Whispering Ice | Non-Crit | Ghost Reaver | Cheap!
 Hello! Welcome to my guide for my Whispering Ice build. To get right into it, here are some reasons why you should use The Whispering Ice * This build starts off as cheap, and there is a nice curve to upgrade your build * It is incredibly tanky with ghost reaver + lifeleech. * The damage ramp is insane for bosses * It's atziri viable! And uber if you can go lowlife. * High ES chest pieces and helmets are relatively cheap, same with rings and ammies * TWI has gone down in cost significantly, it's only a few chaos now! * You don't even need to link your WI, only 6 socket it! Are there downsides? Only a few, but minor ones: * CI is not for everyone, it requires a bit of a defensive playstyle, but when used correctly, is potentially the tankiest build in the game. * It doesn't have the fastest clear speed, it is fast, but may seem slow to someone who just did a lightning arrow build. * Getting stunlocked by random things can be disheartening * Perandus rings are 1ex each Why did I chose this build over others? Because I saw how cheap TWI was, and had did it before. I really felt like pushing it to the limit, and now i'm in love with the build. I've done CoC with 6L voll's, Tornado Shot with a 300 something pdps bow(lvl 91), and other incredibly fast builds, so this was certainly a change. I was tired of dying to random spike dmg, reflect off-screen, and builds requiring expensive gear to get started. Make sure to check out my character (whisperingtoyourmoose (lvl 90)) for the tree + jewels + gear! Cost:
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The cost of getting started with a WI build is super cheap, buy some 1-3c ES gear and high-int rings and ammies, 5socket your WI, and you are good to go. Where does the damage and defense come from: It comes from INT. INT not only gives you dmg (1-3 base dmg per 10 int) but also defense (1% increased ES per 5 int). My lvl 90 character has 1.3k int, meaning I have 260% increased ES JUST from int. That's more than most builds. My 500es chest piece ends up giving me around 4k es. It also comes from lifeleech and ghost reaver. Lifeleech helps mitigate the annoying playstyle of back-off and wait for ES to start recharging. It's just so strong. Getting INT is much much much more efficient than getting damage nodes. So try to cut down on traveling through minor dmg nodes when you can path through int for notables. The best example is near the Templar AOE, cast speed, and elemental damage notables. In my tree, i path through the int nodes just to grab the notables. CI - Kind of obvious, but that 18% MORE es is insane. Make sure to take this out if you are going lowlife, (again, obvious) ----------------------------------------------------------- Playstyle:
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The general playstyle is to use frostbite, cast once or twice on a pack, and move on. For rares just stack a few and move around it. For bosses just keep stacking and stay out of range. When things like leapers/goats/porcupines jump on you, use granite flask and flamedash out unless you think it's not a problem. Not much else to it, just don't facetank things and generally icestorm stuff as soon as it comes onscreen so the dmg starts as soon as possible ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Gear:
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TL;DR - Prioritize capping resistances, then getting INT on gear, and then having at least 7k es if you have 1k INT. Staff:
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The build-enabler, the item needed actually play this build. Start with 5 socket then move onto 6socket whhen you can. Colors are 2g 3b 1r. Amulet:
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The wet dream of any WI build, it's BIS ammy, hands down. It saves you so many passives spent on dex that it's worth getting as your first major purchase. Belt:
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The cold version to be precise. It has leech, Resistances, strength, and some freze chance. And it's a unique, so it works with perandus signets. Unless you have some GG rare ES belt or something, just use this. Helmet:
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Only get this if you have a big ES chest piece Rings:
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These mofos are expensive right now, 1ex minimum in TSC. Only equip them if you can get 2 of them, if not, don't use only 1. It only starts giving you int when you have 6-7 uniques equipped. Remember this does not count flasks or jewels. Body Armor:
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Shavvronne's wrappings Once you have all of the above, start working for this, and when you get it, go lowlife and watch your dmg skyrocket. I was able to do t13's just fine without lowlife, so this is probably if you want to clear core maps super fast and do uber. Boots:
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* Skyforth If you have the currency for this, get it. It gives stun immunity (it's basically guaranteed because of how much mana we have) and gives some power charges, (w/e). The es is w/e. This is most likely going to be your last major purchase for your build. ----------------------------------------------------------- Tips: * Until you get like 1k + int, just work on getting your ES up. I probably could have had like 10k ES if i went all rare gear, but i didn't because i wanted damage. * Your priorities should be as follows: 6 Socket WI -> Capped Resistances -> High ES gear -> INT on gear -> Uniques mentioned above. * I would not suggest this being your first character in a new league, probably your second or third. Focus on getting a 6socket WI before starting this char and one or two good pieces of rare gear. * Black Sun Crest is a luxury item, it gives a ton of int for the loss of ES, Resistances, and flat INT. Try seeing which gives you more INT. * In a new league, just prioritize High ES and INT rare gear, then you can start saving up for the good stuff. My gear:
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Skill Tree(lvl 90): ToDo: Formatting, add gem links, link gear, skill tree + progression, some other stuff. Last edited by Doommoose43#2443 on Jan 16, 2016, 7:02:16 PM
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Hi there! I'm surprised I'm the first to respond. Thank you for taking the time to write this guide!
You didn't mention bandits, so I did Kill/Alira/Kill - I hope it's alright. I was burnt out - after reaching 91 solo with Essence Drain/Contagion and being stuck doing T9 maps - but when I saw the Race Season rewards I wanted to try out this build, as I had found a WI staff recently. It's my first ever CI character, getting chain-stunned is a bit annoying but I'm learning the ropes. I have to say it is extremely fun. I find the clear speed just fine, and the micro-stuns and freeze/chills the skill provides are really awesome! I'm level 69 and just started mapping, I currently have 8.2K ES which feels fine for now. I don't have enough Mana to run AA yet though. Reflect is not an issue (haven't encountered double reflect though) as my gems aren't 20/20 yet. Here's my gear (~50c total, I had the staff, boots and gloves already):
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The Black Sun Crest light radius penalty is a bit annoying, but if you take things slowly and carefully it's all good in darker maps. I think I'll even use this build at the begining of next league, as a hybrid Glacial Cascade character then transition to CI WI when I have the gear. |
