Freeze-Woh Wizard

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by Slaytanicc last updated Feb 21, 2015 ( Patch 2.1.2 )

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Skills

Black Hole Absolute Zero
- Black Hole
Cost: 20 Arcane Power
Cooldown: 12 seconds

Conjure a Black Hole at the target location that draws enemies to it and deals 700% weapon damage as Arcane over 2 seconds to all enemies within 15 yards.
Absolute Zero

Each enemy hit increases the damage of your Cold spells by 3% for 10 seconds.

Black Hole's damage turns into Cold.
Explosive Blast Obliterate
- Explosive Blast
Cost: 20 Arcane Power
Cooldown: 6 seconds

Gather an infusion of energy around you that explodes after 1.5 seconds for 945% weapon damage as Arcane to all enemies within 12 yards.
Obliterate

Release an enormous Explosive Blast that deals 990% weapon damage as Cold to all enemies within 18 yards.
Frost Nova Bone Chill
- Frost Nova
Cooldown: 11 seconds

Blast nearby enemies with an explosion of ice and freeze them for 2 seconds.
Bone Chill

Enemies take 33% more damage while frozen or chilled by Frost Nova.
Ice Armor Crystallize
- Ice Armor
Cost: 25 Arcane Power

Surround yourself in a barrier of ice that reduces damage from melee attacks by 12%. Melee attackers are either Chilled or Frozen for 3 seconds. Lasts 10 minutes.

Only one Armor may be active at a time.
Crystallize

When you are struck by a melee attack, your Armor is increased by 20% for 30 seconds. This effect stacks up to 3 times.
Magic Weapon Force Weapon
- Magic Weapon
Cost: 25 Arcane Power

Imbue your weapon with magical energy, granting it 10% increased damage. Lasts 10 minutes.
Force Weapon

Increase the damage bonus of Magic Weapon to 20% damage.
Blizzard Unrelenting Storm
- Blizzard
Cost: 40 Arcane Power

Call down shards of ice that deal 1075% weapon damage as Cold over 6 seconds to enemies in a 12 yard radius. Multiple casts in the same area from the same caster do not stack.
Unrelenting Storm

Increase the duration and damage of Blizzard to deal 1810% weapon damage as Cold over 8 seconds.

Cold Blooded
- Cold Blooded
Enemies chilled or frozen by you take 10% more damage from all sources for the duration of the chill or Freeze.
Blur
- Blur
Decrease damage taken by 17%.
Evocation
- Evocation
Reduce all cooldowns by 20%.
Audacity
- Audacity
You deal 30% additional damage to enemies within 15 yards.

Items

Leoric's Crown

Legendary Helm

Primary Stats

+3 Random Magic Properties

Secondary Stats

Increase the effect of any gem socketed into this item by 75–100%. This effect does not apply to Legendary Gems.
Empty Socket
One of 3 Magic Properties (varies)

+18–26 Dexterity

+18–26 Strength

+18–26 Intelligence
Aughild's Power

Set Shoulders

Primary Stats

+6 Random Magic Properties

Aughild's Authority
Aughild's Power
Aughild's Search
Aughild's Rule
Aughild's Spike
(2) Set: Reduces damage from melee attacks by 7%Reduces damage from ranged attacks by 7%.
(3) Set: Reduces damage from elites by 15%Increases damage against elites by 15%
Hellfire Amulet

Legendary Amulet
Aughild's Rule

Set Chest Armor

Primary Stats

+6 Random Magic Properties

Aughild's Authority
Aughild's Power
Aughild's Search
Aughild's Rule
Aughild's Spike
(2) Set: Reduces damage from melee attacks by 7%Reduces damage from ranged attacks by 7%.
(3) Set: Reduces damage from elites by 15%Increases damage against elites by 15%
Ancient Parthan Defenders

Legendary Bracers

8 - 10 Armor

Secondary Stats

Each stunned enemy within 25 yards reduces your damage taken by 9 - 12%.

