Cold Werewolf is a strong bossing character that is solid at farming as well, especially for a Melee character. Why Cold over Physical? We get to freeze enemies via Survival Instincts and we have a longer Twisted Claw tornado duration which means lots of on-striking procs and damage. Furthermore, we can scale damage easily via Cold Pen and even Cold Spell Damage for our on-striking spells, which lets us hurt things real good without needing crazy high-end gear.
I have done all Boss fights except for Lazarous, Samael, and Deimoss with this build and I have farmed Uldyssian's Trophy.
PROS
- Very high damage / 5 frame attack / Excellent Boss Killer and Charm farmer
- Doesn't care about Mana Leech or Regen because Mana Pulse gives full mana and costs nothing
- Great survivability (50% Avoid, Loads of Health Regen, high or potentially max block chance, decent defense)
- Very mobile during combat via Harbinger 0 Cooldown targeted teleport
- Pretty easy to gear, especially for a Melee character. Can go far with cheap/easy gear.
CONS
- Melee in an ARPG
- Damage can be up-and-down on fights where monsters move out of tornados
- Enemies near walls will sometimes not be hit fully by the tornados (really hope this gets fixed some day)
- Mana Pulse management may seem cumbersome to some players (I grew to like it)
- Can be hard to get big Physical Res without sacrificing damage (As low as 20% has been fine for me killing Uldyssian due to other layered survivability)
- Mobility outside of Harbinger is lacking, no sources of faster run/walk other than gear
"BUT ELEMENTAL DAMAGE CAN'T LEECH!!!"
- If you're like me before I figured this character out, not being Physical Damage and thus having no Life Leech might scare you. While it's true that you will not be as much of a face-tank leech machine, I promise you will be surprised at how much you "leech" with 5-frame attack and ~300 Life on Attack
SSF (Solo Self Found)
- This is a very solid SSF build, especially after 2.1 -- the changes to Shapeshift Form attack speed calculation simplified the gearing process, opening up more options with greater flexibility. While it is always harder to build Melee in SSF than Caster (just because gear matters more and is harder to get), the "required" gear for this character is extremely easy to obtain due to how far you can get with just an Honorific Sacred Crystal Sword (seriously they're amazing). From there, you can do a lot with just rolling Sacred Shrine crafted rares, runewords, and using what you find.
Gameplay
Pre-Combat:
- Buff with Mark of the Wild (use weapon swap
Sagespirit![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invcbwu.jpg)
to cast), buff with Symbiosis, and activate Werewolf form. ![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invcbwu.jpg)
Sagespirit
Compound Bow (4)
Two-Hand Damage: (7 - 8) to (16 - 32)
(Druid Only)
Required Level: 5
Required Dexterity: 57
Item Level: 10
Dexterity Damage Bonus: (0.15 per Dexterity)%
+1 to Druid Skill Levels
+5% Bonus Elemental Damage to Mark of the Wild
(31 to 50)% Duration Bonus to Mark of the Wild
15% Attack Speed
+(6 to 20) to Maximum Damage
(31 to 50)% Bonus to Attack Rating
+(18 to 35)% Enhanced Damage
+(16 to 25) to Dexterity
Socketed (2)
Two-Hand Damage: (25 - 28) to (52 - 75)
(Druid Only)
Required Level: 24
Required Dexterity: 92
Item Level: 36
Dexterity Damage Bonus: (0.15 per Dexterity)%
+(1 to 2) to Druid Skill Levels
+10% Bonus Elemental Damage to Mark of the Wild
(71 to 90)% Duration Bonus to Mark of the Wild
25% Attack Speed
+(21 to 40) to Maximum Damage
(71 to 90)% Bonus to Attack Rating
+(52 to 69)% Enhanced Damage
+(36 to 45) to Dexterity
Socketed (4)
Two-Hand Damage: (61 - 66) to (112 - 148)
(Druid Only)
Required Level: 42
Required Dexterity: 186
Item Level: 51
Dexterity Damage Bonus: (0.15 per Dexterity)%
+(2 to 3) to Druid Skill Levels
+15% Bonus Elemental Damage to Mark of the Wild
(111 to 130)% Duration Bonus to Mark of the Wild
35% Attack Speed
+(36 to 65) to Maximum Damage
(111 to 130)% Bonus to Attack Rating
+(87 to 103)% Enhanced Damage
+(56 to 65) to Dexterity
Socketed (5)
Two-Hand Damage: (81 - 88) to (142 - 182)
(Druid Only)
Required Level: 51
Required Dexterity: 370
Item Level: 85
Dexterity Damage Bonus: (0.15 per Dexterity)%
+(2 to 4) to Druid Skill Levels
+20% Bonus Elemental Damage to Mark of the Wild
(131 to 150)% Duration Bonus to Mark of the Wild
40% Attack Speed
+(43 to 75) to Maximum Damage
(131 to 150)% Bonus to Attack Rating
+(104 to 120)% Enhanced Damage
+(66 to 75) to Dexterity
Socketed (6)
Compound Bow (4)
Two-Hand Damage: (7 - 8) to (16 - 32)
(Druid Only)
Required Level: 5
Required Dexterity: 57
Item Level: 10
Dexterity Damage Bonus: (0.15 per Dexterity)%
+1 to Druid Skill Levels
+5% Bonus Elemental Damage to Mark of the Wild
(31 to 50)% Duration Bonus to Mark of the Wild
15% Attack Speed
+(6 to 20) to Maximum Damage
(31 to 50)% Bonus to Attack Rating
+(18 to 35)% Enhanced Damage
+(16 to 25) to Dexterity
Socketed (2)
Two-Hand Damage: (25 - 28) to (52 - 75)
(Druid Only)
Required Level: 24
Required Dexterity: 92
Item Level: 36
Dexterity Damage Bonus: (0.15 per Dexterity)%
+(1 to 2) to Druid Skill Levels
+10% Bonus Elemental Damage to Mark of the Wild
(71 to 90)% Duration Bonus to Mark of the Wild
25% Attack Speed
+(21 to 40) to Maximum Damage
(71 to 90)% Bonus to Attack Rating
+(52 to 69)% Enhanced Damage
+(36 to 45) to Dexterity
Socketed (4)
Two-Hand Damage: (61 - 66) to (112 - 148)
(Druid Only)
Required Level: 42
Required Dexterity: 186
Item Level: 51
Dexterity Damage Bonus: (0.15 per Dexterity)%
+(2 to 3) to Druid Skill Levels
+15% Bonus Elemental Damage to Mark of the Wild
(111 to 130)% Duration Bonus to Mark of the Wild
35% Attack Speed
+(36 to 65) to Maximum Damage
(111 to 130)% Bonus to Attack Rating
+(87 to 103)% Enhanced Damage
+(56 to 65) to Dexterity
Socketed (5)
Two-Hand Damage: (81 - 88) to (142 - 182)
(Druid Only)
Required Level: 51
Required Dexterity: 370
Item Level: 85
Dexterity Damage Bonus: (0.15 per Dexterity)%
+(2 to 4) to Druid Skill Levels
+20% Bonus Elemental Damage to Mark of the Wild
(131 to 150)% Duration Bonus to Mark of the Wild
40% Attack Speed
+(43 to 75) to Maximum Damage
(131 to 150)% Bonus to Attack Rating
+(104 to 120)% Enhanced Damage
+(66 to 75) to Dexterity
Socketed (6)
Combat:
- Attack with Mana Pulse once every few seconds to generate mana.
Harbinger is your mobility and weak-mob clearing move (the Crows it summons pierce through groups of enemies) and you can teleport around like a crazy person constantly with this ability (useful defensively because you're hard to hit!). With enough gear and points into Harbinger in the later levels, it becomes a solid clear move.
Twisted Claw is your single target and small/clumped pack damage ability (beeg beeg damage). The tornados hit many times, so they are excellent at proccing on-strike effects.
If you have
Cold Blood![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invcrs.jpg)
, manually cast Banish and curse enemies to take extra Tri-Element and Magical damage with each hit.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invcrs.jpg)
Cold Blood
Crystal Sword (Sacred)
Required Level: 100
Required Dexterity: 1020
Item Level: 120
Innate Cold Damage: (45.0% of Dexterity)
Regens 15% Life Over 5 Seconds Upon Taking Weapon Damage
100% Chance to cast level 50 Shatter the Flesh on Kill
1% Chance to cast level 50 Blizzard on Striking
25% Attack Speed
Adds (310 to 410)-(500 to 600) Cold Damage
-10% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+20 to Banish
Maximum Mana -50%
Requirements +100%
Socketed (6)
Crystal Sword (Sacred)
Required Level: 100
Required Dexterity: 1020
Item Level: 120
Innate Cold Damage: (45.0% of Dexterity)
Regens 15% Life Over 5 Seconds Upon Taking Weapon Damage
100% Chance to cast level 50 Shatter the Flesh on Kill
1% Chance to cast level 50 Blizzard on Striking
25% Attack Speed
Adds (310 to 410)-(500 to 600) Cold Damage
-10% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+20 to Banish
Maximum Mana -50%
Requirements +100%
Socketed (6)
Leveling (quick overview)
► Show Spoiler
Breakpoints
Attack Speed Breakpoints
- Since the rework on Druid Form attack speed, it is MUCH easier to gear this character and hit the maximum attack speed breakpoint of 5 frames. You simply need 120% attack speed for a Crystal Sword (-15) or only 102% attack speed for a -20 speed sword (Short Sword, Scimitar, Saber, Falchion).
- Crystal Sword
Our best weapon type, -15 base speed.
- 5-frame: 120% IAS
6-frame: 50% IAS
7-frame: 19% IAS
Fast 1H Swords
-20 base speed for Short Sword, Scimitar, Saber, Falchion.
