Ice Gauntlet Abilities and Skill Trees for New World

While this page focuses on assessing the viability of abilities and skill tree nodes, it also gives a bit of advice on how to use them. The gameplay section Ice Gauntlet guide has additional information regarding the usage of abilities and each of our Ice Gauntlet PvP Builds and Ice Gauntlet PvE Builds has a detailed gameplay section that explains how to play the build.

• Wind Chill — 20 mana, 15-second cooldown: Pushes back enemies 5 meters and deals 20% weapon damage every 0.2 seconds for 2 seconds. Wind Chill has a total range of 7 meters with the farthest 2 meters increasing damage 20% without pushing enemies. Player is able to move during the ability.
• Enduring Chill — Increase duration of Wind Chill by 1 second.
• Chilling Blast — Increase the damage of the last 2 meters of the Wind Chill range by 25%.

Summary: This ability is one of the most lackluster in New World. The knockback effect makes it more difficult to do damage to enemies in PvE, and does not always knock players back in PvP due to player controlled movement, grit, and dodges. On top of that, the damage it does is quite insignificant when compared to other options. When casting the ability you are able to walk very slowly which makes you incredibly vulnerable. This is almost never used, and really should not be until it is adjusted.

Crafting Material: Steel Ice Gauntlet Charm - Unbroken Winds: Wind Chill has grit and deals 25% (40% on weapon) more damage. Gain 10% Mana after a full Wind Chill burst.

• Ice Spikes — 15 Mana, 10-second cooldown: Creats a trail of spikes going in a straight line for 8 meters dealing 56% weapon damage. The final spike is a Mighty Spike that will deal 157% weapon damage, staggering and pushing back enemies. Pressing light attack before the path fully forms will spawn the Mighty Spike early.
• Refreshing Spikes — Cooldown for this ability reduced by 10% if an enemy is hit by the Mighty Spike.
• Empowered Spikes — Mighty Spike damage increased by 20% when hitting an enemy below 30%.
• Deadly Path — Increases damage by 10% and adds stagger to the path of spikes. (Does not increase Mighty Spike damage.)
• Spiky Reach — Ice shards fire from the sides of the Mighty Spike to hit a wider area. Each shard has a 6 meter range and deals 118% weapon damage.

Summary: This ability is one of the largest sources of burst damage in New World when all three projectiles land on a target in addition to its increased damage on low health targets. This ability can be hard to master and properly aim, but it is extremely satisfying when you get the hang of it. It can be used to interrupt healers when they start casting because of its stagger effect, and then follow up with more damage to take them down. It provides great support to your team by killing priority targets, and can also be viable in a PvP setting.

Crafting Material: Orichalcum Ice Gauntlet Charm - Iced Refresh: A killing blow with Ice Spike's Mighty Spike or Spiky Reach will reduce all Ice cooldowns by 43% (75% on weapon).

• Ice Storm — 25 mana, 20-second cooldown: Create a 5 meter radius storm at the target area that deals 17% weapon damage every 0.33 seconds for 5 seconds. The storm also creates a frosted area that slows enemies in it by 25%.
• Weakening Gust — Ice Storm damage is increased by 10% to enemies below 50% health.
• Storm Summoner — Ice Storm mana cost is decreased by 80% while at full mana.
• Punishing Storm — Increases Ice Storm damage by 10% for each enemy in Ice Storm. (Max 5 targets.)

Summary: Every Ice Gauntlet build will most likely be using this ability due to its unmatched AoE damage output and CC capabilities. It perfectly fits into every role and shines through its high AoE damage scaling. When placed on top of clumps, objectives, or even a single target, it can deal devasting damage, and it leaves all the targets vulnerable to being rooted through Heavy Freeze. It synergizes with abilities like Gravity Well, Shockwave, Orb of Decay, and Oblivion, because these abilities either rend the target, apply persistent damage, or provide some form of CC that groups enemies up. Lining up a Storm after any of these will result in great damage.

Crafting Material: Starmetal Ice Gauntlet Charm - Unending Thaw: Ice Storm deals 5.8% (10% on weapon) more damage. Frost effects remains on enemies for 2 seconds after exiting Ice Storm.

• Ice Shower — 25 Mana, 30-second cooldown: Summon a shower of ice that creates a frosted area approximately 1 meter by 5 meters that lasts for 4 seconds. Enemies that enter the Ice Shower will be stricken with a powerful frostbite. Frostbite roots for 1 second, slows movement speed by 50%, and will remain on the target for 3 seconds after exiting the Ice Shower.
• Enduring Shower — Increase Ice Shower duration to 7 seconds.
• Quick Shower — Any ally, including self, will get a 25% haste for 2 seconds when entering Ice Shower.
• Frigid Showers — Frostbite applies rend to the target, reducing their defense by 10%.

Summary: This is one of the best crowd control abilities that New World has to offer. It has the potential to not only lock down a single priority target, but also an entire group of enemies that has been stacked up. In addition to that, it has the power to completely deny chokepoints and block off an area. Any player that sees Ice Shower will know to not move forward until its duration is over, or they will need to use a priority consumable or cooldown in order to get through, making them more vulnerable. Its rooting effect is incredible, but the long duration slow along with the rend are what really help to secure kills.

Crafting Material: Reinforced Starmetal Ice Gauntlet Charm - Deadly Frost: When the Frigid Showers upgrade is active, Ice Shower's frostbite debuff will deal 8% weapon damage per second to affected enemies. Ice Shower cooldown reduced by 9.8% (14% on weapon.)

