Returning 110 mage, which spec?

[discoslice]

Been playing a 110 warlock with a few legendaries in Legion so far, going back to my old main Mage.

I've got Frost at rank 25, Fire at 14, Arcane at 1. It's easy to level them up, so I guess I'm asking, which spec is best for questing? AND which spec is good for dungeons/raids? I heard Frost is on top now but, want to get some input before I start dumping all my power into Frost. Frost is ok, but I find it boring compared to Fire or Arcane.

So I guess the real question is: is Fire or Arcane better for questing (still working on Mage campaign) and better for dungeons/raids. If the answer is plainly Frost, I'll accept that.

thank you.

P.S. I have no Legendaries yet...

[Ztranger]

Been playing a 110 warlock with a few legendaries in Legion so far, going back to my old main Mage.

I've got Frost at rank 25, Fire at 14, Arcane at 1. It's easy to level them up, so I guess I'm asking, which spec is best for questing? AND which spec is good for dungeons/raids? I heard Frost is on top now but, want to get some input before I start dumping all my power into Frost. Frost is ok, but I find it boring compared to Fire or Arcane.

So I guess the real question is: is Fire or Arcane better for questing (still working on Mage campaign) and better for dungeons/raids. If the answer is plainly Frost, I'll accept that.

thank you.

P.S. I have no Legendaries yet...

Quest with your raidspec so you get stronger with both questing and raiding everytime you dump AP into your weapon. AP is largely a non issue at max AK, so won't take long to get 52 if you decide to switch raid spec. Strongest spec for HC is frost, and for mythic it's fire (more cleave in mythic), but they are all good enough you can choose whatever spec you want and do good dps.

[Alvito]

If you are actually planning on raiding then what is best for questing is a non issue they will all be more then suited to blast through quests. Figuring out what spec you like is probably what is most important. What is best can easily change with each patch or raid. If questing difficulty is a legitimate concern then you aren't going to be raiding at any level were you shouldn't play what you enjoy. If I quest on my mage I do it as fire due to the instant casts quickly killing things and almost never having to hard cast. Frost or arcane would blitz though them too. Honestly though unless all you plan on doing is questing then making a spec/class choice based on questing is overkill.

[Deleted]

Been playing a 110 warlock with a few legendaries in Legion so far, going back to my old main Mage.

I've got Frost at rank 25, Fire at 14, Arcane at 1. It's easy to level them up, so I guess I'm asking, which spec is best for questing? AND which spec is good for dungeons/raids? I heard Frost is on top now but, want to get some input before I start dumping all my power into Frost. Frost is ok, but I find it boring compared to Fire or Arcane.

So I guess the real question is: is Fire or Arcane better for questing (still working on Mage campaign) and better for dungeons/raids. If the answer is plainly Frost, I'll accept that.

thank you.

P.S. I have no Legendaries yet...

Fire is fine and you don't miss out a lot.

Since 7.3 is close, don't farm AP now (You will get AK 41 when it hits and increase your AP gain by 3x -4x compared to AK40), dont do mage campaign, relics and new artifact traits will be unlocked with 7.3)

Gear is more or less obsolete, since you get 910 gear and relics in 7.3 for just a bit questing and farming.

What i would focus on: Do your followers (Not gear, since gear 900 for follower will be free with 7.3), but XP. You should also farm Orderresources, since a new type of troop will be implementet, they are really expensive (2500 order resources). You get a strong follower through the brawlers guild when you hit rank 4 and complete a follower mission.

Try crafting one legendary and the second should drop soon. Gearing will be easy with M+ with 7.3. So, just relax until patch hits, everything you do now is more or less obsolete in 7.3.

[Celestraza]

All three specs seem to perform in mythic, though arcane is very very rare so it is kind of hard to tell.
But yes even arcane mages have killed Avatar mythic.
What I think is important is the legendaries. I believe fire and arcane are more legendary dependant than frost for single target dmg in mythic progression.

As fire the wrists (and luck) is really the basis for single target dmg.
After that you preferably want the waist or shard (BL-ring).

Arcane also revolves around three legendaries.
Soul of the Archmage (ring), Shard (BL-ring) and the Kilt.
The rings are BiS but the legs seem to prevent players from going oom so it is used a lot even if you can get 2x BL.

As frost not having specific legendaries is not as punishing as fire/arcane.
But obviously it also has some core legendaries.
In truth you want the wrists and shard (BL-ring) for pure ST.
If you can't utilize the 2nd bloodlust you then see all kinds of different legendaries, largely depending if you can utilize sephuz/belt.

