Vortex Gaming

· This was the most enjoyable Flicker build this season, offering immense value for its cost.
· The build name is 'Slayer Diamond Shrine Cold Flicker'.
· The basic components of Cold Flicker are as follows:

Element	Description
Ice Bite Support	High flat Cold damage per Frenzy Charge
Ring Options	Secure flat Cold damage per Frenzy Charge through Precursor's Emblem, Synthesized options, Hardened Essences, Redeemer influence, etc.
Paradoxica	Maximize flat damage efficiency with the Double Damage effect
Frenzy Charges	Various damage increases through inherent bonuses
Ascendancy (Slayer)	Possesses maximum Frenzy and Endurance Charges (Masterful Form), synergy with Replica Farrul's Fur

· The biggest issues with the existing Slayer Cold Flicker are critical strike chance and variability.
· Paradoxica has a low attack speed base, so it's essential to get attack speed-related options from veiled suffixes.
· This makes it difficult to achieve high critical strike chance, requiring scaling from a low base critical strike chance of 6.5% or 5%.
· To increase critical strike chance, you need to invest 12-18+ passive points into nodes like 'Lethal Pride' or 'Flicker Strike'.
· This leads to inefficiency, as points that could be invested in direct damage or life increases are instead used to solve critical strike issues.
· Flask dependency is also a problem.
· Without Mageblood, you have to use 'Bottled Faith' and 'Diamond Flask', but these cannot be maintained constantly, leading to significant discrepancies between actual gameplay and PoB damage.
· While Mageblood allows for consistently high critical strike chance, its price can account for more than half of the build's total cost.

· The key item that solves the existing problems at once is the 'Vaal Hazak's Scream' belt (Diamond Shrine effect).
· This belt allows you to remove all critical strike-related sources, and the saved passive points can be invested in other damage/survival nodes.
· Critical strike multiplier is covered by the 'Marylene's Fallacy' amulet (over 280% high critical strike multiplier).
· The Diamond Shrine belt only applies while not under the effect of flasks, so instead of using special flasks, you can utilize 'Nameless Bloodline' to gain an additional ring slot.
· For Cold Flicker, ring slots offer the largest damage increase, so an additional ring slot provides a very positive effect.

· The main items used in the build, their reasons for selection, and alternative options are as follows:

Slot	Item	Details
Weapon	Paradoxica	Prefix: Elemental Penetration Veiled Suffix: Attack Speed (expensive with stats, cheaper with attack speed on kill) Quality: Secure Attack Speed with Tainted Chromatic Orb
Helmet	Replica Abyssus / Heatshiver	Shako is excluded due to high cost for high-level Ice Bite Support Replica Abyssus: Flat Cold/Lightning, 5-10% increased boss damage, high melee critical strike multiplier. Increased elemental damage taken drawback is compensated by high Endurance Charges Heatshiver: Alternative if survival is a concern
Body Armour	Replica Farrul's Fur	High Endurance Charge generation, constant Onslaught. Almost no wasted modifiers
Gloves	Rare Gloves	Maximum Frenzy Charges, Cat's Aspect essential Vaal Strike additional target option can be taken from mastery to save cost (Awakener's Orb method also possible)
Boots	Darkness Enthroned (Corrupted)	Use corrupted 'Socketed Gems have +X to Level' to save cost on Level 4 Enlighten Support Can be used to secure Accuracy
Shield	Svalinn / Saffell's Frame	Compensate for Cold Flicker's vulnerable survival (low life, lack of damage conversion) Svalinn: Very effective for increasing average EHP Max Frenzy Charge Shield: Can increase damage by 17%+ but Svalinn contributes more to survival If cost is an issue: Use Saffell's Frame with spell block chance, then upgrade later
Belt	Vaal Hazak's Scream (Diamond Shrine)	Provides Intelligence, Chaos Resistance. High damage expectation from Diamond Shrine effect Shrine effect always visible above character, providing visual satisfaction
Amulet	Marylene's Fallacy	Solves critical strike multiplier loss from removing critical strike chance nodes Diamond Shrine allows for constant 100% critical strike chance, offsetting the drawback Can use Critical Strike Catalysts, secure 300%+ critical strike multiplier with Explosive Vaal Orb
Anoint	Frenzy	Use Anoint for Frenzy, which was not allocated on the passive tree
Rings	Rare Ring, Callandra's Touch, Nameless Bloodline	Rare Ring: Max Frenzy Charge ring (if cost is an issue, can substitute with a ring with flat Cold damage per Frenzy Charge implicit) Item level 60+ Frenzy rings are sufficient and cheap to acquire Use Essence of Accuracy for suffixes (Chaos/Elemental Resistance, Attributes, Accuracy), prefix for life, craft reduced mana cost of skills Callandra's Touch: Mirrors modifiers from another rare ring Nameless Bloodline (Additional Ring Slot): 1. Precursor's Emblem: Two lines of flat Cold damage per Frenzy Charge (start with one line if unavailable) 2. Crafted Ring: Additional crafting with Essence of Dread on a rare ring with flat Cold damage per Frenzy Charge implicit (easy to solve resistances/attributes) 3. Another Max Frenzy Charge Ring: High damage increase expected when replacing Shako with high-level Ice Bite
Flasks	Dying Sun, Writhing Jar (x3), Divine Life Flask	Dying Sun: Increased elemental damage and penetration Writhing Jar: Increased damage on kill, shotgun damage Divine Life Flask: Solves bleeding issues

