Once Human, a third-person looter shooter set in a post-apocalyptic world, allows players to customize their playstyle through different weapon and skill combinations. One popular build focuses on the “Frost Vortex,” a powerful crowd-control and damage-dealing ability.
The Frost Vortex mechanic involves triggering a vortex of freezing energy on enemy weak points. This vortex deals continuous frost damage over time (DoT) and inflicts a “Chilled” status effect, slowing enemies and making them more vulnerable to further attacks. Multiple vortexes can be active simultaneously, amplifying the chilling effect and damage output.
However, building a successful Frost Vortex strategy involves several key aspects and in this guide, I’ll be showing you my best Once Human Frost Vortex build that you can try. So, let’s begin!
Best Weapons For The Frost Vortex Build
The Frost Vortex build in Once Human relies heavily on specific weapons that synergize with the chilling effect and allow for the rapid triggering of vortexes. Here are the recommended weapons for this build:
Primary Weapon:
- KAM – Abyss Glance (Legendary Assault Rifle): This assault rifle is considered one of the best choices for the Frost Vortex build. Its high damage output, coupled with the ability to proc Frost Vortexes on weak point hits, makes it a formidable weapon. The blueprint for this weapon can be acquired from the Wish Machine.
- KV-SBR – Icy Rain (Epic SMG): This SMG is another excellent option for the Frost Vortex build. It boasts a high fire rate and a special perk that increases the chance of triggering a Frost Vortex with each critical hit. This weapon is easier to acquire early in the game and can be obtained from the Mystical Crate in the Rotten Saddle Stronghold.
Secondary Weapon:
- Recursive Crossbow: The Recurve Crossbow could be your backup weapon if you want to freeze enemies precisely. Bullseye is a unique advantage of this bow that raises your critical hit chance and damage capability. This advantage is extremely helpful against frozen foes hence it’s a wonderful fit for this setup. The Mystical crate in the Evergreen Stronghold in the Red Sands has the blueprint for this Epic Crossbow.
- D50 Wildfire Pistol (Legendary Pistol): If you don’t want the Recursive Crossbow, this pistol is recommended for its Vulnerability Amplifier mod, which increases the vulnerability of enemies, making them take more damage from your Frost Vortexes. It’s also useful for close-range encounters and for quickly finishing off weakened enemies.
Melee Weapon:
- Frozen Northern Pike (Legendary Spear): This melee weapon is not only effective for dealing frost damage but also has a healing ability. The Frosty Blessing mod restores 10% of your health when you switch to it after your Alpha buffs expire, making it a valuable tool for survivability.
Key Weapon Mods:
- Shattering Ice: This mod increases the damage dealt by Frost Vortexes, making them even more devastating.
- Vulnerability Amplifier: As mentioned earlier, this mod increases the vulnerability of enemies, making them more susceptible to damage from your Frost Vortexes.
- Frosty Blessing: This mod on the Frozen Northern Pike provides a significant healing boost, increasing your survivability.
If you want your weapon to do the most damage and have the best statistics, you should make the Tier 5 version and calibrate it to +10 in the Advanced Gear Workbench. The Calibration Blueprint is also accessible there for the purpose of adjusting its calibration.
Applying the Bull’s Eye debuff with the secondary weapon grants a 30-second boost to the Crit Rate for all weapons. Use your main weapon to do heavy damage to foes after applying this debuff.
Best Armor Sets For The Frost Vortex Build
The optimal armor set for the Frost Vortex builds in Once Human is to enhance survivability, boost Frost damage, and amplify crit rate & crit damage to ensure consistent Frost Vortex triggering. Here are the recommended armor sets and pieces:
Core Armor Piece:
- Frost Tactical Vest (Legendary): This unique chest piece is a must-have for any Frost Vortex build. It provides a significant boost to Frost damage and also triggers additional Ice Spikes with every Frost Vortex activation, further increasing your overall damage output.
Armor Set:
- The Shelterer (Legendary): This 4-piece set is the cornerstone of the Frost Vortex build. It significantly enhances Frost damage and provides bonuses to status effect damage and resistance. Equipping four pieces of this set is crucial for maximizing your build’s potential.
Complementary Armor Piece:
- Bastille (Legendary): While The Shelterer set provides the core bonuses, you can equip one piece from the Bastille set to further enhance your survivability. This set offers bonuses to armor and resistance, making you more resilient in combat.
