Originally posted by me on the Cloudy Day guild forums.
If you’re looking for a rotation or spec for Fireball, Frostfire Bolt, or Arcane, this is the post for you.
My objective with this post is to assist mages with their DPS while not overwhelming people with numbers.
If there are any questions or debates, please ask away. I’d love to take the time to clarify or help other mages with their DPS.
This was written for 3.0.9. Please note that although much of the information is still valid, the top DPS spec is now ARCANE (3.2.2) (via simulationcraft/EJ). I’ve edited much of this post to reflect new data.
ToC
I. Specs (relative DPS)
A. Arcane
B. Deep Fire
C. Frostfire Bolt
II. Rotation discussion
A. Arcane
B. Deep Fire
C. Frostfire Bolt
III. Addon suggestions
A. Decursive
B. MikScrollingBattleText
C. X-Perl UnitFrames
IV. Links
I. SPECS
A. The spec linked at the bottom of my post is the spec that I currently use (when I’m arcane). You can find other specs in the Elitist Jerks Arcane thread. Â Glyph of Arcane Blast and Arcane Missiles are musts – your third major glyph should probably be Molten Armor. That said, if you’re just starting out raiding, I’d instead recommend a Glyph of Mana Gem – although keep in mind that the Mage Armor glyph right now is worthless.
NOTE (3.2.2): The optimal spec has changed a bit; please note the addition of the Incanter’s Absorption talent and the removal of Arcane Barrage. ABarr is still nice for fights where you need to move, but the situational DPS gain from IA is pretty nice in a lot of cases. (There’s some debate regarding Arcane Barrage. Yes, theoretically it’s less DPS, but situationally, again, it’s good. Make up your own mind about this one.
B. The highest DPS build for Fireball is 18/53/0; however, with the longer fights in Ulduar, many fire mages have gone 20/51/0 (to pick up Arcane Meditation for the extra MP5). I’ve linked a 18/53/0 build at the bottom of this page. Glyph of Living Bomb and Glyph of Fireball are necessary, and I would recommend Glyph of Molten Armor as your third glyph. My personal Fireball build is 20/51/0, with 3/3 Student of the Mind.
C. Frostfire builds are centered around a 0/53/18 spec. In Patch 3.1, they provide comparable DPS to both Arcane and deep Fire while having far greater mana efficiency – which is important with the length of the fights in Ulduar. Glyph of Frostfire and Glyph of Living Bomb are necessary, and I would recommend Glyph of Molten Armor as your third glyph.
II. ROTATION
A. The Arcane rotation is probably the most flexible. You can twist the rotation to fit your total mana pool and mp5 by modifying the number of Arcane Blasts you cast in your rotation. Optimal DPS rotation should be Arcane Blast x4 -> Arcane Missiles (NEW IN 3.2.2)(Missile Barrage should proc; if it doesn’t, AM anyway). This may be incorrect; more Arcane Blasts depending on mana may up DPS. Can a mage confirm? There are some more notes on this in the Arcane Thread link at the bottom of this page. Burn cycle is Arcane Blast spam.
B. Deep Fire rotation requires you to keep Living Bomb and Scorch x5 up on the target, and then use Fireball until one needs to be refreshed. Use Pyroblast when Hot Streak procs. Basically, think 2/48/11 (BC) rotation, but with Living Bomb added in. (note: as of 3.1, if you have an ISB warlock, you don’t have to scorch).
C. Frostfire rotation is exactly the same as Fireball rotation – just sub in Frostfire Bolt for Fireball. (note: as of 3.1, if you have an ISB warlock, you don’t have to scorch).
III. ADDON SUGGESTIONS
A. Decursive is pretty much a must for mages right now – in fights like Sapphiron, you HAVE to be able to decurse people quickly. Don’t wanna make another decurser shoulder your burden.
B. MikScrollingBattleText is a great addon for giving you combat information easily – it’s easy to see when, say, Hot Streak procs and so forth.
C. PitBull UnitFrames 4.0 is my preference for viewing targets, party, raid, and self frames, including buffs and debuffs. I suggest looking into it. – (todo: insert Curse link)
D. X-Perl UnitFrames is also an excellent UnitFrames addon.
IV. LINKS
1. Elitist Jerks Arcane theorycrafting
2. MMO-champion link to an Arcane build
3. Elitist Jerks Frostfire theorycraft
4. MMO-champion link to a Frostfire build
5. MMO-champion link to a Deep Fireball build
6. Decursive download link
7. MikScrollingBattleText download link
8. X-Perl UnitFrames download link
9. Simulationcraft PTR Results – used for 3.2.2
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Even tho Arcane seems to be top dps atm for some reason the majority of all he top guilds mages are speced torment ball (18/53/0) surely there must be something about that spec that beats arcane for some reason
Part of that spec’s benefit comes from the 10% spell crit bonus to all casters from Scorch. Actual DPS numbers stay pretty close, although a fireball mage will give more overall raid DPS by raising the DPS of other casters; his OWN DPS, on the other hand, may be lower than an arcane mage.
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