Frost Blades of Katabasis Slayer Guide in PoE 3.25

Do you want to create a competent character in Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur that can take on T17 maps and uber bosses without a problem? If so, we invite you to read further.

Today, we are going to talk about one of the best melee builds in PoE 3.25. So, without further ado, this is our ultimate build guide for the Frost Blades of Katabasis Slayer in Patch 3.25!

Why Choose Frost Blades of Katabasis Slayer?

So, why exactly would you want to build the Frost Blades of Katabasis Slayer in Path of Exile? Before anything, let’s talk about the main skill gem itself.

Compared to its base version, the Frost Blades of Katabasis is a Transfigured Gem that offers unlimited range, allowing you to hit enemies from afar.

Despite not having any projectiles, enemies hit by your attack will cause chilled ground to spawn at their feet, dealing cold damage over time. This alleviates the need to be up close to the enemy.

The reason why the Transfigured Gem is better than the base version is that it technically deals huge amounts of damage, especially when fighting monsters with high HP. Prioritizing attack speed and critical strike multiplier should help you achieve maximum efficiency when killing enemies.

Even though the skill itself deals cold damage over time, you are not actually going to focus on that. These are the modifiers to look for when it comes to Frost Blades DPS scaling:

• Added Cold Damage
• Global Critical Strike Multiplier
• Increased Critical Strike Chance
• Increased Attack Speed
• Elemental Penetration
• Extra Fire/Cold Damage
• Maximum Frenzy Charges

So, how does the Slayer factor into the equation? The said ascendancy class has several notable passives that make this build shine even further.

Masterful Form increases your maximum Frenzy Charge by one, which translates to a higher damage output. More importantly, it makes your maximum Endurance Charges equal to your Frenzy Charges. This synergizes well with some of the items that you will wear.

Early on, the combination of Bane of Legends and Headsman allows you to slay enemies without a problem. The former grants more damage, while the latter provides a culling strike that kills enemies that are below 20% of their maximum life.

To survive on the battlefield, you can sustain yourself with the help of Brutal Fervour. This grants a life-leeching effect that stacks infinitely. So long as you are constantly attacking, you are less likely to die out there.

Here is the ideal order of notable ascendancy passive skills to take:

1. Bane of Legends
2. Brutal Fervour
3. Headsman
4. Masterful Form

Frost Blades of Katabasis Slayer Gear Recommendations

Weapon

Get an Imperial Claw or Gemini Claw and use that as the crafting base. Spam the weapon with Essence of Zeal (Attack Speed) until you get critical strike chance and global critical strike multiplier. You can refer to our ultimate crafting guide for tips on how to add the prefixes.

Shield

While it is tempting to dual-wield Imperial Claws, we recommend that you opt for a shield, particularly one that has elemental avoidance and physical damage reduction as explicit modifiers.

Once you have gained enough PoE Currency, you can purchase a synthesized shield with +1 to Maximum Frenzy Charges.

Body Armor

Get yourself an ilvl 86+ Conquest Lamellar and spam it with Essence of Greed (Life) until you acquire T1 spell suppression and physical damage reduction. The rest of the mods could be anything that your character still needs, such as attributes or elemental/chaos resistance.

Helmet

The Heatshiver is an incredible helmet for the Frost Blades of Katabasis Slayer. Since you naturally freeze enemies with your attacks, you can greatly benefit from the extra fire damage that this unique helmet provides.

Want to get a good Heatshiver with incredible implicit modifiers like +1 to Maximum Power Charges and life regeneration?

Gloves

Early on, you can equip Southbound. This pair of gloves gives you a huge boost in damage. Do not worry about its downside because your character has the ability to freeze enemies anyway. Not only that, but the cold damage over time effect of the Transfigured Gem should handle it without a hitch.

In the endgame, replace Southbound with Admiral’s Arrogance. This unique item gives you a boost in attack speed, armor, and melee skill gems. But, the main reason why you’d want these gloves is that they allow you to gain maximum Rage simply by attacking enemies.

Boots

There is no pair of boots that is perfect for this build other than Ralakesh’s Impatience. These ensure that you gain the effects of Frenzy, Power, and Endurance Charges at all times. If you need a boost in cold and chaos resistance, Ralakesh’s Impatience provides a slight boost in this department as well.

Amulet

Grab any base amulet of your choosing. Since this build is using some INT-based gems, you might need some intelligence to level those to the max. In that case, you could use a Lapis Amulet (INT) or Onyx Amulet (Attributes) as the crafting base.

Go to the Horticrafting Station and use Harvest Reforge Cold until you get “+1 to Level of All Cold Skill Gems,” as well as life and resistances. If you could get critical strike multiplier and cold damage to attacks, then that would be even better!

Rings

If you still need to sort out your resistances and attributes, you can wear a couple of rings to address them. Ideally, you’d want your rings crafted with Essence of Horror so that you get added cold damage per Frenzy Charge for Frost Blades DPS scaling.

Other modifiers to look for include life, chaos resistance, and elemental resistance. The rings are also great sources for INT if you still need more.

When you have enough PoE Currency, we suggest that you buy a synthesized ring with +1 to Maximum Frenzy Charges. Fortunately for you, we have such a ring if you do not want to farm for it yourself. Take a look at our PoE Store for a wide selection of items.

Belt

Arn’s Anguish is a great belt for the Frost Blades of Katabasis Slayer in PoE 3.25. This gives you the ability to gain Brutal Charges rather than Endurance Charges. Each Brutal Charge grants a 3% chance to deal triple damage.

