Frostbolt

Frostbolt
Frostbolt (13 ranks) Mage ability 30 s. yd range 13% of base mana at max rank 3 sec cast Launches a bolt of frost at the enemy, causing X to Y Frost damage and slowing movement speed by 40% for Z sec.
Properties
Class	Mage
School	Frost
Cooldown	None/Global Cooldown
Improvements	[Improved Frostbolt], Elemental Precision, [Ice Shards], [Piercing Ice], [Frostbite], [Permafrost], [Frost Channeling], [Arctic Reach], Winter's Chill, [Arctic Winds], [Empowered Frostbolt], [Arcane Instability], Spell Power, [Playing with Fire],  [Molten Fury], [Shatter]
Related debuff
Magic Frostbolt Movement slowed by 40%. Duration: 9 seconds

[[Category:mage abilities]][[Category:mage abilities]]

"Wearing heavy plate is taxing enough without having to lug around another eighty pounds of ice." —Warrax

Frostbolt is a mage spell that deals frost direct damage and chills the target, slowing its movement speed. This spell is the primary source of damage for a frost mage.

Table of ranks

Rank	Mana Cost	Cast Time	Damage	Duration	Level	Cost
1	16% of base mana	1.5 sec	18 - 20	5 sec	4	1
2	16% of base mana	1.8 sec	31 - 35	6 sec	8	2
3	16% of base mana	2.2 sec	51 - 57	6 sec	14	9
4	16% of base mana	2.6 sec	74 - 82	7 sec	20	20
5	16% of base mana	3.0 sec	126-138	7 sec	26	50
6	16% of base mana	3.0 sec	174 - 190	8 sec	32	1
7	16% of base mana	3.0 sec	227 - 247	8 sec	38	1 40
8	16% of base mana	3.0 sec	292 - 316	9 sec	44	2 30
9	16% of base mana	3.0 sec	353 - 383	9 sec	50	3 20
10	16% of base mana	3.0 sec	429 - 463	9 sec	56	3 80
11	16% of base mana	3.0 sec	515 - 555	9 sec	60	4 20
12	16% of base mana	3.0 sec	536 - 578	9 sec	63	5 70
13	13% of base mana	3.0 sec	597 - 643	9 sec	69	11
14	13% of base mana	3.0 sec	630 - 680	9 sec	70
15	13% of base mana	3.0 sec	702 - 758	9 sec	75	??
16	13% of base mana	3.0 sec	799 to 861	9 sec	79	??

Frostbolt (Rank 13) damage scales slightly with level, after training it at level 69. Mana cost and debuff duration remain the same.

Level	Mana Cost	Cast Time	Damage	Duration
69	13% of base mana	3.0 sec	597 - 643	9 sec
70	13% of base mana	3.0 sec	600 - 647	9 sec

Notes

• All ranks of Frostbolt damage scale slightly with level after training it (game version 2.1.3).^{[citation needed]} 

Frostbolt at max rank gets 81.4% of the caster's frost spell damage from gear and buffs. This figure is derived from the cast time and the 5% penalty for spells with a secondary effect, such as Frostbolt's chill effect (an exception to which is [Frostfire Bolt]).

.95(3.0 / 3.5) ~ .814

The talent [Empowered Frostbolt] increases the bonus by 2% per rank. To calculate the spell damage bonus, use the following formula, where Y is the number of points in Empowered Frostbolt:

(.95(3/3.5) + .02Y)

Multiplying this spell damage bonus by the amount of frost spell damage from gear and buffs gives the final amount added to the base Frostbolt damage.

Improvements

[Improved Frostbolt] will lower the cast time of Frostbolt by up to .5 seconds at max rank. [Empowered Frostbolt] at max rank will increase the amount of frost spell damage that applies to the spell by 10% and critical strike chance by 5%.

Elemental Precision and [Frost Channeling] reduce the mana cost of the spell, while Frost Channeling also lowers its threat. Frostbolt deals Frost damage, so the bonuses from [Piercing Ice], [Ice Shards], [Arctic Winds] and Winter's Chill apply to the spell. [Arctic Reach] extends the range to 36 yards at max rank. [Master of Elements] will refund a percentage of the mana cost of the spell if it critically hits its target.

The chill component of Frostbolt is affected by [Permafrost], which increases the duration of the snare to 12 seconds at max rank, and increases the snare to 50% of movement speed. Also, the chill will trigger the [Frostbite] talent.

As with all mage spells capable of critical hits [Arcane Instability], Spell Power,  [Molten Fury], [Playing with Fire] and [Shatter] can increase the effective damage output of this spell.

As of Patch 3.0.2,  [Impact] from the Fire talent tree will work with any spell, including Frostbolt. With Frostbolt's snare and possible root effects, this additional stun can help further slow down one's opponents.

Lastly,  [Glyph of Frostbolt] will increases the damage it deals by 5%, but removes its chill effect.

Tips and tactics

Even though the duration of the snare is shorter, the fast casting time on the low ranks of this spell means never letting the big one get away. Keep rank one on your hotbar when you or your group are going to be facing enemies that flee when at low health... this includes PvP, the downside, is that this actually costs more mana per cast.

Past changes

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