Path of Exile Wiki

Please consider helping keep the wiki up to date. Check the to-do list of updates needed for version 3.14.0.

Game data exports will becoming later as the technical changes in addition to regular changes take some more time.

READ MORE

Path of Exile Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Vaal Cold SnapVaal, Spell, AoE, Duration, Cold
Level: (1-20)
Souls Per Use: 35
Can Store 1 Use(s)
Soul Gain Prevention: 0 sec
Cast Time: 0.85 sec
Critical Strike Chance: 6.00%
Effectiveness of Added Damage: 200%
Requires Level 16Creates a sudden burst of cold around you, damaging enemies. This also creates a chilling area around you which expands and deals cold damage over time to surrounding enemies in addition to chilling them. Enemies that die while in the area grant Frenzy Charges, and you will passively gain Frenzy Charges while there are enemies in the area.Per 1% Quality:1Superior0.5% increased Area of EffectDeals (35-1002) to (53-1502) Cold Damage
Base duration is 4 seconds
Always Freezes enemies
Gain a Frenzy Charge when an Enemy Dies while in this Skill's Area
Every second, gain a Frenzy Charge if an Enemy is in this Skill's Area
Deals (29.4-1495.5) Base Cold Damage per second
Modifiers to Spell Damage apply to this Skill's Damage Over Time effect
Modifiers to Skill Effect Duration also apply to this Skill's Soul Gain Prevention
(0-19)% increased Effect of Chill
Corrupted
Place into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.
Vaal Cold Snap skill iconVaal Cold Snap inventory icon
Acquisition
Area level: 16
Vendor Offer
1x Scroll Fragment
Metadata
Item class: Active Skill Gems
Metadata ID: Metadata/Items/Gems/SkillGemVaalColdSnap

Vaal Cold Snap skill screenshot

For the non-Vaal counterpart, see Cold Snap.

Vaal Cold Snap is a Vaal spell that causes an initial burst of ice to explode around the player, freezing enemies. After the burst an area of damage over time releases from the player chilling any enemy that comes into contact with it as well as awarding Frenzy charges every second per enemy in the area.

Skill functions and interactions[ | ]

The Damage over Time interacts with spell damage like most DoT skills. It also interacts with multiple sources of cold DoT. Stacking Creeping Frost inventory iconCreeping FrostCreeping FrostSpell, Projectile, Duration, AoE, Cold
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (7-20) Mana
Soul Gain Prevention: 0 sec
Cast Time: 0.60 sec
Critical Strike Chance: 6.00%
Effectiveness of Added Damage: 80%
Projectile Speed: 844
Radius: 12
Requires Level 12Fire an icy projectile that bursts on impact or when reaching the targeted area, dealing area damage and creating a chilling area that deals cold damage over time. This area will creep across the ground towards nearby enemies until its duration expires.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent4Phantasmal0.5% increased Area of Effect1% increased Skill Effect DurationFires an additional ProjectileChilling Area has 2% increased Movement SpeedBase duration is 5 seconds
Deals (11-383) to (16-572) Cold Damage
Can have up to 10 Chilling Areas
Deals (16.7-1391.2) Base Cold Damage per second
Modifiers to Spell Damage apply to this Skill's Damage Over Time effect
Place into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.
Creeping Frost skill icon
Creeping Frost inventory icon
, Cold Snap inventory iconCold SnapCold SnapSpell, AoE, Cold, Duration
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (11-28) Mana
Cooldown Time: 3.00 sec
Can Store 1 Use(s)
Cast Time: 0.85 sec
Critical Strike Chance: 6.00%
Effectiveness of Added Damage: 140%
Radius: 16
Requires Level 16Creates a sudden burst of cold in a targeted area, damaging enemies. This also creates an expanding area which is filled with chilled ground, and deals cold damage over time to enemies. Enemies that die while in the area have a chance to grant Frenzy Charges. The cooldown can be bypassed by expending a Frenzy Charge.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent0.5% increased Area of Effect1% increased Effect of Chill2% increased Damage with Hits and AilmentsDeals (32-666) to (47-999) Cold Damage
Base duration is 5 seconds
Deals (26.3-1193.2) Base Cold Damage per second
25% chance to gain a Frenzy Charge when an Enemy Dies while in this Skill's Area
Modifiers to Spell Damage apply to this Skill's Damage Over Time effect
(0-19)% increased Effect of Chill
Place into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.
Cold Snap skill icon
Cold Snap inventory icon
, Vortex inventory iconVortexVortexSpell, AoE, Cold, Duration, Nova
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (11-20) Mana
Cooldown Time: 1.80 sec
Can Store 1 Use(s)
Soul Gain Prevention: 0 sec
Cast Time: 0.75 sec
Critical Strike Chance: 6.50%
Requires Level 28An icy blast explodes around the caster, dealing cold damage to enemies, and leaving behind a whirling vortex which deals cold damage over time and chills enemies caught in it. If the caster targets near their Frostbolt projectiles, it will explode from a number of those projectiles instead, destroying them.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent4Phantasmal0.5% increased Area of Effect1% increased Cold Damage1% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate
1% less Skill Effect Duration
2% increased Damage when Cast on Frostbolt
Deals (38-524) to (57-787) Cold Damage
Base duration is 3 seconds
Deals (106.5-1456.9) Base Cold Damage per second
Can explode from up to 5 Frostbolt Projectiles
20% less Area of Effect when Cast on Frostbolt
Modifiers to Spell Damage apply to this Skill's Damage Over Time effect
(0-76)% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate
Place into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.
Vortex skill icon
Vortex inventory icon
, or any other source of Cold Damage over Time will work together.

