Is blizzard not feasible as AOE boxer vs AE?

[Yukzor]

I keep seeing everybody using AE, is blizzars with nova and shatter and AE at rhe end not feasible as a dual boxer or AE is just superior?

[Homer]

I keep seeing everybody using AE, is blizzars with nova and shatter and AE at rhe end not feasible as a dual boxer or AE is just superior?

AE is just far more DPS, Blizzard is easily doable.

[nodoze]

I keep seeing everybody using AE, is blizzars with nova and shatter and AE at rhe end not feasible as a dual boxer or AE is just superior?

I am pretty sure Apathiest discussed this in another thread. I think in his case he had his healer kiting mobs though his Mages' Blizzard with no one taking any damage. I think he had his Mages walk backward away from the mobs to reduce leeway and keep avoiding damage.

Alternatively Blizzard made sense for single Mage players like Jokerd (who was the first level 60 in Classic) and he just froze/blizzard groups of mobs solo and kept running/blinking ahead of them. I think that is harder to do as a boxer though.

I think rather than mess with moving/kiting people are just briefly face-tanking while AEing groups of mobs that they can burst down and move on quickly...

[z0k]

I've played around with it a little bit...still early (31 now). I'm running WMMMP. I took my mages frost through shatter and am now working on going through arcane. Once I get the 13 points in arcane (might go a little deeper) I'm planning on returning to frost. I think I'd probably put 1 point into the imp blizzard talent and play with it more. Blizzard is the efficient option, but also requires better execution/movement. If you're boxing multiple mages and/or not running a tank it's not a worthwhile trade off.

I personally like the route I've taken. I like frost a lot even though I may be sacrificing in some AoE potency below is how I approach AoE and it's been fairly successful.

I usually use my warrior to group up mobs, have my priest throw a heal or two, then once everything is in position, Frost Nova -> Cone of Cold -> AE spam til dead. Cone of Cold will typically be about 15-20% of the overall damage so it's absolutely worth using, AE will benefit from shatter, shatter will proc off of frost shield, and my tank doesn't really stand a shot in holding aggro on a large pack. I'll typically find the strongest/most alive mob and taunt/sunder it once I start my AoE rotation. I have two binds for AE, one where the priest novas, another where the priest doesn't. This ensures I can toss some heals as necessary without interrupting DPS.

[nodoze]

I've played around with it a little bit...still early (31 now). I'm running WMMMP. I took my mages frost through shatter and am now working on going through arcane. Once I get the 13 points in arcane (might go a little deeper) I'm planning on returning to frost. I think I'd probably put 1 point into the imp blizzard talent and play with it more. Blizzard is the efficient option, but also requires better execution/movement. If you're boxing multiple mages and/or not running a tank it's not a worthwhile trade off.

I personally like the route I've taken. I like frost a lot even though I may be sacrificing in some AoE potency below is how I approach AoE and it's been fairly successful.

I usually use my warrior to group up mobs, have my priest throw a heal or two, then once everything is in position, Frost Nova -> Cone of Cold -> AE spam til dead. Cone of Cold will typically be about 15-20% of the overall damage so it's absolutely worth using, AE will benefit from shatter, shatter will proc off of frost shield, and my tank doesn't really stand a shot in holding aggro on a large pack. I'll typically find the strongest/most alive mob and taunt/sunder it once I start my AoE rotation. I have two binds for AE, one where the priest novas, another where the priest doesn't. This ensures I can toss some heals as necessary without interrupting DPS.

Thanks for sharing and please report back any updates on your findings as you progress.

Is your Warrior that is losing Aggro using all/most of his Rage on Shouts? I remember at least one AoE person saying that, even after the nerf, that Warriors can still hold aggro (just need to shout more). If you are having issues maybe try delay the start of your AoE a little longer letting the Warrior shout a few more times and also make sure he is shouting while you AoE.

