In Path of Exile 2, the Witchhunter class, combining the potent powers of the Witch and Hunter archetypes, offers a unique and exciting playstyle. One of the standout builds for this class is the Permafrost Bolts Witchhunter, which specializes in freezing and slowing enemies using the Permafrost Bolts skill. This build focuses on cold damage, critical strikes, and maximizing crowd control to POE 2 Currency dominate the battlefield.



Build Overview



The Permafrost Bolts Witchhunter revolves around the Permafrost Bolts skill gem, which fires projectiles that deal cold damage and have a chance to freeze enemies on hit. These bolts can also ricochet, hitting multiple targets and applying freezing effects across large areas. The core of the build lies in amplifying cold damage and critical strike chance to achieve devastating burst damage, all while maintaining high survivability through crowd control effects.



Key Skills and Support Gems



The centerpiece of the build is Permafrost Bolts, supported by gems such as Cold Penetration, Hypothermia, Ice Bite, and Greater Multiple Projectiles. These support gems increase cold damage, enhance critical strike chances, and ensure the bolts ricochet, hitting more targets.



Additionally, Frost Bomb and Frostblink provide both offensive and defensive utility, lowering enemy resistances and offering mobility. For defensive layers, the build incorporates the Phase Acrobatics and Mind Over Matter keystones, ensuring that the Witchhunter can dodge incoming attacks and mitigate damage effectively.



Passive Skill Tree & Ascendancy



The Witchhunter’s passive skill tree should focus on increasing cold damage, critical strike multipliers, and energy shield, providing both offensive power and durability. The Elemental Overload keystone is essential for increasing damage, and investing into critical strike chance nodes will further boost the potency of Permafrost Bolts.



In terms of ascendancy, choosing the Trickster or Occultist ascendancy classes offers significant boosts to both offense and defense. Trickster excels in mobility, energy shield recovery, and damage over time, while Occultist offers powerful curse-related mechanics, adding layers of debuffs to enemies for even greater control.



Playstyle and Strategy



The Permafrost Bolts Witchhunter excels in controlling large crowds of enemies while dealing high amounts of burst cold damage. Always prioritize keeping your distance from enemies and focus on using Permafrost Bolts to freeze and slow down packs of enemies, rendering them helpless while you deal damage. Utilize mobility skills like Frostblink to reposition quickly and avoid danger.



With proper gear and optimization, this build becomes a Path of Exile 2 Currency for sale powerhouse for endgame content in Path of Exile 2, allowing you to handle everything from bosses to massive hordes of monsters.