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  1. #1

    Mage specs for 5.0.4

    Got a few questions, haven't been in the beta myself.

    Best spec for raiding at 85, after 5.0 hits?
    Best spec currently for raiding at 90? If possible a list of which specs would perform better at which bosses in the level 90 raids.
    Best spec for levelling 85-90 very fast?

  2. #2
    All of the perform equally in all aspects.
    Gamdwelf the Mage

    Quote Originally Posted by Theodarzna View Post
    I'm calling it, Republicans will hold congress in 2018 and Trump will win again in 2020.

  3. #3
    For raiding at 85, it'll probably be whatever you are geared for already. If you mean which of the 5 talents are best, i'd say that is dependent on the fight.
    At 90, I think they are all pretty even.
    For leveling, your personal preference.

  4. #4
    Mechagnome
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    Q1: Frost
    Q2: Frost
    Q3: Frost

  5. #5
    I was looking for something a little more detailed and specific concerning the 2nd question, but thanks anyway. :\

  6. #6
    Well Currently in Beta Frost and Fire and even Arcane are very very close in the sims (i will post the list of sims later). However a lot of the encounters in Dragon Soul (level 85) are still tailored to Fire. I think Fire will still be performing very well. However, I think Frost should not be overlooked, it can keep up with Fire if not be better than Fire.

    As for the best spec currently for raiding at 90; Like I said above, they are very close in terms of dps. Closer than any dps specs of the other classes. It will either depend on what you feel like playing or if there is some gimmick where combustion allows you to pull ahead of the other specs. Although Frost has a pretty nice "Cleave" with Ice Lance hitting 2 targets. Im not sure Arcane's (Arcane Barrage Cleave) is quite as powerful as Frost's Ice lance Cleave.
    I think it's too early to form an actual list for all the bosses. Between LFR, 25 man, 25 man heroc, 10 man, and 10 man heroic, there were lots of changes to the bosses while testing (changes that are not limited to just adjusted numbers and hitting harder). I tested all 3 specs and found them all performing about the same unless there were tons of adds an which Frost had Crazy burst AoE damage. Fire had better sustained AoE damage.

    Best spec for leveling. Usually its always frost. It has the water elemental, more protectinon and kiting abilities.

    Since I answered all of those questions with (Every spec is good). Here's what I will probably go with:
    Fire and Frost for level 85 (Arcane seems largely dependent on the talent choice you make at level 90)
    Fire and Frost for Raiding at 90 (I think I explained that pretty well above)
    Fire and Frost for leveling 85-90 (Frost better for leveling imo. Suvivability, easy spec to pull MASS mobs with and aoe down. Both are good for dungeons tho I lean towards fire for dungeons because combustion on 30 sec CD. Its better than waiting for the burst from Frost's Frost Orb CD)

    hope that helped

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Vakna View Post
    I was looking for something a little more detailed and specific concerning the 2nd question, but thanks anyway. :\
    If you want more specific answers ask more specific questions, and yes currently the mage specs at 90 are so close it really does not matter, play what you like, its a game have fun.
    Gamdwelf the Mage

    Quote Originally Posted by Theodarzna View Post
    I'm calling it, Republicans will hold congress in 2018 and Trump will win again in 2020.

  8. #8
    those are the sims i said i would post. That is Tier 14 heroic Patchwerk style. (dont be alarmed and the specs like ret pally lol. Its patchwerk style)

    http://simulationcraft.org/504/Raid_T14H.html

  9. #9
    Frost is what i'm going to be using at 85 with the patch.

  10. #10
    Thanks for that Zanaku, think I'll try my hand at frost a bit then, never raided with it bar one week in ICC, but looks fairly interesting.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Zxzas View Post
    Q1: Frost
    Q2: Frost
    Q3: Frost
    Having played all 3 specs extensively on beta in a whole host of situations (Arenas, BGs, Leveling, Heroics, Challenge modes, Raids etc). I can say that this is pretty much completely accurate.

    All three specs 'perform' almost the same on paper (simcraft) but in reality, Frost is just overwhelmingly more versatile, dynamic and fun than the other two.

