Summary
- Monks, Wizards, Sorcerers can deal cold damage in Baldur's Gate 3 through spells, weapons, and abilities.
- Cold magic can be useful both in and out of combat, offering crowd control, damage, and strategic advantages.
- From Blade of Rime to Hunger of Hadar, there are various icy options for players to explore and incorporate into their gameplay.
There are several ways to deal cold damage in Baldur'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.
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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 in Baldur's Gate 3. However, those looking for countermeasures to these challenges have plenty of ice spells and related abilities to choose from.
Updated on March 11, 2024, 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.
13 Blade Of Rime
Throw Shards Of Ice Like Exploding Knives
- 1d10 of piercing damage
- 2d6 AoE cold damage
Only Monks that follow the Path of the Way of the Four Elements have 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.
12 Glacial Age
A Spell From A Weapon
- 1 bonus to attack and damage rolls
- +1d4 cold damage
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. The 
Flail of Ages is a reference to the old Baldur's Gate games. It was a weapon that players could loot the D'Arnise Keep, and it did three forms of elemental damage.
In Baldur'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.
11 Heart Of Ice
A Buff, A Cantrip, And An Elegant Staff
- Bonus of +1 to all cold damage
- Causes the Chilled effect
- Ray of Frost as a cantrip
Players building a spellcaster with a penchant for cooling off need to get 
Mourning Frost, a weapon that's hidden 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.
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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 the 
Ray of Frost cantrip on the pile, and this results in some of the best ice damage in one weapon.
10 Wall Of Ice
Crowd Control And AoE Damage
- 10-60 Cold Damage to all creatures in its path, plus the same damage as AoE
This powerful spell is one of those brutal level 6 spells that 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.
9 Sleet Storm
Silence Casters And Control The Battlefield
- Creates an area of Difficult Terrain and total silence
This is a Conjuration spell that doesn't do cold damage but still does everything that a Baldur's Gate 3 player 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.
8 The Wavemother's Sickle
Cold Damage And Watery Guidance
- 1d6 slashing damage
- +1d4 cold damage
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.
7 Chill Of The Mountain
Call Down A Cold Wind
- 1d10 of cold damage and slows the target
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.
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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.
6 Otiluke's Freezing Sphere
A Globe Of Ultimate Cold That Can Be Moved And Saved
- 10d6 of cold damage to anything it touches
- Creates an icy surface
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.
5 Ice Storm
Deadly AoE Damage And Difficult Terrain
- An AoE spell that does 4d6 of cold damage and 2d8 of bludgeoning damage
Ice Storm is a classic AoE spell that's also popular in tabletop versions of Dungeons & Dragons. Wizards, Druids, and Sorcerers can learn it in Baldur's Gate 3 at 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.
4 Hunger Of Hadar
An AoE Spell That Blinds Enemies
- 2d6 of cold damage and 2d6 acid damage for 10 turns
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.
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There's more to this dark void than the 2d6 of cold damage that lasts for 10 turns, easily enough time to finish even a tough battle. There's also the possibility of an additional 2d6 acid damage for anything or anyone also lost in the shadowy fog.