Ice Shot Amazon

Huntress · Amazon · Main skill: Ice Shot · Patch 0.5.4

by maxroll (imported) · updated 2026-07-10

A cold bow Amazon that clears with multi-projectile Ice Shot, freezes elites with Freezing Mark, then deletes them with a perfectly timed Snipe. Defense layers ES, Evasion, Ghost Dance, and Wind Dancer — plus freeze itself, the best crowd control in the game. No mandatory Uniques; works on bare Rares and scales into Headhunter.

Skill setup — Endgame

Ice Shot

Primal Armament II

Ricochet II

Ice Bite II

Stoicism II

Rakiata's Flow

Herald Of Ice

Cold Infusion

Reach

Longshot II

Primal Armament II

Tornado Shot

Persistence II

Durability

Blind II

Overabundance II

Snipe

Window Of Opportunity II

Primal Armament II

Concentrated Effect

Inevitable Critical

Garukhan's Resolve

Barrage

Perpetual Charge

Ingenuity II

Twofold

Arcane Tempo II

Freezing Mark

Charged Mark

Persistence II

Eternal Mark

Arcane Tempo II

Wind Dancer

Blind

Bludgeon

Ghost Dance

Fast Forward II

Rhoa Mount

Loyalty

Meat Shield II

Elemental Army

Leveling progression (5 stages)

Level 1-5

Lightning Arrow

Martial Tempo

Escape Shot

Cold Infusion

Frost Bomb

Level 6-14

Lightning Arrow

Martial Tempo

Primal Armament

Escape Shot

Glaciation

Cold Infusion

Freezing Salvo

Cold Infusion

Ice Bite

Herald Of Ice

Snipe

Window Of Opportunity

Concentrated Effect

Stormcaller Arrow

Lightning Infusion

Ice Tipped Arrows

Magnified Effect

Frost Bomb

Level 15-31

Lightning Arrow

Martial Tempo

Primal Armament

Escape Shot

Glaciation

Cold Infusion

Freezing Salvo

Cold Infusion

Ice Bite

Herald Of Ice

Cold Infusion

Magnified Effect

Snipe

Window Of Opportunity

Concentrated Effect

Primal Armament

Barrage

Perpetual Charge

Ice Tipped Arrows

Magnified Effect

Primal Armament

Freezing Mark

Persistence

Ice Shot Swap Level 31

Ice Shot

Primal Armament

Gambleshot

Martial Tempo II

Freezing Salvo

Cold Infusion

Ice Bite

Primal Armament II

Herald Of Ice

Cold Infusion

Reach

Tornado Shot

Overabundance

Snipe

Window Of Opportunity

Concentrated Effect

Primal Armament

Combat Frenzy

Profusion

Ice Tipped Arrows

Magnified Effect

Primal Armament II

Barrage

Ingenuity

Perpetual Charge

Freezing Mark

Charged Mark

Persistence II

Eternal Mark

Ice Shot Late Campaign

Ice Shot

Gambleshot

Primal Armament II

Ice Bite

Martial Tempo II

Herald Of Ice

Cold Infusion

Reach

Longshot II

Tornado Shot

Overabundance

Persistence II

Durability

Snipe

Window Of Opportunity

Concentrated Effect

Primal Armament II

Barrage

Ingenuity

Arcane Tempo

Combat Frenzy

Profusion

Wind Dancer

Blind

Freezing Mark

Charged Mark

Persistence II

Eternal Mark

Ice Tipped Arrows

Expedite

Primal Armament II

Magnified Effect II

Gear (13 slots)

Linen Belt

Belt · rare

Stellar Amulet

Amulet · rare

Wyrmscale Coat

BodyArmour · rare

Hunting Bracers

Gloves · rare

Oak Mask

Helm · rare

Two-Point Quiver

Offhand · rare

Thawing Charm

Charm1 · magic

Gargantuan Life Flask

Flask1 · magic

Gargantuan Mana Flask

Flask2 · magic

Amethyst Ring

Ring2 · rare

Amethyst Ring

Ring · rare

Hunting Shoes

Boots · rare

Twin Bow

Weapon · rare

Passive tree (129 allocated)

Drag to pan · scroll to zoom · click a node for details

Keystones & notables (36)