Armor Mod:
This armor mod setup for the Frost Vortex build focuses on maximizing crit stats, Frost damage, and status effect damage. Here are the recommended mods for each armor piece:
- Helmet: Deviation Expert (Increases Crit Rate)
- Face: Lingering Frost (Increases Frost Damage)
- Top: Crit DMG Enhancement (Increases Crit Damage)
- Bottoms: Precision Charge (Increases Weapon Charge Speed)
- Gloves: Elemental Overload (Increases Elemental Damage)
- Shoes: Covered Advance (Increases Movement Speed After Dodging)
Just as with the weapon, you may get the most out of your armour by crafting Tier 5 variants and calibrating them to +6 in the Advanced Gear Workbench. The affixes of the modifications may be upgraded at random intervals of up to five enhancements.
But, where to find the armor?
Frost Tactical Vest: This chest piece can be obtained from the Mystical Crate found in the 73 Source Extraction Point Stronghold in the Red Sands region.
The Shelterer Set & Bastille Piece: The blueprints for these sets can be obtained from the Wish Machine.
Remember, these are just recommendations, and the best mods for you may vary depending on your play style and the specific challenges you face. You should experiment with different combinations to find what works best for you.
Best Deviant For The Frost Vortex Build
Polar Jelly: Enhances control and damage output by increasing frost damage and keeping foes in the Frost Vortex.
This Frost Vortex setup is perfect for the Polar Jelly Deviant, which will boost your overall efficiency. In order to keep your foes weak and defenseless, this deviant constantly delivers ice harm to them. In addition to letting you inflict greater damage, it boosts your adversaries’ frost damage resistance by 31%.
The Polar Jelly variant allows you to do constant damage while ensnaring foes in your Frost Vortex. You get better battlefield control and can easily beat stronger enemies with this combo.
Best Cradle Override Nodes For The Frost Vortex Build
Best Cradle Override Nodes For The Frost Vortex Build. When building a Frost Vortex in Once: Human, these are the optimal Cradle Override nodes to use:
- Status Enhancement: This node directly increases your status effect damage, which is crucial for the Frost Vortex build as it relies heavily on inflicting the “Chilled” status on enemies.
- Sustained Suppression: This node increases your continuous damage, directly buffing the damage-over-time effect of Frost Vortexes.
- Tactical Combo: This node grants a significant damage bonus when you switch weapons, allowing you to maximize damage output by alternating between your primary and secondary weapons.
- Bounty Hunter: This node increases weapon and weak spot damage, further enhancing your overall damage output, especially when hitting enemy weak points to trigger Frost Vortexes.
Some additional nodes you can use are:
- Agility: This node increases your movement speed, dodge speed, and dodge distance, making you more elusive and harder to hit.
- Precision: This node increases your critical hit chance and critical damage, further amplifying your damage output.
- Automatic Weapon Enhancement (if using Abyss Glance): This node increases your assault rifle damage, providing a direct boost to the Abyss Glance’s effectiveness.
- Deviation Master: This node increases your damage against deviants, making it easier to take down these powerful enemies.
- Rapid Aid: This node increases the healing effect and reduces the cooldown of healing items, which can be crucial for survivability, especially during challenging encounters.
Node Prioritization:
Focus on unlocking and upgrading the essential nodes first, as they provide the most significant benefits to your Frost Vortex build. Then, consider investing in the additional recommended nodes based on your playstyle and preferences. For example, if you prioritize survivability, Rapid Aid may be more valuable than Deviation Master.
Remember, this is just a general guideline, and the best node setup for you may vary depending on your specific gear, skills, and playstyle. So, you can try experimenting with different combinations to find what works best for you.
How To Play With The Frost Vortex Build
The objective of this build is to generate an infinite supply of Frost Vortex. To begin, use your KV-SBR SMG to strike critical shots. This will activate Frost Vortex, which will slow down the opponents. The Lingering Frost mod makes this Vortex last for longer, increasing their cumulative damage.
If your opponents try to get out of your Frost Vortex, shoot them down with your Recurve Crossbow. If you have the Bullseye perk, you may deal more damage and a higher critical hit probability to these frozen enemies. As long as the opponents are in your Frost Vortex, your Polar Jelly deviant will keep slowing them down and doing frost damage. Make sure to take care of the most important enemies first, and then use the Frost Vortex and deviation damage to deal with the remainder. Use this tactic to gain command of the battle and kill enemies with ease.
Once Human’s Frost Vortex build is a formidable tool for taking command of the battlefield and doing massive damage. You can construct a powerful build with the help of the Polar Jelly Deviant, some modifications, the KV-SBR SMG, the Recurve Crossbow, the Lone Wolf and Shelterer armor sets, and other items.
To activate Frost Vortex and do maximum damage, you must consistently aim for critical strikes with your KV-SBR SMG. In combat, your Recurve Crossbow can freeze enemies and maintain control over them. This way, you can dominate the battlefield.
