Altered Time - your #1 World of Warcraft Mage resource!

Frost Mage in BFA for M+
Will be updated for 8.1 soon™ I am no longer playing the game due to school and as such this guide won't be maintained. Sorry Table of Contents

• Gear
  • Stat Priority
    • Azerite Traits
    • Single Target Traits
    • AOE Traits
    • Defensive
  • Trinkets
    • Single Target
    • AoE
• Talents
  • Dungeon Specific Setups
    • Affix Specific
    • Dungeon Specific
• Racials
• Spells and Cooldowns
  • Cooldowns
  • Utility Spells
  • Minor Defensive Spells
• Tips and Tricks
• Weakauras
• Addons
• Consumables and Miscellaneous items
• Your role as a Frost Mage
  • Farming Keys
  • Pushing Keys
• Weakaura Links

Gear

Stat Priority
Frost mage stats for M+ will essentially be the same as for raid, but as usual Always SIM yourself.
Check out the post here to learn how to sim yourself.

• How to Sim

There is also a well maintained website that makes simming yourself really simple and easy.

• Web based simming in the clouds.

Azerite Traits
Azerite traits are the new relics/legendary effects for BFA and just like in Legion there are clear winners and clear losers. In this section I'll highlight the best traits for ST, AOE, and Defensive traits. As well as giving my suggestions on potential combinations of traits.

Single Target Traits
The best single target traits for M+ aren't as clear cut and easy to follow as it is for raid. Some traits can gain or lose value depending on things such as fight length, how often you're in combat, and even the traits value on BOTH single target and AoE. In this section I'll highlight the top 5 most useful traits to have for M+. Remember Azerite gear is limited, you won't always have the best options available to you. So make sure you sim yourself and use what you have available.

• For a full list of Traits for single target either head over to Bloodmallet or Herodamage.

• https://www.wowhead.com/spell=280555/ar ... the-titans
  • All around useful trait even without the secondary buff from https://www.wowhead.com/spell=280573/re ... tion-array, also extremely good for AoE.
• https://www.wowhead.com/spell=273823
  • This trait gives a HUGE crit proc, very useful to guarantee your https://www.wowhead.com/spell=199786/glacial-spike will https://www.wowhead.com/spell=12982.
• https://www.wowhead.com/spell=280402/tidal-surge
  • Just a solid ST trait.
• https://www.wowhead.com/spell=278542/frigid-grasp
  • With the recent buffs and the shorter fight lengths, Frigid grasp is really strong with its upfront burst damage.
• https://www.wowhead.com/spell=281514/unstable-catalyst
  • Solid int buff, harder to take advantage of though.

AOE Traits
AOE traits for Frost are largely dominated by stat proc based traits such as https://www.wowhead.com/spell=280555/ar ... the-titans and https://www.wowhead.com/spell=273823/bl ... e-infusion. Just like with the single target traits, I'll list the top 5 most useful traits for AoE, that you might have glanced over on simming websites.

• For a full list of Traits for AoE either head over to Bloodmallet or Herodamage.

• https://www.wowhead.com/spell=280555/ar ... the-titans
  • Arguably the best trait for sustained AoE, even without the secondary buff from https://www.wowhead.com/spell=280573/re ... tion-array.
• https://www.wowhead.com/spell=273823
  • The more crits you get during https://www.wowhead.com/spell=84714 and https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm the better.
• https://www.wowhead.com/spell=278542/frigid-grasp
  • With the recent buffs and the shorter fight lengths, Frigid grasp is our ONLY option for higher burst damage.
• https://www.wowhead.com/spell=278541/whiteout
  • I highly recommend having at least one of this trait. The reduced cooldown aspect combined with the CDR from https://www.wowhead.com/spell=190356 can net you more https://www.wowhead.com/spell=84714s throughout a dungeon.
• https://www.wowhead.com/spell=281514/unstable-catalyst
  • Solid int buff, harder to take advantage of though.

Defensive Traits
With a dedicated slot for defensive traits, Azerite gear can largely make up for the lack of survivability that Mage's tend to have in M+. There are 12 defensive traits available and I'll list the ones that I find useful and where its useful.

• https://www.wowhead.com/spell=270654/impassive-visage
  • Fights that have constant ticking damage.
• https://www.wowhead.com/spell=270568/re ... protection
  • A https://www.wowhead.com/item=132444/pry ... agnum-opus clone, useful for almost all situations. Shines the most when there are large infrequent hits.
• https://www.wowhead.com/spell=270652/vampiric-speed
  • Useful for any trash pack or boss, but has the most impact with fights that have a lot or frequent add spawns.

