Frost AE Grinding Guide
By:Orin
I've been AE grinding with frost for the past 23 levels (since around level 24). Frost AE grinding allows you to consistently take on 8-12 mobs of your own level and lower. I'm only level 47, but I have had a hard time finding relevant posts on the details and nuances of frost AE grinding on this forum so I wanted to draft up the things I have learned. I prefer to solo most of the times, so the following guide is geared towards solo frost AE grinding.
In this post, I want to focus on:
the basics: pros and cons of frost AE grinding
the talent spec that worked for me
the process of frost AE hunting
equipment advice
some key AE hunting locations
misc information
The Pros:
Solo frost AE grinding (SFAEG) is the most entertaining play experience I’ve had. Nothing beats watching 8-12 even-level mobs drop down dead at the same time, except for maybe the look on other character’s faces when they see you do it. Once you understand the spawns at a particular location, you can grind continuously. Exp from AE grinding is far better than questing and far more exciting than solo grinding.
The Cons:
1) By going this spec, you will inevitably be sacrificing your single-target DPS to get the correct frost talents. You will need more mana than other mages to tackle single mobs, but no other build can handle the number of mobs you can at the same time.
2) At every given level, there are very few (usually only one) location where you can SFAEG. This is mainly because you need clusters of mobs where there are no casters or shooters.
3) There is a significant amount of risk involved. Expect to die often as you learn how to AE grind well.
Basic Advice:
Don’t try to SFAEG until at least around level 27-29. You won’t have the right talent combinations before then. I would recommend going fire at first and then switching to frost somewhere around level 32 (once you can get frost channeling).
The Talent Build:
Frost talents need to work in tandem with each other. This is why it makes most sense to switch once you have enough talent points, but not worth it to build up to it. The key frost talents in this build work to slow mobs down to a crawl while they take damage.
You always want 5 points in Improved Arcane Missiles for the single mobs. At level 32, this is the build you want:
5 Improved Arcane Missiles
5 Permafrost
2 Improved Frost Nova
3 Winter’s Chill
3 Improved Blizzard
1 Coldsnap
1 Piercing Ice
3 Frost Channeling
After level 32, you would add (in roughly this order):
+2 Piercing Ice (3 altogether now)
3 Improved Cone of Cold
1 Ice Block
5 Arcane Concentration
Since I am at level 47 now, I’m not sure yet what the best way to proceed is. I’m debating whether to get Improved Arcane Explosion now or later, or never. As you will see, IAE is not needed for SFAEG. I’m thinking that it’s more important to get Ice Barrier than to get IAE. That would save me mana and give me additional protection.
Don’t get Frostbite! It will ruin your AE pulls by randomly freezing mobs.
Process of SFAEG:
You need to know your location and spawns down cold to do this successfully. The paths of wandering patrols and the precise number of spawns must be understood. Also, you will need to know how far a mob will chase you before it runs away. You should SFAEG mobs that are between 1 level above you and three levels below you. And you need to make sure there are no casters or shooters in the camp, or that you have eliminated them before hand. Here is the basic procedure:
1) Cast Mana Shield.
2) Aggro as many mobs as you can. Pre-40, you need to do this on foot. Post-40, you do this on a mount. Having the mount significantly increases the number of mobs you can aggro at a time. Pre-40, you should aim for around 8 mobs. Post-40, you should aim for 10-12. You should aggro all mobs within a 50 yard area because you will need space to kill them.
3) Run the mobs in a small spiral to make them cluster together. Once they are close enough, cast Frost Nova. (We’ll handle exceptions below)
4) Cast Blink and then move an additional 3-5 steps away. You are now at the maximum distance at which you can cast Blizzard. Cast the 1st Blizzard with the outer edge on the mob cluster. You should hotkey Blizzard so you don’t waste time with moving the mouse back and forth.
5) When the 1st Blizzard is about to end, cast the 2nd Blizzard.
6) At the end of the 2nd Blizzard, the mobs will be very close to you (or have already started to hit you). Cast Cone of Cold while stepping back. Then cast Frost Nova right after.
7) Keep moving back a little. Now cast a final Blizzard. On most levels if you are using the level appropriate Blizzard, they will all die during this final Blizzard. On other levels, you may need to run up and do an additional Cone of Cold.
Exceptions:
1) Your Frost Nova is resisted by a mob during step 3 – If only one mob is resisted, you can use Coldsnap to recast Frost Nova. If this is not possible, you can often blink and cast the 1st Blizzard in time to slow that runaway mob. That runaway mob will hit you at the end of the 1st Blizzard. Cast Mana Shield, let the mob continue hitting you, and cast 2nd Blizzard on the rest of the mobs. Then proceed with step 6.
2) Runners – Most mobs are runners. You need make sure they don’t run away. Typically mobs will run away during the 3rd Blizzard or right after the Cone of Cold. In both cases, you should be able to kill them before they get outside of Blizzard.
