Frostmaiden aka Ice Bowazon PvM Guide

CONTENTS

0. Introduction
1. The Build
2. Stats
3a. Skills - target values
3b. Skills - overview
3c. Skills - magezon & leveling
4a. Gear - final
4b. Gear - inventory
5. Mercenary
6. Final word


0. INTRODUCTION
We basically have three categories of builds in Diablo II. The first I would call "Superelite" - high-octane, devastating strategies used by everyone and their mother, such as hammerdin, trapsin or wind druid. It also includes devilishly fast MF sorc builds (light, blizzard, meteorb etc.), Trist runners (smiter) and some other foolproof, powerhouse strategies. Then we have "Experiments", usually built around second rate skills (Wake of Inferno, Impale, Teeth), quirky runewords or underpowered uniques and sets. They rarely make it through the Hell mode, but who cares, you take them as far as you can (it was fun while it lasted attitude) and never look back. This is 1% of Battlenet builds, I guess. And finally, we have a ton of builds somewhere in the middle - Hell viable, quite powerful, some of them able to go solo/untwinked... and yet, for various reasons, they kinda fell out of favor and rarely get much attention. I'd say Frostmaiden is one of them - loved by Amazon enthusiasts, but always in Java's shadow.

This is a love letter to Frostmaidens and Bowazons in general, who seemingly lost much popularity since 2000, but always offered a terrific, "true" Diablo experience, full of optimization, wit and tactics.

My guide is just one of countless writeups on this wonderful char, chances are you know some of the info included (if not all). I'm not claiming any originality whatsoever. What I'm trying to achieve is to get most of good ideas in one place, offer my personal take on them and, hopefully, convince some players to give Frostmaiden another go... or maybe explore such gameplay for the first time, who knows?


1. THE BUILD
So, what is a Frostmaiden?
Frostmaiden is simply a bow oriented Amazon whose primary attack is Freezing Arrow. In its purest form she's using Bow and Passive & Magic skills exclusively, never relying on javelins or spears. It doesn't mean the two skill trees don't mesh well - actually there is a number of efficient hybrid builds, such as Lightning Fury/Frozen Arrow zon by Nightfish (aka Fishyzon) or Kijya's Gunslinger. Both are recommended reads.

Since Freezing Arrow and its main synergy (Cold Arrow) only need 41 skill points to max, Frostmaiden has plethora of points to spend. The best thing you can do is build up another bow attack to deal with cold immunes and beef up her summons; improving passive skills is also neat. This particular build invests points in physical attack (Strafe), attack rating (Penetrate) and gets a very formidable Valkyrie on top.

Priorities:

• cold damage: +% to cold dmg, -% to enemy's cold res, longer freeze duration
  
• physical damage: ED%, +min/max dmg, Attack Rating also affects our killspeed
  
• +skills: to improve our Valkyrie, Pierce, BO and damage - especially Freezing Arrow
  
• life and mana leech: keep both bulbs full, chug fewer potions
  
• mana: +mana, +% to max mana, +mana after kill, faster mana regeneration
  
• faster run/walk: most of the setups don't teleport at all so we need maneuverability to keep her safe
  
• resistances: Fire and Lightning res should be maxed, the rest is optional
  
• improved attack speed: Grand Matron Bow and Hydra Bow both require 56% (10 frames attack) and 42% (5 frames Strafe) to hit a sweet spot
  

Also important, second priority:

• life: yeah, I said it! I find 1.2k life very comfortable and currently play with just 1000 after BO. We need some items/points to get there, but it's not necessary to get 300+ Vita to succeed. Of course it becomes #1 goal if you're playing Hardcore!
  
• knockback: cold attacks already slow monsters down, but KB is useful with Strafe, especially if we deal poor physical damage. Gear section includes a bunch of knockback items so give it a try and test yourself
  
• crushing blow: only half of your CB counts with distance weapons. It still helps with Hell Baal and other tough baddies, you might want to stash CB% items for that occasion
  
• deadly strike: it only kicks in once you fail the Critical Strike test. Chance for CS is usually over 55%, so there's that. Similar to Crushing Blow - nice to have, not gamebreaking
  

Irrelevant:

• defense: my girl has less than 2.000, and since I can't get 8-10k, I'm not concerned with this one at all
  
• faster hit recovery: bowazons should rely on footwork, tactics, long range stuff etc., with Merc and Valk absorbing most of the damage. We rarely engage in close combat, if at all
  
• faster cast rate: unless you get Enigma, there is no use for this mod, other than -maybe- quicker Decoy/BO cast once in a while. Amazons have terrible FCR breakpoints anyway
  

2. STATS

[ # ] this is how much I had with gear at clvl 90

Strength - enough for items [108]
Bows don't get STR bonus, we only care about requirements. Some of the heavier items mentioned in this guide are: War Traveler (95 Strength required), Nightwing's Veil (96), Andy's (102), Grand Matron Bow for Ice runeword (108). We also need an armor - most likely a runeword made in a Dusk Shroud (77), Wyrmhide (84), Scarab Husk (95) or Archon Plate (103). You can also consider Wire Fleece (111) and Great Hauberk (118), especially if you're going for Windforce (134) or Spirit Monarch on switch (152). Exceptional armors (Mage Plate, Cuirass etc.) are also nice, but only the heaviest spawn with 4 sockets, limiting runeword selection.

