Frost Mage WotLK Guide
Frost Mage DPS guide for WotLK 3.3.5a: rotation, cooldowns, the 18/0/53 talent build, glyphs, stat priority and BiS gear for ICC and Ruby Sanctum.
Frost is one of the best burst specs in the game, and it is also the Mage that leveling players like. It plays around Fingers of Frost and Brain Freeze procs, it brings a permanent Summon Water Elemental, and it has Deep Freeze as an extra damage button. In the first raid tiers it is very strong, and it falls off somewhat in the later ones, but it stays a good burst choice.
This guide covers the rotation, the cooldowns and the opener, the talents and glyphs we run, the stats to reach and the mistakes that cost the most. It is written for Icecrown Citadel 25 and Ruby Sanctum on 3.3.5a. The short overview is in the class guide.
1.How the Frost Mage plays
You cast Frostbolt as your main spell, and you decide what to do by how many Fingers of Frost charges you have. With two charges: Frostbolt, Frostbolt, then Frostfire Bolt if Brain Freeze is up, or Deep Freeze. With one charge: Frostbolt, then Frostfire Bolt or Deep Freeze. With no charges: Frostbolt, or Frostfire Bolt when Brain Freeze is active.
Haste is a much more valuable stat for Frost than critical strike, because the Fingers of Frost proc has a fixed chance on each cast, so more casts mean more procs. That is why Frost is a spec about the number of spells you cast, and about keeping your pet alive.
2.Rotation and priorities
- Two Fingers of FrostFrostbolt, Frostbolt, then Frostfire Bolt with a Brain Freeze proc, or Deep Freeze.
- One Fingers of FrostFrostbolt, then Frostfire Bolt or Deep Freeze.
- No chargesFrostbolt, or Frostfire Bolt if Brain Freeze is active.
- The openerUse a potion before the pull, then Frostbolt, Mirror Image and Icy Veins, and follow the priorities above.
Summon your Water Elemental with your buffs up, because its stats are kept when it is summoned. The Glyph of Eternal Water makes it permanent, so it is a good glyph in raids.
3.Cooldowns and raid utility
Frost has a strong burst, and it plays around a few cooldowns.
Your main damage cooldown. Use it with your trinket procs and Bloodlust.
Creates copies of you that cast at the target. The guides we read use it in the opener.
Your pet. With the glyph it is permanent, so summon it when your buffs are up.
A stun with damage, and it needs a Fingers of Frost charge. Use it as part of the rotation above.
Absorbs damage for a while. A good safety tool.
Moves you a short distance, for the fights with movement.
4.Talents and glyphs
Our recommended Frost build is the 18/0/53 in the calculator, built around Deep Freeze, Fingers of Frost, Brain Freeze, Enduring Winter, Chilled to the Bone and Ice Barrier.
The major glyphs are Eternal Water, Frostbolt and Molten Armor.
Stuns the target for 5 sec. Only usable on Frozen targets. Deals 1469 - 1741 damage to targets permanently immune to stuns.
Gives your Chill effects a 15% chance to grant you the Fingers of Frost effect, which treats your next 2 spells cast as if the target were Frozen. Lasts 15 sec.
Your Frost damage spells with chilling effects have a 15% chance to cause your next Fireball or Frostfire Bolt spell to be instant cast and cost no mana.
Increases the duration of your Summon Water Elemental spell by 15 sec and your Frostbolt spell has a 100% chance to grant up to 10 party or raid members mana regeneration equal to 1% of their maximum mana per 5 sec for 15 sec. This effect cannot occur more often than once every 6 sec.
Increases the damage caused by your Frostbolt, Frostfire Bolt and Ice Lance spells by 5% and reduces the movement speed of all chilled targets by an additional 10%.
Instantly shields you, absorbing 438 damage. Lasts 1 min. While the shield holds, spells will not be delayed by damage.
Your Summon Water Elemental now lasts indefinitely, but your Water Elemental can no longer cast Freeze.
Increases the critical strike chance of your Frostbolt spell by 5%.
Your Molten Armor grants an additional 20% of your spirit as critical strike rating.
5.Stats, gems and gear
Your priority is hit, then spell power, then haste, then critical strike. Haste is a much more valuable stat than critical strike for Frost, for the reason above.
The best items are in the BiS list below.
Berserking (+20% cast haste for 10s) is a big burst window for Fire and Arcane. Blood Elf trades that for Arcane Torrent — mana back plus an AoE silence.
Expansive Mind (+5% maximum mana) helps mana longevity on long fights, and Escape Artist is handy utility. Human (The Human Spirit) is the minor alternative.
Frozen Bonespike
Sundial of Eternal Dusk
Corpse-Impaling Spike
Phylactery of the Nameless Lich
Charred Twilight Scale
Sanctified Bloodmage Hood
Robe of the Waking Nightmare
6.Common mistakes
• Wasting your Fingers of Frost charges on the wrong spell.
• Summoning the Water Elemental without your buffs up.
• Playing for critical strike instead of haste.
• Not using Frostfire Bolt when Brain Freeze is active.
• Forgetting to use a potion and your cooldowns in the opener.
7.On the bosses
Frost is a strong burst spec, and it is good on any fight where you have steady casts. A few notes:
Use your burst on the add waves, and keep your Water Elemental alive.
Stay mobile, and use Frostfire Bolt on Brain Freeze procs.
Use your burst on the ground phases, and keep your Ice Barrier ready for the air phases.
Keep casting through the transitions, and keep your pet alive. See the Lich King guide.
8.Questions people ask
Yes, as a burst spec. It is strongest in the early tiers and falls off a little later, but it stays a good choice.
Because Fingers of Frost has a fixed chance per cast, so more casts mean more procs.
Yes. It makes the Water Elemental permanent.
When you have a Fingers of Frost charge and it is off cooldown, as in the rotation above.