Hey there, fellow Exiles! In today's guide, we're diving into the exciting world of Frost Blades as a Raider, focusing on a cost-effective approach that's perfect for your 10 Divine mapping challenge. Frost Blades has received a significant boost with the introduction of the Vengeant Cascade, notable on the skill tree, allowing your projectiles to return and hit the single target you're attacking. This practically doubles your damage output and makes this build extremely potent.

 

• Skill Overview and Changes
• Defensive Layering
• Gear and Crafting
• Passive Tree

 

PoB Link: https://pobb.in/pGdIo1_5PefR

 

↖ Skill Overview and Changes

• Skill: Frost Blades
• Class: Raider
• Focus: Frost Blades is your main skill for both clearing maps and tackling bosses.
• Key Mechanic: The Vengeant Cascade notable causes projectiles to return and hit a single target, effectively doubling your damage.
• Budget: Approximately 5 to 6 Divine Orbs.

 

With the new Vengeant Cascade notable, Frost Blades now hits targets twice, dramatically increasing its damage output. This build focuses on scaling damage, and we've achieved that goal with an average claw. However, Frost Blades Raider's strength lies in its defenses. 

 

↖ Defensive Layering

Frost Blades is all about speed, but we must pay attention to defenses. Here's how we ensure survivability:

• Evasion: Stack evasion through gear and passives to help dodge attacks.
• Block: Achieve a 75% chance to block attacks with the aid of shields, tree nodes, and the Anvil amulet.
• Elusive: Obtain Elusive through the tree for increased dodge and movement speed.
• Molten Shell: Provides extra armor and helps mitigate incoming damage.
• Spell Suppression: Absorb some spells to reduce elemental damage taken.
• Leech: You recover quickly from damage through life gain on hit and leech.

 

↖ Gear and Crafting

• Claw: Obtain a tier 2 flat physical damage claw and craft it with cold damage Essences. Prioritize physical damage, attack speed, and crit chance. Use an Exalted Orb for additional mods.
• Helmet: Look for life, resistances, and Mana reservation efficiency. Craft on more resistance as needed.
• Shield: Prioritize life, block chance, evasion, and spell suppression. Crucible mods can further enhance defense.
• Rings: Focus on accuracy, resistances, and life. Aim for "minus Mana cost" to manage Mana efficiently.
• Amulet: Seek intelligence for stat requirements, life, and resistances. Global defense stats are valuable.
• Chest: Get a six-link base and reforge defenses for life, resistances, and armor evasion. Add crafted evasion.
• Boots: Look for Darkray Vectors with the "Attacks have Cast Speed" enchant.
• Belt: Craft or buy a belt with strength, life, and relevant resistances.
• Jewels: Prioritize blind and phasing, along with relevant damage and life stats.
• Flasks: Use Taste of Hate and Amethyst Flask for chaos resistance—other flasks for evasion and damage.

 

Gem Links

• Frost Blades - Multistrike - Awakened Cold Penetration - Nightblade (Anomalous) - Added Cold Damage with Attacks - Elemental Damage with Attacks
• Whirling Blades - Faster Attacks - Fortify - Blood Magic
• Herald of Ice - Precision (Level 3 Enlighten) - Determination (Level 3 Enlighten)
• Ancestral Warchief - Melee Physical Damage - Brutality - Close Combat
• Cast When Damage Taken - Immortal Call - Molten Shell - Portal
• Hatred - Herald of Purity - Onslaught - Ancestral Protector

 

↖ Passive Tree

• Prioritize the Raider Ascendancy, focusing on Rapid Assault, Avatar of the Chase, Way of the Poacher, and Avatar of the Slaughter.
• Grab key defensive nodes for evasion, dodge, block, and resistances.
• Invest in useful travel nodes, especially the Claw nodes and the Elusive cluster.
• Allocate enough intelligence nodes to meet stat requirements.
• Acquire the crucial Lethal Pride jewel for increased melee critical chance/multi and more.

 

Final Thoughts

Congratulations! You've built an incredibly fast and cost-effective Frost Blades Raider for your 10 Divine mapping challenge. With layers of evasion, dodge, block, and leech, you'll be a whirlwind of destruction across Wraeclast. As always, tweak the build to suit your preferences and optimize your gear and gems over time. Happy mapping, Exiles!