User blog:ProgerCbsk/Frost playstyle guide

Overview

 Frost is considered as a defensive/support frame. His star ability, the Snow Globe, is the most known and often the only ability used. But Frost can do more.

tl;dr : buff DPS, buff shield, debuff armor, slowing down up to frozen enemies, and proc immunity.

(Blog update : 2021-10-19, Warframe 30.7)

Abilites and Augments review

For each ability detail, see the wiki page :  Freeze,  Ice Wave,  Snow Globe and  Avalanche.

Augments

Side with Cephalon Suda or Steel Meridian to get the Augment Mods of Frost.

Freeze Force

Add to any ally (including self) a 100% freeze damage bonus during 40 seconds, can be further increased using ability mods. It does not boost abilities damage, only weapons. The increase in team DPS is useful IF their weapons is modded accordingly !

Ice Wave Impedance

Creates an ice "carpet" to slows down enemies. For Frost, it is redundant with Snow Globe movement malus, moreover it is a time-limited feature. Ice Wave Impedance depends on the Ice Wave ability that can be subsumed to Helminth. Thus, this ability+augment combo can be used on any other frame. Wiki tips says this combo is useful on melee-focused enemies like infested.

Chilling Globe

A 50% chance to freeze any enemy entering the globe. A good crowd control ability when solo-ing. Less interesting in a team where kill rate is fast enough.

Icy Avalanche

Gives an "overshield" buff, proc and knockdown immunity to the team (and self) depending on how many enemies are hit. By "hit", are enemies killed or hit by the Avalanche once : enemies hit once won't count if hit another time. "overshield" buff stack if other enemies are hit another time (capped in nightmare mode). The buffs does not remove active proc. The proc immunity includes grineer barrier and corpus laser (excluding those in Data Vault of Spy missions). A range-build is recommended for maximal effectiveness. Once the damage absorbtion dies, the proc and knockdown immunity disappear. Quite nice but only for mission below level 25, else the bonus is quickly removed (damage received is not mitigated). I read in another guide that it is useful nevertheless during some boss fight.

Usage recommandation

How and when use Frost Abilities. Sorted by usefulness.

Freeze

1. With Freeze Force Augment (aka "FF"): boosting cold damage of all weapons, for self and teammates.
2. Blowing up Snow Globe : not really useful, unless the globe blocks friendly fire or to knockdown enemies in and around the globe.
3. AoE movement slowdown (when aiming to the ground) : almost never used for that
4. Freezing one target : hard to aim and actually hit your target. It does not freeze bosses or capture target, only guarantee the cold proc on them.

Ice Wave

1. Killing stuff behind walls or doors : occasional use, but quite costly energy-wise.
2. With Ice Wave Impedance : never tried. Wiki said it is useful against melee-focused enemies.

Snow Globe

1. Protecting immobile target : unstretched, maxed power and maxed armor for a long-standing and low-cost Globe.
2. Protecting self in "panic" situation, while reviving fallen mates, hacking or any action alike under enemy fire.
3. Offensive Snow Globe : a special max-ranged build to maximise  True damage effect when enemies are pushed against wall. Without any special build, the damage effect is the same but less enemies will get caught.
4. Solo, protecting target : using Chilling Globe augment helps for crowd control

Avalanche

1. Mass killing in low-tier and mid-tier missions : at 200% range and power, it cleans quickly an area as wide as the mini-map.
2. Enemies debuff and freezing : at high-tier missions, the armor debuff is helping alot. Also, for bow or sniper-only missions, frozen targets are easier to hit. For end-game missions, Snow Globe is quickly destroyed : defense mission requires also to freeze the enemies waves, reducing incoming damage and buying time to kill them.
3. With Icy Avalanche Augment : altough the proc/knockdown immunity is nice, the overall low shielding and crowd requirement make it hard to use, niche only (help rushing low level mission, protecting low level mates, or assassination mission).

Starchart missions

When, and when not using Frost. Mission type not listed here where not tested enough to comment. Following list is for TEAM play. Please refer to solo chapter if you plan to solo with Frost.

Perfect fit

1. Defense : one target to protect with the Snow Globe
2. Extraction : one Frost can handle 3 extractors (3 Snow Globes) at once (using Chilling Globe augment can help)
3. Mobile Defense : usually 3 targets to protect, Snow Globe doing the job. Beware for Sortie : mobile Defense is actually a VIP defense. Instead of Snow Globe, one should use Avalanche to stop and debuff all enemies within vicinity.
4. Perturbation : Slowing down the Demolyst with a increased-range Globe or Ice Wave Impedance augment, also using Icy Avalanche to reduce misc debuff.

