Frostpeak Tundra — Map Guide
Frostpeak Tundra is Mission 07 — the penultimate map before the campaign finale, and one of the most mechanically demanding levels in the game. Every wave enemies arrive faster than the last. Avalanches periodically block one path entirely for eight seconds. Ice terrain slows your towers' rotation speed, reducing their effective DPS against fast-moving targets. The Iron Warden boss is an armoured juggernaut with resistance to almost everything. By this point the game expects you to be good.
Map Overview & Terrain
Frostpeak Tundra is set on a high-altitude mountain plateau permanently gripped by ice and snow. Two paths wind through glacial formations and frozen rock walls — one cutting across the lower tundra floor, one running along the upper ice shelf. Both converge at a frozen bridge before your base.
The terrain is defined by three unique properties. First, ice tiles — large sections of the path and surrounding terrain are covered in polished ice that slows tower rotation speed by 30%. This matters because faster enemies on later waves change direction as they round path corners, and a tower with slowed rotation takes longer to track them through the turn, losing attack windows. Second, avalanche zones — marked sections of the upper path that periodically trigger avalanche events, dropping snow and rock that block the path for approximately 8 seconds before clearing. Third, the constant speed escalation — each new wave starts with enemies moving measurably faster than the previous wave, ramping to near-sprint speed by Wave 7.
Map Layout Diagram
The upper ice shelf path (right) runs past the avalanche zone. The lower tundra path (left) is ice-covered but stable. Both converge at the frozen bridge section before your base. Avalanche events block the upper path at the marked zone.
Best Chokepoint Positions
Both chokepoints are on rock tiles — the only non-ice, non-snow positions that avoid the rotation penalty. This is not coincidental; the map is designed around these positions. Placing towers on ice tiles adjacent to the chokepoints incurs the rotation penalty without any positioning benefit.
The left path is stable — no avalanche zone, no ice rotation penalty at the chokepoint tile. Your main party (Defender + Healer + Archer) belongs here. The rock walls on either side create a tight single-tile block. Critical on this map: place all towers on rock tiles, not the ice or snow tiles immediately adjacent. The rock tiles at this chokepoint are identifiable by their darker brown-grey texture versus the blue-white of ice. Speed escalation makes the rotation penalty increasingly punishing each wave — if your Archer is on ice for even Waves 5–7, it will start missing shots as Frost Berserkers sprint around the path corner.
The upper path's chokepoint is on a rock tile just south of the avalanche zone. This is the correct position, but requires awareness of avalanche timing. When an avalanche triggers (approximately every 45 seconds), the upper path blocks for 8 seconds — enemies that were walking the upper path before the block pile up behind it. When the block clears, they surge through rapidly. Your Chokepoint B Defender must survive an immediate density spike the moment the avalanche clears. Keep this Defender's HP high before avalanche events — watch the audio cue (distant rumbling) that precedes an avalanche trigger by 3 seconds.
Wave-by-Wave Breakdown
Seven waves with escalating enemy speed. The speed escalation is quantified below. Wave 7 enemies move at approximately 2.5× Wave 1 speed — comparable to the fast Spore Runners from Deep Forest, but these are heavy-HP enemies moving at that pace.
