Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Best Frost Build
Using the new Chilling Perfume Bottle, here’s how to obliterate Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree’s bosses using Frostbite.
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree has introduced the Tarnished to plenty of new bosses, as well as a whole roster of weapons, talismans, and other gear to try out. One new item is the Chilling Perfume Bottle, which when built around effectively, can make for a rather fun and easy to use Frost build.
Given that we’re using the Chilling Perfume Bottle for this Frost build, you’ll want to prepare to pump a load of Rune Levels into Intelligence and learn to manage your damage negation, as you’ll no doubt tank a hit or two while making the most of this build. To help you out, here’s our guide to the best Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Frost build.
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Best Frost Build
There are a few ways in which you can make a Frost build in Elden Ring, and the most popular one by far has been by utilizing frosty Ashes of War such as Hoarfrost Stomp.
That said, there are plenty of Frostbite-inducing Sorceries and Incantations to build around, and now there’s the Chilling Perfume Bottle, a new weapon introduced in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. In this build guide, we’ll be focusing on getting the most out of the Chilling Perfume Bottle and wielding it alongside a staff and Sacred Seal, so that we can buff ourselves before big fights.
As a result, this build will primarily be an Intelligence build, with some points in Faith for our buff spells.
This build was partially inspired by RageGamingVideos build guide over on YouTube.
Elden Ring Frost Build: Stats and Class
Your starting class doesn’t matter so much when it comes to crafting this Frost build, as by the time you’re on with Shadow of the Erdtree’s content in Elden Ring, it’ll hardly matter. That said, this is an Intelligence build through and through, so it’s worth starting as an Astrologer for that 16 Intelligence stat.
As for your Flask spread, I recommend 10 Crimson and 4 Cerulean Flasks, but of course, play around with the build and see just how much FP you’re regularly consuming. You could even afford to have just 3 Cerulean Flasks here.
As for your stats, we recommend the following for those approaching Shadow of the Erdtree or entering New Game Plus, though we’re aware these stats are quite high.
You can, of course, afford to have less Intelligence and stick to the soft-cap of 50. You can also have your Vigor stat lower throughout the base game, and can neglect Faith until you feel you need a boost to your attack power later down the line.
- Vigor: 60
- Mind: 20
- Endurance: 20
- Strength: 8
- Dexterity: 13
- Intelligence: 50/80
- Faith: 27
- Arcane: 9
For this build, Vigor and Intelligence are your two most important stats. You’ll ideally want 60 Vigor so you can prevent yourself from being swiftly killed by fatal attacks from DLC bosses, but you can by all means have 55 Vigor and use a Crimson Seed or Erdtree’s Favor Talisman.
We recommend 20 levels for Mind and Endurance, which should be enough for this build. Your attacks don’t actually consume too much FP or stamina here, but keep an eye on them. If you’re running out of stamina and ending up dead as a result, perhaps try bumping it to 25 or 30, or equipping the Two-Headed Turtle Talisman to speed up stamina regeneration.
Strength doesn’t matter here, nor does Dexterity. Though, we need a minimum of 13 Dexterity to actually wield the Chilling Perfume Bottle.
You then ideally want a minimum of 50 Intelligence. This is our most important stat and what our damage will scale with, and it has soft caps of 20/50/80. In a dream scenario, you’d have 80 Int, but I know this is not the easiest to acquire, so aim for 50; any extra is great!
We also want 27 Faith so that we can wield the Golden Order Seal and use the Golden Vow Incantation as a buff. I’ve also opted to add a few other spells to this build simply for fun and some variation. The Chilling Perfume Bottle often sees you up close and personal with bosses, so having some ranged sorceries to fall back on is good.
As for your Wondrous Physick, equip the Opaline Hardtear to boost damage negation post-buff, and the Magic-Shrounding Cracked Tear to boost our magic attacks. Then, prior to any fight, you want to use your buffs, consume your Flask, and start hitting your opponent.
Elden Ring Frost Build: Weapons
You won’t be able to acquire the Chilling Perfume Bottle until accessing Shadow of the Erdtree, so this build is best intended for Elden Ring’s post-game content, or for New Game Plus runs.
That said, you can always use other Glintstone sorceries - as well as the Meteorite Staff with Rock Sling - to get you through the base game, before you can finally switch to the Chilling Perfume Bottle. Check out our base game Intelligence build for some help with getting started.