Trinkets
Unlike in Legion we can't swap gear in M+ in BFA, because of that you have to decide what trinkets you want to take for the entirety of the dungeon. Luckily there are some trinkets that excel in both ST and in AOE. Just like traits, trinkets that have secondary stat procs tend to perform better than those with damage procs. More so because damage trinkets now split evenly between all targets hit.
-note that high titanforged WQ trinkets, PvP trinkets, and Raid trinkets can be just as valuable. Remember to always sim what you got.

ST Trinkets
Just like in Raid your ST trinkets will remain almost identical, but I'll put some specific trinkets. Here's a quick rundown of some of the top trinkets for ST:

• https://www.wowhead.com/item=163937/ley ... ompilation
• https://www.wowhead.com/item=159624/rot ... =1542:4779
• https://www.wowhead.com/item=159631/lad ... =1542:4779
• https://www.wowhead.com/item=159610/ves ... =1542:4779

AOE Trinkets
With the removal of high burst AOE trinkets like https://www.wowhead.com/item=151962/pro ... =3612:1502 and https://www.wowhead.com/item=151969/ter ... =3612:1502, much of your AOE damage is going to come from your own spells. With trinkets boosting your secondary stats. Here's a quick rundown of the top trinkets for AOE:

• https://www.wowhead.com/item=163937/ley ... ompilation
• https://www.wowhead.com/item=160656/twi ... =4800:1507
• https://www.wowhead.com/item=159615/ign ... =1542:4779
• https://www.wowhead.com/item=159630/bal ... =1542:4779
  • Although Branch sims poorly on Bloodmallet/Herodamage, it is one of the best trinkets you can have for on demand burst damage. All of our AOE damage is frontloaded into https://www.wowhead.com/spell=84714/frozen-orb and https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm.

Talents
The go-to talent setup as of now focuses on strong priority target burst damage with http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=199786/glacial-spike and strong burst AOE with http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm. Talent builds are not set in stone, being able to change to a different talent depending on the dungeon will provide better damage output.

• Tier 1
  • http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=205027/bone-chilling
    • Provides the highest overall DPS out of all 3 talents.

• Tier 2
  • http://www.wowhead.com/spell=212653/shimmer
    • Hands down the most versatile choice in this line.

• Tier 3
  • http://www.wowhead.com/spell=1463/incanters-flow
    • The best ST and AoE talent choice here.
  • http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power
    • There is a possible benefit in using rune to setup burst damage, but so far I have not found it useful. Especially the higher you go in M+.

• Tier 4
  • http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=257537/ebonbolt
    • When talented into http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=199786/glacial-spike.
  • http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=205030/frozen-touch
    • When talented into http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=155149.
  • http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=278309/chain-reaction
    • Gains value on extended AoE fights, especially when paired with http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=155149/thermal-void.

• Tier 5
  • http://www.wowhead.com/spell=235224/frigid-winds
    • Provides the best slow in the game and the most overall use in this line. Also provides the best utility for http://www.wowhead.com/affix=2/skittish and http://www.wowhead.com/affix=4/necrotic.
  • http://www.wowhead.com/spell=113724
    • Has its uses when CC is necessary for certain mobs.
  • http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205036/ice-ward
    • Pairs well with http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=199786/glacial-spike when talented into http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice.

• Tier 6
  • http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm
    • Should be taken in almost every dungeon. It is our best burst AoE talent and our best ST talent.
  • http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=270233/freezing-rain
    • Very strong on really big pulls or extended fights.
  • http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice
    • Can be better than http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm depending on the dungeon.

• Tier 7
  • http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=199786/glacial-spike
    • Our go to for tier 7, it has huge ST burst dmg and for most the best ST talent. GS is obviously not the best AoE talent to take, only really providing ST dmg and priority target dmg.
  • http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=155149/thermal-void
    • Taking TV depends on what kind of pulls your group is doing as well as what dungeon you're doing. TV benefits on longer pulls where you can take advantage of the added duration to https://www.wowhead.com/spell=12472/icy-veins.
  • http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=205021/ray-of-frost
    • Does decent damage, but is outclassed by the other two talents.

Per Dungeon Talents
The argument of https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice vs https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm vs https://www.wowhead.com/spell=270233/freezing-rain as well as https://www.wowhead.com/spell=235224/frigid-winds vs https://www.wowhead.com/spell=205036/ice-ward in m+ will largely come down to the group comp you run, the types of pulls you do, and dungeon specific/affix specific situations. That being said in this section I'll list what talent is most suitable for dungeon specific and affix specific situations.

• Shout out to Mauiiwowie (Twitch link) and Shiftmage (Twitch link) for helping me put together these recommendations.

