The Herald of Ice is a highly effective skill for the Pathfinder in Path of Exile 2. Based on our latest ladder analysis of 10 top players in the 90-plus bracket, this build frequently maximizes damage by utilizing support gems such as Magnified Area II, Elemental Armament II, Longshot II. To optimize survivability and DPS, players commonly allocate key passives like Path Seeker, Relentless Pursuit, Heartstopping on the skill tree.

Herald of Ice
(Pathfinder) Builds
Sample size: 10 characters analyzed.
Last updated: 2026-09-04 12:01:30 UTC
Below data represents gem links within this cohort. Selected main skills are strictly isolated.
★ Selected Main Skills
Other Active Skills & Auras
Flasks Distribution
Main Hand (Set I)
Top Explicit Mods
#% increased [Physical] Damage
90%
Adds # to # [Physical|Physical] Damage
80%
# to Level of all [Projectile] Skills
50%
#% [SurpassChance|Surpassing] chance to fire an additional Arrow
50%
#% to [CriticalDamageBonus|Critical Damage Bonus]
50%
# to [Accuracy|Accuracy] Rating
40%
#% reduced Projectile Range
20%
# to [Intelligence|Intelligence]
10%
# to [Strength|Strength]
10%
#% increased Damage per [Minion]
10%
Offhand (Set I)
Top Explicit Mods
#% increased [Attack] Speed
60%
#% increased [Critical|Critical Hit Chance] for [Attack|Attacks]
50%
Each Arrow fired is a [UniqueArrowModifierChain|Crescendo], [UniqueArrowModifierSplit|Splinter], [UniqueArrowModifierPierceReturn|Reversing], [UniqueArrowModifierCrit|Diamond], [UniqueArrowModifierRarity|Covetous], or [UniqueArrowModifierStun|Blunt] Arrow
50%
Adds # to # [Cold] damage to [Attack|Attacks]
40%
#% increased Damage with Bow Skills
30%
# to Level of all [Projectile] Skills
20%
#% increased [CriticalDamageBonus|Critical Damage Bonus] for [Attack] Damage
20%
Adds # to # [Physical|Physical] Damage to [Attack|Attacks]
20%
#% [SurpassChance|Surpassing] chance to fire an additional Arrow
10%
#% chance to Poison on Hit with [Attack|Attacks]
10%
Helmet
Top Explicit Mods
#% increased [EnergyShield|Energy Shield]
100%
#% to [Resistances|Fire Resistance]
60%
# to maximum Life
50%
# to maximum [EnergyShield|Energy Shield]
50%
# to maximum Mana
40%
#% to [Resistances|Cold Resistance]
40%
#% increased [Critical|Critical Hit] Chance
30%
# to [Intelligence|Intelligence]
20%
#% increased [ItemRarity|Rarity of Items] found
20%
#% to [Resistances|Lightning Resistance]
20%
Body Armour
Top Bases / Uniques
Top Explicit Mods
# to [Evasion] Rating
60%
# to [Dexterity|Dexterity]
30%
# to [Spirit|Spirit] per Socket filled
30%
# to maximum Life
30%
#% increased [Armour|Armour], [Evasion|Evasion] and [EnergyShield|Energy Shield]
30%
#% increased [Evasion|Evasion] Rating
30%
#% to [Resistances|Cold Resistance]
30%
# Life Regeneration per second
20%
# to [StunThreshold|Stun Threshold]
20%
# to maximum [EnergyShield|Energy Shield]
20%
Gloves
Top Bases / Uniques
Top Explicit Mods
#% increased [Projectile] Speed
50%
# to Level of all [Projectile] Skills
40%
#% increased [Projectile] Damage
40%
Adds # to # [Fire] damage to [Attack|Attacks]
30%
Adds # to # [Lightning] damage to [Attack|Attacks]
30%
Adds # to # [Physical|Physical] Damage to [Attack|Attacks]
30%
#% [SurpassChance|Surpassing] chance to fire an additional [Projectile]
20%
#% increased [Critical|Critical Hit] Chance
20%
#% to [Resistances|Cold Resistance]
20%
