Fire Mage DPS Easy Mode

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 7.2.5 Changes
  • 3. Patch 7.2 Changes
  • 4. Strengths
  • 5. Weaknesses
  • 6. Viability in the Current Patch
  • 7. Contents
  • 8. ChangeLog
• ×Easy Mode
  • 1. The Basics
  • 2. Talent Choice
  • 3. Stat Choice
  • 4. Basic Rotation
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Spell Summary
  • 2. Main Resources
  • 3. Your Mastery
  • 4. Important Procs
  • 5. Basic Abilities
  • 6. DPS Cooldowns
  • 7. ChangeLog
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices
  • 2. Talent Cheat Sheets
    • 2.1. Raid Encounters
      • 2.1.1. Single Target
      • 2.1.2. Intermittent Cleave
      • 2.1.3. Heavy Cleave/AOE (Stacked)
  • 3. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents
  • 4. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents
  • 5. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents
  • 6. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents
  • 7. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents
  • 8. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents
  • 9. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents
  • 10. ChangeLog
• +Artifact Traits and Relics
  • 1. Artifact Progression — First 35 Points
    • 1.1. Early Point Investment
    • 1.2. Second Golden Trait
    • 1.3. Final Point Investment
  • 2. Patch 7.2: 35+ Trait Path
  • 3. Relic Choice
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Ability Priority List
  • 2. Important Notes
    • 2.1. Effectively Creating Crit Trains
      • 2.1.1. Spells That Do Not Trigger or Cancel Heating Up
    • 2.2. Phoenix's Flames
    • 2.3. Flamestrike Usage
    • 2.4. Rune of Power
    • 2.5. Blazing Barrier
    • 2.6. Scorch
  • 3. Core Concepts
    • 3.1. Combustion Usage
    • 3.2. Critical Strike Chains
    • 3.3. Movement Management
      • 3.3.1. Quiet Movement
  • 4. Opening Sequence
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. Basics
  • 2. Getting a Better Understanding
    • 2.1. Statistics Explanations
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems
  • 2. Enchants
  • 3. Consumables
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. Addons
    • 1.1. ElvUI
    • 1.2. Weak Auras
    • 1.3. Boss Mods
      • 1.3.1. BigWigs Bossmods
      • 1.3.2. Deadly Boss Mods
    • 1.4. Name Plates
      • 1.4.1. KUI Nameplates
      • 1.4.2. TidyPlates
    • 1.5. Damage Meters
      • 1.5.1. Skada
      • 1.5.2. Details
    • 1.6. Extra AddOns
      • 1.6.1. Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 1.6.2. DeathNote
      • 1.6.3. Doom CooldownPulse
      • 1.6.4. Angry Assignments
  • 2. Macros
    • 2.1. Generic Macros for Mages
      • 2.1.1. Stopcast Blink
      • 2.1.2. 1-Button Block
      • 2.1.3. Block Cancel
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gear, Legendaries, and Best in Slot
  • 1. Tier 20 Set Bonus
  • 2. Best in Slot List
    • 2.1. Trinket Notes
  • 3. Evaluating Upgrades Using Stat Weights
  • 4. Racial Bonuses
  • 5. Legendaries
  • 6. Loot Competition
  • 7. ChangeLog

This section is intended for players who are new to the game or class, have no intentions of raiding Mythic difficulty, or simply want a more straightforward way to play their specialization without being overwhelmed by the numerous priorities and active abilities that need to be taken into consideration for optimal play.

1. The Basics

Fire is a well rounded specialization that largely relies on planning windows of burst in advance. Generally speaking, it is not very keybind taxing though the amount of actions executed in short succession can easily overwhelm less seasoned players. In this section we will be focusing on a setup that minimizes the amount of buttons and reactivity necessary without unduly compromising overall damage output.

2. Talent Choice

These choices are optimized for ease of use. Although some talents might offer marginally higher gains when played perfectly, these same talents often result in damage losses when utilized by many players. These talents aim to present the best setup that has very little punishment for unfamiliarity or mistakes.

• Level 15: Conflagration
• Level 30: Shimmer
• Level 45: Incanter's Flow
• Level 60: Flame On
• Level 75: Frenetic Speed
• Level 90: Unstable Magic (1-2 targets) AND Living Bomb (3+ targets)
• Level 100: Kindling

Rune of Power presents a significant increase over Incanter's Flow when utilized correctly. It is worth becoming familiar with this talent even if you do not have time to optimize other parts of the specialization.

3. Stat Choice

Currently, you will want to prioritize secondary stats as follows:

1. Intellect;
2. Critical Strike;
3. Mastery;
4. Haste;
5. Versatility.

We recommend you prioritize item levels and tier sets over specific stats, as they are all extremely close in value. Generally the extra Intellect and stat budget from an item level piece is a much better overall contribution to damage than trying to stack pure Critical Strike and Mastery. The tier set bonuses are also very valuable and should be sought out.

4. Basic Rotation

• Cast Fireball as a filler to generate Heating Up.
• Use Fire Blast to get Hot Streaks when you have Heating Up. If you do not have any Fire Blast charges available, cast Fireball again.
• Cast Pyroblast when you have Hot Streak.
• Use Living Bomb if there are 3+ targets present.
• Use Phoenix's Flames if you hit 3 charges, or for burst AoE.
• Use Combustion when available. Save your Fire Blasts and Flame On for this cooldown so you can alternate between Pyroblast and Fire Blast for most of Combustion. When you run out of Fire Blast charges, alternate between Pyroblast and Phoenix's Flames.
• Use Dragon's Breath if there are 3+ targets present.

About Our Author and Reviewer

This guide has been written by Furty, who has an illustrious history in the World of Warcraft raiding scene and race for World First. He has been a member of guilds such as Serenity, Midwinter, and many more, and is currently raiding in Future. He plays most classes at the highest level. You can follow him on Twitter and watch him play on Twitch.

This guide has been reviewed and approved by Rinoa, a Fire Mage theorycrafter for Altered Time who is also a raider for Pieces.

5. ChangeLog

• 12 Jun. 2017: Updated stat priority section for Patch 7.2.5.
• 09 Jan. 2017: Slight update to the recommended talent build to be in sync with the 7.1.5 talent recommendations.
• 08 Dec. 2016: Added easy mode for Fire Mages.