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Black Ice is one of many vital resources for survival in Conan Exiles. Found in the frigid, hostile plains of the Frozen North, surrounded by biting frost and fearsome beasts, Black Ice is critical to your survival efforts. It is perhaps the most crucial resource in the game if you wish to construct the best base possible. Today, we’re heading into the Frozen North to learn about Conan Exiles Black Ice and how best to harvest it. So, without further ado, let’s get started.
What is Black Ice?
Black Ice is a cold shard of mystical frozen water from the Outer Dark, a place beyond the reaches of mortal men. Within The Outer Dark, demons and demigods lurk, with their vile influence occasionally leaking into the world of men. Black Ice comes from that strange place, burning coldly amongst the snow of the Frozen North.
Within Conan Exiles, Black Ice is a high-grade ingredient. It can be stacked up to 500 units in a single inventory slot and weighs 0.13 per shard. A full-stack weighs in at a moderate 65 units of weight, manageable but still capable of weighing down an unprepared farmer.
It appears in the inventory as a cluster of ice crystals with just a hint of blackness amongst the node. Black Ice appears naturally in a similar way when found in the world.
What is Black Ice used for?
Black Ice is a valuable resource within Conan Exiles, and will doubtless prove beneficial for any Exile struggling to survive.
Black Ice is employed in upgrading Hardened Steel weapons and ammunition to Black Ice, improving their damage even further. It is also implemented in crafting the Epic-quality Pride of Aesir gear, a stunning armor set that is incredibly flexible in its adaptability. Silent Legion is another notable armor set, created using Black Ice. A favorite of mine, this is an intimidating option if you prefer the heavy armor class.
Black Ice sees further use in smelting Hardened Steel and Star Metal bars. Vitally, it is used heavily in creating Tier 3 building pieces, the most substantially robust structures available in the game. Access to Tier 3 building pieces is critical for most Exiles, especially those playing PvP. Enemies will doubtless show their face at your base eventually, attempting to besiege your home with explosives to take down your defenses, breach your walls and steal your loot.
With access to Black Ice, you can move up from Stonebrick structures and begin to create Black Ice buildings or any other Tier 3 material from the cultural DLCs. Tier 3 still has considerable utility in PvE to fight off enemy purges, but PvP is where these strong materials become invaluable for survival and preservation.
How can I harvest Black Ice?
Black Ice is one of the easier resources to harvest within Conan Exiles. In testing, there is no discernable difference between a Pick and a Hatchet. Even with high-grade tools like the Star Metal offerings, the two seem remarkably comparable and are likely more a matter of personal choice. You’ll receive a fair amount of Black Ice per swing, alongside a small amount of regular ice. It’s quite easy to recover a reasonable amount of Black Ice from each node, so this shouldn’t be too much trouble.
Just remember, don’t eat the regular Ice! Seriously, don’t. Not even a lick. If you do consume it within the Frozen North, you’ll be stricken down with severe frostbite quicker than you can say “frozen tongue”.
Where can Black Ice be found?
As briefly mentioned, Black Ice is found almost primarily in The Frozen North of The Exiled Lands. There, it is mixed with chunks of regular ice, and thus can be easy to miss with the untrained eye. It is also available in short order from a selection of other sources, and on The Isle of Siptah, it is concentrated in some notably treacherous locations.
The Exiled Lands
Frozen North – Western Side
Primarily, the majority of Black Ice nodes found on The Exiled Lands are located on the western side of the Frozen North, atop the mountains. Scattered generously throughout, Black Ice here is made troublesome to acquire due to the dizzying heights you have to reach in your farming effort. Luckily, if you approach from the north-western Tundra, this climb can be made smoother.
Frozen North – Central Area
Around the western center of the Frozen North, you can find some more Black Ice deposits scattered across the ridge. This area is much easier to access due to its lower elevation, though there do appear to be fewer Black Ice deposits overall. If you’re struggling to manage the lofty slopes of the western side, this area may be a bit easier, though there are wolves and frost giants nearby.
Frozen North – Eastern Area
You’ll find Black Ice deposits on the far eastern side of the Frozen North. There are considerably fewer nodes overall compared to the center and the western side of Frozen North, but this area is much quieter. You won’t be hounded by wolves or stamped into the snow by Frost Giants, but you will still have to contend with the troublesome environment. Nevertheless, this can be a great spot to harvest Black Ice in relative peace and safety.
What is the best location?
Perhaps the best spot to harvest Black Ice in The Exiled Lands is just outside The Temple of Frost. This location has a good amount of Black Ice deposits alongside stone and regular ice nodes and is also quite close to an Obelisk. Here, you’ll probably manage to leave with a few hundred Black Ice per trip. If you’re planning to build a massive castle or fortress from Black Ice, you can expect to be spending a lot of time here, but the ease of access and considerable yield make this a great spot.
