Tundra’s Maw

Makes your Chilled applications also inflict Major Brittle, increasing the target’s Critical Damage taken by 20% and boosting group damage. Activate it by applying Chilled through skills such as Gripping Shards, Elemental Susceptibility and Frost Pulsar. Major Brittle has a short duration, so maintain regular Chilled applications; Serpent’s Disdain extends that duration and makes consistent coverage much easier.

Bountiful Harvest

Adds group Major Heroism and resource returns to Nature’s Gift, helping allies generate Ultimate faster and maintain their skills. Activate it by overhealing yourself or an ally with a Green Balance ability, such as Budding Seeds. Its repeated healing provides regular opportunities to trigger Nature’s Gift, while the Mastery grants you and your group three seconds of Major Heroism and additional Magicka and Stamina, once every two seconds.

• Elemental Susceptibility – Your primary single-target source of Major Breach. While active, it repeatedly applies Burning, Chilled, and Concussed, helping maintain Minor Maim and Minor Vulnerability. Chilled can also provide Minor Brittle when applied under the right Frost Staff conditions, while Frost Blockade applies Minor Breach to Chilled enemies. It now has a Magicka cost, so let its duration run before refreshing it.
• Elemental Blockade – Place this under the boss or your add stack to keep your back-bar Infused Crusher enchant working. With a Frost Staff, it snares enemies, applies Minor Breach to Chilled targets, and provides damage shields against projectiles. Refresh it as the wall expires; casting it repeatedly adds unnecessary Magicka pressure.
• Power Slam – Used during add pulls to activate the Void Bash weapon set. Damage a central enemy with Power Slam and Void Bash pulls nearby enemies towards you, making it easier to immobilise and debuff the pack. The pull does not replace taunting dangerous enemies individually.
• Inner Rage – A Magicka-based ranged taunt for picking up priority enemies before they reach the group. It also gives up to three allies a Radiate synergy that deals Flame damage to the target and nearby enemies, adding damage during large pulls.
• Razor Caltrops – Covers a large ground area and applies Major Breach to enemies damaged by it. Place it where you intend to stack the pull so enemies arrive already debuffed and slowed. It is most valuable against packs; Elemental Susceptibility provides the longer-lasting single-target application for bosses.
• Pulsar – An add-pull skill that applies Minor Mangle to non-boss enemies, reducing their Max Health. Frost Pulsar also grants Minor Protection and, especially with a Charged Frost Staff, is a strong way to apply Chilled across a pack. Those Chilled targets can then receive Minor Breach from Frost Blockade. Pulsar increases the chance of applying a status effect; it does not guarantee Chilled on every enemy.
• Revealing Flare – Slotted mainly for Major Protection, reducing the damage you take without requiring another skill cast. As a Support ability, it also increases your Magicka Recovery on that bar through Magicka Aid. You do not cast it in dungeon fights. This is a personal defensive choice, so it can be replaced when an encounter needs a different skill.
• Defensive Stance – While slotted on your one hand and shield bar, increases block mitigation and reduces Block Cost. Useful when your role involves sustained blocking or several hard-hitting enemies. Casting it also provides a Max Health-scaling shield and reflects an eligible direct-damage projectile, but the passive bonuses are the main reason to slot it.
• Crushing Shock – Interrupts enemy casts from range, letting you handle an assigned interrupt without leaving your position to Bash. Slot it when a trial mechanic requires reliable ranged interrupts. Its damage and potential status effects are secondary benefits.
• Resolving Vigor – Provides a self-heal over time and grants Minor Resolve, increasing your resistances. Useful when you lack Minor Resolve.

Ultimates

• Aggressive Horn – Increases the group’s Max Magicka and Stamina and grants Major Force for a short damage window. It remains useful when the group has no reliable Major Force source. An Arcanist using Ink-Scribe’s Verve can cover Major Force through healing and overhealing, but check its actual uptime before removing Horn from a setup.
• Replenishing Barrier – A defensive Ultimate that shields you and nearby allies during dangerous mechanics or recovery moments. This morph restores Magicka as its wards expire. It can also be slotted without intending to cast it: the Support passive Magicka Aid increases Magicka Recovery while a Support ability is on that bar.
• Temporal Guard – Primarily a passive defensive slot. While it is slotted, you gain Minor Protection on that bar. You normally preserve your Ultimate for a stronger group or defensive effect rather than cast Temporal Guard.

Corrupting Pollen – Places a field that applies Minor Cowardice and Major Defile to enemies inside it, reducing their damage output and healing received. After six seconds, it heals allies in the area, and an ally can use its Harvest synergy for additional healing. The delayed heal can trigger Nature’s Gift when it overheals, which Bountiful Harvest upgrades to provide group resources and Major Heroism. Place it where the boss and group will remain; simply casting the field does not activate Bountiful Harvest.

Polar Wind – Your main burst heal, scaling with Max Health and followed by a heal over time. It also heals a nearby ally, making it particularly useful when you and a damage dealer take damage together. Its personal healing gives you a dependable way to survive sudden pressure, while the ally heal adds support without requiring a separate group-healing skill. Polar Wind is a Winter’s Embrace skill, so it does not trigger Bountiful Harvest.

