normalcatpictures' Piety's Mercy Permafrost Bolts Tactician [0.3] [BOTW]

This is a low budget league starter that can scale all the way to ubers with modest investment.

build guide here:
https://mobalytics.gg/poe-2/profile/6b47434c-462a-412e-964e-3b13bfe67cbc/builds/58419581-35ae-4e17-849e-6ff22152e1c3


Build Showcase / Preview
Uber King


Uber Xesht


Mapping Example


Max Difficulty Map Boss (overkill tbh, could have just consumed freeze immediately to headshot)


Full video showcase:
(a bit out-of-date -- single target and clear have both been drastically improved. T3 Xesht takes seconds using a 2d crossbow.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0sANhDE6R4



This is a relatively low budget build, scales well and easily into endgame, and is 100% suitable for league starting.

The guide posted above links to a leveling guide for Mercenary if you have no prior experience with the class and would like to try the build.

If you run into issues or have any questions, I'd be happy to assist.

Thanks for reading!

Why not Mist Whisper?

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todo
tl;dw: S-tier for mapping, awful for map bosses, pinnacles, and ubers.
Having to switch out makes it not worth the effort.
"All Damage from Hits with this Weapon Contributes to Freeze Buildup" would go a long way to making this less of a leveling unique (ignoring the obvious +x to levels issue)

Chain II vs. Nova Projectiles for Permafrost Bolts
WIP


Chain II performs far better for high-density content.
4 Chains + Cone Shattering = OP.


Nova Projectiles is better for low to moderate density content -- not having to aim is such a huge QoL boost.

Reserved

Updated with a crossbow crafting guide. Roughly 200ex to make a crossbow that'll let you clear all content.

Working on an updated build showcase currently.

Freeze Buildup vs T1 Xesht
Methodology: attack until frozen, record freeze buildup per attack. die, repeat.

Formatting:
Attack 1 Freeze Buildup % / Attack 2 Freeze Buildup % / Attack 3 Freeze Buildup %


THE NUMBERS, MASON...


Observation 1:
Chance and Magnitude of Ailments do nothing for freeze buildup directly. However, since this build does incorporate sources of shock, magnitude and chance do benefit us indirectly because freeze build-up is calculated post-mitigation. That's to say, the bigger the final cold damage hit, the more build-up. Since this test was mostly looking at freeze buildup of the first shot, the shock interaction is not reflected in the data.

Oberservation 2:
Reducing ailment threshold of enemies is very, very strong. If you can't easily scale the hit of the skill that is freezing, you can try reducing the ailment threshold of enemies instead.
The max hit of Permafrost Bolts in conjunction with Freezing Mark seems to only be able to generate at most 67% freeze buildup on T1 Xesht. Supplementing, or outright replacing, it with Overwhelming Presence pushes that into the 90%s~.

placeholder for testing! will add context later.

Reserved

Added a T3 Crux gif to the build preview

Reserving another spot for testing The Molten One's Gift and Armour Break investment. Stay tuned!