PvE Fire Mage DPS Rotations & Cooldowns

In Mists of Pandaria, Fire Mages have a relatively simple rotation complemented by a rather intricate burst sequence through the new Alter Time mechanic. Many of their previous mechanics have been compacted into simpler versions, allowing for smoother gameplay.

Single-Target

1. Always maintain Molten Armor active!
2. Cast Rune of Power before Pull
   • Recast it when needed or when it expires
3. Cast Living Bomb & refresh it after it expires
   • Never let Pyromaniac expire!
4. Cast Fireball (Main Filler)
   • Cast Fireball to trigger Ignite
   • Cast Fireball to generate Heating Up procs
5. Cast Scorch if you need to reposition & while moving
6. Cast Inferno Blast to generate a guaranteed Pyroblast! proc after acquiring Heating Up
7. Cast Pyroblast using a Stop Cast macro whenever Pyroblast! is up
8. Cast Combustion after buffing Ignite through Pyroblast casts
9. Use Presence of Mind on cooldown to throw additional instant-cast Pyroblasts

Heating Up, Pyroblast!, & Combustion Mechanics

While you have a high Critical Strike Chance, this section can be ignored, as Heating Up will consistently proc off on most spells. However, on low Critical Strike Chance, it is best to stack up Pyroblast! and maintain the buff until you can successfully trigger Heating Up again. This sequence is also favorable during the Alter Time burst sequence, where you can benefit from it twice.

Remember that Presence of Mind will always be used only after you use the Pyroblast! procs! Managing to trigger a correct Heating Up & Pyroblast! sequence will lead to a very Combustion.

1. Cast Fireball/Frostfire Bolt to trigger Heating Up
2. Cast Inferno Blast to trigger Pyroblast! after Heating Up while low on crit
   • Keep casting Fireball/Frostfire Bolt if you have a high Critical Strike Chance, and keep Inferno Blast for the second Heating Up.
3. Hold the Pyroblast! effect until you trigger another Heating Up.
4. Generate the second Heating Up buff with Inferno Blast or Fireball/Frostfire Bolt.
5. Cast Presence of Mind
6. Cast 2 x Pyroblast in a row (Pyroblast! proc + Presence of Mind Proc) and keep on spamming Pyroblast if you are lucky enough to generate another Heating Up stack with Pyroblast
7. Cast Combustion after multiple Pyroblast casts

Alter Time Burst Sequence

The Alter Time burst sequence is intended to maximize the effects of the Heating Up & Pyroblast! to obtain the most powerful version of Combustion possible. This can be achieved by triggering multiple beneficial effects before Alter Time, effectively snapshotting them, and increasing their duration. The extended duration and Ignite proc achieved through the sequence will significantly bolster Combustion.

Racial effects or items/consumables can enhance the effect even more during this sequence. Some examples are Berserking and Synapse Springs. Another variant is Potion of the Jade Serpent or On-Use trinkets. Thankfully, all those can be instantly used simultaneously with a macro since they are off-GCD.

1. Store up Pyroblast! and Heating Up
2. Either Use a Macro or individually trigger the following effects (Preferably Macro)
   • Cast Berserking
   • Use Potion of the Jade Serpent
   • Cast Presence of Mind
   • Use Synapse Springs
   • Use On-Use Trinket
   • Cast Time Warp
   • Cast Alter Time
3. Spam Pyroblast for as long as possible during Alter Time
4. Repeat Pyroblast sequence after Alter Time expires
5. Cast Combustion

AoE Rotation

1. Spam Nether Tempest on as many targets as possible
2. Perform Single-Target Rotation until you line up a Pyroblast!
3. Cast Combustion after Pyroblast
4. Cast Inferno Blast to spread Ignite, Combustion, & Pyroblast
5. Cast Frost Nova to line up a Shatter if possible
   • Use Flamestrike + Cone of Cold together when triggering Shatter
6. Cast Cone of Cold on cooldown if Shatter is impossible
7. Cast Flamestrike on cooldown if Shatter is impossible

Defensive & Utility Cooldowns

• Crowd Control:
  • Deep Freeze – Powerful Single-Target stun that can be used on frozen targets.
  • Frost Nova – AoE spell that freezes targets.
  • Polymorph: -Transforms an enemy Humanoid or Beast into a sheep for a limited duration.
  • Dragon’s Breath – Cone Spell that disorients all targets caught in the radius.
  • Counterspell – Interrupt ability that prevents a School of Magic from being used for 6 seconds and silences the target for up to 4 seconds.
  • Cone of Cold – Massive slow effect in a frontal cone, lasting up to 6 seconds.
  • Ring of Frost – Massive freeze effect encases all enemies in ice blocks.
• Major Defensives:
  • Ice Block – Provides total immunity for up to 10 seconds. May dispel present debuffs and effects.
  • Temporal Shield – Provides a 15% damage reduction buff and heals all damage taken while the buff was active as a HoT. It can be used every 25 seconds.
  • Ice Barrier – Raw Damage shield that can be reapplied every 25 seconds.
  • Cold Snap – Instantly restores the cooldown of Ice Block, Frost Nova, and Cone of Cold and heals you for 30% max HP.
  • Greater Invisibility – Provides invisibility, breaking combat, and a 90% damage reduction buff while the effect is active. The damage reduction lingers for 3 more seconds after the invisibility fades.
  • Blink – Instant repositioning tool that teleports you 20 yards forward.
• Buff:
  • Arcane Intellect – Provides a 10% Spell Power increase and a 5% Critical Strike Chance increase.
  • Molten Armor – Increases Critical Strike Chance by 5% and reduces all Physical Damage taken by 6%.
  • Mage Armor – Increases Mastery and reduces the duration of debuffs and negative effects by 25%.
  • Time Warp – Grants increased Haste to all raid/party members!
  • Spellsteal – Steals a beneficial effect from an enemy target, lasting up to a maximum of 2 minutes, depending on the effect.
• Utility:
  • Portals – Instant travel to major locations
  • Conjure Refreshment – Free Food for yourself and your allies.
  • Slow Fall – Reduces the falling speed of an ally.
  • Remove Curse – Removes all curses from a friendly target.