Trove Ice Sage/Mage Guide

 

Image credits: Trion World, Trove

Introduction to the Ice Sage

The Ice Sage is the 7th class to be added to the world of Trove, comfortably in time for Christmas. As one can probably guess, the Ice Sage is a ranged, caster type, class which utilize staffs as their primary weapon. However, contrary to Fae Trickster and Dracolyte who share the same weapon, Trove’s Ice Mage remains more of a support class than otherwise. Even so, Trove’s Ice Sage is a capable damage dealer that is now commonly demanded for running end-game content such as Shadow Arenas. If you are the type who enjoys assisting others or simply freezing your foes, Ice Sage is the class for you.

Advantages:

• Strong support capabilities
• Great area of effect abilities
• Potential to do high damage

 

Disadvantages:

• Difficult to master
• Not ideal for solo-play
• Low survivability

Costumes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Role of an Ice Sage

As previously mentioned, Trove’s Ice Mage is undoubtedly designed in favor of becoming a support class. The Ice Sage relies heavily on normal attacks to slow enemies while occasionally casting her ultimate for freeze as well as amplified damage. Generally, Ice Sage players will want to position themselves above clusters of enemies similar to a Gunslinger. This allows for the greatest efficiency on The Big Chill as well as make landing Ice Crash easier.

 

 

Ice Sage in Solo Play

In solo play, the Ice Mage pales in comparison to many of the other classes and thus is highly recommended that you join a group. However, if you do opt for the former, Dragonfire Peaks biome will be your best friend as the presence of lava will aid you in conquering dungeons faster (just make sure to avoid the 3* dungeon with the underground lava maze). Otherwise, run dungeons with spacious boss rooms, preferably with elevated platforms, such as those in Medieval Highlands, Neon City, Cyberian Tundra as well as Desert Frontier. It is also worth noting that Mushroom Lords (the purple ranged mushroom boss) would probably be your toughest opponent, and you might want to skip them if under-geared in a higher difficulty world. In certain dungeons, it is possible to make a hole in the roof leading to the boss room, making it a natural perch at which you can safely attack from.

 

 

Ice Sage in Group Play

In group play, position yourself close to the monsters but behind your melee allies. This will allow you to stay out of harm’s way and be in range to activate your ultimate whenever plausible. This includes when all the monsters are gathered together on the second wave of an assault quest, or right after a boss has summoned his minions. If there are more than one Ice Mage, you can coordinate your ultimate abilities to permanently freeze the enemy. Do note that while frozen, enemies are rooted to the ground and will not get knocked back. This makes classes such as Fae Trickster or Candy Barbarian have a much easier time landing their abilities to hit all the enemies. However, frozen enemies can still get bounced up from jump pads or get stuck in the air while jumping, making it harder to melee allies to attack them.

 

 

Breakdown of skills

[Passive] Coldhearted: Walk across ice without sliding and basic attacks chill enemies.

 

 

The skill would have been useless similar to the Dracolyte passive if not for the chill effect it provides to normal attacks. This chill effect slows down enemies and makes it pretty much impossible for them to reach you by foot as long as you continue strafing backwards.

 

[Active RMB] Ice Crash: Summon an icicle from the heavens to crush your foes.

 

 

The skill does significant damage in a small area of effect, consumes little energy and has a low cool-down. This makes it the Ice Sage’s primary combat skill and players will find themselves constantly using it.

 

[Active 1] Frozen Ward: Buffs movement and damage and absorbs the next big attack.

 

 

Aside from absorbing 10% of the player’s maximum health in damage, this shield also offers the player 20% increase in magic damage. While hard to maintain in higher difficulty worlds, this skill proves highly rewarding when used correctly.

 

 

[Active 2] The Big Chill: Freezes your foes, dealing bonus damage when they shatter.

 

 

The seemingly over-powered skill with a pretty long cool-down. This skill freezes all enemies in a big radius around the Ice Sage and any damage dealt to them is amplified while frozen.The skill itself does not do damage however.

