The Tomb: Staff of Ice

The Staff of Ice

The wonder weapon of The Tomb is the Staff of Ice, the elemental staff of Origins brought back to the Dark Aether story. In the story, Sir Archibald Fotherington-Smythe found and built it in 1908 with the monocle that Alistair Rhodes had lent him. The staff fires a fully automatic blast of frost that slows, freezes and shatters the zombies. Its in-game description: “This masterpiece of ancient technology fires a withering blast of frost and can generate healing energies to resuscitate allies from a distance. Origins unknown.”

From the Mystery Box

950 Essence a spin, like any other weapon of the Box.

Built for free

Three parts, the monocle, the head piece and the staff, assembled on the altar of the Dark Aether Nexus. A Box staff still has to be built for the main quest.

Ammunition

6 shots in the staff and 60 in reserve, 9 and 90 once upgraded.

Doors closed

Out of reach. The Box starts in the Neolithic Catacombs or the Tombs, and the altar stands in the Nexus.

Building the Staff of Ice

The build needs the Dark Aether Nexus open, so the Door to Nowhere of the Subterranean Temple must be unlocked first. The two murals of the quest are in the Tombs and in the Neolithic Catacombs, and they can be done in either order.

The monocle: kill the first Shock Mimic, which spawns at round 8. It drops Sir Archibald’s monocle.
The Aetheric Lanterns: shoot the lanterns that hang in the tunnels to lead their purple fire from sconce to sconce, until a lantern shines on the right mural.
Taurus, in the Tombs: with the lantern in front of the left mural, the one with the bull, the monocle reveals Roman numerals. Shoot the eight symbols in order, I to VIII, to draw the Taurus constellation. A lockdown of five waves follows, with Doppelghasts and Shock Mimics; the staff part drops at the end with a Max Ammo.
Orion, in the Neolithic Catacombs: with the lantern in front of the archer, shoot the ten symbols in order, I to X, for the Orion constellation. After another five-wave lockdown, the head piece drops with a Max Ammo.
The altar: bring the parts to the altar at the top of the mound in the Nexus. The staff forms in front of it while a last lockdown sends the horde at it; defend it to the end, then pick it up.

The Tombs

The room of the bull mural and of the staff part, through the north-east door of the Dig Site.

The altar of the Nexus

On top of the mound at the heart of the Dark Aether Nexus, between the four statues of the main quest. The staff is built and upgraded there.

Ull’s Arrow

Upgraded, the staff becomes Ull’s Arrow, named after Ullr, a Norse god tied to winter. The upgrade works on any Staff of Ice, built or won from the Box, and it is required for the main quest.

With the staff, freeze three purple Aetheric Lanterns within 10 seconds. A line from Sir Archibald confirms the step.
In the Nexus, three floating rocks now carry a symbol each. Shoot them with the staff to bring them down, and note the three symbols.
One of the four portals to the Nexus closes. Go to the opposite side of that portal and shoot the same three symbols to reopen it. If no symbol shows on the floor in front of the portal, the code is wrong, and the portal drops the player to their death.
Go through the portal and interact with the orb that appears in the Nexus. It drifts around the area: every player must follow it, or it fails and the symbols have to be done again at another portal the next round.
When the orb reaches the altar, the altar glows: interact with it to upgrade the staff.

Ull’s Arrow

As in Origins, a longer, wider blast of ice. Held down, the trigger charges a shot that bursts into a blizzard, drawing the zombies nearby into it and freezing them.

Sekhmet’s Vigor

The alternate fire of the upgraded staff, three blasts from its butt. It revives a downed teammate from a distance, and the main quest uses it to wake the four statues of the Nexus.

Finishing the main quest in Standard Mode unlocks the X91 Ice-Pike skin for the staff.