| Wave | Enemies | New Threat | Priority Action | Danger |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frost Goblins (L+R) · 1.0× speed · Normal HP · First avalanche possible Wave 1 | Avalanche zone introduced | Establish both chokepoints on rock tiles only. First avalanche can trigger any time — watch the upper path audio. Frost Goblins at 1.0× speed are no harder than standard goblins. | Low |
| 2 | Frost Goblins + Ice Wolves (R) · 1.2× speed · Ice Wolves first appear | Ice Wolves (fast, low HP, pack behaviour) | Ice Wolves travel in packs of 3–4 and all arrive at the chokepoint simultaneously. A single Defender cannot block all of them — the side ones wrap around and reach the Healer. Ensure Archer #2 at Chokepoint B kills the pack before they reach the chokepoint, not at it. | Low |
| 3 | Ice Wolves + Tundra Yetis (L) · 1.4× speed · First tank enemy | Tundra Yetis (very high HP, physical resistance, slow) | Tundra Yetis are slow but absorb enormous physical damage — they're the Deep Forest Root Elemental equivalent for this map. Use magic or fire damage items. Their slowness partially offsets their HP; they will sit at Chokepoint A for a long time. Healer sustain is critical here. | Medium |
| 4 | Tundra Yetis + Ice Wolves + Frost Archers (R) · 1.6× speed · Ranged enemies on upper path | Frost Archers (ranged, fire from 4 tiles, both paths active) | Frost Archers mirror Skeleton Archers from Sunken Ruins — they fire from range before reaching the chokepoint. Reposition Healer further back before this wave. Ice terrain on the upper path means any tower tracking Frost Archers on ice tiles will miss turning shots. Ensure Archer #2 is on rock. | Medium |
| 5 | Ice Wolves (2× pack size) + Frost Archers + Tundra Yetis · 1.9× speed · Dense | Doubled Ice Wolf pack size — 6–8 wolves per pack | Large Ice Wolf packs at 1.9× speed overwhelm a single Defender. The pack wraps around the Defender's sides and the excess wolves directly target the Archer and Healer. Use Tangy to throw wolves back mid-pack. Alternatively, a root item (Ivy Bow) stops the pack leader and blocks the rest behind it. | High |
| 6 | Frost Berserkers (L+R) + Tundra Yetis + Frost Archers · 2.2× speed · First Berserker | Frost Berserkers (sprint speed, high HP, armoured) | Frost Berserkers are the most dangerous non-boss enemy on this map. They move at 2.2× speed, have high HP, and wear ice armour that absorbs the first hit each combat. Fire damage bypasses the armour. If your Archer has Pyromancer's Quiver, Berserkers lose their armour absorption and die at normal speed. Without fire damage, they take two effective hits where fire damage enemies take one. | High |
| 7 | Frost Berserkers + Elite Ice Wolves + Elite Tundra Yetis · 2.5× speed · Maximum density · Pre-boss | All elite variants · Maximum speed · Avalanche risk highest | The hardest pre-boss wave in the game. Everything is faster, tougher, and appears in the same wave simultaneously. Avalanche events can occur during this wave — watch for the rumble, brace Chokepoint B for the post-block surge. After clear: full heal, Cauldron, Iron Warden pre-pull. | Pre-Boss |
Key Mechanics: Speed Escalation, Avalanche & Ice Terrain
Speed escalation — wave-over-wave enemy acceleration
Enemy movement speed increases by a fixed multiplier at the start of each new wave. The multiplier does not reset between waves — Wave 3 enemies move at 1.4× permanently, not just for the wave opener. This escalation means your static tower setup that was adequate for Wave 3 speed must also handle Wave 7 speed. Attack speed items become more valuable each wave — at 2.5× enemy speed, a slow-firing Archer misses almost all shots on enemies moving around path corners. Prioritise attack speed upgrades in the mid-game inter-wave periods.
Avalanche — path block and surge
Avalanche events trigger approximately every 45 seconds from the wave start clock. When one triggers, a preset section of the upper ice shelf path (the avalanche zone tiles) becomes impassable for 8 seconds. Any enemy in the avalanche zone at the moment of the trigger is not killed — it is pushed back to the tile immediately behind the zone entrance and waits. When the 8 seconds expire, all waiting enemies surge through simultaneously. The surge volume scales with how many enemies were in transit on the upper path at the time of the avalanche.
The avalanche audio cue (a distant cracking-rumble sound) plays 3 seconds before the trigger. Use those 3 seconds to check Chokepoint B's Defender HP and activate any defensive items. The surge is predictable — it always happens, always at Chokepoint B, and always the same width. What varies is how many enemies are in the surge based on wave density.
Ice terrain rotation penalty
Any tower placed on an ice tile has its facing rotation speed reduced by 30%. Tower rotation matters for moving targets — an enemy walking along a path curves around corners, and the tower must rotate its firing angle to track it. At slow speeds (Waves 1–2), a 30% rotation penalty barely registers. At 2.5× speed (Wave 7), a tower on ice loses entire enemies around corners without firing a single shot. Place all towers on non-ice tiles. If a chokepoint position is on ice, accept a suboptimal position one tile forward or backward that is on rock or snow instead.
