Introduction The Fire Mage is a class that plays on the control of RNG. Its main mechanic is Hot Streak, where two subsequent critical strikes will allow the mage to cast a Pyroblast or Flamestrike, two powerful spells with long cast times, to be instantly cast. To aid with this, the mage has two spells that are guaranteed to be critical strikes: Fire Blast and Phoenix Flames. Fire Blast is off the GCD and can be cast during other spells, while Phoenix Flames is on the GCD but does AoE damage. The main rotation is chain casting Fireballs, reacting to Heating Up! procs with Fire Blast, and casting Pyroblasts at every opportunity. Since Pyroblast itself can crit, it allows for a satisfying chain of spells where the mage simply repeats Fireball -> Pyroblast if they both crit, or if one crits and Fire Blast is used. Ultimately, the Fire Mage is about chain casting instant spells that are generated from controlling the RNG aspects to the best of the mage's ability. Tier 1 (Level 15)
Pyromaniac adds an extra layer of RNG on top of the Hot Streak mechanic. This talent allows the mage to cast more instant Pyroblasts or Flamestrikes without much extra overhead. Thematically, this is a strong talent as it compounds the RNG of the spec as well as allows for large chains of Pyroblasts given enough luck, which is a big part of playing Fire Mage. The free Hot Streak is applied when the Pyroblast is cast, as opposed to applying when the Pyroblast reaches the target, which means there is ample time between GCDs to react to the free Hot Streak. However, Pyromaniac can cause "munching" of crits, where crits are wasted because there is already a Hot Streak active. As a player, munched procs are harder to see or feel than other wasted resources since these procs are usually seen as a bonus, but in general, wasted resource feels bad. Windwalker Monks, for example, are not too happy with Energizing Elixir as it fills both their energy and chi resources, forcing them to waste either energy regen or chi gen on their next cast. One way to fix this is to make Pyromaniac give a separate instance of Hot Streak that will be consumed if there isn't a normal Hot Streak proc. This allows the mage to generate and consume Hot Streak like normal during the Pyroblast chains. To compensate, the % will likely need to be rebalanced in order to keep the other options competitive, but I am not here to talk about balance. Pyromaniac may not be the worst offender of a talent that wastes resource, but it does stand as an example of a thematically strong talent that ironically interferes with the class's mechanics, rather than building upon them. Conflagration is a simple passive damage increase. It builds upon the idea that fire burns and spreads rapidly, as seen in the Ignite mastery, where a percentage of damage done is added as a DoT, and this DoT may spread to other nearby targets. Conflagration adds to the spec's cleave and sustained AoE capabilities in a small, but thematically strong way, and also provides a DPS increase even in single-target encounters, making it useful and thematic talent in all situations. Firestarter allows for an extra Combustion phase at the beginning of the fight, which means the mage can hold Combustion for <90% HP and continue their burst. This is especially strong in fights where high HP adds will spawn as they will provide extra mini-Combustion phases. One particularly strong fight is Fallen Avatar in Tomb of Sargeras, as the Maiden will have above 90% health during her first shield, giving the mage a total of three Combustion phases in the first minute of the encounter. This talent requires more overhead than Conflagration, but it is ultimately an easy talent to improve the single target rotation. Extra Combustion phases mean a lot more instant Pyroblast chains, which directly adds towards the goal of the spec. This talent does not have nearly the same impact or feel when smaller adds are spawning, as the length of time they'll be above 90% is much lower, but this is an obvious and natural trade-off for taking this talent over Conflagration. Summary Conflagration and Firestarter are both unique, well defined talents, and the choice between them is, in my opinion, a compelling choice. They each work as general purpose talents, but they also have their niches. Pyromaniac is well designed thematically, but it conflicts with Hot Streak as a resource through the munching of crits. Pyromaniac should provide a separate Hot Streak buff that makes the next Pyroblast instant that will be consumed if there is no regular Hot Streak, so that Firing Up! and Hot Streak can still be generated and spent.
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Nicholas PorterMMO-Focused Archives
November 2018
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