By using Ralakesh’s Impatience, you can still gain the physical and elemental damage reduction effects provided by Endurance Charges. Take note, however, that you need Inexorable on the passive tree or other mods that grant a similar effect to acquire Brutal Charges.

Flasks/Tinctures

• Diamond Flask
• Granite Flask
• Jade Flask or Quicksilver Flask
• Silver Flask
• Divine Life Flask or Prismatic Tincture

Flask Mods

• Increased Armor (of the Armadillo)
• Increased Critical Strike Chance (of Incision)
• Increased Evasion Rating (of the Impala)
• Increased Movement Speed (of the Cheetah)
• Corrupted Blood Immunity (Life Flask)

Jewels

The Frost Blades of Katabasis Slayer can easily achieve 100% spell suppression. Because of this, you can take advantage of Ancestral Vision to get a 50% chance to avoid elemental ailments, such as Chill, Freeze, Shock, and Ignite. The other 50% can be gained from the shield and the “Thick Skin” node on the passive tree.

Another way to boost your damage and survivability is by investing in a good Lethal Pride. Not only does it boost your STR attribute, but it also contains a bunch of useful modifiers, including:

• 4% Increased Maximum Life
• 30% Increased Melee Critical Strike Chance
• 15% Melee Critical Strike Multiplier
• Gain 1 Rage on Melee Hit
• 10% Chance to Intimidate Enemies

Grab yourself at least one Large Cluster Jewel (Claw Damage) and use Harvest Reforge Attack until you get Martial Prowess, Feed the Fury, and Fuel the Fight.

If you still have some currency to spare, purchase The Light of Meaning, specifically one that has “6% Increased Cold Damage” as its effect. Place this in the jewel socket just above “Fervour” on the passive tree.

Should you choose to allocate additional jewel sockets, get jewels that have any of the following mods:

• Increased Melee Damage
• Increased Attack Speed with Claws
• Melee/Global Critical Strike Multiplier
• Increased Maximum Life

Tattoos

• Tattoo of the Arohongui Warrior
• 5% Increased Cold Damage
• Tattoo of the Ramako Shaman
• 2% Chance to Suppress Spell Damage

Skill Gems Setup

Body Armor

• Frost Blades of Katabasis
• Awakened Multistrike
• Awakened Added Cold Damage
• Awakened Elemental Damage with Attacks
• Ice Bite Support
• Endurance Charge on Melee Stun

Gloves

• Precision
• Herald of Ice
• Vaal Molten Shell
• Automation

Helmet

• Faster Attacks Support
• Lifetap
• Whirling Blades
• Frostblink

Boots

• Summon Skitterbots
• Bonechill Support
• Awakened Unbound Ailments
• Enlighten Support

Weapon

• Assassin’s Mark
• Mark on Hit Support
• Lifetap

Shield

• Blood Rage
• Vaal Haste (use Vaal Skill only)
• Enduring Cry

Passive Skill Tree

Prioritize getting nodes that improve elemental damage, spell suppression, critical strike chance, and life. As for masteries, you could take the following:

• Attack Mastery: Non-Vaal Strike Skills target 1 additional nearby enemy
• Charge Mastery: 3% increased Damage per Endurance, Frenzy, or Power Charge
• Armour and Evasion Mastery: 8% Increased Evasion Rating per Frenzy Charge, 8% Increased Armour per Endurance Charge
• Cold Mastery: Enemies permanently take 5% increased Damage for each second they’ve ever been Frozen by you, up to a maximum of 50%
• Elemental Mastery: Hits have a 25% chance to treat Enemy Monster Elemental Resistance values as inverted

Tips and Strategies

• Take Cornered Prey: When your character is not fully geared yet, you can allocate the “Cornered Prey” notable passive, which is situated at the bottom right of the tree. This node grants a huge increase in critical strike chance and critical strike multiplier against bleeding enemies. Since you do not fully convert your physical damage to cold damage, you can still inflict bleed on monsters that you attack
• Use Frostblink: A lot of Path of Exile players love using Flame Dash but we recommend Frostblink over it. The reason is that Frostblink does not have a cast time, so you can easily use it immediately after Whirling Blades for better mobility
• Invest in Better Gear: It goes without saying that you should purchase upgrades whenever you have the means to do so. Upgrade your weapon first, then followed by the rings, amulet, and belt. If your budget permits it, go for synthesized accessories, preferably with +1 to Maximum Frenzy Charge
• T17 Mapping: Make sure that your character has 90% physical damage reduction and maxed-out elemental resistances. While the Frost Blades of Katabasis Slayer is strong, it is wise to avoid the following T17 map modifiers:
  • Marked for Death
  • Players/Minions deal no damage for 3 out of every 10 seconds
  • Players have 25-30% less defenses
  • Players have -20% to all maximum resistances
• Bossing Strategy: This build does not have good defenses, so it cannot facetank uber bosses. However, the Slayer’s insane overleech should help keep you alive as long as you are attacking the boss continuously
• Aim for a High Crit Multi: As much as possible, we advise that you aim for at least 450% critical strike multiplier for maximum damage
• Bonus Tip: In Path of Exile 3.25, you can use Runesmithing to add increased attack speed on top of the implicit/explicit modifiers on your weapon. We suggest that you utilize that for even more damage!

POB

Main Build

Endgame Build

Final Thoughts

There is no denying the sheer power of the Frost Blades of Katabasis Slayer. It is so powerful that it is deemed one of the best Slayer builds in PoE 3.25. With its impressive damage output, capped spell suppression, and relatively fast playstyle, you can never go wrong with this build!

Now, some of the equipment, gems, and jewels that this build uses are oftentimes out of reach. If you want high-quality items without going through the hassle of farming them yourself, we’ve got you covered!