Dexterity - most of your points [400+]
There are two approaches: either you rely on Conviction and Ignore Target's Defense mod, or pump a significant number of points in DEX and Penetrate to skyrocket Attack Rating. I prefer #2, mainly because I don't find Life that important on Softcore. Besides, ITD doesn't work vs Act Bosses, so AR is still needed for versatility. You want to reach 15k+ with Freezing Arrow and at least 10k with Strafe, roughly speaking.
Also, for ranged attackers, 1 DEX = 1% ED. It's not much, but reliable Strafe damage is extremely important.
I suggest you put most of your stat points here (~3/4 after meeting Str requirements).

Vitality - enough for comfort [120+]
She is not a pure glass-canon (doesn't need to), but as I see it, 1000 life is good enough, while 1.2k+ is a breeze. You could even play with as little as 650 hp, but casting Decoys and careful maneuvering in hot areas (i.e. Travincal, Chaos, Cows, WSK) will slow you down too much. How many points you spend here really comes down to personal preference and gear; I kinda like ~1/4 ratio (after Str req).

Energy - base [50]
Frostmaiden needs gallons of mana, but you should get it from rings, gloves, charms; mana leech, mana after kill, maybe an Insight, and potions. Of course it's not a crime to put 20-30 here if you need it desperately (as you see the stat distribution is less strict than for pure Strafe-MS bowazons). My char, while far from godly, runs with 550+ Mana after BO - and it all comes from gear.

It's been years since we got tokens and Akara respecs, don't be afraid to use them. What works for me doesn't necessarily work for you. Reaching 152 STR or going for a bit tougher zon won't break your game, so tweak her to your liking!


3a. SKILLS - TARGET VALUES

20 Freezing Arrow
20 Cold Arrow
20 Strafe
1 Multi Shot
1 Ice Arrow
1 Magic Arrow
1 Guided Arrow

1 Critical Strike
1-20 Penetrate
1 Pierce
1 Dodge
1 Avoid
1 Evade
1 Inner Sight
1 Slow Missile
1 Decoy
10+ Valkyrie


3b. SKILLS - OVERVIEW

Freezing Arrow - Primary attack. On top of solid cold damage (3-4k) and AR (+300-400%), the arrow explodes and hurts all creatures near the point of impact. What's more, high Pierce % multiplies your dmg to thousands because each creature on its path triggers another cold explosion. A terrific group killer, usually decimating whole mobs in one blow. Max it.

Cold Arrow - Synergy. Despite the numbers in LCS, it's immeasurably weaker than Freezing Arrow since it doesn't deliver that humongous splash damage.

Strafe - Secondary attack. This is your answer to cold immune monsters and how you refill life bubble with leech. It also comes in handy against weak monsters swarming from all directions, such as fallen, flayers or imps. The only problem is killing speed - our equipment has to facilitate both elemental and physical damage - so I suggest you max it and then try to incorporate ED% mods in your gear without hampering the main attack. Quite a challenge, maybe the most problematic area to deal with.

Multiple Shot - Tertiary attack. Unfortunately there is no way to increase its damage with +skills (it only adds arrows to a volley). One arrow can only hit one monster... and just the middle two trigger effects such as Crushing Blow. Since we already have it as a prerequisite, we can use it from time to time in vast, open areas like Far Oasis or River of Flame. Personally, I have it on left mouse button all the time and spray a few volleys at scattered enemies, especially when I don't want to risk a strafelock.

Ice Arrow, Magic Arrow, Guided Arrow - Prerequisites. Ice Arrow only adds cold duration, thanks but no thanks. We have enough from items. Guided Arrow used to be fantastic in the old days of Diablo, now it's nerfed a bit and doesn't really work with this build. I'd rather Strafe/FA Act Bosses.

Critical Strike - Typical one point wonder. With +skills on board, it warrants 50-60% chance to inflict double damage for physical part of your attack. It doesn't stack with Deadly Strike found on Gorerider, Highlords etc. Pumping more points here becomes inefficient after slvl 13, when % gains drop from 3 to 1 point per level (to be specific, the pattern is irregular and goes like 1-1-2 or close to it).

Penetrate - I like it maxed (or close to max) to make Strafe shine against bosses. Its usefulness is very dependant on gear selection, but honestly, I don't see a better use of skill points for my playstyle.

Pierce - Everyone knows that 9 levels in Pierce is enough to cap 100% chance with Razortail. Most Frostmaidens will have Torch, Anni, +4 from armor and headgear - already enough. If you don't have Razor and put more points here, be sure to check out skill progression - it really slows down after slvl 16.

Inner Sight, Slow Missiles - Prerequisites. Very situational skills, rarely needed, although Slow Missiles saved my butt a few times against Dark Rogue archers. You can do without them if you're not going for Valkyrie.

Dodge, Avoid, Evade - They get a lot of bad rep because most people play Javazons and engage enemies at closer distance, proc'ing D/A/E too often. Frostmaiden shoots from afar so I don't find these problematic... or helpful, either.

Decoy - Perhaps my favorite Amazon magic skill, very effective crowd control tool. More safety from ranged creatures + herding melee monsters = pure win. I deem it good enough with 1 point and +items, but feel free to add more.

Valkyrie - Once I'm satisfied with AR and bow attacks, I dump all remaining points here. Not that she needs it, slvl 15-20 is very tough already. Many players advise slvl 17 as bottom line (she gets rare War Pike), but keep in mind her equipment improves steadily all the way up to slvl 27 (rare Tiara). Javazons have neat synergies, we don't, so feel free to spend here big time.


