Core requirements
The advanced setup is A, and the budget setup is B.
- Main attack
- Freezing Arrow 20 · Cold Arrow 20
- Pierce
- Pierce 6 plus equipment bonuses and Razortail
- Attack speed
- A 75% · B 80%
- Mana
- Silkweave and mana potions · B Meditation
Attributes
Total attributes with equipment · hard points shown separately
| Strength | A 96 · B 73Total with equipment |
|---|---|
| Dexterity | A 187 · B 110A Total with equipment · B Excludes Lycander's +20 Dexterity |
| Vitality | All remaining pointsHard points |
| Energy | 0No hard points |
Attribute calculations and equipment changes
Strength
A Nightwing's Veil requires 96 Strength after its reduced requirements are applied. B meets the recommended bow and Silkweave requirements. Make Chains of Honor in a Mage Plate requiring 55 Strength, then reach 96 total including the finished armor's +20 Strength.
Dexterity
A Matriarchal Bow requires 187 with equipment. B meets 110 without Lycander's own +20 Dexterity, giving at least 130 after equipping it. Put the remainder into Vitality.
Vitality
After meeting equipment requirements, put all remaining attribute points into Vitality.
Energy
Use equipment mana/recovery and potions. Keep any Energy granted by equipment.
Skills
Level 90 · 101 hard points
Main skills and synergies
Supporting investment
Prerequisite · support 1 point each
Includes 12 quest points; equipment skill bonuses are excluded. Unlisted skills have 0 points. A and B use the same allocation.
Investment order
Early on, use 
Exploding Arrow for leveling. At level 30, unlock 
Freezing Arrow 1 points and then obtain 
Pierce·
Decoy·
Valkyrie in order.
- Freezing Arrow20
Cold Arrow20
Magic Arrow20- Valkyrie20, Pierce6·
Penetrate4 to completion.
Equipment skill bonuses and allocation notes
The table and image show 101 hard points. Add equipment bonuses to all skills, class skills and skill tabs separately; synergies use hard points.
A and B use the same base tree. Do not mix the equipment or point swaps of optional variants into the base allocation.
A·B Shared · Level 90
Open this allocation in the simulator ↗
Equipment
A / B: compare modifiers and replacement requirements.
| Slot | Advanced A | Budget B | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon | A Runeword Ice | B Lycander's Aim | A uses the fast -10 bow base |
Weapon choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirements+3 Bow Skills Matriarchal Bow · Amn/Shael/Jah/Lo 20% Increased Attack Speed · -20% to Enemy Cold Resistance B · Setup requirementsUnupgraded Ceremonial Bow Shael · 40% total Increased Attack Speed Budget differencesB starts with +4 Bow Skills and mana leech, but lacks A's enemy cold resistance reduction and Holy Freeze. | |||
| Off-hand slot | AArrows | BArrows | Check arrow quantity |
| Helm | A Nightwing's Veil | B Runeword Lore | A Requires 96 Strength; B uses a light helm |
Helm choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirements15% Increased Attack Speed jewel · increased cold damage B · Setup requirementsOrt/Sol +1 to All Skills · 30 lightning resistance | |||
| Armor | A Runeword Chains of Honor | BRuneword Peace | Obtain both skills and resistances |
Armor choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirementsMage Plate · Dol/Um/Ber/Ist +2 to All Skills · 65 all resistances on the finished item B · Setup requirementsMage Plate · Shael/Thul/Amn +2 Amazon Skills · 30 cold resistance | |||
| Gloves | ARare gloves | BRare gloves | Maintain 20% Increased Attack Speed |
| Belt | A Razortail | BRazortail | Pierce hard points 6; B at least +4 from equipment |
Belt choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirements33% Pierce B · Setup requirements33% Pierce | |||
| Boots | A Silkweave | BSilkweave | Physical leech alone does not sustain elemental arrows |
Boot choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirements+5 Mana after each Kill B · Setup requirements+5 Mana after each Kill | |||
