Jaina Abilities and Strategy

• Use your Abilities together to maximise Frostbite's damage.
• Root or Slow enemies before casting Blizzard and Ring of Frost. Allied crowd control is also helpful.
• Use Blizzard to very efficiently waveclear or claim Mercenary Camps.
• Avoid using Blizzard and Cone of Cold together to clear Minion waves unless you need to clear immediately, in order to keep one Ability available to combine with Frostbolt during skirmishes.

Although we typically list Hero Abilities in order, Jaina's Trait is quite unique in that it heavily impacts the way that she is played. As such, we will list it first.

Frostbite (D) Jaina

• Passive

Jaina's Abilities Chill targets, Slowing them by 25% and amplifying damage taken from her Abilities by 50%. Lasts 4 seconds.

Quest: Deal Ability damage to Chilled Heroes.

Reward: Upon dealing 12000 damage, unlock the Improved Ice Block Ability, allowing Jaina to become temporarily Invulnerable.

Mythic Reward: Upon dealing 30000 damage, Ice Block upgrades to Ice Cold, allowing Jaina to move and cast while active.

Frostbite passively causes Jaina's Abilities to also affect their targets with Chill, Slowing them by 25% and causing any Ability that hits an enemy already afflicted by Chill to deal 50% increased damage. Chill lasts for 4 seconds, but Jaina's Abilities cause this duration to refresh. Chill affects all entities in the game for the purpose of inflicting bonus damage, including Structures.

The Chilling effect associated to Frostbite must be taken advantage of in order for Jaina to be effective. On top of reliably applying a lengthy Slowing effect, it can potentially increase the damage you deal with Abilities by a hefty 50%. It is therefore imperative that all of your Abilities are used against targets that are affected by Chill whenever possible. In practice, this is quite easy to do, since your Abilities will all be used shortly after one another. The difficulty comes with the order that they must be used in depending on the situation at hand.

Frostbite has a Quest that progresses by dealing damage to Chilled Heroes. After dealing 12000 damage, Jaina gains Improved Ice Block, granting Invulnerable for a short duration. After dealing 30000 damage, Improved Ice Block is upgraded, allowing Jaina to move and cast Abilities while Invulnerable.

Completing this Quest quickly is important for maximizing Jaina's impact. To stack it efficiently, adjust your play as follows:

• In small skirmishes, you can delay using Cone of Cold after landing Frostbolt so that, when Frostbolt's 4-second cooldown refreshes, the enemy is still Chilled by Frostbite.
• After the first few levels, avoid using Blizzard and Cone of Cold together to clear Minion waves. When you are alone, use only Blizzard. When your team is with you and waveclear is already covered, use only Cone of Cold, saving Blizzard to pair with Frostbolt for Quest stacks between waves.
• Since Summon Water Elemental has a short cooldown and repeatedly applies damage and Chill, use it often to speed up Quest completion.
• Some Talents make stacking easier, such as Lingering Chill, all Level 7 Talents, and Icy Veins at Level 13. Take advantage of them to speed up Quest progress.

The 30000-damage milestone is especially powerful when paired with Icy Veins. That Talent encourages Jaina to play aggressively to maximize its cooldown reduction, which often leaves her more exposed during its duration. Being able to move and cast while Invulnerable compensates for that weakness, letting her maintain pressure much more safely.

Frostbolt (Q) Jaina

• Mana: 30
• Cooldown: 4 seconds

Deal 184 (+4% per level) damage and Chill the target.

Frostbolt is Jaina's bread and butter. The Ability's extremely short Cooldown, insignificant Mana cost, and long range means that it is typically used on-Cooldown whenever enemies are within range — whether it be Minions, Structures, Mercenaries, or Heroes. When possible, Frostbolt should be used first in your Ability chain as its Slowing effect helps with landing Blizzard, and as Cone of Cold deals much more damage when multiplied by Frostbite.

Frostbolt's skillshot nature, however, means that some practice to assimilate the projectile's speed and width is necessary. Also keep in mind that Minions and other undesirable targets may prevent Frostbolt from hitting your desired target, as it does not pierce without the help of a specific Talent.

