Ice Magic / Shield Tank Build Overview
Project Gorgon offers several unique tanking playstyles, and the Ice Magic / Shield Tank is one of the strongest control-focused options available. This setup combines Ice Magic’s slows, immobilises, stuns, and resistances with Shield’s mitigation, taunting tools, Armor restoration, and group buffs, creating a tank that excels at controlling enemies while steadily absorbing damage.
This build is designed for group dungeons and late-game content where a dedicated tank is required. It covers the recommended abilities, equipment choices, and mod priorities needed to effectively set up and play an Ice Magic / Shield tank.
If you’re new to tanking in Project Gorgon, this build works best when paired with an understanding of how Armor, mitigation, and taunt scaling function in group content. If you haven’t already, I strongly recommend reading the Project Gorgon Tank Guide before continuing.
Who This Build Is For
This Ice Magic / Shield Tank build is best suited for players looking for a more control-focused and slightly more advanced tanking playstyle in Project Gorgon’s group content. With crowd control and defensive layering at its core, it offers a more tactical approach compared to other tank options, rewarding players who enjoy managing enemy positioning and fight flow.
Best For: Group Dungeons • Elite Enemies • Fight Control • Late-Game PvE
Unlocking Ice Magic & Shield for Tanking
Ice Magic
Ice Magic focuses on enemy control, Armor restoration, resistances, and mitigation, making it a strong core skill for tanking in group dungeons where controlling enemy behaviour is just as important as absorbing damage.
To unlock the Ice Magic combat skill, you must first level either Fire Magic or Rabbit to level 25. Once this requirement is met, read the signpost just inside the entrance of Kur Tower in the Kur Mountains. After doing so, speak to Landri the Cold at the Northwestern Outpost in the Kur Mountains to receive the quest Into the Kur Tower. Completing this quest will grant access to the Ice Magic skill.
Ice Magic Trainers
- Ichin the Ice Master (Rahu – Rahu City) unlocks levels 51–70 and teaches Ice Conjuration abilities
- Bendith the Banished (Fel-Dasculan Ruins, Fae Realm) unlocks levels 71–80
- Reinath (Povus – Nightmare Caves Dungeon) teaches levels 81–90
Shield
Shield focuses on mitigation, taunting, armor management, and group survivability, making it a key support skill for tanking in group content.
Unlocking the Shield skill requires increasing your favor with Tyler Green at the Serbule Hills Tapestry Inn until it reaches Comfortable. Once achieved, you can learn the Shield combat skill.
Shield Trainers
- Nelson Ballard in Serbule (Serbule Keep) teaches Rapid Recovery 1-6 and Fire Shield 1-4.
- Gorvessa in Hogan’s Basement under Hogan’s Keep in Eltibule teaches Infuriating Bash 1-5, Elemental Ward 1-3, Fire Shield 1-5, Fight Me You Fools 1-7 and Shield Team 1-5.
- Sir Johnson will unlock Shield levels 51-60, 61-70, and teaches level 51+ abilities.
- Pegast in Fae Realm (Fel-Dasculan Ruins) unlocks levels and abilities for 71-80.
- Emersil the Ever-Gloating in Povus (Nightmare Caves Dungeon) teaches levels 81-90.
Why Ice Magic / Shield Works as a Tank
Ice Magic and Shield offer highly complementary tools for tanking. Ice Magic provides strong enemy crowd control, resistances, and mitigation, while Shield adds reliable taunting, sustained mitigation, Armor restoration, and valuable group buffs. Together, they form a control-oriented tank setup that performs extremely well in late-game dungeon content where managing enemy behaviour is just as important as raw survivability.
Recommended Ice Magic / Shield Tank Abilities
This ability setup focuses on using multiple AoE crowd control effects to control enemy movement, keep enemies grouped, and reduce pressure on the party. Ice Magic provides slows, immobilises, stuns, and defensive tools, while Shield adds reliable mitigation, taunting, and a valuable group survival buff.
Together, these abilities allow the Ice Magic / Shield tank to consistently maintain aggro, control the flow of combat, and layer multiple forms of mitigation throughout extended dungeon encounters.
