Jaina Talents

Last updated on Dec 09, 2021 at 00:05 by Derenash 53 comments
General Information

Welcome to our Talents page for Jaina. Here, we give you an overview of how strong each of Jaina's talents is. Then, we present several viable builds, before analyzing each talent row separately, so that you can make informed decisions.

1.

Jaina's Talent Build

Level Choices
1 Winter's Reach ? Lingering Chill ? Fingers of Frost
4 Frost Shards ? Arcane Intellect Frost Armor ?
7 Ice Lance ? Ice Floes Icefury Wand ?
10 Ring of Frost ? Summon Water Elemental
13 Storm Front ? Ice Barrier ✘︎ Icy Veins
16 Snowstorm ✘︎ Northern Exposure ? Numbing Blast
20 Cold Snap ✘︎ Wintermute Ice Blink ? Deep Chill ✘︎
2.

Jaina's Talent Build Cheatsheet

Standard Build

Recommended
Level 1 Fingers of Frost Icon Lingering Chill Icon ?
Level 4 Arcane Intellect Icon Frost Shards Icon ?
Level 7 Ice Floes Icon Icefury Wand Icon ?
Level 10 Summon Water Elemental Icon Ring of Frost Icon ?
Level 13 Icy Veins Icon
Level 16 Numbing Blast Icon Northern Exposure Icon ?
Level 20 Wintermute Icon Ice Blink Icon ?

Jaina's Standard Build is a very versatile and useful Build path to take in every game. It has a good damage on the frontline with Icefury Wand Icon Icefury Wand or with Ice Floes Icon Ice Floes, excellent Mana management with Level 1 and Level 4, and has several Talent options to pick based on the opposing composition.

Icefury Wand Icon Icefury Wand is an excellent Talent to apply constant damage to a Tank or Bruiser without cooldowns. However, Ice Floes Icon Ice Floes is outstanding against several melees in the opposing team. Combined with Icy Veins Icon Icy Veins and Numbing Blast Icon Numbing Blast, Cone of Cold can Root divers and melees for five seconds, but remember to apply chill on them before using it!

Frostbolt Build

Situational
Level 1 Fingers of Frost Icon Winter's Reach Icon ?
Level 4 Frost Shards Icon Arcane Intellect Icon ?
Level 7 Ice Lance Icon
Level 10 Summon Water Elemental Icon
Level 13 Icy Veins Icon
Level 16 Northern Exposure Icon Numbing Blast Icon ?
Level 20 Wintermute Icon

Jaina's Frostbolt Build seeks to improve Jaina's sustain damage output through the several synergistic Talents which empower Frostbolt Icon Frostbolt. Fingers of Frost Icon Fingers of Frost provides much needed Mana and a bit of extra damage; Frost Shards Icon Frost Shards makes Frostbolt more difficult to block and potentially doubles its damage; Ice Lance Icon Ice Lance situationally halves Frostbolt's cooldown, which is particularly significant when combined with Icy Veins Icon Icy Veins; Summon Water Elemental Icon Summon Water Elemental provides a reliable way to keep targets Chilled through Frostbite Icon Frostbite.

It is important to note that Winter's Reach Icon Winter's Reach is an option at Level 1, but should only be chosen against several high ranged Heroes, as it is necessary to apply pressure on them.

3.

Level 1 Talents for Jaina

Jaina Winter's Reach ?
Winter's Reach (Level 1) World of Warcraft Jaina

Increase the range and travel speed of Frostbolt by 30%.

Jaina Lingering Chill ?
Lingering Chill (Level 1) World of Warcraft Jaina

Increase the duration of Chill from 4 seconds to 6 seconds.

Jaina Fingers of Frost
Fingers of Frost (Level 1) World of Warcraft Jaina

Quest: Gather Regeneration Globes to increase Jaina's Mana regeneration by 0.1 per second, up to 2 per second.

Reward: After gathering 20 Globes, the damage bonus from Frostbite is increased by 10%.

3.1.

