Wall of Ice

A
Damage

Wall of Ice is a Damage spell. Damage spells focus on dealing harm to enemies.

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 spell that creates
battlefield control

Wall of Ice is a Battlefield Shaping spell. Battlefield Shaping spells alter terrain, create obstacles, introduce hazards, and affect enemy positioning.

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 with a freezing wall, trapping foes and striking
multiple targets

Wall of Ice is a Multi Target spell. Multi Target spells have an area of effect or can explicitly target multiple allies or enemies.

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 with lethal cold.

2024 Rules
Level & School
6th-level evocation
Casting Time
Action
Range
120 feet
Components
V, S, M (a piece of quartz)
Duration
Concentration, up to 10 minutes
Classes
Wizard

You create a wall of ice on a solid surface within range. You can form it into a hemispherical dome or a globe with a radius of up to 10 feet, or you can shape a flat surface made up of ten 10-foot- square panels. Each panel must be contiguous with another panel. In any form, the wall is 1 foot thick and lasts for the duration.

If the wall cuts through a creature's space when it appears, the creature is pushed to one side of the wall (you choose which side) and makes a Dexterity saving throw, taking 10d6 Cold damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one.

The wall is an object that can be damaged and thus breached. It has AC 12 and 30 Hit Points per 10-foot section, and it has Immunity to Cold, Poison, and Psychic damage and Vulnerability to Fire damage. Reducing a 10-foot section of wall to 0 Hit Points destroys it and leaves behind a sheet of frigid air in the space the wall occupied.

A creature moving through the sheet of frigid air for the first time on a turn makes a Constitution saving throw, taking 5d6 Cold damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one.

Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot. The damage the wall deals when it appears increases by 2d6 and the damage from passing through the sheet of frigid air increases by 1d6 for each spell slot level above 6.

2014 Rules
Level & School
6th-level evocation
Casting Time
Action
Range
120 feet
Components
V, S, M (a small piece of quartz)
Duration
Concentration, 10 minutes
Classes
Wizard

You create a wall of ice on a solid surface within range. You can form it into a hemispherical dome or a sphere with a radius of up to 10 feet, or you can shape a flat surface made up of ten 10-foot square panels. Each panel must be contiguous with another panel. In any form, the wall is 1 foot thick and lasts for the duration.

If the wall cuts through a creature's space when it appears, the creature within its area is pushed to one side of the wall and must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 10d6 cold damage, or half as much damage on a successful save.

The wall is an object that can be damaged and thus breached. It has AC 12 and 30 hit points per 10-foot section, and it is vulnerable to fire damage. Reducing a 10-foot section of wall to 0 hit points destroys it and leaves behind a sheet of frigid air in the space the wall occupied. A creature moving through the sheet of frigid air for the first time on a turn must make a Constitution saving throw. That creature takes 5d6 cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 7th level or higher, the damage the wall deals when it appears increases by 2d6, and the damage from passing through the sheet of frigid air increases by 1d6, for each slot level above 6th.

Wall of Ice 5.5e 2024 vs. 5e 2014 edition differences

The wall now explicitly has immunity to Cold, Poison, and Psychic damage. Also, if it appears through a creature, you choose which side of the wall it’s pushed to.

Spells similar to Wall of Ice

  • Wall of Thorns 6th-level conjuration

    It's the same spell level and creates a damaging natural wall you position on the battlefield that creatures suffer from when they try to pass.

  • Wall of Fire 4th-level evocation

    Both form a shaped wall that deals damage on creation and penalizes movement through the barrier, trading elemental damage and area denial.

  • Blade Barrier 6th-level evocation

    Creates a long-lasting damaging barrier you place to shape the battlefield and punishes creatures that cross it, similar tactical use to an ice wall.

  • Wall of Stone 5th-level evocation

    Also makes a multi-panel wall the caster sculpts to block or redirect enemies, differing mainly by dealing no elemental damage but sharing battlefield control.

  • Wall of Force 5th-level evocation

    A durable, shapeable barrier used for the same zoning and containment purposes, with the main difference being that it doesn't deal damage but is harder to destroy.