3c. SKILLS - MAGEZON & LEVELING
Physical attacks require a much different set of items and properties than elemental arrows. Frostmaiden with Strafe and Multishot will always struggle to balance these skills and Freezing Arrow for optimal killing speed.
The alternative for you might be a hybrid Freezing Arrow + Exploding Arrow build, also known as Magezon. You can focus all your equipment on +skills, mana, life and ias, without breaking a sweat for more +dmg, ED%, AR or leech.

Magezon skills:
20 Freezing Arrow
20 Cold Arrow
20 Exploding Arrow
20 Fire Arrow
1 Ice Arrow
3 Critical Strike, Penetrate, Pierce
then Valkyrie (optional)

The upsides of this build are obvious. Once you give up on physical mods, gear selection becomes easier and there is less strain on some slots (like amulet and boots). Exploding Arrow is certainly less impressive than FA in the long run, but with 1600-1800 area damage (achievable with high end gear, +20 skills total), you should do well against cold immunes. On the other hand, very low physical dmg and AR renders life/mana leech useless, so Magezon has to come up with something else. One way is amassing "+ X after kill" items - which in turn hampers our "newly attained" flexibility. The other is transfering points from Dexterity to Vita and, dare I say it, Energy. Prayer merc with Insight would help, but then again, do we really want to ditch Infinity and compromise our killing speed? Finally, we can always collect and rebuy potions.

Another issue is functionality. While Exploding Arrow works quite well against cold immunes, it's very similar to Freezing Arrow - both skills are slow heavy hitters that work best vs tightly packed monsters. Strafe is the opposite: auto-targeting rapid shots, perfect against scattered packs, low HP creatures or "machine gun style" weapon vs bosses... not to mention mana costs (24 vs 11) and fantastic leech. There are multiple scenarios where Strafe/MS combo shines brighter than Exploding Arrow really. It doesn't mean the "physical route" is superior - it boils down to your playstyle and available equipment.

In any case, Exploding Arrow is a terrific LEVELING tool.
First off, EA main synergy (Fire Arrow) is available from get-go, while you have to wait for Cold Arrow until clvl 6. Second, you can pump Exploding Arrow from level 12, while Freezing Arrow is in the last tier of skills. It means that EA gets a huge head start and takes care of entire mobs already in Act 2 Normal, while cold attacks are really tame.
If you put all skill points into elemental arrows, here's how fire and cold trees damage compare in early stages:



Once you find Lore (Ort + Sol), Maiden amulet and a good bow, EA deals 600+ splash dmg per arrow - with chances to Pierce on top. Make no mistake, this route is insanely efficient all the way from Tristruns to Nightmare Diablo, certainly outclassing Cold Arrow during most exhausting parts of your run... and you can always respec once monsters catch up with you (clvl 40 or later).

If you'd rather play pure Frostmaiden all the way, you can follow this skills order:
02: Critical Strike (1)
03: Magic Arrow (1)
04: Inner Sight (1)
Den: save [1]
05: save [2]
06: Cold Arrow (1), Multi Shot (1)
07: Cold Arrow (2)
08: Cold Arrow (3)
09: Cold Arrow (4)
10: Cold Arrow (5)
11: Cold Arrow (6)
12: Cold Arrow (7), Slow Missiles (1)
13: Cold Arrow (8)
14: Cold Arrow (9)
Rada: save [1]
15: Cold Arrow (10)
16: Cold Arrow (11)
17: save [2]
18: Ice Arrow (1), Guided Arrow (1), Penetrate (1)
19: Cold Arrow (12)
20: Cold Arrow (13)
21: Cold Arrow (14)
22: Cold Arrow (15)
23: save [1]
24: Decoy (1), Strafe (1)
Izual: Cold Arrow (16), (17)
25: Cold Arrow (18)
26: Cold Arrow (19)
27: Cold Arrow (20)
28: save [1]
29: save [2]
30: Freezing Arrow (1), Pierce (1), Strafe (2)

Then you should max Freezing Arrow -> Strafe -> few points in Valkyrie -> max Penetrate -> rest into Valk.

4a. GEAR - FINAL
Obviously you can gear Frostmaiden in a number of ways. Some of us prefer full Freezing Arrow bonanza with sporadic Strafe, while others look for balance and stuff items with ED% jewels instead of Facets.
So I'm gonna list the most common items, opening with favorites and moving on to more exotic choices, providing some comments. It should all help you with building your own Frostmaiden.
I'm trying to keep it realistic (no Jeweler's Archon Plate of the Whale), but there will be a couple of pieces I don't really recommend for they are too expensive or impractical - I only listed them for completeness sake. Let's rock.


