The Frost Fang

Overview

The Ice Fang Duelist is a Rogue build designed around freezing enemies in place and overwhelming them with critical strikes. Built on the synergy between the Duelist specialization’s 1,000 Cuts and the dagger Cold Steel, the build chains Chill and Necrosis together to lock even the toughest opponents in place, leaving them helpless while you tear through them with guaranteed crits.

What makes this build thrive on Nightmare difficulty is its ability to stay safe while dealing huge single-target damage. Piler provides reliable healing and detonation setups, Warping Wrap slows time to give you full control of the battlefield, and the Crow’s Perch Medallion supplies the momentum needed to cast 1,000 Cuts almost endlessly. The result is a Rogue that cannot be pressured once its loop is established.

The Ice Fang favors precision and timing over stealth. You’ll duel enemies head-on, weaving charged attacks to apply Chill, then chaining Cuts to freeze, crit, and repeat until every threat is erased.

Early Game

Rogues begin stronger than Mages thanks to their dodge, ranged options, and early utility. For origins, Veil Jumpers are excellent for the critical damage bonus, while the Mourn Watch add valuable affliction stacking and demon damage. Both are strong choices, though the early game remains survivable with any background.

Key early abilities are Static Strikes, Piler, and Lightning Flask. Static Strikes is a filler tool that weakens enemies, but its main purpose is as a placeholder until Duelist unlocks. Piler is the MVP throughout the entire game: it heals on demand, detonates Overwhelm, and doesn’t cost momentum, making it an essential safety valve in long fights. Lightning Flask acts as the Rogue’s first AoE option. Its damage is low, but it provides battlefield control by knocking enemies off ledges, burning spare momentum, and later enabling passive bonuses when combined with Duelist’s core kit.

Several early passives smooth progression. Riposte allows punishing parries, which are strong when timed correctly, though not mandatory if you’d rather play reactively. Perseverance adds survivability by giving you deflects after perfect dodges. Adrenaline rewards clean play with stacking damage the longer you avoid hits. Finally, Downfall ensures guaranteed criticals on downed enemies, especially deadly when paired with early jump attacks. Together, these passives give the Rogue resilience while laying the groundwork for the Duelist’s late-game freeze-crit combo.

Early Levels

Level

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Spell/Passive

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1

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Riposte

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2

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Downfall

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3

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Evasive Maneuvers

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4

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Endure

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5

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Powerful Rebuttal

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6

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Pilfer

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7

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Spill Blood

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8

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Leaping Shot

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9

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Providence

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10

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Swift Rebuke

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11

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Burst of Speed

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12

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Lightning Flask

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13

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Determination

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14

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Perserverance

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15

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Overwhelming Tactics

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16

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Arcane Defiance

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17

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Adrenaline

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18

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Toxic Dash

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19

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Insidious Rot

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20

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Noxious Presence

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21

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Poisoned Reply

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22

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Death’s Blessing

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23

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Medium Armor Mastery

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24

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Murder of Crows

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25

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A Thousand Cuts

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26

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Concentration

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27

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Quick Control

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28

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Controlled Providence

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29

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Inspiring Control

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30

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Necessary Steps

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Equipment

Item

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Details

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Primary Weapon

Cutthroat Sword

Location

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Provides +15% bonus damage and additional status effects

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Secondary Weapon

Cold Steel

Location

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More then doubles your damage at the cost of additional mana

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Bow

Cryptwood Bow

Location

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Additional fire damage and mana resource

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Helmet

Defiant Silence

Location

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Provides +30% damage from having all blast abilities and refunds 25% of mana cost on impact

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Armor

Garb of Kinship

Location

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The best armor piece in The Veilguard, provides longer advantage duration, +10% damage for EVERY advantage (you will typically always have 3+), makes the advantages more effective and most importantly heals you for +5% when gaining an advantage which will offset the self damage of Maw of the Black City

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Ring 1

Necrotic Jade

Location

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Makes your abilities a guaranteed critical hit at the cost of our health, this issue is completely negated by Garb of Kinship & Twin Buckle Binding

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Ring 2

Biting Thumb

Location

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Extra Fire Damage

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Amulet

Crows Perch Medallion

Location

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Significant boosts to our blast ability damage and returns our mana when critical hitting with blast abilities, working in perfect combination with Maw of the Black City

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Belt

Warping Wrap

Location

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Extra healing and ability damage

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Rune 1

Vivify

Location

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Ability cooldowns are refreshed and the next ability is free

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Rune 2

Escalate

Location

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Passive +10% Ability damage

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Rune 3

?

