Overview
Ice Nova is the classic self-cast cold spell, and this Chronomancer version leans on the Cold Infused variant — roughly quadruple the damage of the base cast — to turn a single button into screen-wide freezes. Snap and Siphon Elements do the infusion generation, so the rotation stays short: freeze a pack, let Siphon convert the ailment into cold infusions, and keep casting.
Around that core sit two support layers. A Cast on Ailments link with Comet and Spell Cascade adds passive clear pressure while you walk, and a Frost Wall setup supplies the single-target damage that Ice Nova alone lacks. The defensive plan is unusual: the build is fully ward-based rather than energy-shield based, sitting at only 144 maximum ES and rune-forging pure-ES and hybrid bases on the Vericium anvil purely for their larger ward pools.
The creator ran this as a 0.5 league starter and rates it the strongest starter they have played, citing one-shot campaign bosses and full-screen freezing as the reason to pick it up again in 0.5.5.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- One-button mapping — Ice Nova freezes packs and Siphon Elements handles infusion generation automatically
- Very strong campaign performance, with the creator reporting one-tapped campaign bosses
- Frost Bomb applies roughly -120 exposure, which shreds tanky rares on demand
- Ward scaling from rune-forged bases gives a defensive pool that ignores the usual ES investment
- Frostbolt is offered as a drop-in alternative if the Ice Nova playstyle does not suit you
Cons
- The gear list assumes an Alpha’s Howl for spirit; without it you lose a chunk of the setup
- Crit-focused Time-Lost Sapphires with the right notable modifiers cost multiple divines
- Weapon-set management is mandatory — most gems are pinned to one set, and mixing them up breaks the build
- The belt slot is admittedly unsettled; the creator is not committed to their own Darkness Enthroned choice
Key Skills
- Ice Nova — the whole clear plan; cold-infused casts do the heavy lifting
- Snap / Siphon Elements — cold infusion generation off frozen enemies
- Frost Wall — the single-target layer, spammed alongside Ice Nova on bosses
- Frost Bomb — heavy cold exposure for rares and bosses
- Cast on Ailments + Comet — automatic extra clear while mapping
Gear & Anointments
The weapon is a staff, and the line that matters most is +level of all cold spell skills (all-spell levels work too), followed by increased cold or spell damage and a gain-as-extra-lightning roll to enable shocks — source that roll elsewhere if the staff misses it. Spell crit chance and crit bonus outrank cast speed on every slot. Armour is entirely about ward: a Vile Robe chest, Siren Scale gloves and Sa Sandals are called out as the top-tier bases, and all of them must be rune-forged at the Vericium anvil. Increases to energy shield are dead stats here — they do not apply to ward. Jewels want spell critical damage bonus and critical hit chance; the Time-Lost Sapphire is looking for the notable-passive crit and spell-crit modifiers plus a large radius, which an isolation oil can guarantee.
Endgame Notes
Ascendancy order is Quicksand Hourglass, Apex of the Moment, Now and Again, then Phased Form. Weapon set one carries the damage notables (Stormbreaker, Overexposure, Critical Overload, Stripped Defenses) while set two is a dedicated curse-effect tree — Master of Hexes, Lingering Whispers, Zone of Control, Decrepifying Curse and Impending Doom. The boss rotation opens with Sigil of Power from an offhand chiming staff, then curse, Frost Bomb, and a Frost Wall / Ice Nova loop on cooldown.
Credits & Source
Build credited to Ky - Path of Exile. See the source video for the full build’s gameplay footage + voice commentary: Ice Nova Chronomancer Build Guide 0.5.5 - Path of Exile 2.