Rookie Fire Mage

[McNurley]

Hey so i just hit 85 a few days ago and just want to make sure im doing everything properly so i dont develop bad habits (like my lack of capitalization) in my rotation. I leveled as arcane, heirloom gear = infinite mana pools = infinite AB's = infinite winning, so im new to fire.

I open with:
mirror image
scorch to put crit buff up assuming theres no lock
fire orb
living bomb
fire ball
open proc of pyroblast i use pyroblast ASAP
if all dots are up (LB, Ignite, and the third one, cant remember the name) i use combustion.

repeat fireball, refresh dots, and use pyroblast and combustion on CD.

combustion question: does it matter how much time is left in my dots, or can i cast it if theres like 3 seconds left in living bomb?

i have that biting urge that im doing something wrong... but im not sure what it is.
thanks guys!

[Shpetznaz]

It does not mater how much time is left on your dots (except ignite).

[Aquamonkey]

Depending on how reliable the tank is when pulling a boss, open with a hard cast of pyro so that it finishes as the tank pulls. If it's a regular raid, you can always ask the tank for a countdown. Or you can start hardcast/cancel until you see the tank run in to pull.

Otherwise, I open with:
living bomb
scorch
fireball
pyro! whenever it procs. ALWAYS let living bomb fall off before you apply another 1 as soon as it pops.
combustion on a good fireball or pyro crit with living bomb up
flame orb
mirror image

then standard rotation of putting living bomb up fast, using pyro! on proc, and scorching if the debuff is about to wear off. Pop mana gem as soon as it will bring you back up to near full without waste.

If you're wondering why I pop flame orb after I combustion, it's an old habit from when flame orb used to munch ignites. Now it's so I don't waste any time stacking my 2t13 and getting that first combustion out asap before my initial procs (power torrent/lightweave) wear off. Same reason for mirror image, to no waste my proc time while I fish for crits. Also mirror image isn't really necessary for threat until you get that first combustion out anyway.

If you want more detailed info go to http://elitistjerks.com/f75/t110326-...ge_compendium/

[Xami]

It takes a while to get the combustion timing right. Ignite monitor of sorts could help you on this. Also, I'd suggest to stack crit before haste at lower gear levels (because you won't reach 2005 easily) so you can get more Hot Streaks and bigger ignites for combustion. (Theoretically you need 2005 haste for extra combustion tick, then stack crit, but going straight crit isn't too far behind and more fun to play).

[Honkeymagoo]

(Theoretically you need 2005 haste for extra combustion tick, then stack crit, but going straight crit isn't too far behind and more fun to play).

How much of a dps loss is this theoretically? I don't have my 2 piece yet and am having to go for the 2005 mark. My ilvl is 380 but I've been dissatisfied with my dps. I can get great numbers from any of my toons, but my mage is just terribly unreliable. Sometimes I do decent, but half the time I feel like I go 30 seconds to a full minute without even getting a hot streak, sometimes that long without even getting a fireball crit. I sit at about 30% crit fully raid buffed and am wondering how viable dropping some haste for crit would be, and how much.

[Zenith]

I'm pretty sure that Flame Orb has a higher priority than everything else (except for Combustion when you have good DoTs going).

1) Combustion (at the appropriate time)
2) Flame Orb
3) Living Bomb
4) Hotstreaked Pyroblast
5) Mirror Image
6) Fireball
7) Scorch (when you have to be moving)

Personally, I open with Pyroblast (when pull countdown is at 3 seconds left) --> Flame Orb --> Living Bomb --> Mirror Image --> Fireball. I think some people would even cast Flame Orb before they cast Pyroblast on the pull.

It does not mater how much time is left on your dots (except ignite).

I believe this is incorrect. Time left on your DoTs do not matter, not even for Ignite.

If you want more information on Fire, I highly recommend reading the stickied thread in this forum: Fire 4.3 Compendium.

[Heartfrost]

After your done reading the Fire 4.3 compendium i would suggest reading reading my post FAQ about your dps

[Aquamonkey]

I'm pretty sure that Flame Orb has a higher priority than everything else (except for Combustion when you have good DoTs going).

When I do get around to poping Flame Orb after I Combustion, my procs are usually still up making it a stronger Flame Orb. But that 1 GCD could mean another stack of 2t13 and a faster 2nd Combustion. I imagine the difference in dps is pretty marginal. I really only do Flame Orb after because it used to munch ignites making Combustion weaker and became habit. I made up the whole 2t13 stacking while replying to the OP.

[Zenith]

When I do get around to poping Flame Orb after I Combustion, my procs are usually still up making it a stronger Flame Orb. But that 1 GCD could mean another stack of 2t13 and a faster 2nd Combustion. I imagine the difference in dps is pretty marginal. I really only do Flame Orb after because it used to munch ignites making Combustion weaker and became habit. I made up the whole 2t13 stacking while replying to the OP.

Flame Orb doesn't cause ignites. Test it on a dummy if you don't believe me. (When testing this, don't rely on an addon to tell you if you have Ignite--actually look at the debuffs on the target dummy.)

Thus, Flame Orb as soon as possible.

[Aquamonkey]

Flame Orb doesn't cause ignites. Test it on a dummy if you don't believe me. (When testing this, don't rely on an addon to tell you if you have Ignite--actually look at the debuffs on the target dummy.)

Thus, Flame Orb as soon as possible.

/facepalm
Reading comprehension FTL. I said it USED to munch ignites and that it was HABIT. I am perfectly aware that it no longer causes ignites. This was patched months ago. That still doesn't address my question of stacking 2t13 faster (which doesn't matter depending on the boss) and using Flame Orb a few seconds later when SP procs are up.

[Xami]

How much of a dps loss is this theoretically? I don't have my 2 piece yet and am having to go for the 2005 mark. My ilvl is 380 but I've been dissatisfied with my dps. I can get great numbers from any of my toons, but my mage is just terribly unreliable. Sometimes I do decent, but half the time I feel like I go 30 seconds to a full minute without even getting a hot streak, sometimes that long without even getting a fireball crit. I sit at about 30% crit fully raid buffed and am wondering how viable dropping some haste for crit would be, and how much.

I don't have the numbers or the math to back it up, but I think the math on EJ shows crit is fairly competitive, and my experience so far is in line with this . I only raid LFR on my mage but I did decent enough for the gear when starting out in LFR with around 1000 haste (I had my mage shelved since it hit 85 until 4.3 so I had to gear it up).

For bosses with "extra damage" phase (Zon'ozz, Madness, etc), that extra tick on combustion can be pretty important, but other than that, your top 3 damage source is Fireball/Ignite/LB so reaching that cap isn't as significant. If you think you're not getting enough hot streaks, to the extent that it significantly delays your combustion timing, then maybe you should reforge more into crit.