- 5-frame: 102% IAS
6-frame: 40% IAS
7-frame: 13% IAS
Other Breakpoints
- Faster Hit Recovery
Make sure to have 3 frames Hit Recovery at endgame.
- 5-frame: 20
4-frame: 42
3-frame: 86
Faster Block Rate
Make sure to have 4 frames Block Recovery at endgame.
- 6-frame: 27
5-frame: 48
4-frame: 86
Faster Cast Rate
I recommend a minimum of 11 frames Cast Speed at endgame, for teleport and Howl of the Spirits. 10 is ideal though, especially if trying to cast Howl during combat.
- 13-frame: 26
12-frame: 40
11-frame: 60
10-frame: 95
Stats
- Enough Strength to wear gear (~100 points into Strength at level 135 with lots of charms should be enough). Dump the rest into Dexterity (~900+).
Skills
Mastery
- Melee Devotion: 1 Point
- 20% reduced damage from all sources? Yes please!
Tenacity: 0 Points / 5 Points
- If you need the extra Physical Res, definitely take Tenacity. If you don't, you can use these saved points to get to Specialization sooner.
Specialization: 10 Points (late pick, save for last)
- Lets us get 5 more points into Werewolf Form for Attack Rating and Avoid, as well as Twisted Claws for extra damage. If you level high enough, you can also put more points into Symbiosis for even more Avoid. Save this until last though, it's a very late game/high level pick.
Werewolf
- Werewolf Form: MAX
- We want to max this as it gives the full 25% Avoid with 20 points and a lot of Attack Rating as well, which is great. It will be easy to get 100k+ attack rating. I've had as high as 300k when testing out focusing on AR, but it is not worth it compared to more raw damage and 100-150k is generally more than enough.
Mana Pulse: 1 point
- You only need a single point in this ability. You use it to refill your mana and will hit it every few seconds to maintain mana regen while in Werewolf Form (because your mana constantly drains while in Werewolf Form).
Feral Escalation: 0 points
- Deadly Strike only works on Physical damage and does nothing for Elemental Damage.
Ceaseless Fury: 6 points (MAX)
- This removes the cooldown on Harbinger.
Harbinger: 1 point / all remaining free points
- You can get away with 1 pointing this and I would recommend that if you are focused on bossing. But for clear, putting more points into it actually feels really solid, as in 2.4 it was buffed to do 4x more damage! Also works well with the Howl of the Spirits. If you are focusing more on farming, this is a solid place to dump any free points to increase your clear speed -- but you will have to skip out on the 10 points in specialization and the extra 5 points each in Twisted Claw, Wolf Form, and Symbiosis to get that, so your single target will be a bit lower.
Feed the Pack: 1 point
- With good enough gear you really will not need more than one point in this. That said, the Life on Kill is quite nice at lower gear levels or for mindless clearing, which can definitely be nice. It also summons wolf minions on-kill that can help hold monster's attention and keep you from taking damage, but once again one point is usually sufficient in that regard as the chance to summon is dependent on your points in Werewolf Form and not on the points directly in this skill. You'll have 20% chance to summon them even with only 1 point in it.
Twisted Claw: MAX
- Physical Druids get away with 1-pointing this, but we want that sweet extra cold damage and extra duration. Max this bad boy and it not only increases the cold damage per hit, but also makes the Tornados last for around 3.5 seconds (instead of only for 1 second at base).
Howl of the Spirits: MAX
- This is our new ability in 2.0 and it is INSANE. The penetration is nice, but the real win is that it DOUBLES our Twisted Claw/Harbinger damage. Super nuts and it has a 13 second duration at 10 points, so just under 50% uptime. We already had some of the best boss damage in the game, now we are even better!
Nature
- Harvest: 1 point
- Not used
Barkskin: MAX
- This gives us Maximum Life and a solid bonus to Defense. We aren't Paladins or Necromancers so Defense isn't our primary survivability method, but it's still nice to have. My druid had around 225,000 Defense at level 136 in good gear. I could have had more but I chose to use lower Defense pieces for more damage. With extremely defensive gear for Dimensional Labyrinth at level 140, I have gotten up to ~450,000 defense (at the cost of a lot of damage, but that's required for Lab).
Harvesters: 20 points
- We can't actually cast this because we take Melee Devotion
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif)
Reward
- Mythal: 0 points / 1 point
- The extra -20 enemy resistances is nice, but it's a relatively small area of effect and the monsters will often just move out of it making it useless due to the cooldown. It's definitely fair to say it would be worth it to invest a single point in this, but IMO until it gets reworked it is not worth the hassle.
- This buff grants loads of Avoidance and Life Regen (100% over 20 seconds) while active. You'll always want to keep it on (it has a 10 minute duration, so that's not a big deal).
- This is our Ultimate Skill but we will only 1-point it. This is because it gives us 20% of our Dexterity as cold damage and a free 10% Physical Resistance at level 1, neither of which scale up with more base points. The only thing that scales up from more points is the Spell Focus, which honestly isn't bad for us (due to increasing our Cold Spell Damage from Procs), but isn't worth dumping points into either. At level 136, my Druid is getting +850 cold damage from this ability. It also has the wonderful side effect of very frequently freezing non-boss monsters, which is fantastic for survivability.
You could put points into Faerie Fire instead, which will give you even more Avoid (and that's very strong defensively!). IMO you probably will prefer Survival Instincts for the damage in most scenarios though.
Gear
Weapon
- Cheap, easy, and good: Honorific-crafted Sacred Crystal Sword with Mystic Orbs: 5x Increased Attack Speed, 5x Life on Attack, and 5x Innate Elemental Damage. Bless with Abandoned Shrine or Sacred Shrine (usually Abandoned is better unless you are struggling for Cold Pen).
Sacred Rare Shrine Crafting Crystal Swords can also be good, though I would recommend using Shrines on Gloves/Boots/Helm first if you need those gear slots. Shrine-crafted Crystal Swords can roll crazy on-melee proc spells, stats, and damage to boot. It's harder to get Life on Hit than the Honorific, but if you have enough LoH already from other gear slots it can be worth using over the Honorific.
Dawn![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Zol.jpg)
is surprisingly strong despite not looking like an elemental-focused weapon, as the huge % Dex bonus actually ads a lot of damage.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Zol.jpg)
Dawn
Weapons
'Zol'
Runeword Level: 100
10% Chance to cast level 32 Celerity on Kill
45% Hit Recovery
(301 to 500)% Bonus to Attack Rating
+(172 to 200)% Enhanced Damage
75% to Strength
75% to Dexterity
35% to Vitality
75% to Energy
+80 to Mana
60% Gold Find
+(2 to 4) to Light Radius
Weapons
'Zol'
Runeword Level: 100
10% Chance to cast level 32 Celerity on Kill
45% Hit Recovery
(301 to 500)% Bonus to Attack Rating
+(172 to 200)% Enhanced Damage
75% to Strength
75% to Dexterity
35% to Vitality
75% to Energy
+80 to Mana
60% Gold Find
+(2 to 4) to Light Radius
Best:
Cold Blood![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invcrs.jpg)
The SSU Crystal Sword was once the absolute go-to for this build, but since the 2.1 changes it is no longer the top of the mountain. Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic item! High level Blizzard on-striking for big cold damage, as well as big potential on-kill damage from Shatter the Flesh for farming. Perhaps most importantly it grants Banish, which you can manually cast to give big Tri-Elemental Damage and Magic Damage on every attack! A lot of its appeal pre-2.1 was that it could reach the 3-frame attack breakpoint, but now 5-frames is the cap and Cold Blood is less special because of that. Most importantly, Sacred Rare Crafts can roll Life Spark on Melee Attack which is BONKERS sustain. Another small downside to this weapon is the -50% total mana, it's not a big deal but it does mean you need to press Mana Pulse a bit more. If you're focused on damage, Cold Blood is still best for farming and even single target still, but crafts can get close to the same damage while definitely having better defensive sustain.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invcrs.jpg)
Cold Blood
Crystal Sword (Sacred)
Required Level: 100
Required Dexterity: 1020
Item Level: 120
Innate Cold Damage: (45.0% of Dexterity)
Regens 15% Life Over 5 Seconds Upon Taking Weapon Damage
100% Chance to cast level 50 Shatter the Flesh on Kill
1% Chance to cast level 50 Blizzard on Striking
25% Attack Speed
Adds (310 to 410)-(500 to 600) Cold Damage
-10% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+20 to Banish
Maximum Mana -50%
Requirements +100%
Socketed (6)
Crystal Sword (Sacred)
Required Level: 100
Required Dexterity: 1020
Item Level: 120
Innate Cold Damage: (45.0% of Dexterity)
Regens 15% Life Over 5 Seconds Upon Taking Weapon Damage
100% Chance to cast level 50 Shatter the Flesh on Kill
1% Chance to cast level 50 Blizzard on Striking
25% Attack Speed
Adds (310 to 410)-(500 to 600) Cold Damage
-10% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+20 to Banish
Maximum Mana -50%
Requirements +100%
Socketed (6)
Best #2: Well-rolled Sacred Rare Shrine Crafted Crystal Swords can actually be very good -- even potentially better than Cold Blood? Probably less damage, but better sustain which is better for labs. They can roll ~20% chance to cast Life Spark on Melee Attack (X% of Life restored on proc, where X is the level of Life Spark), damage procs, all skills, pen, stats, ele damage, etc. It takes a lot of shrines and luck, but possible and absolutely something to keep spending shrines on! Be on the lookout for one with Life on Melee and Life Spark on Melee for the sustain!
5x Life on Attack Mystic Orbs is your top priority. Usually I go Innate Elemental Damage after that, assuming I don't need Attack Speed. Then Attack Rating if you have remaining room. I usually socket with Fal runes for % Dex, as it gives both damage and defense, and you don't really need the Attack Rating from Amethysts. If you want to spend the Arcane Crystals, you can make some very nice jewels with all attributes, damage, % dex, etc.
