Frost Mage PvP Stat Priority, Gear, and Trinkets (BfA / Patch 8.3)

The stat priority for Frost Mage in PvP is as follows:

1. Intellect;
2. Haste;
3. Versatility;
4. Mastery;
5. Critical Strike.

Intellect is the best stat in all situations. Haste is the best secondary state. This stat will reduce your global cooldown and the cast times of important spells like Polymorph. Versatility increases the damage you deal and reduces the damage you take. This is why you should also be wearing gear with Versatility as well.

Gear has a chance to get a Corruption effect on them. This Corruption can have 2 different affects: dealing damage or increasing one of your stats. The more Corruption to have, the more damage you will take from the Corruption effects. It is recommended to not have more than 40 Corruption at once or you will take too much damage and die quickly.

For a general guide on Corruptions, check out our guide.

Corruptions that deal damage proc from your damaging abilities. Although you do not have a choice on when they proc, most of them proc often and can make up a large amount of your overall damage. Below are the best Corruptions to have that will deal damage from using your abilities.

1. Gushing Wound — Places a very large DoT on the enemy that cannot be dispelled. Perfect for increasing your overall damage output.
2. Infinite Stars — Although the debuff is dispellable, it procs very often and can drastically increase your cleave damage.
3. Twisted Appendage — gives your abilities a chance to summon a tendril that will deal damage and slow the enemy. This tendril can be killed, but you can spawn multiple on one target and will do incredible amounts of damage if they are not killed quickly.

Corruptions that increase Stats are also extremely powerful. These Corruptions also have two different variations. The first is a proc chance to gain a stat. This is just like any other proc, where you will randomly get a buff that greatly increases one of your stats. The second, is you receive a certain stat from any source. This means you can gain that stat from anything from gear to traits. These stat increases are much more powerful to have. Below are the best Corruptions that increase your stats.

1. Versatile — If you want to be tankier and want to make it extremely difficult for the enemy team to kill you, this corruption is your best choice. Versatility is important for surviving and this gives you a flat Versatility increase.
2. Surging Vitality — Similar to the Versatile corruption, Surging Vitality also increases your Versatility. However, this is a proc, so you will not have control over when you get this Versatility increase.

Having a balance of both Mastery and Versatility is very important for Frost Mages. The best corruptions to have are Versatile and Masterful. Your main priority should be to get as much Versatility as you can and then use some Mastery corruptions.

In general, Frost Mages want to get trinkets that line up well with Ray of Frost or Icy Veins. These trinkets can have a passive or on-use effect. The stat you want to be increasing is Intellect. The reason you want to increase Intellect is because it drastically increases your overall damage output. For more information about Icy Veins and your rotation in PvP, please refer to our dedicated page.

To be successful in 3v3 arena, you want your gear to have Tunnel of Ice and Flash Freeze. You will also want either Overwhelming Power or Heed My Call in the third tier.

Below, we list the items that have these traits.

• Corrupted Gladiator's Silk Hood
• Corrupted Gladiator's Silk Hood
• Corrupted Gladiator's Silk Cap
• Corrupted Gladiator's Silk Cap

• Corrupted Gladiator's Silk Epaulets
• Corrupted Gladiator's Silk Epaulets

Chest pieces that have these traits:

• Corrupted Gladiator's Silk Armor
• Corrupted Gladiator's Silk Armor
• Corrupted Gladiator's Silk Chestwrap
• Corrupted Gladiator's Silk Chestwrap

Forbidden Obsidian Claw is a must-have trinket that drops from Maut in the Ny'alotha raid. This not only restores Mana, but it also deals a large amount of damage. Ideally, you will want to use this trinket when the enemy healer does not have a dispel, so it will stay for the entire duration.

Corrupted Gladiator's Maledict is a great trinket to have. The on-use damage and healing absorption is capable of forcing defensives, especially when coordinated with your other teammates Maledicts. This can be used by itself or while you are using your burst rotation to force multiple cooldowns out of enemy teams. If you use this trinket, make sure your other teammates are using it as well. Otherwise, the enemy healer can just dispel the debuff and it will force cooldowns.

Corrupted Gladiator's Safeguard is a mandatory trinket if you think the enemy team can swap to you and kill you. This provides an additional defensive for when you drop to low health. If you do not think a team will swap to you and kill you, you can replace this with any of the trinkets below.

Corrupted Gladiator's Badge is strong for the Versatility and the on-use Intellect effect. The 2-minute cooldown lines up well with either Ray of Frost or Icy Veins, and should be used every time you want to use your burst rotation.

Corrupted Gladiator's Insignia has a good amount of Versatility on it and has a passive effect. This effect increases your Intellect. This increases your sustained damage.

Enchant Weapon - Quick Navigation is the best weapon enchants. The enchant provides a proc that gives you a strong boost to your Haste. This reduces the cast time of your important abilities and provides a minor boost to your damage output.