TBC Classic Frost Mage Phase 3 / 4 Gear and Best in Slot

This page contains a list of gear which is considered to be the best in each slot.

The list below is following the stat priority of Spell Hit until cap > Spell Haste >= Spell Damage > Spell Crit > Intellect and assumes no Hit Chance raid buffs. You can see an explanation for this priority on our stats page for Frost Mage below. During Black Temple, you may also have need of additional gear devoted to maximizing your Shadow Resistance stat. Should this be the case, we recommend consulting our guide dedicated to acquiring pieces with this stat as necessary.

If you are starting out as a freshly-leveled Frost Mage, our pre-raid best in slot list is meant to give you an idea of non-raid items you can chase as a solo / pug player in preparation for raids.

Do note that items from Heroic dungeons or that require Primal Nethers (which are obtained from Heroics) can be harder to get than raid items due to their daily lockout. Some Heroic dungeons are also harder than most of Karazhan.

To check out our recommended Pre-Raid best in slot gear, head over to its list below. If your character is still progressing through the content of older tiers, then you may wish to consult their best in slot lists instead.

The items on the following list for Phase 3/4 come from TBC dungeons, raids, and reputation rewards. It also uses only crafted gems, as these are easier to come by.

This gear set is the absolute best you can get in Phase 3/4. It is built for maximum performance on trash and bosses. During trash, especially on AoE, Haste rating is much more valuable than Spell Damage and Spell Crit, as Mages are often AoE-capped by Spell Power and AoEing many targets simultaneously. This means that with additional Haste you can cast more spells in the same time, whereas with additional Spell Damage, your Arcane Explosion would not hit harder due to the AoE cap. Therefore the Ashtongue Deathsworn Exalted trinket Ashtongue Talisman of Insight and Mind Quickening Gem from Vaelastrasz the Corrupt in Blackwing Lair are very strong options for AoE fights.

If you have access to an Elemental Shaman's Totem of Wrath, dropping Hit rating will be hard with this set, as most of the irreplaceable pieces have Hit on them.

Slot	Item	Source
Helm	Cowl of the Illidari High Lord Gems: 1x Chaotic Skyfire Diamond 1x Glowing Shadowsong Amethyst	Illidan Stormrage — Black Temple
Neck	Brooch of Nature's Mercy	Akil'zon — Zul'Aman
Shoulders	Mantle of the Tempest Gems: 1x Veiled Pyrestone 1x Glowing Shadowsong Amethyst	Mother Shahraz — Black Temple
Back	Shroud of the Highborne Alternative: Shadowcaster's Drape Cloak of the Illidari Council	Illidan Stormrage — Black Temple From the Zul'Aman timed run chests — Zul'Aman The Illidari Council — Black Temple
Chest	Robes of the Tempest — 3x Runed Crimson Spinel	Illidan Stormrage — Black Temple
Wrists	Bracers of Nimble Thought	Tailoring
Hands	Gloves of the Tempest — 1x Runed Crimson Spinel	Azgalor — Hyjal Summit
Waist	Anetheron's Noose — 2x Runed Crimson Spinel Alternative: Waistwrap of Infinity	Anetheron — Hyjal Summit Supremus — Black Temple
Legs	Leggings of the Tempest — 1x Runed Crimson Spinel	The Illidari Council — Black Temple
Feet	Slippers of the Seacaller — 2x Runed Crimson Spinel	High Warlord Naj'entus — Black Temple
Rings	Ring of Ancient Knowledge Band of the Eternal Sage	Various trash mobs — Black Temple Soridormi in the Caverns of Time — The Scale of the Sands Exalted
Trinkets	The Skull of Gul'dan Quagmirran's Eye Alternatives: Hex Shrunken Head * Icon of the Silver Crescent Dark Iron Smoking Pipe	Illidan Stormrage — Black Temple Quagmirran in Heroic The Slave Pens Hex Lord Malacrass — Zul'Aman G'eras in Shattrath — 41 Badge of Justice Coren Direbrew — Blackrock Depths during the Brewfest Event
Weapons	Zhar'doom, Greatstaff of the Devourer Alternative: Tempest of Chaos + Chronicle of Dark Secrets	Illidan Stormrage — Black Temple Archimonde + Rage Winterchill — Hyjal Summit
Wand	Wand of the Forgotten Star	High Astromancer Solarian — Tempest Keep

Hex Shrunken Head sims within 2 DPS of Quagmirran's Eye and is not worth to be taken from other classes for this small of an upgrade.

If you have further questions about gemming and enchanting these items, our Frost Mage Enchants and Gems page below provides more information.