Honed Instincts — 8% increased Projectile Speed; 8% increased Attack Speed; +10 to Dexterity
Vile Wounds — 33% increased Damage with Hits against Enemies affected by Ailments
Escape Velocity — 3% increased Movement Speed; 30% increased Evasion Rating
Catalysis — 20% increased Elemental Damage with Attacks; 5% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Damage of a Random Element
Acceleration — 3% increased Movement Speed; 10% increased Skill Speed
Falcon Dive — 4% increased Attack Speed; 1% increased Attack Speed per 400 Accuracy Rating, up to 20%
Feathered Fletching — Increases and Reductions to Projectile Speed also apply to Damage with Bows
Sniper — Arrows gain Critical Hit Chance as they travel farther, up to 40% increased Critical Hit Chance after 7 metres
Coming Calamity — 40% increased Cold Damage while affected by Herald of Ice; 40% increased Fire Damage while affected by Herald of Ash; 40% increased Lightning Damage while affected by Herald of Thunder
Heartstopping — +10 to Intelligence; 20% increased Critical Hit Chance
Struck Through — Attacks have +1% to Critical Hit Chance
Heartbreaking — 25% increased Critical Damage Bonus; +10 to Strength
Enhanced Reflexes — 20% increased Evasion Rating; Gain Deflection Rating equal to 5% of Evasion Rating; 8% increased Dexterity
Maiming Strike — 25% increased Attack Damage; Attacks have 25% chance to Maim on Hit
Cooked — 60% increased Critical Damage Bonus; 25% reduced Armour, Evasion and Energy Shield
Precision Salvo — 8% increased Projectile Speed; 6% increased Attack Speed; 12% increased Accuracy Rating
Blinding Strike — 24% increased Attack Damage; 10% chance to Blind Enemies on Hit with Attacks
True Strike — +10 to Dexterity; 20% increased Critical Hit Chance
For the Jugular — 25% increased Critical Damage Bonus; +10 to Intelligence
Deadly Force — 15% increased Damage if you've dealt a Critical Hit in the past 8 seconds; 15% increased Critical Hit Chance
Moment of Truth — 25% increased Critical Damage Bonus if you've dealt a Non-Critical Hit Recently; 15% increased Critical Hit Chance
Crashing Wave — 25% increased Damage if you've dealt a Critical Hit in the past 8 seconds
Flow Like Water — 8% increased Attack and Cast Speed; +5 to Dexterity and Intelligence
Mindful Awareness — 24% increased Evasion Rating; 24% increased maximum Energy Shield
Step Like Mist — 4% increased Movement Speed; 15% increased Mana Regeneration Rate; +5 to Dexterity and Intelligence
Shimmering — 10% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge; 20% increased Evasion Rating if you haven't been Hit Recently; 3% increased Movement Speed while you have Energy Shield
Critical Strike — Chance to Hit with Attacks can exceed 100% Gain additional Critical Hit Chance equal to 25% of excess chance to Hit with Attacks
Penetrate — Attacks using your Weapons have Added Physical Damage equal to 25% of the Accuracy Rating on the Weapon
Predatory Instinct — Reveal Weaknesses against Rare and Unique enemies; 50% more damage against enemies with an Open Weakness
Stalking Panther — Evasion Rating from Equipped Helmet, Gloves and Boots is doubled; Evasion Rating from Equipped Body Armour is halved
Stand and Deliver — Projectiles have 40% increased Critical Damage Bonus against Enemies within 2m; Projectiles deal 25% increased Damage with Hits against Enemies within 2m
The Wild Cat — Gain Deflection Rating equal to 12% of Evasion Rating; 40% increased Evasion Rating while moving; +10 to Dexterity
Dizzying Hits — 10% chance to Daze on Hit; 25% increased Critical Hit Chance against Dazed Enemies
Stupefy — 10% chance to Daze on Hit; 30% increased Damage against Dazed Enemies
Marked for Sickness — Enemies you Mark have 10% reduced Accuracy Rating; Enemies you Mark take 10% increased Damage
Marked for Death — Culling Strike against Enemies you Mark

Full guide

Ice Shot Amazon — Full Guide (0.5.4)

Source: maxroll.gg/poe2/build-guides/ice-shot-amazon-build-guide Version: Path of Exile 2 — 0.5.4 Class: Huntress → Amazon | Main skills: Ice Shot Author: aer0 (maxroll.gg)

1. Build Overview

This is a ranged bow build centered on Ice Shot, built around cold damage + heavy freezing. The core loop: clear packs fast with Ice Shot's multi-projectile coverage, stack freeze buildup on elites/bosses with Freezing Mark + Ice Shot, then unload Snipe during the freeze for enormous single-target burst.