Bow

Ice (Amn Shael Jah Lo) Grand Matron Bow

• +1-3 Bow skills, depending on base. Don't waste your runes on anything else than +3, period
  
• -20% to enemy cold resist. Always great, but especially yummy vs high res monsters, such as Urdars, Balrogs, Moon Lords, Succubi and "broken" immunes
  
• +25-30% to cold damage. It improves all hits and cold explosions, even these triggered with Pierce
  
• lvl 18 Holy Freeze Aura while equipped. Another ~160 dmg to your cold attacks, without taking +cold/-res bonus into account. It also slows down most of the screen
  
• 25% CtC lvl 22 Frost Nova on striking. The damage isn't impressive, but we get even more crowd control this way, especially with Strafe
  
• 20% IAS. We can hit 56% breakpoint with amulet and gloves
  
• 20% Deadly Strike. While not as hot due to high % Critical Strike, it "closes the gap" somewhat
  
• 7% Life Stolen per Hit. I'm satisfied with 20% total so it's a good chunk
  
• Ignore Target's Defense. Usually translates to 95% chance to hit. Very important for subpar AR builds
  
• 140-210% Enhanced Damage. Could be better, but at least makes our Strafe/MS respectable
  

Long story short, this is pretty much the ultimate Frostmaiden bow, and I don't think there is a better FA weapon in the game. Given that Amazon bows have up to +3 Bow skills built-in (it's a MUST, don't settle for less!), we're talking of ~1000 cold dmg increase per hit (+skills, +25% cold, Holy Freeze). This is a HUGE difference maker for anyone relying on splash damage and high Pierce... and it's before we account for -20% cold res. This number doesn't show up, but it can easily translate to 2000+ cold damage advantage over regular bows (depends on monster resistance). Pretty much the only weakness lies in ED% mod, which is pretty low even with perfect rolls. I only managed to get >180% ED on third attempt and settled for that. Finding a superior base - 4 sockets, +3 skills, 15% ED - is a daunting task... I wouldn't bother, it's PVM only build, but if you happen to get it, roll your Ice to get at least 200% total.
Speaking of base items, I prefer Grand Matron Bow for decent physical damage (43 average compared to Mat Bow's 33).


Windforce Hydra Bow

• +309 max damage (at clvl 99); ~280 dmg at clvl 90. It turns our Amazon into a great Strafer right off the bat
  
• 250% Enhanced Damage. This value is constant so every Windforce owns
  
• 20% IAS. Same as Ice. Hydra Bow and GMB both have [10] Speed so breakpoints stay the same
  
• 6-8% Mana Stolen per Hit. Any roll will do. Awesome Strafe damage makes both Mana and Life leech very efficient, but still, find yourself a rare ring to boost it even further
  
• Knockback. Some guys can't live without it, if you're one of them, you don't have to bother with KB gloves or headgear
  
• 10 Strength, 5 Dexterity. Not that important since Windforce is (likely) your most requiring item
  
• 1 socket potential. Another Cold Facet in your gear, sweet!

The craziest Elite bow out there, notoriously underrated. I used Windforce for entire Hell mode and only later swapped it for Ice. It doesn't have nearly as many sexy mods as its rival, but kinda makes up for it with MASSIVE raw damage. You can customize it slightly with socket (Larzuk), I put a 5/5 facet there ASAP, but Jah rune (ITD) or ED% jewel work nice, too. With Windforce on I spammed Strafe much more often than I do now, probably a 50/50 split with FA; in comparison, Ice sees more Freezing Arrow action (80/20 split). Conclusion: if you're going for a pure Frostmaiden feel, pay the price and take the runeword. If you don't mind Strafing a lot, get a good look at Windforce.


M'avina's Caster Grand Matron Bow
The bow itself can't hold a candle next to Ice and Windforce, but the full set - M'avina's Battle Hymn - is a viable PvM option for less than Jah rune (only Diadem is hard to get). You can easily get 3.000+ dmg Freezing Arrow or ~1.5k Strafe, depending on jewels and the rest of your equipment. I highly recommend checking it out if you're not sure about this whole Frostmaiden thing.
NOTE: I didn't include M'avina's items in following recommendations for clarity. They are REALLY good as a package - keep it in mind.


Harmony (Tir Ith Sol Ko) Grand Matron Bow
Plethora of good mods, headlined with 200+ ed% (up to 275%), lvl 10 Vigor aura and fire/cold/lightning damage, which makes it a very versatile weapon. You'll be darting across levels even with plain 20% frw boots, so Cat's Eye and Inertia charms become kinda obsolete (good - more slots for life/mana/res). Mana regeneration, +mana after kill and significant Valkyrie boost (+6 with a good roll) make it even sweeter. The highest rune is Ko, so it's fair to say anyone can get it with Countess help. Prebuff and faster movement make Harmony a viable switch option as well.


Melody (Shael Ko Nef) Grand Matron Bow
Another budget option. Melody is terrible for physical damage, but you get whopping +6 Bow skills in return. I can recommend it purely as a Freezing Arrow weapon - you'll need a proper Strafe bow on switch to compensate, unless you're playing Magezon. Of course, to unlock its full potential, +3 Bow GMB base is mandatory, and these don't grow on trees.


Wizendraw Long Battle Bow
We're only here for -35% to Enemy Cold Resistance mod. In some very specific cases - such as broken immunes with 95% Cold Res - it deals massive FA damage. Similar to Melody in that you need a second bow to Strafe - Wizendraw won't be enough, even upgraded. Mediocre IAS and ED% can be somewhat mitigated with jewel. If you want to try it for real, make sure to get good +skills elsewhere; -35% res with 1100 FA damage is still poor.


Faith (Ohm Jah Lem Eld) Grand Matron Bow
I'll just mention this bow briefly. Faith is considered a staple of Bowazon's arsenal, mainly due to reliable damage (330% ED), Fanaticism aura and sick Attack Rating bonus. The question is: if you can afford Ohm and Jah runes for rerolls, isn't it better to spend it on Ice, which is designed with Frostmaiden in mind? Another point: are we better off with 9/8 FPA breakpoints and more IAS items, when 10 FPA gets the job done (with slower mana drain)? Don't get me wrong, Faith definitely ranks up there in terms of killspeed - but it shines brighter on pure Bowazons, imho.


