Cold Damage

Cold is one of the types of damage in Diablo III. It is blue in appearance and much sought after for the chilling or freezing effect if has on targets. Chilled enemies are slowed, while frozen enemies are locked motionless for some duration of time. Characters, bosses, and champions can not be frozen, but all may be chilled.

Cold damage is dealt by a wide variety of character skills and spells, and can be added to skills with runestones. It is also a common modifier found on items, and is much sought after for the chilling/slowing effect it adds to attacks.

Numerous monsters pack cold damage as well, and bosses may manifest it with the Frozen boss modifier.

Cold damage can be resisted, as well as reduced or absorbed, but not blocked.

Critical hits scored with Cold damage freeze enemies for a short duration of time.

Diablo III Damage Types

Cold damage splashes snow-like ice crystals. The orange streak is from the Barbarian's Cleave skill.

Blizzard's @Diablo Twitter feed added some clarification about damage types in posts made in early December 2010.[1]

any change in the range of damage types to include holy, shadow, voodoo or anything else to match the classes? —Scyberdragon

Damage types will likely change some but are currently Physical, Fire, Lightning, Cold, Poison, Disease, Arcane, and Holy. —Diablo

Whats the difference between poison and disease damage?—WickedBubba
Disease has a damage debuff (both intake and output), and poison has a health debuff (regen/heal). Subject to change of course.—Diablo

Is there much difference between poison and disease? They’re both internal maladies that hurt over a period of time.—Grug

Fairly significant in their difference, but both countered with a single resistance. Damage/resists aren’t design complete though.—Diablo