World of Warcraft: Dragonflight brings major changes to all of the game's classes and specs, one of which is the Fire Mage.
Mages are damage-dealing spell casters that specialize in burst damage while also having solid AoE capabilities. The class has formidable damage output and contains a wide variety of crowd control spells, Mages also provide a significant amount of utility to a group.
As a class, Mages use three schools of magic to deal damage to their foes: Arcane, Fire, and Frost. One of these, namely Fire, has a focus on burst damage in specific windows and can also dish out tons of AoE and cleave damage if targets are tightly packed.
With that in mind, here's our World of Warcraft: Dragonflight Fire Mage guide, including what talents to pick, rotation to perform, stat priority, and more.
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Introducing the Fire Mage
Mages are spellcasters that favor the magics that involve the cardinal elements of the universe. The elements of fire, air, earth, and water are the building blocks of all matter. Unlike Shamans or Warlocks, they do not entreat or brait with otherworldy beings in order to gain power. Mages seek the purity of absolute arcane knowledge that later gets categorized into the three specializations they use, Arcane, Fire, and Frost.
Arcane magic warps time and space, and controls the flow of mana; and Frost slows and controls, setting foes up for devastating strikes. When it comes to Fire, on the other hand, Mages use it to unleash a destructive force that damages in bursts and can spread.
They are powerful in single-target fights and tightly-knit cleave as they spread their damage around with their Mastery, Ignite.
Best Fire Mage Talents
Dragonflight introduced changes to the Talent System, giving players two trees two choose from, a Class tree and a Specialization tree.
Mages as a whole have tons to choose from when it comes to the Class tree, plenty of utility, defensives, and, of course, damage. When it comes to the Fire tree, though, you can go about it in several ways: single-target, single-target to cleave, and AoE.
Single-Target / Cleave / Single-target to AoE
This build is the prototypical single-target build. It has all of the single-target talents you'd need for both of the trees.
On the Class tree, this build takes Shifting Power and Temporal Warp as its major talents as they all benefit Fire Mage's want to dish out constant strong bursts, and on the Fire Tree, it favors the likes of Sun King's Blessing and Pyroclasm.
Although this talent build is specifically made with single-target in mind, it also reaps all of the benefits of the cleave gained for the talents taken. This means that not only is it a single-target build, but it's also fitting for cleave and AoE situations thanks to the Master of Flame talent that makes Ignite deal 18% more damage while Combustion is not active, and also makes Fire Blast spread Ignite.
AoE
When you think of Fire Mage AoE you normally think of Flamestrike spamming. That's what this build is all about.
On the Class tree, it also takes Shifting Power but favors taking Dragon's Breath instead of Temporal Warp.
When it comes to the Fire tree, as opposed to the previous build, which focuses on spreading Ignite from a single target to other targets, you'll be looking to dish out Flamestrikes on multiple targets, forgoing any type of single-target damage in favor of AoE. With talents like Hyperthermia and Pyromaniac, all you care about is casting Flamestrikes as the former gives you free guaranteed-to-crit Flamestrikes in a 5-second window, and the latter has a chance to give you another Hot Streak upon using one.
In addition, you also have Living Bomb which can be placed at the start of any mob encounter and synergizes well with the Incendiary Eruptions talent as you will have plenty of Flame Patches thanks to your Flamestrike casts.
PvP
Last but certainly not least is our recommended Dragonflight Fire Mage PvP build.
As you can expect, this build grabs up the best PVP talents from both trees. That means several CC abilities, several damage reduction passives, and more.
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Best Fire Mage Rotation
Fire Mages are one of if not the strongest spellcasters with bursts. They are terrific in single-target damage and great at tight-knit cleave and, if need be, can focus heavily on AoE with their burst windows.
Now that you have your talents selected, it's time to work on getting your rotation down pat.
Fire Mage is all about Combustion, the burst. It's the class' main cooldown and can also be triggered with Sun King's Blessing if talented. Your overall damage comes down to your Combustion uptime.
Outside of Combustion, as a Fire Mage, you'll be looking at getting crits to trigger Heating Up and subsequently, Hot Streak as getting a Hot Streak makes your Pyroblast or Flamestrike spells instant casts and doubles the normal Ignite damage. These crits are beneficial to you as they keep your damage somewhat sustainable between your Combustion bursts. Additionally, if talented into Kindling, the crits lower the cooldown of your Combustion.
Here's the Fire Mage rotation for both single-target and AoE.
