ZagdemFrostKick

Intro

Welcome to the Frostkick Assassin guide, a unique blend of martial arts and elemental damage. This build combines the power of Dragon Talon with the area-of-effect potential of Blade Shield, all while leveraging the Blizzard procs from Nord's Tenderizer. It's a fun but not so effective build that mixes physical damage with cold, providing good clear speed and boss-killing potential.

Tell ChugThatEstus thank you

The idea came while playing with Chug's Blade Fury guide, so I thought I should thank him. BF wasn't for me, but I had fun and this would never have happened without you :)

Project Diablo 2 Changes

Ability Changes

• Dragon Talon now has 2 synergies and caps at 3 consecutive kicks.
• Blade Shield has been reworked to be more effective.

Item Changes

• Nord's Tenderizer now has a chance to cast Blizzard on striking.

Viability

• Can I level as this build?: Yes, but traps would be faster early on.
• Early Ladder Viable: Yes.
• End Game Solo Viable: Yes, you can do T1 maps reasonably fast. It isn't the best end game build ever though.
• End Game Group Viable: I think this would be trash.
• Hardcore Viable: Potentially, but requires careful play and good defensive gear.
• Uber Trist Viable: I would not try that.
• Uber Diablo Clone Viable: I would not try that.

Feedback

Overall, I think this build works, nothing more. Its strength lies in the price : for a few wss you can clear chaos and maps because Nord and Blackoack are very cheap. It is slow, but it works, and it is safe. So. You can :)

I wanted to try it and make a guide so y'all know what to expect if you try. In case the team reads this : you can buff Nord again, it is still far from being OP :p

Early Ladder Gear

Focus on getting Nord's Tenderizer as soon as possible. For other slots, aim for gear that provides attack rating and %pdr.

End Game Gear

Weapon

• Nord's Tenderizer (main weapon)
• You could try other proc weapons like Earth Shifter and Warshrike. It might work, didn't try :p

Helmet

• Kira's Guardian (for cannot be frozen and resistances)
• Nightwing's Veil (for cold damage boost)
• Guillaume
• Gaze

Armor

• Shaftstop (for damage reduction and life)
• Ormus' Robes (with +cold skill damage)
• Stone (for high defense)
• Leviathan (for high defense)

Amulet

• Metalgrid (for attack rating and resistances)

Shield

• Blackoak (for -resistances, also boosts defense quite a lot)

Rings

• Raven Frost (for cannot be frozen and attack rating)
• Dual leech ring
• Dwarf (for block)

Gloves

• Dracul's Grasp (for life tap proc and strength)
• Frostburn (for increased mana and cold damage)

Belt

• Nosferatu's Coil (for deadly strike and slow target)
• String of Ears (for damage reduction)

Boots

• Gore Rider (for deadly strike and crushing blow)
• WT (which I have not tried, but I think I should)

Mercenary

• Act 2 Defensive Mercenary with Infinity is probably BiS (but I ran A5 might to test because this isn't a late game build :p)
• Weapon: Infinity (if you can afford it)
• Armor: Gloom is really underrated, it is a great early ladder armor

Corruptions and Charms

• Look for corruptions that add sockets, or cannot be frozen
• Charms : max/ar or +cold damage, both work

Stats and Skills

Stats

• Strength: Enough for gear (could be a lot with upped boots)
• Dexterity: Enough for max block (75%, hard to reach) or to wear gear (if you don't block)
• Vitality: Everything else
• Energy: None

Skills

• 20 Dragon Talon and synergies
• 1-5 Fade
• 20 Blade Shield and remaining points in its synergies

Breakpoints

• FHR : 27/48/86
• IAS : 30 is enough, 50 and 95 is better but not needed

Farming Locations

This build excels in areas with mixed monster types due to its dual damage types. Good farming locations include:

• Chaos Sanctuary
• Worldstone Keep
• Most T1 maps, especially those without cold/phys immunes

Remember to use Dragon Flight to position yourself efficiently and let your Blade Shield and Blizzard procs help clear surrounding enemies while you focus on kicking primary targets.