• Ice Pylon — 15 Mana, 10-second cooldown: Place a pylon that fires ice projectiles at enemies within 20 meters. Projectiles deal 75% weapon damage if they hit. Ice Pylon creates a 1 meter radius frosted area around itself and lasts for 15 seconds unless it is destroyed.
• Greater Pylon — Increases damage of Ice Pylon by 10% against slowed targets.
• Pylon Regen — Ice Pylon regenerates to full health 5 seconds after last damage taken.
• Pylon Dodge — Dodging increases Ice Pylon rate of fire for 3 seconds.
• Pylon Refresh — A successful hit from the Ice Pylon extends its lifetime by 1 second to a maximum of 45 seconds.

Summary: Ice Pylon is a niche ability. It can offer great sustained damage in PvE combat when taken. It is not commonly used in PvP due to players being able to quickly destroy it. With that being said, Pylon's damage when used properly should not be underestimated. This ability when used in combination with Pylon Burst can offer persistent bursts of damage if properly placed in locations where it is difficult for players to see the Pylon, or while other aspects of combat are distracting them. It is best paired with builds that are a bit tankier to really take advantage of its capabilities.

Crafting Material: Reinforced Orichalcum Ice Gauntlet Charm - Pylon Burst: Ice Pylon deals 5.9% (10% on weapon) more damage and a burst of damage to foes within a 3 meter radius every 2 seconds.

• Entombed — 0 Mana, 30-second cooldown: Entomb yourself in ice to become invulnerable and greatly increase mana regeneration. The tomb lasts for 10 seconds but can be destroyed early. Press ability input or block to exit the tomb normally or press light attack to exit while causing a damaging push at the cost of 10 mana. The push deals 70% weapon damage to enemies in a 3 meter radius.
• Strengthened Tomb — Gain a 25% fortify for 3 seconds after breaking out of Entombed.
• Cleansing Tomb — Cleanse all debuffs when Entombed activates.

Summary: This is a fantastic defensive tool that can be used with many mage focused builds. Going into a Tomb allows you to completely negate incoming damage. The other incredible piece to this is that when taking Cleansing Tomb, it acts like a Cleansing Elixir and removes all status effects and debuffs currently on you. Tomb can be used to stall out enemies while health is low or when outnumbered in combat. While it can be destroyed quickly if you are surrounded, it can buy enough time to stall for your allies to arrive. The other important piece to this ability is that if you make sure to light attack when exiting your tomb it can be used to deal extra damage to apply more AoE pressure and applies fortify after you exit. In all, it is an invulnerability tool that can be used to avoid lethal abilities. It also cleanses you and provides extra defensiveness, plus you regenerate mana while in your tomb.

Crafting Material: Reinforced Steel Ice Gauntlet Charm - Healing Tomb: Heal for 18% (30% on weapon) of your base Health after Entomb ends.

• Cold Reach — Should always be taken, it is free damage for any basic attack. This pairs well with Enchanted.
• Critical Rejuvenation — This can be useful in some builds. But mana recovery is never truly necessary. This is most commonly taken when you are trying to get Ultimate Chill and only take one ability on the Ice Tempest side.
• Energized Critical — A passive that is commonly overvalued. Most builds will use some version of a Cut Pristine Opal. This functions opposite to this passive. In order to do more damage you will commonly be expending mana, plus in many Ice Gauntlet builds you will be frequently dodging. As such, this passive does not have significant up-time.
• Gathering Storm — Mana is generally not a concern in Ice Gauntlet builds. Esepcially when it comes to this passive, it should not be taken unless you are trying to get Ultimate Chill while only taking one ability on the Ice Tempest side. Hitting 3 consecutive light attacks almost never happens due to the nature of Ice Gauntlet builds, so this should almost never be taken.
• Critical Frost — Increasing critical hit chance is always great. This applies to not only your own Ice Gauntlet abilities, but ally abilities too. As such, it is a crucial pick for increasing damage since most Ice Gauntlets will be taking Ice Storm or Ice Shower.
• Heavy Freeze — This passive is very strong simply due to the amount of opportunities a player will have to take advantage of it. When paired with Unending Thaw it increases the window in which a target can be afflicted by it. The other benefit, similar to other Ice Gauntlet passives, is that the Ice Storm or source of frostbite does not have to be your own.
• Ultimate Chill — In any damage focused build this ultimate is a must have. In general, most builds will take this simply due to its strength and its universal benefits. When using something like Ice Spikes this is especially important for increased damage on a priority target. Overall, this is a free damage increase that will offer great burst potential.

• Blocking Stamina — A frequently underrated passive that is not used to its full potential. This will commonly save a player's life. When blocking with an Ice Gauntlet you can use it to avoid something like a stun from Shockwave. The most important aspect though is that the resource conversion effect offers a bit more blocking time than other weapons. When used properly a player will block with their Ice Gauntlet in a situation that is likely to kill them. Then once their block breaks they will quickly use Entombed to buy the most time possible.
• Quick Frost — Free movement speed whenever stepping into a friendly frosted area. Can be a great utility pickup if it fits into your build.
• Empowered Frost — Mana is not a concern ever with an Ice Gauntlet build. Even if it was, the 3 mana gained for each spell used is negligible and this passive should not be taken.
• Frozen Touch — This ability has incredibly low up-time. It only applies when you are max health, and the slow only lasts for 2 seconds. As such, there are much stronger passives that can be taken.
• Refreshing Frost — A great passive that can fit into any build. This is free cooldown reduction that can increase your ability output and help with doing more damage, providing CC, or survival.
• Defiant Freeze — This passive is fantastic, especially for support builds. It provides a large fortify when using abilities, and when you properly use your cooldowns and focus on ways to reduce them, it can help with survival while playing on the front lines. If possible, try to get this into your build if it fits.
• Ultimate Frost — When using Ice Pylon combined with Pylon Burst this ultimate ability is a necessity. It should be taken when playing a Pylon build to make it more defensive, and make enemies more likely to be hit by the burst effect.