Opal WandLategame Aegis AuroraLategame Shavronne's WrappingsHubris CircletFingerless Silk GlovesLategame Mark of the ShaperTwo-Stone Ring (Cold/Lightning)Lategame Presence of ChayulaTwo-Toned Boots (Armour/Energy Shield)Crystal BeltLategame Watcher's EyeMedium Cluster JewelSmall Cluster JewelLarge Cluster JewelLategame Thread of HopeCobalt JewelCobalt Jewel
Topaz FlaskSapphire FlaskRuby FlaskQuartz FlaskGranite Flask

Hey all. Sorry for the update delay; re-writing 120k characters of a guide was more work than I thought.

 

To get links out of the way:

 

The addition of Determination and refinement throughout 3.16 has left Cold DoT in an incredibly strong position as a league starter for 3.17. It's smooth, it's safe, and it's much faster than before thanks to the new MVP of the build: Wintertide Brand!

 

The clear speed is improved and the bossing is still very solid, especially with the increased defenses. If you're looking for a build that's proven and can kill Sirus with 0 uniques, this might be for you.

 

EDIT: Lots of people have asked about the viability of the "old school" version with Vaal Cold Snap and/or Creeping Frost. It still works, so if you want to play that version just respec your Brand nodes and focus a tiny bit less on cast speed in favor of more straight damage. See my response to /u/SweetTheory for more reasoning behind the Wintertide Brand choice

 

I'll be monitoring this post to help answer questions as much as I can, but juggling Discord and YouTube comments as well means I sometimes miss things. I'll be league starting with this tomorrow and would be happy to answer any questions while live as well.

 

EDIT 2: The forum guide will be visually updated with item and gem mouseover images very soon. Image links can't transfer between comments in the forum, so I couldn't start to add them in until I actually posted the full guide re-write. GGGs forums are great and not frustrating to work in at all.

 

Have a great league start everyone!

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Life

23.92

Mana

169.36

Energy Shield

8672

DPS

3M

Effective Hit Pool

Chaos Res

0

Fire Res

75

Cold Res

80

Lightning Res

76

Armour

20K

Evasion

18

Block

75 | 75

Crit Chance

0%

Crit Multi

150%

Rage

0

Strength

204

Intelligence

462

Dexterity

96

Ward

0

Item Quantity

0%

Item Rarity

30%

Movement Speed

24%