Affix Specific

• https://www.wowhead.com/affix=4/necrotic
  • https://www.wowhead.com/spell=235224/frigid-winds
    • Kiting is the name of the game when it comes to necrotic, gotta use the best slow available to us.
  • https://www.wowhead.com/spell=270233/freezing-rain
    • FR can be taken to make blizzard placement easier
• https://www.wowhead.com/affix=13/explosive
  • https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice
    • An absolute must for explosives, it allows our https://www.wowhead.com/spell=30455/ice-lance to cleave off of the explosives.
• https://www.wowhead.com/affix=8/sanguine
  • https://www.wowhead.com/spell=205036/ice-ward
    • DO NOT TAKE https://www.wowhead.com/spell=235224/frigid-winds, less time spent in sanguine pools the better.

Dungeon Specific

• Atal'Dazar
  • Recommendation: https://www.wowhead.com/spell=205036/ice-ward + https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm
  • All of the bosses in this dungeon are single target oriented. With the last boss, Yazma, having an add phase that heavily favors the burst damage from https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm. The majority of the trash in this instance will most likely not be kited. One mob in particular, the https://www.wowhead.com/npc=128435/toxic-saurid, can be particularly dangerous at higher key levels. Initial burst damage from https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm and CC from https://www.wowhead.com/spell=205036/ice-ward can help control and mitigate the damage taken from these packs.
  • Talent usage can still change based on the affix of the week, so be sure to keep that in mind. One of them being https://www.wowhead.com/affix=13/explosive. The https://www.wowhead.com/npc=125977/reanimation-totem from the https://www.wowhead.com/npc=129399/volkaal fight can spawn explosives, and https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice can help manage explosives spawning on your totem while maintaining DPS.
• Freehold
  • Recommendation: https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm
  • Apart from the Council o' Captains fight, this dungeon is another single target heavy instance. Trothak, the third boss of the Ring of Booty event, can easily get out of hand with poor group single target DPS. https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice can be taken specifically for the Council o' Captains fight if your group lacks in cleave damage, but in most cases https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm will win out. As for the trash, there isn't a clear winner between https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm and https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice. Although pull patterns can heavily favor https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm given the high mob density of the dungeon.
  • https://www.wowhead.com/spell=235224/frigid-winds is a huge MVP in this dungeon for Necrotic weeks.
• King's Rest
  • Recommendation: https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice or https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm
  • King's Rest mainly consists of single target bosses, with the exception of the last boss King Dazar and his two raptors Reban and Tzala. https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice can be taken for the last boss. There are not a lot of large trash pulls that you can do in this dungeon. While most of the dangerous mobs in this dungeon are paired together, which favors https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice.
  • Just like in Atal'Dazar, the totems spawned from https://www.wowhead.com/spell=267060/ca ... e-elements can also spawn https://www.wowhead.com/affix=13/explosive. So keep that in mind. Group comp will be the biggest factor in talent choices for this dungeon, since both https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice and https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm are both useful.
  • Many of the mobs in this dungeon aren't affected by slows but can be rooted. https://www.wowhead.com/spell=205036/ice-ward will be more useful in most cases.
• Shrine of the Storm
  • Recommendation: https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm + https://www.wowhead.com/spell=205036/ice-ward
  • Although Tidesage Council is a big cleave fight, both Lord Stormsong and Vol'zith are the two important bosses of this instance. https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm being the clear winner on both of those fights. Also on Vol'zith, https://www.wowhead.com/npc=135903/mani ... f-the-deep will periodically spawn and cleaving onto those with https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice will potentially kill anyone with the https://www.wowhead.com/spell=267034/whispers-of-power debuff/buff. Trash in this dungeon can easily be double pulled and would heavily favor https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm, but most of the trash that gets double pulled are non threatening neutral mobs. https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice can provide better priority damage on trash, especially when paired with https://www.wowhead.com/spell=205036/ice-ward.
  • Necrotic and Sanguine can be some what tricky due to mob density and cramped hallways. So make sure to take the https://www.wowhead.com/spell=235224/frigid-winds or https://www.wowhead.com/spell=205036/ice-ward for the appropriate affix.
• Siege of Boralus
  • Recommendation: https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm
  • Unlike some of the other dungeons, https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice doesn't really get much value in this dungeon. All the bosses are basically single target fights; with the exception of https://www.wowhead.com/npc=144158/sergeant-bainbridge and https://www.wowhead.com/npc=129208/drea ... n-lockwood having somewhat important add spawns, which are generally tanked on the boss. As for the trash, most packs will need to be bursted down asap. With the most dangerous one usually left on its own at the end.
