PvE Fire Mage Rotations & Cooldowns – WoW Classic

Single-Target & AoE rotations for Fire Mages in WoW Classic, alongside in-depth explanations and information for spell priorities.

PvE Fire Mage

Stat Priority

Best Professions

Talents & Builds

Rotation & Cooldowns

Pre-Raid & Best in Slot (BiS)

Enchants & Consumables

Fire Mages have a very simple yet contextual rotation, needing to press only a few buttons! The contextual part is based on two specific things, cast time and remaining mana. In some scenarios, you will find yourself casting quick or instant spells such as Scorch or Fire Blast since a boss’s HP might be too low for a Fireball while in other scenarios, you will simply find yourself hard-casting Fireball, even if chaos is spread all around you just to maintain a high DPS output.

Single-Target Rotation

1. Pre-Cast Combustion (Burst)
   • Time Combustion with Trinkets
2. Pre-Cast Pyroblast (Before Fight)
3. Cast Scorch
   • Cast Scorch until 5/5 Improved Scorch is applied
   • Cast Scorch together with other Fire Mages to stack the debuff faster
   • Don’t cast Scorch if another Mage is assigned to reapply the debuff
   • Cast Scorch if the boss’s HP is low and you don’t have time to cast Fireball
   • Cast Scorch over Fireball for encounters where you constantly have to move
4. Cast Fireball (Primary Spell)
5. Cast Fire Blast (Situational)

The Single-Target rotation is very simple as mentioned previously, yet it has contextual variations depending on the encounter and the situation you find yourself in. You will ideally want to use your burst (Combustion + Trinkets) right at the beginning of the fight, and open with a pre-cast Pyroblast if possible. If not, start with Scorch.

The most important aspect of the rotation is stacking and upkeeping Improved Scorch at all times. You can cast Scorch to afflict the target with this debuff and cast it together with other Fire Mages to stack it faster, as the debuff is shared between all Mages. Normally, a raid leader assigns one of the Fire Mages to upkeep the debuff throughout the entirety of the fight, but if that doesn’t happen, simply talk to your fellow brethren and assign an order. You will want 100% Improved Scorch uptime since the Fire Damage increase benefits everyone in the raid, especially you as a Fire Mage.

While some mages condemn Pyroblast, it should be used as an opener whenever possible. The reason for this is all in the hopes that the spell crits and lands a huge chunk of initial damage, alongside a juicy Ignite proc. However, keep in mind that in some encounters this can spell death, as it will generate a huge amount of aggro.

Fireball is the primary ability of the rotation and the one you will consistently find yourself casting the most. In most encounters, after your opener, you will simply attempt to stand still and avoid danger while casting it. However, in some encounters that require a lot of movement, you will instead cast Scorch thanks to its overall lower cast time even after applying the 5/5 Improved Scorch debuff.

Lastly, you may also use Fire Blast if you are about to reposition and you can’t safely stop to cast. This should only be done in encounters where you are forced to move and only be done if your Mana Pool is healthy enough. You may also use downranked versions of it to conserve mana even further if you plan to min-max.

AoE Rotation

Shatter AoE Rotation

1. Cast Frost Nova (CC & Shatter Variant)
2. Cast Flamestrike (Shatter Variant
3. Cast Blast Wave (Together with Flamestrike)
4. Cast Cone of Cold (Main AoE Slow)
   • Cast Cone of Cold for smaller packs instead of Blast Wave
   • Cast Cone of Cold if Blast Wave is on cooldown
5. Cast Blizzard (Main Range AoE Spell)

The AoE Shatter Build rotation is very similar to that of the other Mage builds (Arcane/Frost). However, the main difference is the addition of Blast Wave as the primary follow-up for Flamestrike, instead of Cone of Cold. This is done to ensure maximum Direct Damage Output, even if it might overlap two Ignite procs. Whenever Blast Wave is on cooldown, Cone of Cold will be used instead.

Blizzard remains the primary AoE spell when you’re at long range and can’t utilize Shatter, especially in raids.

Non-Shatter AoE Rotation

1. Cast Flamestrike
   • Cast Flamestrike as an opener once mobs are stacked
2. Cast Arcane Explosion (Primary Close Range AoE Spell)
3. Cast Cone of Cold (Main AoE Slow)
4. Cast Blast Wave on cooldown
5. Cast Blizzard (Main Range AoE Spell)

The Non-Shatter variant of the AoE rotation is a bit rougher than its counterpart. You will want to primarily use Flamestrike to fish for Ignite procs and place a DoT at the beginning of the fight when the mobs are stacked. If you are on the move, you will simply use Arcane Explosion together with Blast Wave. You will want to reserve Cone of Cold to control the mobs and slow them, especially if Frost Nova is not available at the moment.

Blizzard remains the primary AoE spell when you’re at long range just with the other variant, even if you can’t generate Critical Strikes