The Best Frost Mage PvE DPS build
Check out one of the best Mages DPS builds in WoW based on the Frost specializationFrost Mage PvE DPS Build
Odealo's Pocket Guide
Updated for Patch 8.2.0
You can find all our Pocket Guides for other World of Warcraft classes right here: Best WoW Builds

Spec Overview
Frost Mages specialize themselves in freezing their targets and then shattering them with a deadly barrage of Ice Magic. They are able to deal high amounts of Single-Target and Cleave Damage and are ideal for taking down priority Targets because of that. Thanks to their unmatched Crowd Control abilities, Frost's excel at fulfilling the encounter-specific tasks and kiting. They also possess enviable mobility toolkit which lets them relocate and escape mechanics easily; they also do not lose much DPS in high-mobility situations.
Pros |
Cons |
Highly Mobile |
Weak AoE Damage |
Excellent Crowd Control abilities |
Loses Damage output quickly when Bursting down High Health Targets |
Solid Single-Target and Cleave Damage |
|
Great at killing low-health priority Targets |
|
Very strong Utility toolkit |
|
|
Statistics Priority
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Best Talent Choices
![]() Level 15: Recommended choice - Bone Chilling |
|
Bone Chilling - Whenever you cast a Spell that Chills your Target, you gain the Bone Chilling effect, which increases your Damage Done by 0.5% for 8s; this effect stacks up to 10 times. You will naturally stack this up to maximum and maintain it without any problems, so it is basically a flat 5% Damage Done increase. This is great for both Single-Target and AoE Damage and is a bit above the Lonely Winter in terms of the overall output. |
|
|
|
|
![]() Level 30: Recommended choice - Shimmer |
|
Shimmer - It is a great upgrade over the Blink ability; Shimmer has 1 more charge, can be cast off the global cooldown, and does not interrupt your spellcasting, but it has 5s more cooldown (the 20s instead of 15s) and does not break stuns. This Talent will improve your mobility greatly and will allow you to dodge Raid mechanics quickly, without losing DPS. |
|
|
The |
|
![]() Level 45: Recommended choice - Incanter's Flow |
|
Incanter's Flow - Gives you a sustained damage bonus that starts at 4%, builds up to 20% over 10s, and then resets back to 4% just to start building up again. This is the best Talent in this row because it offers a stable Damage increase, doesn't restrain your mobility, and does not have the cooldown-alignment problems that the Rune of Power and the Mirror Image have. |
|
|
The
|
|
![]() Level 60: Recommended choice - Ebonbolt |
|
Ebonbolt - Ranged spell that deals High Frost Damage, and grants you the Brain Freeze (your next Flurry does 50% more Damage, has 100% reduced Cast time and applies the Winter's Chill to your Target) effect; it has 45 seconds Cooldown. This Talent provides high Damage increase and the Brain Freeze effect on demand is generally very beneficial. |
|
|
|
|
![]() Level 75: Recommended choice - Frigid Winds |
|
Frigid Winds - Your Chilling Effects now reduce Target's movement speed by an additional 15%. Selecting this Talent will help you Control engaged Targets slightly better; it also makes your the Cone of Cold slow Enemies by 85%. |
|
|
All three of these Talents are rather underwhelming when it comes to Raid utility, and the choice is up to the Player (and doesn't matter much, really). |
|
![]() Level 90: Recommended choice - Comet Storm |
|
Comet Storm - You call down 7 Icy Comets on top and around your primary Target, each Comet deals High Frost Damage to all enemies within 6yd of impact; it has a 30-second Cooldown. This is the best choice for Single Target Damage, which also offers some nice AoE Burst every 30 seconds. |
|
|
|
|
![]() Level 100: Recommended choice - Glacial Spike |
|
Glacial Spike - an active ability that creates a Spike of Ice which merges with your Icicles in order to Deal Very High Frost Damage, further increased by the Damage stored in Icicles, to your Target, and freezes it in place for 4 seconds; it requires 5 Icicles to use, and stops your Ice Lance from launching Icicles when you reach maximum stacks. This is the best option for Single Target DPS, it forces a rotation change, however. |
|
|
|
The Basic Rotation
At its base, Frost Mage's rotation revolves around spamming
Frostbolt in order to get a proc of
Fingers of Frost or
Brain Freeze. Gained proc determines the next step of your rotation:
Brain Freeze is followed by the
Glacial Spike or the
Frostbolt going into
Flurry which in turn is followed by the
Ice Lance. The
Fingers of Frost should be utilized by casting an
Ice Lance immediately.
| Use the following priority list to maximize your Single Target Damage output: | |
|
![]() |
|
+ (< 3 ) ⇒ ⇒ ![]() |
|
⇒ ![]() |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
⇒ ![]() |
|
![]() |
| Use the following priority list to maximize your AoE Damage output: | |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
|
Tips and Tricks for Improving your Gameplay
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
END NOTE This is an early version of our guide, we plan to upgrade upon it, and add further sections. So please leave your suggestions in the comments section below. We would also like to state that this is meant as a pocket guide and therefore we will not go into too much detail (however, if we are missing some information that is important to you, please let us know, and we will gladly add it). |
Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Blizzard Entertainment Inc.
Pros
Cons