Expansive Frost Cloak – Grants Major Resolve to you and grouped allies across a wide area. This is an easy defensive benefit to maintain in dungeons, particularly when group members spread out. Keep it active for your own resistances and the group’s.

Bull Netch – Restores Stamina over its duration and periodically removes a negative effect from you. The resource return is especially valuable while blocking, when ordinary Stamina Recovery is suppressed. Keeping an Animal Companions skill slotted on the back bar also activates Flourish for increased Magicka and Stamina Recovery while that bar is active. Refresh Bull Netch before it expires rather than waiting until your Stamina is already low.

Feral Guardian – Slotted on the front bar primarily to activate Flourish, increasing your Magicka and Stamina Recovery while you are on that bar. It is not a practical main Ultimate in this setup: because the bear is absent from the back bar, switching bars dismisses it. Your back-bar Replenishing Barrier remains the usable group defensive Ultimate.

Gripping Shards – Immobilises nearby enemies, helping hold a pack together after Void Bash pulls it in. Its continuing Frost Damage has an increased chance to apply Chilled, supporting Tundra’s Maw and its Major Brittle debuff. Use it once enemies are stacked around you; mobile or crowd-control-immune priority targets still need to be handled separately.

Key passive and Class Mastery interactions: Tundra’s Maw makes your Chilled applications also apply a brief Major Brittle. The Ice Staff supports this on bosses, while Gripping Shards gives add pulls another chance to apply Chilled. Bountiful Harvest upgrades Nature’s Gift when a Green Balance skill overheals: Corrupting Pollen’s delayed heal can then provide group Major Heroism and resources. Placing Pollen alone does not trigger that effect, so its bloom needs to reach an ally and overheal. Bull Netch supplies direct Stamina during boss fights, and having an Animal Companions skill slotted activates Flourish on the active bar.

Gripping Shards – Primarily used to apply Chilled through its continuing Frost Damage, activating Tundra’s Maw to provide Major Brittle and increase enemies’ Critical Damage taken by 20%. Keep it active while holding targets within range to maintain reliable coverage. It also immobilises susceptible adds, although many trial enemies are immune. If your role keeps you away from the target, use Winter’s Revenge for its ranged placement instead.

Budding Seeds – Provides ongoing healing to you and allies within its area, followed by a larger heal when it blooms. Its frequent healing ticks can activate Nature’s Gift through overhealing, restoring your resources and triggering Bountiful Harvest for group Major Heroism and additional resource returns. It also maintains Minor Toughness through Maturation and provides a Harvest healing synergy. Place it under the group and refresh after it blooms; reactivate early when an immediate heal is needed.

Polar Wind – Your main burst heal, followed by Max Health–scaling healing over time. Use it to recover from heavy boss damage and maintain healing during sustained pressure. Its initial cast also heals a nearby ally, providing additional support when someone is within range. Its healing can grant Minor Toughness through Maturation, but it is a Winter’s Embrace ability, so it does not activate Nature’s Gift or Bountiful Harvest.

Expansive Frost Cloak – Maintains Major Resolve for you and nearby group members. Its large radius helps you cover allies while holding a boss away from the damage stack, although separated players still need to be within range when you cast. Refresh before the buff expires.

Bull Netch – A free sustain skill that directly restores Stamina over time, including while blocking. It also periodically removes a negative effect and provides you personal damage buffs. Keeping it active helps fund blocking, dodging and Stamina-based utility skills. Casting it in combat activates Savage Beast when available, while slotting it enables Flourish on your back bar.

Deceptive Predator – Provides Major Expedition and temporary immunity to snares and immobilisations, helping you reach adds, complete movement mechanics and return to the group. While slotted, it grants Minor Evasion, reducing incoming area damage on that bar. It also enables Flourish and activates Savage Beast when cast in combat, combining movement, defence and passive sustain in one slot.

Feral Guardian – Primarily a passive slot to enable Flourish on your bar, increasing Magicka and Stamina Recovery without occupying a regular skill slot. You do not need to summon the bear for this benefit; preserve your Ultimate for your assigned support ability.

Key passive and Class Mastery interactions:

• Tundra’s Maw + Glacial Presence – Tundra’s Maw makes your Chilled applications also apply Major Brittle, increasing enemies’ Critical Damage taken by 20%. Glacial Presence improves your chance to apply Chilled. Gripping Shards, Elemental Susceptibility and Frost Pulsar provide opportunities to maintain this short debuff.
• Nature’s Gift + Bountiful Harvest – Overhealing yourself or an ally with a Green Balance ability restores 250 Magicka and Stamina, once per second. Bountiful Harvest adds 125 Magicka and Stamina for you and your group, alongside three seconds of Major Heroism, once every two seconds. Budding Seeds supplies these interactions; keep its healing active where it can regularly overheal you or allies.
• Maturation – Your heals grant their recipients Minor Toughness, increasing Max Health by 10% for twenty seconds. Budding Seeds provides group coverage through its repeated healing, while Polar Wind covers you and its nearby ally target. Keep Seeds where it can reach the relevant players without compromising your boss positioning.
• Flourish – Having an Animal Companions ability slotted increases Magicka and Stamina Recovery by 20% on that bar.
• Savage Beast – Casting an Animal Companions ability in combat generates 4 Ultimate, once every eight seconds. Bull Netch and Deceptive Predator activate it during normal use; simply slotting Feral Guardian does not.
• Frozen Armor + Piercing Cold – Frozen Armor increases resistances for each Winter’s Embrace ability on your active bar, while Piercing Cold improves block mitigation.
• Icy Aura – With a Winter’s Embrace ability slotted, direct attacks from enemies in melee range build Bite of Winter stacks. At five stacks, the attacker receives Major Maim. This provides additional damage reduction while holding melee enemies, but requires repeated hits to activate.
• Accelerated Growth – Healing yourself or an ally below 40% Health with a Green Balance ability grants Major Mending. Budding Seeds can activate this when its heal lands; Polar Wind cannot trigger it.

Gripping Shards – Primarily used to apply Chilled through its continuing Frost Damage, activating Tundra’s Maw to provide Major Brittle and increase enemies’ Critical Damage taken by 20%. Keep it active while holding targets within range to maintain reliable coverage. It also immobilises susceptible adds, although many trial enemies are immune. If your role keeps you away from the target, use Winter’s Revenge for its ranged placement instead.

Budding Seeds – Provides ongoing healing to you and allies within its area, followed by a larger heal when it blooms. Its frequent healing ticks can activate Nature’s Gift through overhealing, restoring your resources and triggering Bountiful Harvest for group Major Heroism and additional resource returns. It also maintains Minor Toughness through Maturation and provides a Harvest healing synergy. Place it under the group and refresh after it blooms; reactivate early when an immediate heal is needed.

Polar Wind – Your main burst heal, followed by healing over time, with an additional initial heal for a nearby ally. It scales with Max Health, making it particularly effective on a tank and useful when supporting the Main Tank or another nearby player. It can provide Minor Toughness through Maturation, but it is a Winter’s Embrace ability, so its healing does not activate Nature’s Gift or Bountiful Harvest.

Expansive Frost Cloak – Provides Major Resolve to you and nearby group members, increasing Physical and Spell Resistance. Its large radius and reduced cost make it well suited to an Off Tank who needs to maintain group coverage. Refresh it before the buff expires and check that separated players are within range when you cast.

Bull Netch – A free sustain skill that directly restores Stamina over time, including while blocking. It also periodically removes a negative effect and provides you personal damage buffs. Keeping it active helps fund blocking, dodging and Stamina-based utility skills. Casting it in combat activates Savage Beast when available, while slotting it enables Flourish on your back bar.

Deceptive Predator – Provides Major Expedition and temporary immunity to snares and immobilisations, helping you reach adds, complete movement mechanics and return to the group. While slotted, it grants Minor Evasion, reducing incoming area damage on that bar. It also enables Flourish and activates Savage Beast when cast in combat, combining movement, defence and passive sustain in one slot.

Feral Guardian – Primarily a passive slot to enable Flourish on your bar, increasing Magicka and Stamina Recovery without occupying a regular skill slot. You do not need to summon the bear for this benefit; preserve your Ultimate for your assigned support ability.

Key passive and Class Mastery interactions:

• Tundra’s Maw + Glacial Presence – Tundra’s Maw makes your Chilled applications also apply Major Brittle, increasing enemies’ Critical Damage taken by 20%. Glacial Presence improves your chance to apply Chilled. Gripping Shards, Elemental Susceptibility and Frost Pulsar provide opportunities to maintain this short debuff.
• Nature’s Gift + Bountiful Harvest – Overhealing yourself or an ally with a Green Balance ability activates Nature’s Gift, restoring your Magicka and Stamina. Bountiful Harvest adds group resource returns and three seconds of Major Heroism, with its additional effects available once every two seconds. Budding Seeds is the Green Balance healing source in these bars.
• Maturation – Your heals grant their recipients Minor Toughness, increasing Max Health by 10% for 20 seconds. Both Polar Wind and Corrupting Pollen contribute, but maintaining group coverage requires your healing to reach the relevant players.
• Flourish – Having an Animal Companions ability slotted increases Magicka and Stamina Recovery by 20% on that bar.
• Savage Beast – Casting an Animal Companions ability in combat generates 4 Ultimate, once every eight seconds. Bull Netch and Deceptive Predator activate it during normal use; simply slotting Feral Guardian does not.
• Frozen Armor + Piercing Cold – Frozen Armor increases resistances for each Winter’s Embrace ability on your active bar, while Piercing Cold improves block mitigation.
• Icy Aura – With a Winter’s Embrace ability slotted, direct attacks from enemies in melee range build Bite of Winter stacks. At five stacks, the attacker receives Major Maim. This provides additional damage reduction while holding melee enemies, but requires repeated hits to activate.
• Accelerated Growth – Healing yourself or an ally below 40% Health with a Green Balance ability grants Major Mending. Budding Seeds can activate this when its heal lands; Polar Wind cannot trigger it.