All the skills provide so much synergy, and with a bit of cooldown reduction and/or Evocation passive, you are practically chain stunning/freezing. This build is very fun and dishes out so much pain. It is mediocre on single targets. I switch out a few skills for single target fights (Act bosses, especially with enrage timers). This is noted at the end of the post.
---Explanation---
Skills:
Spectral Blades (Ice Blades): My preference, especially with the Black Hole cold damage boost.
Arcane Orb (Frozen Orb): Self-explanatory
Black Hole (Absolute Zero): As you are in melee range, you should have no problem dropping this on a pack of 10-20. That is a 30-60% cold damage buff for 10 seconds.
Frost Nova (Deep Freeze): You can use the cold snap rune if you are dying too much, but the Deep Freeze rune will give you a 10% crit chance buff for 10 seconds. Combined with the cold damage buff from Black Hole you are now demolishing packs of enemies and Elites alike within seconds.
Teleport (Calamity): Even more control. I actually prefer Wormhole for faster runs, but I have the Cosmic Strand source which provides the Wormhole run on top of Calamity. It actually adds a decent amount of damage/control when my AP is gone and Black Hole is on cooldown.
Magic Weapon (Force Weapon): More damage!
Passives:
Cold Blooded: Of course you pick this.
Audacity: You're in melee range, why not do 15% more damage?
Prodigy: More AP, more Frozen Orbs.
Evocation: I chose this so that I have just enough cooldown reduction to cast Black Hole and Frost Nova every 10 seconds. That way your damage buffs (10 sec each) are always up. If you play this way, you have 2 buffs that are greater than Familiar and Energy Barrier AND you have way more control. If you have the gear with enough Toughness and Cooldown Reduction you can always roll with Glass Cannon or whatever suits your playstyle.
---Notes---
This build is great for solo and group play. Probably not best to play a melee wizard on hardcore though.
When it's time for bosses, especially ones with enrage timers, I switch out Black Hole and Frost Nova with the usual Energy Barrier (Pinpoint Barrier) and Familiar (Sparkflint). Also switch Spectral Blades to Magic Missile (Glacial Spike) and some passives as well.
I can't wait to get Frostburn Gauntlets for this build.
All the skills provide so much synergy, and with a bit of cooldown reduction and/or Evocation passive, you are practically chain stunning/freezing. This build is very fun and dishes out so much pain. It is mediocre on single targets. I switch out a few skills for single target fights (Act bosses, especially with enrage timers). This is noted at the end of the post.
---Explanation---
Skills:
Spectral Blades (Ice Blades): My preference, especially with the Black Hole cold damage boost.
Arcane Orb (Frozen Orb): Self-explanatory
Black Hole (Absolute Zero): As you are in melee range, you should have no problem dropping this on a pack of 10-20. That is a 30-60% cold damage buff for 10 seconds.
Frost Nova (Deep Freeze): You can use the cold snap rune if you are dying too much, but the Deep Freeze rune will give you a 10% crit chance buff for 10 seconds. Combined with the cold damage buff from Black Hole you are now demolishing packs of enemies and Elites alike within seconds.
Teleport (Calamity): Even more control. I actually prefer Wormhole for faster runs, but I have the Cosmic Strand source which provides the Wormhole run on top of Calamity. It actually adds a decent amount of damage/control when my AP is gone and Black Hole is on cooldown.
Magic Weapon (Force Weapon): More damage!
Passives:
Cold Blooded: Of course you pick this.
Audacity: You're in melee range, why not do 15% more damage?
Prodigy: More AP, more Frozen Orbs.
Evocation: I chose this so that I have just enough cooldown reduction to cast Black Hole and Frost Nova every 10 seconds. That way your damage buffs (10 sec each) are always up. If you play this way, you have 2 buffs that are greater than Familiar and Energy Barrier AND you have way more control. If you have the gear with enough Toughness and Cooldown Reduction you can always roll with Glass Cannon or whatever suits your playstyle.
---Notes---
This build is great for solo and group play. Probably not best to play a melee wizard on hardcore though.
When it's time for bosses, especially ones with enrage timers, I switch out Black Hole and Frost Nova with the usual Energy Barrier (Pinpoint Barrier) and Familiar (Sparkflint). Also switch Spectral Blades to Magic Missile (Glacial Spike) and some passives as well.
I can't wait to get Frostburn Gauntlets for this build.
Streaming build.