Frost Mage leveling build for Cataclysm
A mage is an iconic class in World of Warcraft, and has arguably the highest DPS output in late-game raids, but you won’t be able to get in there any time soon without a proper frost mage leveling build for Cataclysm. All specs have some leveling potential, but Frost is definitely the most powerful mage leveling spec. However, many players don’t really know how to unlock the power of the Frost Mage. Read on and you’ll learn exactly how to do it.
Why choose a Frost Mage leveling build?
Ok, with Frost, you definitely won’t see the kind of numbers that Fire will throw. Fire has incredible crit and sheer firepower, no pun intended. However, what Frost brings to the leveling mage is consistency, efficiency, and survivability. As for which talents to pick, you basically want all of them except Reactive Barrier. Just don’t take a talent on your Frost Mage leveling build that increases an ability he doesn’t already have. He be smart about it. Your water elemental pet adds significant damage, an additional freeze that can be targeted, and some extra aggro control to take advantage of it. Ice Barrier is an amazing talent that significantly increases your survivability, and with replenishing Frostbolts, Mana Gems, and Evocation, you should never be low on mana. You should also Glyph Evocation for additional healing.
Strategy for a Frost Mage leveling build
Your single target damage is pretty competitive with other specs, especially when you send your pet out first. Where a Frost Mage Leveling Build really shines though, is the ability to AoE Mass pull. Essentially, you’ll want to lure a large group of Frost Nova melee mobs to freeze them and flash them right away. Keep your Water Elemental on Passive for this. His aggro can mess up your pulls. As soon as you leave, use Blizzard to AoE them down and have your Elemental Freeze ready. As soon as your attackers come into melee range, Cone of Cold, freeze them with your Elemental, run, and repeat the process until they’re all dead. If you get this leveling build strategy from Frost Mage, you can lure 15-20 mobs without scratching. But start small and slowly increase the size of your garments until you feel comfortable. Also, try to avoid casters and counterspell if you roll one.
Preparing for a Frost Mage leveling build
Cloth gear will have mainly 3 stats: Intellect, Stamina, and Spirit. You want the most intellect for mana, damage, and replenishment mana regen. Stamina is obviously going to be important because you may be taking damage from the massive pulls on your Frost Mage leveling build, and you want to survive. Limit Hit so you don’t miss any of your Freeze or Crowd Control spells. You only need 4% though, so don’t go overboard on the hit. The crit for a Frost Mage leveling build is actually multiplied by 3 against frozen targets, so if you get more than 33% crit, you are actually crit 100% of the time against frozen targets. This stat is extremely powerful for Frost mages. Haste is also a great stat as you can cast more Frost Bolts for Mana Regen and faster channel time on Blizzard. In general, Haste will significantly speed up the leveling process.