Shield
- Cheap, easy, and good: Sacred Rare Shrine Craft (Abandoned). Look for some combination of +1-2% Base Block Chance, Physical Resistance, +Dexterity, +Druid Skills, and Enhanced Defense. Shrine Bless with Abandoned for even more Dexterity.
Rainbow Fury![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invbsh.jpg)
gives solid offense and +1 Life on Striking (since it's on-striking it means our Tornados can actually proc it which is crazy because they hit a bajillion times a second). This is probably the best shield for the money. ![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invbsh.jpg)
Rainbow Fury
Bone Shield (Sacred)
Defense: (1640 - 2123) to (1902 - 2461)
Chance to Block: Class%
Required Level: 100
Required Dexterity: 527
Item Level: 105
+1 to All Skills
Adds 25-50 Fire Damage
Adds 25-50 Lightning Damage
Adds 25-50 Cold Damage
-10% to Enemy Elemental Resistances
+(8 to 20) to Storm Crows
+(70 to 120)% Enhanced Defense
+(50 to 75) to Dexterity
+1 Life on Striking
Socketed (6)
Bone Shield (Sacred)
Defense: (1640 - 2123) to (1902 - 2461)
Chance to Block: Class%
Required Level: 100
Required Dexterity: 527
Item Level: 105
+1 to All Skills
Adds 25-50 Fire Damage
Adds 25-50 Lightning Damage
Adds 25-50 Cold Damage
-10% to Enemy Elemental Resistances
+(8 to 20) to Storm Crows
+(70 to 120)% Enhanced Defense
+(50 to 75) to Dexterity
+1 Life on Striking
Socketed (6)
Lightforge![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invkit.jpg)
is probably the best budget purely-defensive shield because you can get 20% Physical Resistance by socketing in Great/Elemental runes.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invkit.jpg)
Lightforge
Kite Shield (Sacred)
Defense: (4144 - 5055) to (5252 - 6315)
Chance to Block: Class%
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 550
Required Dexterity: 559
Item Level: 105
Gematria
(Bonus for each Socketed Great/Elemental Rune)
+5% Physical Resist
-5% Elemental Resists
+25% Bonus to Defense
1% Chance to cast level 10 Thunder Hammer on Striking
-10% Movement Speed
+(100 to 150)% Enhanced Defense
+(500 to 1000) Defense
+(1000 to 2000) Defense vs. Missile
+(30 to 50) to all Attributes
+(30 to 50) Life after each Demon Kill
Socketed (4)
Kite Shield (Sacred)
Defense: (4144 - 5055) to (5252 - 6315)
Chance to Block: Class%
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 550
Required Dexterity: 559
Item Level: 105
Gematria
(Bonus for each Socketed Great/Elemental Rune)
+5% Physical Resist
-5% Elemental Resists
+25% Bonus to Defense
1% Chance to cast level 10 Thunder Hammer on Striking
-10% Movement Speed
+(100 to 150)% Enhanced Defense
+(500 to 1000) Defense
+(1000 to 2000) Defense vs. Missile
+(30 to 50) to all Attributes
+(30 to 50) Life after each Demon Kill
Socketed (4)
Shield of Hakan II![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invgts.jpg)
is not what you want most of the time, but it is often a go-to for Dimensional Labyrinth when you need super high Max Res.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invgts.jpg)
Shield of Hakan II
Gothic Shield (Sacred)
Defense: (6995 - 7994) to (9190 - 10428)
Chance to Block: 1% + Class%
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 600
Required Dexterity: 619
Item Level: 105
1% Base Block Chance
-25% Cast Speed
-50% to Spell Damage
Slows Attacker by 25%
+(150 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
+(2000 to 3000) Defense
Maximum Life +(3 to 5)%
Maximum Elemental Resists +(0 to 2)%
Physical Resist 5%
Socketed (4)
Gothic Shield (Sacred)
Defense: (6995 - 7994) to (9190 - 10428)
Chance to Block: 1% + Class%
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 600
Required Dexterity: 619
Item Level: 105
1% Base Block Chance
-25% Cast Speed
-50% to Spell Damage
Slows Attacker by 25%
+(150 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
+(2000 to 3000) Defense
Maximum Life +(3 to 5)%
Maximum Elemental Resists +(0 to 2)%
Physical Resist 5%
Socketed (4)
Avatar![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Ign.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Ful.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Gla.jpg)
is exceptional, providing huge penetration for damage and even some magic find to boot.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Ign.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Ful.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Gla.jpg)
Avatar
Shields
'IgnFulGla'
Runeword Level: 100
+1 to All Skills
45% Cast Speed
45% Hit Recovery
-(27 to 30)% to Enemy Fire Resistance
-(27 to 30)% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
-(27 to 30)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(172 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
(16 to 25)% Magic Find
Requirements +25%
Shields
'IgnFulGla'
Runeword Level: 100
+1 to All Skills
45% Cast Speed
45% Hit Recovery
-(27 to 30)% to Enemy Fire Resistance
-(27 to 30)% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
-(27 to 30)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(172 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
(16 to 25)% Magic Find
Requirements +25%
Svalinn![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Rhal.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Lo.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Ohn.jpg)
-1% Enemy Resistances per 150 Dex. Chance to cast Life Spark on Block (restores 7% of Max Health on proc). 1% Base Block. Resistances both Ele and Phys. % Dexterity. Absolutely nuts. It does lack the movement speed that Flying Saucer has though, and I think that makes Saucer preferable.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Rhal.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Lo.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Ohn.jpg)
Svalinn
Shields
'RhalLoOhn'
Runeword Level: 115
-1% to Enemy Elemental Resistances per 150 Dexterity
8% Chance to cast level 7 Life Spark when Blocking
1% Base Block Chance
15% Block Speed
20% Hit Recovery
+(151 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
+(30 to 40) to all Attributes
(15 to 20)% to Dexterity
+200 to Life
Fire Resist +(20 to 25)%
Lightning Resist +(20 to 25)%
Cold Resist +(20 to 25)%
Poison Resist +(20 to 25)%
Fire Absorb (3 to 5)%
Physical Resist 5%
Shields
'RhalLoOhn'
Runeword Level: 115
-1% to Enemy Elemental Resistances per 150 Dexterity
8% Chance to cast level 7 Life Spark when Blocking
1% Base Block Chance
15% Block Speed
20% Hit Recovery
+(151 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
+(30 to 40) to all Attributes
(15 to 20)% to Dexterity
+200 to Life
Fire Resist +(20 to 25)%
Lightning Resist +(20 to 25)%
Cold Resist +(20 to 25)%
Poison Resist +(20 to 25)%
Fire Absorb (3 to 5)%
Physical Resist 5%
Best:
The Flying Saucer![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invsml.jpg)
. This gives big penetration and damage from the Cryo Beam on-strike. It also gives a little Physical Res which is nice, and it has 1% Base Block Chance which helps a ton to reach higher block chance. It also gives us 30% faster Run/Walk speed which is super nice since the only other source we have is our boots and charms. Mystic Orb with Dex and Cold Spell Damage. ![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invsml.jpg)
The Flying Saucer
Small Shield (Sacred)
Defense: (3627 - 3957) to (3907 - 4262)
Chance to Block: 1% + Class%
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 500
Required Dexterity: 499
Item Level: 120
1% Chance to cast level 60 Cryo Beam on Striking
1% Base Block Chance
30% Movement Speed
-25% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
-25% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(120 to 140)% Enhanced Defense
Physical Resist 5%
Socketed (4)
Small Shield (Sacred)
Defense: (3627 - 3957) to (3907 - 4262)
Chance to Block: 1% + Class%
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 500
Required Dexterity: 499
Item Level: 120
1% Chance to cast level 60 Cryo Beam on Striking
1% Base Block Chance
30% Movement Speed
-25% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
-25% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(120 to 140)% Enhanced Defense
Physical Resist 5%
Socketed (4)
Helm
- Cheap, easy, and good: Sacred Rare Shrine Crafted Druid Helm (Abandoned). Look for Cold Damage/Pen, +Druid Skills, and +Dexterity. FHR and Enhanced Defense are nice as well.
