[FIRE] Legion Beta Megathread

[whisperingsage]

That definitely makes the difference, since it's on impact, not cast.

So you should probably be saving up two PF charges for Combustion, and use the third like a Fireblast. You don't ever want to be sitting on two charges of Fireblast or three charges of PF, but I'm not sure which one takes priority. It's probably PF, since a golden trait reduces its cooldown.

[Deleted]

I'm leveling up my mage right now so Fireball has a very short travel time (cast in melee range mostly). That may be the difference.

yeah that will make a difference, also, and i might be totally wrong on this, i think the travel time of phoenix flame might be faster than fireball at 30+ yards but that might just be me.

[The Archmage]

When I get a HU proc while I'm casting a Fireball, should I be canceling that cast for Phoenix Flame? Example:

Complete Fireball cast #1
Buffered Fireball cast #2 starts
Fireball #1 lands and crits

I've found that if I finish Fireball #2 and hit Phoenix Flame, I often (always?) lose the HU because the Fireball registers first.

Exactly what Shadohw said.

Remember that Fire Blast is off the GCD (Global CoolDown, for the Mage class a baseline 1,5 seconds time that you have to wait between using abilities) and can be cast while casting/using other abilities. It's a little tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it you'll start flinging stuff like a crazed pyromaniac (which makes total sense)

[nickseng]

So you should probably be saving up two PF charges for Combustion, and use the third like a Fireblast.

See, that's the thing about using PF like a Fireblast is that you should Always be casting. You will be well into your second Fireball before you register the 1st fireball criting, and at that point, you have to cancel your cast if you want PF to activate Hot Streak. :/

[Deleted]

When I get a HU proc while I'm casting a Fireball, should I be canceling that cast for Phoenix Flame? Example:

Complete Fireball cast #1
Buffered Fireball cast #2 starts
Fireball #1 lands and crits

I've found that if I finish Fireball #2 and hit Phoenix Flame, I often (always?) lose the HU because the Fireball registers first.

Firstly as ppl have suggested use your FB mid Fball cast to force the hotstreak and launch your pyro at the same time as the fireball. If FB is on cooldown, i would not change what you are doing but make sure you are at least 31-34yards away from your target. PF comes out slow but accelerates very quickly towards the target, where fireball has a fixed speed, meaning if you are too close to your target, PF will not have enough flight time to overtake your fireball resulting in your lost HU if it doesn't crit, if you are far enough away PF will overtake fball and land a split second before it resulting in HS.

Secondly it is good to get used the the 31-34y range since when you are using cinderstorm this is the convergence arc point for all of the cinders, therefore making sure all 6 hit your target, this has the positive effect of making using CS on single target a dps gain, and can be used to bridge gaps in FB/PF cooldowns where you have a HU but don't want to cast another fireball in case it doesn't crit and FB/PF will come off cooldown within 3.5s.

Something that also is worth clearing up since it's been bugging me for a while now is whether or not after casting Fireball>Pyro and they both crit to wait that split second then cast the pyro immediately or queue a fireball and finish the cast and repeat Fireball>Pyro. Can someone give a cast iron answer as i am torn between waiting for the crit and casting the pyro since it benefits from 2x ignite or queuing the fireball which is in line with the age old caster mantra of "always be casting something"

[sinso]

Firstly as ppl have suggested use your FB mid Fball cast to force the hotstreak and launch your pyro at the same time as the fireball. If FB is on cooldown, i would not change what you are doing but make sure you are at least 31-34yards away from your target. PF comes out slow but accelerates very quickly towards the target, where fireball has a fixed speed, meaning if you are too close to your target, PF will not have enough flight time to overtake your fireball resulting in your lost HU if it doesn't crit, if you are far enough away PF will overtake fball and land a split second before it resulting in HS.

Secondly it is good to get used the the 31-34y range since when you are using cinderstorm this is the convergence arc point for all of the cinders, therefore making sure all 6 hit your target, this has the positive effect of making using CS on single target a dps gain, and can be used to bridge gaps in FB/PF cooldowns where you have a HU but don't want to cast another fireball in case it doesn't crit and FB/PF will come off cooldown within 3.5s.

Something that also is worth clearing up since it's been bugging me for a while now is whether or not after casting Fireball>Pyro and they both crit to wait that split second then cast the pyro immediately or queue a fireball and finish the cast and repeat Fireball>Pyro. Can someone give a cast iron answer as i am torn between waiting for the crit and casting the pyro since it benefits from 2x ignite or queuing the fireball which is in line with the age old caster mantra of "always be casting something"

I have been just doing this. If I have hotstreak up ill fireball into pyro if they both crit I will do it again and continue unless fireblast is about to cap on charges then I will just use hootstreak on pyro and use fireblast to force hotsteak again next crit and repeat until my next rop or combust burst phase

Edit: May not be worth it with class trinket after giving it more though cause flame patch op. prob better off just casting the pyro
But in legion when we don't have trinket you wont loose dps unless your sitting on cap chargers of fireblast

[Hashcrypt]

So how fun and effective are fire mages looking going into beta? I've been a melee player during my entire WoW "career". I simply hate being stationary and chain casting. I want to play a character and not a turret. However, from the videos I've watched, plus the face to face experience going against Fire Mages, it appears as though they rarely cast. This appeals to me, as it allows me to be mobile and just looks fun overall.