Blizzard (W) Jaina

• Mana: 90
• Cooldown: 15 seconds

Bombard an area with 3 waves of ice, dealing 142 (+4% per level) damage each. Damaged enemies are Chilled.

Blizzard is Jaina's most damaging Ability, assuming several waves hit. Due to its long Cooldown, it should only be used if at least two waves are guaranteed to hit, unless only one wave is needed to secure a kill. Since there is a short delay between casting Blizzard and it dealing damage, moving enemies may have time to avoid most if not all of its damage. This means that you should only use Blizzard under certain circumstances; generally, against stationary targets such as Minions, Structures, or Mercenaries, or against Heroes under the effects of crowd control.

If you are chasing a fleeing enemy or are being chased yourself, you can land multiple Blizzard waves by first Slowing your target with Frostbolt or Cone of Cold, and then casting Blizzard in the direction they are moving. This is particularly useful when blocking off choke points, as you are forcing your target to choose between taking heavy damage or completely changing direction.

Blizzard is also an extremely effective waveclearing tool. As early as Hero Level 2, a single cast will kill all 4 of the ranged Minions in a given Minion wave. Cone of Cold can be used to instantly finish off the remainder of the wave. To clear Minions most effectively, wait until every enemy Minion begins attacking your own Minions, at which point all enemy Minions will be within the radius of Blizzard.

Cone of Cold (E) Jaina

• Mana: 40
• Cooldown: 10 seconds

Deal 220 (+4% per level) damage and Chill targets.

Cone of Cold is Jaina's most damaging instant Ability (although, as we mentioned, it is surpassed by Blizzard if at least two of its waves hit the target). Its range, however, is the shortest, meaning getting into position for hits may be risky. Still, its instant point-and-click nature makes it the easiest Ability to hit with. Cone of Cold should be used whenever it is available and safe to do so, although only if the target is already Chilled. It is better to first Chill targets with Frostbolt, Blizzard, or Summon Water Elemental, since they each deal less damage than Cone of Cold. Once you unlock the Numbing Blast Talent at Level 16, using Cone of Cold against Chilled targets becomes even more important, as the Rooting effect it provides is vital to landing subsequent Blizzard waves.

In this section we discuss how this Heroic Ability works and give some tips on how to use it. If you are looking for a detailed explanation on when and why you should pick it, check out the dedicated section in the Talent Build page.

Ring of Frost (R) Jaina

• Heroic
• 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.

Ring of Frost is Jaina's combo- and crowd control-oriented Heroic Ability choice. Its unusual circular targeting makes it one of the most unique Ability in the game, and much practice is required to reliably hit Ring of Frost while under pressure. Allied crowd control and your own Chilling effects, however, can help greatly with this task. As with most Heroic Abilities that have a long Cooldown, you should try to hit as many Heroes as possible with Ring of Frost so as to maximise its value. Blizzard should follow successful Ring of Frost casts naturally, as the lengthy Rooting effect will ensure all waves hit.

Ring of Frost works particularly well with the following Abilities:

• Mosh Pit from E.T.C;
• Grav-O-Bomb 3000 from Gazlowe;
• Devouring Maw from Zagara;
• Graviton Surge from Zarya;
• Void Prison from Zeratul.

In this section we discuss how this Heroic Ability works and give some tips on how to use it. If you are looking for a detailed explanation on when and why you should pick it, check out the dedicated section in the Talent Build page.

Summon Water Elemental (R) Jaina

• Heroic
• 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. Loses Health over 32 seconds.

Summon Water Elemental is a versatile Heroic Ability choice that helps make up for several of Jaina's weakness, notably, dueling. Besides dealing a substantial amount of single-target damage on its own, the Water Elemental provides Frostbite's Chilling effect to anything it hits, which allows your Abilities to deal their full damage for as long as Water Elemental persists and attacks. Summon Water Elemental's long range can also be used to catch up to fleeing enemies. The Water Elemental can be ordered to move to a specific area or attack a specific target by re-casting the Ability at the desired location or on the desired target; this can be done even after Jaina has died. Controling the Elemental can also be useful for applying Frostbite to multiple targets by re-targeting the Summon's attack quickly against different Heroes. Try and never leave your Elemental idle, which it will become if it loses sight of its target. This Ability's relatively short Cooldown means it should be used liberally.