Frozen Needle
Frozen Needle is a unique frost thrusting sword found in the underground chest at Kingsrealm Ruins after defeating a Royal Revenant. Its strong attack launches a short ice projectile without FP cost, while charged attacks and backstep feints add unusual spacing tools.
Key Takeaways
Frozen Needle is a frost-oriented thrusting sword whose unusual heavy attack gives it a ranged option without changing its close-range role.
Frost buildup with a distinctive heavy attack
Its attacks contribute to Frostbite, while the heavy attack launches an icy projectile. This combination lets the weapon pressure targets from outside ordinary thrusting-sword range without relying on ammunition.
A specialized Dexterity weapon
Frozen Needle requires 11 Strength and 18 Dexterity, making it more accessible to Dexterity-focused characters than to builds that invest primarily in Strength or casting attributes.
Found in Kingsrealm Ruins
The weapon is obtained in Kingsrealm Ruins in Liurnia after dealing with the area’s Royal Revenant encounter, rather than through a regular merchant inventory.
Fixed and Somber-upgraded
Frozen Needle uses the Somber Smithing Stone upgrade path and retains its distinctive weapon skill and frost-focused identity instead of functioning like a freely infusible thrusting sword.
Strong for spacing and status pressure
Its projectile and frost buildup give it useful reach and status pressure, particularly when repeatedly controlling distance against susceptible enemies.
Less flexible than standard thrusting swords
Because it is a unique weapon with a fixed configuration, it offers less affinity, Ash of War, and buff flexibility than a conventional infusible thrusting sword.
Overview
Frozen Needle is a unique thrusting sword in Elden Ring that combines rapier-style pokes with innate Frost buildup and a distinctive ranged heavy attack. It is a base-game exploration reward suited to characters who value precise pressure over broad swings.
Frozen Needle belongs to the thrusting-sword class, but it is not simply a cold-themed version of an ordinary rapier. Its defining feature is the ability to launch a short-range icy projectile through its heavy attack, giving the weapon a way to pressure targets without abandoning its close-range identity. The projectile does not turn it into a ranged weapon; its main role remains controlled melee spacing and repeated thrusts.
The weapon also applies Frost buildup on successful attacks. Frost makes Frozen Needle especially relevant to characters who want a status effect integrated into a fast, precise moveset rather than added through a temporary coating or a changeable affinity. That combination distinguishes it from more conventional thrusting swords, whose advantages are generally limited to reach, speed, critical attacks, or flexible Ashes of War.
Frozen Needle uses a unique weapon setup rather than functioning as a freely customizable standard rapier. Its signature skill and unusual heavy attack are therefore part of its identity, not optional features selected from the broader Ash of War system. The result is a more defined sidegrade: it offers unusual utility and Frost pressure, while giving up the full customization associated with ordinary infusible thrusting swords.
In progression terms, Frozen Needle is found through exploration in the base game’s Liurnia of the Lakes rather than being tied to a downloadable expansion. It can serve as an alternative to other thrusting swords for a character already comfortable with deliberate pokes and close spacing. Its appeal comes from the interaction between precise melee attacks, Frost buildup, and the built-in projectile, not from being a universal replacement for every weapon in the class.
Statistics
Elden Ring publishes no 0–100 stat bars, so this page lists the verified requirements, scaling and handling figures instead. Taken from the project's verified weapons database, not from generated text.
- CategoryHeavy Thrusting Swords
- Damage TypePierce/Frost
- Primary ScalingDex C
- Weight5
- SkillFrozen Needle Skill
- Str Req13
- Dex Req18
- How to ObtainFound in the Rauh Ancient Ruins, Shadow of the Erdtree
- DLCShadow of the Erdtree
Figures verified against Consolidated Game Weapons Database.
Compared to similar heavy thrusting swords
| Weapon | Str Req | Dex Req | Weight | Primary Scaling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frozen Needle | 13 | 18 | 5 | Dex C |
| Bloody Helice | 15 | 15 | 8 | Dex C / Arc D |
Requirements, scaling grades and weight are the game’s own published figures. From Consolidated Game Weapons Database.
How to Obtain
- Reach Liurnia of the Lakes and access Kingsrealm Ruins; no quest, vendor, currency, or boss prerequisite is required.
- Frozen Needle is a base-game item with no DLC, mode, or NG+ gate. The chest provides one copy per playthrough; it is not known to be missable, and it can be obtained again in NG+.
- 01Travel to Kingsrealm Ruins in western Liurnia of the Lakes, north of the Road to the Manor approach. Find the illusory wall in the ruins that conceals the entrance to the underground section.
- 02Enter the underground area and open the chest inside to receive Frozen Needle. A Royal Revenant guards this section; defeating it is the reliable way to reach and loot the chest safely. The chest pickup is guaranteed rather than a random enemy drop.
Availability
Requires No DLC, NG+, vendor purchase, or quest prerequisite is required.
