Return to Table of Contents
Introduction to Fire Mages in Wrath of the Lich King Classic
Fire Mages are some of the highest damage-dealing spell-casting classes inWrath of the Lich King Classic.While their performance in Player vs Environment encounters is not the greatest starting out, once they obtain better gear their damage starts to skyrocket. The play style is fairly simple, casting only a few abilities in both Single and Multi-Target encounters. They only need to react to one prompt for increased damage and managing mana and cooldown usage is very straightforward. This specialization is great for players who enjoy watching the screen light up with fire and will enjoy focusing on the game and not overly complicated class mechanics.
This guide is specifically intended for level 80 players focusing on PvE end-game content inWoW WotLK: Classic.
Best Race For Fire Mages
For Horde, the only race that provides any significant advantage is Trolls for their Haste buff:Berserking. While Haste is not the greatest priority for Fire Mages none of the other races provide any benefit.
For the Alliance, Humans are typically the go-to race for Fire Mages due to the slight improvement to the Spirit stat withThe Human Spirit. This combined withMolten ArmorandGlyph of Molten Armorimproves Critical chances. They also haveWill to Survive, and while very strong in PvP has limited uses in PvE. Draenei are the second most common pick due to a 1% increased Hit Chance fromHeroic Presence. However, this only applies party-wide and doesn’t stack when there are more Draenei in the party. Gnomes haveExpansive Mindfor an increase in Intellect andEscape Artist, which is less useful than the Human Racial.
Best Professions for Fire Mages in WotLK
The top professions for Fire Mages to have areEngineeringandTailoring. Engineeringprovides many useful tools and buffs that increase damage. Tailoring providesthe best in slot back piece enchantmentand can also create some decent cloth armor pieces.
Here is a table that shows the benefits that each profession provides that are specific to Mages. Each of these recipes can be learned from the respective profession trainer.
Best Talent Build For Fire Mages in WoW Classic Wrath
There are two standard talent builds for Level 80 Fire Mages. Both are viable in terms of damage however one specializes in the Arcane Talent Tree for sustained damage while the other specializes in the Frost Tree for burst damage.
Fireball Build - Sustained Damage
The first build that is most commonly seen goes into the Arcane Talent Tree to pick upTorment the Weakto improveFireballandPyroblastdamage. If there is a Holy Paladin withImproved Concentration Auraplayers can move 1 point out ofBurning Souland place it intoFirestarterfor better mana conservation during AoE fights.
Frostfire Bolt Build - Burst Damage
This build is often seen when fights aren’t lasting very long and Fire Mages could now make use ofIcy Veins. Skills chosen here improve the damage ofFrostfire Boltand therefore replacesFireballin the rotation.
Another variation seen from this build,(highlighted in pink), is made by going even deeper in the Frost Tree to pick upCold Snapwhich will give a second use ofIcy Veins. The burst damage is higher but sustained damage falls off if fights last longer than about a minute. Players with this build forego usingLiving Bombin their rotation and will suffer mana problems in longer fights due to droppingMaster of Elements.
Best Major Glyphs for Fire Mage
The Major Glyphs that provide Fire Mages the biggest increase in damage are as follows:
Players using the Cold Snap Burst talent build should useGlyph of Mirror Imageinstead ofGlyph of Living Bombfor extra burst damage.
Best Minor Glyphs for Fire Mage
In the images above there are only two Minor Glyphs that have any impact on performance in PvE content.
Fire Mage Skill Rotation In Wrath of the Lich King
To start, players should always haveMolten Armoractive before and during the fight as it increases Critical Strike Rating. At the beginning of a fight, just before combat starts players can use aPotion of Speedand castPyroblastfor a slight damage increase and be able to use another potion during the fight. If there is no Warlock in the group to provideImproved Shadow BoltcastScorchto apply the Crit debuff fromImproved Scorch.
For usage of cooldowns, it is important to take advantage of them withMolten Furywhen the target is below 35% HP. UseMirror Image,Combustion, andIcy Veins(if talented) during this execution period, or if the fight is shorter use these whenHeroism/Bloodlustis used.
UseEvocationif you run out of mana, ideally timed during moments of downtime or before burst damage is required.
Fire Mage Single Target Rotation
The majority of the time will be spent castingFireball, however there is still a priority to maintain debuffs and make use of instant castPyroblastwithHot Streakprocs. The Single Target Damage rotation is as follows:
Fire Mage AoE Rotation
For the Area of Effect DPS rotation in encounters with multiple targets(more than 2), the skill rotation will vary depending on the length of the encounter and whether or not you need to be mobile.
Stationary fights over 12 seconds:
For fights thatdon’t last longer than 12 secondsomit the usage ofLiving Bombas it will not take advantage of the explosion at the end.
Useful Macros for Fire Mages
The use of macros improves the quality of life by performing certain actions automatically. Players can activate trinkets and cooldowns with a single button press, saving time and ensuring they all get pressed in the right order. This is built into the game through the Macro menu (type “/m” and hitin the text chat bar).
Ensure Ignite Occurs From Pyroblast Not Fireball.
This uses the /cqs (Clear Cast Sequence) to add a brief delayFireballandPyroblastto ensure thatIgniteoccurs from a potential crit from pyroblast instead of fireball
Use 14 is the Top Trinket Slot
Use 13 is the Bottom Trinket Slot
Players can add “/cast Icy Veins”, “/use 10”, and “/cast Berserking” as well if it does not cause haste capping.
and
or
Players can also use the “Castsequence” macro to have one button rotate the usage of the stand AoE rotation.
Cancel Current Cast to Counterspell
Use Mana Potion or Runic Mana Injector and Cast Arcane Blast
