Diablo 3
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DMO Frozen Orb Wizard Guide
Last Updated: July 7th 2024
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Introduction
The Delsere’s Magnum Opus (DMO) is a staple Wizard set with a distinct playstyle. While it can be used with a variety of skills, one of the most popular ones is the iconic Arcane Orb Frozen Orb from Diablo II.
It’s quick, impactful and the explosions are very satisfying when played correctly. Very few builds incorporate the fantasy of a spell-slinging Wizard as well as this one. It's also possible to play this build as a Legacy of Dreams version, which frees up one skill slot and allows to include a lot of utility choices.
While it’s not the best in very fast speedfarming content such as Nephalem Rifts, it can be quite successful in Greater Rifts farming and especially pushing. The basic idea is to trap enemies inside your Slow Time bubble, stack them up by kiting and the use of Black Hole or the Energy Twister + Ranslor’s Folly combo and unleash devastating icy explosions onto them from the right distance.
Although it is not really one of the fastest in movement, the build's high damage makes it a great choice for pushing in solo Greater Rifts, while the AoE coverage is decent for farming. Throwing Frozen Orbs into a tightly stacked pull of monsters feels great while you get some supplementary damage from the shards flying in all directions. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do to make it a more viable speedfarming alternative as you always have to rely on the Slow Time setup to activate your damage bonuses and can't just start blasting right away like other builds.
Iconic Frozen Orb ✔
Actual Spellcaster ✔
Rewards Good Gameplay ✔
Fun and Satisfying Explosions ✔
❌ Squishy
❌ Clunky Playstyle
❌ Difficult Execution
❌ Vulnerable to Crowd Control
Core Setup
Items
- The Delsere’s Magnum Opus (DMO) set grants 60% damage reduction to our character as well as a massive 12,500% separate damage multiplier to our Frozen Orbs.
- Unstable Scepter is our core weapon, providing a 450% separate damage multiplier and a second explosion for Frozen Orbs, nearly doubling our total damage.
- Triumvirate grants us a stacking 400% damage buff for a total 1,200% separate damage multiplier to Frozen Orb when using Signature Spells.
- Wizardspike provides another 350% separate damage multiplier on top of a 25% chance to cast an extra Frozen Orb when attacking.
- Squirt’s Necklace is a default inclusion for Wizards in any build due to their shield strength. Protecting our HP pool for a 100% global separate damage multiplier with continuously refreshing shields is a Wizard speciality.
- Ashnagarr's Blood Bracer to double our Shields, to ensure we keep the Squirt's Necklace 100% damage multiplier.
- The Shame of Delsere helps us by increasing the Attack Speed and Resource generation of Signature Spells.
- Halo of Karini is a core Wizard defensive item, providing us with a tremendous 80% damage reduction at the cost of using Storm Armor.
Season 32 Ethereals
Ethereals are powerful rare weapons that can only be found during Season 32. They were initially the Season 24 Theme. They have incredible stats, a random Legendary power, and a free passive for your class. Read our Ethereal Mechanics Guide for full details on how they work and our Ethereal Farming Guide to learn how to acquire them. What you should prioritize on them is the following:
- The Legendary Power
This build requires Unstable Scepter and Wizardspike to be functional. We need our Ethereal to roll one of these powers so we can cube the other. We also want a good roll on our Legendary power if it has a range. For speed content it is always helpful to have Ethereals with Echoing Fury, In-geom or Messerschmidt's Reaver powers, so keep those if you find them. - The Ethereal Itself
There are 3 different weapons available to us, each with its own benefits:- Wizardspike - This is by far the best Ethereal for any variation of the build. It has great Attack Speed and a Stacking Damage effect that helps with Elites and Rift Guardians. Also, you can put a Wizardspike into your Wizardspike. Isn't that amazing?!
- The Oculus - This is the second best option and offers extra Arcane Power on Critical Hit (APoC) and Damage Reduction.
- Mang Song's Lesson - Since this build requires Triumvirate, the Staff can't be used.
- The Ethereal Stat Rolls
Each Ethereal comes with its own fixed set of powerful affixes. While some have a static value, many have a wide stat range. This means the difference between good and bad rolls is significant and something you should look for. - A Useful Passive
This is just icing on the cake because a fifth passive is not going to make or break your build. You're better off hunting for the things above. Check out the Passives section down below to see which ones you're looking for.
Global Stat Priorities
Stack the typical damage stats such as Critical Hit Chance, Critical Hit Damage and Cold Damage on every piece possible. Next you want to add Arcane Orb damage rolls to your Helm, Boots and Offhand slots. In addition, the build relies on heavy Area Damage by stacking up monsters tightly. We want to have it on as many pieces as possible, especially Shoulders, Gloves, Offhands and Rings. The remaining options go to Resource Cost Reduction, Attack Speed, Damage Range (Rings) and Defense whenever you can fit it in. Arcane Power on Critical Hit (APoC) on Off-Hand can be useful especially for farming but is not required.
For toughness, like most Wizard setups, we take advantage of Galvanizing Ward and Spectral Blade Barrier Blades to generate Shields based on our HP pool. This means Vitality and Life % are very important as they double dip into Shields. This is the reason why you want to aim for a decent HP pool in Greater Rift Solo Push.
