So as you all probably know it's not a raid unless I die at least once per boss, sometimes two or three (depending on how many b-resses I can bumm off druids). Anyways, I thought I would address this.
You see mages while intelligent are inherently frail, I'll admit, the geeks of WoW. Just like Pallys are the jocks, warlocks are the emo kids, and hunters are the awkward cousin you bring along to fill out your raid. At least one day they'll all be pumping my gas, right?
Because we have no self preservation we have to take pleasure in the little things, like out dpsing the warlocks in the group. It just somehow makes things ok.
Q: How many Warlocks does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: One, but it takes two more to click on it.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Arcane Spec FTW (as of 3.2.2)
So although I highly doubt that another mage will ever read this I've decided to create a blog and write what wisdom I can about rolling a mage!
So for those of you who don't know the latest patch (3.2.2) completely buffed the mess out of our arcane spec, making it by FAR the way to go.
Starting off I'll re-post the patch notes just so you can see:
Mages
...wow...
So now for a breakdown on the specifics.
Arcane Blast
So first of all this stacking 4 times instead of 3, meaning when you apply the full stacks you get a whopping total of a 60% damage increase on your next spell, that's a hefty sum from the previous 45%. Not only did this happen, but the mana cost for this has actually gone down! So 4 stacks and on only costs 653 mana instead of the 1830 for the whimpy 3 stacks that could previously be applied. (And oh, if you're glyphed, that 4 stack will increase dps by 72%... rediculous!)
So now instead of popping evocation every 2 minutes on the dot and hoping popping your mana gems will tide you over on the cooldown, you can theoretically never even dump the stack and nuke away to your hearts content.
Missile Barrage
Not only did we get an AMAZING buff to our arcane blast spell, our second highest damage dealer also got a decent power up as well! With this patch our proc now gives a free arcane missiles, as well as increasing the chance of the proc by 100%!
With this advancement in the 4 stacks of arcane blast you stack you pretty much have a 100% chance of having missile barrage proc saving mana. This spell is free, cuts casting time in half, and probably will get you a cold drink while you watch huge numbers fly by on the screen. Amazing.
My only problem is now this pretty much throws arcane barrage out of the rotation, which was a spell I always enjoyed and thought looked pretty cool, but oh well.
Rotation
It'g gotten easy, almost too easy. I mean I almost feal like I'm a druid now, spam arcane blast 4 times, throw up a arcane missile (which will surely have procced), rinse and repeat. Couldn't be easier.
3.2.2
To summarize:
1. Rotation: Arcane Blast x 4 (or untill missile barrage procs) followed by Arcane Missles.
2. Arcane Barrage is out of the picture :( sadly only viable for pvp, feals like a waste for a very high talent in the tree...
3. Mana efficiency will go WAY up, and with it the dps of mages because we're not burdened with having to evocate every few minutes, in fact I hardly evocate ever now instead just using a mana gem on occasion. Its a weird fealing to have mana efficiency.
4. If some quick dps is needed spamming arcane blast is a very viable increase and now a not so painful mana burn as well, don't be afraid to resort to it.
5. If you were considering, as I was, the shift to frostfire or deep fire because of the nifty crit strike bonus from the tier 9 gear, this is a big reason to think again. Wow has saved the viableness of arcane and I love it.
And finally:
Q: How are rogues and noobs alike?
A: Both pick locks
Happy Raiding!
So for those of you who don't know the latest patch (3.2.2) completely buffed the mess out of our arcane spec, making it by FAR the way to go.
Starting off I'll re-post the patch notes just so you can see:
Mages
- Arcane Blast: The buff from using this ability now stacks up to 4 times instead of 3, and each application increases mana cost by 130% instead of 200%.
- Talents
- Arcane
- Missile Barrage: The effect from triggering this talent now removes the mana cost of Arcane Missiles. In addition, the chance for Arcane Blast to trigger this talent is now 8/16/24/32/40%. All other listed spells continue to have a 4/8/12/16/20% chance to trigger
- Arcane
...wow...
So now for a breakdown on the specifics.
Arcane Blast
So first of all this stacking 4 times instead of 3, meaning when you apply the full stacks you get a whopping total of a 60% damage increase on your next spell, that's a hefty sum from the previous 45%. Not only did this happen, but the mana cost for this has actually gone down! So 4 stacks and on only costs 653 mana instead of the 1830 for the whimpy 3 stacks that could previously be applied. (And oh, if you're glyphed, that 4 stack will increase dps by 72%... rediculous!)
So now instead of popping evocation every 2 minutes on the dot and hoping popping your mana gems will tide you over on the cooldown, you can theoretically never even dump the stack and nuke away to your hearts content.
Missile Barrage
Not only did we get an AMAZING buff to our arcane blast spell, our second highest damage dealer also got a decent power up as well! With this patch our proc now gives a free arcane missiles, as well as increasing the chance of the proc by 100%!
With this advancement in the 4 stacks of arcane blast you stack you pretty much have a 100% chance of having missile barrage proc saving mana. This spell is free, cuts casting time in half, and probably will get you a cold drink while you watch huge numbers fly by on the screen. Amazing.
My only problem is now this pretty much throws arcane barrage out of the rotation, which was a spell I always enjoyed and thought looked pretty cool, but oh well.
Rotation
It'g gotten easy, almost too easy. I mean I almost feal like I'm a druid now, spam arcane blast 4 times, throw up a arcane missile (which will surely have procced), rinse and repeat. Couldn't be easier.
3.2.2
To summarize:
1. Rotation: Arcane Blast x 4 (or untill missile barrage procs) followed by Arcane Missles.
2. Arcane Barrage is out of the picture :( sadly only viable for pvp, feals like a waste for a very high talent in the tree...
3. Mana efficiency will go WAY up, and with it the dps of mages because we're not burdened with having to evocate every few minutes, in fact I hardly evocate ever now instead just using a mana gem on occasion. Its a weird fealing to have mana efficiency.
4. If some quick dps is needed spamming arcane blast is a very viable increase and now a not so painful mana burn as well, don't be afraid to resort to it.
5. If you were considering, as I was, the shift to frostfire or deep fire because of the nifty crit strike bonus from the tier 9 gear, this is a big reason to think again. Wow has saved the viableness of arcane and I love it.
And finally:
Q: How are rogues and noobs alike?
A: Both pick locks
Happy Raiding!
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