Vaal Cold Snap

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
CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.Acquisition
Area level: 16Vendor Offer
1x Scroll FragmentMetadata
Item class: Active Skill Gems
Metadata ID: Metadata/Items/Gems/SkillGemVaalColdSnap

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 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: 12Requires 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 effectPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., Cold 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: 16Requires 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 ChillPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., VortexVortexSpell, 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 Duration2% increased Damage when Cast on FrostboltDeals (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 RatePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., 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

Level				Cold Damage	Cold DPS	Chill Effect	Exp.	Total Exp.
1	16	18	26	35 to 53	29.4	N/A	0	0
2	20	22	31	48 to 72	41.7	1%	49725	49725
3	24	25	37	64 to 96	58	2%	95714	145439
4	28	29	42	85 to 127	79.3	3%	169595	315034
5	31	32	46	103 to 155	100.4	4%	199345	514379
6	34	35	50	125 to 188	126.3	5%	285815	800194
7	37	37	54	152 to 227	157.9	6%	401344	1201538
8	40	40	58	182 to 274	196.4	7%	554379	1755917
9	43	43	62	219 to 328	243.1	8%	755049	2510966
10	46	46	66	261 to 392	299.6	9%	1016533	3527499
11	49	48	70	312 to 468	367.9	10%	1898602	5426101
12	52	51	74	370 to 556	450.3	11%	1964019	7390120
13	55	54	78	439 to 659	549.2	12%	2573731	9963851
14	58	57	82	520 to 780	668	13%	4676439	14640290
15	60	59	84	581 to 872	766.8	14%	3017327	17657617
16	62	60	87	649 to 973	878.8	15%	7823001	25480618
17	64	62	90	724 to 1086	1005.7	16%	15264208	40744826
18	66	64	92	807 to 1211	1149.3	17%	26272845	67017671
19	68	66	95	900 to 1349	1311.8	18%	62872274	129889945
20	70	68	98	1002 to 1502	1495.5	19%	212023122	341913067
21	72	70	100	1115 to 1672	1702.8	20%	N/A	N/A
22	74	N/A	N/A	1239 to 1859	1936.7	21%	N/A	N/A
23	76	N/A	N/A	1378 to 2066	2200.4	22%	N/A	N/A
24	78	N/A	N/A	1530 to 2296	2497.5	23%	N/A	N/A
25	80	N/A	N/A	1699 to 2549	2831.9	24%	N/A	N/A
26	82	N/A	N/A	1886 to 2828	3208.2	25%	N/A	N/A
27	84	N/A	N/A	2092 to 3137	3631.2	26%	N/A	N/A
28	86	N/A	N/A	2319 to 3478	4106.4	27%	N/A	N/A
29	88	N/A	N/A	2570 to 3855	4640.1	28%	N/A	N/A
30	90	N/A	N/A	2847 to 4270	5238.9	29%	N/A	N/A
31	91	N/A	N/A	2996 to 4494	5617.1	29%	N/A	N/A
32	92	N/A	N/A	3152 to 4728	6020	30%	N/A	N/A
33	93	N/A	N/A	3317 to 4975	6449.1	30%	N/A	N/A
34	94	N/A	N/A	3489 to 5234	6905.8	31%	N/A	N/A
35	95	N/A	N/A	3670 to 5506	7391.9	31%	N/A	N/A
36	96	N/A	N/A	3861 to 5791	7909.2	32%	N/A	N/A
37	97	N/A	N/A	4061 to 6091	8459.5	32%	N/A	N/A
38	98	N/A	N/A	4270 to 6405	9044.8	33%	N/A	N/A
39	99	N/A	N/A	4491 to 6736	9667.1	33%	N/A	N/A
40	100	N/A	N/A	4722 to 7083	10328.7	34%	N/A	N/A

Item acquisition

Upgrade paths

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

Amount	Ingredient	General Notes	Type
9	Volatile PowerVolatile Power9Superior Vaal Gem Quality: +20% CorruptedUnlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it.	random corrupted superior Vaal gem with 20% quality	Automatic
1	Gemcutter's IncubatorGemcutter's IncubatorAdds an incubated Quality Gem item to an equippable item Item drops after killing # monstersQuality GemRight click this item then left click an item to apply it. The Incubated item drops after killing a specific number of monsters.	random superior gem	Automatic
6	The FoxThe Fox6Level 20 Gem"Masters of wit, strength and cunning. To survive the harsh winters, you must be like the fox." - Ezomyte Proverb	random level 20 gem	Automatic
13	The CataclysmThe Cataclysm13Level 21 Spell Gem CorruptedThe mighty warriors traded in blows, the nimble archers in arrows, yet it was the brazen thaumaturgists who would bring catastrophe to all.	random corrupted level 21 Spell gem	Automatic
3	Gemcutter's PromiseGemcutter'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	random superior gem with 20% quality	Automatic
1	The VoidThe Void1Reach into the Void and claim your prize.	random divination card set exchange	Automatic

Skill demonstration

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:

Item	Effect(s)
Cold Grasp EffectCold Grasp EffectSkill Gem EffectYour Cold Snap becomes a grasping hand of frost	Your 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.