Variants
Nephalem Rifts
GR Solo Speeds
GR Solo Push
Echoing Nightmare
Concept
In T16 we don’t need a lot of damage and also won’t care about throwing Frozen Orb from the right distance all the time. The damage is good enough to destroy enemies with just the shards. We shouldn't need Convention of Elements and Unity here, so Stone of Jordan and Avarice Band combined with Boon of the Hoarder are great replacements.
Gameplay
Be fast, use your Teleport to move around quickly and set up bubbles on large pulls, then throw your Frozen Orb and move on. It’s not really the smoothest T16 build but it does the job.
Setups
Black Hole is not really needed nor very strong in Nephalem Rifts. You could replace it for Familiar Arcanot for extra resources or Magic Weapon Deflection for more shields. If you feel like you don't need any more damage, you could swap out some stats such as Damage Range or Critical Hit Chance/Damage on Rings for more Cooldown Reduction.
In groups, swap Warzechian Armguards with Nemesis Bracers and Rechel's Ring of Larceny with Avarice Band. You can also drop Stone of Jordan to equip Halo of Karini and cube The Flavor of Time.
Concept
In Speed Greater Rifts we try to combine a great mix of damage, toughness and utility. Ultimately, the build plays similarly as in solo pushing, but is much more fast-paced. Bane of the Stricken should not be necessary at all, so we can take Bane of the Powerful, Gogok of Swiftness or Esoteric Alteration.
Gameplay
Similar to pushing, try to make big pulls and destroy them either with your Convention of Elements cycle active (on elites) or without (most trash monsters). Don’t waste too much time on stray enemies, Waller elites, burrowers, wasps or similar and just move on towards the next pull.
Setups
If you feel tanky enough, you can consider replacing Unity with Stone of Jordan for extra Elite Damage. Nemesis Bracers is also a great option to speed up your runs on lower Tiers.
Concept
We stack up as much damage as possible while getting just enough toughness to keep up our shields at all times. Squirt’s Necklace is a considerable damage boost you don’t want to lose when pushing.
Gameplay
The basic gameplay revolves around making large pulls of monsters and stacking them up using Black Hole or the Energy Twister + Ranslor’s Folly combo and obliterating them with your Frozen Orb. Playing around this is the most important part as most of your damage comes from Area Damage procs and the explosion of the Orb. The shards do almost nothing on higher Greater Rift Tiers. Since the Bracers can’t pull in elites, you should generally either try to pull them on top / next to them, or just ignore and skip them entirely until you find some that you can kite and kill easily. Just be swift and go for the juicy big pulls.
Setups
Instead of Black Hole you can use Energy Twister Wicked Wind + Ranslor's Folly to pull enemies. You will have to give up the benefits of Crown of the Primus and the Cold damage bonuses from Absolute Zero, but gain a much larger pulling radius with a pixel-stacking ability (which however doesn't work with elites). This setup is generally better for very high end pushing with rifts that have big density. The Black Hole variant is recommended for most purposes and pushes that go all the way up to a few tiers below the build’s maximum potential, where killing elites is more realistic.
Concept
For more information, check out our full Echoing Nightmare Guide and take a look at our Echoing Nightmare Build Tier List and our META post for the best builds and strategies! This build is decent for this game mode. Typically we utilize a Greater Rift pushing build with a few tweaks.
Changes
- Swap Bane of the Stricken for Bane of the Powerful since we are fighting hordes of enemies.
- Use Unstable Anomaly if you don't run with it already.
Gameplay
- Click Speed Pylon instantly to boost your mobility and dodge Green Meteors.
- Around Wave 90, click Channeling Pylon and Power Pylon.
- After Wave 100, use Conduit Pylon.
- At Wave 122, stop attacking and run to the corner to let the timer run out.
At the start of a run, buff yourself with Storm Armor to enable the 80% damage reduction from Halo of Karini. Set up Slow Time bubbles on top of your enemies. Only those inside a bubble will take extra damage provided by the set. Stack up Triumvirate and keep it up by using Spectral Blade at least once every 6 seconds.
Position yourself exactly 40 yards away from the center of the pull to cast Arcane Orb. This will maximize the value of Zei’s Stone of Vengeance and most importantly unleash the final explosion of Frozen Orb exactly on top of the enemies, dealing devastating damage. Use Teleport for mobility and survival as necessary.
Video Guide
Mechanics
Summary
- Put together the core items and acquire the full Delsere's Magnum Opus set.
- Keep up your Storm Armor and Halo of Karini buffs at all times.
- Trap enemies in your Slow Time to activate the set bonuses.
- Activate your Triumvirate bonus by using your Signature Spell (Spectral Blade) regularly.
- Pull enemies together with Black Hole or Energy Twister to stack them tightly.
- Position yourself at the right distance to explode Arcane Orb Frozen Orb directly on top of the enemies.
- Play around the Convention of Elements cycle to maximize your damage.
I hope you enjoyed this guide! Frozen Orb is one of the core Wizard builds and it can be very fun and rewarding setting up the correct pulls and destroying them with your icy explosions. Good luck!
Credits
Written by wudijo. Updated by Chewingnom.
Reviewed by Northwar.
