Polymorph < onlyinclude > < / onlyinclude > Polymorph is a core mage ability learned at level 14 . It transforms the enemy into a critter , removing it from combat . It is the mage ' s primary crowd control spell , allowing the mage ' s party to focus their efforts elsewhere while the polymorphed target wanders harmlessly for a period of time . Any damage will break the effect , including DoT s . The spell only works on beast s , humanoid s ( including enemy player characters ) and critter s . Polymorph will affect mob s up to 50 seconds , but player s will break out of the transformation after no more than 10 seconds . Polymorph is dispel lable as a magic debuff . Certain trinkets also specifically dispel Polymorph effects , such as / . The base spell transforms the target into a sheep . Mages can learn other variations on the polymorph spell , either through tomes or via glyphs . They are functionally the same , with the only difference being the visual transformation . A polymorphed target is often referred to as a " sheeped " target . Furthermore , " sheep " is often used as a verb ; to sheep a target is to polymorph it . Even when using any of the Polymorph variations , the word sheep is still often used . Notes . While sheeped , the target cannot do anything , but heals at a rapid pace . Mana does not regenerate . Any damage caused to the target causes it to revert to its normal state . The target will also wander across the area randomly in this state . A mage can only have one target polymorphed at a time , regardless of the particular spell used . If cast on a second target , the first Polymorph breaks . For instance , casting Polymorph : Pig while having a different mob under the effects of Polymorph : Sheep will break the spell . Tips . The careful use of Polymorph can be tremendously effective in combat against elites . Typically , a mage will use Polymorph at the beginning of combat , allowing the group to focus on the remaining targets . Because Polymorph heals the target , it is much more effective to use it early in a fight rather than later when the target may have already suffered damage . It is advised that the mage until the tank has started the fight , otherwise the mage will have initial aggro of all remaining enemies , which can lead to a quick death , especially vs powerful raid elites if the tank does not draw aggro from these mobs fast enough . Polymorph can be reapplied , refreshing the duration , at any time in combat , so it is helpful to always re - sheep before the effect expires . It is more difficult to re - sheep a mob that is running loose ( and likely beating on you ) than one that is already under control . In group situations , the party leader can use a target marker to designate which target to polymorph . This allows the mage to keep track of where the sheep is during the fight , and can easily tell if the polymorph effect is broken . The most common marker for sheep is the Moon . It is also possible for higher - level groups with more than one mage to further coordinate by assigning a specific polymorph style to a specific mage . Wandering sheep can aggro nearby mobs when it breaks near them . Using ( requires frost specialization ) to pull and slow the movement speed of the target to a more favorable location before sheeping will help minimize the chances of this happening . It is also helpful to use to freeze an enemy in place , then Polymorph it . Macros . By using a simple macro you can stop casting a spell before it is finished and re - sheep as needed . This allows the mage to be much more responsive if a target breaks early . Use the Focus target to keep track of your sheep while killing other targets . In the default Blizzard UI , the focus target shows as a separate frame as of recent patches . The focus target can be set and regained with macros as well , which helps when it is necessary to resheep a target . This macro combined with the Focus target will make your polymorph hotkey more responsive by allowing you to stop casting your current spell and sheep your focus target without switching your current target . A more complex focus macro will focus and polymorph your target until it dies , with additional clicks re - sheeping the target . When your polymorphed focus is dead , select a new target and click again to focus and polymorph it . Hold shift and click to change polymorph targets mid fight . ( via spicytuna ) PvP . Polymorph can be a very useful tool in PvP , though it does have some limitations over PvE use . Specifically , the following limitations apply when Polymorphing a hostile player : While Polymorph does regenerate the target ' s health quickly , it doesn ' t affect mana in any way . In PvP situations mages can Polymorph then bandage and / or evocate , effectively restarting a fight . Polymorphing a Warrior using a shield and Spell Reflection can also be extremely useful if timed correctly . Rather than have a damaging spell reflected back , you can essentially sheep yourself and benefit from the healing effect .