Amidst all the recent melee buffs inPath of Exile, there are a few Spell builds that have remained largely untouched. One such build is the Archmage Hierophant using the new Transfigured gem, Ice Nova of Frostbolts. This build has incredible single-target damage, great clear speed, is fairly tanky, and has almost infinite scaling potential. If you want to farm Tier-17 maps, 100 percent Delirium, Simulacrums, or even some Uber bosses, this is the perfect build for you.

Depending on how much DPS you want to sacrifice, you can make the build pretty tanky for it to be viable in Hardcore. Also, since there are not a whole lot of Uniques required to set it up, you can easily build it in SSF.

Choosing Templar as the Starting Class which we can later Ascend as Hierophant to play the build.

What Is The Best Templar Build?

The main skill gem thatthe build revolves around is Ice Nova of Frostbolts. It is a new Transfigured gem that was recently added to PoE. The way this build functions is thatwe cast the Ice Nova of Frostbolts on top of Frostbolts. This makes it a two-button build. However,if youuse Kitava’s Thirst,you essentially turn it into a one-button build by socketing in Frostbolts linked with Greater Multiple Projectiles.

It is important to mention thatthe build requires a lot of Cast Speed to feel snappy. This is because without a high enough Cast Speed, you will not trigger enough Frostbolts to do any meaningful damage. And also becauseour main Movement Skill is Frostblink of Wintry Blast, which is also entirely dependent on your Cast Speed.

Kitava’s Thirst, a Unique Helmet which adds a massive QOL to play the Ice Nova of Frostbolts build.

Another very important thing that you need to keep in mind is thatKitava’s Thirst requires you to spend at least 100 Mana in a single cast to trigger the socketed spell. When it comes to bosses, you willcast your Sigil of Power,Frost Bomb on top of the boss,and then spam Ice Novauntil it is dead.

If you have issues sustaining your Mana, remember to get ‘Reduced Mana Cost’ on both rings. You should also try to get someMana Regen on your gear, and get ‘Recover Mana when you use a skill’ mastery.

Fighting Hillock in Act-1 as a Templar using Glacier Hammer skill.

There are not a lot of required Uniques that you need for the build to function. However, there aresome Uniques that are massive QOL upgrades. Some of these are:

Helmet

Kitava’s Thirst can essentially turn this build into a one-button build. However, it has a downside of reduced Cast Speed, which you will need to get somewhere else. If you can do it, it is an incredible helmet to wear.

Amulet

Unless you can acquire a Mirror-tier amulet, using the Atziri’s Foible is a very good option.

Belt

The only correct answer is Mageblood. This belt can automate Utility Flasks, which means perma-uptime on things like Shock avoidance, Cast Speed, reduced effects of Curses, Elemental Resistances, etc.

Body Armor

Lightning Coil is a very good Body Armor that you can use to get 50% of your Physical Damage as Lightning Damage. But since it reduces your Lightning Resistance by -60, it can be a little hard to use it unless you have a Mageblood to cap your resistances.

Watcher’s Eye, Ancestral Vision, Unnatural Instinct, and Perandus Pact.

Ascending as a Hierophant in Path of Exile and choosing Arcane Blessing, Divine Guidance, Sanctuary of Thought, and Conviction of Power.

How To Level The Build?

If this is not your first character in the league, you’re able to definitely level with Ice Nova of Frostbolts as soon as you can equip it. However, if you plan on leaguestarting with it, there are a few options that you can use:

It all comes down to preference, butwe do recommend leveling using Archmage paired with Firestorm.

Since wecannot use Archmage before Level 31, we will need tocomplete the first few Acts with something else,like Rolling Magma.

Level 1 to Level 38

Level 38 to Kitava

We also recommendlinking Grace/Clarity with Eternal Blessing to free the Aura. As for your movement skills, you canuse Shield Charge paired with Faster Attacks. If you need to cross some gaps, Flame Dash is a good option. If the gem-sockets are not an issue,we also recommend using Punishment on bosses to increase your DPSby a lot.

Please note thatyou will need to have a shield equipped to use Shield Charge.

If you manage to get some Chaos Orbs while leveling, there area few cheap Uniques that you can use to make the leveling process a whole lot smoother. These are:

Mindspiral gives you a lot of flat Mana, damage taken recouped as Mana, and 15% of your maximum Mana as extra ES, which is huge while leveling. After you switch to Ice Nova of Frostbolts, you can also use Kitava’s Thirst. This helmet is a massive QOL, as it essentially transforms the playstyle into a one-button build.

Ring

Valako’s Sign is the ring we recommend, since it provides you with a 25% chance to shock enemies. And then you get increased damage against shocked enemies on top of a lot of life leech.

While not the cheapest Unique, Atziri’s Foible provides you with a lot of Mana, which means more DPS and tankiness. Moreover, it should also help you with Attribute requirements. This has to the BiS amulet for the build, so try to get it as soon as possible.

Since we do not use a lot of Uniques, capping Elemental Resistances should not be an issue. Because of this,we recommend killing all the Bandit Lordsto get one Passive Point in the second Act. When it comes to Pantheon,the Soul of the Brine King for stun immunityandthe Soul of Garukhan for increased Movement Speedare generally recommended.

Always make sure tohave around 200 HP per Actand keep your weapon upgraded. Some of the stats to chase after are:

You canalways use the Crafting Bench in your hideoutto get any missing stats. Other than that, having capped Elemental Resistances, a bit of Evasion, Spell Suppression, etc. are all good.

What Is The Ascendancy Order?

Since we stack a lot of Mana,there is no better Ascendancy than the Hierophant. You haveperma-uptime on Arcane Surge,which grants 20 percent Spell Damage.Divine Guidanceis an incredible node thatprovides a lot of Mana,a bit of tankiness,and Transfiguration of Mind, which is just more damage.

Sanctuary of Thought, on the other hand,grants an extra maximum ES based on 20 percent of your maximum Mana. Furthermore, it gives youa lot of AoE,reduced Mana Cost,and Mana Reservation Efficiency of skills. Lastly,Conviction of Power allows us to use a bunch of Power Charges and Endurance Charges.

The following is the order in which you will need to choose the Ascendancy Nodes for the build: