Frostfire Bolt is new to Classic-era Mages in WoW Forever: every Mage learns it from the trainer at level 40, with new ranks at 50 and 60. On base damage it hits for less than Frostbolt. Its strength is elsewhere: it counts as both Frost and Fire, uses the better of your two spell damage bonuses and the weaker of the target's two resistances, and draws on the talents of both trees. It is the spell of the hybrid Mage.
How to get Frostfire Bolt
The trainer. No talent is needed: every Mage learns rank 1 at level 40, rank 2 at level 50 and rank 3 at level 60. Each rank's exact damage and mana are on our Frostfire Bolt spell page, read from the WoW Forever client.
What every rank shares: a 3-second cast, a 35-yard range, a 40% slow on the target, and a little extra Frostfire damage over 9 seconds.
The rule that makes it different: the hit is checked against the lower of the target's Frost and Fire resistances, and counts as both Frost and Fire damage.
Each line takes the best rank a Mage has at that level. The figures are the base damage written in the spell, at the middle of its range, before spell damage bonuses and talents.
Level
Frostfire Bolt
Frostbolt
Fireball
40
rank 1: 100, plus 27 over time, 205 mana
rank 7: 181, 160 mana
rank 7: 187, plus 24 over time, 220 mana
50
rank 2: 182, plus 39 over time, 285 mana
rank 9: 308, 225 mana
rank 9: 300, plus 40 over time, 305 mana
60
rank 3: 292, plus 57 over time, 370 mana
rank 11: 475, 290 mana
rank 12: 483, plus 60 over time, 410 mana
On its own, it is the weaker bolt. At level 60, its hit is 61% of Frostbolt's for 28% more mana, and Fireball hits harder still.
The tooltip gives base damage only. How much each spell gains from spell damage gear is not written in it, so this table compares the bases and nothing more.
What it shares and adds: the same 40% slow as Frostbolt, and a reach of 35 yards against Frostbolt's 30.
Why a Mage casts it
Two trees, one spell. Most talents that improve Frost or Fire spells improve Frostfire Bolt too. Blizzard's Mage deep dive gives the example of Ignite and Ice Shards together: a critical strike deals 200% damage, plus another 40% of that as Ignite, 280% in all. A Mage with points in both trees gets both bonuses on one spell, where Frostbolt or Fireball would get only one.
The better bonus. It always uses the higher of your Fire or Frost spell damage bonus, so gear that favors one school still serves it.
The weaker resistance. Against a target that resists Fire or Frost, the hit uses the lower of the two.
It feeds the new talents. Its critical strikes count for Heating Up, and its casts can trigger Missile Barrage.
Talents that change it
Improved Fireball (Fire, first row, 5 ranks): cuts the cast time of Fireball and Frostfire Bolt by up to 0.5 seconds, to 2.5 seconds for Frostfire Bolt.
Heating Up (Fire, 16-point talent): non-periodic critical strikes with Fireball, Frostfire Bolt, Fire Blast and Scorch cut the cast time of your next Pyroblast by 25%, stacking up to 3 times within 20 seconds.
Missile Barrage (Arcane, 16-point talent): Fireball, Frostbolt and Frostfire Bolt get a 20% chance to make your next Arcane Missiles faster and free.
Most other Frost and Fire talents: Blizzard says that most talents improving Frost or Fire spells improve Frostfire Bolt too, from critical strike chance to critical damage.
How it differs from Wrath of the Lich King
Frostfire Bolt first came with Wrath of the Lich King in 2008, as a spell for level 75 Mages:
Wrath of the Lich King
WoW Forever
Learned
level 75
level 40, new ranks at 50 and 60
Range
40 yards
35 yards
Mana
14% of base mana
a fixed cost per rank
Cast
3 seconds
3 seconds, 2.5 with Improved Fireball
Resistances
the lower of Frost and Fire
the lower of Frost and Fire
The idea is the same: a bolt that is both Frost and Fire. Forever puts it in the hands of every Mage from level 40, in a game where hybrid talent builds are the reason it exists.
Who should cast it
A pure Frost Mage: keep Frostbolt, which hits harder for less mana on base numbers.
A pure Fire Mage: keep Fireball as the main nuke. Frostfire Bolt still counts for Heating Up, and its slow helps when you must kite.
A Fire and Frost hybrid: this is the spell the build is made for, since both trees' bonuses stack on it.
Against a target that resists one school: let the resistance rule work for you.
Our WoW Forever Mage guide covers everything else that changes for the class, from Arcane Blast to the teleport to Dalaran.
Every Mage learns it from the trainer at level 40, with no talent needed. Rank 2 comes at level 50 and rank 3 at level 60.
02Is Frostfire Bolt better than Frostbolt in WoW Forever?
Not on base damage: at level 60 its hit is 61% of Frostbolt's for 28% more mana. It pays off when talents from both the Frost and Fire trees stack on it, or against a target that resists one of the two schools.
03Does Frostfire Bolt count as Frost or Fire?
Both. It uses the higher of your Fire or Frost spell damage bonus, is checked against the lower of the target's two resistances, and most talents that improve either school improve it too.
04Which talents work with Frostfire Bolt?
Improved Fireball cuts its cast to 2.5 seconds, its critical strikes count for Heating Up, and it can trigger Missile Barrage. Blizzard gives Ignite with Ice Shards as an example: a critical strike for 280% damage in all.
05How is WoW Forever Frostfire Bolt different from Wrath of the Lich King?
In Wrath it was a level 75 spell with a 40-yard range costing 14% of base mana. In Forever every Mage learns it at level 40, with ranks at 50 and 60, a 35-yard range and a fixed mana cost per rank.
Penance, the Discipline Priest's 20-point talent in WoW Forever: three bolts in 2 seconds and about 20% more healing per mana than Greater Heal at each rank.
Where the Ruins of Lordaeron entrance is, above the Undercity, the Alliance route by ship to Southshore and across Lordamere Lake, and the PvP flag at the gate.