Source: World of Warcraft Gold Free Guide
By:Orin
I've been AE grinding with frost for the past 23 levels (since around level 24). Frost AE grinding allows you to consistently take on 8-12 mobs of your own level and lower. I'm only level 47, but I have had a hard time finding relevant posts on the details and nuances of frost AE grinding on this forum so I wanted to draft up the things I have learned. I prefer to solo most of the times, so the following guide is geared towards solo frost AE grinding.
In this post, I want to focus on:
the basics: pros and cons of frost AE grinding
the talent spec that worked for me
the process of frost AE hunting
equipment advice
some key AE hunting locations
misc information
The Pros:
Solo frost AE grinding (SFAEG) is the most entertaining play experience I’ve had. Nothing beats watching 8-12 even-level mobs drop down dead at the same time, except for maybe the look on other character’s faces when they see you do it. Once you understand the spawns at a particular location, you can grind continuously. Exp from AE grinding is far better than questing and far more exciting than solo grinding.
The Cons:
1) By going this spec, you will inevitably be sacrificing your single-target DPS to get the correct frost talents. You will need more mana than other mages to tackle single mobs, but no other build can handle the number of mobs you can at the same time.
2) At every given level, there are very few (usually only one) location where you can SFAEG. This is mainly because you need clusters of mobs where there are no casters or shooters.
3) There is a significant amount of risk involved. Expect to die often as you learn how to AE grind well.
Basic Advice:
Don’t try to SFAEG until at least around level 27-29. You won’t have the right talent combinations before then. I would recommend going fire at first and then switching to frost somewhere around level 32 (once you can get frost channeling).
The Talent Build:
Frost talents need to work in tandem with each other. This is why it makes most sense to switch once you have enough talent points, but not worth it to build up to it. The key frost talents in this build work to slow mobs down to a crawl while they take damage.
You always want 5 points in Improved Arcane Missiles for the single mobs. At level 32, this is the build you want:
5 Improved Arcane Missiles
5 Permafrost
2 Improved Frost Nova
3 Winter’s Chill
3 Improved Blizzard
1 Coldsnap
1 Piercing Ice
3 Frost Channeling
After level 32, you would add (in roughly this order):
+2 Piercing Ice (3 altogether now)
3 Improved Cone of Cold
1 Ice Block
5 Arcane Concentration
Since I am at level 47 now, I’m not sure yet what the best way to proceed is. I’m debating whether to get Improved Arcane Explosion now or later, or never. As you will see, IAE is not needed for SFAEG. I’m thinking that it’s more important to get Ice Barrier than to get IAE. That would save me mana and give me additional protection.
Don’t get Frostbite! It will ruin your AE pulls by randomly freezing mobs.
Process of SFAEG:
You need to know your location and spawns down cold to do this successfully. The paths of wandering patrols and the precise number of spawns must be understood. Also, you will need to know how far a mob will chase you before it runs away. You should SFAEG mobs that are between 1 level above you and three levels below you. And you need to make sure there are no casters or shooters in the camp, or that you have eliminated them before hand. Here is the basic procedure:
1) Cast Mana Shield.
2) Aggro as many mobs as you can. Pre-40, you need to do this on foot. Post-40, you do this on a mount. Having the mount significantly increases the number of mobs you can aggro at a time. Pre-40, you should aim for around 8 mobs. Post-40, you should aim for 10-12. You should aggro all mobs within a 50 yard area because you will need space to kill them.
3) Run the mobs in a small spiral to make them cluster together. Once they are close enough, cast Frost Nova. (We’ll handle exceptions below)
4) Cast Blink and then move an additional 3-5 steps away. You are now at the maximum distance at which you can cast Blizzard. Cast the 1st Blizzard with the outer edge on the mob cluster. You should hotkey Blizzard so you don’t waste time with moving the mouse back and forth.
5) When the 1st Blizzard is about to end, cast the 2nd Blizzard.
6) At the end of the 2nd Blizzard, the mobs will be very close to you (or have already started to hit you). Cast Cone of Cold while stepping back. Then cast Frost Nova right after.
7) Keep moving back a little. Now cast a final Blizzard. On most levels if you are using the level appropriate Blizzard, they will all die during this final Blizzard. On other levels, you may need to run up and do an additional Cone of Cold.
Exceptions:
1) Your Frost Nova is resisted by a mob during step 3 – If only one mob is resisted, you can use Coldsnap to recast Frost Nova. If this is not possible, you can often blink and cast the 1st Blizzard in time to slow that runaway mob. That runaway mob will hit you at the end of the 1st Blizzard. Cast Mana Shield, let the mob continue hitting you, and cast 2nd Blizzard on the rest of the mobs. Then proceed with step 6.
2) Runners – Most mobs are runners. You need make sure they don’t run away. Typically mobs will run away during the 3rd Blizzard or right after the Cone of Cold. In both cases, you should be able to kill them before they get outside of Blizzard.
Source: World of Warcraft Gold Free Guide