Witchhunter's Hood![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invcap.jpg)
Witchhunter's Attire
(Assassin Claw Set)
is very solid. Gives % Dex, Physical Resistance, Max Resistances, and solid Defense boost. Great defensive helmet and it's pretty common. This is also a favorite for Dimensional Labyrinth when you need crazy high Max Res, so keep one on-hand if you intend to do that.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invcap.jpg)
Witchhunter's Hood
Cap (Sacred)
Defense: (2136 - 2611) to (2161 - 2642)
Required Level: 90
Required Strength: 250
Item Level: 1
+(80 to 120)% Enhanced Defense
10% to Strength
10% to Dexterity
Maximum Elemental Resists +2%
Elemental Resists +(31 to 40)%
Physical Resist 5%
(16 to 20)% Bonus to Defense
Requirements -50%
Socketed (4)
Cap (Sacred)
Defense: (2136 - 2611) to (2161 - 2642)
Required Level: 90
Required Strength: 250
Item Level: 1
+(80 to 120)% Enhanced Defense
10% to Strength
10% to Dexterity
Maximum Elemental Resists +2%
Elemental Resists +(31 to 40)%
Physical Resist 5%
(16 to 20)% Bonus to Defense
Requirements -50%
Socketed (4)
Witchhunter's Attire
(Assassin Claw Set)
If you happen to find one,
Shiverhood![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invfhl.jpg)
is also quite nice. ![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invfhl.jpg)
Shiverhood
Full Helm (Sacred)
Defense: (3596 - 4141) to (4218 - 4803)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 300
Item Level: 105
You may Only use Melee, Summon and Support Skills
+(1 to 2) to All Skills
+(20 to 30)% to Cold Spell Damage
-(15 to 25)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(15 to 20) to Winter Avatar
+(25 to 50)% to Summoned Minion Life
+(120 to 160)% Enhanced Defense
+(600 to 1000) Defense
Maximum Mana +(10 to 20)%
+100 Life on Melee Attack
Requirements -50%
Socketed (4)
Full Helm (Sacred)
Defense: (3596 - 4141) to (4218 - 4803)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 300
Item Level: 105
You may Only use Melee, Summon and Support Skills
+(1 to 2) to All Skills
+(20 to 30)% to Cold Spell Damage
-(15 to 25)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(15 to 20) to Winter Avatar
+(25 to 50)% to Summoned Minion Life
+(120 to 160)% Enhanced Defense
+(600 to 1000) Defense
Maximum Mana +(10 to 20)%
+100 Life on Melee Attack
Requirements -50%
Socketed (4)
Nezha![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Fel.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Ist.jpg)
gives BIG % Dex and MF, and cold pen! An excellent farming helm since you don't need more than -100 enemy resistances for general farming. ![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Fel.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Ist.jpg)
Nezha
Druid Helms
'FelIst'
Runeword Level: 110
While in Wereowl Form: Adds 10-15 Damage
While in Werewolf Form: -10% Enemy Cold Resistance
+2 to Druid Skill Levels
25% Attack Speed
+(172 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
(40 to 45)% to Dexterity
Maximum Mana +(11 to 20)%
(50 to 80)% Magic Find
Druid Helms
'FelIst'
Runeword Level: 110
While in Wereowl Form: Adds 10-15 Damage
While in Werewolf Form: -10% Enemy Cold Resistance
+2 to Druid Skill Levels
25% Attack Speed
+(172 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
(40 to 45)% to Dexterity
Maximum Mana +(11 to 20)%
(50 to 80)% Magic Find
Typhoon![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Zol.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Elq.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Gla.jpg)
is a newer runeword and it's close to being a contender for Cold Wolf's new best choice for a helm. 4s longer Howl of Spirits means it has 100% uptime, huge plus skills to Twisted Claw for big damage, and chance to cast Shower of Rocks on melee for even more damage still. Max all res and physical res to boot, crazy item! ![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Zol.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Elq.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Gla.jpg)
Typhoon
Druid Helms
'ZolElqGla'
Runeword Level: 100
Howl of the Spirits: +4 Seconds Duration
3% Chance to cast level 10 Shower of Rocks on Melee Attack
+10 to Maximum Damage
+(300 to 500) to Attack Rating
-(10 to 15)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(8 to 12) to Twisted Claw (Druid Only)
+(141 to 171)% Enhanced Defense
(20 to 25)% to Strength
Maximum Mana +10%
Maximum Elemental Resists +1%
Physical Resist 5%
Druid Helms
'ZolElqGla'
Runeword Level: 100
Howl of the Spirits: +4 Seconds Duration
3% Chance to cast level 10 Shower of Rocks on Melee Attack
+10 to Maximum Damage
+(300 to 500) to Attack Rating
-(10 to 15)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(8 to 12) to Twisted Claw (Druid Only)
+(141 to 171)% Enhanced Defense
(20 to 25)% to Strength
Maximum Mana +10%
Maximum Elemental Resists +1%
Physical Resist 5%
As good as all that is, the raw Dex, cold penetration, and life leech (due to Feed the Pack's conversion of life leech into cold pen) keep Coldhunger as the best choice over Typhoon.
Best:
Coldhunger![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invdr1.jpg)
. +Skills, Cold Penetration, +Cold Damage, +Physical Damage, big Dex, and a 4% Chance to cast Ice Lance on striking. This thing flings out Ice Lances like nobody's business, thanks to our tornados procing constantly. Mystic Orb with Dex and Cold Spell Damage. Even better in 2.4 due to Feed the Pack converting Life Leech into Cold Pen!![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invdr1.jpg)
Coldhunger
Wolf Head (Sacred)
Defense: (1842 - 2082) to (1915 - 2165)
(Druid Only)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 500
Item Level: 105
4% Chance to cast level 40 Ice Lance on Striking
+(1 to 2) to Druid Skill Levels
Adds 13-38 Damage
Adds 30-35 Cold Damage
(14 to 17)% Life stolen per Hit
-(29 to 35)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(115 to 143)% Enhanced Defense
+(41 to 50) to Dexterity
+(41 to 50) to Vitality
Cold Resist +(30 to 50)%
Socketed (4)
Wolf Head (Sacred)
Defense: (1842 - 2082) to (1915 - 2165)
(Druid Only)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 500
Item Level: 105
4% Chance to cast level 40 Ice Lance on Striking
+(1 to 2) to Druid Skill Levels
Adds 13-38 Damage
Adds 30-35 Cold Damage
(14 to 17)% Life stolen per Hit
-(29 to 35)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(115 to 143)% Enhanced Defense
+(41 to 50) to Dexterity
+(41 to 50) to Vitality
Cold Resist +(30 to 50)%
Socketed (4)
Body Armor
- Cheap, easy, and good:
Erawan![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Lem.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Ko.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Cham.jpg)
. Solid defense and up to 15% physical resistance. This is not a super-tailored item for this character but it provides excellent defense and is very effective and very easy to obtain. I used Erawan until very late game when I had enough damage to warrant losing the physical resist to get even more damage via Icetomb.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Lem.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Ko.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Cham.jpg)
Erawan
Body Armors
'LemKoCham'
Runeword Level: 83
15% Combat Speeds
5% Chance of Crushing Blow
+(144 to 171)% Enhanced Defense
(27 to 30)% to Strength
(27 to 30)% to Vitality
Physical Resist (13 to 15)%
(15 to 20)% Bonus to Defense
Body Armors
'LemKoCham'
Runeword Level: 83
15% Combat Speeds
5% Chance of Crushing Blow
+(144 to 171)% Enhanced Defense
(27 to 30)% to Strength
(27 to 30)% to Vitality
Physical Resist (13 to 15)%
(15 to 20)% Bonus to Defense
Icetomb![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invfld.jpg)
. Skills, cold spell damage, penetration, and even Cannot Be Frozen. You lose defense rating and physical resistance compared to Erawan though, so make sure you have enough damage everywhere else for this to be impactful. Mystic Orb with Dex and Cold Spell Damage.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invfld.jpg)
Icetomb
Field Plate (Sacred)
Defense: (5937 - 7017) to (7053 - 8335)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 625
Item Level: 105
+(1 to 2) to All Skills
+50 Spell Focus
+(20 to 30)% to Cold Spell Damage
-(20 to 25)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(120 to 160)% Enhanced Defense
+(31 to 40) to all Attributes
(11 to 15)% to Strength
Maximum Fire Resist -1%
Cannot Be Frozen
Socketed (6)
Field Plate (Sacred)
Defense: (5937 - 7017) to (7053 - 8335)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 625
Item Level: 105
+(1 to 2) to All Skills
+50 Spell Focus
+(20 to 30)% to Cold Spell Damage
-(20 to 25)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(120 to 160)% Enhanced Defense
+(31 to 40) to all Attributes
(11 to 15)% to Strength
Maximum Fire Resist -1%
Cannot Be Frozen
Socketed (6)
Best:
Hellfire Plate![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Ign.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Jah.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Gur.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Rhal.jpg)
Pen. Max res. Phys res. Flat fire elemental damage. Innate elemental cold damage added to our weapon. 15% chance to cast Life Spark on Melee Attack for 9% of max health as a heal on proc! ABSOLUTELY NUTS.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Ign.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Jah.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Gur.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Rhal.jpg)
Hellfire Plate
Body Armors
'IgnJahGurRhal'
Runeword Level: 115
+1% Innate Elemental Damage per 250 Strength and Dexterity
15% Chance to cast level 9 Life Spark on Melee Attack
20% Attack Speed
+250 Fire Damage
-(11 to 15)% to Enemy Elemental Resistances
+(171 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
Maximum Life +(3 to 5)%
Maximum Elemental Resists +(1 to 2)%
Fire Resist +(10 to 20)%
Lightning Resist +(10 to 20)%
Cold Resist +(10 to 20)%
Poison Resist +(10 to 20)%
Physical Resist (7 to 10)%
Body Armors
'IgnJahGurRhal'
Runeword Level: 115
+1% Innate Elemental Damage per 250 Strength and Dexterity
15% Chance to cast level 9 Life Spark on Melee Attack
20% Attack Speed
+250 Fire Damage
-(11 to 15)% to Enemy Elemental Resistances
+(171 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
Maximum Life +(3 to 5)%
Maximum Elemental Resists +(1 to 2)%
Fire Resist +(10 to 20)%
Lightning Resist +(10 to 20)%
Cold Resist +(10 to 20)%
Poison Resist +(10 to 20)%
Physical Resist (7 to 10)%
Belt
- Cheap, easy, and good: Sacred Rare Shrine Craft (Abandoned Shrine) or
Truce![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Jah.jpg)
. Truce is easy to make and nice because of phys res, but you will get better stats and damage from a Sacred Craft if you have the Abandoned shrines for it. They can be hard to craft well though.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Jah.jpg)
Truce
Belts
'Jah'
Runeword Level: 80
5% Combat Speeds
Stun Attack
Slows Attacker by 5%
+(172 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
Physical Resist 10%
Belts
'Jah'
Runeword Level: 80
5% Combat Speeds
Stun Attack
Slows Attacker by 5%
+(172 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
Physical Resist 10%
Great:
Sash of the Frozen Seas![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invlbl.jpg)
. Big Life on Attack, Cold Pen, and Attack Rating. Really great belt and usually very cheap for how strong it is. It only loses because it can't give us crazy Dex like Sacred Crafts can. It does give 100 Life on Attack though, and that could be enough for this to be your "best" belt if you need that stat more than Dex or Pen. ![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invlbl.jpg)
Sash of the Frozen Seas
Sash (Sacred)
Defense: (2036 - 2329) to (2064 - 2362)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 500
Item Level: 105
-75% Mana Drain in Werewolf Form
30% Attack Speed
Winter Avatar Cooldown Reduced by 0.4 seconds
+(501 to 1000) to Attack Rating
-(6 to 15)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(101 to 130)% Enhanced Defense
+(51 to 250) to Mana
+100 Life on Melee Attack
Socketed (2)
Sash (Sacred)
Defense: (2036 - 2329) to (2064 - 2362)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 500
Item Level: 105
-75% Mana Drain in Werewolf Form
30% Attack Speed
Winter Avatar Cooldown Reduced by 0.4 seconds
+(501 to 1000) to Attack Rating
-(6 to 15)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(101 to 130)% Enhanced Defense
+(51 to 250) to Mana
+100 Life on Melee Attack
Socketed (2)
It's important to note that the orange text is a good thing, it actually makes your mana degenerate SLOWER. This is because the way Wolf mana works is that it inverts your mana regeneration and turns it into degeneration, so having less mana regeneration actually means you have less degeneration.
