Frost Mage DPS Gear and Best in Slot — The War Within (11.0.5)

Last updated on Oct 21, 2024 at 21:00 by Kuni 116 comments
General Information

On this page, you will find the best gear and best in slot items for your Frost Mage in World of Warcraft The War Within (11.0.5).

If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Frost Mage gear and best in slot.

1.

Best in Slot Gear Guide for Frost Mage

Welcome to our Gear and BiS Page for Frost Mage for The War Within Season 1. Check this page to learn everything you need to know about gearing a Frost Mage, including the BiS Gear from all sources, Raiding, and Mythic+, information on the best Trinkets, Tier Sets, and much more.

For discussion and information on Stats specifically, check out our Stats page below.

2.

BiS Gear for Frost Mage

Overall BiS List for Season 1 Nerub-ar Palace Gear BiS List Mythic+ Gear BiS List
3.

The War Within Season 1 Overall BiS List for Frost Mage

This list contains the Best in Slot Gear for Frost Mage in The War Within Season 1 from all sources, including Raiding, Mythic+, Delves, The Great Vault, and Crafted.

Note that there is no such thing as a singular, all-encompassing "BiS". The best items vary per character and situation, and there are many items that are essentially equivalent in terms of DPS, namely when we are just shuffling secondary stats around. I will list one "BiS" item per slot, but ultimately, BiS lists are not very practically useful, and you should be simming your character to find out what gear to equip next. Nonetheless, there is a huge demand for this list, and thus, despite my not thinking you should really care much about it, it is here for your perusal.

Slot Item Source/Note
Weapon Sovereign's Disdain Icon Sovereign's Disdain (639) Queen Ansurek
Offhand Vagabond's Torch Icon Vagabond's Torch (636) Haste/Mastery + Darkmoon Sigil: Symbiosis Icon Darkmoon Sigil: Symbiosis Crafted
Helm Hood of Violet Rebirth Icon Hood of Violet Rebirth (639) Silken Court/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Neck Sureki Zealot's Insignia Icon Sureki Zealot's Insignia (639) Sikran
Shoulder Beacons of Violet Rebirth Icon Beacons of Violet Rebirth (639) Rasha'nan/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Cloak Consecrated Cloak Icon Consecrated Cloak (636) Haste/Mastery + Writhing Armor Banding Icon Writhing Armor Banding Crafted
Chest Runecoat of Violet Rebirth Icon Runecoat of Violet Rebirth (639) Broodtwister Ovi'nax/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Bracers Skeinspinner's Duplicitous Cuffs Icon Skeinspinner's Duplicitous Cuffs (639) Silken Court
Gloves Jeweled Gauntlets of Violet Rebirth Icon Jeweled Gauntlets of Violet Rebirth (639) Sikran/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Belt Acrid Ascendant's Sash Icon Acrid Ascendant's Sash (639) Queen Ansurek
Legs Voidspoken Sarong Icon Voidspoken Sarong (639) Queen Ansurek
Boots Assimilated Eggshell Slippers Icon Assimilated Eggshell Slippers (639) Broodtwister Ovi'nax
Ring #1 Seal of the Poisoned Pact Icon Seal of the Poisoned Pact (639) Queen Ansurek
Ring #2 Stitchflesh's Misplaced Signet Icon Stitchflesh's Misplaced Signet (639) The Necrotic Wake
Trinket #1 Spymaster's Web Icon Spymaster's Web (639) Silken Court
Trinket #2 Ara-Kara Sacbrood Icon Ara-Kara Sacbrood (639) Ara-Kara, City of Echoes (626), or Great Vault
3.

The War Within Season 1 Overall BiS List for Frost Mage

This list contains the Best in Slot Gear for Frost Mage in The War Within Season 1 from the Nerub-ar Palace Raid.

Note that this BiS List is for items from the Raid. I am separating the BiS lists by gear sources. This is what you send to your Raid Leader/Loot Council when they ask you what your BiS gear is from the Raid.

Note that there is no such thing as a singular, all-encompassing "BiS". The best items vary per character and situation, and there are many items that are essentially equivalent in terms of DPS, namely when we are just shuffling secondary stats around. I will list one "BiS" item per slot, but ultimately, BiS lists are not very practically useful and you should be simming your character to find out what gear to equip next. Nonetheless, there is a huge demand for this list, and thus, despite my not thinking you should really care much about it, it is here for your perusal.