| Amulet | A Highlord's Wrath | BHighlord's Wrath | A 75 total IAS · B 80 IAS |
Amulet choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirements20% Increased Attack Speed · +1 to All Skills · 35 lightning resistance B · Setup requirements20% Increased Attack Speed · +1 to All Skills · 35 lightning resistance | |||
| Ring 1 | A Raven Frost | BRaven Frost | Cold attackers still need Cannot Be Frozen |
Ring 1: choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirementsCannot Be Frozen · 40 mana B · Setup requirementsCannot Be Frozen · 40 mana | |||
| Ring 2 | ARare ring | BRare ring | Mana leech works only on the arrow's physical damage |
Mercenary and weapon swap
| Slot | Advanced A | Budget B | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercenary | A Act 2 Might  Runeword Infinity(ethereal Thresher)Runeword Fortitude Andariel's Visage(Ral) | B Act 2 Might Runeword Insight(elite polearm)Runeword Treachery Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest | A Conviction lowers resistances · B Meditation sustains mana |
| Weapon swap | A Runeword Call to Arms Lidless Wall | B Staff with Teleport charges | Cross obstacles or retrieve the mercenary, then return to the main weapon |
Upgrade order
- Acquire the budget bow, Peace and Lore
- Solve mana with an Insight mercenary and Silkweave
- Complete Razortail, Cannot Be Frozen and attack-speed gloves
- Ice Matriarchal Bow → Chains of Honor
- Add Infinity, Nightwing's Veil and Bow Skills charms
Playstyle
- Before combat
Summon Valkyrie and Decoy, and fill at least two belt rows with mana potions. A fights within the mercenary's Conviction range.
- Ordinary packs
Line up enemies behind Decoy and fire Freezing Arrow. Each pierce produces another explosion, making dense packs ideal.
- Bosses
Keep firing Freezing Arrow; mix in Strafe, Magic Arrow and potions when mana runs low. You cannot freeze a boss itself to stop its actions.
- Handling immunes
A combines a Sunder Charm, Ice's enemy resistance reduction and Infinity's Conviction. B uses Magic Arrow 20 and the Might mercenary; bypass large immune packs.
- B Farming areas
Start in areas with few cold immunes, such as Ancient Tunnels and the Mausoleum. Leave the cold-immune-heavy Worldstone Keep for later.
- Transition requirements
Transition after level 42 once the recommended budget bow, Peace and an Insight mercenary are ready. In Hell, also meet Pierce and fire/lightning resistance requirements.
Mechanics and notes
Attack speed and base
A has Ice 20 + helm 15 + gloves 20 + amulet 20 = 75 IAS for the Matriarchal Bow's 8-frame breakpoint. B has Lycander's 20 + Shael 20 + gloves 20 + amulet 20 = 80 IAS for the Ceremonial Bow's 10-frame breakpoint.
Direct damage and synergies
Cold Arrow is Freezing Arrow's damage synergy. Give Ice Arrow only its 1 prerequisite point. Equipment +skills raise the current skill level but do not add to the 20 synergy points.
Elemental damage and mana
Mana leech does not recover mana from elemental explosions. Combine Mana after each Kill, Meditation and potions for sustained firing.
Dealing with immunities
A's sundered cold immunity starts at 95 resistance; subtract Conviction 17, Ice 20 and the minimum charm contribution 5 to reach 53. B lacks this resistance-reduction package, so do not equip a Sunder Charm by itself.
Strengths, limitations and farming style
Strengths
Freezing controls ordinary packs
Repeated Pierce increases damage against dense monsters
Limitations
High mana consumption and slow boss kills
Cold immunes are slow on budget equipment
Additional variants
Teleport variant
Replacing Chains of Honor with Enigma loses 65 all resistances. Add that much resistance from charms and rebuild Faster Cast Rate as a separate setup.
Trading damage for survival
Moving 19 of Valkyrie's 20 points into Exploding Arrow and its Fire Arrow prerequisite is a separate hybrid. The baseline keeps Magic Arrow 20 and Valkyrie 20.