Updated for 3.1

This post continues what I've written before on the post Raiding Mage Specs and details the last of the 3 main mage raiding specs: Fire. Take time to check the post to understand the references and how the specs are similar or different.

Fire

This (18/53/0) is the Fire Spec and it's highest DPS at the moment and technically the most efficient for Ulduar. I am not particularly a fan of this spec because I like purple shinny stuff crushing a boss' face but making limbs explode is also appealing... The difference in DPS between the Fire and Arcane specs is minimal but Fire is higher. Fire is also much more mana efficient which will prove useful for Ulduars endurance fights like Freya and Yogg-Saron. This firepower comes at a price, however, you will not benefit from any Hit Rating talents which is why you will need the full 17% (446) if you want to be hit-capped (refer to Ashling's Updated hit post to check on raid layouts and hit).

To make maters worse, this spec is very dependant on gear. Unlike arcane, you will not do good DPS with blues. There is, however, a way around it: fire benefits pretty much from the same stats as arcane: haste before crit. What this means is that you can effectively use arcane and gear for it to later switch to fire if you see it fit. What I suggest is that you spec arcane and blast everything down until you get yourself a decent Naxx-25man set. When you've done that, switch to fire if you want.

Prioritizing Stats:

0. Hit Rating - for a fire mage you require the full 17% (446) as you don't go down the frost tree to pick up Precision

1. Spell Power

2. Haste Rating

3. Crit Rating

4. Spirit - this stat is now useful as molten armor has been changed around to grant us 55% of spirit as crit rating when glyped. This does look like a nerf but with Naxx gear it's actually quite good as you'll get more than the fixed 5% we had before. Also, spirit means more mana regeneration.

Glyphs:

Glyph of Improved Scorch / Glyph of Fireball / Glyph of Molten Armor / Glyph of Living Bomb
*Why are there four glyphs here? Well... Blizzard likes to let us choose and that's what they've done. The Glyph of Living Bomb is the highest DPS glyph up here and you'd usually take it over Glyph of Scorch. The problem is that Scorch has to be applied and though now other classes like the Warlock(and not all specs do) can keep up the same +5% Spell Critical Strike rating debuff on the boss with their main nuke, if they are not in the raid we will have to do it ourselves. What I would do is take Scorch over Fireball. Even if it is your main nuke, 5% Crit from scorch cancels out the 5% crit glyph of Fireball grants and you don't loose the DOT. Also, 5% crit is a powerful Raid buff and as much as we like to see ourselves at the top of the DPS meters, it's not worth it if the boss wipes us.

Rotation:

This rotation is exactly the same as the one for the Frostfire spec, only you switch Frostfire Bolt for Fireball.

Living Bomb - Scorch (if you don't have the Glyph of Scorch you must cast it 5 times) - Fireball(fit as many as you can) - Living Bomb(wait until the target has exploded) - Fireball(fit as many as you can) - Refresh Scorch
*During the rotation, if you get 2 critical strikes in a row you can cast an instant Pyroblast. Get hold of an addon like MSBT so it becomes more obvious.

*It is important to mention that you shouldn't stop casting to use the instant Pyroblast. You will notice you get the instant pyroblast by the time you are casting a Fireball. Don't stop, finish the cast and when it's done use the instant and continue as normal. Any moment when you are not casting is a waste of time.

AoE Rotation:

Living Bomb - Flame Strike - Blizzard
*There are other rotations around, find what is more comfortable for you.

Macros:

Using this spec you don't have access to Icy Veins or other temporary buffs like Arcane Power: you only gain access to Combustion which is a very weak buff as it is. Combustion does trigger Living Bomb DoT crits, which makes it an even weaker buff. I suggest checking out the macros for Ice Block and more importantly the one for Invisibility on my post "Raiding Mage Specs".

Variations:

Some people choose to spend points in Blast Wave and Dragon's Breath at the expense of points in World In Flames for better farming and solo play. I suggest blastwave using the Glyph of Blast Wave but not Dragon's Breath. The instant AoE is very good in situations where small mobs spawn in boss fights (Anub'Rekhan, Maexxna, Gluth)
*Other people choose to spend points on Student of the Mind when they have stacked a fair bit if Spirit.

Gems:

Gems are based on the stats I detailed before so you have to gem accordingly to suit your needs. If you have enough hit rating you want to use:

Red: Runed Scarlet Ruby +19 Spell Power
Yellow: Reckless Monarch Topaz +9 Spell Power and 8 Haste Rating
Blue: Purified Twilight Opal +9 Spell Power and 8 Spirit
Meta: Chaotic Skyflare Diamond +21 Critical Strike Rating and 3% Increased Critical Strike Damage

Enchants:

Go for spell power at all times and use Icewalker on boots and Greater Speed on cloak.

Concerns:

The DPS this spec puts out is very high but it is very dependant on gear and the hit rating it requires is very high even with a Draenei in the party. One of my biggest concerns is threat. The spec puts out as much damage as arcane but has 30% less agro reduction and all the critical strikes are going to turn you into an agro monkey. As a fire mage you are a fine candidate for Vigilance over many classes. As always, use Invisibility to wipe your threat when possible and be smart about it: if you are fighting Kel Thuzad, wait for him to cast a raid-wide frost bolt so that it doesn't interrupt the cast. With my gear I would cause more than 5000 Threat Per Second on a fight like Patchwerk and I would only cause around 3000 with Arcane.


I would love to read suggestions, comments and answer as many questions as possible regarding this post and other Mage-Related topics!

Billÿ

Thanks Billy. I would note that I had put the basics of this in the 3.1 post though! Makes me wonder sometimes if people see a post with my name by it and automatically ignore it