Slot Item Source/Note
Weapon Sovereign's Disdain Icon Sovereign's Disdain (639) Queen Ansurek
Offhand Broodtwister's Grim Catalyst Icon Broodtwister's Grim Catalyst (639) Broodtwister Ovi'nax
Helm Hood of Violet Rebirth Icon Hood of Violet Rebirth (639) Silken Court/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Neck Sureki Zealot's Insignia Icon Sureki Zealot's Insignia (639) Sikran
Shoulder Beacons of Violet Rebirth Icon Beacons of Violet Rebirth (639) Rasha'nan/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Cloak Royal Emblem of Nerub-ar Icon Royal Emblem of Nerub-ar (639) Ulgrax the Devourer
Chest Runecoat of Violet Rebirth Icon Runecoat of Violet Rebirth (639) Broodtwister Ovi'nax/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Bracers Skeinspinner's Duplicitous Cuffs Icon Skeinspinner's Duplicitous Cuffs (639) Silken Court
Gloves Jeweled Gauntlets of Violet Rebirth Icon Jeweled Gauntlets of Violet Rebirth (639) Sikran/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Belt Acrid Ascendant's Sash Icon Acrid Ascendant's Sash (639) Queen Ansurek
Legs Voidspoken Sarong Icon Voidspoken Sarong (639) Queen Ansurek
Boots Assimilated Eggshell Slippers Icon Assimilated Eggshell Slippers (639) Broodtwister Ovi'nax
Ring #1 Seal of the Poisoned Pact Icon Seal of the Poisoned Pact (639) Queen Ansurek
Ring #2 Key to the Unseeming Icon Key to the Unseeming (639) The Bloodbound Horror
Trinket #1 Spymaster's Web Icon Spymaster's Web (639) Silken Court
Trinket #2 Ovi'nax's Mercurial Egg Icon Ovi'nax's Mercurial Egg (639) Broodtwister Ovi'nax
3.

The War Within Season 1 Overall BiS List for Frost Mage

This list contains the Best in Slot Gear for Frost Mage from The War Within Season 1 Mythic+.

Note that this BiS List is for items from Mythic+. I am separating the BiS lists by gear sources. This is the list you can chase when you want to improve your gear by farming Mythic+ dungeons.

Note that there is no such thing as a singular, all-encompassing "BiS". The best items vary per character and situation, and many items are essentially equivalent in terms of DPS, namely when we are just shuffling secondary stats around. I will list one "BiS" item per slot, but ultimately, BiS lists are not very practically useful, and you should be simming your character to find out what gear to equip next. Nonetheless, there is a huge demand for this list, and thus, despite my not thinking you should really care much about it, it is here for your perusal.

Slot Item Source/Note
Weapon Modgud's Blade Icon Modgud's Blade (626) Grim Batol
Offhand Pail of Preserved Obscurity Icon Pail of Preserved Obscurity (626) City of Threads
Helm Hood of Violet Rebirth Icon Hood of Violet Rebirth (626) Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Neck 'Emergency Stop' Keychain Icon 'Emergency Stop' Keychain (626) The Stonevault
Shoulder Beacons of Violet Rebirth Icon Beacons of Violet Rebirth (626) Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Cloak Swarmcaller's Shroud Icon Swarmcaller's Shroud Ara-Kara, City of Echoes
Chest Runecoat of Violet Rebirth Icon Runecoat of Violet Rebirth (626) Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Bracers Vitriolic Veinwoven Wraps Icon Vitriolic Veinwoven Wraps (626) City of Threads
Gloves Jeweled Gauntlets of Violet Rebirth Icon Jeweled Gauntlets of Violet Rebirth (626) Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Belt Burrower's Cinch Icon Burrower's Cinch (626) Ara-Kara, City of Echoes
Legs Archaic Venomancer's Footwraps Icon Archaic Venomancer's Footwraps (626) Ara-Kara, City of Echoes
Boots Membranous Slippers Icon Membranous Slippers (626) The Dawnbreaker
Ring #1 Devout Zealot's Ring Icon Devout Zealot's Ring (626) The Dawnbreaker
Ring #2 Stitchflesh's Misplaced Signet Icon Stitchflesh's Misplaced Signet (626) The Necrotic Wake
Trinket #1 Gale of Shadows Icon Gale of Shadows (626) Grim Batol
Trinket #2 Ara-Kara Sacbrood Icon Ara-Kara Sacbrood (626) Ara-Kara, City of Echoes (626), or Great Vault
3.

Best Trinkets for Frost Mage in The War Within Season 1

Raiding Trinket Tier List Mythic+ Trinket Tier List
4.

