Frostbite Frost Claw Sorcerer Guide
The Frostbite Frost Claw Sorcerer 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 Ward to fortify its Defenses.
This is an Ailment based build that scales Frostbite and Cold Damage Over Time. Its Damage primarily comes from Frost Claw, Elemental Nova and Ice Barrage. The build also has amazing CC thanks to the ability to Freeze enemies reliably.
While this setup doesn't require any Uniques to function, Snowdrift and Frostbite Shackles dramatically increase the build's power. That being said, both of these Uniques are easily acquired.
Overall, the Frostbite Frost Claw Sorcerer is a great build that performs well in the Endgame. If you are looking for a Cold based build with the ability to almost permanently Freeze enemies, this build is perfect for you!
This build guide assumes you have a Level 70 Character.
Reach Level 70 with our Mage Leveling Guide.
Check our Tier Lists to know how this build performs in the current patch.
If you are looking for a different playstyle, check all our Build Guides!
Skills
Frost Claw
On Through The Snow triggers a second cast, effectively doubling the number of hits. This also affects Shiver Shell and Reowyn's Veil, which provide Ward on each cast. Volley of Glass enables all projectiles to hit the same target. Celestial Conflux is used to proc Elemental Nova for more Cold Hits to apply Frostbite and other Ailments.
- To sustain Frost Claw's Mana Cost, reduce it as low as possible with the help of your Tier 7 Scepter with Spell Damage and Reduced Mana Cost alongside Ornate Glass Idols with Frost Claw Mana Efficiency and Elemental Penetration. Wands and Staves can also have -5 Spell Mana Cost Implicit if you have a hard time obtaining a Tier 7 Scepter.
- Snap Freeze does not provide that much utility to the build, since Frost Claw already Freezes reliably. Feel free to experiment with any other Cold Skill you might find useful.
- Make sure Elemental Nova's Mana Cost is zero. If needed, remove points from Glacial Might.
Skills showcase extra Skill Points in case you find +Level of Skills that may not be included in the Planners.
Passives
- Freezing Point enables the use of Armour Shred to inflict Frostbite.
- 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.
- Chill to the Bone is important to leech Health, enabling good Ward generation from Twisted Heart of Uhkeiros.
Make sure to complete the Campaign to get all your Passive Points.
Gameplay
Skill Usage/Rotation
- Use Teleport to get your Buffs up.
- Cast Ice Barrage right after Teleport for free and benefit from its Cold Damage Multiplier.
- Spam Frost Claw to deal damage to enemies.
- Keep track of your Mana. If you don't have -5 Spell Mana Cost on your Weapon and Frost Claw Mana Efficiency and Elemental Penetration on Idols, you may need to take short breaks from Frost Claw spam.
- Use Flame Ward for emergency situations.
- Use Teleport and Evade for positioning and to avoid telegraphed attacks.
Bossing
- Take advantage of all your Defensive Buffs and keep them active.
- Use Snap Freeze to interrupt dangerous attacks.
- Make sure you have some mana available at all times to use your Defensive Buffs.
- Aim Frost Claw's in front of monsters hitbox to make sure the make sure both the first and second casts projectiles all hit.
- Use Flame Ward to tank through dangerous attacks and keep your damage uptime.
Gear, Idols & Blessings
- Look for an Exalted T7 Spell Damage and Reduced Mana Cost Sceptre. This greatly lowers Frost Claw's Mana cost and brings Elemental Nova's to zero. Only swap to Frozen Ire with 2+ Legendary Potential. Early on, a Wand with -5 Mana Cost Implicit also works, but swap as soon as you can to benefit from Inscribed Instruments.
- Frost Claw Mana Efficiency and Elemental Penetration is essential to reduce Frost Claw's Mana cost. Prioritize a high roll.
- Armor Shred Chance is converted to Frostbite Chance for Cold Skills due to Freezing Point. Prioritize it on Gloves and Amulet. In combination with Chance To Apply Frostbite On Hit With Cold Skills, they provide the bulk of your Frostbite Chance.
