M'Avinas' Frostmaiden PvM Only
Well, this is not a new build what-so-ever, but, I have not found any real good guides based on this set. I wanted to make a guide around all Frostmaiden builds, but that would have been a disaster for you guys to read, so, I have decided to just post this up and get your opinions.

Acknowledgements and thanks to:
Aye Caramba, TheBe, Faelwen, people that have posted bowazon guides and all people that posted without sarcasm in my polls.

Section One:
Character Class Information
Stats breakdown
Skills
Damage Formula Table
Mercenaries & their items
Increased Attack Speed (IAS)

Section Two:
Mavs Set
Ammies
Rings
Boots
Switch
Inventory
Item EQUIPPED Table
EQUIPPED Skill Tables

-=~@~=- Section One -=~@~=-

Character Class Information
The following link will provide you with the information regarding your starting attributes and what you receive per level you gain, and what you get if you place points into certain attributes: http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/classes/amazon.shtml

Stat Placement:
Glasscannon:
This character is after pure damage, and is only best used when playing Softcore, considering that death is of no concern
Vitality:
This character is after pure survivability, and is more useful for Hardcore, considering, death is a major issue.
The main problem with the M'Avinas' Setup, you will NOT be relying on "Physical Damage" output, but relying on "Elemental Damage" output. So your inventory will be mostly "Elemental" damaging charms, unless you can afford the 3/20/20's. Check "Inventory" for some ideas of "Elemental" charms to use, or opt for Vita/Dex Hybrid setup.
Vita/Dex Hybrid:
This character can be implemented either Hardcore/Softcore, I have found that 150-200 vita to be a good option (naked) and
this leaves enough points to increase your bow damage and Max Block on switch if you choose to use SS/titan.

Glasscannon___________________Pure Vita______________________Vita / Dex Hybrid
Strength: Enough to wear Gear______Strength: Enough to wear Gear_____Strength: Enough to wear Gear
Dexterity: Rest___________________Dexterity: None_________________Dexterity: Rest after Vitality
Vitality: None____________________ Vitality: Rest____________________Vitality: 150-200 Hard (naked)
Energy: None____________________Energy: None___________________ Energy: None

Skills:
Skill placement is based on your style of gaming, it is not easy just to list the skills that I prefer. Now with that said, there are two (2) main skills for a Frostmaiden to max, that will be Freezing Arrow and Cold Arrow (Synergy: 12% cold damage per HARD skill). You can choose to be a "Frostmaiden/Strafer" or "Frostmaiden/Multi Shot" or "Frostmaiden/Strafe + Multi Shot Hybrid", it is up to you. My personal preference is Frostmaiden/Strafer, this combined in with Valk/Decoy/Merc in my opinion more damaging than Multi Shot.

Bow Skills Link:
http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/skills/amazon-bow.shtml
Passive Skills Link:
http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/skills/amazon-passive.shtml

Freezing Arrow:
Hell Difficulty: You can not freeze certain monsters because they have "Chill Effectiveness 0".
Souls & Gloams (Willowisps), Bone Fetish (dolls) and Blood Lord (Death Lord only "dual-axe-weilding brutes found in WSK & Throne)
Thanks to Faelwen for providing this information and links:
http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/monsters/act3-willowisp.shtml
http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/monsters/act5g-willowisp.shtml

This skill is a mana "Guzzler", so, to keep the mana up, you will have to choose what best suits your gaming style to recover the mana.
#1 Mass Mana Leech Items
#2 Act2 Might Merc using Insight
#3 Some Mana Leech Items utilising Strafe or Multishot in-between Freezing Arrow
#4 Phoenix on switch (note that you do not gain much return as bodies shatter)
#5 Mana pot mad.

