Ice Block < onlyinclude > < / onlyinclude > Ice Block is a core mage ability learned at level 15 . It gives short - term immunity to all damage and attacks ( except priest Mass Dispel and warrior Shattering Throw ) , at the cost of being unable to take action . Ice Block also purges most debuff s . Using Ice Block debuffs the mage with Hypothermia for 30 seconds , which prevents usage of Ice Block during that time . This is only relevant for mages with the Cold Snap talent , which will reset the cooldown for Ice Block . It prevents the mage from casting Ice Block , then resetting the cooldown and immediately casting it again . The effect is similar to the paladin debuff Forbearance . " Ice Block " is often used as a verb , meaning to use Ice Block to avoid an attack , as in " I Ice Blocked that rogue ' s Eviscerate . " When Ice Block is used to remove a debuff , it is commonly referred to as " Ice Blocking out of ~ " , as in " I Ice Blocked out of sheep . " Modified by . Talent Notes . Casting the spell while you ' re already Ice Blocked ( hitting the hotbar key again ) will cancel the spell . It won ' t cancel itself on a second tap until the global cooldown has finished . Ice Block removes almost any harmful debuff ( s ) on caster , even if the caster is not in control of his / her actions . This includes Polymorph and all of a rogue ' s stuns . Due to the technicality that it " purges " the harmful effect without specifically dispelling it , on - dispel effects like Unstable Affliction ' s damage and silence will not be triggered . Certain raid - level debuffs are not dispellable by Ice Block , but it will still prevent you from taking damage . Ice Block can be removed via Mass Dispel , Shattering Throw , and in rare cases Purge and Dispel Magic only if these spells are cast at the same time as Ice Block . Ice Block will not protect you or other raid members from Gruul ' s Shatter effect , only the slowing effect from being Stoned by Gruul . Wearing 4 pieces of Aldor Regalia reduces the cooldown of Ice Block an additional 40 seconds . With Ice Floes , you can reduce the cooldown of Ice Block to 3 minutes , 20 seconds . Tips . Ice Block is useful for escaping from incapacitating effects and crowd - control spells , waiting for your cooldowns , blocking a large single - hit attack ( such as Pyroblast , Eviscerate ) , or buying time for a healer to heal you . In a one - on - one battle , Ice Block may give your opponent time to cool down abilities , heal , or run . You should rarely let Ice Block expire on its own , but instead cancel when the timing is right , usually immediately after casting . If used in conjunction with Cold Snap , Ice Block can be used up to 3 times every 10 minutes , and with Ice Floes every 8 minutes . Ice Block can be used to avoid fall damage ( see Blink and Slow Fall for other ways ) . While Ice Blocked your character falls normally , but doesn ' t take any damage when hitting the ground . In previous patches , an Ice Blocked mage would hover in the air , then begin to fall when the spell expired . Ice Block will prevent drowning and fatigue damage , and reset the damage counter ( not the bar ) to zero . You will still lose breath and become fatigued while ice blocked . Ice Block is powerful enough to remove almost any debuff , including Living Bomb or Baron Rivendare ' s 45 - minute debuff ( doing so will not prevent you from completing the 45 - minute Stratholme run ) . Some notable exceptions are Resurrection Sickness , Vaelastrasz ' s Burning Adrenaline , Deathbringer Saurfang ' s Mark of the Fallen Champion and the Deserter debuff from battlegrounds . Contrary to popular belief , Ice Block will NOT reduce your current threat level . The reason for this misunderstanding is that enemy AI is programmed to ignore you if you are invincible and move on to the next - highest target on its hate list . As soon as the effect fades the enemy may resume attacking you . However , it will prevent you from performing any actions that generate threat , allowing others ( who are still attacking , healing , etc ) to rise ahead of you on the mob ' s hate list . Use Invisibility to remove threat . It is worth noting that a priest can use Mass Dispel to remove ice block . This may be followed with a for a quick kill if the mage is low on health . Improved Counterspell could be useful here if you manually break ice block while the priest is casting , but act quickly . Using this macro a mage can instantly stop casting a spell and ice block to protect themselves with no delay . This makes it very useful in PvP or PvE situations which requires you to have fast reflexes to a changing situation . For those that have the skill of Herbalism , casting Lifeblood right before Ice Block give your health a reprieve ( albiet a low one ) .