Discussion

Winter's Reach Icon Winter's Reach is a situational Talent. It extends Frostbolt Icon Frostbolt to a much greater range than Cone of Cold Icon Cone of Cold and Blizzard Icon Blizzard, being very impractical in the majority of games. However, it is a good option against compositions with several high range Heroes, such as Junkrat or Hanzo, because it permits Jaina to apply pressure on those.

Although Lingering Chill Icon Lingering Chill turns Frostbite Icon Frostbite into one of the longest Slow effect, it fits rather poorly with Jaina's bursty approach to solving problems. However, it is great to improve your stacking speed in Frostbite Icon Frostbite, being a good option on Maps without many Regeneration Globes to pick.

Fingers of Frost Icon Fingers of Frost provides Jaina with more damage and Mana. This is the standard Talent for all builds. Still, there are Maps where you will not be able to easily stack it, like in Battlefield of Eternity, where Lingering Chill Icon Lingering Chill can be a good choice instead.

4.

Level 4 Talents for Jaina

Jaina Frost Shards ?
Frost Shards (Level 4) World of Warcraft Jaina

Frostbolt will now pierce the first two targets.

Jaina Arcane Intellect
Arcane Intellect (Level 4) World of Warcraft Jaina

Dealing damage to a Chilled target returns Mana to Jaina. Basic Attacks return 5 Mana and Abilities return 20.

Passive: While above 75% Mana, Jaina gains 10% Spell Power.

Jaina Frost Armor ?
Frost Armor (Level 4) World of Warcraft Jaina

Enemies that attack Jaina are Chilled. Additionally, every 10 seconds, Jaina gains 75 Physical Armor against the next enemy Hero Basic Attack, reducing the damage taken by 75%.

4.1.

Discussion

Frost Shards Icon Frost Shards improves the reliability of Frostbolt Icon Frostbolt by making it more difficult to block. It is particularly useful for hitting enemies that are hiding behind Minions, Structures, or Summons. It also helps with dealing with Mercenary Camps; just make sure to line up your Frostbolts properly.

Arcane Intellect Icon Arcane Intellect seems to be not necessary if you already have Fingers of Frost Icon Fingers of Frost, but it guarantees that you will very often have the 10% extra Spell Power from it. For this reason, this Talent is a good choice with and without Fingers of Frost Icon Fingers of Frost.

Frost Armor Icon Frost Armor has niche use against nimble melee Assassins. Although the Armor provided by the Talent is passable, being able to Chill any attacker allows you to retaliate with full force, through Frostbite Icon Frostbite, without having to initially hit with an Ability. The Slow effect makes Frostbolt Icon Frostbolt and Blizzard Icon Blizzard much easier to land, on top of greatly improving Cone of Cold Icon Cone of Cold's damage. This becomes particularly useful when using the Numbing Blast Icon Numbing Blast Talent.

5.

Level 7 Talents for Jaina

Jaina Ice Lance ?
Ice Lance (Level 7) World of Warcraft Jaina

Hitting a Chilled target with Frostbolt reduces its cooldown by 1.5 seconds and restores 10 Mana.

Jaina Ice Floes
Ice Floes (Level 7) World of Warcraft Jaina

Increase the width of Cone of Cold by 100% and cause each Hero hit to reduce its cooldown by 2 seconds, doubled against chilled Heroes, up to a maximum of 8 seconds per use.

Jaina Icefury Wand ?
Icefury Wand (Level 7) World of Warcraft Jaina

Basic Attacks against Chilled enemies deal 50% more damage and lower the cooldown of Blizzard by 1.25 seconds. Doubled against enemy Heroes.

5.1.

Discussion

Ice Lance Icon Ice Lance provides most single-target damage potential at this tier. This is particularly true when coupled with Frost Shards Icon Frost Shards. Ice Lance also allows you to chase and kite enemy Heroes more effectively through reapplying Chill.

Ice Floes Icon Ice Floes provides Cone of Cold Icon Cone of Cold with a very respectable cooldown reduction. This is a great Talent when Icy Veins Icon Icy Veins and Numbing Blast Icon Numbing Blast are picked, because you can apply a 1-second Root each second in the best case scenario. It is excellent against Melee compositions.

