Originally, I was just messing around with some gear and decided to make use of the Tal Rasha's set bonus. I see too many people Disintegrate users, so I decided to go with the other channeled spell: Ray of Frost.
This is based on the variants of the Ray of Frost - Sleet Storm builds that are floating around, with some inspiration from Prozaic's build—yes, I know others have been running Sleet, but I just happened to come across his earlier on. While most players I've come across opt for 2-hand weapons, I had to go with a 1-hander considering I wanted to use the Tal Rasha source. I really can't bring myself to using Tal Rasha's Brace (belt) over my Witching Hour.
Gear choices are in the video (I picked out the best ones I could get for a budget in the AH). I opted to not use a Frostburn Gauntlet since I did get more DPS/EHP out of my normal pair of gloves. Damage was similar, but the trifecta gloves gave just a little more.
Templar (used for heals and passive HP/AP regeneration) is decked out with about 130K HP, 4K armor, 300 resists, and carries a fat 33% block Stormshield, along with a 14.3% chance to freeze Azurewrath.
In short:
Ray of Frost - Sleet Storm: Core of the build. Basically, you stand in one spot, hold down left click and go to work. Oftentimes you'll have to stutter-step because of crowd control affixes from elites, such as Frozen. And you wouldn't want to stand in three stacks of Desolate either. Blizzard - Unrelenting Storm: Primarily used to deal with ranged mobs considering Sleet Storm has limited AoE. Also great for dropping on trash mobs as you search the map for elites. In addition—forgot to mention this in the video—whether or not Blizzard scores critical hits is decided upon the initial cast, which means any APoC effects will be decided then as well. Unfortunately, they don't stack, so you'll just have to recast in a separate area and hit mobs there. Diamond Skin - Crystal Shell: Main form of defense that's easily refreshed considering how often Sleet Storm can proc Critical Mass. Also works wonders with life steal healing you up while you're absorbing damage. Stretch Time - Time Warp: Anything caught in Time Warp takes 20% more damage. And when stacked with Cold-Blooded, Blizzard and Sleet Storm hurt that much more. And let's not forget the ranged projectiles that get caught within the bubble. Magic Weapon - Blood Weapon: Added life steal to aid with healing. 10% more damage is great, too. Storm Armor - Scramble: Mainly used specifically to cover more ground during the run. Passive damage is great and the bonus speed helps with repositioning. In cases where you don't care about speed, sub in Prismatic Armor for the increased survivability. Cold-Blooded: Essential for boosting damage. Astral Presence: Essential for bonus arcane power, along with AP regeneration. Critical Mass: Essential for keeping Diamond Skin and Stretch Time off of cooldown.
At the end, though, this build is still not as "efficient" as Archon or CM/WW, but it is definitely usable at mid-to-high MPs. On another note, I was tempted to call this the "Sleetty Wizard" build, but I don't think that'd bode too well...
Originally, I was just messing around with some gear and decided to make use of the Tal Rasha's set bonus. I see too many people Disintegrate users, so I decided to go with the other channeled spell: Ray of Frost.
This is based on the variants of the Ray of Frost - Sleet Storm builds that are floating around, with some inspiration from Prozaic's build—yes, I know others have been running Sleet, but I just happened to come across his earlier on. While most players I've come across opt for 2-hand weapons, I had to go with a 1-hander considering I wanted to use the Tal Rasha source. I really can't bring myself to using Tal Rasha's Brace (belt) over my Witching Hour.
Skill selection
Gear choices are in the video (I picked out the best ones I could get for a budget in the AH). I opted to not use a Frostburn Gauntlet since I did get more DPS/EHP out of my normal pair of gloves. Damage was similar, but the trifecta gloves gave just a little more.
Templar (used for heals and passive HP/AP regeneration) is decked out with about 130K HP, 4K armor, 300 resists, and carries a fat 33% block Stormshield, along with a 14.3% chance to freeze Azurewrath.
In short:
Ray of Frost - Sleet Storm: Core of the build. Basically, you stand in one spot, hold down left click and go to work. Oftentimes you'll have to stutter-step because of crowd control affixes from elites, such as Frozen. And you wouldn't want to stand in three stacks of Desolate either.
Blizzard - Unrelenting Storm: Primarily used to deal with ranged mobs considering Sleet Storm has limited AoE. Also great for dropping on trash mobs as you search the map for elites. In addition—forgot to mention this in the video—whether or not Blizzard scores critical hits is decided upon the initial cast, which means any APoC effects will be decided then as well. Unfortunately, they don't stack, so you'll just have to recast in a separate area and hit mobs there.
Diamond Skin - Crystal Shell: Main form of defense that's easily refreshed considering how often Sleet Storm can proc Critical Mass. Also works wonders with life steal healing you up while you're absorbing damage.
Stretch Time - Time Warp: Anything caught in Time Warp takes 20% more damage. And when stacked with Cold-Blooded, Blizzard and Sleet Storm hurt that much more. And let's not forget the ranged projectiles that get caught within the bubble.
Magic Weapon - Blood Weapon: Added life steal to aid with healing. 10% more damage is great, too.
Storm Armor - Scramble: Mainly used specifically to cover more ground during the run. Passive damage is great and the bonus speed helps with repositioning. In cases where you don't care about speed, sub in Prismatic Armor for the increased survivability.
Cold-Blooded: Essential for boosting damage.
Astral Presence: Essential for bonus arcane power, along with AP regeneration.
Critical Mass: Essential for keeping Diamond Skin and Stretch Time off of cooldown.
At the end, though, this build is still not as "efficient" as Archon or CM/WW, but it is definitely usable at mid-to-high MPs. On another note, I was tempted to call this the "Sleetty Wizard" build, but I don't think that'd bode too well...
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