Frozen Arrow Buff 2026: Is It Worth Upgrading Now?

Supercell announced the change on 17 October 2026, inside its wider October balance changes.

I pulled the current level table from the fan wiki and lined it up with Supercell's numbers. That's where every figure on this page comes from.

All numbers here are as of October 2026.

Frozen Arrow is Epic equipment for the Archer Queen. It first showed up in the Dragon Festival event in February 2024. Since April 2024 it can appear in the Trader for 1,500 gems.

Its ability is simple. Icy arrows slow down whatever the Queen hits.

The slow works on more than buildings. It also hits defending Clan Castle troops and enemy heroes.

There's one catch. The frost fades fast once the Queen stops hitting that target. So the slow lasts only while she keeps shooting the same thing.

The arrow also gives the Queen extra damage per second. That boost grows with each level, from 35 at level 1 to 168 at level 27.

Supercell listed two upgrades in its post.

1. 1The slow goes up by 5 percentage points at every level.
2. 2Damage goes up at levels 21 to 27. At max level it moves from 168 to 175 per second.

The first change reaches every player who owns the arrow. The second one only matters near the top.

Supercell didn't publish the new damage values for levels 21 to 26. It only gave the max level figure. So this page shows those levels at their current damage and doesn't guess the new ones.

You can read the full Supercell post for the original wording.

The slow only changes at certain levels, so here's the table at each step. The new column adds Supercell's 5 points to the current value.

Supercell didn't mention any change to the slow duration. The last column is the current value from the wiki.

The slow steps up every three levels. Levels in between keep the slow of the step below them.

A flat 5 points isn't the same boost at every level. It's a bigger share of a small number.

I compared the change against the current slow at both ends of the table.

1. 1At level 1, the slow goes from 25% to 30%. That's a fifth more slow than before.
2. 2At level 27, it goes from 65% to 70%. That's about 8% more slow than before.

So a player with a level 9 arrow gets a real jump. Their 37% slow becomes 42%, more than a level 12 arrow gives today.

That's good news if you bought the arrow and stopped upgrading it. You get a free step up without spending any ore.

Not many people. Supercell says it shows up in around 7% of attacks. Those attacks get three stars about 31% of the time.

The average for every attack in the same data is 53%. Frozen Arrow sits well under that.

For scale, Fire Heart appears in almost 40% of attacks in the same data. That's why it got nerfed while Frozen Arrow got buffed.

These rates come from one slice of the game. Supercell used TH18 attacks on TH18 bases in Clan Wars and CWL, over the four weeks before the post.

So the low numbers describe top level war. They don't say the arrow is weak at TH13.

I counted the ore in the wiki's level table, from level 1 to level 27.

The top levels are the expensive part. Levels 21 to 27 alone need 23,100 Shiny Ore. That's where the new damage boost lands.

You also need a level 9 Blacksmith for levels 25 to 27.

Starry Ore is the hard limit for most players. The arrow needs it at levels 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24 and 27. If you're short, our guide to getting more ore lists every source.

The slow is worth the most on defenses that hurt the Queen fast. The fan wiki's strategy notes name these targets:

1. 1A single target Inferno Tower.
2. 2The Monolith.
3. 3The Firespitter.
4. 4The Air Defense and the Scattershot.

It also helps against the Eagle Artillery once it's active, because that defense fires slowly anyway.

The slow stacks with a Poison Spell. A Clan Castle troop hit by both barely moves. It also stacks with the slow from the Frosty pet.

That makes the arrow strongest where one defense guards the Queen's path. Slow that defense and she walks through.

The arrow needs at least one hit before the slow starts. So a target fires at full speed until her first arrow lands.

After that, the Queen keeps it frozen. The frost lasts longer than the gap between her shots, so a target stays slowed while she keeps hitting it.

Here's how that shapes a walk.

1. 1Point the Queen at the most dangerous defense on her path first.
2. 2Keep your Healers on her so she can stay on that target.
3. 3Don't let her switch targets early, because the frost fades fast.

In a charge, the same idea applies. Pick the defense that would break the charge and let her freeze it first.

The fan wiki's notes suggest two partners for the arrow.

The Healer Puppet is the first. It gives the Queen extra healing and can free up army space for other troops. That keeps her alive while the slow does its work.

The Invisibility Vial is the second. It can make the Queen invisible when too much fire lands on her.

The same notes advise against pairing it with the Giant Arrow. They say Giant Arrow only adds damage after its ability fires and brings no healing or survival.

Our Archer Queen equipment guide compares every one of her pieces side by side.

Here's a simple way to decide.

1. 1Upgrade it if you run Queen walks or Queen charges in war.
2. 2Upgrade it if it's already level 18 or higher. You're close to the levels that get the damage boost.
3. 3Wait if your Starry Ore is already planned for a hero you use every attack.
4. 4Wait if you never bring the Queen to war at all.

The slow buff costs you nothing. Every owner gets it when the change goes live, at whatever level they hold.

The damage buff is different. It only pays off if you push past level 20, and that's the most expensive part of the table.

A few things stay unknown for now.

The new damage values for levels 21 to 26 aren't public. Only the max level number is.

The post didn't mention the slow duration either. So the duration column above should stay as it is, unless a later update says otherwise.

Supercell also says it'll watch how attacks change and adjust again if needed. A 7% pick rate could jump after the buff. If it jumps too far, a later tweak is possible.

That's normal for these posts. Treat the new numbers as the plan for now, not a promise for the whole season.

The cheapest test is a friendly challenge. It costs no ore and no army time.

Pick one base with a single target Inferno or a Monolith near the edge. Send your Queen at that defense with the arrow on. Watch how long she survives compared to her usual setup.

Run the same base twice, once with the arrow and once without. That tells you more than any table.

If you need good test layouts, browse fresh TH18 bases and pick a few with strong single target defenses. Then decide where your ore goes.