Damage Formula Table:
I decided on removing this table to give me space and reduce your reading, but, if you want to find out how to calculate your damage, you can check this link: http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/basics/characters.shtml
OR
http://strategy.diii.net/news.php?id=551#Weapon%20Damage

Mercenaries & Their Items:
Once again, this section is based on your own personal preference and how you want to play the game. I would say that you choose your merc setup based on what areas you want to achieve, like hitting last IAS breakpoint, getting more damage, or maybe even having your merc survive longer to tank, all this is dependent upon you and your gaming style.

We are going to start with the two (2) main items that are commonly used by both mercenaries, that would be the armor and the helm. The following link will provide you with all the information that you need to know about the items listed. http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/

Fortitude Runeword Armor: 4 Socket Armor: El, Sol, Dol & Lo (not io) (In specific order)
This is best created in an Elite LIGHT armor, for manoeuvrability (FRW), great defense and less strength requirements, you can make them in Elite MEDIUM armors, but the strength requirements and manoeuvrability (FRW) might be an issue. Note: Ethereal Bugged Armor for your merc, and Non eth Armor for your character.
Optional Armors:
Eth Stone Runeword for mass defense, Eth Treachery (1.11) for IAS & Fade, Eth Skullders for MF & def, Bramble (1.10) for lvl15-21 Thorns Aura, Duress cheap good defensive armor.

Andy's Visage (pref Ethereal)
Well this is the most preferred helm to use on most mercs, it has Life Steal, 20% IAS, +2 Skills and of course Strength.
Optional Helms:
Eth Delirium for CtC confusion etc, Eth Rockstopper for Res & DR, Eth Shako for Mf & DR, Eth Stealskull for LL, Mf and IAS, CoT for LL, life, dex, Vampire Gaze for Cold dmg, LL & DR

Rogue: Fire or Cold:
This merc is specifically included on the basis that she will be using Faith to aid your Frostmaiden with IAS breakpoints. If you have created a Faith weilding Frostmaiden, you can test this mercenary using different bows, I will include some as a general idea ONLY. This merc is not effected by "Iron Maiden" and is very versatile when doing Chaos, Level 3 Worldstone and Throne Room when "Oblivion Knights" are present.

Faith Runeword Bow: 4 Socket Bow: Ohm, Jah, Lem & Eld (In specific order)
There are three (3) bows that I will recommend in using for merc when making Faith. Personally I prefer the Great Bow.
#1 Great Bow (pref 15%ed): This bow is fast, has great average damage, and the requisites are easy for Rogue to weild.
#2 Diamond Bow (pref 15%ed): This bow has good speed and very good average damage, the requisites are also good.
#3 Hydra Bow (pref 15%ed): This bow, has good speed and great damage. 134 Strength req:
................... A naked L82 Rogue from Normal (str: 134, dex: 203) meets the requirements of all elite bows: Provided by Faelwen

Merc Weilding Faith Statistics
- Fanatic Aura Lvl13 = Party Damage +% (127) / Attack Speed +% (32) / Attack +% (100)
- Fanatic Aura Lvl14 = Party Damage +% (135) / Attack Speed +% (33) / Attack +% (105)
- Fanatic Aura Lvl15 = Party Damage +% (144) / Attack Speed +% (33) / Attack +% (110)
Optional Bows:
Ice Runeword for the Holy Freeze Aura, Edge Runeword for the Thorns Aura, Brand Runeword for the 'exploding arrows' and 'bone spear'

Act 2 Mercenaries:
These mercs are commonly used with a number of builds. There can be one (1) or two (2) minor problems with this mercs depending on the area in which you are gaming.
#1: Stygian Dolls: Corpse explosion can make mince meat out of Glasscannons and on occassions Vita when Amped.
.... Found when getting to Mephisto, Nihlathok (good areas magic finding), another common area is the Throne Room when levelling.
#2: Iron Maiden: This is common amoung chaos'ers, also other area's where there are Oblivion Knights.
....Worldstone Keep L3, Throne of Destruction, and Furnace of Pain (Uber Izual's hideout) are the other areas occasionally containing Oblivion Knights: Provided by Faelwen

Might Aura: This is the "Offensive" merc in Act 2 Nightmare Difficulty ONLY
This merc gives you approximately another 200% enhanced damage, for those that want more damage.
Holy Freeze Aura: This is the "Defensive" merc in Act 2 Nightmare Difficulty ONLY
This merc slows down enemies quite effectively, giving you time to re-locate your zon into a good attacking position or recasting your Valk or Decoy.
Prayer Aura: This is the "Combat" merc in Act 2 Normal/Hell Difficulty ONLY
This merc helps with gaining life/mana, commonly used with a "Spinner" for Ubertrist levelling.