  • Not much to say for Siege, https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm is a clear winner here.
• Temple of Sethraliss
  • Recommendation: https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm
  • This is the one dungeon I would highly avoid using https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice. Any cleave on https://www.wowhead.com/npc=133379/adderis and https://www.wowhead.com/npc=133944/aspix can be fatal at higher key levels. Apart from that, https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm is extremely useful for bursting down https://www.wowhead.com/npc=135562/venomous-ophidian during the https://www.wowhead.com/npc=133384/merektha fight. It also provides better ST DPS on https://www.wowhead.com/npc=133389/galvazzt, which is arguably the scariest boss in the instance. As for trash, the most notable gain from https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm is in the orb room where killing off https://www.wowhead.com/npc=135007/orb-guardian and https://www.wowhead.com/npc=135971/faithless-conscript helps reduce the time spent in that area.
  • Necrotic and Sanguine can be an issue due to the cramped hallways. So make sure to take the https://www.wowhead.com/spell=235224/frigid-winds or https://www.wowhead.com/spell=205036/ice-ward for the appropriate affix.
• MOTHERLODE!!
  • Recommendation: https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm
  • This is a really easy choice. First boss, https://www.wowhead.com/npc=139904/coin ... #abilities, has a damage amp through https://www.wowhead.com/spell=269493/footbomb-launcher which https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm can easily take advantage of. The rest of the bosses are mostly single target focused with https://www.wowhead.com/npc=129227/azerokk having a few adds that can easily be bursted down. A lot of the trash in this dungeon can be mass pulled and abused with https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm. You could possibly take https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice if the pulls are consistently small, but https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm is a clear winner here.
  • Lots of room to kite in this dungeon https://www.wowhead.com/spell=235224/frigid-winds or https://www.wowhead.com/spell=205036/ice-ward your choice.
• Underrot
  • Recommendation: https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice + https://www.wowhead.com/spell=205036/ice-ward
  • Talent choice can go either way here. On one hand Elder Leaxa's's https://www.wowhead.com/spell=264603/blood-mirror can easily get out of hand without good cleave damage and cleaving Unbound Abomination's's https://www.wowhead.com/npc=137103/blood-visage can provide better value than https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm. On the other hand Cragmaw and Zancha are both single target fights and can often be the harder two fights in the instance. As for the trash, most of the mobs are better off being bursted early on rather than cleaved down which favors https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm, but https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice can still provide great value when paired with double shatters from https://www.wowhead.com/spell=205036/ice-ward.
  • Group comp and affixes can have a pretty significant impact in this dungeon. https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm can be more valuable on weeks that allow for larger mass pulls. While https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice + https://www.wowhead.com/spell=205036/ice-ward will be more useful on weeks with https://www.wowhead.com/affix=13 or https://www.wowhead.com/affix=7
• Waycrest Manor
  • Recommendation: https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm
  • Just like Underrot, talent choice in Waycrest can go either way between https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm or https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice. All the bosses tend to favor https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm with the exception of https://www.wowhead.com/npc=144324/gorak-tul and https://www.wowhead.com/npc=131545/lady-waycrest. Trash in this dungeon tends to heavily favor https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm depending on the affixes of the week. Many of the packs can be mass pulled and bursted down quite easily.
  • Affixes play a huge role in choosing talents in Waycrest. Affixes like https://www.wowhead.com/affix=13 and https://www.wowhead.com/affix=7 will favor https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice because of the smaller pulls. While https://www.wowhead.com/spell=235224/frigid-winds can help tanks kite in the narrow hallways during https://www.wowhead.com/affix=4.
• Tol Dagor
  • Recommendation: https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm
  • All the bosses heavily favor https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm. You need burst to nuke down https://www.wowhead.com/npc=127479/the-sand-queen's https://www.wowhead.com/npc=131785/buzzing-drone and
    the mobs that https://www.wowhead.com/npc=127484/jes-howlis frees from the cages. The rest of the dungeon has fairly consistent pull sizes for trash. https://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice can be stronger for the higher health mobs between https://www.wowhead.com/npc=127484/jes-howlis and https://www.wowhead.com/npc=127490/knig ... ain-valyri, but doesn't give enough of a gain over https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm.
  • Tol Dagor has one unique talent option that the other dungeons do not have. It's home to probably one of the last "huge pulls" in M+, depending on the affix of course. The outdoor area before https://www.wowhead.com/npc=127479/the-sand-queen has a ton of mobs that can be mass pulled and AoE'd with https://www.wowhead.com/spell=270233/freezing-rain and https://www.wowhead.com/spell=155149/thermal-void. Then zone out and swap back to https://www.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm and https://www.wowhead.com/spell=199786/glacial-spike for the rest of dungeon.

