Mage Frost Rotation & Opener
Built from the current top-100 Mythic parses on WarcraftLogs — the real opener sequences, casts-per-minute and buff uptimes of the best Frost players, not theorycraft.
AI coach — raid
How to play: Ice Lance is your spender (top players: 26.7/min), Frostbolt builds Icicles, Glacial Spike fires at five, and Flurry's shatter window carries the Spike and Ice Lances. Frozen Orb and Ray of Frost on cooldown (~2/min each). Watch: Icicle count (92.5% uptime = Icicles banked almost constantly) — don't waste at five; your post-Flurry sequence, the Spike must land inside shatter.
Real Opener Sequences — Vorasius
First ~12 casts of actual top-ranked kills. Trinkets and racials vary by setup; the skill order is what to copy.
Maykimagus — Revushchiy ford (EU)
1.
Frostbolt
2.
Time Warp
3.
Nullsight
4.
Ray of Frost
5.
Ice Lance
6.
Frozen Orb
7.
Flurry
8.
Ice Lance
9.
Ice Lance
10.
Ice Lance
11.
Ice Lance
12.
Alter Time
Aryella — Silvermoon (EU)
1.
Frostbolt
2.
Time Warp
3.
Nullsight
4.
Ray of Frost
5.
Ice Lance
6.
Frozen Orb
7.
Ice Lance
8.
Flurry
9.
Ice Lance
10.
Ice Lance
11.
Alter Time
12.
Ice Lance
Dartmonkey — Tarren Mill (EU)
1.
Time Warp
2.
Nullsight
3.
Ray of Frost
4.
Ice Lance
5.
Frozen Orb
6.
Flurry
7.
Ice Lance
8.
Ice Lance
9.
Ice Lance
10.
Alter Time
11.
Ice Lance
12.
Ice Lance
Casts Per Minute — Raid Benchmark
| Ability | Top-player CPM |
|---|---|
| Ice Lance | 26.7 |
| Flurry | 7.3 |
| Frostbolt | 6.7 |
| Glacial Spike | 2.3 |
| Frozen Orb | 2.1 |
| Shimmer | 1.8 |
| Ray of Frost | 1.8 |
| Nullsight | 0.9 |
| Alter Time | 0.6 |
| Ice Cold | 0.6 |
| Alter Time | 0.6 |
CPM = median casts per minute across the sampled top kills. If you're far below on a core ability, that's usually the first thing to fix.
Buff Uptimes to Watch
| Buff | Top-player uptime |
|---|---|
| Icicles | 92.5% |
| Hand of Frost | 78.8% |
| Arcanoweave Insight | 76.2% |
| Alnscorned Essence | 70.5% |
| Brainstorm | 57.8% |
| Precision of the Dragonhawk | 55.6% |
| Alnsight | 52.0% |
| Permafrost Lances | 49.1% |
| Overflowing Energy | 46.6% |
| Splinterstorm | 29.3% |
Mythic+ Differences
AI coach — Mythic+
How to play: Open packs with Frozen Orb (high proc generation), chain Ice Lance on shatter as usual, keep single-target logic for elites. Ice Barrier joins the regular loop — shield up before pulls. Watch: Orb's roll path through the pack (graze everything); spend Fingers procs as fast as they generate — they overcap easily multi-target.
Casts Per Minute — Mythic+ Benchmark
| Ability | Top-player CPM |
|---|---|
| Ice Lance | 20.3 |
| Flurry | 5.7 |
| Frostbolt | 5.6 |
| Glacial Spike | 2.1 |
| Ice Barrier | 1.7 |
| Frozen Orb | 1.6 |
| Ray of Frost | 1.4 |
| Shimmer | 1.3 |
| Blizzard | 1.2 |
| Nullsight | 0.6 |
| Alter Time | 0.5 |
| Alter Time | 0.4 |
| Mirror Image | 0.3 |
| Ice Cold | 0.3 |
Mythic+ Buff Uptimes
| Buff | Top-player uptime |
|---|---|
| Icicles | 89.7% |
| Ebon Might | 80.4% |
| Prescience | 72.4% |
| Hand of Frost | 67.5% |
| Arcanoweave Insight | 67.5% |
| Alnscorned Essence | 56.1% |
| Precision of the Dragonhawk | 53.7% |
| Overflowing Energy | 51.4% |
| Brainstorm | 42.5% |
| Permafrost Lances | 39.2% |
Compare yourself in-game, live
The GearInsight addon overlays your own CPM and buff uptimes next to these benchmarks during combat.