Great: Well-rolled Sacred Rare Shrine Craft (Abandoned Shrine). Belts can natively roll Cold Spell Damage and Cold Penetration, so crafting them with Abandoned Shrines is fantastic. With a good roll you can get up to 16% Cold Spell Damage and -10% Enemy Cold Res, plus Enhanced Defense, Dex, Life, etc. and the Abandoned shrine will guarantee Dex % and +Dex. Bless with Abandoned and Mystic Orb with Dex and Cold Spell Damage.
Best:
Dementia![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invmbl.jpg)
: Max life, big penetration, phys res, slows target, max res, and um... chickens? Hard to argue with this one, but you really don't need it until you are pushing really really hard content like the Dimensional Labyrinth. A good Sash of the Frozen Seas or a well crafted sacred rare is very close to as good.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invmbl.jpg)
Dementia
Belt (Sacred)
Defense: (3111 - 3348) to (3272 - 3524)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 690
Item Level: 120
-(15 to 20)% to Enemy Elemental Resistances
+(15 to 25) to Fowl Fight
Slow Target 5%
+(120 to 140)% Enhanced Defense
+500 Defense
Maximum Life +2%
Maximum Elemental Resists +1%
Physical Resist 5%
Requirements +20%
Socketed (2)
Belt (Sacred)
Defense: (3111 - 3348) to (3272 - 3524)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 690
Item Level: 120
-(15 to 20)% to Enemy Elemental Resistances
+(15 to 25) to Fowl Fight
Slow Target 5%
+(120 to 140)% Enhanced Defense
+500 Defense
Maximum Life +2%
Maximum Elemental Resists +1%
Physical Resist 5%
Requirements +20%
Socketed (2)
Best #2:
Ahriman![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Vez.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Ghal.jpg)
has a lot of stats as well as big elemental damage, and even max res! I think it actually could be better than Dementia. While the lack of pen hurts it a bit, it's soooo much damage if you can afford to wear it. ![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Vez.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Ghal.jpg)
Ahriman
Belts
'VezGhal'
Runeword Level: 115
+1 to All Skills
+15 Spell Focus
Adds 100-300 Fire Damage
Adds 100-300 Lightning Damage
Adds 100-300 Cold Damage
+(31 to 50) to all Attributes
Maximum Elemental Resists +1%
Elemental Resists +(31 to 40)%
Requirements +10%
Belts
'VezGhal'
Runeword Level: 115
+1 to All Skills
+15 Spell Focus
Adds 100-300 Fire Damage
Adds 100-300 Lightning Damage
Adds 100-300 Cold Damage
+(31 to 50) to all Attributes
Maximum Elemental Resists +1%
Elemental Resists +(31 to 40)%
Requirements +10%
Gloves
- Not a lot to choose from here at the lower gear levels, just take whatever you can find that has good stats, skills, etc.
Sacred Rare Shrine Craft (Abandoned Shrine). Like Belts, gloves can roll Cold Spell Damage and Cold Penetration natively, so crafting them with Abandoned makes them amazing. Look for +Druid Skills, Cold Spell Damage, Cold Pen, Big Dex, and Life on Attack. Bless with Abandoned and Mystic Orb with Dex and Cold Spell Damage.
Stareye's Claws![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/set_pewpew4.jpg)
Henchmen Trophies
(Legendary Set)
are basically a well-rolled Sacred Rare craft, but with big added cold damage that pushes them over the edge.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/set_pewpew4.jpg)
Stareye's Claws
Gauntlets (Sacred)
Defense: 1674 to 1959
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 625
Item Level: 120
Adds 100-150 Cold Damage
+25% to Cold Spell Damage
-15% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+200% Enhanced Defense
+50 to Dexterity
15% to Dexterity
Maximum Cold Resist +2%
+5 Cold Absorb
Socketed (4)
Gauntlets (Sacred)
Defense: 1674 to 1959
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 625
Item Level: 120
Adds 100-150 Cold Damage
+25% to Cold Spell Damage
-15% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+200% Enhanced Defense
+50 to Dexterity
15% to Dexterity
Maximum Cold Resist +2%
+5 Cold Absorb
Socketed (4)
Henchmen Trophies
(Legendary Set)
Snowsquall![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Gla.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Iu.jpg)
gives big 'Slows Target' to slow both enemy's attacks and their movement speed. It also has a solid amount of offense via penetration AND flat cold damage! Definitely our best choice.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Gla.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Iu.jpg)
Snowsquall
Gloves
'GlaIu'
Runeword Level: 105
+1% Maximum Cold Resist per 80% Cold Resist
+1 to All Skills
20% Hit Recovery
Adds 100-200 Cold Damage
(3 to 5)% Innate Elemental Damage
-(7 to 10)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
Slow Target 20%
+200% Enhanced Defense
+(21 to 25) to Dexterity
Cold Absorb (3 to 5)%
Gloves
'GlaIu'
Runeword Level: 105
+1% Maximum Cold Resist per 80% Cold Resist
+1 to All Skills
20% Hit Recovery
Adds 100-200 Cold Damage
(3 to 5)% Innate Elemental Damage
-(7 to 10)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
Slow Target 20%
+200% Enhanced Defense
+(21 to 25) to Dexterity
Cold Absorb (3 to 5)%
Boots
- Cheap, easy, and good: Sacred Rare Shrine Craft or
Steppe Sleeper![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invlbt.jpg)
Tundra Walker
(Barbarian Windcarver Set)
. Movement speed is nice and any Dex or Pen you get as a bonus is great. ![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invlbt.jpg)
Steppe Sleeper
Boots (Sacred)
Defense: (1302 - 1627) to (1342 - 1677)
Required Level: 80
Item Level: 1
+1 to Barbarian Skill Levels
(10 to 40)% Movement Speed
+(100 to 150)% Enhanced Defense
30% to Strength
Requirements -100%
Socketed (4)
Boots (Sacred)
Defense: (1302 - 1627) to (1342 - 1677)
Required Level: 80
Item Level: 1
+1 to Barbarian Skill Levels
(10 to 40)% Movement Speed
+(100 to 150)% Enhanced Defense
30% to Strength
Requirements -100%
Socketed (4)
Tundra Walker
(Barbarian Windcarver Set)
If you happen to find a
Hunter's Trackless Step![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invvbt.jpg)
Big Game Hunter
(Barbarian Warmonger Set)
with good Movement Speed, you can use them for a bit as they provide 5% Physical Resist.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invvbt.jpg)
Hunter's Trackless Step
Heavy Boots (Sacred)
Defense: (1392 - 1740) to (1474 - 1842)
Required Level: 90
Required Strength: 550
Item Level: 1
+(0 to 1) to Barbarian Skill Levels
(10 to 40)% Movement Speed
10% Chance of Crushing Blow
+(100 to 150)% Enhanced Defense
+(31 to 50) to Vitality
+15 Maximum Stamina
Physical Resist 5%
50% Bonus to Defense
Socketed (4)
Heavy Boots (Sacred)
Defense: (1392 - 1740) to (1474 - 1842)
Required Level: 90
Required Strength: 550
Item Level: 1
+(0 to 1) to Barbarian Skill Levels
(10 to 40)% Movement Speed
10% Chance of Crushing Blow
+(100 to 150)% Enhanced Defense
+(31 to 50) to Vitality
+15 Maximum Stamina
Physical Resist 5%
50% Bonus to Defense
Socketed (4)
Big Game Hunter
(Barbarian Warmonger Set)
If you have bad luck with Shrine crafts,
Imperial Guard![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invhbt.jpg)
Guardian of the Sightless Eye
(Barbarian Oskill Set)
is really solid.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invhbt.jpg)
Imperial Guard
Greaves (Sacred)
Defense: (1744 - 1984) to (1968 - 2239)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 650
Item Level: 118
+(1 to 2) to All Skills
(10 to 40)% Movement Speed
(51 to 100)% Bonus to Attack Rating
(6 to 15)% Life stolen per Hit
-10% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(111 to 140)% Enhanced Defense
(6 to 10)% to Vitality
Socketed (4)
Greaves (Sacred)
Defense: (1744 - 1984) to (1968 - 2239)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 650
Item Level: 118
+(1 to 2) to All Skills
(10 to 40)% Movement Speed
(51 to 100)% Bonus to Attack Rating
(6 to 15)% Life stolen per Hit
-10% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(111 to 140)% Enhanced Defense
(6 to 10)% to Vitality
Socketed (4)
Guardian of the Sightless Eye
(Barbarian Oskill Set)
Best: Sacred Rare Shrine Craft (Sacred Shrine). Boots cannot roll Cold Spell Damage or Cold Penetration natively, but usually Abandoned is still best here for % dex (more damage and more defense). Trinity Shrines actually are not bad either, due to Innate Ele Damage. If you absolutely need the cold pen, you can go with use Sacred Shrines instead. Go for movement speed and +stats or +dex. Bless with Sacred and you can hit up to -10% enemy cold resistances and 16% cold spell damage if needed. Bless with Abandoned if you don't need any more pen and take the extra % Dex. Mystic Orb with Dex and Cold Spell Damage.
