is a very important stat for this build.
- Flame Ward: In this setup you don't just use this Skill for Defense. It also provides 250% Increased Cold Damage, which is a tremendous buff to your Damage output that you can keep up 100% of the time.
Our Damage Explained Article covers all you need to know to scale Damage.
Learn all you need to know to scale Defense with our Defense Explained Article.
Recommended End Game Activities
Last Epoch has multiple end game activities with completely different roles and rewards. All the builds on Maxroll.gg have been tested and are designed to complete all available content. However, not all builds excel at doing the same activities. Make sure you are familiar with the end game strengths and weaknesses of your character.
The Monolith of Fate is the main end game system. Most of your character gear upgrades are found here. Once you get all of your desired Empowered Blessings, you can start pushing Corruption to increase your chances at finding incredible Exalted Items. The Monolith of Fate rewards speedy builds that are able to target farm Echo Reward Nodes or stack Timeline Stability as fast as possible.
The Frostbite Frostclaw Runemaster is a good Monolith of Fate farmer. Its incredible tankiness and good DPS make both Echoes and Bosses easy. While not being the fastest, it is a solid option for this content.
Monolith Goals
Your goals in the Monolith of Fate will differ greatly depending on what build you play and what stage your character progression is at. Here are the objectives you should aim at when playing this build:
- Reach Empowered Monolith as fast as possible.
- Farm your Combat Empowered Blessings. Prioritize gaining Timeline Stability and fight the Timeline Bosses as often as possible. Once you are done with one Timeline, move to the next one. Reach 200 Corruption to farm your desired Blessings faster, as it unlocks a 5th option to choose from after you defeat a Timeline Boss. Defeat the Shade of Orobyss to gain and transfer Corruption between Timelines.
- Farm your first Drop Rate Empowered Blessing in The Stolen Lance Empowered Monolith Timeline. Here you should also farm Throne of Ambition until you get it.
- Finish up the rest of your Drop Rate Empowered Blessings.
- Farm for key Uniques.
- As you farm for Uniques, stack Corruption as high as your gear can handle. The higher Corruption you do, the more Items you find. Get your character ready for the other end game activities.
Monolith Modifiers
Every time you choose an Echo a Modifier comes attached with it, adding difficulty and changing how enemies behave. These Modifiers stay active for a maximum of 6 Echoes and stack with each other. Some Modifiers can handicap your build immensely while others can almost be ignored. Monolith Modifiers scale with Corruption and increase the Item Rarity of Echoes. Ideally you want to do the hardest content possible, without delaying your clear times. Keep up Item Rarity as high as you can without it slowing you down.
Easy Modifiers
- Enemy Critical Strike Chance (Once you have 100% Reduced Bonus Damage Taken From Critical Strikes).
- Enemies heal if they have not been damaged recently.
- Rare enemies have high speed and crit chance until approached.
- Rare enemies regenerate health.
- Enemy Critical Strike Avoidance.
- Enemy chance to receive a Glancing Blow.
Avoid these Modifiers
- Enemy chance to Dodge.
- High health enemies take less damage.
- High health enemies deal increased damage.
- Enemies are Deadly if not damaged recently.
- While bossing: enemies Enrage at half health and enemies gain Frenzy and Haste when hit.
Learn more about the Monolith of Fate with our Empowered Monolith Guide.
Loot Filter
Loot Filters are critical in Last Epoch. Making sure you highlight all the related valuable Item Bases, Affixes, Uniques and Idols is crucial to ensure your character's progression. As your gear gets better, remember to hide the rules that are no longer useful to avoid screen clutter.
Here is the Endgame Loot Filter for this build:
Learn how to load and make Filters with our Loot Filter Guide.
Video Guide
Summary
Overall the Frostbite Frost Claw Runemaster is an Ailment Caster build that excels in Defense. It easily handles all content in the game. While not being the fastest, it is easy to play, has good Damage, CC, and even better survivability.
- Cast Frost Claw's to deal Damage. Utilize the Elemental Nova procs for better AoE.
- Generate Ward by casting Frost Claw mainly thanks to multiple sources of Ward on Cast.
- Twisted Heart of Uhkeiros and Bleeding Heart is an incredible combo that pushes Ward generation to the next level. Thanks to Brightfrost, you Cleanse the Bleeds with every cast of Frost Claw.
- Scale Cold Penetration with Frostbite thanks to Snowdrift.
- Freezing Point lets you scale Frostbite Chance by using Armor Shred Chance.
- Flame Ward is an incredible Defensive Skill that you can have permanent uptime on thanks to Prepared Wards.
- Use Flame Rush to avoid telegraphed attacks, move through Frost Wall and benefit from the Buffs it provides.
- Keep Reowyn's Frostguard (C,F,C) active at all times by casting Runic Invocation. Immutable Order ensures the sequence of your Runes, place your Skills accordingly on your Action Bar!
- Obtain an Exalted Sceptre with T7 Spell Damage and Reduced Mana Cost to reduce Frost Claw's Mana Cost to zero.
Credits
Written by Binashole
Reviewed by McFluffin
