Best In Slot Frost Dk Bfa
Azerite Traits
Azerite traits:
Icy Citadel: Seeing as you spam obliterate in Breath of Sindragosa, having a large amount of strength to keep you going even when Pillar of Frost ends is really strong.
On this page, you will find the best gear and best in slot items for your Frost Mage in World of Warcraft Shadowlands 9.0.2. If you were looking for WoW Classic content, please refer to our Classic DPS Mage gear and best in slot. Shadowlands Legendary powers grant impactful gameplay effects for your Frost Death Knight through the new Runecarving system. As your crafted Shadowlands legendary will be the most important piece of gear in the expansion, providing large performance benefits, it is crucial to pick the right legendary to craft and effectively spend your Soul Ash.
Loyal to the End: A flat 178 mastery and an additional 45 for each ally using the trait up to 357, very solid seeing as mastery is your BiS stat.
Frostwhelp’s Indignation: Having multiple of this trait can make it strong, but compared to the other traits in my option it just fall short.
Frozen Tempest: Extremely strong in M+ or heavy AoE fights.
Echoing Howl: This combos really well with Frozen Tempest for heavy AoE fights or M+.
Recommended Azerite Traits
Single target Azerite Traits
- 1x Swirling Sands
- 2x Icy Citadel
- 2x Loyal to the End
- 1x Frozen tempest
For Frost DK, as most traits are pretty close for single target there are a lot of combos you can make work.
AoE Azerite Traits
- 1x Frozen Tempest
- 1x Echoing Howl
For AoE just make sure you have these 2 traits, the rest should be single target traits that are available.
Essences Overview
This is for major traits, if you want to see minors check the text under or check what I told you in my essence over pick.
Worldvein Resonance
Worldvein Resonance: Concentrate energy into the Heart of Azeroth, immediately causing 3 Lifeblood Shards to erupt from the nearby ground for 18 sec.
Minor: Every 1-25 sec, a Lifeblood Shard erupts from the nearby ground for 18 sec.
This essence has been Buffed in 8.3 heavily on the major, the minor stays unchanged. On a 1 min cooldown having a massive strength boost as a DK during breath is just insane. However, I'm not saying to run this no matter what, you should sim to see if its worth more than running Blood Of The Enemy for you.
Blood Of The Enemy
Blood Of The Enemy: Deal Aoe dmg around you when used and for the next 10 sec gain 25% crit Strike Chance and stack your minor faster. At rank 3 when used you also get increased critical hit damage by 25% for 5 sec on targets hit.
Minor: when you crit with your spells you gain a stack of blood soaked, increasing your crit by a small bit stacking up and once you get to 40 stacks you gain around 500 haste for 8 sec, Note at rank 3 you have a 25% chance to get the haste at 30 stacks instead of 40.
This combos so well with your CDs and Chains of Ice/Frostwyrm's Fury. Using this when Pillar of Frost has 10 seconds left is a must.
Condensed Life Force
Condensed Life Force: Will Summon a Guardian for 30 sec. That will deal some damage to your main target every 2 sec and every 8 sec will deal some aoe damage as well. Now for the good part, every time the guardian casts a spell you gain 2% Haste stacking up to 5 times. 3 min cooldown.
The minor is pretty much just some single target damage and when it deals damage, all damage you do vs that target is increased by 5% for 6 sec.
This has been heavily nerfed in 8.3, it's still good but the others simply just sim better on single target and this essence also does nothing on cleave/aoe. I doubt we will even use the minor here. But compared to the rest of the traits its still better, so if you dont have Worldvein Resonance or Blood Of The Enemy run this.
Memory Of Lucid Dreams
Memory of Lucid Dreams: Increasing your rune generation by 100% for the next 15 sec.
Minor: Your spells have a small chance to refund 50% of the runes spent on them.
I doubt this will ever be used but could be used to have a massive long breath, but as of right now even that is not that good. As a minor this trait is really strong.
The Crucible Of Flame
The Crucible Of Flame: Cast a flame on the target dealing some damage, you also gain a stack making your next cast of flame do 100% more damage. This will reset after 3 stacks and has 2 charges with a 30 sec cooldown.