Late game,
Vision![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Ghal.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Ol.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Yham.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Arc.jpg)
is really nice due to the Max res, but they aren't perfectly optimized for us.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Ghal.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Ol.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Yham.jpg)
![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/runes/runes_new/Arc.jpg)
Vision
Boots
'GhalOlYhamArc'
Runeword Level: 120
10% of Total Energy Gained as Life
+1 to All Skills
+15 Spell Focus
+10% Bonus to Spell Focus
-(10 to 15)% to Enemy Elemental Resistances
+(141 to 171)% Enhanced Defense
+10 to all Attributes
Maximum Life and Mana +(1 to 5)%
Maximum Elemental Resists +1%
Physical Damage Reduced by (10 to 20)
Boots
'GhalOlYhamArc'
Runeword Level: 120
10% of Total Energy Gained as Life
+1 to All Skills
+15 Spell Focus
+10% Bonus to Spell Focus
-(10 to 15)% to Enemy Elemental Resistances
+(141 to 171)% Enhanced Defense
+10 to all Attributes
Maximum Life and Mana +(1 to 5)%
Maximum Elemental Resists +1%
Physical Damage Reduced by (10 to 20)
- Easy pick and cheap ring is
Ripstar![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invrin1.jpg)
. Even though it grants physical damage, we attack fast and the damage will still add up. Plus it has 20 Life on Attack. ![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invrin1.jpg)
Ripstar
Ring
Required Level: 60
Item Level: 60
+0.5625 to Maximum Damage (Based on Character Level)
+20 Life on Melee Attack
Ring
Required Level: 60
Item Level: 60
+0.5625 to Maximum Damage (Based on Character Level)
+20 Life on Melee Attack
The Assur's Bane quest ring from Duncraig is actually fantastic and gives a good balance of offense and defense. I used two for a while until I got very solid offensive Rare Rings.
Rare rings can be great as they can give you +1 All Skills, Cold Spell Damage, Cold Penetration, +Damage, and stats. Don't forget to Luck them for more Cold Spell Damage!
Best:
Bad Mood![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invrin1.jpg)
is absurd, just look at it. The only downside is you might need to get a bit of extra Faster Cast Speed to make up for the negative it has so that your teleport/curse cast speed isn't too slow. I recommend 2x Bad Mood if you can keep your cast speed up, or 1x Bad Mood and something else if not.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invrin1.jpg)
Bad Mood
Ring
Required Level: 100
Item Level: 120
-20% Cast Speed
Adds 50-100 Fire Damage
Adds 50-100 Lightning Damage
Adds 50-100 Cold Damage
-(5 to 20)% to Enemy Fire Resistance
-(5 to 20)% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
-(5 to 20)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
Ring
Required Level: 100
Item Level: 120
-20% Cast Speed
Adds 50-100 Fire Damage
Adds 50-100 Lightning Damage
Adds 50-100 Cold Damage
-(5 to 20)% to Enemy Fire Resistance
-(5 to 20)% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
-(5 to 20)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
For Amulets, Rares are again very nice if they spawn with Skills, Cold Pen, stats, or Cold spell dmg.
A Unique option for more defense but still good damage is
Dyers Eve![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invamu1.jpg)
, due to the Physical Resistance and Time Strike proc. ![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invamu1.jpg)
Dyers Eve
Amulet
Required Level: 100
Item Level: 120
5% Chance to cast level 5 Time Strike on Striking
+2 to All Skills
Adds 15-20 Damage
5% Life stolen per Hit
Elemental Resists +10%
Physical Resist (1 to 10)%
Amulet
Required Level: 100
Item Level: 120
5% Chance to cast level 5 Time Strike on Striking
+2 to All Skills
Adds 15-20 Damage
5% Life stolen per Hit
Elemental Resists +10%
Physical Resist (1 to 10)%
Best is probably
Black Dwarf![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invamu1.jpg)
, the FCR and FHR is quite nice and it has good pen as well as skills and defense. ![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/invamu1.jpg)
Black Dwarf
Amulet
Required Level: 110
Item Level: 105
+2 to All Skills
20% Cast Speed
20% Hit Recovery
+(15 to 25)% to Lightning Spell Damage
-(5 to 20)% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
+(15 to 25)% to Cold Spell Damage
-(5 to 20)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(21 to 29) to Supernova
(30 to 40)% Bonus to Defense
-5 to Light Radius
Amulet
Required Level: 110
Item Level: 105
+2 to All Skills
20% Cast Speed
20% Hit Recovery
+(15 to 25)% to Lightning Spell Damage
-(5 to 20)% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
+(15 to 25)% to Cold Spell Damage
-(5 to 20)% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+(21 to 29) to Supernova
(30 to 40)% Bonus to Defense
-5 to Light Radius
Quov Tsin's Talisman![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/superammy.jpg)
is also quite strong if you are going for more Innate Elemental damage. I think I prefer Black Dwarf because the damage is very close and the quality of life from the FCR helps out a lot, but if you are stacking Innate Elemental moreso then Quov's is the way to go.![](https://dev.median-xl.com/assets/Temp_Items/baseitems/superammy.jpg)
Quov Tsin's Talisman
Amulet
Required Level: 110
Item Level: 110
15% Innate Elemental Damage
-(20 to 30)% to Enemy Elemental Resistances
Amulet
Required Level: 110
Item Level: 110
15% Innate Elemental Damage
-(20 to 30)% to Enemy Elemental Resistances
I think a well-rolled rare amulet could potentially be the best, but so much RNG
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif)
Mystic Orb Rings and Amulets with Reduced Physical Damage Taken, Defense, and Cold Spell Damage.
Sockets
- You will want enough IAS jewels to reach your fastest breakpoint. I would recommend crafting them with +All Attributes or Life on Attack. After that, as many FHR and FBR (or both) jewels to hit those breakpoints. Any FCR you get is a nice bonus.
Everything else: Fal Runes / Perfect Amethysts. We want as much Dex as possible as it is both our best offensive and defensive stat. Offensively, it increases our Attack Rating and our damage (Crystal Sword grants 35% of Dex as Cold Damage and Survival Instincts grants 20% of Dex as Cold damage). Defensively, Dex increases both our Defense Rating and our Block chance.
There are some cases where you might want to use Ice runes for the Cold Pen, but depending on the item's level they can make the item level requirement higher which means you can't put as many Mystic Orbs on it. Ice runes also have no survivability benefit. If you can get your Penetration elsewhere, Fal Runes are better.
Penetration
- You shouldn't need more than -100 Enemy Cold resistances for normal/farming gameplay, but if you plan on bossing then having as much as -200% could be useful. I killed Uldyssian and farmed his charm with around -175 on my Druid.
Endgame Challenges/Dungeons/Rifts
Level 105
Island of the Sunless Sea
- This one is pretty easy once you realize you can target the invisible monsters with Harbinger even when you can't see them.
Horror Under Tristram
- The butcher himself isn't very dangerous, just keep an eye on your health as you click him down with Twisted Claw. If your health gets low, you can run from him as he is pretty slow. The bigger dangers are the flames that come from the sides of the room, keep your eyes open and dodge them or you might die.
Invasion
- Pretty trivial fight, mostly just hold click Twisted Claw and he dies. You might need to move out of the lightning effects on the ground, but probably not.
Infernal Machine
- Thin out the crowds of monsters before killing the turret machine and this one will be pretty easy. Just don't over-extend before thinning out the monsters and you should be fine.
Death Projector
- This one can be surprisingly hard at low gear levels because you won't have enough damage to power through before more invincible minions spawn. Start the fight by attacking the turret with Twisted Claw while walking in a circle away from the giant purple death beam. Eventually, there will be too many additional invincible minions for you to power through without dying. When that happens, you need to run to a corner of the room and let the minions follow you there, then quickly run and teleport with Harbinger back onto the turret to finish damaging it.
Level 110
The Secret Cow Level
- Cows are not too bad because Harbinger lets us teleport around crazily and that means we are rarely at risk of being cornered/surrounded. Generally you can just spam Harbinger to heard enemies until you find a large enough pack, which you want to Twisted Claw down before returning to Harbinger spam. At low gear levels they can do a lot of damage and be a little dangerous if you don't keep on-the-move.
Torajan Jungles
- Overall one of the easiest and best places to farm and level at this range. Nothing is especially dangerous and you get a good amount of signets and loot.
The Binding of Baal
- This one is not hard, just kill the minions to make the boss able to be damaged. They are fairly tanky so you will want to use Twisted Claw on them. Be warned that shapeshifting out of Werewolf form while you are transformed into Baal can bug this fight out and prevent you from ever shapeshifting back into form, which means you won't be able to use your abilities and will have to exit the game and re-start the fight (this happened to me, it was awful lol).
Horizon's Sanctum
- Pretty easy, just use Twisted Claw to kill the boss as fast as you can while paying attention to how many additional monsters he summons. If he summons too many, you'll need to take a break from the boss and kill them or you might die. If you can pull the boss far away from his summons, they sometimes tend to leave you alone while the boss dies.
