DPS Rotation & Cooldowns

This rotation offers a general priority list for Frost Mage abilities, along with key cooldowns at the bottom. It's based on a standard build and is here to help while we work on a smarter, build-aware system. If you are very new to the game or this class, we added info on the new assisted rotation features at the bottom of this guide. Updated for the latest patch in World of Warcraft: The War Within (11.2).

Single Target

Pre-cast Frostfire Bolt 2 seconds before the pull.

• Icy VeinsView detailsActivate on cooldown.
• FlurryView detailsUse after Frostfire Bolt or Frostbolt to apply Winters Chill.
• Comet StormView detailsUse after Flurry to benefit from Winters Chill.
• Ray Of FrostView detailsUse when Winters Chill is active.
• Glacial SpikeView detailsCast at 5 Icicles, ideally during Winters Chill.
• Frozen OrbView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Shifting PowerView detailsUse when major cooldowns are unavailable.
• Ice LanceView detailsUse with Fingers Of Frost or Winters Chill.
• Frostfire BoltView detailsUse as a filler.

Maintain Icy Veins uptime and prioritize Flurry to apply Winters Chill. Use Comet Storm, Ray Of Frost, and Glacial Spike during Winters Chill for max DPS. Fill with Frostfire Bolt when no procs are available.

AoE

Start with Icy Veins and Blizzard.

• Icy VeinsView detailsActivate on cooldown.
• BlizzardView detailsUse to reduce Frozen Orb's cooldown.
• Frozen OrbView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Comet StormView detailsUse after Cone Of Cold or when available.
• Cone Of ColdView detailsUse after Comet Storm or when available.
• Ice LanceView detailsUse with Fingers Of Frost or Winters Chill.
• Shifting PowerView detailsUse to reduce cooldowns.
• Frostfire BoltView detailsUse as a filler.

For AoE, maintain Icy Veins and prioritize Blizzard and Frozen Orb for cooldown reduction. Use Comet Storm and Cone Of Cold for burst damage, and fill with Frostfire Bolt when no procs are available.

Cooldowns

• Icy VeinsView detailsUse on cooldown for increased casting speed.
• Frozen OrbView detailsUse on cooldown for AoE damage and proc generation.
• Shifting PowerView detailsUse to reduce cooldowns of major abilities.
• Time WarpView detailsUse during high-damage phases or as directed by the group.

Use Icy Veins and Frozen Orb on cooldown for consistent damage. Shifting Power helps reduce cooldowns, and Time Warp should be used strategically during burst phases.

New to Class? Try Assisted Rotation

Patch 11.1.7 introduced new features that make it eaiser to pick and play new characters. These new settings can be enabled from settings » gameplay enhancements:

• Single-Button Assistant
• Assisted Highlight
• Cooldown Manager

If you are new to World of Warcraft or a certain class, enabling Assisted Highlight and Cooldown Manager can help you learn which abilities to prioritize and use.

While the Single-Button Assistant can be a much easier and more accessible way to play the game, it does come with a slight performance hit due to a small GCD penalty, as you will have to wait 25% longer in between spells and abilities.

To see which specs are best with the Single-Button Assistant feature, you can check out our DPS Rankings which uses SimC to sim every class using this feature.