    It has excellent mobility, excellent burst, excellent cooldowns (and more of them too), excellent AoE (esp due to Frost Orb) and excellent synergies with the rest of the mage spells/talents. It is also hands down the most 'fun'.

    The Frost spec will, mark my words, completely Dominate MoP in almost all aspects of play. It was designed from the ground up to do so.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by zomgDPS View Post
    Having played all 3 specs extensively on beta in a whole host of situations (Arenas, BGs, Leveling, Heroics, Challenge modes, Raids etc). I can say that this is pretty much completely accurate.

    All three specs 'perform' almost the same on paper (simcraft) but in reality, Frost is just overwhelmingly more versatile, dynamic and fun than the other two.

    It has excellent mobility, excellent burst, excellent cooldowns (and more of them too), excellent AoE (esp due to Frost Orb) and excellent synergies with the rest of the mage spells/talents. It is also hands down the most 'fun'.

    The Frost spec will, mark my words, completely Dominate MoP in almost all aspects of play. It was designed from the ground up to do so.
    no, all mage specs are homogenized and feel exactly the same.
    they have the same mobility, the same burst, same cooldowns, same aoe.
    Last edited by Gamdwelf; 2012-08-23 at 09:30 PM.
    Gamdwelf the Mage

    Quote Originally Posted by Theodarzna View Post
    I'm calling it, Republicans will hold congress in 2018 and Trump will win again in 2020.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Gamdwelf View Post
    no, all mage specs are homogenized and feel exactly the same.
    they have the same mobility, the same burst, same cooldowns, same aoe.
    well now you're just trolling in a completely unrelated thread :/

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Ellsian View Post
    well now you're just trolling in a completely unrelated thread :/
    I'm not trolling you guys just convinced me that all mages are the same nothing is different between the specs.
    Gamdwelf the Mage

    Quote Originally Posted by Theodarzna View Post
    I'm calling it, Republicans will hold congress in 2018 and Trump will win again in 2020.

  15. #15
    Having played a mage for ~6 years now and have never played frost out of arena's/bg. May have to give it a shot to change it up.
    Have A Nice Day (HVND)

  16. #16
    All the same in every way? Are you telling me Arcane can exactly match the dps mobility of Fire for example?

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Vakna View Post
    All the same in every way? Are you telling me Arcane can exactly match the dps mobility of Fire for example?
    Don't mind him, obvious troll is obvious.
    It would be nice to see Arcane get a small boost in AoE, since Fire and Frost seem somewhat better both for AoE and for movement fights. Seems clear that being the most mana dependent spec, Arcane isn't going to match up to the others until 90. I'd vote Frost 85-59.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Sattori View Post
    Don't mind him, obvious troll is obvious.
    It would be nice to see Arcane get a small boost in AoE, since Fire and Frost seem somewhat better both for AoE and for movement fights. Seems clear that being the most mana dependent spec, Arcane isn't going to match up to the others until 90. I'd vote Frost 85-59.
    I never understood why the nerfed the Arcane Explosion charge generation to a 30% chance instead of just leaving at 100% but with a 2+ target requirement to gain charges.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Lorrie447 View Post
    I was looking for something a little more detailed and specific concerning the 2nd question, but thanks anyway. :\
    If you are referring to this part:

    If possible a list of which specs would perform better at which bosses in the level 90 raids.
    The answer is Frost, across all current MoP bosses, across the board.

    I will try to dig up the thread on the beta forums where many raiders have pretty much said this outright. I posted a link to the thread before, just need to dig it up (or you can check my history).

  20. #20
    There are no real concrete answers as to which spec will be best for raiding at 90, the closes we can say is:
    Patchwerk fights indicate Fire will put out highest DPS but as the specs are so close intuition suggests that as Frost is most mobile it will probably perform better

    We can't give you a more backed up answer than that until a larger number of people actually get to raid in ~6 weeks time and that answer was already given in this thread so if you want a better one... tough
    Last edited by Imnick; 2012-08-24 at 01:17 AM.

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