Most players are playing fire and frost in the mythic progression race.
I personally believe a lot of players prefer frost because of the utility (2x iceblock for a lot of mechanics) and more stable single target dps output. But it is more boring to play and is less mobile than fire. Fire mages often refer to Koralon's belt as scorching god mode.

[discoslice]

Thanks guys for all the input. I'm not really clear though on waiting till 7.3 to do anything. Why is getting AP now bad for me? As I said, I still haven't completed the Class Hall Campaign yet or done most of Broken Shore stuff (I have done all of that on my Warlock though.)

As far as specs go again, in general, for raids and such - and even dungeons - Frost is preferred and is the least gear dependent? I'm still hunting for Legendaries - but I'm not sure which spec to get one for.

Another way to ask - if I find Frost boring (which I do a bit) - is either Arcane or Fire the better dps performer - in general?

When I look here (http://www.wowbis.net/wow-dps-ranking/) - Frost is way at the top - but that's with all BiS gear. Fire is more in the middle - should I trust this chart?

ty.

[Zenfoldor]

Thanks guys for all the input. I'm not really clear though on waiting till 7.3 to do anything. Why is getting AP now bad for me? As I said, I still haven't completed the Class Hall Campaign yet or done most of Broken Shore stuff (I have done all of that on my Warlock though.)

As far as specs go again, in general, for raids and such - and even dungeons - Frost is preferred and is the least gear dependent? I'm still hunting for Legendaries - but I'm not sure which spec to get one for.

Another way to ask - if I find Frost boring (which I do a bit) - is either Arcane or Fire the better dps performer - in general?

When I look here (http://www.wowbis.net/wow-dps-ranking/) - Frost is way at the top - but that's with all BiS gear. Fire is more in the middle - should I trust this chart?

ty.

This xpak there has always been an end point when spending AP that stacks. IE: You finish the weapon, then you need to fill the final talent up with 20 points to make it truly maxed out(which is hard or impossible to do)

Lately, the second a patch is over, they have just been giving everyone that point basically for free(or over just a few days/week) and starting you fresh. They are probably doing some sort of guaranteed mechanism on the current "endless" ap spender called "Concordance of the Legionfall" or something.

In that case, any AP you spend over your first point in concordance will be meaningless(may be refunded, but in the end it will count for nothing).

They are probably just saying don't grind AP, ever. Just get it organically while you do other things. Don't save it, do spend it, but don't ever farm or grind it at all, not for 1 second. The only time it is conceivable to grind AP anymore is if you have set an arbitrary deadline to get the first point in concordance. Perhaps your guild is raiding next week and you want to be ready, getting concordance would be a semi-big dps gain so you want to have it in time, you can grind it under that extremely rare circumstance, but it isn't necessary or in most cases even wise.

edited: ok, I read a little

Right now, you should be getting ready for 7.3. My suggestions would be:

1. Catch up on any quests(not necessary, but I like to be current and you can grind them all out in a couple weeks of casual play).
2. While doing above quests, farm legendaries(If you need specifics on how to do this, let me know).
3. While farming legendaries, practice the spec

What they are saying is that 7.3 comes with all the gear you need to be "caught up," except legendaries. You ideally want ALL legendaries(cause their relative power can change between patches, ie some(me) speculate the fire gloves + kindling mixed with t21 will be new bis legendary) and they take forever to farm, so that is key to get started right away in order to be competitive in the long run.

Once 7.3 hits several things will happen all at once

1. Your weapon will be leveled out to everyone else for AP in some fashion(negating any grinding you've done, thus the above section of my post was accurate)
2. You will get 910 gear for every slot that is almost free(current gear is 900 to 935 iirc, with 970 legendaries and 930+ weapon)

So the "quickest" way to get current gear and artifact levels is to wait until the next patch. You can't grind up that gear that fast. You also need lots and lots and lots of practice, so as mentioned grind legendaries until next patch hits and you'll be golden and efficient. You will be playing against a lot of people who have been playing 1 spec the whole xpak, and even in LFR you will get rickrolled if you aren't good, so practice and study is the best "grinding."

[discoslice]

Thank you for the detailed information, but I'm still not getting info on which spec: Frost, Fire or Arcane - to focus on. And I need to set one spec when I start getting Legendaries as well. That dps chart I linked shows Frost sitting at the top of all DPS classes. And Fire somewhere down in the middle, Arcane below that. I'd like to focus on Fire or Arcane only because Frost is semi-boring and lacks the pizzazz of the other two.