+ 4 Random Magic Properties
Frostburn

Legendary Gloves

Primary Stats

Critical Hit Chance Increased by 6.0–10.0%
+3 Random Magic Properties

Secondary Stats

Cold skills deal 15–20% increased damage and have a 50% chance to Freeze enemies.
One of 3 Magic Properties (varies)

+330–524 Dexterity

+330–524 Strength

+330–524 Intelligence
The Witching Hour

Legendary Belt

265 - 314 Armor

Primary Stats

Critical Hit Damage Increased by 26 - 50%
Attack Speed Increased by 5 - 6%

+ 4 Random Magic Properties
Hexing Pants of Mr. Yan

Legendary Pants

Primary Stats

+4 Random Magic Properties

Secondary Stats

Your resource generation and damage is increased by 25% while moving and decreased by 20–25% while standing still.
One of 3 Magic Properties (varies)

+85–108 Dexterity

+85–108 Strength

+85–108 Intelligence
Illusory Boots

Legendary Boots

30 - 35 Armor

Primary Stats

+51 - 60 Resistance to All Elements
+8 - 9% Movement Speed

Secondary Stats

You may move unhindered through enemies.

+ 2 Random Magic Properties
Halo of Arlyse

Legendary Ring

Primary Stats

+3 Random Magic Properties

Secondary Stats

Your Ice Armor now reduces damage from melee attacks by 50–60% and automatically casts Frost Nova whenever you take 10% of your Life in damage.
Empty Socket
One of 3 Magic Properties (varies)

+220–349 Dexterity

+220–349 Strength

+220–349 Intelligence
Unity

Legendary Ring

Primary Stats

Increases damage against elites by 12 - 15%
Critical Hit Chance Increased by 4.5 - 6%
+416 - 500 Strength
+416 - 500 Dexterity
+416 - 500 Intelligence

Secondary Stats

All damage taken is split between wearers of this item.

+ 2 Random Magic Properties
Wand of Woh

Legendary Wand

Primary Stats

+128–163 Intelligence
Increases Explosive Blast Damage by 75–100% (Wizard Only)
+3 Random Magic Properties

Secondary Stats

3 additional Explosive Blasts are triggered after casting Explosive Blast.
One of 7 Magic Properties (varies)

+(32–39)–(39–49) Arcane Damage

+(32–39)–(39–49) Poison Damage

+(32–39)–(39–49) Lightning Damage

+(32–39)–(39–49) Holy Damage

+(32–39)–(39–49) Cold Damage

+(32–39)–(39–49) Fire Damage

+(32–39)–(39–49) Damage
Winter Flurry

Legendary Source

Primary Stats

+2–3 Damage
Cold skills deal 5–10% more damage.
+27–35 Intelligence
+3 Random Magic Properties

Secondary Stats

Enemies killed by Cold damage have a 15–20% chance to release a Frost Nova.

More Details

Head
- Leoric's Crown
- Tal Rasha's Guise of Wisdom
- Stat Priority: Int CHC Vit
Shoulders
- Aughild's Power
- Stat Priority: Int Vit CDR
Amulet
- Hellfire Amulet
- Tal Rasha's Allegiance
- Eye of Etlich
- Stat Priority: Cold % CHD CHC Socket
Torso
- Aughild's Rule
- Tal Rasha's Relentless Pursuit
- Stat Priority: Int Vit Socket
Wrists
- Ancient Parthan Defenders
- Stat Priority: Cold % Int Vit CHC
Hands
- Frostburn
- Stat Priority: Cold % Int CHC CDR
Waist
- The Witching Hour
- String of Ears
- Tal Rasha's Brace
- Stat Priority: Int Vit CHC
Legs
- Hexing Pants of Mr. Yan
- Stat Priority: Int Vit Socket
Feet
- Illusory Boots
- Stat Priority: Int Vit
Rings
- Halo of Arlyse
- Unity
- Stone of Jordan
- Stat Priority: Socket CHC CHD Int
Weapon
- Wand of Woh
- Stat Priority: Dmg % Int Socket
Offhand
- Winter Flurry
- Stat Priority: Cold % Int CHC

Legendary Gems
- Bane of the Trapped
  Bane of the Trapped
  
  Gem
  
  Secondary Stats
  
  Increase damage against enemies under the effects of control-impairing effects by 15%.
- Bane of the Powerful
  Bane of the Powerful
  
