Core requirements
The advanced setup is A, and the budget setup is B.
- Main attack
- Whirlwind 20 · Sword Mastery 20
- Attack speed
- Per weapon: A 30+/B 50 + 40 gear IAS
- Cannot Be Frozen
- A Cham helm · B Trang-Oul's belt
- Recovery
- At least 4% mana steal · life steal
Attributes
Total attributes with equipment · hard points shown separately
| Strength | A·B 118Total including gear · excludes Arreat's +20 Strength |
|---|---|
| Dexterity | A 136 · B 99Total with equipment |
| Vitality | All remaining pointsHard points |
| Energy | 0No hard points |
Attribute calculations and equipment changes
Strength
Meet 118 before Arreat's Face's own 20 Strength. B Oath uses an ethereal Cryptic Sword requiring 89 Strength.
Dexterity
A Phase Blade 136; B ethereal Cryptic Sword 99. Include helm and charm bonuses; put remaining points 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
Double Swing for leveling, then at level 30 unlock 
Whirlwind and switch after obtaining weapon damage and mana steal.
- Whirlwind20
Blade Mastery20
Battle Orders20
Find Potion20, 
Find Item8 and 
Berserk and 1 mobility support points.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main hand | A Runeword Grief | BRuneword Oath | Use the recommended sword bases for both weapons |
Main-hand choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirementsPhase Blade · Eth/Tir/Lo/Mal/Ral At least 30% IAS · at least 340 Damage B · Setup requirementsCryptic Sword · Shael/Pul/Mal/Lum Ethereal · finished weapon 50% IAS · Indestructible | |||
| Off hand | ARuneword Grief | BRuneword Oath | Do not use the broken-weapon workaround |
Off-hand choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirementsPhase Blade · Eth/Tir/Lo/Mal/Ral At least 30% IAS · at least 340 Damage B · Setup requirementsCryptic Sword · Shael/Pul/Mal/Lum Ethereal · finished weapon 50% IAS · Indestructible | |||
| Helm | A Arreat's Face | BArreat's Face | B The belt supplies Cannot Be Frozen |
Helm choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirementsCham · Cannot Be Frozen · All Resistances 30 B · Setup requirementsUm · All Resistances 45 | |||
| Armor | A Runeword Fortitude | BRuneword Treachery | B increases off-weapon IAS to 85 for each weapon |
Armor choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirementsDusk Shroud · El/Sol/Dol/Lo 300% Enhanced Damage · at least 25 all resistances B · Setup requirementsMage Plate · Shael/Thul/Lem 45% Increased Attack Speed · chance to cast Fade | |||
| Gloves | A Laying of Hands | BLaying of Hands | Current Whirlwind also uses glove IAS |
Glove choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirements20% Increased Attack Speed · 50 fire resistance B · Setup requirements20% Increased Attack Speed · 50 fire resistance | |||
| Belt | A String of Ears | B Trang-Oul's Girth | Chosen over Raven Frost to preserve corpses |
Belt choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirementsLife stolen per hit · Damage Reduced B · Setup requirementsCannot Be Frozen · Life 66 · Mana 25–50 | |||
| Boots | A Gore Rider | BGore Rider | No upgrade needed: this is not a kick build |
Boot choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirements15% Crushing Blow · 15% Deadly Strike B · Setup requirements15% Crushing Blow · 15% Deadly Strike | |||
| Amulet | A Highlord's Wrath | BHighlord's Wrath | Combined with gloves for 40 off-weapon IAS |
Amulet choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirements20% Increased Attack Speed · 35 lightning resistance B · Setup requirements20% Increased Attack Speed · 35 lightning resistance | |||
| Ring 1 | ARare ring | BRare ring | End Whirlwind before drinking a potion |
| Ring 2 | A Nagelring | BNagelring | Adds no cold damage |
Ring 2: choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirementsMagic Find · Attack Rating B · Setup requirementsMagic Find · Attack Rating | |||
Mercenary and weapon swap
| Slot | Advanced A | Budget B | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercenary | A Act 2 Might  Runeword PrideRuneword Fortitude Andariel's Visage(Ral) | B Act 2 Might Runeword Insight(elite polearm)Runeword Treachery Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest | A Concentration aura · B Meditation |
Mercenary detailsCorpse lossPride's Freezes Target can destroy some corpses. If maximizing Find Item attempts, A also keeps Insight. | |||
| Weapon swap | A 2 one-handed weapons with +3 Warcries | B 2 one-handed weapons with +3 Warcries | Battle Command → Battle Orders → Shout, then primary weapons |
Upgrade order
- Two ethereal Cryptic Sword Oaths and mana steal
- Arreat's Face and Trang-Oul's belt for resistances/ Cannot Be Frozen
- Laying of Hands, Highlord's Wrath and Gore Rider
- Replace each weapon with Grief, then add Fortitude
- Move Cannot Be Frozen to a Cham helm, then add String of Ears and a high-end mercenary
Playstyle
- Before combat
On warcry swap: Battle Command → Battle Orders → Shout. Check Cannot Be Frozen and the leech ring.
- Ordinary packs
Make short passes through pack edges instead of long straight lines. Turn into another short pass after crossing enemies to extend contact.
- Bosses
Repeat short triangular paths around bosses. Avoid placing the movement click so far away that attack time is wasted.
- Handling immunes
Switch to Berserk 1 against physical immunes. Skip enemies also immune to magic; after mana burn, drink a potion before reentering.
- B Farming areas
Start with separated enemies in the Pit, outer Chaos Sanctuary and Travincal. Avoid the center of elite packs combining Fanaticism and Might.
- Transition requirements
After level 49, when Oath can be equipped, obtain two swords, Sword Mastery, mana steal and Cannot Be Frozen together.
Mechanics and notes
Current Whirlwind IAS
Since 2.4.3, IAS from all gear applies. Attack frames are calculated separately for both weapons, averaged and rounded up; do not judge by only one weapon. A Each Grief 30 + gloves 20 + amulet 20; B each Oath 50 + Treachery 45 + gloves 20 + amulet 20 meets the 4-frame breakpoint with the recommended bases.
Proc restrictions
Whirlwind does not trigger ordinary on-attack or on-striking spells. Use Grief's flat damage, IAS and leech rather than relying on its Venom proc or Treachery's on-striking Venom. Fade when struck is separate.
Find Item
Each 1 hard point in Find Potion adds 1 percentage point to Find Item's success chance. Gear bonuses to Find Potion are not the same synergy. Cold-shattered corpses cannot be searched.
Strengths, limitations and farming style
Strengths
Continuous melee damage with short inputs
Includes both Berserk and Find Item
Limitations
Vulnerable to unleechable targets and mana burn
Both weapons and IAS require management
Additional variants
Mobile farming
Replacing Fortitude with Enigma gains Teleport but loses 300% damage and resistances. This is a separate farming setup with a casting swap.
Full corpse preservation
Keep Insight instead of Pride and avoid cold damage on charms. Prioritize corpses available for Find Item over some area damage.