Looking for suggestions for a viable Ice Mage Build?

Hi all !

First of I hope this is the right part of the forum to ask this question, if not, please feel free to move thread to appropriate place.

Secondly. As the title really, have this little urge to freeze monsters and then making them shatter in thousands of small pieces but have no clue about a suitable build for that. Or even if there is one, although my search abilities are not the best. :crazy_face:

I only ever had one other build, which was a Commando (Solider and Demolitionist) and I did search and found it myself here but turns out it was quiet outdated which I totally missed ! So hence thought I ask this time around, incase some of you Veteran players might have a handy guide around for a Ice freezing mega cool mage build laying around ? :rofl:

Thank you all for taking the time to read and possible come with suggestions, much appreciated ! :beers:

Trozan’s Sky Shard from Arcanist is a good start and worth looking into. Pairs well with Shaman and Wind Devils/Storm Totems, Inquisitor with Rune of Hagarrad or with Trozan’s Set with Occultist and Sigil of Consumption.

Other masteries and skills to look into for a Cold caster are Nightblade with Phantasmal Blades or Blade Spirits, Necromancer with Drain Essence and the Gravechill transmuter, Chain Lightning or Chillspikes.

2 Likes
  1. Cold FoI wih Mageslayer and Farath’s Cube. Has a lot of Frostburn and feels chilly with that icy flamethrower. [1.1.5.2-1.1.8.1] Monster Reborn! Cold Flames of Ignaffar Infiltrator in ~ 6 [1.1.9.0 - 1.1.9.1] Ice Unbreakable - Mageslayer Cold Flames of Ignaffar Infiltrator [sr+][mi][vid]

  2. Chillwhisper Infiltrator https://www.grimtools.com/calc/r2BbD8r2
    from @Dmt using Rune of Hagarrad and Blade Spirits

  3. Northern Wyrm Infiltrator
    [1.1.6.2] The Rune Dragoon - Runebinder based, RoH+BS Infiltrator

  4. Harra’s Northern Wyrm PB / CT / ABB / Chillspikes Spellbreaker
    https://www.grimtools.com/calc/M2gkgXY2 / 1162 CritsCRITS vs Crucible (4+3) - YouTube

  5. Chillwhisper DE / BS Reaper
    [1.1.6.2] The Succulent Sucker - 5:50m Crucible Gladiator 150-170, Shards 70-71 Chillwhisper Reaper caster [c+][sr][vid]

  6. Trozan’s Sky Shard [1.1.9.1] King Trozan: 4:24 Crucible Gladiator 150-170, Shard 100, All Celestials cold caster Druid by mad_lee [vid][g4][everything+]

  7. Rimtongue Spellbreaker https://www.grimtools.com/calc/nZoaarG2 Rimetongue Spellbreaker crucible 4:13 - YouTube

  8. Cold Callidor’s Tempest [1.1.9.1] Disappointment Tempest - An attempt at 2H cold spam Callidor Druid & feedback

  9. Cold Panetti’s [1.1.5.2] Frozen Spaghetti - Cold PRM Mage Hunter - 5:30 Crucible [g3][c+][vid]

  10. Cold AAR / Obliteration

  11. Cold Stun Jacks [1.1.9.1] Cold Jacks Saboteur - Lokarr, SR85, Mogdrogen, Ravager

  12. Cold build around Trozan’s Skybreach

  13. Northern Wyrm Spellbreaker Northern Wyrm Spellbreaker crucible 4:22 - YouTube

  14. Cold Winter King’s Might (i.e. Bane of the Winter King Trickster or Soulrend Reaper)
    Soulrend WKM Slammer spreading OWN4G3 on Lokarr's Extra Spawns Crucible in x2 game speed. - YouTube

  15. Cold Forcewave

9 Likes
1 Like

Thanks for all suggestions, much appreciated ! :beers:

Now, another question that popped up as I was viewing all the recommended builds. Most seem to be without a suggested path for the Devotions, and me only having had one character before would struggle with which ones to take to reach the optional path. :blush: And it possible similar with the Classes as to which Skills to pick/work at from the start ?