Akarat
- Pretty easy fight if you have been keeping up with your damage. Just have to kill his minions near him to make him vulnerable, then kill him quickly before his health regens. Building up Tornados on him while he's invincible and letting those Tornados kill his minions will give you a burst of damage onto the Boss, as he becomes vulnerable when the minions die and will already be standing in your Twisted Claw tornados.
Assault on Mount Arreat
- If you are having trouble with surviving, try to walk slowly in until a few axe thrower minions target you and then walk away quickly to pull them away in little groups and kill them while safely away from the bigger group. Do this around the corners of the map until all of the minions are dead before going to the center and killing the main boss. Like the Baal transform, if you accidentally shapeshift out of Werewolf form, you might bug out and have to restart the fight.
Lord Aldric Jitan
- We do pretty well at this fight because Harbinger is excellent at moving around and avoiding projectiles from the Guard Towers. Just pull a few Guards back at a time (don't rush in right away) and you will be able to finish them off with Twisted Claw while using Harbinger to reposition if you take too much Guard Tower damage. Jitan himself is basically just "click and hold Twisted Claw" until he dies, but you might need to move away during his multi-tower summon if you start taking too much damage.
Inquisitor of the Triune
- Kill this guy to get +2 skills! He does an aoe poison circle that also makes him immune to damage. You can move away to avoid taking the poison damage, but it's possible to just eat through it with Life on Hit and Avoid, depending on your gear.
Level 115
Kurast 3000 BA
- This one can be a little frustrating at lower gear levels because many of the Skeletons have Cold Absorb and that coupled with the Towers granting them more survivability can make them a bit hard to kill. Killing the towers first is ideal as far as speed goes, but you may not be able to survive diving straight in right away. If that's the case, first focus on clearing out some of the non-cold absorbing Skeletons, then focus the cold absorb ones down until it is safe enough to get to the middle tower and kill it.
High Heavens
- This one is a lot better to farm since 2.0 made the poison spike balls take your Poison Resistance into consideration, although health potions no longer remove poisons (it's still a lot easier overall). Werewolf is also pretty good at dealing with the poison spike balls due to Avoid making us often just ignore them completely. Just pay attention and hit your Health Potion to get some regen to counter the degen any time you get poisoned and it's pretty easy.
Tran Athulua
- This one is pretty RIP-ie at low gear levels. There are so many Amazons shooting at you that Avoid has a hard time helping us out due to the sheer number of incoming arrows. Still, like most crowded monster situations, Harbinger is the answer. Stay on the move with instant teleporting attacks and they will have a hard time hitting you. Make sure to clear out all of the normal Amazons before killing the three Bosses, or you will probably have a bad time. The Amazon Bosses are pretty annoying because their AI makes them constantly run away (and out of Twisted Claw Tornados) so they take less damage than they would otherwise. The cold absorbing Boss is especially tanky at low gear levels and can be a bit of a slog.
I recommend farming the Tran Athulua Trophy for an extra 5% Physical Res.
Bull Prince Rodeo
- This fight is more of a damage-check than a mechanics one, and it gives a lot of classes trouble as there are many giant AoE mechanics that are very difficult to keep from getting hit by. However, Avoid is a fantastic defensive stat for this fight and Wolf has plenty of it. At low gear level, my Werewolf killed this boss far easier than any of my other characters who always had trouble with it. Great fight for us, just Twisted Claw him and ignore all of the mechanics while bursting him down and marveling at your wolf powers
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif)
Rathma Square
- Another fight that has given my other chars trouble at low gear level, but once again Wolf excels here
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif)
Black Road
- Another great fight for Wolf! Similar to Rathma Square, you have a lot of constantly spawning minions to deal with. For this fight though, you need to drag the boss into the fire circle otherwise he is invincible. This is pretty easy if you just run into the circle and let him follow you, however he may get stuck on some of your wolf minions from Feed the Pack. If this happens, you can try moving around the room until he follows you into the circle. Once he's in the circle, it's really easy. Click him down with Twisted Claw and let your Avoid and Life on Attack do the rest. Just be careful not to move too much once you're inside the circle, as it will trigger traps that unleash more additional giant waves of minions.
Legacy of Blood
- Another great fight for Wolf! Just teleport on top of the boss and burst him down with Twisted Claw. You should kill him very quickly while avoiding all of the minion damage without much hassle. Just beware the explosion that occurs a few seconds after he dies and make sure you have picked up the charm before then
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif)
The Veiled Prophet
- Once you enter, run to the bottom-right and hide in the first corner in between the lightning beams (don't touch them, just stand still). Stand still and spam attack the invincible minions just to get some Life on Attack. Once the lightning goes away, immediately run to the center of the room and teleport onto the Tower with Harbinger. Burst it down with Twisted Claw to summon the boss and break the immunity off the existing minions. You may need to thin out the minions before focusing on him, but you should be able to burst him down fairly easily.
Heart of Sin
- Pretty easy fight for Wolf, just avoid the large AoE attacks if they do too much damage to you. Avoid and Life on Attack with fast attack speed makes us survive through most everything else Azmodan can throw at us without any issue.
Invasion II
- Mostly the same as the first invasion, but with a lot higher damage. Avoid the lightning circles on the ground, they have a brief delay allowing you to walk out before they damage you.
Level 120
Teganze
- This is a zone that gave me a lot of annoyance on other characters because of all of the projectile balls flying around at all times that do high damage. Wolf doesn't care much though, because once again Avoid is an excellent defensive layer. Combine Avoid with Harbinger mobility and those balls almost never hit us. Excellent character for Teganze!
The Triune
- In previous patches this zone was very annoying because of the Rock Fall attacks monsters used, but they don't do that anymore! So now it is quite easy and pleasant to farm. Just keep your eyes open for the Towers because the Meteor circle they place on the ground will probably one-shot you if you stand in it. Use Harbinger to teleport directly to any towers and burst them down with Twisted Claw as soon as you see them, then resume killing the rest of the monsters on screen normally.
The boss fight used to be really awful, but they've made it a lot more palatable. You need to pick up the book item from Squidward in the chapel. Be warned, it sets your Avoid to 0 while holding it, but you will need it to kill the boss. You'll find Malic in the courtyard casting firebolts and being annoyingly invincible. Kill all monsters in the courtyard by Malic and then head down into the building below the courtyard to find Lucion. He is also invincible, but that's okay, we have a plan. Lucion will attack you and follow you, so you must slowly walk away from him and let him chase you into the courtyard where Malic is. Use the skill that Squidward's book grants you to Mind Control Lucion, and then let Malic hit him with his firebolts and that will deal damage to Lucion. Note that you cannot Mind Control again before the existing Mind Control has stopped, so don't spam the ability or it will be on-cooldown for a longer time after the Mind Control ends. Also, note that there is an annoying bug where you have to drop the book after every cast of Mind Control, or Lucion will not take damage despite being Mind Controlled. At 50%, the bug goes away and Lucion also enrages and becomes much faster and casts more spells and ground effects. Other than Lucion being faster and casting more though, the mechanics are the same. Just keep mind controlling him and letting him get hit with Malic's firebolts.
Duncraig
- Duncraig is a bit annoying for all Melee characters due to the explosive barrels doing magic damage that can easily 2-shot you out of nowhere. Still, if you keep your eyes open and move in a sort of "run forward and then backward" pattern, you will be able to bait out the barrels and avoid them by moving away after you see them fall from the sky. It's not the best place for Wolf to level/farm ~120, so I would head back to The Triune after getting your charm. The goal in this area is to find five Seals (each from a mini boss) and combine it with a Ring of the Five (a random drop chance from all monsters in the zone). Once you have all five seals and the ring, cube them to create Assur's Bane.
The boss, Assur, is your first Purify fight. You must use Assur's Bane to cast Purify on Assur to kill him (as he is immune to any damage you deal other than the granted skill Purify). Walk close enough that Assur's life bar appears on your screen and then stop as soon as it does. Usually he will not teleport to you at this range and you can back up and kill any monsters that are in the way before walking further forward to pull Assur. I like to clear the big room before Assur's room completely and then run from Assur and teleport into the big room so he follows me. Once I'm in the big room, I just run circles around him until I hit him twice with Purify to kill him.
Judgement Day
- Pretty easy fight. Harbinger on top of the boss and burst them down with Twisted Claw while Avoid and Life on Attack take care of most of the minion damage. You might need to use Harbinger to re-port to the boss if they teleport away. Both Imperius and Mathael basically play out the same way, the biggest difference between the two is that Imperius is a bit more tanky and Malthael's dark ground effect does enough damage that you'll want to run out of it and reposition.
Twin Seas
- Very easy fight, but Wolf is a bit slower than some characters might be at it due to the Boss's runaway AI making her run out of Tornados from Twisted Claw. Even considering that, it's not hard. Just Harbinger on top of her when she runs away and use Twisted Claw when you land. Rinse and repeat.
Quov Tsin
- This fight is much easier after some nerfs to it in 2.0, it's now very doable for Melee builds, yay! The gist is that you hit the boss, which will make him teleport away. You can keep chasing him down until he does his Death Beam -- when he does this, you run in a circle and try to avoid the Death Beam and make sure you do not die or else the boss heals for a lot. Every time you hit the boss he teleports far away, which is annoying because Wolf walk/run speed is slow, but with the damage nerfs in 2.0 it's not so bad and you may even be able to face-tank the Death Beam with Life on Attack.
Kingdom of Shadow
- Wolf is not the best at this due to lack of movement speed, but Wolf's avoid helps with defense vs the zombies, so it isn't bad at it by any means. The Zombie Run gives a lot of players anxiety but once you get a feel for the map it is actually not bad at all. The gist of it is that thousands of tiny invincible zombies run after you and attack and poison you, and all you can do is run. The map is weird and has lots of odd areas and it isn't immediately clear where you should go -- but don't worry, that's why I'm here! Here's a video guide I did that goes over navigating the new map in 2.3.