Multiple activation of the skill by other players will stack the burst but not the DoT portion of this skill.

Gem level progression[ | ]

LevelRequired LevelRequired DexterityRequired IntelligenceCold
Damage
Cold
DPS
Chill
Effect
Exp.Total Exp.
116182635 to 5329.4N/A00
220223148 to 7241.71%4972549725
324253764 to 96582%95714145439
428294285 to 12779.33%169595315034
5313246103 to 155100.44%199345514379
6343550125 to 188126.35%285815800194
7373754152 to 227157.96%4013441201538
8404058182 to 274196.47%5543791755917
9434362219 to 328243.18%7550492510966
10464666261 to 392299.69%10165333527499
11494870312 to 468367.910%18986025426101
12525174370 to 556450.311%19640197390120
13555478439 to 659549.212%25737319963851
14585782520 to 78066813%467643914640290
15605984581 to 872766.814%301732717657617
16626087649 to 973878.815%782300125480618
17646290724 to 10861005.716%1526420840744826
18666492807 to 12111149.317%2627284567017671
19686695900 to 13491311.818%62872274129889945
207068981002 to 15021495.519%212023122341913067
2172701001115 to 16721702.820%N/AN/A
2274N/AN/A1239 to 18591936.721%N/AN/A
2376N/AN/A1378 to 20662200.422%N/AN/A
2478N/AN/A1530 to 22962497.523%N/AN/A
2580N/AN/A1699 to 25492831.924%N/AN/A
2682N/AN/A1886 to 28283208.225%N/AN/A
2784N/AN/A2092 to 31373631.226%N/AN/A
2886N/AN/A2319 to 34784106.427%N/AN/A
2988N/AN/A2570 to 38554640.128%N/AN/A
3090N/AN/A2847 to 42705238.929%N/AN/A
3191N/AN/A2996 to 44945617.129%N/AN/A
3292N/AN/A3152 to 4728602030%N/AN/A
3393N/AN/A3317 to 49756449.130%N/AN/A
3494N/AN/A3489 to 52346905.831%N/AN/A
3595N/AN/A3670 to 55067391.931%N/AN/A
3696N/AN/A3861 to 57917909.232%N/AN/A
3797N/AN/A4061 to 60918459.532%N/AN/A
3898N/AN/A4270 to 64059044.833%N/AN/A
3999N/AN/A4491 to 67369667.133%N/AN/A
40100N/AN/A4722 to 708310328.734%N/AN/A

Item acquisition
Questionmark

Upgrade paths

This item can be acquired through the following upgrade paths or vendor recipes:

AmountIngredientGeneral
Notes
Type
9Divination card inventory iconVolatile PowerVolatile Power card artDivination card frameVolatile Power9Superior Vaal Gem
Quality: +20%
Corrupted
Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it.
Divination card inventory icon
random corrupted superior Vaal gem with 20% qualityAutomatic
1Gemcutter's Incubator inventory iconGemcutter's IncubatorGemcutter's IncubatorAdds an incubated Quality Gem item to an equippable item
Item drops after killing # monsters
Quality GemRight click this item then left click an item to apply it. The Incubated item drops after killing a specific number of monsters.
Gemcutter's Incubator inventory icon
random superior gemAutomatic
6Divination card inventory iconThe FoxThe Fox card artDivination card frameThe Fox6Level 20 Gem"Masters of wit, strength and cunning. To survive the harsh winters, you must be like the fox."
- Ezomyte Proverb
Divination card inventory icon
random level 20 gemAutomatic
13Divination card inventory iconThe CataclysmThe Cataclysm card artDivination card frameThe Cataclysm13Level 21 Spell Gem
Corrupted
The mighty warriors traded in blows, the nimble archers in arrows, yet it was the brazen thaumaturgists who would bring catastrophe to all.
Divination card inventory icon
random corrupted level 21 Spell gemAutomatic
3Divination card inventory iconGemcutter's PromiseGemcutter's Promise card artDivination card frameGemcutter's Promise3Superior Gem
Quality: +20%
"I swore to use my position to help the people. What good is power when it just accumulates on the already-powerful?" - Erasmus, Imperial Gemcutter
Divination card inventory icon
random superior gem with 20% qualityAutomatic
1Divination card inventory iconThe VoidThe Void card artDivination card frameThe Void1Reach into the Void and claim your prize.Divination card inventory iconrandom divination card set exchangeAutomatic

Skill demonstration[ | ]

Vaal Cold Snap

Video[ | ]

Initial GGG promote video in 2014, showing the initial version of the skill . The skill had reworked in Version 3.3.0.

Alternate skill effects

Vaal Cold Snap has the following alternate skill effects:

ItemEffect(s)
Cold Grasp EffectCold Grasp Effect inventory iconCold Grasp EffectSkill Gem EffectYour Cold Snap becomes a grasping hand of frostCold Grasp Effect inventory iconYour Cold Snap becomes a grasping hand of frost

Version history[ | ]

Version Changes
3.14.0
  • Now deals 46 to 69 Cold Damage at gem level 1 (previously 35 to 53), and 1571 to 2356 Cold Damage at gem level 20 (previously 1002 to 1502).
  • Now deals 34.3 base Cold Damage per second at gem level 1 (previously 29.4), and 1532.7 base Cold Damage per second at gem level 20 (previously 1495.5).
  • Now has added damage effectiveness of 350% (previously 200%).
  • The base radius of the Hit is now 32 (previously 15).
  • Now has a Soul Gain Prevention duration of 6 seconds (previously 8).
3.6.0
  • Can now affect up to 40 targets per cast (from 20).
  • Added wind physics.
3.5.0
  • Critical Strike Chance increased to 6%.
  • Skill has been reworked to deal DoT and work with Frenzy instead of Power Charges.
3.3.0
  • Previously created a snowflake-shaped area of chilled ground which lasted 10 seconds.
  • Now deals 35-53 cold damage at gem level 1 (up from 11-17), up to 800 to 1201 cold damage at gem level 20 (up from 600-901).
  • Now creates an area of chilled ground in a circle around the caster, which deals cold damage over time for 5 seconds.
  • Now requires 35 souls to use (up from 32).
  • Now prevents you from gaining Vaal souls for 10 seconds after use.
  • Now has a 100% chance to grant a frenzy charge when an enemy dies while affected by the skill's cold damage over time.
2.0.0
  • Critical Strike Chance increased to 5%.
1.1.0d
  • Vaal Skill soul counts were initially balanced for Merciless difficulty, where there are more monsters. We want them to be easier to use in Normal and Cruel difficulty. We have halved the number of souls required for each skill. In Cruel difficulty, skills require 50% more souls to uses. In Merciless difficulty, they require 100% more (which is the same as before the patch).
1.1.0
  • Introduced to the game.
Advertisement