Is there any specific recommendations or if I find a build I like, just play around with grim tools until I find out the right path ?

Also @tqFan, not sure what you meant with this one ? :thinking: :blush:

Once again, thanks for the suggestions, really appreciate them ! Now to see what might take my fancy ! :crazy_face:

I grouped AAR and Obliteration into one point because they are similar but these are separate builds.
You can convert those skills to Cold.

First I think you should decide on a build / class, what skills do you like to play and then we can help you out with that and think how to level it etc.


Some asked how to level to this Cold build [1.1.9.1] King Trozan: 4:24 Crucible Gladiator 150-170, Shard 100, All Celestials cold caster Druid by mad_lee [vid][g4][everything+]

And I answered
“Develop Trozan / Arcanist, farm items somewhat as in the following guide and use Wind Devils / Storm Totems as additional DPS / devotion proccers. But follow devotions from the OP.
[1.1.8.1][Guide] Trozan's Ice Shard - A cold Warlock Beginner Guide”
"

Maybe you play this since there’s is a beginner guide for TSS Warlock which you could follow and learn a lot from ?
You just play Druid instead of Warlock but it’s very similar (because for both build Arcanist is the main class and Occultist / Shaman are support). Druid might be even easier because you have more Cold / Lightning spells (Devils / Storm Totems) to choose from so there’s far less need to improvise at early levels (for example by using component skill / Olexra as in the beginner Warlock guide)

Should be beginner friendly because you can kite / stutter step everything with cooldown spells to death and Energy management is easier.


Sample cold Druid illusion for role playing purposes
Actuallly I made it for hybrid Cold / Lightning Warlock
which reminded me that I chose it over Druid because
Trozan set gives Occultist beautiful blue Sigils:

3 Likes

Made a cold/lightning Conjurer for the same reason :slight_smile:
Probably my most successful build so far (Just cleared SR50 with it and it was easy… which is really good for my standards)

https://www.grimtools.com/calc/pZrBQJOZ

More lightning than cold, but still food for thought :slight_smile:

2 Likes

@tqFan Thank you for your reply, I’ll have a look through them all more thoroughly and also check the youtube videos to see how they performing and then pick one and post back here for suggestions as to leveling it the best way. :beers:

@DeputyChuck Thank you for your suggestion, I’ll have a closer look at yours as well. As you said, food for thought ! :thinking: :crazy_face:

2 Likes

So, I have been looking at the posted suggestions and when I was doing that I also found an old build that I bookmarked some time ago but not sure how it will do with today’s version of the game since it might got quiet nerfed. It’s a build made by @Jagermeister but 2 1/2 yrs old:

I like that blue aura that the character has around themselves. But as said, it is old and not sure if it viable after so many updates ? From what I can see the Forgotten Gods DLC had not come out yet when this build was made.

If it would look like it would be to much work I also like this one from @RektbyProtoss, which was made earlier this year.

Now, not quiet sure if they are good for a newbie so there is that. :crazy_face:

I actually like the looks of both this build as well that you suggested earlier. So there is a few to pick between but the first one would be the one I would go for IF it still viable due to FG now being out ?

I actually have a low level character I started on about a year ago, that might be doable to continue with ? It’s now level 11 since I played a bit yesterday to get into the game some again. No grimtools link due to using a mod that changes the inventory (Grim UI) so not sure how to do those links, if it is even possible ?

I do have a couple screenshots:

Here is the skill points I taken so far, never used up those that I earned yesterday or selected the second class either.

Does it matter which class is first and second though ? Just wondering since the two first build the Arcanist are the second class ?

Once again, I appreciate all help that you experts are sharing so one can get a relatively pain free play through ! :rofl:

It doesn’t matter which class you choose first, especially at 11 level, since you can respec all points, including Mastery points, freely. You cannot only respec classes.

Btw these 2 builds you found are considered melee that’s why I didn’t recommend you such, you asked for a mage in the title.

