PvE Frost Mage Rotations & Cooldowns – WoW Classic

Here you can find the best Single-Target & AoE rotations for Frost Mage, alongside the most important Utility spells they can provide.

PvE Frost Mage

Stat Priority

Best Professions

Talents & Builds

Rotation & Cooldowns

Pre-Raid & Best in Slot (BiS)

Enchants & Consumables

The Single-Target rotation is extremely easy and mainly build-dependent! At its core, the rotation revolves around spamming max rank Frostbolt, however, it does have its intricacies depending on the variant you’re playing. We’ll showcase the Deep Frost variant which was commonly dubbed by the community as the Winter’s Chill rotation!

Single-Target Rotation

1. Cast Frost Nova & Cone of Cold (If Close to Target)
   • Cast Frost Nova & Cone of Cold to stack Winter’s Chill faster if close to the target)
2. Cast Frostbolt (Main Ability)
   • Cast Frostbolt Rank 1 to quickly stack Winter’s Chill
   • Spam max rank Frostbolt as your primary ability
3. Cast Fire Blast (Situational)
   • Cast Fire Blast only if you have to reposition
   • Don’t Cast Fire Blast if your Mana is low

The Deep Frost Build is simple yet very contextual. Basically, you will want to stack Winter’s Chill as fast as possible on a target to enhance both your damage and that of your allies. This can be accomplished in two main ways: Close-Range and Long-Range. You will want to use Rank 1 spells in both cases to conserve as much Mana as possible. Winter’s Chill is also applied by Frost Nova and Cone of Cold, meaning that you will want to cast them both as fast as possible if you are close to the target. If you are far away, you will want to sacrifice the first 5 seconds of the fight to cast 5 x Rank 1 Frostbolts. The rest of the rotation boils down to spamming max rank Frostbolt.

You will also want to use Fire Blast whenever you reposition at the end of a Frostbolt. However, you will only want to do this if your Mana Pool is high enough as incorporating this spell into the rotation can quickly drain your mana if you use it every time you reposition.

AoE Rotation

Shatter AoE Rotation

1. Cast Frost Nova (Shatter Enabler)
   • Cast Frost Nova when you pile enemies together to enable Shatter
2. Cast Flamestrike (Primary AoE Damage Source)
3. Cast Cone of Cold
   • Spam Cone of Cold while casting Flamestrike to release them both at the same time
   • Replace Cone of Cold with Arcane Explosion if Cone of Cold is on cooldown
4. Cast Cold Snap to repeat sequence if needed for maximum Damage Output

The AoE rotation for the Shatter build is different than the Non-Shatter variant, offering you quite a few creative options to damage your enemies. The idea is that Shatter grants a 50% Spell Critical Strike Chance for all spells on frozen enemies, meaning that any enemy afflicted by Frost Nova will most likely receive Critical Damage almost every time you perform a combo.

As such, there are two main combinations you can use together with Frost Nova and Shatter: Flamestrike + Cone of Cold & Flamestrike & Arcane Explosion. The highest damage combo is Flamestrike + Cone of Cold and should be used anytime you decide to pump some real AoE damage. However, this combo can also generate a very high amount of threat, putting you in danger, especially if you play Hardcore. The second combo should only be used if your Cone of Cold is on cooldown.

Cold Snap can also be used to repeat the sequence if you seek to deal the maximum amount of damage.

Non-Shatter AoE

1. Cast Arcane Explosion (If Close to Targets)
2. Cast Flamestrike
3. Cast Blizzard (Primary AoE Spell)

The Non-Shatter variant is a lot more restrictive when compared to the Shatter one. You will basically want to use Blizzard as your main damaging ability if you are not close to your target or if you’re required to slow a pack of mobs. If you are close to the targets, you may choose to cast Flamestrike followed by Arcane Explosion spam, or you can simply spam Arcane Explosion if your group is on the move and kiting the mobs.

Utility

1. Arcane Intellect
2. Remove Curse
3. Amplify Magic
4. Dampen Magic
5. Portals & Food
6. Crowd Control

While Frost Mage is an iconic DPS specialization, you will still be tasked with bringing utility to your group, and even act as as the main Crowd-Control provider in case the situation goes south.

The most iconic spell you can grant your allies is Arcane Intellect, which you will always want to make sure that it’s active on the appropriate targets. Remove Curse is yet another utility tool that you will be required to use consistently in encounters that require de-curse, meaning that you will also have to pay close attention to your allies as well.

Amplify Magic and Dampen Magic are contextual utility tools that can lessen the burden of Tanks and Healers in some encounters or even provide raid-wide mitigation for specific fights. Amplify Magic is used for fights where there is no Magic Damage involved and players require more Healing while Dampen Magic is great for any encounter that features high amounts of Magic Damage.

Lastly, you should always provide your allies with Food & Portals, to not only lessen the burden of your adventures but also make them a lot quicker.