Frostspire Expanse turns The Forge’s ore game into something much closer to a buildcraft system. Raw multipliers still matter, but once you reach Island 3 the most important rocks are the ones that carry traits – unique passives that ride along on your weapons and armor.
If you want to survive the Yeti and other late‑game enemies, you need to know which ores are worth digging for and what each one actually does once it’s in your gear.
How trait ores work in The Forge
Trait ores sit on top of the usual “multiplier” value. When you include at least one of these ores in a forge recipe, the completed item gains that ore’s passive effect.
Key points to keep in mind:
- Weapon‑only vs armor‑only vs both: Some traits apply only when the ore is used in a weapon, some only when used in armor, and a few can work on both.
- Stacking traits: You can combine multiple different trait ores in a single recipe. In that case, the finished item can inherit every trait from every trait ore you used.
- Drop chances are low: Trait ores have explicit drop odds tied to specific rock types. Expect to farm the right node types for a while to get what you want.
With that in mind, the list below covers every currently known trait ore, including the new ice‑themed ones introduced with Frostspire Expanse.
All trait ores and their effects
The table below summarizes each trait ore, its effect, where to mine it, and the general item type it works on.
| Ore | Trait effect | Works on | Typical rock sources | Approximate drop chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iceite | On hit, has a 25% chance to freeze enemies for 2 seconds, with a 12 second cooldown. | Weapon only | Icy Rock, Icy Boulder, Small/Medium/Large Ice Crystal, Floating Crystal | 1 in 9,898 |
| Snowite | On hit, has a 30% chance to slow enemy attack and movement speed by 15% for 3 seconds. | Weapon only | Icy Pebble, Icy Rock, Icy Boulder, Small Ice Crystal | 1 in 4,325 |
| Sanctis | Increases maximum stamina by 18%. | Armor only | Icy Boulder, Small/Medium/Large Ice Crystal, Floating Crystal | 1 in 1,830 |
| Velchire | Raises movement speed by 20%. | Armor only | Icy Boulder, Small/Medium/Large Ice Crystal, Floating Crystal | 1 in 1,450 |
| Aetherit | Grants 5% bonus movement speed. | Armor only | Icy Pebble, Icy Rock, Icy Boulder, Small Ice Crystal | 1 in 390 |
| Graphite | Gives 5% extra Vitality and a 20% chance on hit taken to reduce physical damage by 12%. | Armor only | Icy Pebble, Icy Rock, Icy Boulder | 1 in 315 |
| Frost Fossil | Boosts physical damage by 17.5% but reduces movement speed by 5%. | Armor and weapon | Icy Boulder, Small/Medium Ice Crystal | 1 in 820 |
| Poopite | When below 35% HP, periodically deals poison damage in an area and fears enemies for a short time, with a 15 second cooldown. | Armor and weapon | Pebble, Rock, Boulder | 1 in 131 |
| Obsidian | Increases armor defense, up to roughly 30% extra. | Armor only | Volcanic Rock | 1 in 333 |
| Rivalite | Adds critical chance to weapons, up to about 20% extra. | Weapon only | Basalt Vein, Volcanic Rock | 1 in 569 |
| Uranium | On armor, periodically deals area damage equal to 5% of your max health. | Armor only | Basalt Vein | 1 in 777 |
| Mythril | Raises armor defense by up to around 15%. | Armor only | Basalt Vein | 1 in 813 |
| Eye Ore | Lowers max health by 10% but raises damage by 15% on both weapons and armor. | Armor and weapon | Basalt Rock, Basalt Core, Basalt Vein, Volcanic Rock | 1 in 1,333 |
| Fireite | On hit, up to a 30% chance to burn enemies for 20% damage over 2 seconds. | Weapon only | Volcanic Rock | 1 in 2,187 |
| Magmaite | On hit, 35% chance to trigger an area explosion that deals 50% damage. | Weapon only | Volcanic Rock | 1 in 3,003 |
| Lightite | Improves movement speed when slotted into armor. | Armor only | Basalt Vein | 1 in 3,333 |
| Demonite | Adds a 15% chance on hit to apply a 20% burn for 2 seconds, and a 25% chance to burn attackers when you take damage. | Armor and weapon | Volcanic Rock | 1 in 3,666 |
| Darkryte | On armor, grants a 15% chance to turn into a shadow and dodge an incoming attack when you take damage. | Armor only | Volcanic Rock | 1 in 5,555 |
Trait ore tier rankings for late‑game builds
Some traits are clearly tuned for endgame DPS or survivability, while others are more situational. A practical way to think about them is by tier.