Racials
Racials in M+ make a huge difference compared to its counterpart. Apart from DPS gains with races like Troll http://www.wowhead.com/spell=26297/berserking or Dwarf http://www.wowhead.com/spell=59224/migh ... e-mountain, the utility certain races provide make up for certain aspects Frost lacks in. Get accustomed to your racial, you never know how useful it might be! The top 3 racials to have in M+ are:

• http://www.wowhead.com/spell=28730/arcane-torrent
  • An AoE disepll, useful in some situations.
• http://www.wowhead.com/spell=59752/ever ... or-himself
  • A stun break can save yourself from an unfortunate death.
• http://www.wowhead.com/spell=58984/shadowmeld
  • Shadowmeld can completely negate an entire mechanic if timed well.

Spells and Cooldowns
This part of the guide isn't going to map out each button press to the dot. It's going to give you general guidelines to take advantage of the weird timings that come with M+. Along with Utility spells most people don't even have binded!

Main Cooldowns

• With the changes to some of our AoE abilities/talents such as http://www.wowhead.com/spell=84714/frozen-orb and http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm our AoE will look a little different. http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=153595/comet-storm is our hardest hitting AoE ability and should be used with http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=33395/freeze/http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=122/frost-nova to take advantage of http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=12982/shatter. http://www.wowhead.com/spell=84714/frozen-orb has been included into our http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=76613/mastery-icicles and has also recieved some buffs to its base damage. Making it an even bigger priority for AoE. Apart from that, the rotation will largely remain the same; keeping http://www.wowhead.com/spell=190356/blizzard on CD on 2+ targets and making sure to maximize http://www.wowhead.com/spell=84714/frozen-orb usage. http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12472/icy-veins has also taken a hit with the loss the artifact trait http://www.wowhead.com/spell=195448/chilled-to-the-core, making it only a haste buff. It is still a good CD to use and should be used on big trash pulls and bosses.

• A little more on http://www.wowhead.com/spell=190356/blizzard usage. The general rule of thumb is Blizzard on CD when there are 2+ targets. Since more http://www.wowhead.com/spell=84714/frozen-orb = more damage. But using Blizzard even on 1 target is going to be a HUGE gain if it means Frozen Orb will be off cooldown going into the next pack of 5 mobs!

Utility Spells

• As a Frost mage we have A LOT of utility. We have http://www.wowhead.com/spell=219407/polymorph, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=122/frost-nova (two with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205036/ice-ward), http://www.wowhead.com/spell=113724/ring-of-frost, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=190357/blizzard, and yes even http://www.wowhead.com/spell=120/cone-of-cold. Now you might ask what's the point of utility? Well when the key level gets higher and higher you can't always pull an entire mob pack and burn through it. Most of the time you have to CC mobs to avoid the risk of wiping. This is where spells like http://www.wowhead.com/spell=219407/polymorph and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=113724/ring-of-frost come in handy. As well as http://www.wowhead.com/spell=122/frost-nova, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=190357/blizzard, and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=120/cone-of-cold for kiting mobs from hitting your tank or melee.

• Correct http://www.wowhead.com/spell=219407/polymorph usage is really crucial for high m+. CC'ing a mob completely out of combat until ready to be killed is highly valuable. Certain mobs such as http://www.wowhead.com/npc=95842/valarjar-thundercaller with their http://www.wowhead.com/spell=198595/thunderous-bolt and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=198599 can easily wipe a group on a high level http://www.wowhead.com/affix=10/fortified key.
  -outdated examples, will update soon.

• http://www.wowhead.com/spell=113724/ring-of-frost is also very useful in high m+ since it is our only incapacitate spell as a Frost mage. Mobs such as http://www.wowhead.com/npc=98691/risen-scout#abilities with their http://www.wowhead.com/spell=200291 can do millions of damage onto an entire group if not stunned, disorientated, or incapacitated. Given that Frost only has one of those 3 as a talent, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=113724/ring-of-frost should only be used in specific situations that require it. It is also a tricky spell to get used to, it's not an instant CC like http://www.wowhead.com/spell=31661/dragons-breath or http://www.wowhead.com/spell=119381/leg-sweep.
  -outdated examples, will update soon.

• As for the other Utility spells, apart from http://www.wowhead.com/spell=190357/blizzard use your head and kite appropriately. For example don't http://www.wowhead.com/spell=122/frost-nova during http://www.wowhead.com/affix=2/skittish when your tank is running. It'll get your melee killed! Unless you like messing with your friends...

• Lastly, DO NOT FORGET ABOUT http://www.wowhead.com/spell=2139/counterspell. Kicking casts in M+ is more important than most people realize. A lot of mobs have spells that can easily kill you or your entire group. Now obviously knowing what to kick and what to let by comes with practice and experience, but just keep in mind to kick casts. If you're lucky you might be with a good group that can guide you to interrupt casts. Otherwise trial and error!