Minor: Your spells have a chance to put a debuff on your target making it take some fire damage for 10 sec stacking up to 3 times.
Not awful by any means but the other choices are just way too good, but if you’re a new alt and you don't have those, then this is a great pick to start off with. Also, the minor is pretty decent if you don't have the Conflict and Strife essence.
Essence Of The Focusing Iris
Best Weapons For Frost Dk
Essence Of The Focusing Iris: When channeled deal high fire damage to all enemies in front of you for 3 sec.
Minor: your spells have a chance to grant you haste for 4 sec stacking up to 10 times, if you swap targets you lose the stacks.
If you're running m+ and dont have Blood Of The Enemy or Worldvein Resonance you can run this.
Breath Of The Dying
Breath Of The Dying: Burn your target with a bolt of Azerite, dealing x Fire damage. If the target has less than 20% health or more than 80% health, the cooldown is reduced by 30 sec. If Reaping Flames kills an enemy, its cooldown is lowered to 5 sec and it will deal 100% increased damage on its next use.
Minor: Your spells and abilities have a chance to strike your target for x Fire damage, and heal you for 50% of the damage dealt. If your target is below 20% health, the chance for extra damage is increased by 400%. Corruption Resistance increased by 10.
This is one of the new essences. The Major is pretty meh the main one here is the minor, the damage it does and the 10 corruption resistance is pretty insane for a minor when you can pick 3 minors in 8.3.
Corruption Overview
Right now as of typing this it's very early in the sims but as of 9th January this is what is found.
There are alot of just straight up Corruption procs that just do simple damage like stars or void which I expect to be nerfed pretty hard.
What I think you should look for are the more simple ones that I expect to stay un-nerfed seeing as they are not too overpowered and are pretty decent, these are the ones that simply just give you x haste or mastery or crit for x sec, like Honed Mind/Surging Vitality and so on.
1. Infinite Stars
Infinite Stars: Your spells and abilities have a chance to strike a nearby enemy with an Infinite Star, and this increases their damage taken from your Infinite Stars by 25%, stacking up to 10 times.
Right now this sims insane compared to anything else, it's pretty simple, it procs and does damage and the more procs and stacks you have the more damage. I do expect blizzard to nerf this before Mythic raiding.
2. Echoing Void
Echoing Void: Your damaging abilities build the Echoing Void. Each time it builds, Echoing Void has a chance to collapse, dealing 2.50% of your Health as Shadow damage to all nearby enemies every 1 sec until no stacks remain.
Another just strait proc one, if stars gets nerfed and this stays then this will jump to number 1 unless this also gets nerfed, this one on aoe fights or m+ is just crazy compared to anything else.
3. Twilight Devastation
Twilight Devastation: Your attacks have a chance to trigger a beam of Twilight Devastation, dealing damage equal to 18.00% of your health to all enemies in front of you.
Not a bad one at all I can see a lot of m+ pulls where this one can be used but for pure single target look at the other 2 unless changed.
4. Honed Mind - Surging Vitality - Racing Pulse
Honed Mind Gives you 915 Mastery for 10 sec.
Surging Vitality gives you 728 Versatility for 20 sec.
Racing Pulse Gives you 1275 Haste for 4 sec.
These 3 Sim pretty much the same so not much to say here other than I believe these 3 to be the main ones, seeing as they are not overpowered at all, I don't think blizzard will touch these and instead nerf the top 3 instead, so don't be mad if you get any of these you can just sit on them until Mythic week to see the changes.
All the next effects sim way less than these, so once sims are more stable I will update this.
The best way to find the best gear, Azerite Traits & Essences for your character is to 'sim' your character
Find out how to simBest In Slot Frost Dk Bfa Talents
Azerite Traits
Tier 3 & 4
Tier 2
Tier 3 & 4
Tier 2
Essences
Tier 3 & 4
Tier 3 & 4
Trinkets
Corruptions
You can find all our Pocket Guides for other World of Warcraft classes right here: Best WoW Builds
Spec Overview
Frost Death Knights are a melee Damage Dealers that chill their enemies to the bone and then Obliterate them. They are the True Death Knights, the Lich King himself was using Frost powers after all (and his fortress was named ICEcrown Citadel, located in ICEcrown... ok, I'll try to be professional from now on). Frost DK's have potent AoE Burst Damage and don't have to sacrifice their Single Target DPS to achieve it, but are a bit slow on their feet which makes reacting to some Raid Mechanics problematic.