I like your idea on the dual buttons for AoE with Nova and AoE without Nova. I likely will try that on my Locks as I test out AoE with Rain of Fire on @Player (or maybe @Cursor though that seems more complicated with setview and what not).

[z0k]

Thanks for sharing and please report back any updates on your findings as you progress.

I like your idea on the dual buttons for AoE with Nova and AoE without Nova. I likely will try that on my Locks as I test out AoE with Rain of Fire on @Player (or maybe @Cursor though that seems more complicated with setview and what not).

I do the same thing with frostbolt and a castsequence macro on my priest for single target dps. It's a good move not to mention Holy Nova guzzles through mana, even worse than AE. I'm also stacking spirit over int on the priest so the mana pool isn't as large to begin with. I'll be sure to update you. I imagine in the mid 40s it will be interesting and certainly by BRD I will know just how far I can take this build.

[nodoze]

I do the same thing with frostbolt and a castsequence macro on my priest for single target dps. It's a good move not to mention Holy Nova guzzles through mana, even worse than AE. I'm also stacking spirit over int on the priest so the mana pool isn't as large to begin with. I'll be sure to update you. I imagine in the mid 40s it will be interesting and certainly by BRD I will know just how far I can take this build.

OK great. Note that I edited my previous post with some follow-up thoughts while/after you quoted it. Regarding your Warrior:

Is your Warrior that is losing Aggro using all/most of his Rage on Shouts? I remember at least one AoE person saying that, even after the nerf, that Warriors can still hold aggro (just need to shout more). If you are having issues maybe try delay the start of your AoE a little longer letting the Warrior shout a few more times and also make sure he is shouting while you AoE.

[Yukzor]

OK great. Note that I edited my previous post with some follow-up thoughts while/after you quoted it. Regarding your Warrior:

Is your Warrior that is losing Aggro using all/most of his Rage on Shouts? I remember at least one AoE person saying that, even after the nerf, that Warriors can still hold aggro (just need to shout more). If you are having issues maybe try delay the start of your AoE a little longer letting the Warrior shout a few more times and also make sure he is shouting while you AoE.

Wait does shatter only proc when mobs are frosen ala nova oe or procs also when mobs look blue from frost shield but not frozen?

I typically go nova..flame aoe..ae ae ae ..nova ae ae ae for crits...i didnt like cone of cold but migjt give it another shot.

[z0k]

@Yukzor Frost Armor/Ice Armor procs Frostbite, Frostbite targets benefit from Shatter. The hardest part is having your characters all lined up/facing the correct way. I typically will have them follow, use the V formation once I'm ready to drop the kids off so to speak, then move all the mobs to directly in front of the group. I try to get the Frost Nova off where the mobs are out of melee of the mages and still in AoE range, then I get my warrior out of the way as well since he will be low HP by this point.

@nodoze I'm primarily shouting for aggro yeah. I could try to hold onto aggro for longer but tbh the mages just don't die that much and I'm sure I'd lose some dps from less frost bite. I usually don't lose aggro until the mobs are about 40-50%. The huge burst from CoC is high.

[nodoze]

@Yukzor Frost Armor/Ice Armor procs Frostbite, Frostbite targets benefit from Shatter. The hardest part is having your characters all lined up/facing the correct way. I typically will have them follow, use the V formation once I'm ready to drop the kids off so to speak, then move all the mobs to directly in front of the group. I try to get the Frost Nova off where the mobs are out of melee of the mages and still in AoE range, then I get my warrior out of the way as well since he will be low HP by this point.

@nodoze I'm primarily shouting for aggro yeah. I could try to hold onto aggro for longer but tbh the mages just don't die that much and I'm sure I'd lose some dps from less frost bite. I usually don't lose aggro until the mobs are about 40-50%. The huge burst from CoC is high.

OK great. That sounds smart to get into a rhythm like that where at the appropriate point you pull them toward the Mages as that will keep them from doing damage while they try to get to the mages and help spread out the damage and what not when they do (and then die before killing anyone).