Frost Mage Level 58 Boost Guide

Last updated on Jun 02, 2021 at 18:54 by Wrdlbrmpft 3 comments

This guide was designed to help new and returning Frost Mages with getting up to speed on how their class plays at Level 58 with the TBC talents and spells.

It is also an excellent first-read for players using the new TBCC Dark Portal Boost!

1.

Overview

The character boost offered by Blizzard allows you to boost one class of your choice to Level 58. If you have never played that class before, it can be very hard to find your place in this new environment.

This guide is tailored towards giving you a base understanding of playing a Frost Mage through completing the final few levels to 60, as well as at 60 in the pre-patch.

2.

Frost Mage Talents for Level 58 Boosts

To increase your kill speed, control over enemy mobs, and survivability, the Deep Frost spec has turned out to be the best for leveling versus single-target mobs. It is also very useful to burst high health enemies down with double Icy Veins IconIcy Veins and Summon Water Elemental IconSummon Water Elemental, combined with Shatter IconShatter.

You may use this spec up until Level 70 and add more points into Improved Cone of Cold IconImproved Cone of Cold, Winter's Chill IconWinter's Chill, and Arcane Subtlety IconArcane Subtlety or Improved Blizzard IconImproved Blizzard. There are also AoE builds, with which you can kill multiple mobs at a time, however, this is more for experienced players and if you are new to the Mage class, you should master the single-target build first.

3.

Frost Mage Rotation for Level 58 Boosts

The rotation shown below is in a priority list format.

Given your ability to control enemies as a Frost Mage, you can use your Frost Nova IconFrost Nova or Freeze IconFreeze from your Water Elemental to root them in place whenever an enemy comes too close to you.

Enemies that are frozen will have a 50% higher chance to receive a critical strike from you.

4.

Frost Mage Stat Priority for Level 58 Boosts

If you are fighting enemies on your own level or one level above you, the best offensive stats are:

  • Spell Damage and Healing
  • Spell Crit Rating
  • Spell Haste Rating
  • Spell Hit Rating*

*Note that you want to have 1% hit vs mobs 1 level higher than you, 2% for mobs 2 levels higher than you, and 13% hit for mobs 3 levels higher than you for your Frost spells.

While leveling, hit rating is basically irrelevant, but for bosses, you will want to be hit capped.

For Mana regeneration and general utility, you can look at the following stats:

  • Spirit
  • Mana per 5
  • Intellect
  • Stamina

For leveling, you will mostly want to stack offensive stats that increase your damage output, to ensure you maintain a steady pace while leveling.

5.

Important Abilities

If you are new to playing Mage, here is a list of core abilities and how to use them.

5.1.