Possible use

1. Interception : Snow Globe at each flag slows down enemies, but requires all teammate to be aware of the tactic. Adding Chiling Globe Augment will buy some times to rush from one flag to another. Blowing up the Snow Globe will also buy some seconds when an enemy captures back (knocking it down).
2. Capture : in high-tier missions, casting Snow Globe while capturing reduce hazard
3. Survival : in high-tier missions, casting on self a Snow Globe while using life support reduce hazard. It also create a mobile bunker or rally point for the team to share their buffs.
4. Sabotage : some sabotage mission requires to protect some target for a couple minutes. Snow Globe job.
5. Assassination : Frost can solo many bosses. For the other, the defensive/support role of Frost must be weighted with the combination of other teammates' abilities. See related bosses fight guides.

Not recommended

1. Extermination : altough Avalanche could kill many at once, the energy usage is too high and "one-shot" is possible against enemy below lvl25. An effective build would reduce Frost survivability. Also, Frost is a slow warframe and your teammates will wait for you
2. Rescue : almost no point using Frost, besides protection while hacking
3. Spy : absolutely no point using Frost

Solo-ing with Frost

Frost is a tanky frame that can survive easily all missions below lvl80 without maxed common mods, His Snow Globe is used as an emergency ability to survive ambush or bad luck situation, and providing shield to deal with waves of enemies (both defense-like and survival missions). The other abilities+augment will self-buff himself (Freeze Force or Icy Avalanche), slows down targets, even bosses, making most assassination mission solo-able.

Main difference of build with Frost is to use the  Rejuvenation aura for high-tier and above mission, increasing his survivability.

Builds

Frost relies on the Armor stat for its main ability, so builds usually emphase around Armor and HP stat, and ignore shield mod(s) to save a slot. Main case, the trade-off is to reduce ability duration and improve others since Snow Globe or Icy Avalanche are not time-bound. Other case is to reduce the range to keep the duration high for Freeze Force or Avalanche's enemyy-freezing.

Recommended mod table

Ordered by difficulty to gather

	Easy	Medium	Hard
Drops	Steel Fiber  Vitality  Redirection	Stretch  Streamline  Flow  Intensify  Natural Talent	Adaptation  Augur Reach  Augur Secrets  Carnis Carapace
Nightmare, Corrupted	Armored Agility  Vigor	Blind Rage  Transient Fortitude  Fleeting Expertise  Overextended
Buyable	Freeze Force  Chilling Globe  Icy Avalanche  Ice Wave Impedance	Primed Continuity  Primed Flow	Rolling Guard  Health Conversion
Other	Power Drift  Cunning Drift		Umbral Intensify  Umbral Fiber  Umbral Vitality

Toughest Snow Globe

There is many good guides around to build a rock-solid Snow Globe. Let's not copy them here.

Massive Avalanche

A mass-kill Avalanche, power and high-range focused build, at the cost of a reduced enemy immobilization.

Armor-stripping Avalanche

Against toughest enemies, an Avalanche power-focused to maximise armor debuff.

Super large Snow Globe

Creates a very large Globe, useful to repel a lot of enemies, halving their HP thanks to the True damage if they hit obstacle when pushed away.

Polarities recommandation

Umbral forma are rare, and Frost may not be worth using one. So, each slot (but 3 to receive Umbral mods) must be polarized. Without Umbral mods, these slots can receive the usual  Steel Fiber,  Vitality and less important  Redirection,  Vigor or mission-specific mods.

• 2 Madurai slot, for intensity and continuity mods like  Blind Rage,
• 2 Namaron slot, for efficiency and reach mods like  Streamline,
• 1 Vazarin slot, for  Adaptation mod, or  Overextended mod if available
• 1 Zenurik slot, for Frost Augment mod or Drift mod
• 3 unformatted slot including Exilus one
• Aura mod if possible for aura stance, else Namaron

Specter

Frost as a specter provide a nice support : once Frost specter loose 50% health, it will cast a Snow Globe. Ask the specter to stay when he's standing near a target and it may cast a protective Snow Globe after some time. This feature is interesting if soloing defense mission without being a Frost.

There is no special recommandation for the specter gear. I personally set an automatic rifle to let the specter engage mid-to-close range.