If you wish to make it even better, set up a small outpost nearby with a Map Room. The one downside of this area is that, though an obelisk is nearby, you’ll have to ride your horse or run back home. Having a map room nearby allows you to teleport back to relative safety, making your farming trips much faster and easier to execute.
The Isle of Siptah:
The Ruins of X’chotl
This spot is located on the far western side of the Isle of Siptah and can be a good provider of Black Ice if you happen to live nearby. The place is crawling with enemies, so you’ll have to come prepared, either with friends or with some very sturdy gear. If you can slay the beasts that stand in your way, you can harvest a good amount of Black Ice from this region.
The effectiveness of this area depends upon how close your base is to this ruin. I wouldn’t recommend traveling across the map just to get here.
Traitor’s Falls
Located on the far north-eastern island, Traitor’s Falls is a particularly treacherous location in terms of the nearby geography. A large waterfall dominates the area, with sheer cliffs and small platforms littered with Black Ice, Brimstone, and Crystal.
Much like the Ruins of X’chotl, Traitor’s Falls is located in an area that will only prove useful on the condition that you live nearby. Traveling to Traitor’s Falls is a waste of valuable time.
The Tower
Located in the dead center of The Isle of Siptah, the blackened ground surrounding The Tower bears fruit for Exiles in search of valuable resources. Crystal, Brimstone, and Black Ice are abundant in the area, with Star Metal also falling here occasionally. Despite that, the area is hounded by undead enemies fighting alongside the local scorpions. If the Maelstorm is happening or has happened recently, you can expect to find some Eldritch horrors here too, ready to rip you limb from limb.
The Tower is central to everything on The Isle of Siptah, and thus is a great middle-ground location if you’re not closer to either of the previous farming locations. However, the area is fraught with danger and should be approached with caution.
What is the best location?
It’s hard to say where is best to farm Black Ice on The Isle of Siptah. Aside from the destinations listed above, Black Ice is also scattered across different areas of the map in smaller quantities. When in doubt, The Tower is a great location, if you can fend off the living and the dead that scour the area. If you don’t want to visit The Tower, you can refer to this map for precise locations on those smaller deposits.
How do I use Black Ice in crafting?
So now you have a good chunk of Black Ice, how exactly do you use it to manufacture your armor, weapons, or building pieces? Well, that exact process depends on what you intend to create, but fortunately, Black Ice follows the same crafting rules as other resources.
As a crafting component, it simply needs to be available with the other resources needed for any other crafting project. Black Ice can either be in the inventory or within a crafting bench. This is dictated by what you wish to manufacture.
For Armor or Weapons, place your Black Ice into the crafting bench with the other required resources. In regards to creating the Black Ice building pieces, you can construct these in your inventory. Simply grab the resources and start crafting. Things are kept smooth and seamless with Black Ice, no specialized crafting procedures are required here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Is it possible to make Black Ice with other resources?
Answer: You can make Black Ice, but it is impractical. You’ll need to first craft and place an Exalted Altar of Ymir. Afterward, gather 100 Ice, 5 Ice Shards, and 1 Manifestation of Zeal. You can then use those resources to craft a not-so-impressive single piece of Black Ice. This is wildly inefficient, and simply farming the Black Ice as intended is much faster.
Question: How do the Black Ice weapons compare to the others available in-game?
Answer: Black Ice weapons are uncommon but perfectly serviceable in combat. The Black Ice Greatsword, for example, outclasses the Hardened Steel version considerably, offering a 17-point damage increase and a 4% armor penetration bonus. It also beats out the Star Metal Greatsword, with an extra 4 points of damage and 5% armor penetration.
Black Ice weapons are a considerable upgrade from Hardened Steel This comparison represents the improvement you should expect across the board with other Black Ice weapons. They should work perfectly fine for combat and have the bonus of decreasing your opponent’s temperature when hit. It’s quite the niche bonus but could help you get the edge in specific PvP encounters.
Question: Is it possible for Black Ice to drop from enemies?
Answer: Much like a wide variety of other resources in Conan Exiles, it seems Black Ice is capable of dropping from selected enemies. That being said, this should not be relied upon. Much like a lot of other resources, Black Ice drops in such insignificant quantities that it cannot be reliably farmed from enemies alone. It’s a nice bonus if you happen to get a couple of pieces whilst fighting, but it should never be relied upon.
Conclusion
Black Ice is one of the most crucial resources in the late game for not only surviving but thriving in either a PvE or PvP environment. The massive benefit you get from being able to build Tier 3 structures remains impressive. Even as Funcom hints at changes inbound to smooth out the building power tiers, Black Ice will likely remain a sought-after ingredient. Today you’ve learned exactly why you need Black Ice, and what you can do to get it. Grab your pick and some warm food, it’s time to head to the Frozen North. Best of luck Exile!
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