The following compares the current state of Frost Death Knights to Frost Mages using the latest SimulationCraft data for end-game PvE in World of Warcraft The War Within patch 11.0.2.
Comparison
Category
Winner
Frost Death Knight
+0.55%
When simulating boss fight encounters, Frost Death Knights averaged 0.55% more DPS than Frost Mages (+8K DPS).
Frost Mage
+19.91%
When simulating AoE DPS, Frost Mages averaged 19.91% more DPS than Frost Death Knights (+204K DPS).
Frost Death Knight
+47.87%
Frost Death Knights have higher spike damage potential, achieving +2.6M more DPS than Frost Mages.
Spike damage is the peak DPS achieved in any given moment and is not sustained DPS.
Frost Mage
+2.33%
When upgrading the gear for both specs by +44 ilvl, Frost Mage DPS improved the most, +2.33% more than Frost Death Knight. In total, Frost Mages DPS increased by 67.41% and Frost Death Knights by 65.08%.
Frost Mage
+1.2%
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 14.08% for Frost Mages.
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 15.28% for Frost Death Knights.
When introducing occasional movement and real-world latency, Frost Mages performed better, as Frost Death Knights suffered a +1.2% DPS loss.
Frost Mage
When evaluating abilities used during boss encounters, Frost Mages had fewer damaging abilities in total, indicating a potentially less complex rotation.
The comparisons above highlight some of the key differences between Frost Death Knight and Frost Mage in the current meta, which can hopefully help you determine which spec to play or group up with.
Frost Death Knight
Frost Mage