Wintertide Brand Trickster Build Guide (PoE Harvest 3.11)

• SSF
• Clear Speed
• Ranged
• HC
• MF
• Low Life

Furty

June 25th, 2020, 16:22

2

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:

Passive Skills & Gem Links

Ascendancy, Bandits, and Pantheon Powers

Gear, Jewels, and Flasks

Introduction

Wintertide Brand is 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

Passive Skill Tree

This is our recommended Level 100 Passive Skill Tree.

For more details on the Passive Tree, an earlier game version that uses axes, 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.

Passive Skill Tree and Gem Links

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	Rare Amulet
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.

Gear, Jewels, and Flasks

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.