Adds # to # [Cold] damage to [Attack|Attacks]
20%
Boots
Top Bases / Uniques
Top Explicit Mods
# to [Evasion] Rating
50%
#% increased Movement Speed
50%
#% to [Resistances|Fire Resistance]
40%
# to maximum [EnergyShield|Energy Shield]
30%
#% increased [Evasion] and [EnergyShield|Energy Shield]
30%
#% increased [Evasion|Evasion] Rating
20%
#% to [Resistances|Chaos Resistance]
20%
#% to [Resistances|Cold Resistance]
20%
Gain [Deflect|Deflection Rating] equal to #% of [Evasion|Evasion Rating]
20%
# to [StunThreshold|Stun Threshold]
10%
Amulet
Top Explicit Mods
# Suffix Modifier allowed
60%
# to Level of all [Projectile] Skills
60%
# Prefix Modifier allowed
50%
# to [Spirit|Spirit]
50%
#% increased maximum [EnergyShield|Energy Shield]
50%
#% increased [ItemRarity|Rarity of Items] found
30%
# to all [Attributes|Attributes]
20%
# to maximum [EnergyShield|Energy Shield]
20%
# to [Dexterity|Dexterity]
10%
#% increased [CriticalDamageBonus|Critical Damage Bonus]
10%
Ring 1
Top Explicit Mods
#% increased [ItemRarity|Rarity of Items] found
80%
#% to all [ElementalDamage|Elemental] [Resistances]
50%
#% to [Resistances|Chaos Resistance]
40%
#% to [Resistances|Lightning Resistance]
40%
#% to [Resistances|Cold Resistance]
30%
Adds # to # [Fire] damage to [Attack|Attacks]
30%
Adds # to # [Lightning] damage to [Attack|Attacks]
30%
Adds # to # [Physical|Physical] Damage to [Attack|Attacks]
30%
# to [Dexterity|Dexterity]
20%
#% to [Resistances|Fire Resistance]
20%
Ring 2
Top Explicit Mods
Reflects opposite Ring
50%
#% to all [ElementalDamage|Elemental] [Resistances]
40%
#% increased [ItemRarity|Rarity of Items] found
30%
#% to [Resistances|Lightning Resistance]
30%
Adds # to # [Cold] damage to [Attack|Attacks]
30%
Adds # to # [Physical|Physical] Damage to [Attack|Attacks]
30%
# to [Dexterity|Dexterity]
20%
# to [Intelligence|Intelligence]
10%
# to [Strength|Strength]
10%
# to maximum Mana
10%
Belt
Top Explicit Mods
Has # [Charm] Slots
90%
#% of [Flask|Flask] Recovery applied Instantly
60%
All [MagesLegacy|Mage's Legacies] have #% increased effect per duplicate [MagesLegacy|Mage's Legacy] you have
60%
Legacy of [LegacyOfGold|Gold]
50%
Legacy of [LegacyOfQuicksilver|Quicksilver]
50%
# to [Strength|Strength]
40%
# to maximum Life
40%
Legacy of [LegacyOfBismuth|Bismuth]
40%
Legacy of [LegacyOfJade|Jade]
40%
# to [Dexterity|Dexterity]
30%
Main Hand (Set II)
Top Explicit Mods
# to Level of all [Spell|Spell] Skills
60%
# to maximum Mana
60%
#% increased Cast Speed
60%
#% to all [ElementalDamage|Elemental] [Resistances] per [Charges|Power Charge]
60%
# to Maximum [Charges|Power Charges]
50%
# to Level of all [Projectile] Skills
10%
# to [Accuracy|Accuracy] Rating
10%
#% [SurpassChance|Surpassing] chance to fire an additional Arrow
10%
#% increased [Physical] Damage
10%
#% to [Critical|Critical Hit] Chance
10%
Offhand (Set II)
Top Explicit Mods
# to all [Attributes|Attributes]
50%
#% reduced [LightRadius|Light Radius]
30%
Grants effect of [UniqueShrineChaos|Dreaming Gloom Shrine]
30%
[Allies|Allies] in your [Presence|Presence] deal # to # added [Attack|Attack] [Chaos] Damage
30%
[Gain] #% of Damage as Extra [Chaos] Damage
30%
#% increased [Spirit|Spirit]
20%
#% reduced Skill Effect Duration
20%
You can have any number of [Companion|Companions] of different types
20%
[Allies|Allies] in your [Presence|Presence] Regenerate # Life per second
