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Ice

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Ice is a hazard in Pikmin 4. It is non-fatal, and cannot outright harm Pikmin, but it can freeze them solid, leaving them vulnerable to other hazards or being eaten. Ice Pikmin and Glow Pikmin are completely immune to ice, however. Ice also affects the player character and Oatchi if they do not have the Thermal Defense equipped. It is also something that can affect bodies of water, enemies, and some obstacles, mostly by having Ice Pikmin or ice blasts hit them.

Sources

Ice is emitted by a few sources.

Ice Pikmin

Main article: Ice Pikmin.

Ice Pikmin are the main way of dealing with and making use of ice in the game. They are invulnerable to any ice hazards, and can freeze bodies of water and enemies.

Thermal Defense

Main article: Thermal Defense.

The Thermal Defense is a piece of gear that both the player character and Oatchi can equip. It makes the wearer completely immune to ice hazards.

Mechanics

Freezing Pikmin

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Pikmin 4.
Particularly:

  • Document whether they can be frozen if they're in the deep waters of Serene Shores.
  • Document whether frozen Pikmin can be thawed with a fire starter.

Pikmin that are not Ice Pikmin or Glow Pikmin will instantly be encased in ice if they touch ice from an enemy or obstacle, and in this state they will be unable to move or act. Unlike most other hazards, this is non-fatal, and the Pikmin can stay in this state indefinitely. Also unlike most other hazards, when this happens their maturity does not decrease. The only way to unfreeze a Pikmin is by whistling it – bumping does not work –, or by having it get hit by some other hazard.

Pikmin can also be frozen by ice blasts, even if used by the player. Rock Pikmin become vulnerable to crushing when frozen, which is normally a hazard they're immune to. Wild Pikmin are also able to become frozen. If Pikmin are on or under water that is not very deep when it gets frozen, they simply instantly go to the ice's surface, and if they were carrying something they become idle instead.[1]

Freezing the leader and Oatchi

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Pikmin 4.
Particularly:

  • Expand.
  • Document how they can be frozen if they're in the deep waters of Serene Shores.
  • Document whether they can be thawed with a fire starter.
  • Document whether Ice Pikmin can freeze the other leader and dog in Dandori Battles.
  • Document how to free them when they are controlled by the player.
  • Document how to free them using the other leader.

Similarly to Pikmin, the player character and Oatchi will be instantly encased in ice if they touch hazardous ice from an enemy, obstacle, or an ice blast. If they are on or under water that is not very deep when it gets frozen, they simply instantly go to the ice's surface. The same happens if Oatchi is swimming on the water's surface.

Freezing enemies and obstacles

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Pikmin 4.
Particularly:

  • List all enemies that are immune to ice.
  • Document how fire starters interact with frozen enemies and obstacles.
  • Document how enemies can be frozen by other enemies, and the hydro jelly too.
  • Document whether obstacles can freeze enemies.
  • Document special ways of freezing some enemies, like the Foolix absorbing many Ice Pikmin.

Most enemies can be frozen as well. Whenever an enemy gets hit by anything that contributes towards freezing it, a cyan ring will appear around its health wheel. There are a few ways for the gauge to increase.

  • Being attacked by an Ice Pikmin. Each enemy has a specified amount of hits that it can sustain before freezing.
  • Ingesting an Ice Pikmin. This increases the gauge by a value equal to 10 attacks.
  • Being hit by an ice blast.
  • Touching a body of water the moment it becomes frozen. This instantly freezes the creature and has some special rules described below.

If 12 seconds go by with no progress made to the incomplete gauge, it will fully reset. Once the gauge is full, the enemy freezes entirely, and can no longer act. The only way to get out of this state is by unfreezing naturally, which happens after 6 seconds, or by losing all of its health. Throughout being frozen an enemy will shake periodically, and when there's about one second left, it will shake violently. When an enemy unfreezes by itself, the ice cracks, and any latched Pikmin will be knocked to the ground.

If an enemy is defeated frozen, it will instantly shatter into chunks of ice without leaving a corpse, instead producing a drop of nectar or ultra spicy spray for stronger enemies, similar to enemies killed while petrified by ultra-bitter spray. Moss is the exception to this, in that she will instead stop being frozen and become knocked out like normal. Any enemy that is airborne when the freezing happens, whether because it is flying, jumping, or got slightly bounced in the air by a rush slam, will fall to the ground and shatter, instantly dying.[2]

Any enemies that are in contact with a body of water when it gets frozen will instantly freeze. In this way, they cannot unfreeze by themselves, and as soon as the water unfreezes, so do they, instantly. Enemies under the water's surface cannot be reached in this state, but any enemy that's on the surface or partially submersed can be attacked with ease.

Ice Pikmin do not contribute to freezing an enemy solely from landing from a throw. This also means that enemies that die from contact with a Pikmin, like White Spectralids, cannot be frozen with Ice Pikmin.

Some obstacles like hydro jelly can also be frozen. They use the same cyan ring system, but will never unfreeze.

Freezing bodies of water

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Pikmin 4.
Particularly:

  • Document whether fire starters do anything.
  • Document whether enemies can freeze bodies of water.

Bodies of water and puddles of mud can be frozen solid, and in this state, leaders and Pikmin can safely walk on top of the ice.

To freeze one, Ice Pikmin can be thrown in, or an ice blast can be used. When pointing the cursor at a body of water with Ice Pikmin as the standby type, a display will appear telling the player how many Ice Pikmin are needed to freeze it, and how many are on it right now. When enough are thrown, the entire body of water instantly turns to ice. This transformation instantly makes the water flash white and then quickly fade to a normal icy look as a puff of water vapor appears near the Pikmin. An ice blast will instantly freeze any body of water, regardless of its size. What happens to different things that are in contact with the water when the freeze happens depends on the thing itself, as documented in the sections above.

With the water frozen, the Ice Pikmin that were thrown in get stuck with their upper bodies poking out of the ice's surface. When the water is no longer being actively cooled, it will start cracking after a few seconds. After a few more seconds, it unfreezes completely and returns to normal. The process lasts 8 seconds, and for thrown Ice Pikmin, it begins when they get whistled out of the water, and for ice blasts it begins immediately after the blast occurs. If an ice blast explodes on top of a frozen body of water, the countdown restarts.

Ice in other forms

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Pikmin 4.
Particularly: Expand. Isn't there also a cave that requires the Thermal Defense?

In some cold caves, blocks of ice exist that cool the air in the room around them. These can be destroyed by any type of Pikmin.

Gallery

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See also

References

  1. ^ YouTube video of Blue Pikmin carrying something when the water freezes, published on August 10th, 2023, retrieved on August 18th, 2023
  2. ^ YouTube video of a player instantly knocking Moss out by rushing against her just before freezing her, published on August 9th, 2023, retrieved on August 13th, 2023