Icefury Wand Icon Icefury Wand is the most versatile choice, as it increases Jaina's single-target damage, waveclear, and readiness to follow up her Tank.

6.

Level 10 Talents for Jaina

Jaina Ring of Frost ?
Ring of Frost (Level 10) World of Warcraft Jaina
  • Mana: 70
  • Cooldown: 70 seconds

After a 1.5 second delay, create a Ring of Frost in an area that deals 310 (+4% per level) damage and Roots enemies for 3 seconds. The ring persists for 3 seconds afterward, Chilling any enemies who touch it.

Jaina Summon Water Elemental
Summon Water Elemental (Level 10) World of Warcraft Jaina
  • Mana: 60
  • Cooldown: 60 seconds

Summon a Water Elemental at target location. The Water Elemental's Basic Attacks deal 62 (+4% per level) damage, splash for 25% damage and Chill. The Ability can be reactivated to retarget the Water Elemental. Lasts 20 seconds.

6.1.

Discussion

At this Level, you gain access to Heroic Abilities. If you want to read more about them, check the dedicated section in the Abilities and Strategy page.

Ring of Frost Icon Ring of Frost is an Ability that is generally used as part of a combo, or as a means of punishing team compositions with 3 or more melee or otherwise immobile Heroes. Numbing Blast Icon Numbing Blast can help with setting up your own Ring of Frost hits.

Summon Water Elemental Icon Summon Water Elemental is Jaina's versatile go-to Talent, as it does not require any kind of setup or specific team composition to make use of, unlike Ring of Frost Icon Ring of Frost.

7.

Level 13 Talents for Jaina

Jaina Storm Front ?
Storm Front (Level 13) World of Warcraft Jaina

Increase the cast range of Blizzard by 75% and its radius by 30%.

Jaina Ice Barrier ✘︎
Ice Barrier (Level 13) World of Warcraft Jaina

Gain a Shield for 25% of Ability damage dealt to Chilled targets. The shield lasts 4 seconds.

Jaina Icy Veins
Icy Veins (Level 13) World of Warcraft Jaina
  • Cooldown: 60 seconds

Activate to make Jaina's Basic Abilities' cooldowns recharge 200% faster and reduce their Mana cost by 50% for 5 seconds.

7.1.

Discussion

Storm Front Icon Storm Front turns Blizzard Icon Blizzard into one of the most reliable follow-up Abilities. The range increase allows you to play unusually defensively for a caster whilst retaining the capacity to fully use your most powerful Ability. Further, the area of effect increase is enough to ensure two full hits when targeting opponents right in the center of Blizzard's reticle. This synergises well with Snowstorm Icon Snowstorm.

Ice Barrier Icon Ice Barrier is the defensive alternative to Icy Veins Icon Icy Veins, and is typically picked as a means of surviving against melee Assassins. However, since Jaina already has an Ice Block, and due to how overpowered Icy Veins is, we do not recommend this Talent. If you are struggling against Melee Assassins, it might be better to pick Numbing Blast Icon Numbing Blast with Ice Floes Icon Ice Floes instead.

Icy Veins Icon Icy Veins is a fantastic activatable Talent that allows you to have a "second wind" after using your Basic Abilities. Besides a hefty 50% Mana cost reduction, Icy Veins also reduces the cooldowns of your Basic Abilities to 1.33 seconds, 5 seconds, and 3.33 seconds for Frostbolt, Blizzard, and Cone of Cold respectively. Icy Veins works particularly well with Ice Lance Icon Ice Lance.

8.

Level 16 Talents for Jaina

Jaina Snowstorm ✘︎
Snowstorm (Level 16) World of Warcraft Jaina

The damage of the second wave of Blizzard is increased by 50%. The damage of the third wave is increased by 100%.

Jaina Northern Exposure ?
Northern Exposure (Level 16) World of Warcraft Jaina

Enemies damaged by Cone of Cold have their Armor lowered by 25 for 2 seconds, increasing their damage taken by 25%.

Jaina Numbing Blast
Numbing Blast (Level 16) World of Warcraft Jaina

Cone of Cold Roots Chilled targets for 1 second.