Raid Trinket Tier List for Frost Mage

A "Tier" as defined by this list is around 0.5% DPS, meaning that S-Tier Trinkets are around 0.5% better than A-Tier Trinkets, and so on.

3.1.

S-Tier

  • Spymaster's Web Icon Spymaster's Web
  • Ara-Kara Sacbrood Icon Ara-Kara Sacbrood
3.1.

A-Tier

No other trinkets come within 0.5% of the above.

3.1.

B-Tier

  • Gale of Shadows Icon Gale of Shadows
  • Empowering Crystal of Anub'ikkaj Icon Empowering Crystal of Anub'ikkaj
  • Hadal's Nautilus Icon Hadal's Nautilus
  • Unbound Changeling Icon Unbound Changeling
  • Treacherous Transmitter Icon Treacherous Transmitter
  • Satchel of Misbegotten Minions Icon Satchel of Misbegotten Minions
  • Ovi'nax's Mercurial Egg Icon Ovi'nax's Mercurial Egg
3.1.

C-Tier

  • Aberrant Spellforge Icon Aberrant Spellforge
  • Harvester's Edict Icon Harvester's Edict
3.1.

D-Tier

  • Mad Queen's Mandate Icon Mad Queen's Mandate
  • Quickwick Candlestick Icon Quickwick Candlestick at 6/6 Hero
4.

Mythic+ Trinket Tier List for Frost Mage

A "Tier" as defined by this list is around 0.5% DPS, meaning that S-Tier Trinkets are around 0.5% better than A-Tier Trinkets, and so on.

3.1.

S-Tier

  • Spymaster's Web Icon Spymaster's Web
  • Ara-Kara Sacbrood Icon Ara-Kara Sacbrood
  • Empowering Crystal of Anub'ikkaj Icon Empowering Crystal of Anub'ikkaj
  • Ovi'nax's Mercurial Egg Icon Ovi'nax's Mercurial Egg
  • Gale of Shadows Icon Gale of Shadows
3.1.

A-Tier

  • Treacherous Transmitter Icon Treacherous Transmitter
  • Unbound Changeling Icon Unbound Changeling
  • Hadal's Nautilus Icon Hadal's Nautilus
3.1.

B-Tier

  • Harvester's Edict Icon Harvester's Edict
  • Satchel of Misbegotten Minions Icon Satchel of Misbegotten Minions
3.1.

C-Tier

  • Quickwick Candlestick Icon Quickwick Candlestick at 6/6 Hero
  • Aberrant Spellforge Icon Aberrant Spellforge
3.1.

D-Tier

  • Mad Queen's Mandate Icon Mad Queen's Mandate
4.

"Simming" Yourself as a Frost Mage

Throughout this page, we regularly refer to the importance of simming yourself on Raidbots, as it is an indispensable aspect of optimizing your character.

While we do offer generic sim charts for Trinkets, this should not be a replacement for simming yourself, at least not if you want to minmax sub-1%!

If you are new to simming and Raidbots, check out our detailed guide below.

5.

Best Crafted Items for Frost Mage

BiS crafts are simply Vagabond's Torch Icon Vagabond's Torch, Haste/Mastery, with Darkmoon Sigil: Symbiosis Icon Darkmoon Sigil: Symbiosis and Consecrated Cloak Icon Consecrated Cloak, Haste/Mastery, with Writhing Armor Banding Icon Writhing Armor Banding.

For players coming right into the Season from its beginning, the choice is very different as we are not just concerned about the best Crafted Slots and Embellishments, but also potentially short-term Item Level gains. The pick in this situation is instead Scepter of Radiant Magics Icon Scepter of Radiant Magics instead of Vagabond's Torch Icon Vagabond's Torch. The odds of pulling a Myth track weapon early on are not particularly good, so this maximizes the DPS gain from your first spark.

You should ideally sim the optimal stats to craft for your particular character, but Haste/Mastery is generally a safe "overall" choice.

5.1.

Best Embellishments and Crafting Order for Frost Mage

Note that Embellishments have yet to go undergo tuning and that this recommendation is very preliminary. I do not recommend that you Craft ANYTHING until the last possible moment, which is generally right before you head into Raid Progression or serious Mythic+ pushing. The longer you can wait with crafting, the better information you, and this guide, will have on the best Crafts. Crafting early and then having the recommendation change because of tuning by Blizzard really sucks!

