Winds of Asterkarn + Trozan's Sky Shard Evoker (beginner, play-tested)

The Berserker's tier-6 channeling skill. It maintains a whirlpool of chilling air centred on you, dealing cold damage and frostburn to everything inside. Per the Japanese wiki, at 100% cast speed it ticks damage and drains energy every 0.16s and grows through five radius stages (4m, 5.5m, 7m, 8.5m, 10m) every 0.48s. Because it scales with cast speed, securing cast speed through Bloodfrenzy and Mental Alacrity translates directly into damage. Its tier-8 modifier Hailstorm rains icy shards from the sky as an added damage source. The author assigns this skill the AoE-and-sustain role.

The Arcanist's cooldown-based falling-shard nuke. The author's stated reason for running both is the endgame set: the Awakened Eastern Oath reduces this skill's cooldown while you channel Winds of Asterkarn. The division of labour is 'Winds of Asterkarn = AoE plus sustain, Trozan's Sky Shard = single-target nuke,' and the author puts the real investment at about 15 points once item +skills are counted. Until roughly level 70 a single point is enough — it serves purely as a devotion proccer — and it only becomes a genuine damage source around rank 22.

The Berserker's tier-3 transform. While transformed you get a separate skill bar with two pierce/cold form abilities: Ice Talons (a sweeping repeat attack) and Cold Snap (an eight-projectile freezing burst). Two constraints are spelled out on the Japanese wiki: Wereraven form has its own basic attack, so it cannot use default-attack replacements or trigger weapon pool skills, and you must drop the transform once before you can shift into Werewolf. Because Wereraven abilities do not scale off weapon damage, the author notes you can wear a caster off-hand and caster chest armour from early on — and, for the same reason, flat life leech does not work. Its tier-7 modifier Everwinter boosts the cold side.

The Berserker's tier-9 exclusive skill, classified on the Japanese wiki as a permanent buff. It raises cold damage, frostburn damage and duration, offensive ability and slow resistance, and converts 15% of physical damage to cold. Where the other exclusive, Bloodborne, serves pierce/bleed/chaos, a cold build takes this one. It also hosts the Inspiration devotion proc (a when-hit buff-type power, which binds to permanent buff skills). Note that one passage in the primary source describes this skill as the channeling skill; the Japanese wiki skill tree places Heart of Asterkarn at tier 9 as an exclusive and the channeling skill at tier 6 as Winds of Asterkarn, so we treat that passage as a name mix-up.

The Berserker's tier-7 area debuff and the build's main resistance-reduction source. It leads the author's rotation (Bonechilling Cry, Trozan's Sky Shard, channel Winds of Asterkarn, Trozan's Sky Shard, repeat), and is named alongside Icebound as a point sink through the level 51-60 band. It hosts the Elemental Storm devotion proc (25% on attack).

The Berserker's tier-2 permanent buff. Bloodfrenzy (tier 5) hangs off it and supplies cast speed, which feeds a channeling build's damage directly; Icebound (tier 8) further boosts cold and frostburn while adding poison/acid and vitality resistance. The author cites the Act 3 Ravna fight as the concrete reason to secure poison resistance here — warning that even at 80% poison resist her first phase can melt you in two seconds — and names it alongside Bonechilling Cry as the level 51-60 point sink. It hosts the Turtle Shell proc (triggers below 50% health).

The Berserker's tier-3 shout. The author explicitly says to 'cast Rallying Cry frequently so it is always up and running' as early as the level 11-20 band. Our Mystic build's play journal rates it a near-top leveling priority as well — it is common ground across Berserker builds.

The Arcanist's defensive aura. The author explicitly picks it up in the level 51-60 band for survivability. Channeling forces you to stand still, so you will take hits — the flat damage absorption matters.

The Arcanist's invulnerability button. The author names it as one of the reasons to pick Arcanist as the second mastery, and gives concrete uses: surviving Korvaak's near-immortal sliver of health, and answering the sunder debuff from Master of Flesh's third phase.

The Arcanist's dispel. The author devotes a section to it as 'one of the best skills in the game,' listing three concrete uses: reflective enemies, stripping enemy immunity bubbles, and self-cleansing a sunder debuff. It is named as the next addition to the level-100 awakened-set spec.

The Arcanist's elemental buff, designated by the author as the host for the Giant's Blood devotion proc (15% when hit). As a when-hit defensive power it belongs on a permanent buff skill, which is consistent with the game's binding rules.

The Arcanist passive. The author lays out the sequence explicitly: take Bloodfrenzy for cast speed in the level 51-60 band, then switch to this later. They also note adding points here when swapping the relic from Bone Talisman to Permafrost. Since Wereraven skills ignore weapon damage and flat life leech does not apply, energy management is a running problem for this build and this is one of its endgame answers.