Minor Defensive Spells
We have one minor defensive, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=11426/ice-barrier. It is arguably the best minor absorb in the game. With a 25 sec CD and 60 sec duration, it'll help you get through A LOT of mechanics without having to use http://www.wowhead.com/spell=45438/ice-block. Use it religiously it'll save your healer some mana and ultimately make the run go quicker. Less time wasted on healing in between packs means a quicker run.

Tips and Tricks
Here are some tips and tricks that can either improve QoL or even provide big DPS increases that you might not have known about.

The biggest tip I can give you in M+ is keybind http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30449/spellsteal. It is in my opinion one of the most useful aspects of being a mage in M+. There is a huge range of mob abilities that can be spellstolen as well as purged, here's some of the most notable:

• Shrine of the Storm: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=134139/shrine-templar
  • https://www.wowhead.com/spell=267977/tidal-surge - 25% haste and damage buff, tell your melee not to kick it.
• Shrine of the Storm: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=136186/tide ... iritualist
  • https://www.wowhead.com/spell=268030/mending-rapids - a large heal on the caster's target, if these go off make sure to spellsteal it fast.
• Temple of Sethraliss: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=134629/scaled-krolusk-rider
  • https://www.wowhead.com/spell=272659/electrified-scales - basically a thorns, on higher keys this can easily kill your party.
• Temple of Sethraliss: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=139425/crazed-incubator
  • https://www.wowhead.com/spell=269896/embryonic-vigor - this is a big DPS gain, keep an eye out for it!
• Underrot: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=131492/devout-blood-priest
  • https://www.wowhead.com/spell=265091/gift-of-ghuun - a cheat death for the duration of the buff, just like Mending rapids if this goes off spellsteal it fast.

The best way to keep an eye out for these buffs is to either download an addon that displays the spellstealable buffs clearly or through Elvui, which gives an option to highlight spellstealable buffs with a yellow border. There may be other ways to track it that I'm not aware of but I personally go about it through Elvui.

Apart from http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30449/spellsteal there are plenty of innovative and cool ways to use our spell kit to either mitigate or negate entire mechanics. Spells like http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236645/shimmer and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=45438/ice-block.

• http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236645/shimmer can be used to avoid:
  • King's Rest: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=136160/king-dazar#abilities
    • https://www.wowhead.com/spell=268932/quaking-leap can be avoided if you blink at the end of the cast while Dazar is in the air.
  • Tol Dagor: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=127479/the- ... #abilities
    • https://www.wowhead.com/spell=257608/upheaval can be avoided completely with a well timed blink.

• http://www.wowhead.com/spell=45438/ice-block can be used to either clear harmful debuffs or immune a plethora of boss mechanics such as:
  
  • King's Rest: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=135470/akaa ... #abilities
    • https://www.wowhead.com/spell=266951/barrel-through can be solo soaked on your own, no need for your party to get knocked back.
  • King's Rest https://www.wowhead.com/npc=135322/the- ... #abilities
    • https://www.wowhead.com/spell=265773/spit-gold can be negated entirely if you Ice block before the gold lands on your character.
  • TOS https://www.wowhead.com/npc=133389/galvazzt#guides
    • https://www.wowhead.com/spell=266923/galvanize debuff can be cleared with Ice Block, allowing you to soak multiple towers.

Weakauras
Apart from the standard spell cooldown and buff trackers there are a couple of weakauras I use specifically to help me with M+.

• Quaking WA
  • Tracks the timing of http://www.wowhead.com/affix=14/quaking so you don't get locked out.
• Explosives WA
  • Shows the number of http://www.wowhead.com/affix=13/explosives currently spawned and highlights their nameplate.
• Party Interrupt Tracker
  • Tracks everyone's interrupt to help manage interrupts.
• Arcane Intellect WA
  • Tracks http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=1459/arcane-intellect as well as http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=21562/power-word-fortitude and http://bfa.wowhead.com/spell=6673/battle-shout.

Addons
I personally do not use a lot of addons specific to M+ and don't find any of them to be particularly useful. There are however a few general addons that are a must if you're serious about pushing keys.

• DBM
• LittleWigs
  • just like in raid, its your biggest tool for M+ bosses.
• Weakauras
  • To take advantage of those awesome weakauras I listed.
• Details!
  • or any other damage meter. However I recommend getting one that shows damage taken and death recounts accurately so that you can learn what abilities are killing you.