But I don't have any real hands on experience with fire mages, so I'm wanting to get some feedback from those who actually know what they're talking about.

I'd like to raid and do competitive PvP, so can fire mage handle this? During raids will I be reduced to a turret? Or can I still be an instant cast free roaming damage machine in raids as well?

[Imaskar]

Maybe take a hunter then? They exactly are free roaming casters.

[Deleted]

So how fun and effective are fire mages looking going into beta? I've been a melee player during my entire WoW "career". I simply hate being stationary and chain casting. I want to play a character and not a turret. However, from the videos I've watched, plus the face to face experience going against Fire Mages, it appears as though they rarely cast. This appeals to me, as it allows me to be mobile and just looks fun overall.

But I don't have any real hands on experience with fire mages, so I'm wanting to get some feedback from those who actually know what they're talking about.

I'd like to raid and do competitive PvP, so can fire mage handle this? During raids will I be reduced to a turret? Or can I still be an instant cast free roaming damage machine in raids as well?

In raid im afraid not mate, since even during our burst phase where all of our casts are instant you will still be stationary due to Rune of Power being the best talent, after that you will be hardcasting fireball alot of the time. Forced movement is certainly less of an issue for fire mages however due to the ice floes talent, instant pyros, phoenix flames, fire blast and when you have run out of those scorch is castable while moving, so out of all the casters for raids i would say fire mages are top tier for mobility/damage, but i'm afraid your highest possible sustained damage output means you will be standing still the majority of the time.

PvP is very different however, with the right talents (flare up) in arena you do not need to cast to output your burst damage since the combo is all instants, even when trained you can only be shut down by stuns or a silence, which makes you very strong in comps that center around massive burst during DR cycles then playing defensive until the next cycle, such as RMP.

The only spell you will be casting constantly is polymorph which again you can protect with the right talents, shimmer and prismatic cloak for example. When you are free to cast you just spam fireballs into your target since you will be most likely running the firestarter talent, which reduces combustions cooldown by 10s per fireball cast, allowing you to burst again sooner than it takes for defensive cooldowns and trinkets to reset so even squeezing out 4-5 fireballs is super strong.

And then there is dragons breath, one of the few instant aoe cc's left in the game, it is such an amazing ability on a short cooldown that provides so many different setups or sick for peeling, interrupting or making sure you can land that clutch poly, this ability is the icing on the cake for fires toolkit.

So after all that, i guess you need to ask yourself if you can put up with the semi-static playstyle required for raids then you wont regret rolling as fire, since they are going to be top tier in pvp as well.

EDIT: Or yeah play Hunter

[Hashcrypt]

In raid im afraid not mate, since even during our burst phase where all of our casts are instant you will still be stationary due to Rune of Power being the best talent, after that you will be hardcasting fireball alot of the time. Forced movement is certainly less of an issue for fire mages however due to the ice floes talent, instant pyros, phoenix flames, fire blast and when you have run out of those scorch is castable while moving, so out of all the casters for raids i would say fire mages are top tier for mobility/damage, but i'm afraid your highest possible sustained damage output means you will be standing still the majority of the time.

PvP is very different however, with the right talents (flare up) in arena you do not need to cast to output your burst damage since the combo is all instants, even when trained you can only be shut down by stuns or a silence, which makes you very strong in comps that center around massive burst during DR cycles then playing defensive until the next cycle, such as RMP.

The only spell you will be casting constantly is polymorph which again you can protect with the right talents, shimmer and prismatic cloak for example. When you are free to cast you just spam fireballs into your target since you will be most likely running the firestarter talent, which reduces combustions cooldown by 10s per fireball cast, allowing you to burst again sooner than it takes for defensive cooldowns and trinkets to reset so even squeezing out 4-5 fireballs is super strong.

And then there is dragons breath, one of the few instant aoe cc's left in the game, it is such an amazing ability on a short cooldown that provides so many different setups or sick for peeling, interrupting or making sure you can land that clutch poly, this ability is the icing on the cake for fires toolkit.

So after all that, i guess you need to ask yourself if you can put up with the semi-static playstyle required for raids then you wont regret rolling as fire, since they are going to be top tier in pvp as well.

EDIT: Or yeah play Hunter

Thanks for the info. PvP would be my main concern as a stationary caster, so glad to hear they are infact very mobile in that context. In terms of raids, I think I could deal with the chain casting by knowing my DPS doesn't drop to zero the second i have to move and stop casting.

Now my next choice will be to grind out 1-100 or just pony up the cash for a 100 boost....

[Sticx]

When I get a HU proc while I'm casting a Fireball, should I be canceling that cast for Phoenix Flame? Example:

Complete Fireball cast #1
Buffered Fireball cast #2 starts
Fireball #1 lands and crits

I've found that if I finish Fireball #2 and hit Phoenix Flame, I often (always?) lose the HU because the Fireball registers first.

