StratFu
|
|
Add a comment (Comments: 13) |
I recently switched from Arcane to Fire and I've been asked "why" a lot.
First off, realize that I rarely hold myself to a single spec. We have a loot system that encourages offspec gear, so I'm always gathering up unneeded gear in case I need to respec some day.
I still have my arcane gearset and if, for example, Sarth3D were still hard, and I wanted the burst of damage for Tenebron, I'd be arcane. That said....:
DPS
The thing is, on paper, Fire and Arcane do about the same DPS (arcane is ~50dps higher). Arcane can whore innervates and do more, of course, but the specs are pretty balanced on paper -- and that's the problem.
Designing a spec so it does more DPS with more effort? Awesome design. Changing that spec for pvp reasons one patch later so it doesn't actually provide more DPS but still requires better timing and more effort? Not so much.
Balanced on paper means Arcane being played in a simple fight by a computer. But arcane needs evocates that don't get interrupted on Sarth3D. It needs to be able to use its cooldowns right on schedule and not delay them for fight reasons. It needs you to not get distracted and cast too many AB's or too few.
Yes, fire wants its evocate on Sarth3D too, but it's in the latter half of the fight when the damage doesn't matter. It's a very simple rotation that you can do while watching TV.
Innervates
You won't be getting innervates on progression fights: mana is more precious for healers in 3.1, which means that even though innervate was "nerfed" by the OOC regen formula changing, those innervates will be in higher demand than ever before.
Ulduar
This isn't to say arcane doesn't have its advantages -- but none of them are present in current content.
It will be stronger in some Ulduar fights where:
- Threat is a significant enough issue to hamstring fire -- but then warlocks and dps warriors will also be hurting
- Much higher mobility is needed (ABarr is a weak spell now, but arcane has more things it can cast while running than fire does)
- Mana is so precious that Arcane needs to run one of the extremely low mps rotations (e.g. AB/AM, a 1k dps loss but only 32mps versus 160mps) and it's okay that it's not very mobile during that time. Fire doesn't have a low mps option.
- Arcane's ability to focus its DPS at particular points via cooldowns is a make-or-break for a boss
I think some of these are likely, which is why I'll dual-spec as ARCANE/frost and arcane/FIRE.
You could argue for frost for trash dps and mana conservation -- and that may be the way to go when the zone is on farm. But while it's difficult, my guess is those will be your two best bets -- so see what +hit gear you can get (don't let Dying Curse rot!)
Conclusion
If you're clinging to Arcane because of what it used to do for you before the "pvp-only" 3.0.9 nerfs, you might be served to consider what fire offers.
That said, never close your mind: mage 3.1 changes haven't been released yet, and the best mage is a flexible mage.
Feels alot like the affliction changes beeing made for 3.1 =(
hello there Kyth
i do agree with your statements...
but other than that im clueless, i just dont know the math behind the numbers.
so what im trying to ask is could you post your specs and gear for both specs?
if it is not too much trouble that is, i use maxdps every now and then but i dont always trust there math
and for specs... arcane/FIRE or FIRE/frost? i have no idea now adays feel kinda lost
i use the wowarmory for gear upgrades also but that mainly shows you an overall data of gear upgrades
and with duel spec coming up i do want to max out my dps as a mage and help my guild progress even more
but do to the lack of me looking up the math im afraid im going for my own doom haha
sounds kinda drama but just wondering what is best all and all... use fire bolt /frostfirebolt? etc...
thx Kyth, and again if you are too busy nevermind ill figure it out... hehe
ooh yeah 1 more question is ... t7.5 / t8 set bonusses still go above non set epics that have overall beter stats?
thx Kyth hope to hear from you soon
greetings Brendonn Mage EU-Hellscream
guild Grey Dawn
Using MaxDPS is one of the pitfalls I had to get our raiders out of using. It's not bad for coming up with ideas, but it's eternally behind in its math and doesn't properly evaluate gear based on total sets.
The basic Arcane spec is: http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?mage=03000000000000000000000000002032030...
The basic Fire spec is: http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?mage=00550320123033300530203003510000000...
Your other questions are a bit beyond the scope of a blog entry and are probably better discussed on the forums.
Still in 25man progress raids I really don't want only 1 guy with the spell crit debuff. And to avoid whining we will probably have all our mages spec for scorch.
Kyth, I am very attached to the arcane spec right now as I am geared for it. Currently I put out around 6.2-6.7k on Patchwerk, depending on if I get lucky with crits or not. I find arcane easier to play simply because I don't have to thread dots in between Fireballs and Hot Streaks. I also, subjectively, feel that arcane DPS is still a lot better than fire at the moment. Obviously for Ulduar fights I am going to switch to Mage Armor, and most likely glyph for the decreased mana cost of Arcane Barrage, but do you think I could keep the arcane rotation (AB x 3, Mbarr if it procs, ABarr) up for that time without running out of mana? If not, what kind of rotation would you recommend?
Steve
I am pretty interested in FB spec, I was FB for the first few days when they fixed torment the weak until I found out about arcane. I just don't know if I have the mana for it, with arcane you have the 2 minute evocation but as FB you have a 4 minute. Just seems like FFB is very comparable with FB especially with good RNG that the mana efficiency is a big bonus. But I haven't done any of the ulduar fights so I can't really comment.
Hi Kyth, how you doing with mana been fire? i noticed you have improved fireball 5/5 so i assume this is your main spell but fireball(rank16) consumes way more mana than FFB, so it'll be useless to get improved fireball 5/5 and use FFB as main spell. what do you recommend me for more DPS fireball or FFB?
I think Arcane with Mage Armor and AB,AM,AP Glyphs is mighty.
@3.1 you've 100% mana reg infight with mage armor and 3/3 Arcane Meditation.
Well, im gonna test Arcane in Ulduar. The bosses i've seen on PTR doesnt make any real problems with evo.
Hi kyth , just to start off ur awesome at being a mage..im one of the most geared people in my guild.and all the weight is on my shoulders to do the most dps since supposebly mages r the top dps class right now i c that in ur vids u r always in the top .. im arcane atm.glyphed for it.and all but yet even though that evo is on a 2 minute cd.. channeling it for 7 secs brings me from #1 to like #4 ..i wanna try fire but ..is fireball or frostfire spec good for me....many people tell me that fireball is better then i have more people saying frostfire is better can u plz tell me wihc is better..im ready to show them wat a mage is made off.
hey kyth just wondering tho is FFB or FB better dps bc i watch like some vids of it on youtube of diff mages as frost fire and fb and i see 1 crit 12k with ffb and 1 crit like 10k with fb and they have about the same gear and i was just wondering whats better for dps ffb or fb? because like i know with fb u can get hot streak to proc more bc glyph is 5% crit rating so with my gear thats about a 43% chanse to crit what u think :D.. and btw u rock at playing a mage :D
For those who are debating between Fire and Frostfire, if you spec 20/51/0 your mana should be fine, even in 10-mans provided you atleast have wisdom. In my experience it does do better dps than frostfire.
Article author
Glyphing ABarr is almost definitely going to be the wrong decision dps-wise.
I'd recommend getting very familiar with the rotations that get posted after whatever mage changes we see in 3.1 since you need to assume evoc *will* get interrupted out of your control and you'll need to know how to back off to a non-wanding DPS rotation.
Remember longer fights don't matter for arcane -- if you can sustain it for 5 minutes you can sustain it for 10. Where arcane gets hurt is how antiquated the evocation design is.
Article author
Fireball is more DPS than FFB, specing into arcane instead of into frost.
Mana is fine now. Ulduar... we'll see if we get any fixes before it goes live.