Act2 Merc Weapons:
You will have to test some of the weapons for your game style and what area of the game you will be gaming the most. The best example I could give you, is Chaos'ing, most people know that Iron Maiden is the bane for any high damaging melee character/merc, so to keep this merc alive longer, you will choose a low to mid damaging weapon for him.

An example of a Merc setup: Might Aura @ Bramble Armor @ Non Eth Pride Polearm @ Crown of Thieves.
For these reasons: 400%+ extra damage, 15-21 level thorns aura, uninterruption. (Valk/Zon/Merc & Decoy gain benefits)

Non ethereal Polearms with minimum to medium damage are good for chaosing.
Ethereal Polearms with the best damage for merc tanking.

Pride: What can I say, the Concentration Aura increases yours and your valks damage and helps with uninterruption.
Infinity: Well, if you want to reduce monsters res to deal more cold damage, this is ideal.
Insight: Simply basic, if you need the mana, then this is a good weapon to have on merc
Reapers Toll: Decrepify sure does help with Physical Immunes and a number of other areas.
...............Source procing AD (e.g. Atma's Scarab) is preferred over Decrepify, because AD is twice as effective as Dec for lowering damage resist: Provided by Faelwen

Increased Attack Speed (IAS)
Use the quote below as an indication to what you may want or need.
Speed Calculator Link: http://diablo3.ingame.de/tips/calcs/weaponspeed.php?lang=english
Better yet, use TitanSeal's Attack Speed Calculator: Provided by Faelwen
http://diablo3.ingame.de/tips/calcs/speedcalc_titanseal/speedcalc_english.php

-=~@~=- Section Two -=~@~=-

M'Avinas' Set:
Complete Set Bonus_________________________M'avina's Tenet Sharkskin Belt______________M'avina's True Sight Diadem:
+3 To Amazon Skill Levels_______________________ Defense: 81-86 (varies) & Level Req: 45__________ Defense: Base 200-210 & Level Req: 64
+20 To Strength ______________________________Required Strength: 20_________________________Replenish Life +10
+30 To Dexterity______________________________+50 Defense________________________________ +25 To Mana
All Resistances +50____________________________+20% Faster Run/Walk________________________+30% Increased Attack Speed
+100 Defense________________________________ +5 To Light Radius____________________________+1 To All Skills (2 Items)
+100 To Attack Rating__________________________5% Mana Stolen Per Hit________________________50% Bonus To Attack Rating (3 Items)
100% Better Chance Of Getting Magic Items________ All Resistances +25 (4 Items)___________________ All Resistances +25 (4 Items)

M'avina's Embrace Kraken Shell ______________ M'avina's Icy Clutch Battle Gauntlets_______ M'avina's Caster Grand Matron Bow
Defense: (771-1163)-(877-1269) & Level Req: 70_____Defense: 84-97 (varies) & Level Req: 32__________Damage: 40 To 207 (123.5 Avg) & Level Req: 70
Strength Req: 122______________________________Strength Req: 88____________________________ Strength: 108 & Dexterity: 152
Requirements -30%_____________________________+45-50 Defense_____________________________Base Weapon Speed: [10]
10% Chance To Cast Lvl 3 Glacial Spike When Struck___6-18 Cold Damage, 6 sec. Duration (Normal)______+188% Enhanced Damage
Magic Damage Reduced By 5-12 (varies)____________ Half Freeze Duration_________________________+40% Increased Attack Speed
+ (4 Per Character Level) 4-396 Defense (Char Lvl)___ 56% Extra Gold From Monsters_________________+50 To Attack Rating
+2 To Passive And Magic Skills (Amazon Only)________+10 To Strength_____________________________ Fires Magic Arrows [Level 1]
+350 Defense_________________________________+15 To Dexterity_____________________________ Adds 114-377 Magic Damage (2 Items)
+30% Faster Hit Recovery (3 Items)_______________+131-252 Cold Dmg, 4 sec Lgth (Normal) (4 Items)__10% CtC Lvl 15 Nova (Striking) (3 Items)
____________________________________________ +20% To Cold Skill Dmg (Complete Set)___________+2 To Bow and Crossbow Skills (Amazon Only) (4 Items)

