Frost Mage DPS Guide (Legion 7.3.5)

Table of Contents

• ×Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 7.3 Changes for Frost Mage
  • 3. Patch 7.2.5 Changes for Frost Mage
  • 4. Patch 7.2 Changes for Frost Mage
  • 5. Frost Mage Strengths
  • 6. Frost Mage Weaknesses
  • 7. Frost Mage Viability in the Current Patch
  • 8. Contents
  • 9. ChangeLog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. The Basics for Frost Mage
    • 1.1. When Playing Without Lonely Winter
  • 2. Talent Choice for Frost Mage
  • 3. Stat Choice for Frost Mage
  • 4. Basic Rotation for Frost Mage
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Frost Mage Spell Summary
  • 2. Main Resource for Frost Mage
  • 3. Basic Abilities for Frost Mage
  • 4. Important Procs for Frost Mage
  • 5. DPS Cooldowns for Frost Mage
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices
  • 2. Talent Cheat Sheets for Frost Mage
    • 2.1. Raid Encounters
      • 2.1.1. Heavy Cleave/AOE
    • 2.2. For General Use
  • 3. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents for Frost Mage
  • 4. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents for Frost Mage
  • 5. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Frost Mage
  • 6. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Frost Mage
  • 7. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Frost Mage
  • 8. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Frost Mage
  • 9. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Frost Mage
  • 10. ChangeLog
• +Artifact Traits and Relics
  • 1. Artifact Progression for Frost Mage — First 35 Points
    • 1.1. Early Point Investment
    • 1.2. Second Golden Trait
    • 1.3. Final Point Investment
  • 2. Patch 7.2: 35+ Trait Path for Frost Mage
  • 3. Relic Priority for Frost Mage
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Netherlight Crucible Relic Paths
  • 1. General Optimization Advice for Frost Mage
  • 2. Tier 2 Upgrade Priority for Frost Mage
  • 3. Tier 3 Upgrade Priority for Frost Mage
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Ability Priority List for Frost Mage
    • 1.1. Without Lonely Winter
  • 2. Important Notes for Frost Mage
    • 2.1. AoE
    • 2.2. Frost Bomb
    • 2.3. Tier 3 Talents
      • 2.3.1. Rune of Power
      • 2.3.2. Mirror Image
      • 2.3.3. Incanter's Flow
    • 2.4. Water Jet
    • 2.5. Glacial Spike and Ghost Icicles
  • 3. Core Concepts for Frost Mage
    • 3.1. Cooldown Overlap and Maximizing Cleave
    • 3.2. Movement Management
    • 3.3. Opening Sequence for Frost Mage
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Mythic+ Tips
  • 1. Mythic+ Introduction for Frost Mage
  • 2. Affix List
  • 3. Mythic+ Talents for Frost Mage
    • 3.1. Standard Build — Low Level Keystones
    • 3.2. Standard Build — High Level Keystones
    • 3.3. Talent Explanations
      • 3.3.1. Tier 1/Level 15
      • 3.3.2. Tier 2/Level 30
      • 3.3.3. Tier 3/Level 45
      • 3.3.4. Tier 4/Level 60
      • 3.3.5. Tier 5/Level 75
      • 3.3.6. Tier 6/Level 90
      • 3.3.7. Level 7/Level 100
  • 4. Stat Priority for Frost Mage
  • 5. Legendary Items for Frost Mage
    • 5.1. Mandatory Tier
    • 5.2. Top Tier
    • 5.3. Situational/Niche Choices
  • 6. Mythic+ Relics, Set Bonuses, and Trinkets for Frost Mage
    • 6.1. Mythic+ Trinkets for Frost Mage
      • 6.1.1. Mythic+ Single Target Trinkets for Frost Mage
      • 6.1.2. Mythic+ Cleave/AoE Trinkets for Frost Mage
  • 7. Mythic+ Rotation for Frost Mage
    • 7.1. Trash Packs
    • 7.2. Mythic+ Rotation for Single Target/Bosses for Frost Mage
  • 8. ChangeLog
• +Boss by Boss Strategies
  • 1. Frost Mage Advice: Antorus, the Burning Throne
    • 1.1. Garothi Worldbreaker
    • 1.2. Felhounds of Sargeras
    • 1.3. Antoran High Command
    • 1.4. Eonar the Life-Binder
    • 1.5. Portal Keeper Hasabel
    • 1.6. Imonar the Soulhunter
    • 1.7. Kin'garoth
    • 1.8. Varimathras
    • 1.9. The Coven of Shivarra
    • 1.10. Aggramar
    • 1.11. Argus the Unmaker
  • 2. ChangeLog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. Basics for Frost Mage
    • 1.1. Stat Weights for Frost Mage
  • 2. Frost Mage: Getting a Better Understanding
    • 2.1. Statistics Explanations
    • 2.2. How Exactly Mastery: Icicles Work
      • 2.2.1. Glacial Spike
    • 2.3. Critical Strike Cap
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems for Frost Mage
  • 2. Enchants for Frost Mage
  • 3. Consumables for Frost Mage
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. Addons for Frost Mage
    • 1.1. ElvUI
    • 1.2. Weak Auras
    • 1.3. Boss Mods
      • 1.3.1. BigWigs Bossmods
      • 1.3.2. Deadly Boss Mods
    • 1.4. Name Plates
      • 1.4.1. KUI Nameplates
      • 1.4.2. TidyPlates
    • 1.5. Damage Meters
      • 1.5.1. Skada
      • 1.5.2. Details
    • 1.6. Extra AddOns
      • 1.6.1. Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 1.6.2. DeathNote
      • 1.6.3. Doom CooldownPulse
      • 1.6.4. Angry Assignments
  • 2. Macros
    • 2.1. Generic Macros for Mages
      • 2.1.1. Stopcast Blink
      • 2.1.2. 1-Button Block
      • 2.1.3. Block Cancel
    • 2.2. Specific Macros for Frost Mages
      • 2.2.1. Water Elemental: Freeze
      • 2.2.2. Water Elemental: Water jet
      • 2.2.3. Pet Macros
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gear, Legendaries, and Best in Slot
  • 1. Tier 21 Set Bonuses for Frost Mage
  • 2. Tier 20 Set Bonuses for Frost Mage
  • 3. Best in Slot List for Frost Mage
  • 4. Trinket Advice for Frost Mage
  • 5. Evaluating Upgrades Using Stat Weights
  • 6. Racial Bonuses for Frost Mage
  • 7. Legendaries for Frost Mage
  • 8. Loot Competition
  • 9. ChangeLog
• +Battle for Azeroth
  • 1. Foreword
  • 2. Basic Mechanic Changes for Frost Mage in BfA
  • 3. Changes to Frost Mage Talents in BfA
    • 3.1. Level 15
    • 3.2. Level 30
    • 3.3. Level 60
    • 3.4. Level 90
    • 3.5. Level 100
  • 4. Azerite Traits for Frost Mage
  • 5. Single Target Rotation for Frost Mage in BfA
  • 6. Multi-Target Rotation and Considerations for Frost Mage in BfA
  • 7. ChangeLog