Armor

Chains of Honor (Dol Um Ber Ist)

• +2 skills. All around improvement (damage, Valkyrie, BO)
  
• 65% All Resistances. Always a good pick for no-Shield builds, truly a foundational mod which opens up numerous options elsewhere
  
• 8% Life Stolen per Hit. Part of our Strafe-refill engine
  
• +200% damage vs Demons, +100% vs Undead. With this build, any ED% chunk is welcome
  
• +20 Strength. It saves points for Dex and Vita if you make COH in light Elite armor (Dusk works best)
  
• 25% Magic Find. Good to have, but if you're serious about MF, you need to stack at least 4x as much
  
• Damage Reduced by 8%. Cherry on top
  

COH improves so many areas that most Frostmaidens don't even consider other options. Gigantic All Resist saves so much hassle - you don't need trires boots, Maras or high-end gloves anymore. It certainly translates for elemental damage - you can fit more +skill items, skillers or even cold dmg charms in your backpack. The only underwhelming part is lack of true ED%; Ice and COH combo is a great backbone, but don't expect Strafe to rock the world.
The good outweighs the bad for sure. I ran COH in Dusk Shroud for a long time, but later made one in heavier base - only for style points (Dusk is almost perfect with War Traveler -> GMB Strength requirements).


Fortitude (El Sol Dol Lo)
The tradeoff is obvious: we forego +2 skills, huge Allres and other tiny COH mods for fat boost to physical damage (300% ED). It looks more impressive on LCS because ED% vs Demons and Undead (COH mods) don't show up there.
Ice GMB users might scoff at it since ~200 damage increase (Strafe) isn't generally worth the hassle. Windforce, which has enormous Weapon Damage to begin with, is another story though. I tested it briefly, liked the results, but also realized my zon is no longer a "pure" Frostmaiden since she strafed most of the time! With all these caveats, Fortitude is a great option for physical-first playstyle.


Enigma (Jah Ith Ber)
No need to introduce it. Some of you will call me crazy or n00b for bringing this up, but hear me out. We get the same +skills and DR% as COH, but Enigma dominates in Strength (70 > 20) and magic find (90 > 25). Huge Strength bonus makes life easier especially for Windforce and Spirit users -> more points for Dex or Vita. My favorite mod is 45% Faster Run Walk though, I simply love Amazon in a running back role, either keeping the distance or going wildcat in tight spots.
TELEPORT and PvM Bowazon has always been a controversial topic. It's true that Amazon has horrible FCR breakpoints and you'll never come close to Necro or Druid's speed, not to mention Sorc. It's true that Bowazon can't really squeeze FCR items reasonably. In the same time, it's very nice to reposition Merc and Valkyrie every now and then without worrying about Teleport charges. Don't use it to get across levels, treat it as a tactical tool.
All in all, Enigma lacks any ED% mods and forces you to get creative with Resistances. Magezons will love it, pure Frosties need to plan it out carefully. If you can overcome its deficiencies, more power to you!


Tyrael's Might Sacred Armor
Highly coveted armor for its rarity and looks. Frostmaiden in Tyrael's is truly a thing of beauty! It has a few sweet properties:

• 20-30 Strength, a bit better than COH
  
• Cannot Be Frozen, maybe you can ditch Raven Frost and get yourself some juicier (?) ring
  
• 20% FRW, save up on charms
  
• socketable

Other mods aren't that hot: Requirements -100% don't lead anywhere since you still need Str for bows; damage to Demons and Resistances are much better on COH; slain monsters Rest In Peace rarely kicks - you're freezing 'em to death anyways. Unfortunately, this ultra rare find falls short of runewords, but you might like it if you pursue 8 FPA breakpoint (75 IAS for Mat bow).


Treachery (Shael Thul Lem)
Chance to Fade (lvl 15) and 45% ias. Damage reduction (15%) and All Resistance bonus (60%) with Fade are nifty, but you need the skill to kick in first, don't go in the heat of the battle without it... IAS is only needed for 8 FPA Mat bow builds, which I kinda dislike, and you're giving up a ton of cold/physical damage with this setup (no +skills, ED%).


Helm

Nightwing's Veil
+2 skills, 8-15% cold damage, 10-20 Dex, cold absorb. A perfect Frostmaiden headgear, save for some godly diadem with +life/frw and sockets... Nightwing is very affordable, provides remarkable damage boost, which can be further improved with Cold Facet. Make sure to get +14-15% cold mod, it's still much, much cheaper than high-end Griffons for Java. A+ item, nuff said.

Andariel's Visage
You're losing out on cold damage significantly in order to get 20% IAS and some life leech. I used it with physical Bowazons, but 10-frame Frostmaiden simply doesn't need that much ias - unless you're freeing up Amulet or gloves. More on that later.

Harlequin Crest aka Shako
Again, sacrifice a good deal of cold damage (likely 300-400 per hit) to get hefty life, mana and DR% for a modest price. Good budget option, maybe more than that for Hardcore players, but I'd go with Vitality and life charms first!

Guillaume's Face
I don't think crushing blow (35%) is worth losing out on +skills. Still, you can keep it stashed and equip just before Baal, he's tedious without CB.

Giant Skull
Less crushing blow (10%), but it has 2 sockets and knockback! Decent option if you like customization and can't get KB elsewhere.