Recommended Tower Setup
Item Priorities for This Map
Attack speed is king on Frostpeak Tundra — more so than any previous map. Fire damage handles Frost Berserker armour. Physical damage items are partially effective on Ice Wolves but poor against Yetis and Berserkers.
Priority items for this map
Rapid Fire String is the highest-priority item on Frostpeak Tundra. The attack speed bonus directly counteracts the speed escalation mechanic — faster-firing Archers can land more shots on enemies before they round path corners, even on ice terrain adjacent positions. At Wave 7's 2.5× enemy speed, the difference between a Rapid Fire String Archer and a base-speed Archer is approximately 3 extra shots per enemy pass-through.
Pyromancer's Quiver on your secondary Archer at Chokepoint B is critical specifically for Frost Berserker armour bypassing from Wave 6 onwards. Fire damage negates the armour absorption entirely. Without fire damage, Berserkers at 2.2–2.5× speed with armour intact can reach the Defender before being killed.
Haste Rune on the Defender itself increases the Defender's own attack speed and block reaction time — a minor but meaningful contribution when Frost Berserkers sprint into the chokepoint. A Defender that reacts faster to blocking incoming units sustains less burst damage per sprint cycle.
Iron Warden — Boss Phase
The Iron Warden is a heavily armoured golem-type boss stationed at the far end of the frozen tundra. It is the most armoured boss in the game to this point — resistant to physical, cold, and partial magic damage. Fire and lightning are its primary weaknesses. It moves slowly but hits with tremendous force.
The Iron Warden's primary mechanics include a Shield Wall ability that absorbs all incoming damage for 4 seconds (cooldown 20 seconds), a Ground Pound AoE that shakes tiles in a 3-tile radius, and a Phase 2 Overcharge at 40% HP that temporarily doubles its attack speed and damage output. The fight is a sustained DPS race against its regeneration — the Warden slowly heals during the Shield Wall window.
Full phase breakdown of the Iron Warden including Shield Wall timing windows, Ground Pound safe zones, how to maximise DPS during the Warden's Shield Wall cooldown, Phase 2 Overcharge survival, and the fire/lightning damage items that dramatically reduce kill time.
→ Read the Iron Warden Boss GuideCommon Mistakes on This Map
Placing towers on ice tiles
The ice terrain penalty is invisible — there's no on-screen warning that tells you a tower is on ice. Players place their Archers on blue-tinted tiles that look like valid ground and don't notice the rotation penalty until Wave 5–6 when enemies start sprinting past the firing arc. Before each wave, verify all towers are on rock or snow tiles, not ice. The chokepoint tiles in this guide are verified rock positions.
Not preparing for the avalanche surge at Chokepoint B
The avalanche audio cue is subtle. Players focused on managing Chokepoint A during a heavy wave miss the rumble sound, and when the avalanche clears, an unexpected surge of backed-up enemies hits Chokepoint B's Defender simultaneously. The Defender at Chokepoint B needs to enter every avalanche event near full HP. Watch the game clock between avalanche events — they trigger approximately every 45 seconds, so you can predict when the next one is due.
Under-investing in attack speed
Players who carry magic damage or flat DPS items from Sunken Ruins find those items performing progressively worse each wave as enemy speed escalates. By Wave 6, a standard-speed Archer with high raw damage still loses shots around corners. Attack speed items are the correct priority here — faster shots hit fast targets more reliably than high-damage slow shots that miss. Rapid Fire String mid-map is a better use of upgrade resources than a second DPS item.
Trying to DPS through the Iron Warden's Shield Wall
The Shield Wall absorbs 100% of incoming damage for its 4-second duration. Players who continue attacking during Shield Wall waste their attack speed windows entirely. When Shield Wall activates (marked by a blue dome animation), pause all damage output and reposition if needed. Resume damage the instant the dome drops. Managing the 16-second DPS window between Shield Walls is the core loop of the boss fight.