| Pros | Cons |
| Great AoE Damage without Sacrificing Single Target DPS | Low Mobility |
| Very High Burst AoE Damage potential | Not much Utility in Mythic+ |
| Easy-to-play | Maximizing your Damage output can get a bit tricky in rapidly changing engagements |
| The True DK Spec (Not like those Blood and Unholy imposters) |
|
Statistics Priority
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| Please note that weights of those stats are pretty close together, and you should run simulations in order to determine if a certain item will be an upgrade over what you already have |
The Best Talent Choices
Level 56: Recommended choice - Cold Heart | |
| Cold Heart - A passive ability that stacks up to 20 times, each stack causes your next Chains of Ice to deal more Frost Damage to your target; the single stack is gained every 2 seconds, all stacks are consumed while casting Chains of Ice. This gives you a very powerful Damaging Ability every 40 seconds, it is the best used in combination with the Pillar of Frost, which has a 45s cooldown, so combining them does not pose any challenge. | |
| Icy Talons increase your Melee Attack Speed by 5% for 6 seconds after you use Frost Strike, Breath of Sindragosa or the Glacial Advance, this effect stacks up to 3 times, for a maximum of 15% Bonus Attack Speed for 6s. This currently gives you the lowest DPS boost, and should not be considered. Inexorable Assault works similarly to Cold Heart, you gain a stack every 8 seconds, for a maximum of 5 stacks; your next Obliterate consumes all stacks to deal extra damage. This is a decent choice, but it gets outperformed by Cold Heart, as it deals more damage and Chains of Ice have the added benefit of having a 30yd Range. | |
Level 57: Recommended choice - Runic Attenuation | |
| Runic Attenuation - Your Auto Attacks now have a chance to generate 3 Runic Power. This will boost your AoE and Single Target Damage by a visible margin, it works very well with the Breath of Sindragosa. | |
| With Murderous Efficiency, you will have a 50% chance to gain a Rune after using a Killing Machine proc. This provides a good DPS boost, but is RNG-dependant and therefore not recommended, unless your simulations clearly state otherwise. Horn of Winter gives you 2 Runes and 25 Runic Power instantly on a 45-second Cooldown. This works well with Breath of Sindragosa and should be picked if you need some extra Burst AoE Damage potential at the expense of consistent damage output. | |
Level 58: Recommended choice - Asphyxiate | |
| Asphyxiate - A 4 seconds stun; it has 40-second Cooldown and the 20yd Range. This is a Strong single-target Crowd Control spell, but other two choices in this row have their own merits to them and should be chosen instead if a situation warrants it. | |
| Death's Reach increases the range of your Death Grip to 40 yards and resets its Cooldown whenever you kill an enemy that yields Experience or Honor. This Talent is a great choice for Farming and Leveling, as it lets you Grip new mobs constantly. Blinding Sleet is a mass 5 second disorient spell with a 60s cooldown, which is great for Controlling large groups of mobs in Dungeons. | |
Level 60: Recommended choice - Frozen Pulse | |
| Frozen Pulse - Your Auto Attacks also deal AoE Frost Damage, as long as you have 2 or fewer full Runes. This increases Single Target Damage while also providing some extra AoE potential, but requires slight changes in Ability Prioritizing (you want to keep that Runes burned) in order to maximize its potential. | |
| Frost Scythe is an active ability that deals Frost Damage to all Targets in your Front Cone, it benefits from Killing Machine procs, and its Critical Damage has 4x modifier (instead of standard 2x). This is the best AoE Talent in this row and should be picked for Multi-target heavy encounters, the main downside of the Frost Scythe is that it forces great changes in your standard rotation. The Avalanche is a passive ability that causes your Howling Blast to deal increased AoE damage while it is empowered by Rime. This is a middle-ground Talent, and it is generally better to swap between the Frozen Pulse and the Frost Scythe as the situation demands it. | |
Level 75: Recommended choice - Wraith Walk | |