Mav Armor: Strength Req = 122: add Jewel: -15% Req = 104 Strength Req. Making Mavs Bow the highest Strength Req: 108
-15% Req SUFFIX, can be found in either Magical (Blue) or Rare (Yellow) jewels.
Magical Jewels can only have 1 Prefix and 1 Suffix.
..Magic (blue) Jewel: 15% All Res / -15% Req: This is not cheap.
..Rare (yellow) -15% Req (Suffix) read quote to get indication of what you can get.
Quote: AyeCaramba,Wed, Nov 26 2008, 10:38pm:
..Up to 4 (minimum 2). You can have any combination subject to a max of 3 suffixes / 3 prefixes. (Same restriction as all other rare items). So 1/3, 2/2 and 3/1 are the possible 4 affix combinations.

Ammies:
Highlords: One of the most commonly used amulets for many different character builds.
............20% Increased Attack Speed helps you to reach your desired Breakpoint
............% Deadly Strike helps with better chances to deal double damage
............+1 All Skills helps with increasing damage, valks life/dmg/def, decoys life, innate passive skills like pierce/penetrate/dodge/avoid etc.
............35% Ligtning res comes in very handy also.
Cats Eye: Another common amulet for a bowazon, in my opinion based solely for those that want to desynch FRW in duels.
............20% Increased Attack Speed helps you to reach your desired Breakpoint
............30% Faster Run/Walk helps in those situations where monsters are extra fast and you need to move out quickly.
............+25 Dexterity. This helps with damage of course, also, depending on your stat build: Glasscannon, Vita or Vita/Dex Hybrid, this can help with stat points.
Atmas' Scarab: This is also a nice cheap ammy that comes in very handy when taking on Physical Immunes that are also Cold Immune.
............5% Chance to Cast level 2 Amplify damag on striking (basically means when you hit) is very good
............20% Bonus to Attack Rating helps alot, especially with Glasscannons
Mara's Kaleidoscope: This is not that common on a bowazon, especially on Softcore, but, this does have it's benefits.
............+2 All Skills helps with increasing damage, valks life/dmg/def, decoys life, innate passive skills like pierce/penetrate/dodge/avoid etc.
............+5 to All Attributes, well this is self explanatory
............20-30% All Resistences: This is the safety factor, more resistences, means more damaging/life charms in your inventory.
Seraphs Hymn: Now, I know not many people think this is an option, but, it can be well suited for your build.
............+2 All Skills helps with increasing damage, valks life/dmg/def, decoys life, innate passive skills like pierce/penetrate/dodge/avoid etc.
............20-50% Damage & 150-250 AR versus Demons & Undead: Many demons and undead around
............+2 Light Radius: My personal preference when it comes to being in the dark and getting to see them sooner or later.
Crescent Moon: One of the oldest amulets that still needs mention, especially with a Mana Guzzler character like Frostmaiden.
............11-15% Mana Leech / 3-6% Life Leech & +45 Mana: All these are definately needed if you can not afford other ammies.
Eye of Etlitch: Again a very good amulet for a Frostmaiden, again extremelly cheap.
............+1 All Skills helps with increasing damage, valks life/dmg/def, decoys life, innate passive skills like pierce/penetrate/dodge/avoid etc.
............3-7% Life Leech: Always needed
............Adds 1-2 or 3-5 Cold Damage helps a little
............Cold Duration 2-10 seconds This is not shown, but is the main reason for this build, especially in Hell Difficulty
............Length Note: http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/normal/uamulets.shtml (see bottom): Provided by Faelwen