Consumables and Miscellaneous Items
With every dungeon you should be prepared to come in with at least:

• https://www.wowhead.com/item=152639/fla ... ss-fathoms
• Food of choice
• https://www.wowhead.com/item=163222/bat ... -intellect
• Optional:
  • https://www.wowhead.com/item=152494/coa ... ing-potion
    • Optional but wink wink you should bring these!
  • https://www.wowhead.com/item=152496/dem ... -deception
    • If your http://www.wowhead.com/spell=66/invisibility is on cd.

So what's your role as a Frost Mage?
I'll split this up into two categories one for Farming either for the gear or the weekly and the other for Pushing Keys.

Farming
Your role as a Frost mage will predominately be high burst AoE dps and slows, but that doesn't mean you should slack on your ST DPS. Although Frost ST dps isn't the highest simming dps, the shorter fight lengths should allow you to keep up with most dps. We also provide great Utility for some of the trickier Affixes. If its http://www.wowhead.com/affix=2/skittish, http://www.wowhead.com/affix=4 week kite the adds and help your tank. Frost is also amazing at killing http://www.wowhead.com/affix=13/explosive and managing trash health during http://www.wowhead.com/affix=7/bolstering weeks with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=56377/splitting-ice. Don't be afraid to soak mechanics with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=45438/ice-block and control adds with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30449/spellsteal and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=219407/polymorph. Just like in Raid we're not just a reliable source of damage, we also have great utility for all sorts of mechanics.

Pushing Keys
When it comes to pushing keys your main role will be to provide constant slows, high AoE burst, and strong priority target damage. As a mage you should be aware of what mobs are CC'able with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=219407/polymorph and what mobs to https://www.wowhead.com/spell=30449/spellsteal. Track your party's https://www.wowhead.com/spell=57723/exhaustion debuff. Know what mechanics you can immune with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=45438/ice-block and avoid with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236645/shimmer. As far as damage is concerned you should be doing the standard rotation for ST. On AoE maintain high uptime on http://www.wowhead.com/spell=190356/blizzard and hit as many targets as you can with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=84714/frozen-orb.

Weakaura Links
I've made my own Frost mage weakaura set, as well as one for Arcane, that are tailored more for M+ than for raid.

• Frost

• Arcane

Aside from Frost specific things regarding M+, a lot of your success in pushing keys comes with a lot of practice. Being knowledgeable with all the dungeons takes time. Min/Maxing every little thing you can takes a lot of practice and execution. Remember that M+ is a race against a timer, every little thing adds up.


Feel free to add your insight, I'm more then welcome to new ideas and strategies. Also if you think I'm wrong feel free to correct it I'm more than willing to admit fault.

If you see me on discord feel free to ask questions, currently going by Herusx
Have fun pushing keys

Reserving for further dungeon specific tips and tricks

In arcway if it happens and http://www.wowhead.com/npc=105617/eredar-chaosbringerr finish the cast called http://www.wowhead.com/spell=226285/demonic-ascension you can also spellsteal it and kill the mob without facing transformed deadly creature.

Nice frost M+ guide here.
Sth to point out:
KJ/Active isnt bad in M+, they can both activate when M+ begins so you can equip KJ/pharamere and fire KJ/orb for the first big pack of trash mobs. Then you swap with other trinkets.
Better have different gear set, so you can fully use legos like sephuz in trash/shard right after boss/soul when sephuz is on CD. Btw if you are going to use shard just check your M+ mates have lust/heroism to avoid waste of lust.
Active trinket have 30s CD when equipped, so better check/estimate how your tank pull the mobs before you equip it.
Spellsteal can be used as purge like Demonic Ascension
Invis can be used as threat clear. For example in EoA King Deepbeard, you can aggro the two giants at the gate and tell your teamates going in, then press invis. If you time well then you can go in right after the giants going back to their position. Or told your healer to res you,
SI may not be very optimal choice in some dungeons. For example in EoA Serpentrix you prob will aggro seagull or crabs which most likely disorient your tanks and lead to your melee's death. I guess you may do so if you need to settle the score.

Don't forget that you can use spellsteal like a purge, for example the demonic ascension from chaosbringers in arcway.

Sticky please, this is outstanding work.

Thank you for the great write up !!

Herux,

thank you again for this guide. I was intrigued by your recommendations for AOE legendaries and have since tried both of the Rings with some success. While you could theoretically proc Sephuz on cooldown, interrupting a particular spell always takes priority. In some occasions that can also mean interrupting on cooldown, which makes you lose out on the proc. Therefore, I also prefer the other ring as well.

What I was wondering is whether that combination would make Frost Bomb the better choice compared to Arctic Gale (I'll try that tonight). You have procs for days and you could line it up nicely. Frost Bomb > Orb > Blizzard > IL would give you a Frost Bomb for the full duration of the T20 2pc while still getting the Orb CD reduction. Napkin math is pretty convincing for it as well.

