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 (11.1.7).

Single Target

Pre-cast Frostfire Bolt 2 seconds before pull.

• FlurryView detailsTo Shatter the pre-cast Frostfire Bolt.
• Icy VeinsView detailsActivate for increased casting speed.
• Comet StormView detailsUse after Flurry.
• Ray Of FrostView detailsUse if Winters Chill is active.
• Frozen OrbView detailsCast when available.
• Shifting PowerView detailsUse when major cooldowns are on cooldown for 10+ seconds.
• Glacial SpikeView detailsCast at 5 Icicles, ideally during Winters Chill.
• Ice LanceView detailsUse with Fingers Of Frost or Winters Chill.
• Frostfire BoltView detailsUse as a filler.

Begin with Frostfire Bolt and Flurry to Shatter. Use Icy Veins and prioritize Comet Storm, Ray Of Frost, and Frozen Orb. Cast Glacial Spike at 5 Icicles, aiming for Winters Chill. Use Ice Lance with procs and Frostfire Bolt as filler.

AoE

Start with Icy Veins and Blizzard.

• Frozen OrbView detailsCast when available.
• BlizzardView detailsRe-cast when off cooldown.
• Comet StormView detailsUse after Blizzard.
• Cone Of ColdView detailsUse after Comet Storm.
• Shifting PowerView detailsUse for cooldown reduction.
• Ice LanceView detailsUse with Fingers Of Frost or Winters Chill.
• Frostfire BoltView detailsUse as a filler.

Open with Icy Veins and Blizzard. Use Frozen Orb and Comet Storm for burst. Re-cast Blizzard and Cone Of Cold as they come off cooldown. Use Ice Lance with procs and Frostfire Bolt as filler.

Cooldowns

• Icy VeinsView detailsUse for increased casting speed.
• Frozen OrbView detailsUse for AoE damage.
• Shifting PowerView detailsUse to reduce cooldowns when major abilities are unavailable.

Activate Icy Veins for faster casting. Use Frozen Orb for AoE and Shifting Power to reduce cooldowns when needed.

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.