Rings:
Ravenfrost: This is the best ring for a Frostmaiden.
............240+ AR, 20 Dex, Cannot be Frozen, 20% Cold Absorb and the 15-45 Cold Damage over 4 seconds in normal (1 sec Hell)
Bk Ring: Here comes some Life Leech, an extra skill point and a little bit more life, other option for LL would be Carrion Wind
Rare Dual Leech: This is possibly one of the most important rings, especially if you get this with Str/Dex stats.
Mana Leech Rings (Rare/Manald etc): because Freezing Arrow consumes major Mana, you will need alot of mana return.
Wisp: You got to love the Light Absorb when facing Gloams (A4 Skill Quest and Anya Quest Hell) or Souls when baaling.

Boots:
War Travellers: This is the best boots for added damage (physical), Mf, FrW included.
Waterwalks: More life & 15 Dex
Sandstorm Treks: now some people just say, "wtf", well alot of people complain about Poison, so, your choice
.......................Poison res not a problem if using "Atma's Scarab" (+75)
Gore Rideers: just for the Open Wounds mostly.

Switch:
Personally I would always go with CTA / Spirit (eth spirit monarch =146 strength req)
Other things to take into account would be:
Mavs Bow: I hate running out of arrows in the middle of chaos.
Titan's + SS: ~ max block, plus gives you the option of adjusting your build towards including Charged Strike against monsters having very high cold+phys resist: Provided by Faelwen

Inventory: This is really dependent on you and your gaming style, what you want to acheive. I have noted down some ideas for viewing and link you to the "Charms: Magic Prefix/Suffix" page: http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/charms.shtml
Physical Frostie:
..... 3 | 20 | 20 Small charms. Expensive, hard to find alot, also careful of dupes. As many as you want.
Ice Frostie:
..... Cold damage small charms. Cheap, easy to find, easy to upgrade. As many as you want.
Elemental Frostie:
..... Cold | Light | Fire damage small charms. Cheap, easy to find, easy to upgrade. Good mixture, maybe you can just go with Light/Cold mix.

Torch: This is by far a good thing to have on your zon, yes you can drop games and get interrupted, but, with skill this item can be utilised to it's full potential.
Anni: This is a basic want/need.

Items EQUIPPED Table:
The following table refers to what you acheive with those specific items equipped with your M'Avinas Set on.


EQUIPPED Skill Tables:
The following Tables represent what points are used in certain skills and also gives you a breakdown on what you acheive with your Passive skills.
You will be able to tell by the tables, that you will be only using like 80-82 Skills points, I would suggest that you use other skill points for your Valk/Decoy or Penetrate,
this of course is up to you. Below is a link to get some more information about Valkyrie: Provided by Faelwen
AK404 on the Valkyrie skill: http://www.theamazonbasin.com/~ak404/bowazon/skills/passive/valkyrie.htm

Dodge | Avoid | Evade Skills Layout Table:
This particular table comes in handy for those Glasscannons and also the Hardcore Vita | Dex Hybrid setup.
If you want more damage, then I would suggest that you use Act2 Might Aura Merc using lvl19-20 Concentration Pride.

