07-04-2007, 07:23 AM
I leveled up as a frost build the whole way. However, I also have a level 48 fire mage who has leveled purely as fire. That being said, I have some experience with both approaches.
The pros for a Frost build are:
1. control and survivability via kiting
2. AoE grinding with improved blizzard
3. practice kiting so you are a master by 70
4. Fun crits with Shatter and Ice Shards
The pros for a fire build are:
1. you do more damage, faster and therefore kill stuff faster.
2. you don't kite (much) so you kill stuff faster.
3. Your fire spells typically gain ranks before your frost spells do, so you kill stuff faster.
Personally, I wouldn't recommend leveling as an arcane mage during the early phase of your career because most of the really good arcane talents are deep in the tree and won't give you much benefit at lower levels.
However, you can still kill things fairly quickly with a frost build. I've included links to a fire and frost build.
Defacto Raiding Fire Build
Deep Frost Build This is the build I currently use. However, this doesn't show you which talents to pick early on, so let me outline the order I would place talents for a deep frost build.
5/5 Improved Frostbolt
2/2 Improved Frostnova
3/3 Permafrost
3/3 Piercing Ice
2/5 Ice Shards
5/5 Shatter
5/5 Ice Shards (note that we waited to finish out ice shards till we'd maxed out shatter)
3/3 Frost Channeling
3/3 Frostbite or Improved blizzard if you want to AoE
(don't get both initially as frostbite makes aoeing with blizzard more complicated till
you know what you're doing)
1/1 Ice Block
1/1 Ice Barrier
5/5 Arctic Winds
1/1 Cold Snap
3/3 Improved Blizzard (or frostbite if you got blizzard early)
1/1 Water Elemental
5/5 Empowered Frostbolt
This should get you to level 60 and you can fill in the rest to taste on your way to 70
The water elemental is very handy when doing aoe blizzard grinding I recommend you start by gathering the mobs up, trapping them with FN then summoning your water elemental as you run away from the mobs, then cast blizzard and use your water elementals FN to retrap them the moment the break free then cast your second blizzard. When using blizzard with the frostbite talent, make sure you place the second blizzard just in front of the guy closest to you. Any mob that was rooted by frostbite will break out and run back in the blizzard and be reslowed.
EDIT: Also, if you get into frost aoeing it may be wise to pick up 3/3 Improved Cone of Cold early
EDIT 2: regardless of what you do, get good gear. Any gear with +spell damage will go a long away (available primarily through tailoring and Jewel crafting at low levels)
The pros for a Frost build are:
1. control and survivability via kiting
2. AoE grinding with improved blizzard
3. practice kiting so you are a master by 70
4. Fun crits with Shatter and Ice Shards
The pros for a fire build are:
1. you do more damage, faster and therefore kill stuff faster.
2. you don't kite (much) so you kill stuff faster.
3. Your fire spells typically gain ranks before your frost spells do, so you kill stuff faster.
Personally, I wouldn't recommend leveling as an arcane mage during the early phase of your career because most of the really good arcane talents are deep in the tree and won't give you much benefit at lower levels.
However, you can still kill things fairly quickly with a frost build. I've included links to a fire and frost build.
Defacto Raiding Fire Build
Deep Frost Build This is the build I currently use. However, this doesn't show you which talents to pick early on, so let me outline the order I would place talents for a deep frost build.
5/5 Improved Frostbolt
2/2 Improved Frostnova
3/3 Permafrost
3/3 Piercing Ice
2/5 Ice Shards
5/5 Shatter
5/5 Ice Shards (note that we waited to finish out ice shards till we'd maxed out shatter)
3/3 Frost Channeling
3/3 Frostbite or Improved blizzard if you want to AoE
(don't get both initially as frostbite makes aoeing with blizzard more complicated till
you know what you're doing)
1/1 Ice Block
1/1 Ice Barrier
5/5 Arctic Winds
1/1 Cold Snap
3/3 Improved Blizzard (or frostbite if you got blizzard early)
1/1 Water Elemental
5/5 Empowered Frostbolt
This should get you to level 60 and you can fill in the rest to taste on your way to 70
The water elemental is very handy when doing aoe blizzard grinding I recommend you start by gathering the mobs up, trapping them with FN then summoning your water elemental as you run away from the mobs, then cast blizzard and use your water elementals FN to retrap them the moment the break free then cast your second blizzard. When using blizzard with the frostbite talent, make sure you place the second blizzard just in front of the guy closest to you. Any mob that was rooted by frostbite will break out and run back in the blizzard and be reslowed.
EDIT: Also, if you get into frost aoeing it may be wise to pick up 3/3 Improved Cone of Cold early
EDIT 2: regardless of what you do, get good gear. Any gear with +spell damage will go a long away (available primarily through tailoring and Jewel crafting at low levels)
Cheers,
Frostburn / Dawnstrider
Frostburn / Dawnstrider