• ▸Levels 1-10: take Berserker first. Shift into Werewolf, hit with Feral Claws and use Rip and Tear for movement and burst.
• ▸Levels 11-20: respec to Wereraven at the spirit guide. Wereraven skills ignore weapon damage, so the main-hand only needs +% cold damage, and you can already run a caster off-hand with energy regeneration plus caster chest armour. Prioritise energy regeneration and resistances on rings and amulet; the quest-reward Slith Primal Ring is strong early for both. At level 20, craft two Coldstones at the blacksmith.
• ▸Energy fixes the author lists: a caster off-hand with reduced energy cost, the 'of insight' suffix on greens, polished emeralds for spirit (and thus energy regeneration), and Ectoplasm components once they start dropping in Act 2.
• ▸Levels 21-30: secure the Bone Talisman relic. On the quest The Lost Elder, pick 'no I did not find a talisman' to keep it. The author rates it mandatory and tells you to put its granted Mana Infusion on your skill bar. Bleeding, pierce and fire resistance matter through this stretch.
• ▸Levels 31-40 (the critical fork): for Act 3's Ravna, get poison/acid resistance via Icebound. For the Amalgamation, improvise aether resistance from vendor gear and craft Aether Soul (blueprint from the Devil's Crossing faction vendor) or Runestone (Rovers vendor). Heading north-east you need chaos resistance for Bolvar and Zaria; Sanctified Bone (Homestead vendor) covers it.
• ▸[Critical and semi-missable] After killing the Amalgamation, on Ulgrim's quest Allies Among the Ashes you must side with Kymon's Chosen. Choosing Death's Vigil locks you out of Master Ravok, the Death's Whisper, the mini-boss that drops the Death's Whisper Hood. The author flags in red that 'without the helmet the build will suffer greatly.' You can redo the choice on Ultimate, but you must rebuild Kymon's Chosen reputation from scratch.
• ▸Buy a Spectral Longsword from the 'secret' vendor Benevald, ideally with +% cold damage. It converts part of your pierce damage to cold, which is what your Wereraven abilities scale.
• ▸Talk to Scout Avins at Fort Ikon to start Fangs of Asterkarn and hunt the Groble Frost Effigy caster off-hand in the area just before Kurnhold. Cold resistance and freeze duration reduction matter in early FoA: use the hoarfrost potions you are given, Frozen Heart in a ring or amulet, and a crafted Dense Fur.
• ▸Levels 41-50: take Arcanist as the second mastery — this is where you become an Evoker. The author cites the spirit passive and the Mirror of Ereoctes panic button as early payoffs. Gear updates: Spectral Bludgeon (Act 2 undead caves — Spined Cove and Arkovian Undercity), the amulet Sylvarria's Root (Sylvarria in Ugdenbog), and the Living Ring (Ugdenbog).
• ▸Levels 51-60: dump points into Bonechilling Cry and Icebound; take Bloodfrenzy for cast speed and switch to Mental Alacrity later; add Maiven's Sphere of Protection for defense. Side with Bysmiel at the Conclave of the Three (you want their augments and gear later). Farm the crabs at Ulo's Springs for the +1 Berserker belt Calcified Sash, which always rolls pierce resistance.
• ▸Levels 61-70 (preparing for Ultimate): the author's stated targets are at least 10k health, 1000 armour with close to 100% absorption, maxed resistances with overcap on at least elemental, at least 100k sheet DPS on Winds of Asterkarn, and high stun, freeze and disruption resistance. Farm Noktukari reputation for the Permafrost relic (add points to Mental Alacrity when it replaces Bone Talisman). The chest Bloodbound Vestments is sold by Dulgirr in the Black Citadel. The medal Frostplume Crest drops from Frost Rocs after the Glacial Grotto, around the Aurora Peaks and Bitter Wind riftgates. Do the Hidden Path quest for the skill and attribute point.
• ▸Levels 71-90: keep feeding Trozan's Sky Shard (it becomes real damage around rank 22; until then it is a devotion proccer). Drink Aetherward Oil before aetherial bosses. Push to level 94 and assemble The Eastern Oath (the source calls it the 'Mythical Eastern set').
• ▸Quest-order warning: do not run Riggs' quest Paying Debts to recover the Iris of Eternal Night until you have taken the Righting Wrongs objective to slay Grand Magus Morgoneth from the Noktukari in FoA. Doing them in that order saves a skeleton key and time by resolving both at once.

• ▸New FoA item names stay in English pending the Japanese wiki's update; the canonical spellings were cross-checked against the grimtools item database IDs the author linked.
• ▸Endgame set: the Awakened Eastern Oath (grimtools itemsets/193), reached by first assembling The Eastern Oath (itemsets/137, which the source calls the 'Mythical Eastern set').
• ▸Awakening procedure: (1) farm monster totems on Ultimate and hoard set pieces; (2) epic set pieces of level 82 or higher can be transmuted into another set at the inventor once you have completed The Tome of Eanatum quest — you can also convert duplicates into other pieces of the same set; (3) interact with the Runed Orb at the Noktukari faction and pay Ashes of Awakening. A full set needs 8 x 3 = 24 of them.
• ▸Helm: Death's Whisper Hood, the monster infrequent from Master Ravok, the Death's Whisper, reached through the Kymon's Chosen questline. It is the key enabler for the Winds of Asterkarn transition — take a bad roll first and re-farm later.
• ▸Off-hand: Groble Frost Effigy. Relic: Permafrost (Noktukari blueprint). Belt: Calcified Sash (+1 Berserker; a higher-tier version is craftable from the Kurn vendor blueprint). Medal: Frostplume Crest. Amulet: Sylvarria's Root. Ring: Living Ring. Chest: Bloodbound Vestments.
• ▸Augments and faction gear: Homestead (revered), Black Legion (revered), Coven (honored), Malmouth Resistance (honored), Bysmiel (honored). Buy boots from the Black Legion and shoulders from Bysmiel. The author notes Homestead and Black Legion are the easiest to revere and their armour augments apply from level 70.
• ▸Component swap example: the author moved the caster off-hand component to one giving damage to chthonics plus damage reduction from chthonics and eldritch.
• ▸Future options: the author is considering a Rolderathis' Tome off-hand for a more TSS-focused setup, and admits to being short on armour (chest and legs) at level 100 — for hardcore they would prioritise health and armour.
• ▸Ascended affixes are new in FoA and the author states outright they do not yet have a firm grasp of what is realistically achievable there.