Offensive Abilities

  • Frostbolt IconFrostbolt will be your main source of damage.
  • Frostbite IconFrostbite, which has a 15% chance per frost spell to freeze your enemies in place for 5 seconds, which increases your chance to get a critical strike by another 50%! Critical strikes with Frost spells do double damage!
  • Frost Nova IconFrost Nova can also be used to freeze your enemies in place for 8 seconds, for the increased chance to crit with Frost spells. Use rank 1 of this ability, as it does the same as the higher ranks, but costs more Mana.
  • Ice Lance IconIce Lance is a spell you will learn at Level 66 from your Mage trainer and can be used right after Frostbolt on a frozen target, so both spells will benefit from the bonus crit chance. Ice Lance can also be used while moving, so you can Frost Nova a low health enemy and Ice Lance it to finish it off.
  • Summon Water Elemental IconSummon Water Elemental summons a Water Elemental. He will fight for you and has two abilities.
    • Waterbolt IconWaterbolt, which fires a bolt of water at your enemy and which you can automate by making a macro, adding it to your Frostbolt ability.
    • Freeze IconFreeze is another ability your Water Elemental offers. It acts the same way as Frost Nova, with one significant difference: you can place it on enemies in range. So if an enemy is closing in to you, you use this "Pocket Frost Nova" and freeze him while casting your next Frostbolt. You can also make a macro for Freeze by opening the macro menu and just write /cast Freeze in the macro.
  • Icy Veins IconIcy Veins will increase your casting speed by 20% for 20 seconds. It is great in conjunction with Frostbolt and you can also make a macro like for Waterbolt, just replace the /petattack with /cast Icy Veins. This also works for Arcane Explosion and Blizzard and will make you basically do 20% more damage from casting faster. However, you will use up more Mana as well!
  • Cone of Cold IconCone of Cold is your first Frost AoE spell and it will deal damage to all mobs in a cone in front of you. If mobs are frozen by Frost Nova or Freeze, this spell also has a 50% higher chance to do double damage.
  • Blizzard IconBlizzard is your secondary AoE damage spell. It does less damage, but with the Improved Blizzard IconImproved Blizzard talent, it will slow down enemy mobs hugely and allow for a lot of control.
  • Cold Snap IconCold Snap is a spell that resets the cooldown of all your Frost abilities. However, this ability has a cooldown, which is modified by talents.
  • Arcane Explosion IconArcane Explosion is a very good AoE damage spell. If you choose the 2 talent points in Arcane Subtlety in the Arcane talent tree, it generates less threat and you can cast it more safely without having to worry about pulling aggro from a tank in dungeons.
  • Flamestrike IconFlamestrike is the Fire AoE spell every Mage can cast. It does direct damage to enemies in an area and leaves a DoT (damage over time) on the ground that burns enemies as well.
  • Fire Blast IconFire Blast is your instant cast Fire spell, which you can use while moving. It is typically used to finish off a mob or use while running away until the next Frost Nova is ready.
  • Fireball IconFireball is used in two cases. Some mobs have the ability to put a cooldown on all your Frost abilities while you are casting them and others are simply immune to Frost damage. You can use this spell to deal Fire damage.
  • Scorch IconScorch works the same way as Fireball, but is more Mana efficient. Further, you will not fire a projectile-type Fireball, but the damage will be dealt instantly.
  • Arcane Missiles IconArcane Missiles serves the same purpose as Fireball and Scorch, but it is a channelled spell of the Arcane school.
  • Spellsteal IconSpellsteal can be learned on your way to Level 70 and steals one magical buff from enemies with magical buffs.
  • Mage Armor IconMage Armor is your preferred armor before the Burning Crusade launches. It allows 30% of your Mana regeneration to continue while you are casting. That does not sound like much, but is pretty decent over a long time.
  • Molten Armor IconMolten Armor is introduced while leveling in TBC and adds 3% crit chance to your abilities. If mobs hit you, they will get damaged slightly as well.
5.2.

Defensive Abilities

  • Frost Nova IconFrost Nova can also be used defensively if you want to get away from enemy mobs.
  • Blink IconBlink teleports you 20 yards away from enemies. However, Blink can also be used to move faster or to move towards enemies.
  • Cold Snap IconCold Snap can be used defensively if you need to reset the cooldown of Frost Nova, Cone of Cold or Ice Barrier IconIce Barrier, which allows you to absorb damage.
  • Mana Shield IconMana Shield also absorbs incoming damage, but drains Mana per damage absorbed.
  • Polymorph IconPolymorph can be used to turn Critters, Beasts, and Humanoids into sheep, causing them to wander around for 50 seconds. Be aware that these mobs might not be sheeped for the full 50 seconds, as it can break at any time, with a higher chance towards the end of the duration.
  • Counterspell IconCounterspell will interrupt enemies casting spells either on you or your friends. You can use a macro with "/stopcasting" followed by "/cast Counterspell" (on a new line) to stop your current cast and instantly interrupt enemy casts.
  • Ice Block IconIce Block will freeze you in a block of ice and make you immune to almost all damage in the game. Furthermore, it removes almost all negative effects, also called debuffs, on you. Be aware that Priests in TBC can dispel your Ice Block with their Mass Dispel IconMass Dispel ability.
  • Frost Ward IconFrost Ward absorbs a certain amount of Frost damage. It is best used against mobs that deal Frost damage.
  • Fire Ward IconFire Ward absorbs a certain amount of Fire damage. It is best used against mobs that deal Fire damage.
  • Ice Armor IconIce Armor gives you additional armor points, which is useful against Physical hits from enemies; it also slows attackers.
  • Cone of Cold IconCone of Cold can be used defensively to slow mobs in front of you for 8 seconds, before you run away from them. Rank 1 of this ability costs less Mana and serves the same purpose!
  • Mage Armor IconMage Armor is your preferred armor before the Burning Crusade launches. It allows 30% of your Mana regeneration to continue while you are casting. That does not sound like much, but is pretty decent over a long time.
  • Molten Armor IconMolten Armor also increases the chance you will be critically hit by 5%. However, this is usually not considered, since Ice Armor just adds more survivability.
  • Invisibility IconInvisibility is also a spell introduced in TBC and can be used to get out of combat and run away from enemies, or to just sneak by enemies. It takes 5 seconds to become invisible and each second your threat level versus mobs is being decreased. After those 5 seconds, you will become invisible for 20 seconds and leave combat.
  • Remove Lesser Curse IconRemove Lesser Curse is important if mobs curse you with deadly curses. You can decurse yourself or friendly targets.
5.3.