Single-Target
As stated before, the Fire Mage rotation, especially in single-target, is all about your Combustion bursts. Everything you cast and everything you do is to help you get as many Combustions as possible.
When Combustion bursting you'll want to pack in as many instant casts like Fire Blast and Phoenix Flames as possible into your burst window to get Hot Streaks to subsequently throw out more Pyroblasts. The more Pyroblasts you cast the more damage you deal in your burst and the bigger your Ignite gets.
Here's a general rotation for both out of Combustion and in Combustion.
Out of Combustion
- Cast Fireball until a Critical Strike procs Heating Up.
- Use Fire Blast to convert Heating Up into Hot Streak
- Consume the Hot Streak buff with a Pyroblast cast. Make sure to queue this at the end of a Fireball cast when possible
- Use built-up Sun King's Blessing's buff right away. If possible, pair it with Rune of Power
In Combustion with Fire Starter (Cooldown)
- Three to Four seconds before the pull hardcast a Pyroblast. This will always crit with the Firestarter talent
- Cast Fire Blast as soon as your pre-casted Pyroblast hits
- Cast Pyroblast with the Hot Streak
- Alternate between Fireball, Pyroblast and Fire Blast, Pyroblast until Sun King's Blessing is ready
- Once Sun King's Blessing is ready, hardcast Pyroblast to activate it. Cast Combustion and Fire Blast before the hardcasted Pyroblast lands to generate a Hot Streak
- Cast Phoenix Flames then Pyroblast if Fire Blast isn't available
- Alternate between Fire Blast and Phoenix Flames to gain Hot Streaks, making sure that Feel the Burn talent stays up and that you don't cap on Fire Blasts
- When Rune of Power fades, cast it again to maintain the buff
- When your Fire Blast and Phoenix Flames charges cast Shifting Power, making sure to use a Fire Blast charge to not cap (if talented)
- Once Sun King's Blessing is ready again, hardcast Pyroblast to activate it. This will extend your Combustion
- Continue to alternate between Pyroblast (with Hot Streak), Fire Blast, and Phoenix Flames to gain Hot Streaks until the Combustion buff ends. Cast Scorch if no Fire Blasts or Phoenix Flames are available to gain Hot Streak
In Combustion without Fire Starter (Cooldown)
- Cast Rune of Power if available
- Cast Fireball
- Activate Combustion as soon as the Fireball hits
- Go into your normal Combustion burst rotation alternating Fire Blast, Phoenix Flames, instant Pyroblasts, and Scorch (if need be) to gain Hot Streaks
In Combustion (Sun King's Blessing)
- Once Sun King's Blessing is ready, hardcast Pyroblast to activate it. Cast Combustion and Fire Blast before the hardcasted Pyroblast lands to generate a Hot Streak
- Go into your normal Combustion burst rotation alternating Fire Blast, Phoenix Flames, instant Pyroblasts, and Scorch (if need be) to gain Hot Streaks
AoE
When it comes to AoE, it depends on what type of AoE build you're running. If you're using the single-target to cleave/AoE build, you'll be performing more or less the same rotation as the single-target build. If opting into the pure AoE build with Flamestrikes, you'll be replacing Pyroblasts with Flamestrikes.
Here's a general rotation for both out of Combustion and in Combustion.
Out of Combustion
- Cast Fireball until a Critical Strike procs Heating Up.
