Best Mage build for level 30 duels in WoW Forever

The tournament in 30 seconds

The Forever Open is a community duel tournament, not a Blizzard event, run by Tips Out, EsfandTV and Xaryu. These are the rules that affect your build: Community: Published by the community or press; we have not read the official original.

• 1v1 duels at level 30, Horde characters only, on the PvP ruleset.
• Qualifiers on 17 October and finals on 18 October. The top 4 of each class enter a bracket of best-of-3 and best-of-5 series.
• One build per stage, submitted 24 hours ahead. You cannot change it during the qualifiers or during the finals.
• Legacy points are allowed, so you can use the Talented perk (see below).
• At most 1 minute between duels to heal, buff and drink. Cooldowns do not reset.
• Consumables are allowed, except those on its ban list (for example Goblin Sapper Charge, Flash Bomb, Magic Dust, Slumber Sand and most protection potions) and buffs that are not from your class.

Why Frost

At level 30 you have 21 talent points, or 26 with the Talented Legacy perk (explained below). This is what each tree gets with those points: Analysis: Our reading of official mechanics. Not tested in game.

• Frost reaches Ice Lance (11), Ice Block (16) and Cold Snap and Fingers of Frost (21). It combines damage against frozen targets, defense and control.
• Fire reaches Pyroblast (11), a 6-second cast that is hard to finish against a player, and Blast Wave (21). Heating Up speeds up Pyroblast, but it needs crits. It has little control.
• Arcane reaches Improved Counterspell, which always silences in Forever, and Presence of Mind (21). It is good against casters, but it has no Ice Block and no freeze combos.

A community ranking from early October agrees: Frost in tier A, Arcane and Fire weak for duels. Community: Published by the community or press; we have not read the official original.

The 5 extra Legacy points

The Legacy system gives no extra class talent points, but its Talented perk (Adventure tree, 5 ranks) moves your first talent point from level 10 to level 5. At level 30 that means 26 points instead of 21. At level 60 nothing changes: the maximum stays at 51. Community: Published by the community or press; we have not read the official original.

• It costs 10 Legacy points: it needs Well Rested 5/5 before Talented 5/5, both in the Adventure tree. Every beta character has 16 Legacy points to test, and the tournament allows them. Community: Published by the community or press; we have not read the official original.
• Legacy talents are changed at a class trainer in a major city, like class talents. Official: Published by Blizzard in a source we have read.
• It is worth it for the tournament: 5 more points at level 30 is a quarter more of your tree. With them you no longer have to choose between Fingers of Frost and Cold Snap. Analysis: Our reading of official mechanics. Not tested in game.

The build

It uses Talented 5/5, so it spends 26 points.

Fingers of Frost and Cold Snap

Cold Snap resets your Frost spells, but in Forever it takes 10 minutes to come back. Official: Published by Blizzard in a source we have read. With at most 1 minute between duels, you can only use it once in a best-of-3 or best-of-5 series. Ice Block takes 5 minutes (as in Classic), so it will not be up for every duel of a series either. Classic reference: This is how it works in WoW Classic. Forever has not announced a change; not yet checked in game.

Fingers of Frost is passive: your chill effects can make your next 2 spells treat the target as frozen, in every duel, with no waiting.

With 26 points you take both: Fingers of Frost for every duel and Cold Snap for the one that decides the series. Analysis: Our reading of official mechanics. Not tested in game.

Why these points

• Improved Frostbolt 5/5: Frostbolt casts faster (0.5 sec less at 5/5 in Classic). It is your main spell and your slow. Classic reference: This is how it works in WoW Classic. Forever has not announced a change; not yet checked in game.
• Ice Shards 5/5: greatly increases your Frost crit damage, and you will crit a lot against frozen targets.
• Frostbite 3/3: your chill effects can freeze the target, giving you an empowered Ice Lance or time to get away.
• Improved Frost Nova 2/2: Frost Nova comes back sooner, and it is your main tool against melee.
• Ice Lance (11): instant, and deals 300% more damage to frozen targets. Official: Published by Blizzard in a source we have read.
• Ice Block (16): Frost’s 16-point milestone talent in Forever. Official: Published by Blizzard in a source we have read.
• Shatter 3/3: more crit chance against frozen targets. In Forever it no longer requires Improved Frost Nova, which frees points. Official: Published by Blizzard in a source we have read.
• Cold Snap and Fingers of Frost 2/2: the two row-5 talents, explained above.
• Permafrost 3/3: your slows last longer and slow more. More casting time against melee.

Left out: Elemental Precision (hit) and Piercing Ice (more damage). If you miss a lot of spells, swap Permafrost for 3 points in Elemental Precision: the build stays valid. If you mostly face casters, Piercing Ice adds more damage than Permafrost. Analysis: Our reading of official mechanics. Not tested in game.

How to play

Before the duel

• Your class buffs: Arcane Intellect and Ice Armor (learned at level 30). Mage Armor comes at level 34, so you do not have it yet. Classic reference: This is how it works in WoW Classic. Forever has not announced a change; not yet checked in game.
• Conjure a mana gem (Conjure Mana Agate, level 28) and refill mana and health in the minute between duels.

Freeze combos

1. Freeze your opponent with Frost Nova, or use a Frostbite freeze.
2. Spend Ice Lance while they are still frozen. With Fingers of Frost you get 2 spells that count as if they were frozen.
3. Damage can break the freeze, so start with your hardest hit. Classic reference: This is how it works in WoW Classic. Forever has not announced a change; not yet checked in game.

Defense and control

• Against melee: Frost Nova, walk away and cast Frostbolt. Save Blink for when they reach you again.
• Polymorph to buy time: with your opponent transformed you can drink or use a bandage. Any damage wakes them up.
• Counterspell a caster’s key spell. Use pillars and corners to break line of sight.
• Ice Block when you are about to die or to wait out your opponent’s burst.

Against each class

General advice based on how the classes work in Classic. Forever changed talents for every class, so treat this as a starting point. Analysis: Our reading of official mechanics. Not tested in game.

Which Horde race

The tournament only allows the Horde, and three of its races can be Mages: Analysis: Our reading of official mechanics. Not tested in game.

Blizzard has said the Orc and Troll active racials may be a little too strong and could change from this week. Community: Published by the community or press; we have not read the official original. More detail in Races.

Items and consumables

• Healing and mana potions, First Aid bandages and a wand to finish targets without spending mana. Analysis: Our reading of official mechanics. Not tested in game.
• Check the tournament’s ban list before you queue: carrying a banned item during inspection means instant disqualification. Community: Published by the community or press; we have not read the official original.

What we do not know yet