Defensively it's a dual Energy Shield + Evasion layer: stack ES on the Body Armour, run Evasion on helmet/gloves/boots, then use Ghost Dance (restores ES based on evasion) + Wind Dancer (gains evasion when hit and knocks back melee attackers) for passive mitigation. Your biggest safety mechanic, though, is freeze itself — a frozen target can't move, attack, or cast.

Key characteristics:

Clear relies on Ice Shot's multi-arrow coverage, with Tornado Shot for coverage/projectile shaping
Single target relies on Snipe (needs a bit of timing practice) — post-freeze burst is huge
No mandatory Uniques — the build works on bare Rares; add The Black Insignia / Cadiro's Gambit / Headhunter as budget allows
Snipe has a glowing "ready" visual cue — practice the timing

2. Skills Breakdown

2.1 Leveling (levels 1-30)

Level	Skill	Role
1-13	Frost Bomb	Early AoE + Exposure (lowers cold res)
1-13	Escape Shot	Creates distance + freeze control
1-13	Lightning Arrow	Finishes off trash
1-13	Bow Shot	Zero-mana early workhorse
14-30	Stormcaller Arrow	Single target until Snipe comes online
14-30	Freezing Salvo	Multi-hit freezes alongside Escape Shot
31+	Ice Shot	Joins as main clear — the mapping experience takes off

2.2 Mapping

Main: Ice Shot — multi-projectile coverage that triggers Herald of Ice chain explosions
Secondary: Tornado Shot — drop a tornado in front of you so Ice Shot arrows split when they pass through it
On cooldown: Ice-Tipped Arrows + Barrage — press whenever available for instant screen wipes
Before entering a tight area, place Tornado Shot in front of you first so every Ice Shot gets enhanced

2.3 Bossing

Full rotation (pre-arena → burst):

Tornado Shot — place the tornado before the boss activates
Freezing Mark — mark the boss to accelerate Freeze Buildup and create Shocked Ground beneath it
Ice Shot — fire through the tornado into the boss, stacking freeze
Barrage — the moment the boss is Frozen, hit Barrage
Snipe — maximum burst inside the freeze window
Repeat

2.4 Auras / Buffs / Reservation

Skill	Role
Herald of Ice	Chain explosions on freeze/shatter — your core clear buff
Wind Dancer	Increases Evasion Rating; knocks back melee attackers when hit
Ghost Dance	Restores Energy Shield based on Evasion
The Rhoa Mount	Enable once your Body Armour has 50+ Spirit — fast movement + attack rhythm
Precision	Accuracy boost, costs an extra 10 Spirit

2.5 Rotation Cheat Sheet

Trash packs: Tornado Shot → volley of Ice Shot → weave in Barrage / Ice-Tipped Arrows on cooldown
Elites/Rares: add a Freezing Mark
Bosses: Tornado Shot (opener) → Freezing Mark → Ice Shot to freeze → Barrage once frozen → Snipe

3. Ascendancy (Amazon)

Take the nodes in this order:

Critical Strike — converts weapon accuracy into crit chance; comes online early
Predatory Instinct — generic damage boost, further amplified once the target's health bar turns bright red
Penetrate — converts a portion of weapon accuracy into extra physical damage; only worth taking with 500+ weapon accuracy
Stalking Panther — massively increases Evasion Rating; pair it with an ES body armour to offset its downside

4. Passive Tree

4.1 Allocation Priority / Key Clusters

Note: the Maxroll planner is JS-rendered and can't be scraped statically for full node IDs. Check the planner link for the exact route (see section 1 of the build breakdown).

Attribute nodes: take Int / Dex to meet requirements, dump the rest into Str for life
Evasion clusters: layered defense alongside Stalking Panther
Critical: both crit chance + crit damage multipliers
Projectile Damage: the big projectile clusters
Quiver Effect: amplifies quiver bonuses — a high-priority damage source
Cold Penetration: needed later if you plan to run Leopold's Applause

4.2 Recommended Anoints

Pick	Tier	Notes
Stormcharged	Top pick	Requires Distilled Emotions — pricey early in a league
Critical Exploit	Budget option	A small crit boost for early league, transitional

