PvE Frost Mage DPS Talents, Builds, & Glyphs

Frost Mages in Mists of Pandaria only use one standard build that gets slightly modified based on the encounter. This is because of how powerful some of their talents are compared to others. The potential for versatility is reduced, similar to the other Mage specializations.

Talent Build

Frost Mages can only use one highly optimized build for the best damage output, with only a few talents interchangeable based on the encounter! Nether Tempest and Living Bomb are the primary talents that will be consistently swapped between Single-Target and AoE encounters. In contrast, Invocation and Rune of Power are swapped based on how much movement the encounters require. You may also use some talents for niche situations, such as Cold Snap, for encounters with undispellable debuffs that must be removed.

Level 15 – Tier I

• Presence of Mind ❌
  This talent choice is not viable for Frost Mages, even if it might provide a small DPS boost every 45 seconds. The idea is that you lose too much mobility and DPS by giving up Ice Floes. The only reason to take this talent is to enhance your burst sequence during Alter Time. However, Ice Floes gives you more DPS overall, especially considering fights with a lot of movement.
• Blazing Speed ❌
  The weakest option from this tier, Blazing Speed, acts as a movement speed buff for 1.5 seconds, removing any slow effect. This effect can be considered a weaker version of the Nitro Boosts offered by Engineering and can be suitable for repositioning. Yet, it is not worth picking up, considering the DPS loss from either Presence of Mind or Ice Floes.
• Ice Floes ✅
  For Frost Mage, Ice Floes is the best option for maintaining the best DPS output throughout most encounters. The ability is off-GCD, which can be used during cast time, effectively granting seamless mobility and repositioning potential by allowing any spell to be cast while moving. It will always provide a better DPS output if used efficiently than Presence of Mind.

Level 30 – Tier II

• Temporal Shield ✅
  This talent choice is considered one of the best defensive cooldowns in your arsenal, making it one of the two viable choices from this tier. Temporal Shield acts as a percentage damage reduction buff that also heals all damage taken while the buff is active, effectively lessening the burden of healers. Technically, this outperforms Ice Barrier by a large margin in raid encounters due to the percentage damage reduction. Yet, it performs poorly in dungeon environments with lower damage values, especially considering Ice Barrier can always be pre-activated and maintained active as a mitigation tool.
• Flameglow ❌
  This talent choice offers passive protection, absorbing up to 30% damage from any attack targeting you. This is the worst option from the third tier, offering the least protection since it can’t be used to tank large chunks of damage or consecutive hits, even if it applies to every effect, including spells.
• Ice Barrier ✅
  This is the second viable choice from this tier and is best suited for dungeon environments or AoE farming. The barrier scales with your Spell Power and can be constantly kept active as a pre-mitigation tool. Yet, the self-heal provided by Temporal Shield often proves far more valuable, especially since you will never directly tank in raid encounters.

Level 45 – Tier III

• Ring of Frost ✅
  This is the best choice for the third tier, offering the most Crowd Control in PvE, both in dungeon and raid environments, since it has no gimmick involved. The only two downsides are that this spell has a cast time, unlike the other two choices, and a 10-target limit.
• Ice Ward ❌
  This option might have been viable for this tier since it has no target limit if not for the awkward gimmick involved. Ice Ward requires clear communication between you and the target affected by the spell, which is best suited when used on tanks when grouping mobs. It effectively works as a long-range Frost Nova but requires the target to be directly hit by an attack for its effect to trigger. Since Ring of Frost can be directly placed on a spot, it is far more valuable than Ice Ward.
• Frostjaw ❌
  This option is not viable for two reasons: Your kit already has a powerful on-demand silence & any damage instantly breaks the effect. This talent choice should be entirely avoided altogether and only used if you must silence two mobs in a row and no one else can.