Ice Magic
- Blizzard – AoE slow to control enemy movement
- Frostbite – Single-target stun for crowd control
- Ice Armor – Damage mitigation and survivability
- Ice Nova – AoE damage for threat generation
- Cryogenic Freeze – Encases you in ice, granting powerful resistances
- Tundra Spikes – AoE immobilise to lock enemies in place
Shield
- Bulwark Mode – Massive mitigation and sustain scaling
- Fight Me You Fools – AoE taunt, knockback, and damage
- Take The Lead – Engage tool with taunt multipliers
- Shield Team – Group armor, mitigation, and evasion
- Elemental Ward – Elemental mitigation
- Fire Shield – Retaliation damage for threat generation
Recommended Equipment for Ice Magic / Shield Tank
Metal armor is recommended for Ice Magic / Shield tanking due to its high base mitigation and strong synergy with Shield’s defensive tools. Wearing 3+ pieces of Metal also provides an additional bonus, reducing direct damage taken based on your Max Armor, which is especially valuable in sustained dungeon encounters.
Dwarven Plate is a crafted armor set that can either be made yourself or purchased from other players. It’s particularly strong for Ice Magic / Shield tanking because it provides Elite Mitigation, making it more reliable against dungeon and elite enemies where incoming damage is consistently high, alongside additional Max Health.
If you don’t have Dwarven Plate yet, prioritise any Metal armor pieces that improve survivability and help maintain threat while you work toward completing the full set.
For weapon slots, Icesnake is a strong option despite being a dagger, as it boosts Ice Magic and Cold Damage, improving both damage output and taunt generation. However, against Cold-immune enemies where Ice-based threat is less effective, switching to an Ambrosia’s Staff of Rudeness (Elven Judgement) is recommended to maintain reliable taunting.
The Valore’s Shield of Darkness is a strong Shield option, providing useful defensive bonuses that complement the build’s mitigation-focused playstyle.
Belt of the Ice Mage or Belt of the Shielder are both solid crafted options, increasing base damage for Ice Magic or Shield skills respectively, which directly improves threat generation.
The Winter Fae Ring increases Cold Damage, further boosting Ice Magic damage and helping improve overall taunt effectiveness.
Best Mods for Staff / Shield Tank Build
Mods (also known as Treasure Effects) are powerful stat bonuses and ability-altering effects that can be applied to gear in Project Gorgon. Each combat skill has its own pool of available mods, allowing for a high level of build customisation.
The mods listed below represent an endgame-optimised Ice Magic / Shield tank setup. You do not need every mod immediately for the build to function effectively. Early on, prioritising taunt scaling, mitigation, and Armor sustain will provide the biggest performance gains. As you progress, you can refine your setup toward stronger group mitigation and elite damage reduction.
Head
Frostbite causes all target’s attacks to deal -27 damage, and their Rage attacks are further reduced by 10%
Tundra Spikes deals +35% damage, gains +12 Accuracy, and lowers targets’ Evasion by -24 for 20 seconds
While in Cryogenic Freeze, you are 100% resistant to Poison damage and 50% resistant to Acid damage
Take the Lead boosts the taunt of all your attacks +250%
Fight Me You Fools deals +65% damage and taunts +950
While Bulwark Mode is active all your attacks taunt +50% and restore 44 Armor to you
Chest
Ice Armor boosts direct and indirect Trauma Mitigation +65 and all attacks taunt +28%
Tundra Spikes deals +35% damage, gains +12 Accuracy, and lowers targets’ Evasion by -24 for 20 seconds
Blizzard Damage +180 and you gain Elite Resistance +10% for 20 seconds
Elemental Ward mitigates +50 elemental damage (Fire, Cold, and Electricity) for 30 seconds. Against Elite attackers, mitigates +50 more
Shield Team grants all allies +24 mitigation of all physical attacks (Crushing, Slashing, or Piercing) for 20 seconds
While Bulwark Mode is enabled you recover 44 Armor every 3 seconds
Legs
Frostbite deals +275 damage and raises the target’s Max Rage by 33%, preventing them from using their Rage attacks as often
Tundra Spikes stuns all targets after a 6 second delay
Shield Team grants all allies 25% evasion of burst attacks for 10 seconds
While Bulwark Mode is active all your attacks taunt +50% and restore 26 Health to you
Chance to Miraculously Avoid Death +178%
Taunt From Attack Damage +50%
Hands
Ice Nova restores 96 Armor to you
Tundra Spikes deals 470 armor damage and taunts +900
All Shield attacks have a 26% chance to conjure a force-shield that mitigates 10% of all nature, darkness, demonic, and acid damage for 30 seconds (or until 100 damage is absorbed). Stacks up to 5 times
Max Armor +75, Direct Acid Mitigation +50, and Indirect Acid Mitigation +4 while Shield skill active
When you are hit, all Shield abilities taunt +334 for 30 seconds (stacks up to 20 times)
Shield Team grants all allies +24 mitigation of all physical attacks (Crushing, Slashing, or Piercing) for 20 seconds
Feet
Ice Armor has no slowdown effect and instead boosts Sprint Speed +8. However, any Knockback Ingore Chance is nullified while Ice Armor is active.
