Skills - Ice Spikes

You can view this database entry at: http://www.guildwarsguru.com/skill/52-ice-spikes/.
You may add your comments in this thread.

Why have this and Shard Storm? Sure this is a little more damaging, but does the same as Shard Storm for more energy and recharge.

Ice Spikes is an area-of-effect version of Shard Storm - it damages and slows both the target and any nearby opponents, whereas Shard Storm only affects the target.

As a hydromancer, I love Ice Spikes. Shard Storm and Ice Spikes are much less similar than Ice Spikes and Deep Freeze. The most notable, and important, difference between Storm and Spikes is that Storm is a projectile. The more spells I can cast behind walls or without having to worry about the enemy dodging, the better, so I almost always take Ice Spikes and almost never take Shard Storm. As for Deep Freeze, it's practically the same spell, just Deep Freeze is more unwieldy (damn you, 4-second casting time) and always has the 10-second slowdown. In my standard PvE cold nuking build, I take both of them-- it's almost like having two Fireballs, except you can bring Maelstrom to help, and Maelstrom completely owns in PvE. Between those three, I can deal 400-something raw damage in an area in ten seconds (~25 x 10 for Maelstrom, 90 for Deep Freeze, ~70 for Ice Spikes)... plus interruption from Maelstrom.

I also use Ice Spikes in my Feast of Corruption Competition-Arena-screwing-around build. It's a relatively quick AoE hex, plus the extra damage and slowdown are very nice. (Blurred Vision works too, but you don't get the damage and it's useless vs. casters.)

where to get this skill? ty