• ▸The author's rotation: Bonechilling Cry, cast Trozan's Sky Shard into the pack, channel Winds of Asterkarn, cast Trozan's Sky Shard, channel again. The set's cooldown reduction while channeling is what makes the loop work.
• ▸Roles: Winds of Asterkarn is AoE and sustain, Trozan's Sky Shard is the single-target nuke.
• ▸Channeling requires standing still and the radius grows through five stages before reaching its 10m maximum. The author names this ramp-up as the build's biggest handling flaw, calling it 'sometimes a bit clunky' next to Flames of Ignaffar and Drain Essence, and has posted feedback to the developers. Casting Trozan's Sky Shard also interrupts the channel, so the radius has to build again.
• ▸While leveling: Cold Snap into crowds, Ice Talons on single targets. Energy costs climb, so pick your spots — the author notes you do not need to kill everything on the map, only heroes and bosses, since most experience comes from quests and devotion shrines.
• ▸Keep Rallying Cry up at all times. Save Mirror of Ereoctes for known moments: Korvaak's near-immortal sliver, and the sunder debuff from Master of Flesh's third phase.
• ▸Learn Nullification's three uses: cast it on reflective enemies, strip enemy immunity bubbles, and cast it on yourself to clear a sunder debuff.
• ▸The author customises their health potion with tincture and Menhirus from the Toil and Trouble quest (bring Sylvarria's resin to Brewer Akathon at the Coven's Refuge) for a shorter cooldown and a shield absorbing 33% of current health — used at full health before anticipated burst.

The author's stated pre-Ultimate targets: all resistances capped with overcap on at least elemental, 10k+ health, 1000+ armour with near-100% absorption, and high stun, freeze and disruption resistance (arcane spark helps). By stretch: poison/acid before Act 3 via Icebound (they warn Ravna's first phase can melt you in two seconds even at 80% poison resist), aether before the Amalgamation, chaos north of Homestead for Bolvar and Zaria, and cold resistance plus freeze duration reduction through early FoA. The author openly records starting Ultimate at level 66 with pierce, cold and bleeding resistance well short, fixed at level 70 with new gear and augments — and still calls their pierce resistance scuffed at level 100.

The main weakness is handling: the channel ramps up slowly to full radius and is interrupted every time you cast Trozan's Sky Shard (the author has raised this with the developers). Channeling also pins you in place, and the author still calls their armour short at level 100. Energy management is a running problem, rooted in Wereraven skills ignoring weapon damage so flat life leech does not apply. The semi-missable trap is siding with Death's Vigil instead of Kymon's Chosen, which closes the route to the helmet (redoable on Ultimate, but the reputation restarts from zero). Proven results stop at SR 26-27; deeper shards and Celestials are untested. The author states plainly that hardcore is not a first build for a new player. The final FoA campaign boss was left alone as seemingly buggy at 1.3.0.3, pending future patches.

Monster-infrequent routes the author mapped: the Death's Whisper Hood in Fort Haron, heading north from the Blood Grove riftgate. Sylvarria's Root in The Undergrowth (three possible spawns), heading south from the Barrowholm riftgate. The Groble Frost Effigy off-hand (from frost grobles) and the Calcified Sash belt (from crabs) all around Ulo's Springs; the off-hand also drops in Freyoll Valley where you pick Frozen Aster, though enemies there throw rocks for 10-15k. The Frostplume Crest medal from Frost Rocs, north and south of the Aurora Peaks riftgate and across most of Frostveil Valley. Set pieces come from Ultimate monster totem runs — about four hours got the author two direct drops plus one via set transmute at the inventor. Ashes of Awakening come from FoA quest rewards and from the ascension altar in Kurnhold in exchange for Frozen Aster. For Noktukari reputation the easy missions are killing 8 bosses, 200 chthonics/bloodsworn, 200 aetherials and 200 eldritch, and these can be done on a lower difficulty — but choose carefully, because taking the Tomb of the Heretic clear on Ultimate can stall faction progress for a long time if you cannot finish it. Faction vendor stock can be rerolled by leaving the area, waiting 15 seconds and returning.