If you’ve searched for “the code for the Ice Staff” in Skyrim, there’s one thing worth knowing before anything else: there isn’t a single item literally named “Ice Staff.” Skyrim actually has a small family of frost-damage staves — Staff of Frostbite, Staff of Ice Spikes, Staff of Ice Storms, and Staff of Icy Spear — each stronger than the last. Most players asking for “the ice staff code” are looking for one of these, usually Staff of Ice Spikes, which is the most commonly referenced frost staff in player guides and videos.
This guide covers the real console commands for spawning these staves, verified item codes, and the actual mechanics behind how they work.
The Frost Staff Family in Skyrim
Each frost staff deals damage and scales in power with the level you’d normally need to craft or find it:
- Staff of Frostbite — the entry-level frost staff, using the base Frostbite spell effect.
- Staff of Ice Spikes — a mid-tier frost staff dealing 25 points of frost damage to Health and Stamina per hit.
- Staff of Ice Storms — a stronger frost staff, dealing 40 points of frost damage in a 15-foot radius.
- Staff of Icy Spear — the most powerful standard frost staff, dealing 60 points of frost damage to Health and Stamina.
Frost damage in Skyrim also drains Stamina alongside Health, which makes these staves particularly effective against enemies that rely on power attacks or heavy stamina use, since a drained target swings slower and blocks less effectively.
Verified Console Codes

According to the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP), the community-maintained reference wiki for the series, the base game item codes for these staves are:
- Staff of Ice Spikes:
0004ded8 - Staff of Ice Storms:
00029b83
To add either one to your inventory, open the console with the tilde key (~) and enter:
player.additem 0004ded8 1
for the Staff of Ice Spikes, or
player.additem 00029b83 1
for the Staff of Ice Storms.
For the Staff of Frostbite or Staff of Icy Spear, or if you’re playing with the Dragonborn DLC or any mods that might affect item IDs, the safest method is to look the code up yourself in-game rather than relying on a code from any article, including this one — codes can vary slightly depending on your exact game version and installed content.
How to Find Any Item’s Code Yourself
This is the single most reliable method, and it works for literally any item in the game, not just staves:
- Open the console with the tilde (
~) key. - Type
help "staff of ice" 4(the quotation marks matter) and press enter. - The console will list every matching item along with its exact code for your specific game installation.
- Close the console, then use
player.additem [code] [quantity]with the code you found.
This matters more than it might seem: a code from an outdated guide, or one affected by DLC content shifting item prefixes, can add the wrong item entirely — or nothing at all. Looking it up yourself takes about ten seconds and removes any guesswork.
Other Useful Console Basics
A few related commands worth knowing if you’re already using the console for this:
help [item name] 4— searches for any item matching that name and returns its code.player.additem [code] [quantity]— adds the specified quantity of that item to your inventory.- Items from DLC content typically show a code prefixed with
xxin the help search results — replacexxwith the actual load-order prefix for your installation (usually01if you only have one DLC/plugin active, but this varies).
Should You Use Console Commands?

This comes down to personal preference, and there’s no wrong answer. A few things worth weighing:
In favor: console commands on PC don’t disable Steam achievements in standard Skyrim, so there’s no progression penalty for using them. They’re genuinely useful for testing builds, recovering from a bugged quest, or just skipping a grind you’re not interested in. They can also make the game meaningfully more accessible for players who find certain quests physically demanding to complete through normal controls.
Against: using console commands to spawn high-level gear early can reduce the sense of progression that a lot of players enjoy in an RPG, and it won’t work at all on console versions of the game (Xbox and PlayStation don’t support console commands — this is a PC-only feature). If you’re playing on console, you’ll need to find or craft these staves through normal gameplay, or use a mod if you’re on a platform that supports mod support with scripted item additions.
There’s no objectively correct way to play a single-player game — if console commands make your experience more enjoyable, that’s a perfectly good reason to use them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the console code for the Ice Staff in Skyrim?
There’s no single item called “Ice Staff” — the frost staff family includes Staff of Frostbite, Staff of Ice Spikes (code 0004ded8), Staff of Ice Storms (code 00029b83), and Staff of Icy Spear, each with different damage and cost.
How do I open the console in Skyrim?
Press the tilde key (~), typically located below the Escape key, while in-game on the PC version.
Do console commands disable achievements in Skyrim?
No. In the standard PC version of Skyrim, using console commands does not disable Steam achievements.
Can I use console commands on Xbox or PlayStation?
No. Console commands are a PC-exclusive feature. Xbox and PlayStation versions don’t support this functionality.
Why isn’t the item code I found online working?
Item codes can shift slightly depending on your game version, installed DLC, or active mods. The most reliable method is using help "item name" 4 in your own game to get the exact code for your installation, rather than relying on a code from any outside source.
What’s the difference between Staff of Ice Spikes and Staff of Ice Storms?
Staff of Ice Spikes deals 25 points of frost damage per hit; Staff of Ice Storms deals 40 points of frost damage in a 15-foot radius, making it better against groups of enemies at the cost of a higher charge cost per use.
The Bottom Line
Skyrim’s frost staff family offers a genuinely useful ranged option for mage builds, particularly against stamina-reliant enemies. If you’d rather spawn one in than hunt it down or craft it, the console codes above will get you there — but when in doubt, or if you’re running mods, use the in-game help command to confirm the exact code for your setup rather than trusting any single outside source, this guide included.



