Ice Shard is a deceptively powerful spell thanks to its homing nature and projectile count. Each cast fires a cluster of shards—one main shard and multiple extras. Only the main shard deals full damage, while extras deal 20% of the base. But with smart skill investment, those extras add up fast. At 18 total projectiles, you can hit a single target with up to 4.4x damage multiplier, assuming all shards connect. With Homing and Chaos modifiers, this becomes surprisingly reliable—even chaotic projectile paths often land due to excellent tracking.
Titan Quest II Ice Shard Elementalist Build Guide (Chapter 2)
This build performs impressively against high-level bosses (+5 levels above). Even under pressure, Ice Shard remains consistent due to its projectile count and homing capability. Blink lets you reposition when needed, and your aura passives handle energy reservation and resistance stacking.
This build revolves around two core ideas:
Maximizing Energy Reservation: More reserved energy = stronger Ice Shard damage (thanks to Infused Shard).
Maximizing Projectile Count and Homing: Chaos boosts your projectile count, while Homing ensures they actually hit something.
Storm Mastery: Skills & Priorities
Main Damage Skill: Ice Shard
- Ice Shard: Core damage spell. Fires 1 base projectile + up to 17 extras.
- Infused Shard: Boosts Ice Shard damage based on how much energy you’ve reserved.
- Homing: Critical modifier—makes Ice Shard auto-target enemies.
- Chaos: Adds +12 total projectiles at max level but causes random firing. Homing offsets the randomness and ensures consistency.
- Torrent: Required as a prerequisite to unlock Chaos.
Update Note: Once you reach mid-game, consider lowering Infused Shard to Level 4 and raising Homing to Level 2. This lets you stand closer to bosses without losing DPS and improves the effectiveness of Cold Resistance reduction via Ring of Flame.
Buff Skill: Storm Nimbus
- Base Skill: Grants bonus cold damage and allows energy reservation.
- Storm Enhancement: Adds cold damage + reserves 50 energy.
- Cold / Lightning Resistance: Optional based on your needs. Good place to dump extra points.
Cyclone (Self Buff Aura)
- Follows you and grants damage boosts through stacks of Amplify.
- Personal Storm: Adds a mini-cyclone that travels with you—great for mobile casting.
- Escalation: 40% bonus cold damage at 10 Amplify stacks. Also auto-stacks Amplify every 2 seconds.
Blink (Movement Skill)
- Excellent for dodging bosses or maintaining optimal casting distance.
- Repeat: Adds extra charges. One level is usually enough.
- Optional: Engage if you want to add utility or aggression.
Key Passives (Storm)
Raging Mind: Spell damage, cast speed, and crit chance.
- Cast Speed Modifier
- Crit Chance Modifier
Arcane Influx: Enables energy reservation.
- Reservation Modifier: Core to the build.
- Energy Modifier: Optional, if you want more tankiness later.
Storm Attunement: Basic stat booster.
- Spell Damage and Projectile Damage modifiers for scaling.
Storm Guidance: Improves homing and projectile speed.
- Must-have. Max early.
Storm Adaptation: Defensive node.
- Cold/Lightning Resistance: Helps cap elemental resistances.
Earth Mastery: Skills & Synergies
Earth Enchantment
- Helps reserve energy and grants bonus fire resist.
- Fire Resistance: Useful for survivability.
- Stone Skin: Boosts tankiness. Worth maxing once you have the points.
Ring of Flame
- Mostly taken for its high energy reservation.
- Permanency: Reserves 60 energy, boosting Ice Shard.
- Weakening Heat: Optional. Reduces enemy cold resist if they’re nearby, which helps with burst.
Key Passives (Earth)
Grand Magic: Spell damage + energy = core scaling stats.
- Spell Damage and Cost Modifier: Slight energy trade-off for good damage.
- Crit Chance Modifier
Magma Shell: Earth’s counterpart to Storm Adaptation.
- Fire Resistance Modifier: Lets you shift gear priorities to offense.
Itemization Guide
Focus on stats that scale your Ice Shard output and keep you alive during mid-range casting:
Priority Stats
- Spell Damage
- Cold Damage
- Cast Speed
- Critical Hit Chance
- Energy (max and regen)
- Knowledge
- All Resistances
- Energy Barrier (bonus defense layer)
Recommended Gear Slots
- Weapon: Cold Damage, Spell Damage, Cast Speed, Crit Chance
- Head: Cast Speed, Resist, Energy
- Shoulders: Crit Chance, Knowledge, Resist
- Torso: Health, Resist, Energy
- Arms: Cold Damage, Spell Damage, Resist
- Legs: Movement Speed, Resist, Knowledge
- Necklace: Resistances and Regen
- Rings: Spell Damage, Energy, Crit Chance, Resist
The Ice Shard Elementalist isn’t just flashy—it’s efficient. Homing ensures that even the most chaotic casts land, while your layered auras and passives multiply your damage based on energy reserved. With proper management of distance and mobility (Blink is your best friend), you can burn through both mobs and bosses with minimal effort and maximum impact.
The build scales beautifully, and once you get used to its rhythm—cycling buffs, holding Amplify stacks, and firing off Ice Shards—you’ll dominate late-game content with ease.