| Tier | Ores | Why they matter |
|---|---|---|
| S | Magmaite, Fireite, Darkryte, Demonite | Big damage or life‑saving defensive triggers that stay strong into late game and scale well with fast weapons and heavy armor. |
| A | Eye Ore, Obsidian | Reliable, always‑on percentages for damage or defense. Easy to build around and useful on most gear. |
| B | Uranium, Mythril, Rivalite | Solid secondary picks that add extra AoE, bulk, or crit chance on top of a main trait. |
| C | Poopite | Strong when fights regularly drop you below 35% HP, but the condition makes it less consistent. |
| D | Lightite, Frost Fossil | Usable but outclassed by later mobility and damage options; Frost Fossil’s speed penalty in particular is painful in boss content. |
Ice‑region traits like Iceite, Snowite, Sanctis, Velchire, Aetherit, and Graphite aren’t slotted into this tier chart above, but they fall into a few clear roles:
- Iceite and Snowite are control tools for weapons, built around freeze and slows rather than raw damage.
- Sanctis, Velchire, Aetherit, Graphite are comfort picks for armor, trading small but permanent bonuses in stamina, speed, or mitigation for relatively modest drop odds.
- Frost Fossil is a damage pick with a visible downside and tends to compete with hotter trait ores for the same slot.
Best trait ores to target in Frostspire Expanse
When you first arrive in Frostspire Expanse, you will not have the luxury of farming every node type equally. It helps to prioritize by role.
Best trait ores for weapon damage
- Magmaite is the standout damage trait for weapons. Its on‑hit explosion scales tightly with fast attack speed or multi‑hit weapons, turning every swing into a chance for an extra 50% blast. This is especially strong in mob‑dense areas or against bosses with adds.
- Fireite adds a reliable burn that stacks nicely with other damage modifiers and with Eye Ore’s flat damage boost. It also provides damage over time, which continues to tick while you dodge.
- Rivalite is the go‑to crit enabler for weapons if you want to lean into critical builds, particularly with fast daggers, katanas, and now spears.
- Eye Ore on weapons is a direct 15% damage increase with a health tradeoff. It pairs especially well with lifesteal or sustain‑oriented runes.
Ice‑biased offense traits have a different flavor:
- Iceite gives you rare access to a real hard CC in the form of a freeze. The 12 second cooldown prevents perma‑lock, but even periodic freezes are strong against charging enemies.
- Snowite is best seen as a kiting tool. The 15% slow to both movement and attack speed lasts long enough to repeatedly re‑position in melee boss fights.
- Frost Fossil is a budget damage increase that doesn’t require volcanic farming, though you will feel the speed penalty in any fight that demands constant dodging.
Best trait ores for armor and survivability
Armor traits in Frostspire Expanse split into two categories: statistical padding (more defense, more speed, more stamina) and reactive defenses that can save a run outright.
- Darkryte is the premium defensive trait. A 15% chance to shadow‑dodge incoming damage every time you are hit dramatically smooths out spike damage, especially on heavy armor with high defense values.
- Demonite on armor both punishes melee attackers with burn and supplements offensive pressure without changing your playstyle.
- Obsidian and Mythril are straightforward defensive boosts. They do not require specific conditions and help against everything from trash mobs to bosses.
- Uranium turns damage taken into small, automatic AoE pulses. It shines when you are frequently surrounded by enemies, less so in pure single‑target boss fights.
- Poopite is risky but useful in content where dropping under 35% HP is common. The poison aura and fear around you buy breathing room at the most dangerous moment.
The Frostspire‑native defensive traits fill very specific gaps:
- Sanctis fixes stamina problems for builds that rely heavily on sprinting and blocking, increasing your max stamina by almost a fifth.