Tundra Spikes deals 470 armor damage and taunts +900
While in Cryogenic Freeze, you are 100% resistant to Fire damage and 50% resistant to Demonic damage
Frostbite causes all target’s attacks to deal -27 damage, and their Rage attacks are further reduced by 10%
All Shield attacks have a 26% chance to conjure a force-shield that mitigates 10% of all slashing, crushing, and piercing damage for 30 seconds (or until 100 damage is absorbed). Stacks up to 5 times
While Bulwark Mode is enabled, other abilities cost -22 Power to use
Ring
All Ice Magic abilities that hit multiple targets have a 20% chance to deal +70% damage
Ice Armor instantly restores 133 Armor, and Fire damage no longer dispels your Ice Armor
Tundra Spikes and Blizzard Damage +90.5%
Elemental Ward mitigates +50 elemental damage (Fire, Cold, and Electricity) for 30 seconds. Against Elite attackers, mitigates +50 more
Take the Lead boosts the taunt of all your attacks +250%
While Bulwark Mode is enabled you recover 44 Armor every 3 seconds
Necklace
All Ice Magic abilities that hit multiple targets have a 20% chance to deal +70% damage
Ice Armor mitigates +25 Physical and Cold damage, and mitigates +25 more against Elite attacks
Frostbite debuffs target so that 13% of their attacks miss and have no effect
Tundra Spikes and Blizzard Damage +90.5%
Chance to Ignore Knockbacks +33%, Chance to Ignore Stuns +20%
Chance to Miraculously Avoid Death +178%
Main Hand
Ice Armor mitigates +25 Physical and Cold damage, and mitigates +25 more against Elite attacks
You regain 100 Health when using Blizzard
Cryogenic Freeze restores 267 Armor
While Shield skill active: Mitigate Slashing +18, Piercing +18, and Crushing +18. Versus Elite attackers, these values are doubled
While Bulwark Mode is active all your attacks taunt +50% and restore 44 Armor to you
Shield Team grants all allies 25% evasion of burst attacks for 10 seconds
Off Hand
Ice Armor boosts direct and indirect Trauma Mitigation +65 and all attacks taunt +28%
Your Cold Sphere gains 135 Health
Cryogenic Freeze restores 176 Health
While Shield skill active: Mitigate Slashing +18, Piercing +18, and Crushing +18. Versus Elite attackers, these values are doubled
Fight Me You Fools deals +65% damage and taunts +950
Shield Team causes all targets’ Survival Utility abilities to restore 148 Armor to them. Lasts 20 seconds
How the Staff / Shield Tank Performs in Group Content
In group content, the Ice Magic / Shield tank excels at maintaining aggro through strong crowd control and consistent taunt scaling while absorbing heavy elite damage. Ice Magic abilities provide reliable crowd control and , while Shield skills layer additional mitigation, crowd control, and group survivability tools. This combination makes the build highly reliable in sustained dungeon encounters where tanks are under constant pressure.
If you’re looking for alternative tanking playstyles in Project Gorgon, the Cow / Unarmed Tank Build offers a strong but unconventional alternative, while the Ice / Shield Tank Build focuses more heavily on control and damage reduction.
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