What spec are you starting 5.4 with

[Kholdstare]

I've been Frost this whole expansion and I don't think that's going to change with 5.4. I like the spec and I can pull good numbers doing it.

[Janir]

Proof? Blue post? SS? Something lol

I am too lazy to check myself.

I hope thats enough proof for you. Note that there is some trash involved in that skada parse since my skada was pretty much bugged to only show me total after I logged in this morning. (+ max hit is from Combustion impact not the dot).
Average tick during bosses were somewhere 30-50k ~.

Edit: Thats from Sigecrafter Blackfuse and its last trash pack with him.

http://imgur.com/yxZFMbV

[Zatetic]

fire is dead to me. This whole xpac has just been one big fuck up. I loved 4.3 fire, but the changes for 5.0 and then constant nerfs with this final combustion killing nerf, i cbf with the constant disappointment of seeing my spec neutered. Even if frost isnt technically competitive on paper, it can still be played to keep up with the average fire mage so it'll be arcane/frost for me.

[Deleted]

Until further notice, Arcane.

[reflection]

Me will go Frost because currently I play Frost and I really like it (and I regularly log myself )

[evoker]

I have been arcane for a while now, progressing through ToT heroics (bit of a bitch to figure out new heroic bosses and how to use arcane optimally) and I plan to remain Arcane in SoO. I am torn between Arcane and Frost though since I have been Frost for the bigger part of this expansion and I have always loved that spec.

Everyone seems to be a bit uncertain of how Frost will play out, like stat priorities etc. so I will be waiting a bit till numbers are crunched before deciding.

[Deleted]

Frost and nothing else. Was fire for one evening in 5.3 and i know again why i stay frost.

[Vouxility]

Arcane , if they doesnt change something

[Deleted]

Fire for the normal mode week. If it doesnt feel competitive, I will switch to arcane for heroic progression.

[Jimm3]

Havent checked PTR or anything so will continue as fire since crit is/will go through the roof.
If it doesnt feel competitive due to combustion nerf and the secondary stat breakpoints are good (haste/mastery) with the current gear I ll go arcane

[ssviolett]

Frost, if numbers will be fixed, cuz atm its awful dps-wise, else Fire.

[Deleted]

Frost numbers are really, really weak on ptr, fire is ahead of frost (with 550 ilvl on ptr) but arcane is the best in dps performance. So I'm planning to go as arcane but with plenty gems on my bags to be ready to swap between fire and arcane.

[DeathDefier]

Fire with arcane gems ready to go if it feels too gimp on a certain fight.

[IsrafaelMage]

I'd like to play frost, but if my guild continues to disintegrate, i'd probably have to go arcane (or stay fire as i'm testing it now and cant say i really like the numbers i do) to maximise output as our server is pretty much dead, no good dps available..

[TyralisUH]

Both specs are viable imo. As of now, I can say that Arcane comes out on top when it comes to single target damage and/or multi dotting fights. Maybe Fire will come out on top and become the ''main spec'' with a higher ilvl since it scales so much with gear. Of course when it comes to cleave fights, Fire is still better than Arcane. You also wanna play Fire on heavy-movement fights.

I don't have any numbers but I can tell you from what I've tested on the PTR (I did every testing so far) that most of you who plan on playing Fire need to stack haste. At some point, the number crunchers will find the right stat balance and the sims will come out so I might be wrong. But as of now, the mastery is just not worth it assuming that you stack mastery after the 5036 Haste cap. Combustion does OK damage so I figured that armor swapping and mastery stacking are just not worth it over haste rating because our initial burst is much lower. Our steady DPS is still one of the strongest of all the classes excluding our Combustion burst so I suggest you rely on that. From the testing I've done with the fixed Combustion, my haste build was way better.

Overall, I think both specs are gonna be viable for every fight. There are SoO fights that are either Fire and Arcane no-brainers. For all of those who can afford re-gemming/re-speccing between bosses, I strongly recommend that you do that, especially for the first weeks. With the current state of Arcane spec, Fire spec and SoO fights, we might finally have a tier in which we have to play different specs to be efficient. I find that pretty awesome tbh since we always play the same spec during progression (or almost).

I'm gonna state the obvious :
If you have a light movement fight and/or possibility to multi dot -> play Arcane
If it is a heavy movement fight and/or cleave -> play Fire

So for those who haven't had the chance to test encounters on the SoO PTR, here is what I recommend :
(Please take note that this is from my own experience. It doesn't mean It's the way to go for all mages, I'm just putting it out there)

Immerseus -> Fire (Heavy movement fight; Playing RoP will pretty much be impossible on that fight because of pools.)

The Fallen Protectors -> Arcane (Light movement fight + multi dotting)

Norushen -> Arcane (Light movement fight + multi dotting)

Sha of Pride -> Arcane (Light movement fight + ''quick'' AOE. Cone of Cold and AE are delicious on that fight with Arcane's mastery.)

Galakras -> Fire (Heavy cleave fight)

Iron Juggernaut -> Fire (Heavy movement fight)

Kor'kron Dark Shaman -> Arcane (Light movement fight + multi dotting. Of course, it depends on your strat but if you can afford to DOT both bosses and still stay around your RoP without too much movement, Arcane is better)

General Nazgrim -> Arcane (Light movement fight + multi dotting)

Malkorok -> Arcane/Fire (From my opinion, both specs are viable on that fight, It's a medium movement fight. It will mostly depend how your raids deals with pools soaking and Breath of Y'shaarj)

Spoils of Pandaria -> Fire (Heavy cleave fight)

Thok the Bloodthirsty -> Oh shit we're fucked (To be serious, I think Arcane will be better for that fight, at least on normal mode. The heroic strat will probably be all about pushing the AOE silence/interrupt to its limit to min/max DPS in P1. For that reason, any caster spec sucks on that fight. If Frost isn't too bad, it might be the way to go for that fight because of instant casts and pet DMG)

Siegecrafter Blackfuse -> Fire (Heavy movement fight)

Paragons of the Klaxxi -> Fire (Heavy cleave fight)

Garrosh Hellscream -> Fire/Arcane (Even if It's a ''Heavy cleave fight'', Arcane is also very viable for that fight. There isn't much movement required, the ABr cleave is just insane and the off dots on the weapon is awesome.)

Like I said, I really think both specs are very viable in this tier. I suggest you play the spec you are the most comfortable with for the 1st week. Of course, if you have more gear in one of the specs, you might wanna stick to it, at least for the 1st week.

So yeah, I'll probably play both.

[dracco4heads]

i will prob do fire for progression, its quite easy to play fire, no need to think really, then i can focus more on the new mechanics

[Alameda]

I'll be arcane because it's what I'm used to and enjoy playing.

[Deleted]

Most likely Arcane, but will have fire as my "offspec" if I can't stay in my RoP/have to move a lot - depends a lot on my assignments as well.

@TyralisUH From my PTR experience, found Spoils & Kor'kron shamans to favor frost ( to a certain extent Blackfuse if you choose not to go on the "conveyor belt" and focus mines ), while arcane did WAY more than fire at Paragons - ArcBar+strong NT's > Fire's dot cleave.

[Kmonski]

Frost - but only if it hasn't been hit to hard with poor numbers. Been frost since the end of MoV and loved it. But if I can't pull the numbers i am now, i am not letting my guild down with poor dps, so i will be going Arcane (I detest fire).

[Pandacally]

[B]

Paragons of the Klaxxi -> Fire (Heavy cleave fight)

No, just no. Klaxxi is single target fight

As for specc, I'll try not to play fire if possible, and arcane as much as possible, and frost only when it's better than arcane.