- Velchire and Aetherit give persistent movement speed on armor, which layers cleanly with rune‑based speed buffs and races like Dwarf or Angel.
- Graphite is underrated for melee tanks. The bonus Vitality and the chance to reduce physical damage each time you are hit add up well in long boss encounters.
- Lightite is another movement filler trait, but its lower rating reflects how often builds already stack speed from runes and races.
Trait ores and spear builds in the Winter Update
Spears arrived with Frostspire Expanse and immediately benefit from trait ores that favor high hit counts and mid‑range control.
For late‑game spear recipes, the strongest trait ore trio in general use is Magmaite + Eye Ore + Fireite. Together they do three things at once: they raise base damage, add an explosion chance on each attack, and give you a high burn chance, all on a weapon that can poke from mid range.
Spear crafting itself rewards careful ore counts. When you load the crucible with exactly 16 ores, you sit at roughly a 69% chance to produce a Spear‑type weapon, which is currently the best known balance between success rate and multiplier potential. You can push more or fewer ores into a recipe to chase higher multipliers or different trait mixes, but your odds of getting the Spear category drop as you move off that 16‑ore sweet spot.
Spears become available automatically after you reach level 70 and unlock Frostspire Expanse (Island 3). Once you are there, you can start mining both volcanic and icy nodes to assemble hybrid weapons such as:
- A freeze spear with Iceite and Snowite for crowd control, backed by Eye Ore for damage, aimed at locking down fast enemies in the ice caverns.
- A burn‑explosion spear with Magmaite, Fireite, and Rivalite focused on stacking burns and explosions while fishing for crits.
On top of ore traits, rune choices still matter. Blast Chip and Drain Edge remain two of the strongest universal runes for raw DPS and sustain, and they combine naturally with high‑damage trait mixes on spears, katanas, and daggers alike.
Where to farm each trait ore efficiently
Because drop chances are listed in “1 in X” form, you can route your farming around the most efficient rock types instead of wandering randomly.
- Icy nodes (Frostspire Expanse): If you are hunting Iceite, Snowite, Sanctis, Velchire, Aetherit, Graphite, or Frost Fossil, live in the Icy Pebble/Rock/Boulder corridor and the Ice Crystal fields. Larger crystals and Floating Crystals give you access to the rarest icy traits like Iceite at the cost of slower node clears.
- Basalt Veins: Best for Lightite, Uranium, Mythril, Rivalite, Aetherit (in earlier regions), and Eye Ore. You can AFK farm some of these by standing where your pickaxe consistently hits respawning Basalt Veins.
- Volcanic Rock: Essential for Magmaite, Fireite, Obsidian, Demonite, Darkryte, Eye Ore, and Rivalite. Volcanic Rock is the late‑game trait jackpot, so any mining‑luck or rune‑based yield bonuses pay off here more than anywhere else.
- Generic Pebble/Rock/Boulder: Home to Poopite drops. These are more common but much less build‑defining than volcanic traits.
How traits interact when you forge gear
When you combine multiple trait ores in a single recipe, the resulting item can inherit all their passives. A heavy chestplate forged with Eye Ore, Uranium, Mythril, and Lightite, for example, can trade health for damage, periodically pulse AoE damage, raise defense, and move faster at the same time.
There are a few practical rules to keep that stacking manageable:
- Pick one or two defining traits, then pad the rest: For weapons, Magmaite or Demonite can be your main trait, with Eye Ore or Rivalite as padding. For armor, Darkryte or Obsidian can anchor a build with smaller traits like Graphite layered on top.
- Respect downsides: Eye Ore’s health penalty and Frost Fossil’s movement debuff are real. Only stack them if your runes, armor class, or race can compensate.
- Align traits with runes: Movement‑focused armor traits like Velchire and Lightite are most noticeable if your rune setup already leans into speed or dodge playstyles. Similarly, crit‑focused traits make the most sense if you have runes that scale crit damage or attack speed.
Trait ores are the backbone of late‑game identity in The Forge. Once Frostspire Expanse is open a,d you’re past level 70, shaping your builds around the right rocks is just as important as chasing new weapon types or boss drops.