Location

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Passive +10% Fire damage

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Equipment Overview

The Ice Fang comes together through a small set of defining items that maximize freezing, momentum, and strike damage.

  • Cold Steel (Dagger) – The signature weapon of the build. Charged attacks apply Chill, and when combined with 1,000 Cuts, targets are instantly frozen through necrotic damage. Legendary Cold Steel is ideal, but even a purple version powers the build.
  • Cutthroat Sword – Provides raw power via penetration, crit damage, and precision after perfect dodges. It shores up damage against heavily armored foes on Nightmare.
  • Cryptoid Bow – Largely a stat stick. Enhances necrotic damage and allows weaving in hip-fire shots for passive damage, though it’s secondary to melee.
  • Defiant Silence (Helmet) – Heavy crit damage bonus ensures every 1,000 Cuts chain strikes harder.
  • Garb of Kinship (Armor) – As always, the best armor in the game. The Ice Fang constantly generates advantages like deflect, precision, and quickened, making Kinship’s damage and sustain bonuses impossible to beat.
  • Crow’s Perch Medallion (Amulet) – Core to the build. It boosts strike ability damage, grants momentum on crits, and turns 1,000 Cuts into an infinite loop. This single item transforms the build from strong to broken.
  • Warping Wrap (Belt) – Perfect synergy with Piler. Every time you drink through the ability, you slow time, reposition, and generate more momentum. It guarantees safety while feeding the combo loop.
  • Rings – Necrotic Jade adds momentum generation and more necrotic damage, while Biting Thumb boosts damage against armored and barriered enemies, the two toughest types on Nightmare.

Rune choices are flexible, but passive boosts like Ascend, Escalate, and Scourge add consistent multipliers.

How to Play Late Game

The Duelist specialization unlocks 1,000 Cuts, the centerpiece of the Ice Fang build. Each use delivers a flurry of invulnerable strikes that crit automatically when enchanted correctly. Combined with Cold Steel’s Chill, enemies are frozen on the spot, unable to retaliate while you carve through them. With the Crow’s Perch Medallion feeding momentum on every strike, this ability can be chained endlessly, leaving bosses locked down for the entirety of the fight.

The loop is simple but devastating: open with a charged attack to apply Chill, activate 1,000 Cuts to freeze, then repeat as soon as momentum allows. Use Piler whenever you need health, to set up detonations, or to slow time through Warping Wrap. This buys space to safely charge your next attack and guarantees 1,000 Cuts is always available. Lightning Flask plays cleanup by knocking enemies off ledges or triggering the Triple Threat passive for extra ability damage.

Passives solidify the playstyle. Daring Encounter provides deflects after kills, Rolling Momentum regenerates momentum on tool use, and Adrenaline stacks damage for long fights. Together, they ensure the build never runs out of steam. The result is a Rogue that alternates between invulnerable strike chains and freeze-locks, making it nearly impossible to lose momentum once the rotation begins.

On Nightmare, this build rewards precision while forgiving mistakes. Even if you miss parries or dodges, the constant invulnerability windows from 1,000 Cuts and Piler make you nearly untouchable. Against bosses, the ability to lock them down with freezes gives the Rogue an advantage no other specialization can match.

Final Levels

Level

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Spell/Passive

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31

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Rolling Momentum

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32

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Shattering Control

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33

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Wrath

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34

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Assassination

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35

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Death’s Blessing

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36

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Poisoned Blades

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37

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Mounting Thrill

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38

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Adrenaline Rush

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39

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Deflection

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40

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Energy Burst

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41

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Necrotic Fog

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42

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Staggering Blade

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43

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Decisive Finale

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44

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Underestimated

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45

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Piercing Strike

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46

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Decisive Finish

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47

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Daring Counter

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48

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Momentous Occasion

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49

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Burst of Speed

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50

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Explosive Dagger

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51

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Providence

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52

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Shall we Dance

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53

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Dynamic Gains

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54

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Balanced Flow

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55

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Swift Death

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56

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Triple Threat

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57

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Wrath

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58

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Tipped Arrowheads

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59

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Some Motivation

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60

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Sharper Edge

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61

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Rain of Decay

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62

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Salvaged Arrows

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63

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Close Quarters Combat

</1699_336328-29>

64

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Desolate Malady

</1699_e18a35-f8>

65

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Hurricane of Blades

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  • Every ability node is an extra 15% passive damage so we want to grab as many abilities as possible even if we are not using them

Build Snapshot

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