Shatter, and increasing your Crit over this number is not very effective.
Frostbolt ability, because it lets you cast more of them in a shorter time which translates to more potential procs per minute. Haste also affects the Casting Speed of your
Mirror Images and
Water Elemental and decreases the Cooldown of your
Blizzard Ability.
Mastery: Icicles makes your
Flurry abilities generate 1 Icicle per cast. Any Icicles stored are launched at your Target when you cast the
Ice Lance ability or added to your
Glacial Spike ability in a form of Damage Bonus. You can have up to 5 Icicles stored, and any excess ones will be launched at your current Target immediately.
Frozen Orb ability.
Lonely Winter in terms of the overall output.
Lonely Winter takes away your
Summon Water Elemental Ability but increases your Damage Done with
Freeze ability, which lowers both AoE Damage and AoE CC potential slightly.
Ice Nova is an AoE ability which deals High Damage to your primary Target and Moderate Damage to all other Targets within the 8yd radius, and freezes them in place for 2 seconds; it has a 25-second Cooldown. It provides you with the least benefits, and should not be considered.
Blink ability;
Glacial Insulation causes your
Ice Barrier to increase your Armor by 200%, and your
Ice Block to apply an
Ice Floes makes your next Spell with a cast-time shorter than 10 seconds to be castable while moving; it has 3 charges and 20 seconds recharge time. This is a good alternative, which enables short-range movement without losing Damage output at the cost of the long-range mobility provided by
Shimmer, and the choice between these two Talents largely depends on preference.
Rune of Power and the
Mirror Image have.
Mirror Image summons 3 copies of you, which cast spells at your Target and gain Enemy's attention; Copies last for 40 seconds. This, while "classic" gives the worst overall damage boost, and should not be picked.
Winter's Chill to your Target) effect; it has 45 seconds Cooldown. This Talent provides high Damage increase and the
Frozen Touch increases the proc chance of your
Chain Reaction makes your 
Cone of Cold slow Enemies by 85%.
Ice Ward grants a second charge to your
Frost Nova ability.
Ring of Frost lets you summon a Ring on the target location; up to 10 enemies entering the Ring will be incapacitated for 10 seconds.
Freezing Rain makes your
Comet Storm when needed.
Splitting Ice causes your
Icicles,
Ebonbolts,
Thermal Void increases the duration of your
Icy Veins by 10 seconds and by an additional 1 second every time you use an
Ray of Frost is a channeled ability that inflicts Frost Damage, slows the Target, and generates 2 

Shimmer does not interrupt your spellcasting.