  Gem
  
  Secondary Stats
  
  Gain 20% increased damage for 30 seconds after killing an elite pack.
- Esoteric Alteration
  Esoteric Alteration
  
  Gem
  
  Primary Stats
  
  Gain 10.0% non-Physical damage reduction.
  While below 50% Life, your resistances to Cold, Fire, Lightning, Poison, and Arcane are increased by 75%. (Requires Rank 25)

Gearing:

Leoric's Crown: Your main source of Damage (Explosive Blast) is a skill of Cooldown nature. The increased CDR offered by Leoric's Crown makes it extremely valuable.

Aughild's Chest and Shoulders: I really had no idea what else to use for these two slots, so i figured a slight Toughness boost would be good enough.

Hexing Pants of Mr. Yan: This item allows you to take full advantage of the mobility of this build. Since you should always on the move, you'll have a constant Damage buff. The Resource generation is less important, but still extremely useful.

Hellfire/Immunity Amulet: If you decide to go with a Hellfire Amulet, your 5th Passive skill should be Unstable Anomaly or Glass Cannon. Although Glass Cannon reduces your overall Toughness, it does add a much needed Damage buff. For Immunity Amulets i would go with Fire or Lightning, since those are two affixes most feared by Melee builds. Alternatively, the Eye of Etlich is a solid choice as well, providing you with much needed defense against Ranged attacks.

Illusory Boots: Getting caught in the middle of a large group of enemies is a surefire way to get yourself killed. And with the absence of the Teleport skill, these boots provide help with escaping and positioning.

Frostburn Gloves and Winter Flurry: Two items that not only buff your Damage, but also provided much needed CC for this close quarters build. As an additional bonus, both these items provide you with a %Cold Damage increase.

Ancient Parthan Defenders: Extremely important for survival at higher Greater Rifts. With this build's ability to (almost) perma-Freeze everything within Melee range, these Bracers are extremely handy.

Witching Hour/String of Ears: Due to the nature of this build (ie. requiring you to be withing Melee distance), the String of Ears sounds like the obvious choice. Surprisingly, Melee attacks are the least of your worries. Anything within Melee distance should be CC'd almost permanently. The increased Damage from the Witching Hour proves to be a lot more useful.

Halo of Arlyse: Provides a massive buff to Melee defense as well as offering some CC whenever you take a hit for 10% or more of your HP.

Unity/SOJ and Wand of Woh: These two items are fairly self-explanatory. Unity provides a boost in Toughness for Greater Rifts, and WoW is the core of the build. SoJ should be used for T6, since survivability becomes less of an issue.

Legendary Gems

Bane of the Trapped: An obvious choice for this build, allowing you to take full advantage of the CC nature of the build.

Bane of the Powerful: A solid choice for this build. With the lack of Elite Damage provided by your gear, this Gem comes in handy.

Esoteric Alteration: Offers a good defensive buff compensating for any Toughness lost from gear and/or skills.

Stat Priorities:

Stat priority is more or less the same as any other build.

Aim to get Explosive Blast Damage on your Chest, Shoulders, and Source.

Attack Speed has no benefit, so avoid or replace it with something more useful when possible.

Paragon Priorities

Core

Movement Speed
Primary Stat
Vitality
Maximum Resource

Offense

Cooldown Reduction
Critical Hit Chance
Critical Hit Damage
Attack Speed

Defense

Resist All
Armor
Life
Life Regeneration

Utility

Resource Cost Reduction
Area Damage
Life on Hit
Gold Find

CORE: Capping out your Movement Speed is an absolute must. The extra mobility not only helps you navigate the Rift/Greater Rift faster, but also allows for faster positioning in fights. Once you reach the Movement Speed cap, Intelligence is your priority.

OFFENSE: CDR not only increases your DPS, but also improves your CC. For that reason, CDR should be your number 1 priority. Once CDR is maxed, increase CHC and CHD as appropriate.

DEFENSE: Since Math isn't exactly my forte, i'm not exactly sure whether Resist All or Armor would be more beneficial. But maxing out those two should be your first priority.