The Chilling Perfume Bottle should be in your main hand, with the Carian Regal Scepter in your off-hand. It’s also worth a back-up magic weapon on your main-hand for if you ever fancy slashing at a foe, and for this, I recommend the Moonveil Katana. You will need 14 Strength to wield it, though. You can always opt for the Uchigatana instead, or a little later on, you can try the Frozen Needle found in Kingsrealm Ruins near Caria Manor; this weapon scales with Dex, so bear that in mind, but it does inflict Frost on enemies.
It’s also worth noting that you should not dual-wield the Perfume Bottle; it’ll produce a sweeping attack, but will do less damage. Additionally, we also want to equip the Golden Order Seal for our Incantation buffs.
Elden Ring Frost Build: Ashes of War
You can infuse your Chilling Perfume Bottle with an Ash of War in Shadow of the Erdtree, and you should, because its default Kick skill isn’t all that great. You can choose between two Ashes of War: Rolling Sparks or Wall of Sparks.
It’s safe to say that Rolling Sparks is the better option, allowing you to throw a cone of exploding mist at an enemy. It’s best thrown towards the floor, and nine times out of ten, they’ll walk into it.
Wall of Sparks instead sees you throw exploding mist around your head, though it takes a slightly longer time to actually explode. It’s pretty good against mobs, but not so much against bosses. Meanwhile, Rolling Sparks can be pretty good against either type of enemy.
If you do opt for a secondary melee weapon, and it isn’t the Moonveil Katana, you should look into infusing magic Ashes of War with your chosen weapon to try and get the most out of your Intelligence stat. That said, if you want to go absolutely wild with attack buffs, you could always pop Seppuku on an Uchigatana and use that before any tough fights.
Elden Ring Frost Build: Talismans
This Frost build has a lot of different Talismans to choose from, and ultimately, what you opt for will depend on how you play Elden Ring and who you’re coming up against. Though, there are some that I’d highly recommend.
- Shard of Alexander - boosts the attack power of Skills, which is great as we’ll be using Rolling Sparks often.
- Graven Mass Talisman - boosts the power of sorceries. This is ideal if you’re using sorceries alongside the Chilling Perfume Bottle.
- Perfumer’s Talisman - increases potency of Perfume Arts.
- Magic Scorpion Charm - boosts magic damage but increases Physical damage taken. If you equip this, it’s worth equipping it alongside the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman.
- Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman - greatly increases Physical damage negation.
- Carian Filigreed Crest - lowers FP cost of skills.
You’ve a fair few to choose from there, but I’d suggest using Shard of Alexander, Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman, Perfumer’s Talisman, and the Magic Scorpion Charm for the most part. This way, we’re boosting our attack by the utmost, and while we can expect to take more Physical damage, our Greatshield Talisman should negate most of that.
Elden Ring Frost Build: Spells and Incantations
This Frost build features two primary spells, but you can fill your remaining Memory Slots with other spells that work alongside this build. After all, we might as well get as much use out of our Sacred Seal and Staff as we can.
The spells I recommend are as follows:
- Terra Magica - increase magic strength while within the sigil
- Golden Vow - increases attack and defense for you and allies.
For Golden Vow (and any other Incantations), we’re going to be using the Golden Order Seal for its scaling with Intelligence, and to maximise the buff that Golden Vow provides.
I’m also using Moon spells because I have the stats for them and they inflict Frostbite. Given that I don’t really use them in other Frost builds I’ve attempted (looking at you, Hoarfrost Stomp), I figured that I might as well use them here just for the fun of it. I’ve opted for Rellana’s Twin Moons to make the most of the DLC content, but by all means use Ranni’s Dark Moon or Rennala’s Full Moon if you prefer.
Alternatively, you can pop on the Dragon Communion Seal and use Incantations such as Borealis’s Mist or Dragonice to inflict Frost. There’s also Sorceries such as Frozen Armament that you can apply to your secondary weapon, and don’t forget about the likes of Adula’s Moonblade too!
Elden Ring Frost Build: Armour and Gear
Armour in Elden Ring has, for the most part, been a fashion statement more than anything. The same goes for armor in the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, but there are a few pieces that you can use with this build.
That said, I’d go for whatever looks cool and matches the build, so in my instance, I went with Rellana’s set and the Navy Hood (which provides +1 to your Mind stat). You can also equip the Queen’s Crescent Crown for +3 to Intelligence, or the Cat Imp Head for +2 to Faith if you’re in a pinch.
For more on Shadow of the Erdtree, take a look at our Beast Claws build, Impenetrable Thorns build, and Lightning Milady build.