General Information

Welcome to our Frost Mage DPS guide for World of Warcraft Legion 7.3.5. Here, you will learn everything you need to know about playing a Frost Mage in a raid environment and in Mythic+ dungeons.

About Our Author and Reviewer

This guide has been written by Furty, who has an illustrious history in the World of Warcraft raiding scene and race for World First. He has been a member of guilds such as Serenity, Midwinter, and many more, and is currently raiding in Future. He plays most classes at the highest level. You can follow him on Twitter and watch him play on Twitch.

This guide has been reviewed and approved by Kuni, one of the best Frost Mages in the world, who raids in Midnight Sanctuary.

1. Class Overview

The Frost specialization has always excelled at limiting enemy movement while dealing reliable and predictable damage output. Frost has always been a very potent choice for leveling and world content given you can endlessly kite enemies, with a multitude of snares and roots combined with damage on the move. Frost is great at quickly bursting down priority adds, as there are a variety of ways to instantly generate Fingers of Frost to empower your instant cast Ice Lances. Like all Mage specializations, Frost has high mobility and is fantastic at doing encounter specific jobs and baiting mechanics. Between Ice Floes, Shimmer, and a variety of instant cast spells, high movement encounters have minimal impact on Frost's overall output.

2. Patch 7.3 Changes for Frost Mage

• None

3. Patch 7.2.5 Changes for Frost Mage

• New legendary items added.
• Brain Freeze's delay has been fixed so that it is no longer possible to land 2 Ice Lances within a single Winter's Chill at high levels of Haste.
• Comet Storm missile radius increased to 6 yards (up from 4).
• Cone of Cold damage increased by 170%.
• Flurry tooltip updated and missile speed increased by 11%.
• Ice Lance missile speed increased by 30%.
• Thermal Void has been redesigned; now increases the duration of Icy Veins by 10 seconds and an additional 1 second for each Ice Lance made against a frozen target.

4. Patch 7.2 Changes for Frost Mage

• New Artifact traits added.

