DIABLO 3 WIZARD HARDCORE BUILD

Outsmarting Hardcore with a Wizard

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For a truly exciting Diablo 3 experience Hardcore mode can’t be beat.  There is nothing quite like fighting for the life of your character.  Every time you enter a new room you’ll feel that niggling worry in the back of your mind that this could be it for your character.

A Wizard makes it even more exciting (i.e. stressful) because of how fragile the class is.  They are exceptional at keeping control of a group of enemies, but if you aren’t at the top of your game you could lose your character very quickly.  This build helps you stay alive a little better but you will still have to play well in order to avoid death, so make sure you know the build well before facing enemies that are too difficult.

Slow them Down

By setting your two primary attacks as Ray of Frost and Blizzard you ensure that your enemies are always snared.  With the Cold Blood skill rune on Ray of Frost, you can spam the ability almost constantly. By mixing the two abilities you should be able to keep all of your enemies frozen and slowed most of the time.

Crowd Control

Even with your enemies snared there will be times when
they manage to get in close to you.  When these instances arise you have to keep them from coming in contact with you at all costs.  Frost Nova is the best spell for this because it will lock them all in place and you can put some ground between you and them.  With the Shatter skill rune you can keep your enemies frozen in place most of the time by attacking them after they are locked down.

When you just need to push your enemies back a little, Wave of Force is the perfect ability.  It is a quick way to get enemies off you when Frost Nova is on cooldown.

Bolster Your Defenses


There are going to be times when your enemies get close to you and you need to take a hit.  With Diamond Skin activated you can absorb all that damage for a few seconds.  With the Crystal Shell skill rune you should be able to take enough damage to give you time to finish off your enemies in most situations.
If you also have Ice Armor activated, all of your enemies will be frozen in place and you can just step back and prepare for your next attack.

Passives

Choosing a good set of passive abilities will help you stay alive in Hardcore and level more effectively at the same time.  Since your enemies are almost always going to be frozen, Cold Blooded is an excellent passive for boosting your damage.

Since this is a Hardcore build the other two passives are focused on keeping you alive.  Galvanizing Ward will make Ice Armor more effective while giving you a heal over time.  Blur will help you stay alive if enemies do manage to get in close to you.

Have Fun!

Rogue


Hard Core Builds for the other Diablo 3 classes:

Diablo 3 Monk HardCore Build
Diablo 3 Barbarian HardCore Build
Diablo 3 Demon Hunter HardCore Build
Diablo 3 Witch Doctor HardCore Build


Related Diablo 3 Leveling Articles

Diablo 3 Witch Doctor Leveling
Diablo 3 Monk Leveling
Diablo 3 Demon Hunter Leveling
Diablo 3 Barbarian Leveling
Diablo 3 Wizard Leveling


Diablo 3 Farming Guides

Diablo 3 Barbarian Farming Guide
Diablo 3 Demon Hunter Farming Guide
Diablo 3 Monk Farming Guide
Diablo 3 Witch Doctor Farming Guide
Diablo 3 Wizard Farming Guide