5. Stat Priorities

5.1 Offense

Increased attack / elemental / attack elemental damage
Accuracy Rating
Attack Speed
Crit chance + crit damage
+ to Projectile Levels (endgame only) — heavy mana cost increase, needs mana recovery to match

5.2 Defense

Cap tri-res at 75% (fire/cold/lightning)
Maximum Life
Maximum Energy Shield
Evasion Rating
Deflect Rating (triggers "reduced damage taken")
Ghost Dance + Wind Dancer effect

6. Gearing Strategy

6.1 Campaign

Slot	Key Affixes
Bow	Phys + cold damage + a big chunk of Accuracy (setting up the Penetrate node)
Quiver	Flat damage of any type
Everything else	Life + resistances, Runes to fix attributes
Upgrades	New bow every 5-10 levels

6.2 Early Mapping

Slot	Focus
Helmet / Gloves / Boots	Prioritize Evasion (synergizes with Stalking Panther)
Boots	Movement Speed is top priority — everything else can slide
Quiver	Invest in % Quiver effect nodes — far better value than gear swaps
Mana sustain	A Sapphire with "2% mana gained on Kill" completely solves mapping mana
Optional	Cadiro's Gambit (replaces a rare quiver once your damage is sufficient)

6.3 Endgame

Slot	Endgame Direction
Bow	High Accuracy / high phys Rare; extra arrows enhance clear
Belt	The Headhunter — steamrolls rare-heavy content like Breach
Special	Leopold's Applause — big damage but a significant survivability hit; make up cold pen elsewhere

6.4 Slot-by-Slot Affix Cheat Sheet

Slot	Key Affixes
Body Armour	Big Energy Shield, pairs with Stalking Panther
Bow (clear)	Phys / cold damage / accuracy, optional +1 arrow
Bow (single target)	Attack speed/extra arrows are wasted — stack flat damage, crit chance, + gem level (quiver)
Helmet	Evasion / life / resistances
Gloves	Evasion / life / resistances / flat damage
Boots	Movement speed > Evasion > res > life
Belt	Life/res; Headhunter in the endgame
Amulet	Life/res/attack or elemental or crit
Rings	Life/res/flat damage/movement speed

7. Mana Sustain

Primary solution: "2% mana gained on Kill" on a Sapphire — mapping mana becomes a non-issue
Support gems: don't recklessly socket high Int / Dex supports (especially when attribute-starved); lower-cost options ease mana pressure
Endgame warning: "+ to Projectile Levels" significantly raises mana costs — offset with "more Mana recovery"

8. Gameplay Tips

Place Tornado Shot between yourself and the enemy — every Ice Shot passing through the tornado gets enhanced
Get Ice Shot to 20% Quality ASAP once you have it (= 20% more damage)
Snipe timing takes practice: a glowing aura appears on your character — rehearse in town before real fights
Use Escape Shot backwards (aim behind you) → your character launches forward; great for kiting
Stand a bit closer! Accuracy falloff at long range costs you a lot of damage
Predatory Instinct's bonus triggers when the health bar turns bright red — your execute phase hits much harder
Freeze = your strongest defense; a frozen enemy does absolutely nothing

9. Jewels

9.1 Time-Lost (Unique)

Prioritize "% increased effect of Notable Passive Skills in Radius" as the main affix, then secondaries in this order:

% increased Attack Damage
% increased Critical Damage Bonus for Attack Damage
% increased Critical Hit Chance for Attacks
% increased Projectile Damage
% increased Evasion Rating
Projectiles have (1-2)% chance to Chain an additional time from terrain
% increased Accuracy Rating

9.2 Sapphire (Rare)

Damage Penetrates (5-10)% Cold Resistance
% increased Critical Hit Chance
% increased Critical Damage Bonus
% increased Cold Damage
Recover (1-2)% of maximum Life on Kill
Recover (1-2)% of maximum Mana on Kill
Star pick: 2% mana gained on Kill — mandatory for mana sustain

10. Summary

Core gameplan: Tornado Shot to set up → Ice Shot for fast freezes → Snipe for burst
No Unique dependency — playable on bare Rares; The Black Insignia / Cadiro's Gambit / Headhunter / Leopold's Applause are step-by-step upgrades
Defense in two layers: ES (Body Armour) + Evasion (helmet/gloves/boots) + Ghost Dance/Wind Dancer
Challenges: Snipe timing takes practice; evasion-based defense is inherently RNG-flavored
Strengths: comfortable clear, freeze safety, high single-target burst