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HomepageWorld of WarcraftClassesFrost MageFrequently Asked Questions

Frost Mage Frequently Asked Questions in Battle for Azeroth (BfA) 8.0.1

Last updated on Sep 01, 2018 at 03:58 by Kuni 83 comments

Table of Contents

General Information

On this page, we list all of the frequently asked questions for a Frost Mage in World of Warcraft Battle for Azeroth 8.0.1.

The other pages of our Frost Mage guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

About Our Author

This guide has been written by Kuni, one of the best Frost Mages in the world, who raids in Midnight Sanctuary.

1. Battle for Azeroth Frequently Asked Questions for Frost Mage

This section will go over a few of the most frequently asked questions regarding Frost Mages in Battle for Azeroth.

1.1. Glacial Spike's Brain Freeze Usage

The rule for Glacial Spike Icon Glacial Spike's Brain Freeze Icon Brain Freeze usage is you hold the proc when you are at 4-5 Icicles. The question related to this seen the most is "Brain Freeze procced, I am casting the next Frostbolt Icon Frostbolt, and I am at X Icicles. Do I use it?" The easiest answer is consider how many Icicles you are going to be at when you fire Flurry Icon Flurry, rather than how many you are at while casting Frostbolt.

If you are at 2 Icicles, just procced Brain Freeze Icon Brain Freeze, and are casting the Frostbolt Icon Frostbolt that will generate Icicle #3; you will be at 3 Icicles when you would be pressing Flurry Icon Flurry, so do so. In the same vein — you are at 3, Brain Freeze procced there, currently casting Frostbolt for 4th; you will be at 4 Icicles when you actually fire Flurry in that situation, so you do not use it, instead holding it for Glacial Spike Icon Glacial Spike.

1.2. "How do you Shatter Glacial Spike?" and Other Winter's Chill Questions

Frost is unique among casters. Every other caster in the game calculates if their spell is going to Critically Strike the moment it leaves your hands. Due to Winter's Chill wanting you to cast an Ice Lance Icon Ice Lance directly afterwards, but being unable to be applied to the target at long distance before the Global Cooldown is up, Blizzard changed when Frost's spells check their Critical roll to the moment of impact.

This moment of spell checking allows for the slower traveling Glacial Spike Icon Glacial Spike, Ebonbolt Icon Ebonbolt, and Frostbolt Icon Frostbolt to be launched first, but impact after the first bolt of the extremely fast Flurry Icon Flurry, assuming it is cast directly afterwards. It is this cast time spell → Flurry → Ice Lance Icon Ice Lance combo that is the heart of Frost, and it is this combo you must master to be competent in the spec, regardless of talents chosen.

In addition, Ice Lance Icon Ice Lance also has a fairly fast travel speed, and should always follow up any Flurry Icon Flurry cast with Brain Freeze Icon Brain Freeze. Winter's Chill will consider the target frozen — Ice Lance will Shatter Icon Shatter and gain the triple damage benefit, just as if it were cast under Fingers of Frost Icon Fingers of Frost. And again, since Frost's spells calculate their Critical status on the moment of impact, you should cast it immediately afterwards rather than wait for Winter's Chill to apply to the target. The travel time involved will make sure your Ice Lance always benefits from frozen status. Waiting will make you miss the window.

1.3. Cancelling Frostbolt on Brain Freeze Generation

Simply: do not.

While it is technically a gain to cancel a Frostbolt Icon Frostbolt cast if you can hit it in the first 750 milliseconds of the cast once you get Brain Freeze Icon Brain Freeze at 5 Icicles, the actual gain from it is so minor as to be almost unnoticeable. We cannot foresee any real situation in which this is an optimization even top end players attempt to do.

All effort at attempting to min-max this small of a gain should instead be spent on optimizing your normal gameplay, as you will see larger gains out of that, be it through minimizing movement or getting more comfortable with the flow of a fight, allowing you to plan things out like how to AoE more effectively, or simply minimizing your downtime.

⋘Common and Worst Mistakes
Boss by Boss Strategies⋙

2. ChangeLog

  • 01 Sep. 2018: Added Frostbolt cancelling information.
  • 20 Aug. 2018: Added FAQ page for Frost Mage.
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