Freeze

Freeze is an ice-element control debuff that causes the afflicted unit to skip its next turn entirely. Stacks reduce by 1 per turn, so multiple stacks mean multiple skipped turns. While frozen, the unit becomes immune to all damage except fire-element attacks and attacks from Mages with the Ice Aspect passive. This creates a unique tactical situation where Freeze simultaneously disables and protects a target, requiring careful consideration before applying it to enemies you want to kill quickly.

Frozen units behave like physical objects on the battlefield. When hit, they slide in the opposite direction of the attack, dealing 1 ice damage to any unit they collide with, applying 2 Slow stacks and a 5% chance to Freeze on contact. Frozen units also freeze tiles they pass over. This sliding mechanic can be used strategically to knock frozen enemies into other enemies for chain reactions, or to reposition threats. When the last Freeze stack is removed naturally, the unit becomes Wet, which opens them up to further ice or electric vulnerability.

Freeze can be applied by ice-element spells (Blizzard has a 15% chance to Freeze alongside guaranteed Slow), ice-element weapons, and various abilities. Fire attacks instantly remove Freeze and apply Wet instead, making fire the primary counter. The Wet status effect is particularly dangerous in ice-heavy encounters, as Wet units are always Frozen by any ice effect rather than just Slowed. To exploit Freeze offensively, use it to lock down dangerous enemies while focusing fire on others, or combine it with fire damage to cycle through Freeze into Wet into another Freeze for perpetual crowd control.