Amulet

Highlord's Wrath
Promised land is 56% IAS for both favored bows. Unless you're planning for exotic items (Andys, Nosferatu's Coil, Treachery etc.), 20% from the amulet is a must. Highlord does just that, but also has:

• +1 all skills, so even Battle Orders benefit
  
• +35% light res, this one really matters and is a bit harder to find than fire
  
• ~33% deadly strike - coupled with Ice and Critical Strike, physical dmg is doubled at least 80% of the time (compared to 66% without it)

It's safe to say that Highlord's Wrath is the best ammy for most item setups. And it comes real cheap.

Cat's Eye
This one is sexy, aside from 20% IAS you get a heckload of FRW (30%) and some Dexterity to boot. I even bought a set of 11% LR small charms to test it for a week... and sadly realized that Highlords have a noticeable damage advantage. Sure, +25 Dex looks good on paper, but it translates to meager 25 ED% with bow - even that deadly strike mod hits harder. I still have it stashed for 'easy' areas such as Pits, Ancient Tunnels or Andariel. The maneuverability is cute.

Mara's Kaleidoscope, Seraph's Hymn, Metalgrid, Saracen's Chance, Crescent Moon etc. aka Non-IAS options
A lot of great mods here, including fat resists, +2 skills, hundreds of AR and some ED% against demons/undead. Crescent Moon is quite different, with good roll it looks like a leech ring on steroids. It's all very nice, but are you willing to give up other items to get IAS breakpoint? Mara + Andys look the most realistic, but cold dmg wise, Nightwing + Highlords have a significant lead. Quid pro quo.

Atma's Scarab
There will be times when you run into unbreakable Cold + Physical immunes. These guys are practically unkillable, especially with stoneskin, so you either go around them or cast Amplify Damage / Decrep.
Enter Atma's Scarab with its 5% chance to cast Amp on strike. Doesn't look like much, but with insane Strafe speed, it's bound to work on a second or third attempt. I'd never recommend it as a main ammy, carrying it around in your backpack shouldn't be a problem though. It's a matter of playstyle really.


Rings

Dual leech ring rare or crafted
The limit is 6% for mana and 8% for life leech (11% for the best crafted Blood rings). Many builds want these so expect steep prices. I currently run with modest 7% ll, 5% ml, 70 mana and some AR / MF on top.
Other good (and expensive) mods include: 10-20 Strength, 10-15 Dex, 20-40 life, up to 11 allres and 30% for single resistances. Some rings have up to +9 minimum damage and life replenishment, these are nice too. But remember, it's all for naught if leech values are meager. Plan ahead and get one that complements your bow.

Raven Frost
Cold damage? Check. Dexterity? Check. Attack Rating? Loads of it. It also boosts your Mana and provides CBF (slow zon is a dead zon). It's more than Frostmaiden could ever ask for, even the name is fitting! Seriously go get one, luckily these are quite common (for uniques) and you can grab low rolls for peanuts.

Stone of Jordan, Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band
If you get to the point where all your leech and res needs are covered, you should seriously consider adding +1 skills ring to your arsenal. Especially SOJ is tempting - a windfall of mana means a lot to this build. Trires boots and high-end crafted gloves are likely the best bets to free up a slot.

Wisp Projector
Some players have it stashed for Burning Souls, often found in WSK and Throne room. Personally, I find 75% Light res sufficient, and I always recommend casting Decoy where it's beneficial... but don't be afraid to use one on Hardcore.


Gloves

2/20 rare or crafted
Gloves play a major role in any Amazon build, mainly because they provide +skill tabs and IAS mods. Getting +2 to bow and 20% ias is pretty much mandatory if you go for a high-end pair. Rares have up to 6 affixes, look for resists (up to 30% each), stats and leech percentage (up to 5%). Crafted pairs have 4 random mods plus built-in properties, i.e. crushing blow (Blood gloves) or knockback (Hitpower). Really godly pairs cost more than a cookie cutter Hammerdin, so don't go over-the-top as we're just PVMing here. If you find/craft one of these yourself, more power to you.

3/20 aka Archer's Gloves of Alacrity
Magic gloves (+3 bow, 20% ias) you can potentially shop at Charsi, Akara and other Hell vendors. Spawning them is another story though: last time I shopped for hours and the best I come up with was +3 to bow skills and some fire res. Ultimately decided to trade a pair on Bnet because it's significantly cheaper than good rares. It's still a very sexy pick, you'll see a big leap in Freezing Arrow damage and also a minor boost to Strafe.

Laying of Hands
Three awesome mods here: 20% IAS, 50% Fire res (works nice with Highlords) and whopping 350% damage bonus vs Demons. It means your Strafe will be much, much more effective in critical areas such as River of Flame, Chaos Sanctuary, Throne of Destruction and Act Bosses. Although I use 3/20 gloves most of the time, I still swap them for LOH before Baal. Fantastic pair, pretty easy to MF with your sorc or buy for gems.

Lava Gout and Magnus Skin
More "20% ias with sweeteners". Both have Fire res (24 and 15%, respectively) as well as Attack Rating mods. Magnus Skin gives flat +100 AR, while Lava Gout has CtC Enchant mod, resulting in 101% AR (constantly recast because we Strafe much). Actually I used the Lavas for most of Hell mode. Definitely viable, although I wouldn't spend any coin to get them.

Dracul's Grasp
Perhaps your Frostmaiden doesn't need IAS at all and you're looking for other mods here... unlikely, but if it happened, I could see her wearing Dracul's Grasp and leeching like mosquito in a rut. Still, you might be better off with crafted gloves, and I encourage you to roll Blood/Hitpower recipes with your zon a lot.