So, between Fire and Arcane, which would you say is looking good for 7.3?

[The Oblivion]

Thank you for the detailed information, but I'm still not getting info on which spec: Frost, Fire or Arcane - to focus on. And I need to set one spec when I start getting Legendaries as well. That dps chart I linked shows Frost sitting at the top of all DPS classes. And Fire somewhere down in the middle, Arcane below that. I'd like to focus on Fire or Arcane only because Frost is semi-boring and lacks the pizzazz of the other two.

So, between Fire and Arcane, which would you say is looking good for 7.3?

fire and frost are super close. id go frost > fire > arcane .

in that order for raiding

if like you say you dont care whats best, then it doesnt matter. play what you want. but objectively, frost is the best. then fire. then arcane.

[discoslice]

fire and frost are super close. id go frost > fire > arcane .

in that order for raiding

if like you say you dont care whats best, then it doesnt matter. play what you want. but objectively, frost is the best. then fire. then arcane.

Ok thanks--should I then try to get Frost Legendaries or Fire? Also-when it comes to WQs and stuff, which spec is the quickest? ty

[The Oblivion]

Ok thanks--should I then try to get Frost Legendaries or Fire? Also-when it comes to WQs and stuff, which spec is the quickest? ty

they are all about the same, world quests take more time to get to, then to actually complete. id just focus on frost for gear, then fire for offspec.

[TheEaterofSouls]

What kind of raiding guild are you in? If your not mythic raiding, any should be fine, as long as you can pull your weight. Mythic is probably frost.

[discoslice]

Ok thanks guys, guess I'll try Frost main/Fire off-spec. So just loot for Frost then? Do you guys enjoy playing Frost or Fire more - mechanic-wise? And should I trust icy veins for talent setups and such?

[Deleted]

All 3 specs are super close. So pick one you like more. You can find all guides on altered-time.

[Orwell7]

Frost - easy
Fire - medium
Arcane - hard mode

[Zenfoldor]

Ok thanks guys, guess I'll try Frost main/Fire off-spec. So just loot for Frost then? Do you guys enjoy playing Frost or Fire more - mechanic-wise? And should I trust icy veins for talent setups and such?

Let me start by saying that legendary "bad luck protection" is per spec. The first two legendary drops for each spec have default super high chance of dropping. So if you get 2 spec specific legendaries, you can swap to another spec and get 2 more, and they will be reasonably quick in dropping. If, however, one of those first 2 legendaries is not spec specific(ie hero ring) it counts against your legendaries in another spec. So ideally you want to get say, frost bracers, hero ring, swap loot spec to fire, then get fire bracers, fire belt.

Fire, by far the funnest, most utility imho, best qol and best for progression imho. Best in mythic raiding at 75% for last 2 weeks. Fire only sucks on the journey up. Scaling for owl trinket on fire is so mega and ignite is amazing with more than 2 mobs.

If I was maining frost, I'd do this:

1. Get 2 frost legos, since first 2 are guaranteed drops very quickly.
2. Swap and get 2 fire legos(unless you got a universal lego in step 1)

Goal is to try and get the hero ring asap. Hero ring will work great for frost or fire. Once you have your 2-4 legendaries that are basically "free" you can see where you stand. If you got the frost or fire bracers or belt, your decision is made, play where the legos take you. If you got the hero ring or any other legos besides the fire bracers/belt/helm, stick with frost for your loot spec and grind until you get the hero ring.

It's tough to pick up fire because of the lego requirement. Fire is really strong and I disagree with the poster who says frost is objectively better. I believe in heroic it is, but in mythic I believe fire is at least tied in effectiveness, and I believe that in most content(anything but goroth, maiden, and sisters) including sub 14 mythic+(or any non-tyrannical), questing, ect, fire is either within margin for error or better. Problem with fire is it takes very specific items to scale properly at high ilvls. Need the owl trinket at high ilvl, period. Need bracers and belt. Need t20.

Frost main/fire off is what I've been running this tier, but I find that I'm frost on 3-4 bosses a week + the world bosses, and fire the entire rest of the time I play, and it works out well.

[PragmaticGamer]

Meatball doesn't require rank 4 in brawlers guild, that was for garrisons. It only requires fighting the first contestant. Lots of missions, though.