5. Frost Mage Strengths

• Strong single target and cleave
• Great mobility and kiting
• Good at killing fragile targets quickly
• Predictable and consistent damage output
• Efficient cleave

6. Frost Mage Weaknesses

• Weak burst without Ray of Frost (compared to other Mage specializations)

7. Frost Mage Viability in the Current Patch

Frost is a potent choice for raiding in Antorus, the Burning Throne, on any difficulty, due to its impressive sustained damage. Frost excels, in particular, on fights where single target damage is a priority, such as Varimathras. Despite boasting competitive single target numbers, Frost also offers solid cleave when it counts.

8. Contents

To make it easy to navigate the guide, we have split it into 13 pages:

• Easy Mode: TL;DR to own without reading much;
• Spell Summary: see a summary of all your useful spells;
• Builds and Talents: learn how to choose your talents;
• Artifact Traits and Relics: discover how to level up your Artifact;
• Netherlight Crucible Relic Paths: choose the right paths on your Netherlight Crucible;
• Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities: master your rotation and your cooldowns;
• Mythic+ Tips: learn how to adapt your playstyle for Mythic+;
• Boss by Boss Strategies: find out how to defeat current content bosses;
• Stat Priority: read up on the respective values of your statistics;
• Gems, Enchants, and Consumables: choose the best gems, enchantments, etc.;
• Macros and Addons: step up your game with useful macros and addons;
• Gear, Legendaries, and Best in Slot: find the best gear you can wear;
• Battle for Azeroth: learn how to play your class in Battle for Azeroth.

