Frost Nova (Diablo III)

Frost Nova

Class: Wizard (Diablo III)
Required Level: 4
Skill Category: Defensive
Active
Cooldown: 11 seconds

Blast nearby enemies with an explosion of ice and freeze them for 2 seconds.

Damage Type: Cold
Other Stats: Does not interrupt casting; Can be cast on the move

Frost Nova is a recurring Cold spell from Diablo II, performed by the Wizard, functioning similarly to the classic Frost Nova.

In-game[]

Frost Nova causes a flurry of ice to expel from the Wizard in all directions for 20 yards, dealing no damage, but Freezing them. Enemies that cannot be Frozen are chilled instead, being slowed by 60% for the same duration. Can be cast on the move, or during any other attack.

Even though it deals no damage, enemies will still count as being hit by a Cold spell (for the purpose of Tal Rasha's Elements set bonus or Elemental Exposure).

Runes[]

Shatter: enemies Frozen by Frost Nova release another Frost Nova if they are killed before the Freeze effect ends. This effect can chain repeatedly.
Cold Snap: cooldown decreases to 7.5 seconds, and Freeze duration increases to 3 seconds.
Frozen Mist: no longer Freezes or Chills enemies, but instead creates a pool of ice that deals 915% damage as Cold over 8 seconds.
Deep Freeze: if Frost Nova Freezes 5 enemies or more, the Wizard gains 10% additional Critical Hit chance for 11 seconds. This bonus is effective against all enemies, not just those Frozen by Frost Nova.
Bone Chill: enemies Frozen by Frost Nova take 33% more damage from all attacks.

Non-rune enhancements[]

The Magistrate (Legendary Wizard Hat): Hydra (with Frost Hydra rune) periodically casts Frost Nova.
Winter Flurry (Legendary Source): enemies killed by Cold damage have a 15-20% chance to release a Frost Nova, benefiting from runes, if any.
Halo of Arlyse (Legendary Ring): Ice Armor automatically casts Frost Nova if the Wizard suffers more than 10% of maximum Life in damage in 1 second, ignoring the normal cooldown.