Frost Nova
| Job | Wizard |
|---|---|
| Type | Supportive (control) |
| Target | Self (area) |
| Element | Water |
| Max level | 5 |
| SP cost | 45 / 43 / 41 / 39 / 37 |
| Cast time | 6 / 6 / 5.5 / 5.5 / 5 (sec) |
| After-cast delay | 1 (sec) |
| Area | 7×7 cells |
| Requires | Ice Wall Lv 1 |
Frost Nova bursts a ring of frost around the caster that can freeze every nearby enemy in place, opening room to escape or reposition.
Overview
Frost Nova is a crowd-control and escape tool at the heart of the Frost (Water) branch. It is a custom version of the classic skill with an enlarged 7×7 radius. Its value is not damage but lockdown: freezing the enemies around the caster so a fragile Wizard can buy space and time, peel a crowd off an ally, or break free of a bad position. Maxing it unlocks the High Wizard skill Ice Block.
Mechanics
The skill is centered on the caster and affects all enemies within the 7×7 area.
The point of the skill is the mass freeze: each enemy hit can be locked in the Frozen state. For a player caster the chance is 33 + 5 × SkillLv % (38% at Level 1 to 58% at Level 5), and the Frozen state lasts 1.5 / 3 / 4.5 / 6 / 7.5 seconds by level. Unlike the chilling Freezing from Frostbite, this is the hard Frozen state, which immobilizes the target completely.
It also deals a modest amount of Water magic damage as a side effect.
Damage formula: Damage = (100 + 10 × SkillLv) × 2 ÷ 3 (% of MATK), roughly 73% at Level 1 rising to 100% at Level 5.
The long cast time means Frost Nova is best used from relative safety or after setup such as Ice Wall or Safety Wall.
Leveling
| Level | Damage (% MATK) | Freeze chance | Freeze duration (sec) | Cast time (sec) | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 73 | 38% | 1.5 | 6.0 | 45 |
| 2 | 80 | 43% | 3.0 | 6.0 | 43 |
| 3 | 87 | 48% | 4.5 | 5.5 | 41 |
| 4 | 93 | 53% | 6.0 | 5.5 | 39 |
| 5 | 100 | 58% | 7.5 | 5.0 | 37 |
Notes
- The mass freeze buys space and time to escape, reposition, or peel enemies off an ally, rather than to set up burst damage.