 

 

Gearing up

Building Trove’s Ice Sage is very much similar to the Fae Trickster. Due to the need to solo dungeons at some point in time, coupled with the fact that there are currently no attributes dedicated to support functions, it is realistically more efficient to opt for damage. Furthermore, Ice Sage’s shield, as well as ultimate ability, indirectly benefits from having more Magic Damage. However, it is entirely possible to give up some of that damage to obtain more health and make your time surviving high difficulty worlds easier.

 

 

Standard set

 

When building gear on an Ice Mage, players should prioritize attributes in the order of Magic Damage, Energy Regeneration and Health Regeneration. Magic Damage allows players to take down dungeons alone while Health Regeneration provides sustainability in longer battles. Since Trove’s Ice Sage is an extremely vulnerable class, players would want to fight enemies while in the air. Having Energy Regeneration on both weapon and ring would allow players to hover above ground while having enough energy to cast Ice Crash. Lastly, having approximately 10 jumps (from hat) would be enough as you would much rather have the attribute going into Health Regeneration instead.

 

 

Weapon

• Magic Damage
• Health Regeneration
• Energy Regeneration
• Attack Speed

 

 

Face

• Magic Damage
• Maximum Health
• Health Regeneration
• Attack Speed

 

Hat

• Maximum Health
• Health Regeneration
• Jump
• Attack Speed

 

 

Ring

• Magic Damage
• Energy Regeneration

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recommended flask: Arcane

 

 

Combat guidelines

Fighting as an Ice Mage involves constantly avoiding damage while dealing your own at the same time. However, due to the lack of a reliable escape ability such as the Fae Trickster’s blink, Ice Sage play-style leans heavily similar to Gunslinger. Ideally, the player should always remain above ground and out of reach from monsters with the help of jump attributes or an elevated platform. After that, the player can simply aim Ice Crash directly below himself while simultaneously attacking and given some time, the monsters will be cleared out.

 

 

While effective, the above methods are not guaranteed to work especially against ranged enemies or in confined spaces. As such, players can opt for a slightly more complex way of kiting known as back-pedaling. In order to do this, the player will use normal attacks in combination with Ice Crash, all the while moving backwards. The normal attacks will slow enemies leading ahead, while the backward motion will force enemies to cluster in front of you, making Ice Crash ideal for dealing area of effect damage. Use dodge (shift) to avoid ranged attacks, while timing your jumps precisely to avoid charged attacks (usually from melee enemies). This method can prove difficult for players unfamiliar with the Ice Sage as your normal attacks land closer to you than your Ice Crash while moving backwards (since Ice Crash takes longer to land), making it hard to hit enemies with both attacks. In that case, I would recommend looking slightly lower when casting Ice Crash and subsequently look up while normal attacking.

 

 

Lastly, it is possible to do massive burst damage capable of taking out bosses in a single rotation as an Ice Sage. However, gear and timing is important for smooth execution and thus this method is definitely not recommended for players unfamiliar with the Ice Sage. In order to do this, players must first gather all the monsters around them (use jumps to mitigate some of the incoming damage). Afterwards, activate Arcane Flask, followed by ultimate and lastly Frozen Ward in quick succession. Once the monsters are frozen, stand inside the boss while spamming auto attacks and Ice Crash. As the boss will be the tallest standing monster in the room, all Ice Crash should land on him. If done correctly and with high-end gear, the boss should be dead by the time he unfreezes. Once again, it is important to note that timing is crucial and even milliseconds could mean the difference between a dead boss and a healthy one (above 50% health).

 

Conclusion

All in all, Trove’s Ice Mage is a versatile class capable of bringing multiple play-styles to the table. While primarily a support class, an Ice Sage can also prove effective in dealing massive damage if played correctly. However, survivability appears to be an issue, where the Ice Sage is extremely vulnerable to damage. It is entirely possible to die even on full gear especially against ranged enemies and certain unfortunate trap placements. Personally, I have attempted soloing Uber 5 Shadow Arenas on the Ice Sage, securing a clear time of under 3 minutes with the help of lava though practically impossible without it. Lastly, I would not recommend this class to new players as it can prove rather challenging to play or master and also partially because of its current 8000 cubit price being the newest class.