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First toon- need help with eventual spec decision
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Post by
430613
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
164084
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Post by
Darkwraith01
Ok, let me post here what I have written (at least) 8 times the past month.....
First: won't find a single unique magic spec that is the best from Heroics to Ulduar 25. Forget it, you are playing a mage, and mages required time, dedication, research and brains.
Second: you should dual-spec, and have a second spec for PvP. And DO PvP. You'll be able to get some decent gear from PvP that will help you out a great deal before you start running raids.
Ok, about the specs: FB/TTW (Torment Spec) requires awesome gear. Not only that, but it focuses on Damage and not burst DPS. So, for heroics, where mobs and bosses have very low HP, Torment is
NOT
the way to go. You'll not have the Hit you need anyways, and your crit bonuses would be low, thus hurting your Hot Streak procs.
What I would recommend you is: go FFB spec, since it has a lower Hit requirement, and get some gear. FFB also is easy to play, and it will teach you how to manage threat as well. Even though your crit would be a little on the low side for Hot Streaks, you'll still be able to do more damage than the other specs.
When you get your haste to at least mid 200's, go Arcane (cookie-cutter is fine). Haste is key for Arcane. Arcane has nice burst dps, doesn't rely on crits to proc, and you'll do nice damage. It also gives you Icy Veins, Presence of Mind and Arcane Power, which will help you a lot. And it has the lowest Hit requirements of all specs. And, Arcane will teach you how to manage your mana, which is something you have to learn as a mage.
By the time you have mostly Naxx 25/Ulduar gear, then go FB/TTW spec. It has very high Hit requirements, even if you have a Boomkin or SPriest in the party. And it doesn't have Icy Veins, which makes this spec even more gear-dependent.
Boss fights in Ulduar are pretty long, and then you'll see the benefits from this spec. Remember: FB/TTW spec is made for damage, not DPS, and what kills bosses, in the end, is Damage.
Post by
Praxis
Frostfire (0/53/18) and Arcane (57/3/11) are both fine to start out with until you can manage 14 (with a moonkin/spriest) or 17 (without) percent hit from gear for FB/TTW without making huge sacrifices in other stats.. Arcane's lack of needed hit is obscene. 8% hit with a moonkin or spriest means you barely have to worry about hit at all. *shrug* I started as Frostfire at 80, though. I've always had more fun burning stuff.
EDIT: @ mvtba, thank you for putting that so eloquently. I'm tired. <3
Post by
nickseng
Actually, FFB is horrible for heroics and beginning raids because of the huge amount of crit you need.
FFB is really lackluster without crit. Just Arcane until you get the gear for FB or FFB spec.
Post by
430613
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Post by
161859
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Post by
Darkwraith01
I wouldn't go Arcane when you ding 80. Your haste will be terrible, and you Arcane Blast rotation will suck: depending on how bad your haste is when you ding, your Arcane Blasts can take way too long to cast.
Arcane does have the lowest hit requirements by far,
but c'mom people
, for Heroics you need
A LOT
less hit anyways. You can probably go by with less than 100 Hit, easy. In that case, FFB is no problem.
Regarding the crit you need to proc Hot Streak, yeah, with your low crit rating, you'll be procc' ing very few Pyroblasts, but:
You won't be OOM all the time. Don't forget that Arcane eats mana, and with your crappy gear from just ding 80, you'll spend half the dungeon time sitting down to drink
90% of the heroic boss fights is so short that you don't need to worry about Hot Streak procc'ing anyways.
Post by
161859
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Post by
Darkwraith01
Fire is generally better for longer fights. Not the short fights you find in heroics.
And Frost for
even longer
, more mana dependant fights... General Vezax Hard Mode come to mind?
I was thinking more about jumping into raids as quickly as possible.
Not that good of an idea. You need to learn the basics before you go raid. Otherwise you are gonna be insulted and removed from the party all the time. Besides, Heroics are some fun, quick way to get badges (specially after patch 3.2).
Post by
nickseng
I wouldn't go Arcane when you ding 80. Your haste will be terrible, and you Arcane Blast rotation will suck: depending on how bad your haste is when you ding, your Arcane Blasts can take way too long to cast.
Arcane does have the lowest hit requirements by far,
but c'mom people
, for Heroics you need
A LOT
less hit anyways. You can probably go by with less than 100 Hit, easy. In that case, FFB is no problem.
Regarding the crit you need to proc Hot Streak, yeah, with your low crit rating, you'll be procc' ing very few Pyroblasts, but:
You won't be OOM all the time. Don't forget that Arcane eats mana, and with your crappy gear from just ding 80, you'll spend half the dungeon time sitting down to drink
90% of the heroic boss fights is so short that you don't need to worry about Hot Streak procc'ing anyways.
Your haste will be fine, as Arcane comes built in with 6% haste. Besides which, some crafted gear comes with tons of haste.
Also, regarding the OOM issue, it's not really an issue, as heroic fights are generally short, which is where Arcane really shines. The boss will be long dead before you OOM. :)
Post by
ascero
Yeah, from what I understand, as long as you have the gear, the DPS difference between the builds is a moot point; they all get awesome DPS and it's really a personal choice. Just remember:
Arcane = Less Hit, More Haste
Fire = More Hit, More Crit
FFB = Medium Hit, More Crit
Everything else I've read says that Frost isn't a very great choice in raids...but I guess you could go for it. I personally love Arcane; the rotation is A LOT more flexible, and you have the ability to control how much damage you do based on how much mana you have, on demand (through spells like Arcane Power, Presence of Mind, AB Debuff, etc). And I've never found mana to be an issue at all, for with arcane comes the 2-minute Evocation (that does hurt DPS a bit mid-fight, however). It might be the "easiest" build to use, but I seem to be out-DPSing all of my fellow DPS in the heroics I run (haven't tested this in Raids, however).
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