Ice Mage — Crowd Control
Also known asHIMARS MageFrost MageCC Wizard
Slows + freezes everything that breathes. Iceman + Subzero stack chill, Frost amps the elemental damage, Arcane Deflection covers your soft caster body.
Skills in this build
Stat priority
- Primary
- INT — every pip multiplies Subzero damage; Iceman scales off it too.
- Secondary
- Spirit — mana pool depth matters more for Ice than Fire because freeze procs are cast-heavy.
Recommended weapons
- Primary
- Ice-element staff with cast-speed mods. Frost stacks proc on hit, not on damage value.
- Secondary
- Ice wand for fast tap-cast in tight rotations; conserves mana.
Armor
Light caster cloth — [Magic Armor catalog](/enshrouded/armor/category/magic-armor). Stack mana-regen mods aggressively.
Food & consumables
- Mana-regen tea (priority — freeze rotations chug mana)
- INT-boost stew before boss pulls
- Cold-resistance dish for Albaneve Summits sessions
Gear progression — Early / Mid / Best-in-Slot
What to use at each phase of the build. Early game = pre-Lv 15; Mid = Lv 15-30; Best-in-Slot = Lv 30+ endgame.
| Slot | Early Game (Lv 1-15) | Mid Game (Lv 15-30) | Best-in-Slot (Lv 30+) |
|---|---|---|---|
| weapon | Starter staff (any element — basic damage matters most) | Tier-2 ice staff with cast-speed + Subzero proc | Eternal Ice Staff (Veilwater Basin drop) + mana-leech wand offhand |
| armor | Light cloth Mage starter, mana-regen affix | Full Wizard's Set from Kindlewastes | Frost Wizard's Robe with Magic-Resistance gem |
| food | INT-boost stew, mana-regen tea | INT + Spirit dual stew, cast-speed dish | Pre-pull 3-stack: INT stew + mana-regen tea + cooldown-reduction dish |
Playstyle
Open at max range with a Subzero cast to slow the highest-threat target by 30%. Stack Frost ticks on the same target to convert slow → freeze. Once frozen, the target eats 2x damage from any source — call your DPS partner to capitalise. Radiant Aura is your between-fight regen. Arcane Deflection saves you when something resists your slows and closes the gap.
Strengths & weaknesses
Pros
- Best support DPS in the game — your freezes amplify the squad's damage
- Strong against Albaneve Summits content (cold-resistance + ice-effective fights)
- Soft-CC alternative for groups already running a tank
Cons
- Useless against ice-resistant enemies (Fell Critter Queen)
- Mana-starved if you skip Spirit pips
- Squishy without proper positioning
Synergies & counters
Pairs with
- · Berserker Barbarian — your freezes turn his ramp damage into a one-shot finisher
- · Ranger Sniper — frozen targets eat 2x damage from headshots
Struggles against
- · Veilwater Basin bosses with magic resistance
- · Solo high-DPS encounters (your damage budget goes into CC, not raw hits)
Level-by-level skill order
Suggested progression by level band. The planner enforces the 184-point cap; click any skill to jump to its detail page.
| Level band | Skill | Tree | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lv 1-15 |  Intelligence | Mage | 1p |
 Iceman | Mage | 2p | |
| Ice Resistance | Mage | 2p | |
| Lv 15-30 | Subzero | Mage | 3p |
| Frost | Mage | 3p | |
| Spirit | Mage | 1p | |
| Lv 30-45 | Arcane Deflection | Mage | 3p |
 Radiant Aura | Mage | 3p |
Why pick these skills in this order (expand per-band focus)
Lv 1-15
INT pips + Iceman base + Ice Resistance for cold biomes.
Lv 15-30
Subzero + Frost — the freeze-damage core. Spirit pips start mattering.
Lv 30-45
Arcane Deflection + Radiant Aura cap survivability + group regen.
FAQ
- Ice Mage vs Fire Mage — which is better?
- Fire for solo (consistent DoT damage). Ice for co-op (CC amplifies the squad's damage). They're complementary, not competing.
- Best staff for Ice Mage?
- Ice-element staff with cast-speed mods. Frost procs are tied to hit count; faster cast = more freezes.
- Does this build work without a co-op partner?
- Acceptable but suboptimal. Solo, you're essentially CC-trading damage for survival; pure Fire Mage scales harder alone.
Related Mage builds
- Fire Mage StarterA
A pure caster opener leaning into fire damage and survivability. Picks up Arsonist + early defensive resistances so the Shroud doesn't melt you mid-cast.
- Battlemage HybridA
Melee mage that ditches the staff and stays in plate. INT + STR core, Arsonist + Thunder for burst, Battle Heal + Heavy Plates for staying power.
- Necromancer Glass CannonA
Dark-arts caster that trades survivability for raw burst. Necromancer + Dark Arts + Abyss carry damage, Bloodletting + Life Essences feed the engine.
- Healer SupportA
Co-op cleric. Healer line + Healing Revive + Waters of Life keep the squad upright; Sun Aura + Radiant Aura push passive sustain.
Browse more builds
Update history2 entries
- 6d057d2feat(enshrouded): ship deferred steal-list — T2-8 + T3-4 + T3-8
- 5e41f4cfeat(enshrouded): Tier 3 competitor steal-list — content density + AIO citation patterns