Level 60 – Tier IV

• Greater Invisibility ✅
  This talent works as a Threat Drop tool and a major defensive cooldown, reducing all damage received by 90% while invisible and for 3 seconds after the invisibility fades. The Threat part of the spell is often niche. However, the 90% flat damage reduction is massive, especially since you don’t need to cancel the effect with a macro, as when using Cold Snap + Ice Block. Greater Invisibility is, by default, the best option of the fourth tier.
• Cauterize ✅
  This ability is also great for encounters where you may not have the time to react. Since it triggers upon death, Cauterize is favored by many beginners, acting as a second-life mechanic that can allow Frost Mages to escape from sticky situations. However, the effect can still lead to death if not instantly combined with a heal, as the debuff placed drops the mage to 10% HP, meaning that any other hit might lead to death.
• Cold Snap ✅
  This talent is also viable yet trickier than the other two options. It now provides a 30% max HP instant heal, but it functions differently than its previous version and no longer resets the Ice Barrier. This talent can be used for fights where deadly debuffs are placed on players and must be removed immediately. Beware, however, that Hypothermia will prevent you from using Ice Block again for 30 seconds after the first cast.

Level 75 – Tier V

• Nether Tempest ✅
  This is the best AoE option in your arsenal, especially since it’s not target-capped and has no cooldown. You’ll want to switch to this talent before any large AoE pack in both dungeon and raid environments, working best on tightly packed mobs. It also has a chance to trigger your Brain Freeze effect.
• Living Bomb ✅
  Living Bomb is your default Single-Target and Cleave option, providing the highest DPS boost in those scenarios. Like Nether Tempest, it has a chance to trigger Brain Freeze on every tick.
• Frost Bomb ❌
  Frost Bomb is the only non-viable option, even if it might sound counterintuitive as a Frost Mage. Its cast time messes up the rotation, and its damage can only provide one Brain Freeze proc since the ability only has one huge damage tick.

Level 90 – Tier VI

• Invocation ✅
  This talent is one of the two options for Frost Mage in the sixth tier! Invocation is typically considered the stronger option for fights where constant movement is required, and Rune of Power placement is impossible due to mechanics that must be constantly avoided. It allows you to cast Evocation quicker and removes its cooldown, granting a 15% Spell Damage buff for 1 minute at the cost of 50% reduced passive Mana Regeneration.
• Rune of Power ✅
  Rune of Power is generally considered the better option for fights where you don’t have to move consistently, offering you the same 15% Spell Damage buff and a hefty Mana Regeneration increase while standing in its area. The ability has no cooldown and is influenced by haste, meaning that with enough Haste, it can be placed almost instantly on the ground.
• Incanter’s Ward ❌
  This talent is mainly a PvP spell, used primarily as an additional barrier and mana regeneration tool. This option is non-viable since it requires you to take damage to receive the Spell Damage buff that either Invocation or Rune of Power would directly grant.

Glyphs

Major Glyphs

• Glyph of Icy Veins
  This glyph is very powerful if you have enough Haste, as it provides a 20% damage increase to your main spells while Icy Veins is active. This glyph is considered the most important in your kit, but you should only choose to use this glyph when you are geared enough!
• Glyph of Water Elemental
  It’s a mandatory option that transforms your Water Elemental into a far more proficient pet, allowing it to cast while moving with the Follow command, effectively making the elemental automatically target your target. It also buffs up its HP!
• Glyph of Splitting Ice
  This glyph is mandatory for Cleave encounters, especially in raid environments! It allows your Ice Lance to hit 1 additional target for 50% of the initial damage. In addition, it synergizes with Mastery: Icicles, sending one additional bolt, effectively sending shards to two targets at once.
• Glyph of Cone of Cold
  An excellent option for AoE encounters or solo farming, this glyph enhances your Cone of Cold‘s damage by 200%!
• Glyph of Evocation
  An optional glyph that also provides max HP regeneration while standing in Rune of Power.

Minor Glyphs

• Glyph of Arcane Language
  A fun glyph that allows you to understand other races’ native language.
• Glyph of Conjure Familiar
  This glyph allows you to summon a familiar! Has no gameplay implications other than companionship.
• Glyph of Mirror Image
  A glyph that visually aligns your Mirror Image‘s casts to your current specialization.
• Glyph of Illusion
  It allows you to cast Illusion, mimicking the appearance of another character.