- Use Fire Blast to convert Heating Up into Hot Streak
- Consume the Hot Streak buff with a Pyroblast cast. Make sure to queue this at the end of a Fireball cast when possible
- Use built-up Sun King's Blessing's buff right away. If possible, pair it with Rune of Power
In Combustion with Fire Starter (Cooldown)
- Three to Four seconds before the pull hardcast a Pyroblast. This will always crit with the Firestarter talent
- Cast Fire Blast as soon as your pre-casted Pyroblast hits
- Cast Pyroblast with the Hot Streak
- Alternate between Fireball, Pyroblast and Fire Blast, Pyroblast until Sun King's Blessing is ready
- Once Sun King's Blessing is ready, hardcast Pyroblast to activate it. Cast Combustion and Fire Blast before the hardcasted Pyroblast lands to generate a Hot Streak
- Cast Phoenix Flames then Pyroblast if Fire Blast isn't available
- Alternate between Fire Blast and Phoenix Flames to gain Hot Streaks, making sure that Feel the Burn talent stays up and that you don't cap on Fire Blasts
- When Rune of Power fades, cast it again to maintain the buff
- When your Fire Blast and Phoenix Flames charges cast Shifting Power, making sure to use a Fire Blast charge to not cap (if talented)
- Once Sun King's Blessing is ready again, hardcast Pyroblast to activate it. This will extend your Combustion
- Continue to alternate between Pyroblast (with Hot Streak), Fire Blast, and Phoenix Flames to gain Hot Streaks until the Combustion buff ends. Cast Scorch if no Fire Blasts or Phoenix Flames are available to gain Hot Streak
Out of Combustion with Flamestrike
- Hardcast Flamestrike
- Cast Fire Blast twice to gain Hot Streak
- At the end of the hardcasted Flamestrike, cast the instant cast Flamestrike
- If talented into Searing Torch, cast Scorch on a below 30% health target, cast Fire Blast, and cast Flamestrike with the Hot Streak generated
- Use built-up Sun King's Blessing's buff right away. If possible, pair it with Rune of Power
In Combustion with Flamestrike (Cooldown)
- Hardcast a Flamestrike
- Cast Combustion prior to Flamestrike landing
- Immediately cast Fire Blast twice to gain Hot Streak
- Cast the instant Flamestrike
- Cast Phoenix Flames
- Cast Fire Blast to gain Hot Streak
- Cast Flamestrike
- Cast Rune of Power
- Cast Shifting Power (making sure to use a Fire Blast charge to not cap)
- Alternate between Fire Blast and Phoenix Flames to gain Hot Streaks and cast instant Flamestrikes, adding in Scorch when necessary
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Stat Priority for Fire Mages
As you begin leveling and eventually hit max-level, you'll be getting all types of gear. While leveling, don't pay too much attention, just go for the pieces that best give you an overall gain. However, once at max level, you'll begin focusing on stats to get the best possible damage output.
Here's the stat priority you need to keep in mind:
- Intellect
- Haste
- Versatility
- Mastery
- Critical Strike
For starters, Intellect is the end-all-be-all best stat for Fire Mage as it increases your overall damage done. After that, you'll be looking at Haste and Versatility. Haste synergizes well with all of the aforementioned Combustion builds as for single-target it gives you more Fireball casts, giving you more crits, and for AoE, it reduces the often long cast time that Flamestrike has.
Following that up are stats like Mastery and Critical Strike. Out of the two, Mastery is the most valuable as your Ignite is one of your top damaging abilities, especially when cleaving or AoEing. When it comes to Critical Strike, Fire Mage innately has a lot of the stat, plus the stat is rendered useless in your Combustion bursts.
Look to add all of these with gear and enchants.
Best Races for Fire Mages
WoW is a unique game in that the races in both of its factions provide certain benefits that can come as a nice minor boost.
All of the races can be Fire Mages, that's why we've narrowed it down to a handful between both of the factions. These are strictly in PvE settings.
Horde:
- Tauren
- Troll
Tauren are great for Fire Mages for one reason and one reason only, their Brawn racial. This passive makes it so critical strike damage and healing is increased by 2%. For a class that relies heavily on crits, especially during its Combustion burst windows, it's more than ideal.
Additionally, you have the likes of War Stomp which is nice minor AoE stun useful in leveling and dungeon settings, as well as Endurance which gives you extra scaling Stamina.
Troll, on the other hand, has long been one of Fire Mages' go-to races. Berserking, which increases your haste by 10% for 12 seconds, is a great additive alongside Combustion, giving you more damage in that window.
There are also other benefits such as Da Voodoo Shuffle, which reduces the duration of all movement impairing effects by 20%, and Renegeration, which gives you more health regeneration in and out of combat.
Alliance:
- Dwarf
- Human
Like the Tauren, the Dwarf race is great because one of their passives, Might of the Mountain, also increases critical strike damage and healing by 2%. In addition to that, there's also Stoneform which removes all harmful Poison, Disease, Curse, Magic, and Bleed effects and gives you a 10% damage reduction.
When it comes to Humans, unlike any of the races except Undeads with their Will of the Forsaken, have a great get-out-of-jail-free card in Will to Survive. The fact that you don't have to have a PvP trinket to get out of any crown-controlling effect is great and can come in handy in several fights in the new expansion.
There is also their passive, The Human Spirit, which makes it so you gain 2% more of all secondary stats.
That's it! This is all you need to get your Fire Mage going. Time to burn your foes to ash!
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