Cold Damage Over Time (DoT) builds have resurged in Path of Exile’s current patch, with the Occultist ascendancy leading the charge. With abilities like Vortex and Cold Snap, this build applies powerful chill and freeze effects while dealing persistent cold DoT to enemies.
Occultist is ideal due to its automatic curse application, chilling area effects, and immunity to chaos damage through Profane Bloom and Vile Bastion. These bonuses make it one of the best ascendancies for high-end mapping and bossing alike.
The build’s main skills, Vortex and Cold Snap, are used in rotation to apply overlapping damage zones. Vortex can be cast instantly PoE Currency while moving, and Cold Snap’s area and cooldown recharge make it perfect for clearing groups and slowing bosses.
Gear-wise, prioritize energy shield, cold damage over time multipliers, and increased skill gem levels. Cold DoT builds are very reliant on gem levels—look for +1 cold spell gems or +1 to all spell skill gems on your wand and amulet.
The defenses in this build are quite solid—Occultist’s ES regen from Vile Bastion, paired with high energy shield and chill effects on enemies, make it surprisingly tanky. You can also opt for Corrupted Soul for hybrid life/ES scaling.
Auras should include Discipline, Malevolence, and possibly Tempest Shield. Frostbite can be applied through blasphemy or ring implicits. Curse effectiveness is vital to push damage against high HP enemies and bosses.
Mapping with this build feels fluid and controlled—enemies are constantly chilled or frozen, reducing incoming damage and making it easier to PoE 1 Currency kite. In tougher content, stacking Cold Snap Vaal versions provides excellent burst and crowd control.
The Cold DoT Occultist remains a fantastic endgame mapper and boss killer, ideal for players who enjoy controlling the battlefield with slows, freezes, and layered area damage.