ecouch

you missed quoted me. also, I know it's chance based. What I was saying is that there was research done in vanilla to show that it had a lower chance of breaking using higher levels of the spell. I'll see if I can dig up the forum discussion from the old wow forums.

takes more dmg to break higher levels of frost nova. only use lvl 1 when you are low on mana.

There are a couple of scenarios where it makes sense to cast scorch. First, in world pvp you can cast it and not give your position. For example, say your behind a tree and casting a frostbolt, the animation will show them where it's coming from. Scorch doesn't have that, so it's a good way to not give away your position. Second, it's probably the best dps when you are frost locked by counter spell.