20%
[Companion|Companions] deal #% increased damage to your [Mark|Marked] targets
20%
Interactive Meta Heatmap
No Node Selected
Key Notables & Keystones
Path Seeker
(10)100%✕ Remove
Relentless Pursuit
(10)100%✕ Remove
Heartstopping
(10)100%✕ Remove
Struck Through
(10)100%✕ Remove
Traveller's Wisdom
(10)100%✕ Remove
Heartbreaking
(9)90%✕ Remove
Escape Velocity
(9)90%✕ Remove
For the Jugular
(9)90%✕ Remove
True Strike
(9)90%✕ Remove
Spectral Ward
(8)80%✕ Remove
Killer Instinct
(8)80%✕ Remove
Coming Calamity
(7)70%✕ Remove
Catalysis
(7)70%✕ Remove
Stupefy
(7)70%✕ Remove
Acceleration
(7)70%✕ Remove
Dizzying Hits
(6)60%✕ Remove
Pain Attunement
(6)60%✕ Remove
Throatseeker
(6)60%✕ Remove
Beastial Skin
(6)60%✕ Remove
Running Assault
(6)60%✕ Remove
The Wild Cat
(5)50%✕ Remove
Resonance
(5)50%✕ Remove
Honed Instincts
(5)50%✕ Remove
Feathered Fletching
(5)50%✕ Remove
Sustainable Practices
(4)40%✕ Remove
The Noble Wolf
(4)40%✕ Remove
Tenfold Attacks
(4)40%✕ Remove
Kite Runner
(4)40%✕ Remove
Frazzled
(4)40%✕ Remove
Staunch Deflection
(4)40%✕ Remove
Blur
(4)40%✕ Remove
Marked Agility
(4)40%✕ Remove
Marked for Sickness
(4)40%✕ Remove
Overflowing Power
(4)40%✕ Remove
Seeing Stars
(3)30%✕ Remove
Harness the Elements
(3)30%✕ Remove
Spell Haste
(3)30%✕ Remove
Immortal Infamy
(3)30%✕ Remove
Master Fletching
(3)30%✕ Remove
Maiming Strike
(3)30%✕ Remove
Instability
(3)30%✕ Remove
Enhanced Barrier
(3)30%✕ Remove
Careful Assassin
(3)30%✕ Remove
Spellblade
(3)30%✕ Remove
Enhanced Reflexes
(3)30%✕ Remove
Immortal Thirst
(3)30%✕ Remove
Cooked
(3)30%✕ Remove
Stylebender
(3)30%✕ Remove
Toxic Tolerance
(2)20%✕ Remove
Pure Energy
(2)20%✕ Remove
Last Stand
(2)20%✕ Remove
Crystallised Immunities
(2)20%✕ Remove
Stand and Deliver
(2)20%✕ Remove
Stimulants
(2)20%✕ Remove
Dampening Shield
(2)20%✕ Remove
Moment of Truth
(2)20%✕ Remove
Thin Ice
(2)20%✕ Remove
Blinding Strike
(2)20%✕ Remove
Frantic Swings
(2)20%✕ Remove
Chakra of Thought
(2)20%✕ Remove
Vile Wounds
(2)20%✕ Remove
Defiance
(2)20%✕ Remove
Distracted Target
(2)20%✕ Remove
Concussive Attack
(2)20%✕ Remove
Chakra of Stability
(2)20%✕ Remove
Step Like Mist
(2)20%✕ Remove
First Principle of the Hollow
(2)20%✕ Remove
Unsight
(2)20%✕ Remove
Event Horizon
(2)20%✕ Remove
Patient Barrier
(2)20%✕ Remove
Mindful Awareness
(2)20%✕ Remove
Efficient Killing
(1)10%✕ Remove
Bond of the Cat
(1)10%✕ Remove
Melding
(1)10%✕ Remove
Climate Change
(1)10%✕ Remove
Strong Chin
(1)10%✕ Remove
Sniper
(1)10%✕ Remove
Deadly Force
(1)10%✕ Remove
Deep Freeze
(1)10%✕ Remove
Augmented Flesh
(1)10%✕ Remove
Endless Blizzard
(1)10%✕ Remove
Chakra of Impact
(1)10%✕ Remove
Wrapped Quiver
(1)10%✕ Remove
Essence of the Mountain
(1)10%✕ Remove
Quick Fingers
(1)10%✕ Remove
Crashing Wave
(1)10%✕ Remove
Spaghettification
(1)10%✕ Remove
Chakra of Life
(1)10%✕ Remove
Serrated Edges
(1)10%✕ Remove
Marked for Death
(1)10%✕ Remove
Ingenuity
(1)10%✕ Remove
Shatter Palm
(1)10%✕ Remove
Refills
(1)10%✕ Remove
The Howling Primate
(1)10%✕ Remove
Flow Like Water
(1)10%✕ Remove
Barbaric Strength
(1)10%✕ Remove
Imbibed Power
(1)10%✕ Remove
Shimmering
(1)10%✕ Remove
Light on your Feet
(1)10%✕ Remove
Subterfuge Mask
(1)10%✕ Remove
Thaumaturgic Generator
(1)10%✕ Remove
Overwhelming Strike
(1)10%✕ Remove
Proficiency
(1)10%✕ Remove
Lucky Rabbit Foot
(1)10%✕ Remove
Momentum
(1)10%✕ Remove