UTILITY: For Utility i decided to focus in RCR first, allowing for more frequent usage of the Blizzard skill.

Build Guide

This build revolves around using Explosive Blast - Obliterate as your main source of damage. By using a specific combination of other Skills, Legendary Gems, and Items you not only buff your Damage and Toughness, but also debuff the Damage and Toughness of your enemies while also providing excellent Crowd Control keeping your enemies in an almost permanently Frozen state. All these factors play a key role essential for a build of this nature, ie. a build that requires you to be withing Melee range. Here's an explanation of how certain Skills and Items work in synergy:

Frost Nova, Ice Armor, Esoteric Alteration, Blur, and Halo of Arlyse: These two Skills, along with the new Seasonal Ring, Seasonal Gem, and Passive, will make up the core of your Toughness and Crowd Control. Frost Nova will Freeze enemies withing range, allowing you to stand in the center of a large group of enemies with very little risk. Additionally, the Halo of Arlyse greatly increases your defense Melee attacks making them almost a non-issue. And as an added bonus, whenever you take a hit for 10% or more of your HP, the ring will release another Frost Nova which Freezes your enemies yet again. If used tactically against Elites, you can use their Affixes to your advantage allowing you to constantly shoot out a barrage of Frost Novas effectively allowing you to permanently Freeze your enemies. Esoteric Alteration will provide an increased resistance against all Non-Physical attacks allowing for a more strategical use of the Halo of Arlyse, while Blur provides a flat 17% decrease in all damage taken.

Frost Nova, Black Hole, Cold Blooded , Audacity, Bane of the Trapped and Magic Weapon: While Frost Nova and Black Hole are both skills that provide great Crowd Control, their respective Runes provide a defensive debuff to enemies, and a Damage buff to yourself. Frost Nova and Cold Blooded increases all damage against Frozen enemies (while Frozen) by 33% and 10% respectively, while Black Hole increases your Cold Damage by 3% for every enemy hit. If places in the right spots, Black Hole can provide you with a substantial Damage buff. Audacity and Magic Weapon provide two more Damage buffs (15% and 20% respectively), but with a Passive nature. Audacity increases your Damage to enemies withing 15 yards, making it perfect for this close quarters build. With the Crowd Control nature of this build, you can also take full advantage of the Bane of the Trapped Gem, providing yet another buff to your Damage.

Explosive Blast and Blizzard: Explosive Blast will be your main source of Damage. With the Synergies created by your Gear, Legendary Gems, and other Skills, Explosive Blast has the potential to do great amounts of burst damage. Blizzard is a nice "round off" skill, allowing for some damage in the form of a DoT.

Evocation and CDR: Evocation is the unsung hero of the build, providing you with a 20% Cooldown Reduction. Having a good amount of CDR is important and it allows you to not only use your Crowd Control and Damage Buff skills more regularly, but also allows you to use your main source of Damage (Explosive Blast) more frequently. With a good Leoric's Crown, Evocation, and CDR on your Shoulders and Paragon Points, getting to 50% should be fairly easy. I would suggest no less that ~40% CDR, but 50% and up would be ideal.

To conclude this guide, i would like to give a short explanation on how i've been able to most effectively use this build. Since this is a close quarters build, you want to put yourself right in the center of the action. You're no good standing on the side lines. As you approach a pack of enemies, drop down a Black Hole. Once you're in the center, use Frost Nova to CC while keeping your Explosive Blast skill **pressed in. Use Blizzard as you find necessary. When encountering Elites or Rift Guardians the same process should be followed, while avoiding their Affixes. What i have found to be very useful, and something that allows you to keep Elites permanently Frozen, is to run across their Affixes. You'll take a large amount of damage, but this will chain proc the Halo or Arlyse which is how the Elites are kept Frozen. This might become less viable at higher Greater Rifts, as some Affixes might insta-kill you. But I encourage your experimentation.

**PC players can take advantage of the Num-Lock trick while Console players can assign the Skill to the R2/RT button to allow constant spam with minimal effort. Since Explosive Blast is a very low cost skill, there is no need to worry about Arcane consumption.

Alternative Build:

You can find a Fire variant of this build here: Blazing WohVyrine Build.

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