- Author: Amery
- Date: July 8, 2022
- Updated: July 8, 2022
- Expansion: WotLK Classic
Welcome to the most RNG based class in Wrath of the Lich King. In this guide we will go over best race for Horde and Alliance, Rotation for those insane instant Pyroblasts, The best overall Professions so nothing is wasted, as well as Talents, Gems, Enchants, Consumables, and Glyphs to get you on your way to rng town. For all the signs I use in the guide ( <, >, //) < means something is better bet comes from raid trash or similar, (only pre-raid section), > means 1st option then second option, while // means two items are nearly identical with maybe 1 difference between the two.
Fire Mage’s in Wrath of the Lich King
While we may be one of the most insane RNG specs in the game, our role stays the same for the entire expansion, with that being damage, damage and more damage. Fire Mages blow mobs up and ask questions later. Our top priority outside of that will be Polymorphs/Sheeping mobs, AoE damage, decurses, and blowing mobs apart.
Fire mages in TBC were completely lackluster in the fact that their damage wasn’t as close to others and the utility of the class in general was bottom of the barrel compared to other more desirable classes, however in Wrath of the Lich King a lot of that changes in our favor. We become one of the best ranged dps classes with our high crit chance and one of our talents (mentioned later in the guide) that can skyrocket us past all others.
Granted, we won’t reach this level of over poweredness until later in the expansion, we are still one of the better ranged dps’ers in the game.
Strengths
- High single target damage output
- Multiple Threat reduction abilities
- Valuable Crowd Control
Weaknessess
- Glass Cannon
- Low to middle of the pack Area of Affect damage
Fire Mage Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- Top-tier single target damage
Once Fire Mages start scaling, they have undoubtedly some of the highest single target damage out there. To make things better, unlike those silly melee DPS types, we can do it all from a safe distance, giving us a huge edge on some of these more melee-unfriendly fights.
- Incredibly fun gameplay
People who played Fire Mage back in OG WotLK will tell you that it’s some of the most fun they’ve ever had. When you finally attain enough crit for your Hot Streak to proc reliably, you’ll be pumping out Pyroblasts like you’re a meteor-lobbing machine. Big explosions everywhere, and even better, big numbers!
- Valuable crowd control
Other classes hate Mages in PvP due to how powerful our crowd control is, with some really powerful spells like Polymorph and Counterspell. It turns out those are a great asset to have on your team, helping your raid control dangerous monsters!
- Good threat management
Where other classes may occasionally struggle with threat, Fire Mages don’t care about it at all. We have a permanent 20% threat reduction thanks to the Burning Soul talent, and several ways to drop threat, such as Invisibility, should we need to do so.
Weaknesses
- Low to middle of the pack AoE damage
While there’s no denying that our raw single target damage is stellar, our AoE and cleave damage unfortunately cannot keep up with the “big boys”. In fights with more than 1 target, you’ll usually do average to below average.
- Highly reliant on gear & high loot competition
Fire Mages only really take off into the top tiers in Phase 3, when our gear has a whole lot of crit on it. Until then, we’re just about average damage-wise, with many Mages opting to go Arcane until then. Furthermore, many guilds will stack Fire Mages like there’s no tomorrow, and most will usually have a couple of Warlocks too, so you’ll have a tough time competing for gear.
- Glass cannon
It turns out that we need all of those threat management tools that we got, because we’re made of extra-fragile glass. Fire Mages are the definition of glass cannon, dying to any stray ability that may happen to hit us, as we lack survival tools like Frost’s Ice Barrier.
- Very little utility
Fire Mages have powerful crowd control, allowing them to contribute in ways other than DPS, but our besides that our utility is sadly not that great.
Fire Mage Utility
Besides their damage, Fire Mages bring the following raid buffs & debuffs to a raid:
- Focus Magic
Mages of all specializations get access to this slightly peculiar reciprocal buff, that allows us to buff another player’s spell crit chance by 3%. When the target of this ability crits with any attack, our own spell crit chance is increased by 3% for 10 seconds. Not a huge buff, particularly as it is limited to one player at a time, but a neat little boost nonetheless. Trade this buff with another Fire Mage! They benefit from crit far more than Warlocks do.
- 5% increased spell crit debuff (does not stack) – Improved Scorch
Fire Mages can bring this must-have debuff! However, Warlocks of all specs can also apply this debuff, and they do so automatically, while we have to waste DPS by casting Scorch in order to put it up. As a result, you generally won’t need to be the one applying this debuff.
- Intellect buff (does not stack) – Arcane Intellect
Since time immemorial, buffing another player’s Intellect stat has been a Mage’s domain, and that doesn’t change in WotLK, as all Mages can still provide this handy buff. Warlocks can also offer this buff with their Felhunter pet, but thankfully their version is significantly weaker than ours, so we don’t have to worry about being replaced!
- Ritual of Refreshment
There’s no telling how much gold you save your team-mates by conjuring up food for them. Though this spell doesn’t really boost your raid’s DPS, your guildmates will absolutely love you for it.
Conclusion
We hope this guide has been able to help you decide if Fire Mage is the class / spec for you. Make sure to check out our other sections, such as talents, gear, gems etc, to get more information on how to improve your performance as a Fire Mage in WotLK!
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