Belts

Razortail
Massive boost to Pierce (33%) alone would get this slot, that's how good it is. Each successful Pierce inflicts cold burst dmg to all creatures in the area; now imagine how devastating it is for tightly packed groups, getting pierced 3,4, 5+ times a shot. With Razortail even modestly geared Amazons can get up to 100% chance. Other than bug belt, I don't know how you top that.

Nosferatu's Coil
Mana after kill, 10% ias, Strength, slows target, life leech... If not for Razortail's jawdropping Pierce, these would be my favorite. Some builds will need it for IAS, but if you're going for a conservative 10 FPA breakpoint, bow + gloves + amulet will get you there.

Verdungo's Hearty Cord
Incredible from safety point of view. Wouldn't bother with it on Softcore, but HC might prefer it over Razors; up to 15 DR% is huge.

String of Ears
Again, very good damage reduction, this time coupled with life leech. Verdungo is superior though, you can get leech % elsewhere.

Rare belt
Godly belts with life, Str, FHR and resists are nothing to scoff at, but Razors are so cheap and effective. Let's leave them for other builds, shall we?


Boots

War Traveler
Bonus stats and FRW are dope, but to me "Adds 15-25 Damage" is the sexiest. Doesn't sound like much, but actually it's a pretty big deal for any Bowazon trying to up her physical damage. Magic find is just gravy. If you're doing alright with Res and Mana, you should probably start from here.

Silkweave
Charming +5 Mana after kill mod. I used them on Javazons a lot. In theory, every time you one-shot a group of 5+ creatures, Freezing Arrow pays for itself. Worth a look.

Rare trires boots
If you don't care about the cost, rare boots have the highest potential, with numerous nifty mods (FRW, FHR, Dex, MF) and up to 40% Single Resist. For non-COH Bowas this is likely the best way to ramp up elemental resists. Self-found dual res boots also work.

Aldur's Advance and Natalya's Soul
Both are quick (40% FRW) and improve resists for peanuts (the former has 50% Fire res, the latter up to 25% vs Light/Cold). Oh, and don't forget the 50 life on Aldurs - they're so underrated!

Waterwalk, Sandstorm Trek, Gorerider
Wouldn't be surprised if 50% of Battlenet chars used one of these. You all know them, so I spare you the details. I have personal preference for Wartravs, but these will suit you as well. Just remember about Crushing Blow penalty for ranged weapons.


Switch

Call to Arms (Amn Ral Mal Ist Ohm)
+
Splendor (Eth Lum) or Spirit (Tal Thul Ort Amn) or Lidless Wall or Sigon's Guard
Battle Orders. That's how you get decent life and mana without breaking a sweat, but you know that. Shield with +all skills is just a complementary piece; I favor Splendor for the looks (soft spot for round shields), but any listed shield would do. Windforce (and Enigma) zons might be tempted to spend extra ~20 Strength points to get Spirit Monarch, but I think it's a bit of a waste.

Harmony (Tir Ith Sol Ko) Grand Matron Bow
Already mentioned, but I have to point it's a very popular pick for Bowazons in general, especially if you can stay out of trouble with minimum life. Powerful Valkyrie (+6!) and sick maneuverability can outweigh traditional buffs, depending on playstyle and Area difficulty.

Phoenix (Vex Vex Lo Jah) Grand Matron Bow
I see this runeword more often these days, maybe we're all getting lazy and enamored with Redemption aura. It's great in theory, but Frostmaiden doesn't leave many corpses in her wake. Still, you might find it interesting as a secondary weapon. In fact, you can plug any bow here and use it for Strafe if you find Ice not up to standard. Please remember that Phoenix has no IAS so you're gonna need additional source for 42% breakpoint.


This post was edited by thi4f on May 27 2020 04:56pm

4b. GEAR - INVENTORY
Our inventory has 4x10 slots to fill and I usually dedicate 60% of space to charms (leaving 4x4 for pickup items, tomes and/or Cube). This way I can have up to 5 Grand Charms, Hellfire Torch, Annihilus and 6+ Small Charms, depending on needs. Some of my suggestions are:

Amazon Torch
+3 to Amazon skills can single-handedly elevate Frostmaiden from mediocrity to greatness. Well, this might be an overstatement, but the point stands: we're highly dependent on +skills, same as casters, so do yourself a favor and grab one as soon as your zon reaches clvl 75. Amazon torches are usually cheap, but if you can't afford a 19-20 roll, trade for one with better resists. We all love +stats more, but Frostmaiden isn't that dependent on life imho. It's even more justified if you don't have Chains of Honor in your setup.

Annihilus
These lil' bastards are always more expensive than Torches so it's better to give up on high-end rolls. Middle values i.e. 13/17/7 or 18/14/5 are okay, too. Again, good @res is preferred (it's also cheaper from what I've seen).

Fletcher's Grand Charm aka Skiller
The easiest way to increase cold damage. If we assume maxed and synergized Feezing Arrow, but no skill items whatsoever, 5 Bow skillers bumps FA damage from 1.0 to 1.4k, very significant difference.
They come with other useful suffixes, such as Vita (36+ life), Inertia (7% FRW), Winter (cold dmg) or Dexterity. Lifers are definitely the most expensive and sought after for PvP reasons. I went with 5x Inertia ones because I'm a suckah for maneuvarability and "footwork". Some folks love Balance mod for Faster Hit Recovery, but I deem it useless for this char.