- Frostbite Shackles, Snowdrift, and Vial of Volatile Ice are core to the build. Use them even without any Legendary affixes.
- Twisted Heart of Uhkeiros massively boosts Ward generation. Aim for one with Level of Frost Claw as soon as possible.
- Crest of Unity gives strong Damage Reduction and makes Elemental Nova always Cold by being Tri-Elemental, ensuring Frostbite is applied.
- Well rolled Julra's Stardials are extremely effective at increasing your Damage output.
- Frozen Eyes of Formosus is an aspirational option for reliable Freezing, thanks to its high Freeze Rate per stack of Chill. This increases the Base Freeze Rate of your Cold Skills, which is then multiplied by Freeze Rate Multiplier.
Learn the basics for crafting gear with our Beginner Crafting Guide.
Make sure to complete the Campaign to get all your Idol Slots.
Build Scaling
Offensive Stats
- Intelligence
- Cast Speed
- Armor Shred Chance
- Frostbite Chance
- Frostbite Duration
- Freeze Rate Multiplier
- Cold Penetration with Frostbite
- Increased Cold Damage Over Time
Defensive Stats
- Health
- Ward
- Armor
Scaling Tips
- Freezing Point enables the use of Armour Shred to inflict Frostbite with Cold Skills.
- Ice Barrage: Grants a big Damage Multiplier thanks to Frost Armor.
- Flame Ward: The Damage Reduction and Armour provided is insane. While this Skill is active, you are almost immortal!
- Freeze Rate Multiplier: The ability for this build to Freeze enemies is very reliable and makes it super safe. Almost permanent CC is one of the best Defenses.
- Freeze Rate per stack of Chill: Further increases your ability to Freeze enemies. This stat increases the Base Freeze Rate of your Cold Skills, which is then multiplied by Freeze Rate Multiplier. Chill stacks up to three times.
- Twisted Heart of Uhkeiros is a good Ward builder that can easily generate a lot of Ward so long as you can consistently recover Health.
- Sphere of Protection: This is a good source of Damage Reduction.
- Crest of Unity: Provides another source of Damage Reduction.
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.
Loot Filter
Loot Filters are critical in Last Epoch. Making sure you highlight all the related valuable Item Bases, Affixes, Uniques and Idols is necessary to ensure your character's progression. Click on the Generate Loot Filter button down below then use the Paste Clipboard Contents button in-game to import it!
Here is the Endgame Loot Filter for this build:
Learn how to load and make Filters with our Loot Filter Guide.
FAQ & Mechanics
Once a guide is released, many players have questions on why and how we are approaching certain choices. In this section you can find the answers to the questions that have been asked the most.
It depends on playstyle, cast speed, gear, and damage. This setup gets Frost Claw down to 8.1 Mana with Throne of Ambition, or 7.2 with two Frost Claw Mana Efficiency and Elemental Penetration Idols. Remember to cast Ice Barrage after Teleport for a free cast from Mana Tunnel. Alternatively, you can skip Frozen Malice and A Crack in the Ice early on. This sacrifices damage for Mana sustain.
Video Guide
Summary
Overall the Frostbite Frost Claw Sorcerer is an Ailment Caster build that performs well in the Endgame. It is easy to play, has good Damage, CC, and survivability.
- Cast Frost Claw to deal Damage.
- Generate Ward by casting Frost Claw mainly thanks to multiple sources of Ward on Cast.
- Freezing Point lets you scale Frostbite Chance by using Armor Shred Chance.
- Flame Ward is an incredible Defensive Skill, time it well!
- Obtain a weapon with -5 Spell Mana Cost either with a Wand Implicit or an Exalted Sceptre with Tier 7 Spell Damage and Reduced Mana Cost alongside Ornate Glass Idols with Frost Claw Mana Efficiency and Elemental Penetration to reduce Frost Claw's Mana Cost and Elemental Nova's to zero . It is needed to sustain Mana.
Credits
Written by BinaQc.
Content Reviewed by Lizard_IRL.