40Dropped by
timing the bolt
Most of this is an ordinary broadsword swing. The interesting part is the ice bolt, which runs on its own timer rather than firing whenever it feels like it, and the game tells you when it is ready: a small sparkle plus the sound you normally hear when mana comes back. Once you start listening for that cue you can hold a swing until the shot is available instead of wasting it on empty air.
The bolt stops at walls and does not carry through what it hits, so it is for picking off the thing you cannot reach yet, not for clearing a room. Swinging faster makes the bolt travel quicker but does not make it come out any more often.
where it fits
It comes out of the chests buried in the ice caves and the crates fished out of that water, which puts a sword with a ranged attack in your hands very early. Natural crit is above what a standard blade starts with as well. The Frostbrand picks up the same idea once the walls go up.