Herald of Ice (HoI) is one of the most satisfying clear-speed tools in Path of Exile 2. When it works, screens explode into icy shrapnel, chaining beautifully from pack to pack. When it doesn't? You're left wondering why everything dies quietly with zero fireworks. If you're killing enemies with POE2 Currency Whirling Assault and seeing Herald of Lightning (HoL) procs but never Herald of Ice chains, this guide breaks down exactly what's going wrong-and how to fix it.

How Herald of Ice Actually Works

Let's start with the core mechanic, because this is where most confusion comes from.

Herald of Ice only triggers when you shatter enemies.

A shatter occurs when:

The enemy is frozen, and

You kill them while frozen

No freeze = no shatter.

No shatter = no Herald of Ice explosion.

No explosion = no chains.

This means raw damage alone isn't enough. You need reliable freeze buildup during clear, not just high hit damage.

The Biggest Issue: You're Killing Too Fast (Without Freezing)

From what you described, your clears are coming almost entirely from Whirling Assault, and enemies are simply dying outright. That's a red flag for HoI.

If monsters die before freeze buildup reaches the threshold, Herald of Ice will never activate-no matter how strong your HoI tooltip looks.

This is why HoL is proccing but HoI is not:

HoL triggers on hit

HoI triggers on shatter

Two completely different conditions.

Damage Check: Armour Break, Freeze, and Scaling

There's also a raw damage component here that matters more than people realize.

If you're sitting under:

~3k combined physical + chaos damage

A 500 DPS quarterstaff

…you're likely struggling to consistently break armour and apply meaningful freeze on tankier packs.

Upgrading your weapon is huge here. A 600+ DPS quarterstaff, ideally with:

Gain % of Physical Damage as Extra Cold or Physical

Flat phys rolls

Attack speed

…dramatically improves both armour breaking and freeze application. Many players report massive HoI jumps from weapon upgrades alone-going from barely noticeable explosions to screen-wide chains.

Freeze Buildup: The Silent Killer of HoI Builds

Freeze in PoE 2 is not binary. It's buildup-based, and several factors influence it:

Cold damage dealt per hit

Enemy life and ailment thresholds

Freeze buildup modifiers

Hit frequency

If your build is:

Low cold conversion

Lacking freeze chance or buildup

Overkilling enemies with phys damage

…you'll never see HoI chains, no matter how good it feels otherwise.

Fixes to prioritize:

Add Cold Damage to attacks

Use passives or gear with Freeze Buildup

Reduce overkill by smoothing damage (less spike, more consistency)

Skill Interaction: Whirling Assault vs HoI

Whirling Assault is excellent for mobility and damage, but it has a downside for HoI builds:

It often kills too efficiently without applying enough cold-based hits first.

Solutions:

Add a cold-infused support or conversion layer

Let HoI-linked explosions do the killing, not the initial hit

Consider a secondary clear skill that builds freeze faster

The goal is to freeze → kill, not just kill.

Why High HoI Damage Changes Everything

Players using the same HoI tech often report dramatic differences when scaling properly. Jumping from ~100k to 300k+ HoI damage isn't just a number increase-it changes how packs die.

At high HoI damage:

One frozen enemy shatters

Explosion kills nearby frozen enemies

Those enemies shatter too

Chain reaction clears the screen

Without enough HoI damage, the first explosion simply fizzles.

Final Checklist to Get Your Chains Back

If Herald of Ice isn't chaining, ask yourself:

Am I freezing enemies before killing them?

Do I have enough cold damage and cheap POE2 Currency freeze buildup?

Is my weapon strong enough to break armour consistently?

Am I relying too much on Whirling Assault to do all the killing?

Fix those, and Herald of Ice goes from "never procs" to "why is my screen exploding nonstop?"

When HoI works, you know it.