Wintertide Brand Trickster Build Guide (PoE Heist 3.12)
About the Author
Furty has been playing Path of Exile since the release of the Onslaught League in 2013, and has a deep and diverse well of experience within the game. Equally comfortable playing on Hardcore, Softcore, and Solo-Self Found Leagues, recent ladder results include finishing Delirium League at Rank 61 playing his Kinetic Blast & Power Siphon Pathfinder Build, Rank 5 on the Legion SSF League playing his Essence Drain & Contagion Trickster Build, and the Betrayal League at Rank 186 playing his Elemental Hit Ascendant Build. You can follow him on Twitter, or check out his occasional streams on Twitch.
Guide Format
This build guide is split over multiple pages, both to prevent it from getting too long, as well as to help you better find the information you are looking for. In addition to the current page, which presents general information about the build and also contains a Leveling and FAQ section, we have the following pages:
Ascendancy, Bandits, and Pantheon Powers
Gear, Jewels, and FlasksIntroduction
Wintertide Brand was introduced as a new brand skill in Patch 3.11 Harvest League. It deals cold damage, primarily through damage over time, and ramps up as the duration persists. It makes a great league starter as it does not require expensive gear in order to get off the ground, and it focuses heavily on clear speed and control using chills and freezes to keep the player safe at a distance. While it can be scaled into the late-game, it does not make an exceptional boss killer, instead focusing on quickly tearing apart packs of enemies to maximize experience per hour.
Build Assessment
Pros
+ Great clear speed
+ Multiple gear paths to scale into the late game (Low-Life and Life Based)
+ League starter
+ Heavy focus on control and lockdown to keep the player safe
+ Solid defenses across the board
Cons
– Single target damage is not exceptional and requires good gear to kill late-game bosses like Awakener
– Low-life gear is a jump in expense if you want the best possible version of the build
– Not suitable for beginners due to heavy button usage
Path of Building
Path of Building for the Low-Life (recommended) version of this build is available here.
Included is the recommended set of mid-game gear, a full skill tree, and all the gem links needed to get the build to tick.
We use the Path of Building Community Fork for all of our builds, which is highly recommended. If you are encountering errors importing the build, please ensure you are using the Community Fork.
Passive Skill Tree
This is our recommended Level 100 Passive Skill Tree.
For more details on the Passive Tree, a Life based budget version, skill acquisition order, and more, be sure to check out the Passive Skill Tree & Gem Links page.
Passive Skill Tree & Gem Links
Gems
We go over all of the gem links this build uses in the end-game on our Gem Links page.
Ascendancy, Bandits, and Pantheon
Our Ascendancy, Bandits, and Pantheons Powers page goes into detail about all the choices you need to make in these regards.
Ascendancy, Bandits, and Pantheon Powers
Gear Summary / TL;DR
These items strike a balance between power and cost-effectiveness.
Our recommendation:
| Item Slot | Item Name |
| Head |  Rime Gaze |
| Amulet |  Presence of Chayula |
| Chest |  Shavronne's Wrappings |
| Gloves | High Energy Shield Rare ( Fingerless Silk Gloves preferred) |
| Boots | Rare  Sorcerer Boots or  Sin Trek |
| Belt | Rare  Crystal Belt |
| Ring 1 |  Mark of the Shaper |
| Ring 2 | Rare Elder Ring |
| Weapon | Rare Wand ( Opal Wand preferred) |
| Shield | High Energy Shield Rare ( Titanium Spirit Shield preferred) |
For much more detailed information on the best gear, jewels, and flasks to use, be sure to examine our detailed Gear Breakdown page.
Leveling
As a reminder, we have several guides to help you level up a character.
- Our step-by-step leveling walkthrough, which allows even more experienced players to save time and speed through the leveling process.
- Our guide to Unique Items for leveling, which helps you gear up your characters for the leveling process.
- Our beginner leveling guide, which answers many of the questions new players might have and will set you on the right path.
Brand Recall
Flame Dash
Clicking on the bigger gem link “Passive skill tree and gem links” button takes you to cyclone slayer gem page, but the link through the text works fine. Also, you have cyclone instead of wintertide brand in the gem links.
Also, can you tell me why you would want EE with Mark of the Shaper? Cause the wiki says if you have 2 element damage at the same time you increase the enemy’s resistance to those 2 items by 25% and lower the other one by 50%. Thanks