9. ChangeLog

• 02 Jul. 2018 (Battle for Azeroth page): Lonely Winter buffed back up to 25%.
• 20 Jun. 2018 (Battle for Azeroth page): Glacial Spike cast condition clarification.
• 29 May 2018 (Battle for Azeroth page): Page added.
• 29 May 2018 (Battle for Azeroth page): Rune of Power added.
• 02 May 2018 (easy mode page): Updated rotation.
• 05 Mar. 2018 (mythic+ page): Page added.
• 05 Mar. 2018 (rotation page): Removed Tier 20 2-piece bonus rotational checkbox.
• 05 Mar. 2018 (artifact page): Updated relic priority, added weapon item levels.
• 04 Mar. 2018 (Netherlight Crucible page): Updated Tier 3 priority to match our Artifact Page updates.
• 07 Feb. 2018 (bosses page): Antorus, the Burning Throne recommendations added.
• 22 Dec. 2017 (this page): Updated viability section.
• 02 Dec. 2017 (gear page): Added Tier 21, updated best in slot for Antorus, and updated trinket list.
• 25 Nov. 2017 (rotation page): Changed a rotational line addressing Glacial Spike and updated the AoE section.
• 25 Nov. 2017 (enchants page): Swapped out Crit gems for Vers.
• 25 Nov. 2017 (easy mode page): Updated stat priority.
• 25 Nov. 2017 (artifact page): Updated relic priority.
• 25 Nov. 2017 (talents page): Updated Tier 7 talent discussion and Cheat Sheets.
• 25 Nov. 2017 (stats page): Updated stat priority and weights for Antorus.
• 17 Sep. 2017 (easy mode page): Added a note about Lonely Winter and Water Elemental usage.
• 13 Sep. 2017 (Netherlight Crucible page): Updated Tier 2 priority after recent rebalancing based on new SimCraft results.
• 11 Sep. 2017 (Netherlight Crucible page): Added Netherlight Crucible page for Frost Mage.
• 29 Aug. 2017 (enchants page): Revised gem recommendations, cleaned up "Consumables" section, and added a note about Healthstones in Patch 7.3.
• 28 Aug. 2017 (this page): Updated description section.
• 28 Aug. 2017 (stats page): No changes needed for Patch 7.3.
• 28 Aug. 2017 (enchants page): Added Lightforged Augment Rune and new 7.3 epic gems.
• 28 Aug. 2017 (talents page): Updated wording in Tier 3 talent section.
• 28 Aug. 2017 (gear page): Further updates to legendary section.
• 28 Aug. 2017 (rotation page): Added a "Glacial Spike and Ghost Icicles" section. Improved AoE section.
• 20 Aug. 2017 (rotation page): Expanded "Without Lonely Winter" section.
• 19 Aug. 2017 (rotation page): Added rotational checkbox for Lonely Winter (removing mentions of Water Elemental abilities when checked).
• 17 Aug. 2017 (gear page): Updated legendaries.
• 06 Jul. 2017 (easy mode page): Updated stat priority and basic rotation.
• 06 Jul. 2017 (talents page): Updated several talent sections and cheat sheets.
• 06 Jul. 2017 (artifact page): Updated relic priority.
• 06 Jul. 2017 (rotation page): Updated the Ability Priority List (re-ordered some lines to more accurately represent current talent build, added new checkboxes for talents, and some new information added).
• 06 Jul. 2017 (spells page): Updated Flurry tooltip link (was previously linking to Winter's Chill).
• 19 Jun. 2017 (gear page): Tier 20 explanation and Tomb of Sargeras best in slot added.
• 12 Jun. 2017 (enchants page): Page reviewed and deemed updated for 7.2.5.
• 12 Jun. 2017 (stats page): Page reviewed and deemed updated for 7.2.5.
• 12 Jun. 2017 (rotation page): No changes needed for Patch 7.2.5. A section about T20 set bonuses and how they influence the rotation will be added at a later time.
• 12 Jun. 2017 (artifact page): Page reviewed and deemed updated for 7.2.5.
• 12 Jun. 2017 (talents page): Updated Tier 7 talent discussion for Patch 7.2.5 (Glacial Spike vs Thermal Void).
• 12 Jun. 2017 (spells page): Page reviewed and deemed updated for 7.2.5.
• 12 Jun. 2017 (this page): Added Patch 7.2.5 changes.
• 12 Jun. 2017 (easy mode page): Page reviewed and deemed updated for 7.2.5.
• 29 Mar. 2017 (enchants page): Added Lavish Suramar Feast.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (stats page): No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (gear page): No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (rotation page): No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (talents page): No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (this page): Added Patch 7.2 changes.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (artifact page): Updated for Patch 7.2.
• 02 Mar. 2017 (gear page): Updated upgrade calculator with new stat weights.
• 02 Mar. 2017 (enchants page): Replaced claw with satyr for a slightly more single target oriented build.
• 02 Mar. 2017 (stats page): Modified stat priority to include Shatter cap & re-added stat weights!
• 13 Feb. 2017 (enchants page): Updated potion selection.
• 13 Feb. 2017 (artifact page): Updated Relic priority.
• 13 Feb. 2017 (rotation page): Updated the opener.
• 09 Feb. 2017 (this page): Updated strengths/weaknesses and viability sections.
• 21 Jan. 2017 (gear page): Fully updated BiS list and legendary section.
• 11 Jan. 2017 (talents page): Post-7.1.5 updates to Tier 1, 3, 6, and 7 assessments.
• 11 Jan. 2017 (rotation page): Removed some leftover mentions of abilities that were reworked.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (artifact page): Updated description of It's Cold Outside.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (talents page): Updated talents and descriptions for Patch 7.1.5.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (this page): Added Patch 7.1.5 changes section and updated strengths/weaknesses and viability sections.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (stats page): Stat priority remains the same but we removed the stat weights for now. We will re-add them once things stabilise.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (rotation page): Updated for Patch 7.1.5.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (easy mode page): Updated easy mode talent build for Patch 7.1.5.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (enchants page): Added a small paragraph on potion choice for additional context.
• 12 Nov. 2016 (easy mode page): Added easy mode for Frost Mages.
• 26 Oct. 2016 (rotation page): Updated for 7.1!
• 25 Oct. 2016 (spells page): Added a mention that Brain Freeze now causes the next Flurry to also deal 50% increased damage.
• 25 Oct. 2016 (talents page): Updated the increased damage value of Lonely Winter (now 25%, up from 20%). This does not change the assessment of the talent.
• 17 Oct. 2016 (gear page): Added more detail to the trinket section.
• 05 Sep. 2016 (rotation page): Simplified rotation by adding checkboxes to hide or reveal specific lines (cooldown, talents, AoE, etc.).
• 04 Sep. 2016 (gear page): Updated item comparison example, following a change in stat weights.
• 02 Sep. 2016 (enchants page): Replaced Critical Strike gems/enchants/food with Haste gems/enchants/food to match our new stat priority.
• 02 Sep. 2016 (talents page): Added a mention that Comet Storm can be viable, as it is the best Level 100 talent in mass AoE situations.
• 02 Sep. 2016 (stats page): Swapped Haste and Critical Strike in the stat priority, following new simulations.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (gear page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (artifact page): Added.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (rotation page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (this page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (talents page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (spells page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (enchants page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (stats page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 20 Jul. 2016 (gear page): Removed trinket sims and added BiS recommendations.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (talents page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (enchants page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (rotation page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (addons page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (spells page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (stats page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (gear page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (this page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.

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