The Frost Atronach is a towering Daedra built entirely from ice, and of all the atronachs it is the one that simply walks up and hits you. Where its flame and storm cousins sling spells, this one never casts anything and relies on a spiked arm, a club-like fist and sheer bulk. Players meet it on both sides of the fight: as a hostile guardian in a handful of dungeons, in the hands of enemy mages, and as one of the most popular summons in the Conjuration school.
Its body radiates a constant frost cloak that drains the health and stamina of anything hostile standing close. Frost does nothing to it, but fire does real harm. The sources disagree on how much: the creature description speaks of a 50% weakness, while the variant stats list Weakness to Fire 33%.
Variants
The versions below look the same but have different stats.
| Type | Level | Health | Magicka | Stamina | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost Atronach | 16 | 400 | 25 | 250 | The standard wild or summoned form |
| Potent Frost Atronach | 24 | 503 / 603 | 0 | 292 | Summoned with the Elemental Potency perk |
| Frost Thrall | 30 | 440 | 48 | 197 | Permanent summon from Frost Thrall, adds Fortified Healing 1 |
| Frost Thrall (Elemental Potency) | 35 | 590 | 57 | 313 | As above, boosted by the perk |
| Pelagius’ Frost Thrall | 15 | 6404 | 0 | 256 | Appears during The Mind of Madness |
| Ancient Frost Atronach (Dawnguard) | 20–65 | 440–890 | 32–107 | 263–413 | Unique summon of Arch-Curate Vyrthur, grand soul |
Where to find them
Wild Frost Atronachs are rare. Only three places hold them:
- The Chill, the ice-bound prison off the coast of Winterhold, where three of them serve as guards.
- The summoning chamber of Cragwallow Slope in Eastmarch, which may hold one if your level is high enough.
- Fellglow Keep in Whiterun Hold, where up to three can be called in the Caller’s chamber during Hitting the Books, part of the College of Winterhold questline.
Far more often, the atronach is summoned against you by conjurers, Thalmor wizards and Draugr Scourge mages.
Ancient Frost Atronach
In Dawnguard, Arch-Curate Vyrthur conjures a unique Ancient Frost Atronach during Touching the Sky. It hits extremely hard and shrugs off weaker frost spells completely, but it is just as weak to fire and moves as slowly as a troll, which makes it vulnerable to a patient archer. Besides Frost Salts it can carry leveled gold and gems. On PC, the source notes that a mix-up in the game data means the top level version may be swapped for the one below it.
Summoning one yourself
The spell Conjure Frost Atronach calls one temporarily, and Frost Thrall makes it permanent until it is destroyed. An unbound Frost Atronach can also be created at the Atronach Forge by offering a sapphire together with Frost Salts. A summoned atronach is happy to block a doorway, and its tough body makes it a common training dummy for raising Destruction. Be careful, though: a fire spell turns your own atronach hostile instantly, while melee hits take a few blows before it snaps.
