Ice Arrow

The Ice Arrow is an upgrade to Link's bow arsenal that has made several appearances throughout the Zelda series, first appearing in Ocarina of Time.

Uses
The weapon infuses arrows with the power of ice, allowing them to freeze many enemies and make ice platforms across the water. They are also typically among the more powerful projectile weapons at Link's disposal. They deplete Link's magic, so they must be used sparingly.

Ocarina of Time
In Ocarina of Time, Link can obtain the Ice Arrow from the Gerudo's Training Ground, a challenging maze-like area in the Gerudo Fortress. It is an optional quest since the Ice Arrows are not required to complete the game. However, they might come in handy to freeze enemies for easy killing. Frozen enemies thaw after a few seconds or when hit with another attack. The freezing also does damage, meaning that against enemies that can be frozen, Ice Arrows do twice as much damage as regular, Fire, or Light Arrows. (Enemies that are invulnerable to freezing will only take as much damage as they would from any other kind of Arrow.) Notably, if an enemy takes enough damage to kill it and freezes in the process it will not die until it thaws.

Majora's Mask
In Majora's Mask, the Ice Arrows are an absolute necessity, and are more of a puzzle-solving tool than a weapon. They are found in Great Bay Temple after defeating its mini-boss, Wart, and are used to freeze water to make ice paths, freeze waterfalls in the temple, and to trap enemies in blocks of ice. They are also necessary to cross the Ikana River and be able to reach the upper portion of the Ikana Canyon. Unlike in Ocarina of Time, where freezing does additional damage, in Majora's Mask enemies frozen with the Ice Arrows take no damage at all, perhaps to make it easier to use frozen enemies as platforms. (As before, enemies that cannot be frozen will take the same amount of damage they would from a normal Arrow.) Fewer enemies in Majora's Mask can be frozen than in Ocarina of Time.

The Wind Waker
In The Wind Waker, Link must obtain the Ice Arrows to proceed further in the game. The young hero gains the Ice Arrows in the larger island of Mother and Child Isles (which can only be accessed with the "Ballad of Gales") from the Fairy Queen, along with the Fire Arrows. They are used to freeze Fire Mountain so Link can go inside and claim the Power Bracelets. However, the Fairy Queen will not hand over the ability to use the Ice Arrows until Link has rescued his sister, Aryll, from the Forsaken Fortress.

The Ice Arrows in combination with the Skull Hammer is a very effective weapon. Upon freezing an enemy with an Ice Arrow, one blow with the Skull Hammer will completely shatter almost every enemy, including the Wizzrobe Master. Some flying enemies will be destroyed simply from falling to the ground after being frozen.