Ice Elementalist

Version 0.29: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

Ice Elementalists begin with the Freeze spell. The spells in their starting library are quite versatile.

Preferred Species

Merfolk, Gargoyle, Draconian, Djinni, Demigod, and Naga are the recommended species if you pick an Ice Elementalist Background.

Starting Equipment

Some species may receive different items based on their unique restrictions.

• +0 robe
• Potion of magic

Available Spells

• Freeze
• Frozen Ramparts
• Ozocubu's Armour
• Hailstorm

Ice elementalists start with the Freeze spell memorised.

Starting Skills and Stats

These are adjusted by your species' aptitudes.

• Dodging: 2
• Stealth: 2
• Spellcasting: 2
• Ice Magic: 4

Choosing Ice Elementalist adds 7 to your starting Intelligence and 5 to your starting Dexterity.

Strategy

Ice Elementalists are a fairly consistent choice; all three offensive spells simply can't miss. Ice damage doesn't slouch for damage, and freezes cold-blooded monsters like reptiles in the process. However, several kinds of enemies resist cold - early examples include the undead and ice beasts. Their starting spells also have poor range, though Ice Magic's power easily makes up for it.

Spell Details

Freeze is a powerful level 1 attack spell. It deals average damage, but ignores both AC and EV to always hit. Fast and evasive monsters, such as jackals and adders, are some of the scariest monsters in the upper Dungeon -- monsters which Freeze works well against. You can use whatever throwables or Slings you find in order to compensate for its 1-tile range.

Frozen Ramparts is a very strong spell, especially in hallways. It deals strong and guaranteed AOE damage, as long as you can survive a few hits without moving. The spell requires walls to function, but those are in abundance throughout the Dungeon (and even Lair). Ozocubu's Armour may give you just the defense you need in such a situation. They both are level 3 and pure Ice Magic, meaning its trivial to cast them both at the same time. Generally, Frozen Ramparts is the better option of the two if you're out of spell levels - it simply and reliably kills things.

Hailstorm deals respectable, partially irresistible damage to enemies 2-3 spaces from you -- just outside the range of Freeze. It is most effective if you can catch multiple creatures at once, but is no less potent against a single target if you can manage to keep them in range. Learning Iskenderun's Mystic Blast or Swiftness can help with that.

History

• In 0.29, most backgrounds were buffed; all Mage backgrounds gained a potion of magic.
• Prior to 0.27, Ice Elementalists started with the Book of Frost, and had Summon Ice Beast.
• Prior to 0.25, Ice Elementalists started with Throw Frost and Throw Icicle instead of Frozen Ramparts and Hailstorm. They also had 1 skill in Conjurations, but only 3 skill in Ice Magic.
• Prior to 0.14, Ice Elementalists only started with 1 level of Spellcasting.