Gheed's Fortune
The bad news is, we don't have much Magic Find to work with and other builds do it better. On a flip side, 30-40% improvement is noticeable and Gheeds are very common on Battlenet. My Frostmaiden has poor 110% total MF with most setups so I'd say Gheeds deserve some recognition.

Boreal/Hibernal Small Charm of Glacier/Winter
I've never seen perfect 15-29 cold damage small charms, but lower rolls are quite common and inexpensive. Some players vouch for them but I'm a bit sceptic. If I had a dozen of ~20 cold dmg SCs lying around I'd definitely make room for them, but it's not the case. Still, I recommend you get at least 3-4 cheap ones to increase Freeze duration (never tested it properly but seems to work).

Single resist or @res small charms
The limit is 5% to @res and 11% vs single element. These are crucial for Enigma and Tyraels owners. Even with COH you might need a couple of these to fill the gaps.

If you still have room, FRW, MF, mana and life are likely the best mods to get. Small charms should always be selected carefully - you don't want to break the bank for resists if you're switching to Chains of Honor on the next day (for example).


5. MERCENARY
I currently use the following:

Act 2 Nightmare Offense Merc (Might aura)
Infinity (Ber Mal Ber Ist) eth Thresher
Fortitude (El Sol Dol Lo) eth Archon Plate (bugged)
Andariel's Visage (+Ral)

Which is standard nowadays. Might is crucial for Strafe damage, even though I don't deal much to begin with. Andys are perfect for life leech and IAS. Fortitude makes him very effective vs non-immunes.
It's true that more than half Cold immunes are unbreakable on Hell mode, but softening up 80-90% cold res mobs is well worth it.

Other options include:
Insight (Ral Tir Tal Sol) - endless mana pool
Reaper's Toll - CtC Decrepify breaks some immunes and slows everyone to a crawl, Act Bosses included
Obedience (Hel Ko Thul Eth Fal) - inexpensive runeword with endgame potential, unfortunately it has no Aura
Pride (Cham Sur Io Lo) - almost never used. In theory, Concentration aura should vastly improve our killing speed, but Conviction always turns out superior
Treachery (Shael Thul Lem) - Fade = safety. Consider if your merc is getting killed every 5 minutes
Vampire Gaze - a bit weaker leech, but it makes up for it with immense Damage Reduction (20% max)

Might is a favorite aura, but if you don't have Ice runeword, you might find Holy Freeze (Act 2 Nightmare Defense) more interesting. Crowd control is always recommended for fragile characters.
I know that some players favor Act 1 Rogues, but I always felt their AI is lackluster. Not worth the trouble imho.


6. FINAL WORD
I'd like to thank Nightfish, Kijya, mysticc and izParagon for insightful Amazon/Frostmaiden strategies. They are always a great read; I keep coming back to them after all those years.
Also a big thanks to need_stuff4 for his donations: rerolling runewords has never been easier mate! : )

I hope you found this informative / interesting / fun. If there is enough interest (and free time), I might expand it a little, providing Leveling Gear and Item Comparisons section. All comments are welcome!

This post was edited by thi4f on May 27 2020 05:17pm

gear should be in the first place

i dont want to read all these tldr walls of symbols, i just want to see eq

by the way, stopped at chains of no teleport armor...

not impressed, although style of text is nice

Fair enough. I specifically put Gear in a separate post so it's easier to find. Item names are bold - so you can pick up the essentials and don't bother with the fluff.
When it comes to Enigma, it's listed right after COH and Fortitude Thanks for comments!

i would actually like your thread, if you would post eni as a first and ultimate armor

and maybe treachery as a second/budget/still-very-good option

forty probably should be number 3, since lo is kinda expensive

and if you really like that coh, you could put it in the end of the list...



well, you have mentioned eni as an option at least - this is very good already

because some people dont even bother to add it in their builds, just for those who does not like run/walk like a homeless



anyway, its not the worst thing i have read here so far

this is nice
you probable should mention some fcr items if you put eni in your armor list

Disagree with CoH
Maybe something like Arach belt with Wizapike and spirit on switch for Enigma

Also prefer gear in the beginning

Otherwise good guide

I just build one cold ama, tested some builds. A pure one, with ice matriarchal bow, is awesome against not inmune monsters. With infinity you kill most of them in one shot. BUT you are very slow killing inmune monsters.
A most solid build is using faith gmb. You still have a nice cold damage, erasing all not inmune monster in two shots but having a high physical damage to deal with inmunes, and there are a lot of them.

My final choice of items is:
faith GMB
nightwing 15ias 13@
highlord
forty
razor
2 rings dual leech (yes, i have no raven)
gore rider (crushing blow)
laying of hands
My secret weapon against baal: WRATH GMB 30% ctc lvl 1 Decrepify On Striking, +375% Damage To Demons, 20% Chance of Crushing Blow
Makes this fight a joke. It also helps with cold + phy inmune champions.

inventory: 3 bow sks life, 3 10max ar life gcs, @res scs, 3max ar life scs

merc: act2 off nm, infy, forty, andy

Stats: 108str, 1400life without bo, rest goes to dex

skills: max fa, max ca, max strafe, some multishot, max penetrate, some critic, some valk.

You can see her in action:

Looks cool! I guess Ancient Tunnels would be a good place for her to run? How does she do in CS?