· This build utilizes up to three small cluster jewels, excluding critical strike-related nodes.
· Jewel setup is a part that increases the build's complexity, but it gains great efficiency through synergy.

Slot	Item	Details
Cluster Jewels (Small x3)	Graceful Gaze, Remarkable Defence	Used with the shortest path. Veteran Defender, First Among Equals, etc. are also possible
Unique Jewel (9 o'clock)	Unnatural Instinct	Secures necessary stats like life, accuracy, and resistance without passive point investment
Unique Jewel	Thread of Hope (Large Radius)	Allows allocation of nodes within the jewel's radius without directly pathing to them Allocates nodes like Turtle Shell (solves Svalinn's attack block chance) and Steadfast Faith (high damage efficiency) without needing lower nodes
Unique Jewel	Impossible Escape (Elemental)	Allows allocation of desired nodes within a circular radius around a Keystone node, regardless of pathing
Timeless Jewel	Glorious Vanity (Doryani)	Replaces the effects of minor nodes with random core modifiers Key modifiers: Increased damage per Endurance Charge, Increased damage per Frenzy Charge (approx. 10% amplification each at 11 Frenzy/Endurance) Can also secure useful options like Chaos/Cold/Fire Resistance Glorious Vanity's large radius overlaps with Thread of Hope, allowing for detailed build configuration
Rare Jewels (x6)	Two lines of 10% Resistance + Maximum Life	One jewel can be Watcher's Eye (increased Chaos Resistance while affected by Purity of Elements) for easier setup
Runed Talisman / Tattoo	Runed Talisman of Gemcraft / Dexterity Tattoo	Runed Talisman: Increased level of all support gems except 'Aftershock' Dexterity Tattoo: Secure two sources of Blind chance

· This setup utilizes the direction of new support gems this season (see comments for classic version).

Slot	Skill Gem	Description
Weapon (3L)	Punishment - Arcanist Brand - Lifetap Support	Punishment used for resistance inversion. Level 21 Punishment has an expected damage amplification of approx. 20%
Helmet (4L)	Steelskin - Automation - Lifetap Support - Cast when Damage Taken Support	Can use alternative gems if cost is a concern
Shield (3L)	Creeping Frost - Bonechill Support - Lifetap Support	Applies Cold Exposure. Use Frost Bomb if not using a resistance inversion setup
Gloves (4L)	Leap Slam - Faster Attacks Support - Flesh and Stone - Less Duration Support
Boots (4L)	Enlighten Support (Level 3) - Purity of Elements - Storm Shield - Herald of Ice
Main Skill (6L)	Flicker Strike - Awakened Multistrike Support - Added Cold Damage Support - Ice Bite Support - Melee Physical Damage Support - Rule of Law Support	Rule of Law: Use if not using a Frostbite setup. Use a random support gem for Frostbite setup Flicker Strike: Use a corrupted gem with Stun on Hit Endurance Charge Support (if cost is a concern, use Melee Physical Damage Support or Added Cold Damage Support Level 1 corrupted gem, then use Stun on Hit Endurance Charge Support in a regular slot)

· This build was designed before the season opened and has been very fun to play.
· Additional ways to upgrade include adding more Frenzy Charge rings, using mirrored rings, and increasing skill levels on body armour.
· These upgrades primarily provide numerical damage increases and do not fundamentally change the build's core mechanics, so they will be covered in future PoB shares or additional videos.
· If the Diamond Shrine belt remains relatively affordable, this build will continue to be viable.
· Compared to existing Cold Flicker builds, it is considered to have the most robust balance of damage and survival for the same investment.
· For any questions about the build, assistance can be found through the Google Sheet and inquiries.