I'm still confused as to what you do in this situation if both FB and FO are on cool down. If you get a heating up proc off of a fireball do you stop your cast of the second fireball and use a PF or do you finish the second cast and hope you get a crit to turn it into a hotsteak?

[FuzeSG]

I'm still confused as to what you do in this situation if both FB and FO are on cool down. If you get a heating up proc off of a fireball do you stop your cast of the second fireball and use a PF or do you finish the second cast and hope you get a crit to turn it into a hotsteak?

Get the hot streak then cast fireball into an instant pyro.

[Deleted]

I'm still confused as to what you do in this situation if both FB and FO are on cool down. If you get a heating up proc off of a fireball do you stop your cast of the second fireball and use a PF or do you finish the second cast and hope you get a crit to turn it into a hotsteak?

personally, i would fireball+PF coz PF still hits pretty damn hard and you'll have a better chance at getting a hot streak by doing this, after all spamming 2 spells each with about 50-60% chance to crit has a lower chance to give you a hot streak than casting 1 spell with 50-60% to crit and 1 spell with a 100% crit chance, imo PF basically takes the place of fireblast in those situations when fire blast and FO are on cd as it looks to me that PF has a faster travel time than fireball atleast at range.

- - - Updated - - -

Get the hot streak then cast fireball into an instant pyro.

this is selfevident but not what the OP was asking.

[Sarkol]

Get the hot streak then cast fireball into an instant pyro.

You're not reading what he's asking.

To Sticx. I'd assume you'd try to use them as an opener on enemies while not in combustion. Like a double PF For a fast hotstreak. Saying that. I think stopping the second Fireball cast is fine, ESPECIALLY on aoe. Phoenix Flame does 125% more single target damage than Fireball, and aoe damage, and always crits. I'd say it's fine to interrupt Fire ball to 100% gain Hotstreak with it at all times, but i could easily be wrong. The only place i'd think it possibly wasn't worth it would be single target though.

[FuzeSG]

You're not reading what he's asking.

Sorry, I suppose I could have been clearer. In my opinion, yes, I would definitely interrupt my cast for PF to proc HS instead. it is slightly wasteful, but so is losing a Pyro/Flamestrike proc because your fireball didn't crit. The one instance in which I would not do this is if I want to conserve PF for Combustion, I might just pray to RNGsus and deal with it if I don't crit. Am I missing what he's saying? hopefully I understood.

[Erolian]

It doesn't make any sense to be using PF outside of RoP/FO/Combustion phases in most cases. You shouldn't be interrupting yourself either. Or ever capping on PF charges. FO and RoP are always just around the corner no matter where you are during a boss fight. Losing GCDs and fireballs to use PF outside of a 50% damage increase just doesn't really make sense to do in most cases

[Deleted]

I'm still confused as to what you do in this situation if both FB and FO are on cool down. If you get a heating up proc off of a fireball do you stop your cast of the second fireball and use a PF or do you finish the second cast and hope you get a crit to turn it into a hotsteak?

Make sure your always 30y+ from the target and finish the Fireball cast.

Or

If you know that the Fireball will land before the PF it will be a dps gain to cancel the Fireball cast and PF since you will be guaranteed to gain a Pyro with 2x mastery and you lose a non crit fireball+ignite. However if your fireball would have crit it would be a dps loss to cancel the cast as you lose a crit fireball+the ignite damage.

So it boils down to RNG and when it comes to RNG generally the most consistant outcome wins, in this case the easiest thing you have control of is your distance so stay above 30y and finish your casts and you will get the most damage. If that is impossible then it is down to your crit chance and if fireball is ~60% crit then i would still say over the course of a long fight if you are in melee range the whole time then finishing your cast will still net the most dps. If your in that sort of range for maybe one or two casts per fight, then cancel your cast use PF and move to 30y+ asap.

[Sticx]

So some people are saying it's ok to cancel your cast and use a PF to guarantee a hot streak, some say stay far enough away for PF to beat the fireball to the target, and some say don't use PF outside of RoP/Combustion. Which is it?

[whisperingsage]

You have to use at least one PF outside of combustion, or you're wasting recharge. As far as cancel vs stand far enough, one breaks "always be casting" and one doesn't, so...

However there are exceptions noted earlier like aoe. So in single target, use the fact that PF travels faster than fireball.

[Deleted]

So some people are saying it's ok to cancel your cast and use a PF to guarantee a hot streak, some say stay far enough away for PF to beat the fireball to the target, and some say don't use PF outside of RoP/Combustion. Which is it?

as a rule, atleast for me, never cancel a cast of fireball to cast PF bcoz you have already spent time casting which, depending on how long you've spent casting a fireball ofc, will result in less dps in general bcoz of that time spent and you will end up using the time spent channeling plus a gcd to cast PF instead which will generally mean less dps, atleast thats my take on it but its 1 of those things that are instinctual bcoz you have 1 course of action that will result in a hot streak here and now but also another that might result in gaining that hot streak you didnt get now and get it further down the line. its 1 of those things where you would do different things based on the current situation.