Frozen Needle is a base-game weapon and remains obtainable in a standard playthrough; Shadow of the Erdtree is not required. No separate Story/Online availability distinction applies.
Mechanics and Handling
Frozen Needle is a thrusting sword whose handling is defined by two features beyond its ordinary piercing attacks: innate Frost buildup and a special heavy attack that launches an ice projectile. It remains a close-range weapon first, but the projectile gives it a way to apply pressure while creating space or punishing an enemy that is briefly outside normal thrusting distance.
Thrusting-sword pressure and ice projectile
Its light attacks use the controlled forward pokes typical of a thrusting sword, allowing attacks while maintaining a relatively narrow profile. The heavy attack is the weapon’s distinctive option: instead of only producing a stronger melee thrust, it fires a shard-like projectile. The attack does not require ammunition, and its value is utility as much as raw damage: it can tag a retreating target, interrupt an approach, or continue pressure when committing to another step forward would be unsafe.
The projectile does not turn Frozen Needle into a ranged weapon. Its melee reach, attack timing, and narrow line of attack still determine most engagements, while the projectile is best treated as a supplementary part of the moveset. Because it is attached to the heavy attack, using it requires a deliberate timing commitment rather than the immediate response of a separate ranged skill.
Frost buildup and spacing decisions
Frozen Needle applies innate Frost buildup through its attacks. Repeated contact can therefore contribute toward Frostbite, but buildup is still dependent on connecting attacks and on the target’s resistance; the weapon does not guarantee an immediate status trigger. The narrow thrusting pattern makes spacing important: attacks are most reliable when aimed along the opponent’s approach or recovery rather than used while surrounded.
The weapon’s default skill is Impaling Thrust, a forward piercing attack intended to pressure or penetrate guarded targets. It complements the sword’s direct, linear moveset rather than replacing it. Frozen Needle cannot be treated as an open-ended Ash of War platform, so its playstyle is built around the fixed skill, Frost buildup, and heavy-attack projectile instead of swapping to another weapon skill.
Upgrades and Variants
Strengths, Weaknesses and Best Uses
Strengths
- Innate Frost buildup gives repeated thrusting attacks a way to pressure enemies toward Frostbite without spending a skill resource.
- Its heavy attack launches a cold projectile, letting the weapon apply pressure beyond normal thrusting-sword contact range while retaining a melee moveset.
- The Impaling Thrust skill provides a forward-driving attack that can punish openings and gives the weapon a more committed piercing option than its basic attacks alone.
Weaknesses
- The projectile and Impaling Thrust both require deliberate timing; neither removes the weapon's dependence on spacing and openings.
- As a Frost-focused unique weapon, Frozen Needle offers less affinity and Ash of War flexibility than an ordinary infusible thrusting sword.
- Its short weapon class reach still matters when the projectile is unsafe to use or an enemy closes distance quickly, so the ranged heavy attack is not a substitute for reliable melee spacing.
Best uses
- A melee Frost setup that wants status pressure without giving up a fast thrusting-sword moveset.
- Fighting human-sized or otherwise punishable enemies where the heavy projectile can test an opening before committing to contact.
- A flexible sidearm for players who value a no-FP-cost ranged attack and a forward-driving skill more than full weapon customization.
Compared With Similar Weapons
| Weapon | Class | Skill and customization | Distinctive role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estoc | Infusible; compatible with changeable Ashes of War | Flexible thrusting-sword option for builds that want to tailor affinity and skill choice. | — |
| Cleanrot Knight's Sword | Infusible; compatible with changeable Ashes of War | A conventional alternative for physical or affinity-focused setups, without Frozen Needle's frost-focused identity. | — |
| Antspur Rapier | Infusible; innate Scarlet Rot; compatible with changeable Ashes of War | Better suited to status-stacking setups centered on Scarlet Rot or additional infusions rather than Frozen Needle's frost pressure. | — |
| Great Épée | Infusible; compatible with changeable Ashes of War | An adjacent choice for players willing to trade Frozen Needle's lighter handling and unique heavy attack for the heavy-thrusting-sword moveset. | — |
Lore and Design
The Frozen Needle’s item description presents it as a thrusting sword whose blade is fashioned from ice. It also describes the weapon as a gift from a kindly old woman, while noting that the blade remains perpetually frozen and cannot be sheathed. This establishes the weapon’s unusual condition as part of its in-world identity rather than merely a visual effect.
No named character, faction, historical event, official design commentary, or documented real-world inspiration is securely associated with the Frozen Needle. Its lore significance is therefore limited to the brief image of an ever-frozen blade and the unexplained gift described in its item text; broader interpretations should remain speculative.
Trivia
- Frozen Needle’s signature ice projectile is built into its heavy attack rather than assigned to a separate Ash of War. It can therefore be fired without spending FP or ammunition, making the weapon’s ranged poke an intrinsic part of its moveset rather than a skill-dependent effect.