Critical Strike Level 16 reaches 65% chance to do double damage, and then you need to invest 2 skill points to reach 66%.
Penetrate Lvl8 (105%AR) lvl9 (115%AR) lvl10 (125%AR) This skill should ONLY get added to if your character screen shows that
.............. you have LESS than 75% chance to hit Hell BAAL.
.............. More Info on this skill Provided by Faelwen:
.............. AK404's guide has an interesting discussion concerning Penetrate: http://www.theamazonbasin.com/~ak404/bowazon/skills/passive/penetrate.htm
Pierce Level 16 reaches 82%, and then you need to invest 2 skill points to reach 83%, then it goes up 1% per Skill Point.
Dodge Level 14 reaches 52%, then diminishing returns kick in.
Avoid Level 14 reaches 61%, then diminishing returns kick in.
Evade Level 14 reaches 52%, then diminishing returns kick in.
Valkyrie Based on skills selected in the table above.
....Lvl 08: Life = 1372 | Dodge = 44% | Avoid = 52% | Evade = 44%
....Lvl 09: Life = 1478 | Dodge = 46% | Avoid = 52% | Evade = 46%
....Lvl 10: Life = 1584 | Dodge = 47% | Avoid = 52% | Evade = 47%

Valk| Decoy Skills Layout Table:
This particular table can be used with any stat setup (Glasscannon | Vita | Vita/Dex Hybrid)

Critical Strike Level 16 reaches 65% chance to do double damage, and then you need to invest 2 skill points to reach 66%.
Penetrate Lvl8 (105%AR) lvl9 (115%AR) lvl10 (125%AR) This skill should ONLY get added to if your character screen shows that
.............. you have LESS than 75% chance to hit Hell BAAL.
.............. More Info on this skill Provided by Faelwen:
.............. AK404's guide has an interesting discussion concerning Penetrate: http://www.theamazonbasin.com/~ak404/bowazon/skills/passive/penetrate.htm
Pierce Level 16 reaches 82%, and then you need to invest 2 skill points to reach 83%, then it goes up 1% per Skill Point.
Dodge Level 8 reaches 44%, Level 9 reaches 46%, Level 10 reaches 47%
Avoid Level 8 reaches 52%, Level 9 reaches 54%, Level 10 reaches 55%
Evade Level 8 reaches 44%, Level 9 reaches 46%, Level 10 reaches 47
Decoy Based on skills selected in the table above.
....Lvl 15: Zons Base Life (Naked) x 150% = Decoy Life | Duration 80 secs
....Lvl 16: Zons Base Life (Naked) x 160% = Decoy Life | Duration 85 secs
....Lvl 17: Zons Base Life (Naked) x 170% = Decoy Life | Duration 90 secs
Valkyrie Based on skills selected in the table above.
....Lvl 16: Life = 1848 x 140% | Dodge = 18% | Avoid = 24% | Evade = 18%
....Lvl 17: Life = 1936 x 200% | Dodge = 18% | Avoid = 24% | Evade = 18%
....Lvl 18: Life = 2024 x 140% | Dodge = 18% | Avoid = 24% | Evade = 18%

~@~ izParagonzi ~@~

Nice low budget build.
Is sexy for pvm, i made one myself last ladder. I vouch this build

Nice, thank you.
Question, what skill setup did you use? Dodge or Valk?
Did you go with Glasscannon, hybrid etc?

Nice to see a good point.

Well, some input from any1 would be good.

~@~ izParagonzi ~@~

~@~ izParagonzi ~@~

I maxed cold arrow,ice arrow and freezing arrow. My valk was lvl 17 with items.
Multi was around lvl 20.
I kept using titans on switch vs cold immuns. Lighting bolt is 1pnt wonder
I had like 130+ vit with items and over 300+ dex

This post was edited by qYp on Dec 14 2008 01:34pm

Great job! Good to see that you finally published it I really hope that people will try the frostmaiden with mavina's set, eventhough it might be "budget" build, it is very effective and underrated. Pretty much everything non-immune is a 1-hit-kill in hell

Nice, input. At least they can see a different type of setup.
______________________________________________________



Thanks, I think this will be a good one for those that want to play a good budget character.

I have started working on the Other frostmaiden setups, I will be using the following tables in the next guide:


WF with -15% req jewel = 114 Str Not sure what would be great mods on this jewel besides the 15 ALL RES



This post was edited by izParagonzi on Dec 14 2008 04:26pm