PoE Oath of Winter Ascendancy: inflict Hoarfrost – Path of Exile

PoE Oath of Winter Ascendancy

The Oath of Winter Ascendancy Passive Skill causes Enemies you Freeze to remain Frozen for at least 2 seconds, and causes Freezing Hits that do not Freeze to apply Hoarfrost. Hoarfrost increases Freeze Duration on Enemies by 20% per stack. Freezing an Enemy removes all stacks of Hoarfrost from them. Hoarfrost lasts 10 seconds and refreshes the duration of existing Hoarfrost. The small Passive prior has 15% increased Evasion Rating and 10% chance to Freeze.

• Enemies you Freeze remain Frozen for at least 2 seconds
• Hits that fail to Freeze due to insufficient Freeze Duration inflict Hoarfrost
• (Freeze lowers Enemy Action Speed to zero, preventing them from acting. Duration is based on the Cold Damage of the Hit)
• (Freezes that would have a duration of 0.3 seconds or below are not inflicted)
• (Hoarfrost lasts 10 seconds and can be inflicted multiple times, each refreshing the duration of existing Hoarfrost on the target. Each Hoarfost increases Freeze Duration on the target by 20%. All Hoarfrost is removed if the target is Frozen)

Is the 2 second freeze from Warden's Oath of Winter passive affected by freeze duration modifiers?

No. It checks the final freeze duration on the enemy after all of those modifiers have been applied, and if it's less than 2 seconds, sets it to 2 seconds.

Does Oath of Winter still require you to deal a certain amount of damage to inflict Hoarfrost?

Technically yes, but it just has to be enough to try and inflict a 1 millisecond freeze – about 1/6000th of a monster’s life.

Do Oath of Spring/Winter/Summer work with mines, or are the hits required to be from weapons?

All of these nodes work with any damage aside from minions, including spells and totems/traps/mines. However, Unbound Fury from the Avatar of the Wilds node does require you to hit enemies yourself, and will not be generated by totems/traps/mines.

Mechanics

1. Guaranteed Freeze Duration: Ensures a minimum freeze duration of 2 seconds for any frozen enemy.
2. Hoarfrost Debuff: If a freeze fails, Hoarfrost is applied, which increases the duration of future freezes by 20% per stack. Hoarfrost lasts for 10 seconds and is removed once the enemy is successfully frozen.

Build Strategy

To maximize the effectiveness of Oath of Winter, focus on skills and gear that enhance cold damage and freeze duration. Skills like Ice Nova or Frostbolt are excellent choices. Prioritize items with increased cold damage, critical strike chance, and freeze duration to ensure consistent application of freezes and Hoarfrost stacks.

Pros

• Extended Freeze: Ensures enemies remain frozen for a significant duration.
• Enhanced Freeze Duration: Hoarfrost debuff increases freeze duration, making it easier to freeze tough enemies.

Cons

• Debuff Management: Requires strategic application of Hoarfrost and freeze skills.
• Freeze Dependency: Relies heavily on the ability to freeze enemies effectively.

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AI Guides

Path of Exile’s latest expansion introduces the Warden, a new Ascendancy class that replaces the Raider Ascendancy. Drawing inspiration from its predecessor in the Affliction league, the Warden excels in elemental attacks, defensive skills like Barkskin, and the strategic use of tinctures. One of the standout features of the Warden is the Oath of Winter Ascendancy, which brings a unique approach to controlling enemies through freezing mechanics.

Introducing the Warden Ascendancy

The Warden Ascendancy is designed for players who enjoy leveraging elemental attacks and robust defenses. With skills like Barkskin for physical damage mitigation and reworked tinctures for versatile buffs, the Warden offers a well-rounded playstyle. The Oath of Winter Ascendancy node enhances the Warden’s ability to control and debilitate enemies using cold damage.

Key Features of the Warden

• Elemental Attacks: Specializes in utilizing elemental attacks to exploit enemy weaknesses.
• Barkskin: Provides physical damage mitigation by covering the player in bark.
• Tinctures: Reworked as core items, tinctures offer flexible buffs and debuffs to enhance gameplay.

Oath of Winter: Freeze and Hoarfrost Mechanics

Oath of Winter is a powerful Ascendancy node that enhances the Warden’s ability to freeze enemies and introduces the unique Hoarfrost mechanic.

Oath of Winter: Skill Description

• Guaranteed Freeze Duration: Enemies you freeze remain frozen for at least 2 seconds, ensuring consistent crowd control.
• Hoarfrost Mechanic:
  • Hits that fail to freeze due to insufficient freeze duration inflict Hoarfrost.
  • Freeze Mechanics:
    • Freeze lowers enemy action speed to zero, preventing them from acting.
    • Freeze duration is based on the cold damage of the hit.
    • Freezes with a duration of 0.3 seconds or below are not inflicted.
  • Hoarfrost Mechanics:
    • Hoarfrost lasts 10 seconds and can be inflicted multiple times, each instance refreshing the duration of existing Hoarfrost on the target.
    • Each Hoarfrost increases freeze duration on the target by 20%.
    • All Hoarfrost is removed if the target is frozen.

Strategic Benefits

The Oath of Winter node offers several strategic advantages for controlling and debuffing enemies:

• Consistent Crowd Control: Ensuring a minimum freeze duration of 2 seconds provides reliable crowd control, significantly hindering enemy actions.
• Enhanced Freeze Duration: Hoarfrost mechanics allow for longer freeze durations, making it easier to maintain control over tougher enemies.
• Dynamic Gameplay: The interplay between freezing and Hoarfrost adds a dynamic element to combat, requiring players to strategically manage their cold damage and ailment application.

Tips for Effective Use

To maximize the benefits of Oath of Winter, consider the following tips:

• Boost Cold Damage: Increase your cold damage to ensure hits have sufficient freeze duration and to maximize the effectiveness of Hoarfrost.
• Utilize High-Frequency Hits: Use skills with high hit frequency to apply Hoarfrost consistently, enhancing your control over enemies.
• Synergize with Other Skills: Combine Oath of Winter with other skills and items that enhance elemental damage and crowd control to create a powerful and synergistic build.

Conclusion

The Oath of Winter Ascendancy node in the Warden class introduces a unique and powerful mechanic to Path of Exile, enhancing the ability to freeze and control enemies. By guaranteeing a minimum freeze duration and introducing the Hoarfrost mechanic, this node offers significant strategic advantages for managing tough encounters. Combined with the Warden’s focus on elemental attacks and robust defenses, Oath of Winter provides a versatile and engaging playstyle.

Embrace the chilling power of the Warden, master the freeze and Hoarfrost mechanics of Oath of Winter, and dominate your enemies in the ever-challenging world of Wraeclast. Whether facing down hordes of foes or challenging powerful bosses, the Warden’s unique blend of offense and defense ensures you are prepared for any battle. Happy hunting, Exiles!