I'd also be curious what you think about running Sephuz & Ice Time on Trash. Proccing Sephuz on cooldown is guaranteed with this due to the Nova / Sephuz interaction. Since it can crit for almost a million it might overcompensate the DPS loss from the bracers (which take some time to ramp up) on larger packs. While you'd lose T19 2pc you'd gain good stats on the shoulders and Sephuz, higher ilvl on your other T19 item and a reliable high Sephuz uptime. You just have to be careful sometimes not to use your Orb too early if the pack doesn't have a caster in it.

Another combination I was curious about would be Sephuz & Soul, paired with Ice Nova and Frost Bomb. Nova also triggers Sephuz reliably, which could be used to make sure it overlaps with everything else. That would certainly cost you some boss damage, but during fortified weeks it could well be worth it.

Great guide Herux !

Another tips for the Ice Block soak part:

In KZ Upper, on the Wyrm boss, your group need to soak many balls in order to prevent the boss AoE. And mage is really strong on this one if you got a rat as a mount for this boss.

So just climb on your rat, and Iceblock during the spawning balls phase. The rat allow you to moove during your IceBlock and thanks to this, you can soak two spwan during the fight. (Cold Snap)

Not really usefull on small key, but for 20+key or tyrannical one it's a nice advantage.

Like you said, switch gear is primordial in high MM+ and sometimes, i use IceTime legendary for big packs of adds with less pv (Imp in CoS, Rats in Arcway, Crab in EoA...)

In KZ Upper, on the Wyrm boss, your group need to soak many balls in order to prevent the boss AoE. And mage is really strong on this one if you got a rat as a mount for this boss.

So just climb on your rat, and Iceblock during the spawning balls phase. The rat allow you to moove during your IceBlock and thanks to this, you can soak two spwan during the fight. (Cold Snap)

I've only ever tried frost once in upper kara but there was a bug with the rat making my orb fly off into the sky and do absolutely 0. Ever encounter such a think? Also, it's not possible to blink on the rats either afaik?

I've only ever tried frost once in upper kara but there was a bug with the rat making my orb fly off into the sky and do absolutely 0. Ever encounter such a think? Also, it's not possible to blink on the rats either afaik?

Haha yea the rat makes for some interesting interactions, but there's ways around it! For frozen orb all you need to do is get in melee range of the boss for the orb to actually path into hit range. Which isn't a problem cause you can cast while moving.

Also you can in fact blink while using the rat and even move around with ice block. Tested to the fullest this week and it works like a charm!

hi thx for the guide
how can I displays the spellstealable yellow border using elvui ?
i have been looking in my elvui configuration for an hour and cant find it .

Yes, you cant blink with the rat. But you can double IL during your burst with it thanks to the move speed.
And like Herux said, you need to be in melee range for your orb.

hi thx for the guide
how can I displays the spellstealable yellow border using elvui ?
i have been looking in my elvui configuration for an hour and cant find it .

Sorry to say but even I can't remember how to get the yellow border on the spellstealable buffs. If I do figure it out again I'll make sure to update this guide. Sorry

Stickied the thread! Very useful guide, thanks for writing it.

Will polymorph always put you in combat with the thing you polymorph? I feel like I often poly something out of combat, skip that mob and a minute later that thing comes back to me angry as hell

It does not put you in combat but it also does not remove the aggro radius of the mob. If you walk past a sheep you can still aggro the mob which will then chase you once free.

Will polymorph always put you in combat with the thing you polymorph? I feel like I often poly something out of combat, skip that mob and a minute later that thing comes back to me angry as hell

Yea basically what Zul said, and each mob has its own aggro radius in M+ so you gotta be careful what you poly to skip packs. Make sure your group knows too.

Will polymorph always put you in combat with the thing you polymorph? I feel like I often poly something out of combat, skip that mob and a minute later that thing comes back to me angry as hell

Hahaha that made my day.

does not put you in combat but it also does not remove the aggro radius of the mob. If you walk past a sheep you can still aggro the mob which will then chase you once free.

Thanks for the clarification, I was wondering how this mechanic actually worked for the longest time.

A quick note on Frost Bomb: I've been running this for the last week (Bracers with Soul of the Archmage, thanks to op) and found it to vastly outperform Arctic Gale. My overall DPS throughout the dungeons went up considerably, maybe someone could confirm my findings.

The sequence Frost Bomb>Frozen Orb>Blizzard>IL does crazy amounts of AOE damage, helps to focus down the priority target and gives you the same orb reset time. Frost Bomb will be up for the entire duration of T20 2pc and Soul of the Archmage will give you more than enough procs to pull ahead of Arctic Gale.

Plus, and that's what I like most I think, you get to press an extra button!