  1. Scepter of Radiant Magics Icon Scepter of Radiant Magics (Early Season, 1 Spark) — This item is not our long-term BiS, but if you are coming fresh into the Season with Mythic0 606 iLvl gear or below, then the sheer Item Level value of a Weapon is going to exceed the value of the best Embellishments. That said, if you wait until your first Great Vault and it has a Weapon, then you may wish to craft something else instead. As for Embellishments, I recommend Darkmoon Sigil: Symbiosis Icon Darkmoon Sigil: Symbiosis.
  2. (BiS, 1 Spark) — Consecrated Cloak Icon Consecrated Cloak — Crafting an armour piece with Writhing Armor Banding Icon Writhing Armor Banding will double the effectiveness of the prior Darkmoon Sigil.
  3. (BiS, 1 Spark) — Vagabond's Torch Icon Vagabond's Torch — Only really craft this once you have a Myth track main hand to replace the wand, and then shift Darkmoon Sigil: Symbiosis Icon Darkmoon Sigil: Symbiosis to this offhand instead.
  4. Next, chase Item Level where needed, preferring Weapon > Helm/Chest/Legs (though these are likely occupied by tier) > Boots/Belt > Rings/Necks > Cloaks.
  5. At this point, you are mostly done crafting. You can spend future Sparks on off-spec items, alternatively statted crafts for different situations, and so on.
6.

Best Gear Crest Upgrades for Frost Mage

You will be able to upgrade your items via Crests such as Gilded Harbinger Crest Icon Gilded Harbinger Crest. Once you have upgraded a slot to a certain item level, upgrading other items of that slot to that item level is free.

When you upgrade with Crests, you should think of it as upgrading slots and not items.

Additionally, since Crests are a limited resource, you will want to obtain the highest item-level possible before upgrading a given slot, as this means you will spend fewer Crests on that slot in total. If you are at all capable of doing a +9 Dungeon, for example, it would be a VERY bad idea to upgrade an item from a +8 Dungeon, as those are wasted Crests you may not get back for a very long time.

We see a ton of players, even at a high level, mess up their upgrade priorities, and upgrading prematurely. Getting this right will put you far ahead of most players.

Below is the slot priority you should upgrade your items in. If you ever want to deviate from this, you should have a very good reason.

  1. Weapons
  2. Trinkets
  3. Helm/Chest/Legs
  4. Shoulders/Gloves/Belt/Boots
  5. Rings and Necks
  6. Cloaks and Bracers

Note that exceptions are possible, such as special items that have more Item Level scaling than their slot would imply.

7.

Season 1 Tier Set for Frost Mage

The Tier Set is comprised of 5 items, all carrying the Violet Rebirth moniker. Unique DPS bonuses are unlocked when wearing 2 and 4 pieces from the set:

  • Mage Frost Season 1 2pc Icon Mage Frost Season 1 2pcIce Lance Icon Ice Lance damage increased by 8%.
  • Mage Frost Season 1 4pc Icon Mage Frost Season 1 4pc — Damage dealt by Fingers of Frost Icon Fingers of Frost enhanced Ice Lance Icon Ice Lances explode in AoE. This works out to a pittance on single target and a reasonable damage buff in AoE.

The Tier Set Bonus is absolutely mandatory for competitive play, and you should prioritize obtaining it. You can use the Matrix Catalyst to convert regular items (from Mythic+, for example) into Tier Items.

You only need 4 pieces out of 5 to get both set bonuses. We recommend you get all items except for the Legs. Check out the BiS List for more information.

9.

Changelog

  • 21 Oct. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
  • 09 Sep. 2024: Updated for The War Within Season 1.
  • 21 Aug. 2024: Updated for The War Within.
  • 23 Jul. 2024: Reviewed for The War Within Pre-Patch.
  • 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
  • 22 Apr. 2024: Updated for Season 4.
  • 19 Mar. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
  • 15 Jan. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 12 Nov. 2023: BiS list and farm lists added for Season 3.
  • 07 Nov. 2023: Sporecloak nerfed.
  • 06 Nov. 2023: Partial update for 10.2.
  • 08 Sep. 2023: Changed wording in the Trinkets section
  • 04 Sep. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.1.7
  • 10 Jul. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.1.5 with tier/profession slot suggestions, and a note about Dawn of the Infinite's gear being untested.
  • 11 May 2023: Re-added Bloodmallet charts.
  • 07 May 2023: Updated for Season 2 start with trinket suggestions in the wake of the Flowstone nerf.
  • 01 May 2023: Added the Season 2 upgrade system, Season 2 interesting items, and suggested embellishments.
  • 23 Mar. 2023: Onyx Annulet is no longer a DPS loss.
  • 20 Mar. 2023: Added a note about Onyx Annulet.
  • 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 11 Dec. 2022: Updated for beginning of Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
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