Frost Mage

Ice Lance and freezes

Blizzard's deep dive describes Ice Lance as instant with low base damage, raised by 300% against Frozen targets or targets treated as Frozen by Fingers of Frost. The 16 October client lowered that to 200% (ForeverDB), though the guides still quote 300%. Fingers of Frost gives Chill effects a 15% chance to treat your next spells as if the target were Frozen, two charges at 2/2 in the current client.

Icy Veins warns that any damage can break a freeze, including your own Ice Lance, though Ice Lance snapshots the Frozen state if cast first. Wowhead's level 30 guide notes that rank 1 Frostbolt no longer works for fishing Frostbite procs. ForeverDB ties this to Blizzard's 1 October change, which makes low ranks less likely to trigger talents.

Talents by level

The Icy Veins levelling order below comes from its calculator:

Other builds:

• ForeverDB (levelling guide, written before the 16 October rework): at 20, Improved Frostbolt 5, Improved Frost Nova 2, Frostbite 3 and Ice Lance; at 30 it adds Frost Channeling 3, Piercing Ice 1, Shatter 3, Ice Block, Arctic Reach 1 and Fingers of Frost 1.
• Icy Veins dungeon build at 30, with 5 bonus points from the Legacy perk Talented: Missile Barrage 2, Improved Frostbolt 5, Elemental Precision 1, Ice Shards 5, Frostbite 3, Frost Channeling 3, Improved Blizzard 1, Ice Lance, Shatter 3 and Fingers of Frost 2.
• Wowhead at 30: give up some Improved Frostbolt ranks for Elemental Precision in dungeons; take Ice Block, Arctic Reach or Improved Frost Nova for PvP and the open world.
• WoWSims "Frost" at 60: 32 Frost (Improved Frostbolt 5, Elemental Precision 3, Ice Shards 5, Frost Channeling 2, Improved Blizzard 1, Ice Lance, Shatter 3, Improved Cone of Cold 3, Cold Snap, Fingers of Frost 2, Winter's Chill 5, Ice Barrier) plus 19 Arcane points.

Rotation

Single target, levelling:

1. Pull at maximum range with Frostbolt.
2. When the mob arrives, Frost Nova it, then Ice Lance while it's Frozen or walk out of range (ForeverDB).
3. If Fingers of Frost procs as a Frostbolt finishes, cancel your next cast and Ice Lance (Icy Veins).
4. If Frostbite freezes the target on hit, queue Ice Lance after the Frostbolt you are casting; don't cancel it (Icy Veins).
5. With one Fingers of Frost charge left, Icy Veins batches a Frostbolt with an Ice Lance so both count as Frozen.
6. At five Winter's Chill stacks, spend them with Cone of Cold (Icy Veins).
7. Finish with Fire Blast or your wand.

AoE (Icy Veins): on three or more targets, Cone of Cold to fish for procs, Ice Lance un-frozen mobs with Fingers of Frost and Frozen mobs until the freeze breaks, and Frost Nova to make more Frozen targets. On five or more, Cone of Cold on cooldown with Blizzard in between, and Arcane Explosion if you can't channel safely. Cone of Cold keeps up to four targets chilled about 90% of the time, or 100% with Permafrost.

Simulators: ForeverDB's own simulator at 30 runs Frostbolt with Ice Lance on Fingers of Frost, and found 8% more damage without Fire Blast, against ForeverDB's guide card (ForeverDB PvE). The WoWSims frost list at 60:

1. Pre-cast Ice Barrier, then Frostbolt.
2. Read Leyline and Evocation below 5% mana.
3. Cooldowns.
4. On three or more targets (two with Improved Blizzard), Cone of Cold, Cold Snap, Ice Barrier and Blizzard.
5. Ice Lance at two Fingers of Frost charges; at one, Frostbolt then Ice Lance.
6. Cone of Cold on cooldown, even on one target, and Cold Snap to reset it.
7. Arcane Missiles on Missile Barrage; keep three Arcane Blast stacks.
8. Ice Barrier when it drops; Frostbolt as filler.

Both agree on Frostbolt into Fingers of Frost Ice Lances; the simulator leans harder on Cone of Cold, which fits the Winter's Chill change.

Gear and consumables

• Stats: Icy Veins puts hit first, then spell power and Frost damage, crit, Spirit and Intellect. ForeverDB adds that Elemental Precision covers part of the hit gap in dungeons.
• Level 30 gear (Wowhead): Sorcerer Collar, Belt of Arugal, Gaze Dreamer Pants, Glinteye Slippers, Acidic Walkers, Scorn's Icy Choker and Bloodmage Mantle. Tailoring's Silky pieces boost Frost damage only, and only their crafter can wear them. The Mage wand quest at 30 offers Icefury Wand.
• Consumables: Icy Veins calls Wizard Oil your biggest damage boost, then Lesser Mageblood Elixir, Lesser Spellblasting Potion and food such as Briny Seafood Stew. Lesser Arcane Elixir tops ForeverDB's simulator at 30 (+4.4%).

Where the guides disagree or aren't sure

• Ice Lance's bonus — resolved: the 16 October official notes changed the increase against Frozen targets from 300% to 200%. Earlier guide values are obsolete.
• Elemental Precision and Piercing Ice: the client still shows five ranks of Elemental Precision and Piercing Ice. One player reported a hotfix cutting Elemental Precision to three ranks and removing Piercing Ice (ForeverDB); WoWSims' tree and Icy Veins' calculator both match that report.
• Fingers of Frost timing: Icy Veins' text says you get it at 30, but its own order delays it to 31–35 because of the two Missile Barrage points.
• Wands: Icy Veins says spell damage boosts wands; ForeverDB cites Blizzard's notes saying it no longer does.