As a general tip, you want to walk and not sprint to avoid de-syncing from the server. Personally I save sprint for when a bunch of zombies are near me, to force them farther away from me and into a more manageable ball behind me.
There are big scary enemy dues who actually ARE attackable, and you can Mana Pulse them to get enough mana to be able to teleport. Depending on how many big scary dudes you see (or don't), you may need to temporarily shift out of Werewolf form to have enough Mana to teleport over some of the walls.
Eve of Destruction
- Another great fight for Wolf, Baal's usual annoying Mana Drain ability doesn't really affect us since we can just use Mana Pulse and regen all of our Mana right away. Avoid and Life on Attack help us tank through most of his attacks, even the black sludge on the ground if you're geared correctly. Twisted Claw damage bursts down the ads easily if they spawn, but they often never do because Baal spawns the other Bosses when he hits you, which he rarely ever does because of Avoid. If he Spawns Duriel, Andarial, Diablo, or a Minion of Destruction, always make sure to burst them down as soon as possible with Twisted Claw before focusing back on Baal again. If things get out of hand, you can kite Baal and the minions away from each other and solo them down alone -- this probably won't even happen though, as once again Avoid is just really good and he rarely summons many during the fight becaus of it.
Banisher of Light
- Kabraxis is another great fight for Wolf. Avoid helps us not get hit by most of his damage, if you are well geared you can easily stand in almost everything Kabraxis does and not care, only the big green firestorm bomb-drop ability is scary. If you aren't well geared, the fight is still great for wolf. What I like to do is run away from Kabraxis, which forces his AI to make him port on top of me and summon skeletons. Then you get a few free Twisted Claw hits in while he is finishing his Teleport animation. The Tornados will damage him and kill the skeleton minions, which give you life on kill. Then just walk away again and let him port on you, rinse and repeat. Great fight to farm.
Legion of the Damned
- If you want more loot and more challenge, you can kill the totems on the outside of the arena. Each totem increases loot and overall difficulty. The fight is chaos and a lot of fun, so don't feel too bad if you die the first time or two when you do it
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif)
The main mechanic to look out for is the Purple/Black swirling circles that get left after certain Zombies die. They --never-- go away, so be aware of their position and stay out of them, because they deal big damage over time as long as you stand in them. Survival Instincts is a blessing here, because it constantly freezes many of the enemies that spawn, and boy-howdy do a lot of enemies spawn. Keep an eye out for the big-bad monsters (Metal Golems, Act 2 Resurrect guys, etc.) and focus them down with Twisted Claw while keeping on the move with Harbinger (which procs crazily with on-striking effects here due to the monster density).
Level 125
Toraja
- This place is pretty awful but not exactly hard. Everything in here is invincible to you, so you have to use your summonable Edyrem from the Judgement Day reward in order to make them attackable. This wouldn't be that bad but the Edyrem AI is awful and they are way too squishy. I've found the least-awful way is to summon all 10 Edyrem behind a wall, then spam Harbinger to port directly onto enemies with all the Edyrem porting with you (so they are more likely to attack it). It's a bit of a slog and pretty annoying, but not exactly "difficult". Once you find the Boss, it's the same thing with her and she doesn't have much health and dies fast. The only issue is making sure you clear out enough enemies before the boss jumps on you, otherwise you will probably die since you can't clear the invincible enemies out easily when there are so many of them at once.
Viz-Jun
- Very easy, just watch out for the mines that spawn on the ground as they can kill you if you eat a bunch in a row. Generally though, Avoid deals with the mines really well and you don't have to think much about them. Solid place to farm, the boss just takes like 2 purify hits to kill, and you can easily port-spam with Harbinger to get him to quickly if you want. Would have probably farmed here more but Fautzinville exists and Wolf is really good at it.
Fautzinville
- Wolf kind of crushes this. I'm sure there are some ranged characters that clear it more quickly, but we are WOLF! We have Harbinger and we can just port around wherever we want and we do not care, huzzah! Wolf is fantastic at this and Cold is especially good because we don't care that Necrobots have high physical resist since we do Cold Damage.
As of 2.4, Fautz is also a great place for us to farm when we want to roll Sacred Shrine Crafted Crystal Swords, thanks to the new Catalyst of Transference and Positronic Brains from the minibosses. Aroooo!!!
Lord of Lies
- Not a particularly hard fight, but a little hard to figure out if you've never done it. Belial is invisible and he has many copies of himself that roam around. You need to figure out which one is actually him, and the easiest way to do that is to kill the copies of him so that there is less visual clutter. The only thing he does that is particularly scary is make a clone wall of himself, which you can often ignore, however if you stand in line with the copies it can hit you for big damage. So just be aware of your positioning. If you have a Cold Blood, you can use Banish to put a curse icon over his head when he is invisible, which will let you cheat and see where he is and be able to click him even when he's invisible. It's a little unintuitive at first but it's a pretty easy fight once you get the hang of it.
Ghosts of Old Bremmtown
- Another great fight for Wolf, we can just port pack-to-pack with Harbinger. The dog-ghost-purple-things also port onto you, so it becomes a giant ball of death quickly. Luckily, they don't do much damage and if you are constantly porting with Harbinger they will not hit you much anyway. They die fast too, so you probably don't even need to use Twisted Claw on them. Run down the bottom-left toward the double bridge and take the second bridge toward the bottom-right. The Dark Star Dragon will be to the bottom-left of that bridge. He has absolutely no HP and dies when you sneeze on him, so don't worry about fighting him along with a big pack of the purple dudes. Very easy to do this in a minute and a half to get the charm. You can also definitely do it in 30 seconds for the Trophy if you want to farm it. Nice place to level/farm also, very easy to zone out and do this area quickly.
Yshari Sanctum
- This fight is a bit annoying because you have to farm an entire set of gear that basically amounts to not playing your character and playing another character instead. Some people really hate it but I don't think it's too bad. I'm not going to go over the mazes that help you get the gear set, there are already better guides for that. Basically you have to run through a maze with teleport disabled and get special pieces of gear, it takes about an hour probably? It's not too bad but some people hate that part as well, haha. Anyway, the fight itself amounts to you using Granted Ability #1, a lightning bolt nova, to clear out minions that the boss summons. You then use Granted Ability #2 to hit the boss (it's basically Purify). The caveat is that you can't use either ability unless there are minions nearby, so you need to kill most of the minions but not all of the minions. What gets annoying is the boss's twitchie AI makes him move around and often dodge the Purify shots. Furthermore, his pattern appears to be totally random and sometimes he dances around for minutes on end without ever summoning any new minions, which can be really punishing with regard to the timer if you mess up and kill all of the minions. This fight is a few tweaks away from being fun, but it definitely isn't fun in it's current form. Not the worst thing ever, but not really fun either.
Wolf (or rather Druids in general) are actually fairly good at it due to their Avoid and Life Regen from the Symbiosis buff, which you can still cast on yourself while wearing the Quest Gear Set.
I would avoid this until later if you have never done it before, try everything else at-level first.
Xazax
- Another great fight for Wolf. Try to burst the boss down to 50% as fast as possible, because early in the fight there are only 1 or 2 minions summoned. As the fight goes on, the boss summons more and more minions and they are invincible. You have to kite the minions around away from the boss, then quickly Harbinger port onto the boss and get hits in with Twisted Claw as fast as you can before the minions reach you. Then rinse and repeat. The boss has three main abilities, a Fire Rain, a Poison Wave, and an Ice Nova. The Fire Rain will definitely kill you, so move out of it when you see the markers on the ground. The Poison Wave doesn't do much and you can generally ignore it / use a health potion. The Ice Nova will kill you if you are too close and eat multiple hits as it can shotgun-effect you up close. Far away though each individual one won't kill you. Just keep an eye on the minion's position and kite them in a circle and you will be good.
Note that even though they are invincible, you can still attack the minions with Mana Pulse to get mana for teleporting.
Astrogha
- Since this fight got reworked, it is no longer total cancer to melee builds, yay! You can kill one or more of the totems in the four corners to clear some space to avoid the persistent beam attacks if needed. Mostly just avoid fail damage and click Astrogha down, beware the surprise 3x spawn when she dies -- you need to kill the correct clone to get the charm to drop!
Nymyr's Light (The Sleep)
- Stay on her until she shoots orange balls out in a circular pattern around her, this is the tell for her "dance phase" -- the orange balls become green lines that move diagonally. They hurt if you walk through them, but luckily Wolf's Avoid makes them much less dangerous as you can dodge many of their hits.
When you run/reposition, she will teleport onto you if you get too far away and smack you, which hurts a lot if it lands (easily ~50% of your HP pool). Keep this in mind if you try to run/reposition and make sure your health is topped off before you get too far away. Like Kabraxis, you can use this teleport mechanic to position her in your favor if need be.
Keep an eye on the witches around the arena, they will send slow-moving green flames that home in on you and stun/knockback (deadly!).
Spirit World
- This fight is much easier since it was re-worked to no longer be a Purify fight. Essentially you just kill the summoned bone piles (they grant the boss immunity to all damage) and then attack the boss when there aren't any nearby (as he is vulnerable to damage then). The bone piles' range of immunity is big, so sometimes there might be one granting the boss immunity even though there aren't any on screen. They also disappear behind line of sight (i.e. walls) so they can be sneaky and impossible to see sometimes relative to their position between yours and a wall.
Take note of the tiny orange balls, more and more will spawn over the course of the fight. They slowly move toward you and do damage to you when they are close, but Wolf Avoid lets us tank them better than most classes. Just keep an eye on them and keep moving so you don't get overwhelmed, you can kite the boss away from them by baiting his proximity teleport if you need to reposition.
130 Fights and the rest of the guide are in the post below, keep scrolling!