| Wraith Walk - Removes Root effects and increases your movement speed by 70% for 4 seconds, your movement speed cannot be reduced below 170% during uptime of the ability. This ability will greatly help you with Frost's mobility problems, as the Death's Advance may not be enough in some encounters. We recommend this pick as it gives you the most flexibility. | |
| Permafrost shields you for 40% of the Damage Done by your Auto Attacks, this effect stacks up to a maximum absorption value of 20% of your Max HP, this largely improves your ability to mitigate constant incoming damage, but will generally not save you from a nuke. Death Pact is an emergency healing spell, that restores 50% of your max HP instantly, but then absorbs healing equal to 30% of your max HP for the next 15 seconds; it has 2-minute Cooldown. This can save you in an emergency situation or when your Healers just derp around while they should be paying attention (it's always the Healers fault, I know, I know...). | |
Level 90: Recommended choice - Frostwyrm's Fury | |
| Frostwyrm's Fury - Summons a Frostwyrm that breaths on all Targets in a 40-yard lane in front of You, dealing High amounts of Frost Damage and slowing all affected enemies by 50% for 10s; it has 3-minute Cooldown. This is a great addition to Frost DK's AoE Toolkit that also increases Single Target Burst Damage potential, making it the best choice for Mythic+ progression. | |
| Gathering Storm causes each Rune spent during Remorseless Winter to extend its duration by 0.5s and boost its Damage by 10%. This greatly increases the effectiveness of the Remorseless Winter and provides Single Target and AoE Damage Boost that is very similar to Frostwyrm's Fury's but its usage is much more complicated. Glacial Advance creates Spikes of Ice that shoot out of the ground in a straight line in front of you, Spikes deal Frost Damage and apply Razorice to all damaged Targets; it has 6-second Cooldown and costs 30 Runic Power. This ability is a good choice for dumping Runic Power in AoE heavy encounters but lacks Single-Target Damage potential. | |
Level 100: Recommended choice - Breath of Sindragosa | |
| Breath of Sindragosa - A strong Active ability, that constantly deals high amounts of AoE Damage to Targets in front of you, and drains your Runic Power in the process; it lasts until canceled or till you run out of Runic Power. This is a great choice for a Single-Target and the AoE Burst Damage but requires some setup. It works well with Runic Attenuation and Horn of Winter. | |
| Icecap causes your Obliterate, Frostscythe and Frost Strike Criticals to reduce the remaining Cooldown of Pillar of Frost by 1 second. This increases uptime of the Pillar of Frost, and has synergy with Cold Heart, but does not provide Damage Boost as significant as the Breath of Sindragosadoes. Obliteration makes your Frost Strikes, Glacial Advances, and Howling Blasts, cast during the Pilar of Frost uptime, trigger Killing Machine procs 100% of the time and generate a Rune 30% of the time. This provides a significant boost to Single-Target and AoE damage but is currently much weaker than the Breath of Sindragosa. |
The Basic Rotation
Frost Death Knight's Rotation revolves around Spending Runes and Generating/Dumping Runic Power. It is worth noting that DK's Priority list differs greatly during Major Cooldowns uptimes and outside of them.
Use the following Priority List for the optimal Single Target Damage output:
| + ⇒ |
| ⇒ |
| ⇒ |
| |
| |
| ⇒ |
| |
| |
| |
Use the following Priority List for the optimal AoE Damage output: (Using this Rotation will require some Talent changes) | |
| ⇒ |
| |
| ⇒ |
| |
| |
| |
| If Breath of Sindragosa is coming back up, please setup like this: | |
| |
| ⇒ |
| |
| |
| |
| Please follow the Priority list below in order to maintain the Breath of Sindragosa for as long as possible: | |
| |
| ⇒ |
| |
| |
| |
Frost Dk Talents
Tips and Tricks for Improving your Gameplay
| |
| |
|
|
END NOTE This is an early version of our guide, we plan to upgrade upon it, and add further sections. So please leave your suggestions in the comments section below. We would also like to state that this is meant as a pocket guide and therefore we will not go into too much detail (please visit more specialized sites for a much more in-depth build/stat/gear/rotation analyses). |
Bis Frost Dk
Death Knight Bis
Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Blizzard Entertainment Inc.