JustinK
Veteran
Hi there,
Last time I wrote about a destruction warlock, a class that is heavily underplayed and not in a very good spot right now.
This time I thought, let's take a look at a class that is played more, but a specialization that is not played a lot: Frost Mage.
So, everyone knows that Arcane Mage is top tier right now, therefore it's even more interesting to look at Frost instead of Arcane.
This post will be split in different sections found under the spoilers.
I want to thank you for reading this post, please let me know what you think about it. It would also be nice to finish it with a stat priority and a gear section, so feel free to discuss it here.
Greetings,
JustinK
Last time I wrote about a destruction warlock, a class that is heavily underplayed and not in a very good spot right now.
This time I thought, let's take a look at a class that is played more, but a specialization that is not played a lot: Frost Mage.
So, everyone knows that Arcane Mage is top tier right now, therefore it's even more interesting to look at Frost instead of Arcane.
This post will be split in different sections found under the spoilers.
This character will also be made with RP in mind, therefore an Alliance race is chosen. All Alliance races are capable of being a Mage. In the following list you can find the racials of each race and my opinion on them.
- Human
Humans have two very interesting racials, the first one being The Human Spirit, this increase is very useful and can make quite a difference on a geared character.
The second racial is Every Man for Himself, this racials is still very useful, especially in PvP, even though its cooldown is now shared with other effects. - Dwarf
Dwarf have three racials that might prove to be useful; Frost Resistance, Might of the Mountain and Stoneform. The only class that is able to deal frost damage is a mage, so you will probably not notice any difference. Might of the Mountain can be very useful, but will depend on the stat priority that will be discussed later. Stoneform is great, especially when, for example a rogue, is about to jump on you and your defensive spell are on cooldown. - Night Elf
Night elves have many racials, those being Nature Resistance, Quickness, Shadowmeld and Touch of Elune. Many classes are able to deal nature damage: Druids, Hunters, Monks and Shamans, so it might be useful. An increase in dodging and movementspeed is always nice to have, just like an increase in haste or critical strike. Shadowmeld is a good racial, but I doubt it would prove useful for a mage. - Gnome
Gnomes have several racials that would fit a mage, they are Arcane Resistance, Escape Artist, Expansive Mind and Nimble Fingers. Several classes are able to deal arcane damage (also nice against Arcane Mage), those are Druid, Hunter and Mage. Escape Artist is a great racial, it's very useful when Blink is on cooldown. Expansive Mind can be useful, but I doubt you will ever run out of mana without it. Nimble Fingers can help your strength in battle, but it will depend on the stat priority. - Draenei
Draenei have some racials, but in my opinion they are not that great: Gift of the Naaru, Heroic Presence and Shadow Resistance. The first racial is a heal, it will heal a very low amount, because as a mage you will not have much health. Heroic Presence will give you 3 (at level 20) or 4 (at level 29) intellect extra, which can make a minor difference. Priests (Shadow only), Rogues (Subtlety only) and Warlocks are able to deal Shadow damage, but you will probably not see a lot of them. - Worgen
Worgen also have three racials that can prove to be useful, they are as follows: Aberration, Darkflight and Viciousness. Abberation combines the Night Elf and Draenei racial into one, which is slightly better, but still not great. Darkflight is awesome, especially in PvP. Viciousness will depend on the stat priority. - Pandaren
Pandaren are the final Alliance race that can be a Mage. Their racials have no direct impact, but can be made very useful, I am talking about Epicurean and Quaking Palm. Epicurean will double your food bonusses, so that will net you some extra stats, but will not make a big difference. Quaking Palm can prove to be useful, but it does require melee range, so it might be not that great on a Mage.
Stat priorities are always a difficult thing to talk about, mainly because it depends on many factors, and also because around level 20 it is very different in comparison to the maximum level.
What is known for sure, is that your primary stat, intellect for Mages, should be your first priority.
Then, there is the option between three secondary stats:
In my opinion, for PvE, the stat priority should be crit(33.34%) > haste > vers, because the damage increase is not better than the faster casting and the decrease in damage is not needed (a lot) in PvE.
For PvP, it is very different. Versatility, especially at this level, is very strong. Therefore, I would suggest to focus primarily one versatility, then on getting your critical strike to 33.34% and then going for haste. So, you will need to get 33.34-5=28.34% critical strike from items (or other sources). I guess this would require about 55 critical strike. It is possible to reach this value, but it would require critical strike to be the primary focus.
For these reasons, it is not yet possible to state a stat priority for PvP and it would require some more discussion. This will be updated accordingly.
What is known for sure, is that your primary stat, intellect for Mages, should be your first priority.
Then, there is the option between three secondary stats:
- Versatility (Increased damage and healing done, decreased damage taken)
- Haste (increased attack and cast time)
- Critical Strike (Extra effectiveness on damage and healing)
In my opinion, for PvE, the stat priority should be crit(33.34%) > haste > vers, because the damage increase is not better than the faster casting and the decrease in damage is not needed (a lot) in PvE.
For PvP, it is very different. Versatility, especially at this level, is very strong. Therefore, I would suggest to focus primarily one versatility, then on getting your critical strike to 33.34% and then going for haste. So, you will need to get 33.34-5=28.34% critical strike from items (or other sources). I guess this would require about 55 critical strike. It is possible to reach this value, but it would require critical strike to be the primary focus.
For these reasons, it is not yet possible to state a stat priority for PvP and it would require some more discussion. This will be updated accordingly.
A talent can be picked at level 15, the choices a Frost Mage has are Bone Chilling, Lonely Winter and Ice Nova.
For PvE purposes, it seems that Bone Chilling is the talent to take. Picking Lonely Winter would decrease your damage instead of increasing it and Ice Nova would not help as much as Bone Chilling would do.
For PvP, on the other hand, Ice Nova is the talent to pick. Ice Nova enables you to output more CC (Crowd Control: slows, stuns, roots, etc) and zone more. Just like with PvE, Lonely Winter is not great. And because in Battlegrounds you will not be having an extended fight, Bone Chilling will not work like it should.
For PvE purposes, it seems that Bone Chilling is the talent to take. Picking Lonely Winter would decrease your damage instead of increasing it and Ice Nova would not help as much as Bone Chilling would do.
For PvP, on the other hand, Ice Nova is the talent to pick. Ice Nova enables you to output more CC (Crowd Control: slows, stuns, roots, etc) and zone more. Just like with PvE, Lonely Winter is not great. And because in Battlegrounds you will not be having an extended fight, Bone Chilling will not work like it should.
Because picking gear for a class requires one to know what the stat priority should be, this will be delayed until the stat priority is known. When this is known, this section will be updated accordingly.
Greetings,
JustinK