8.1.

Discussion

Snowstorm Icon Snowstorm is an underwhelming Talent. For it to be actually effective, all 3 waves should hit a target, which is very unlikely. In most situations the other 2 options at this Level will be much better choices.

Although Northern Exposure Icon Northern Exposure provides a reasonably powerful Armor reduction effect, Numbing Blast Icon Numbing Blast is generally more effective at indirectly improving Jaina's damage output. The main issue with Northern Exposure is that its effect do not affect Cone of Cold Icon Cone of Cold's own damage, making it less powerful than it may seem.

Although Numbing Blast Icon Numbing Blast provides no upfront damage, its Root effect will generally result into much more burst than the alternative Talents by allowing you to unconditionally hit with at least two Blizzard Icon Blizzard waves, on top of allowing your allies to follow up. It is worth noting that Numbing Blast is Jaina's only source of hard crowd control besides Ring of Frost Icon Ring of Frost. Numbing Blast also has some defensive utility to it, but it will actually out-damage Northern Exposure Icon Northern Exposure in most situations, simply because of its utility, particularly against melee Heroes.

9.

Level 20 Talents for Jaina

Jaina Cold Snap ✘︎
Cold Snap (Level 20) World of Warcraft Jaina

The center area of Ring of Frost deals 310 (+4% per level) damage and Roots enemies after the outer ring expires. Each enemy Hero hit reduces its cooldown by 15 seconds.

Jaina Wintermute
Wintermute (Level 20) World of Warcraft Jaina

Increases the cast range of Water Elemental by 50%, and the Water Elemental will now mimic Jaina's Basic Abilities for 50% damage.

Jaina Ice Blink ?
Ice Blink (Level 20) World of Warcraft Jaina
  • Cooldown: 60 seconds

Activate to teleport a short distance and Chill all nearby enemies.

Jaina Deep Chill ✘︎
Deep Chill (Level 20) World of Warcraft Jaina

Frostbite's Chill can now stack a second time, slowing targets up to 40%.

9.1.

Discussion

Cold Snap Icon Cold Snap's additional central effect takes an excessive 6 seconds to trigger after first casting Ring of Frost Icon Ring of Frost, making it generally very unrealistic to rely upon. The cooldown reduction aspect is interesting, but is ultimately winmore.

Wintermute Icon Wintermute provides an impressive potential short term damage increase of 50%, though in practice it is often a bit less, especially if the Water Elemental is killed. If you feel like your survivability has not been an issue throughout a given match, Wintermute will certainly pay off, especially with Icy Veins Icon Icy Veins; both cooldowns should always be timed, especially considering they are exactly the same length.

Ice Blink Icon Ice Blink has both defensive and offensive utility for Jaina, and is reminiscent of a short-ranged Bolt of the Storm Icon Bolt of the Storm which can be used to apply Frostbite Icon Frostbite. Ice Blink is especially useful when being heavily pressured by melee Assassins or otherwise dived repeatedly, but may also be used to combo with Numbing Blast Icon Numbing Blast for a reliable Root effect to burst down Heroes who are out of position.

Deep Chill Icon Deep Chill can be debilitating to melee-heavy team compositions, but must compete with more powerful Talents.

10.

Changelog

  • 09 Dec. 2021: Updated Winter's reach's description to reflect recent Balance Patch's changes.
  • 24 Jul. 2021: Updated Builds and Talents after recent Balance Patch.
  • 30 Jun. 2021: Builds and Talents updated to reflect current meta.
  • 09 May 2021: Icefury Wand discussion updated and build modified accordingly.
  • 22 Nov. 2020: Arcane Intellect's discussion updated.
  • 05 Apr. 2020: Descriptions updated for Icy Veins and Snowstorm.
  • 15 Feb. 2020: Talents reviewed following February 12 patch changes.
  • 23 May 2019: Updated Talent discussion and recommendations following patch v2.45.1 changes.
  • 14 Jan. 2018: Updated Tier 6 and 7 Talent assessments. Updated Frostbolt build.
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