Here are some more beginner guides / leveling: Beginner build guides Compendium (for AoM + FG expansions)

1 Like

Ohh right, I didn’t think about that, whopsi ! :blush:

I’ll have a look through the Compendium when I get back home from work. Thanks ! :beers:

Hi @tqFan, after having taken a closer look at the Cold Warlock Beginner Guide you suggested further up, I think I be following that one from start to finish, as it is using faction armor most of the time and the rest seem fairly easy to farm. After all, don’t have any end game since my first run was just the whole game, and on normal only, never reached level 100 either. So saves me time farming stuff, but if I get lucky with drops that fit the play style I can always use those.

Hopefully there isn’t much difference from 1.1.8.1 and 1.1.9.1 though ?

Thanks again for all the advice, much appreciated ! :beers:

1 Like

Probably not and even if it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things I suppose @Monceaux

I like Warlock choice for endgame Sigils. I’ve tried to find you the most up-to-date Trozan Warlock so that you can think of it while leveling, maybe even choose the same devotions so that they level

Btw does anyone know whether leveling new devos to decent levels is time consuming when you are 100 level?




Some newer links anyone? @Valinov, haven’t you tested Trozan Sigils in 1.1.9.1?

Hi everybody ! There is a viable beginner/SSF Rune of Hagarrad build? I love this skill :smiley:. I can’t find anything like this in beginner builds. Thank you for your answers/ builds

Hmmm… Pierce or Cold?


For Cold there’s this cool guide


but there are other ways to go about it for sure, for example


For Pierce best would be The Unseeing Gaze I think
(missing pieces got by transmuting other blue set pieces)

Malmouth Slicer

Yap cold build :smiley: Thank you! Very quickly and helpful reply :smiley:

There was this one linked in my thread

It’s pretty fast when you farm SR

1 Like

So, been playing it for some hours now and in Act two, where the main weapon might drop from certain places according to the guide: Trozan’s Ice Shard - A cold Warlock Beginner Guide. Which is the Spectral Bludgeon.

Now, there is different items the Lord of Lost Souls drops, the shield having the highest percentage. Which of course what he dropped the first time I killed him. So, lets try again and see what it drops, which was… nothing at all of the items under Notable Loot. Neither the third or forth time he dropped any of them.

I was level 25 (not sure about the Lord of the Lost Souls though, never thought of checking his level) but putting him as level 25 as well. I know it is all random but if looking at the Lord of the Lost Souls monster information in Grimtools Database, the Bulwark is 50%, Longsword, Bludgeon and Battle Axe each 10% and War Shield at 8%. Is it right to assume that that would be a 88% of him to drop one of those items and 12% chance to drop nothing ? (Well, part from other random items but which are not under Notable Loot?)

Just curious since it seemed for me, it was more the other way around ! :rofl: And also wondering if I should give it a few more tries or just leave it and continue my adventures towards Homestaed instead. :crazy_face:

Better buy Spectral Bludgeon from Marris Kas
https://www.grimtools.com/map/markers/merchants/6355

You can enter such dungeon once and reset the vendor stock multiple times (usually by going back to previous level of the dungeon but sometimes there are some nuances to it) to farm good affixes on one skeleton key.


He’s more complicated. I think that the probability for him to drop nothing, since there are 3 separate drop pools, is as follows:

(1 - 50.05%) * (1 - 30%) * (1 - 8%) ~ 32%

Because these 3 drops are independent events.
You should be able to get multiple items too.
For example one item from each of the 3 groups but it would be pretty unlikely because just War Shield is already quite unlikely (8%)

1 Like

That sounds like good advice, think I head towards the Steps of Torment and see what he has. Although with a little bit of luck (maybe 2% luck or even less ? :thinking: ), there is two persons in the Arkovian Undercity that might drop it as well, so when I run past them who knows ? :rofl:

Ahh I see. So when killing the Lord of Lost Souls, there is a 50% chance for the Bulwark alone, and a 10% chance for one of the other 3 weapons and then a 8% chance for the War Shield but each is a separate event so if you are really, REALLY, lucky, you can get all three dropping at once ?

Well, that would explain the miserable 4 runs I had then ! :rofl:

1 Like