Utility Abilities

  • Evocation IconEvocation is your most loved Mana-restoring spell. It can be used every 8 minutes and restores 60% of your whole Mana over a 8 seconds channeling time. Use this as often as you can when you need Mana, as it will save you time!
  • Amplify Magic IconAmplify Magic increases the spell damage and healing taken by the friendly target you cast this on. This can be used when you want to increase healing on your tank who is tanking mobs that do not cast any damaging spells and do only physical damage.
  • Dampen Magic IconDampen Magic is the opposite of Amplify Magic. It can be used to reduce spell damage taken from spells, but it also reduces healing taken. This can be useful if you are solo leveling or farming and mobs do a lot of magic damage.
  • Slow Fall IconSlow Fall requires a Light Feather Icon Light Feather and can be cast on yourself to reduce your falling speed. If you fall from a high ledge and would die otherwise, this spell can save your life! But be aware that any damage taken by you will cancel the effect!
  • Portals are made by Mages for their group members to teleport players to all your faction's major cities. They are taught by the Mage trainers and are very sought after! Creating a portal requires Rune of Portals Icon Rune of Portals to be cast, which you can buy from reagent vendors.
  • Teleport works like Portals, but simply only teleports the casting Mage to one of their faction's major cities. Casting this requires Rune of Teleportation Icon Rune of Teleportation, which you can buy from reagent vendors.
  • Conjure Mana Gem is also a spell used to create an item that restores Mana to you. You can conjure several different Mana gems in advance to restore Mana when needed. At Level 68 you will learn to conjure a Mana Gem that has three charges, which restores more Mana than it takes to conjure. Use it often and wisely! Conjured items disappear after 15 minutes of being logged out.
  • Conjure Water IconConjure Water conjures water for yourself and your party and there are different ranks of this spell. The highest rank is learned from a book that drops in high level TBC dungeons. Conjured items disappear after 15 minutes of being logged out.
  • Conjure Food IconConjure Food conjures water for yourself and your party and there are different ranks of this spell. The highest rank is learned from a book that drops in high level TBC dungeons. Conjured items disappear after 15 minutes of being logged out.
  • Ritual of Refreshment IconRitual of Refreshment is a spell you can learn at Level 70 from the Mage trainers, after you have learned your highest rank of Conjure Water and Conjure Food, which are both rare drop books from Outland dungeons. Conjured items disappear after 15 minutes of being logged out. This requires Arcane Powder Icon Arcane Powder to be cast, which you can buy from reagent vendors.
6.

Changelog

  • 02 Jun. 2021: Updated Ice Lance Info.
  • 19 May 2021: Talent tree updated.
  • 18 May 2021: Guide added.
Show more
Show less