Summary
There are several ways to deal cold damage inBaldur’s Gate 3, and although most of those options are spells, many are abilities or skills that come with certain Feats or weapons. When it comes to casting powers, aside from Wizards and Sorcerers, Monks are a class that can also manipulate frost and ice, and these spells can have handy uses both inside and outside of combat.
The environment of the Sword Coast can be a treacherous one, and sometimes an adventurer needs to cool off. Lakes of boiling lava, charging enemies, or raging fires are just some of the things that can get an adventurer hot under the collar inBaldur’s Gate 3. However, those looking for countermeasures to these challenges have plenty ofice spells and related abilitiesto choose from.
Updated on July 08, 2025, by Kristy Ambrose:It’s been several months and a whole stack of awards since Baldur’s Gate 3 was officially released, and players are still exploring the vast amount of content the game provides. Larian has also been keeping the game fresh with a steady stream of content updates and bug fixes, which include hidden secrets, obscure locations, and advanced spells and abilities. Aside from the conventional spells that are cast from memory or scrolls, there are also items that buff the powers of cold, and some classes can convert icy elements into weapons. With that in mind, there are plenty of ways to make use of cold magic in Baldur’s Gate 3, and simple spells aren’t the only available options.
13Blade Of Rime
Throw Shards Of Ice Like Exploding Knives
Only Monks that follow thePath of the Way of the Four Elementshave access to this spell. The Monk uses two Ki points as an Action to throw a shard of ice at a target, which deals 1d10 of piercing damage.
There’s also a small but handy AoE effect here. When the shard hits the target, it explodes, dealing 2d6 cold damage to anyone standing nearby. This spell also creates an ice surface, so players can use it to put out fires or freeze surfaces covered in water.
12Glacial Age
A Spell From A Weapon
Glacial Age is a spell that can only be cast on a weapon as opposed to an enemy, and it’a an ability granted by a specific piece of gear. TheFlail of Agesis a reference tothe oldBaldur’s Gategames. It was a weapon that players could loot the D’Arnise Keep, and it did three forms of elemental damage.
InBaldur’s Gate 3, equipping the Flail of Ages grants the wielder the power to cast Elemental Age, and Glacial Age is a variant of this spell. Instead of raiding a keep infested with trolls and angry golems, you can buy this weapon from Fytz the Firecracker in Stormshore Armory in the Lower City.
11Heart Of Ice
A Buff, A Cantrip, And An Elegant Staff
Players building a spellcaster with a penchant for cooling off need to getMourning Frost, a weapon that’shidden in the Underdark. While exploring this dark and dangerous location, players will come across three pieces of a staff, and after assembling them, they will have a two-handed weapon that gives them some extra cold-based spells and abilities when equipped. The first one is Heart of Ice, and the second is Insidious Cold.
Every time the wielder of this staff deals cold damage, either by using a spell or the regular bludgeoning power of the staff, Heart of Ice gives them a cold damage bonus of +1. Insidious Cold causes the target to become Chilled, which slows them down. Throw theRay of Frostcantrip on the pile, and this results in some of the best ice damage in one weapon.
10Wall Of Ice
Crowd Control And AoE Damage
This powerful spell is one of thosebrutal level 6 spellsthat make leveling a Wizard or Sorcerer worth the low armor class. As the name suggests, when this spell is cast, it creates a Wall of Ice that does an impressive 10 to 60 cold damage to anyone standing in its path.
That’s just the start of what this spell can do. After the initial bout of cold damage, the wall creates a zone of frigid air that damages any living creatures within for the same amount. It’s a spell only certain casting classes can learn, but it also comes in scroll form, which any character can use.
9Sleet Storm
Silence Casters And Control The Battlefield
This isa Conjuration spellthat doesn’t do cold damage but still does everything that aBaldur’s Gate 3player would expect a spell called Sleet Storm to do. It’s an ice spell that requires Concentration, and as long as it holds, the storm lasts for 10 turns.
Sleet Storm puts out fires, freezes wet surfaces, and breaks the concentration of any spellcasters that are also caught in the storm. It covers a decent area, large enough for the party to travel through, should the need arise.
8The Wavemother’s Sickle
Cold Damage And Watery Guidance
When players visit the Water Queen’s Temple in the Lower City of Baldur’s Gate, they’ll meet Allandra Grey, a high-ranking member of the Umberlee priesthood. Taking on her quest, Avenge the Drowned, can have one of two endings. Either players decide to hand over the pilot of the submersible or defend him from Allndra and her fellow Wavemother worshippers.
Should gamers decide to defend him and win, the Wavemother’s Sickle can be looted from her corpse. It’s a simple melee weapon, so it works well as part of a dual-wielding combination. Aside from the extra cold damage, the sickle also gives the wielder advantage when fighting against enemies with the Wet condition.
7Chill Of The Mountain
Call Down A Cold Wind
Another ice spell that only Monks of the Way of the Four Elements can use, Chill of the Mountain only requires a single Ki point and does 1d10 of cold damage. It also calls a cold mountain wind to slow the target down in addition to the elemental damage.
There are several other types of handy ice-related abilities exclusive to this subclass, and one of them is Shaping of the Ice. It doesn’t deal any damage, but the character can use it to make a cube of ice that can be moved, thrown, or used for climbing.
6Otiluke’s Freezing Sphere
A Globe Of Ultimate Cold That Can Be Moved And Saved
Otiluke’s Freezing Sphere is one of the advanced spells that some players might never learn or find. It’s from the Evocation School and is often of very rare quality when found in scroll form, but it’s better kept than sold since it’s so useful.
The caster summons an oversized globe of ice that they can control, and it can be moved around to freeze or crush enemies or used as an explosive to blow them up.
5Ice Storm
Deadly AoE Damage And Difficult Terrain
Ice Storm is a classic AoE spell that’s also popular in tabletop versions ofDungeons & Dragons. Wizards, Druids, andSorcerers can learn itinBaldur’s Gate 3at level 4. Just like the name suggests, this spell causes a storm of ice and hail to erupt from the sky and strike everyone within range.
The spell does an impressive 4d6 of cold damage and 2d8 of bludgeoning damage, which is great when targets are immune to slashing or piercing. Even targets that succeed in a saving throw still have to take half the damage, and the storm lasts for two turns.
4Hunger Of Hadar
An AoE Spell That Blinds Enemies
Cold and necrotic damage go so nicely together, it’s not a surprise that Warlocks would have access to a spell that combines Eldritch tentacles with a chilling side effect. It’s a spell from the Conjuration school that creates a frosty cloud that surrounds enemies, gives them the Blinded condition, and creates difficult terrain so they can’t escape.
There’s more to this dark void than the 2d6 of cold damage that lasts for 10 turns, easily enough time to finish evena tough battle. There’s also the possibility of an additional 2d6 acid damage for anything or anyone also lost in the shadowy fog.
