Armaggedon's coming!

Hi folks, it’s that time again… Blog Azeroth topic of the week “What you need to know about [insert class here], in my case, I will be telling you about things from the perspective of my little Fire Mage.

Crowd Control.

As a fire mage I only have a few tricks up my overly generous sleeves.

Frost Nova - I can trap quite a few mobs for 8 seconds.

Blasts enemies near the caster for 99 to 111 Frost damage and freezes them in place for up to 8 sec. Damage caused may interrupt the effect.

• 1st thing to note, 8 seconds isn’t a hell of a long time, and I have probably pissed a few of them off as well.
• 2nd thing, it is likely to break, releasing all the mobs if you get a lucky crit.
• If I frost nova in the vicinity of shackles etc, I will break them… sorry we are working towards the same end, I am just trying to keep the healers alive for another 8 seconds… please reshackle, sheep etc.
• Generally I am only dropping this to protect someone, probably the healers so:

1. Healers, move away from the mobs melee attacks if they are still hitting you, they wont follow.. well immediately anyway.
2. Everyone else, either focus on the original target, or give the tank, shacklers etc a chance to get their mob(s) back under control

Dragon’s breath – If you see flames spewing from my face… I have cast Dragon’s breath

Targets in a cone in front of the caster take 680 to 790 Fire damage and are Disoriented for 3 sec. Any direct damaging attack will revive targets. Turns off your attack when used.

• It’s a cool effect I know, and it is an AoE, so I can grab more than one mob in it. I am normally using it as a last ditch effort to stop the mob reaching me or a healer, so remember.
• It is only a 2 second disorient, but it is a 2 second disorient that will break on any damage. So feel free to hit it, but make sure you are taking it off me, the healer or finishing it off, cause I might need that 2 seconds to Iceblock or something.

Polymorph – Don’t really need to explain this I know, but.. Turns mob into cute pet (Sheep, Pig, Turtle) for 50 seconds. My choice being a pig:

Transforms the enemy into a pig, forcing it to wander around for up to 50 sec. While wandering, the pig cannot attack or cast spells but will regenerate very quickly. Any damage will transform the target back into its normal form. Only one target can be polymorphed at a time. Only works on Beasts, Humanoids and Critters.

• You all know it breaks on damage, so why do you hit it?
• I have a focus macro, and a mod to tell me when the pig tries to get away, so don’t worry about it.
• It does take me 1.5 seconds to cast, so tanks (particularly Tankadins), just make sure I am ready before you go charging off, wondering why the pig isn’t there. I will try to time it with your bow/gun shot, but if I am in the previous room regaining mana, then you can fight that mob on your own.
• If I die, I will try to tell you when the sheep is going to pop, so don’t panic, I will give you 5 seconds warning.
• There are some (chaotic) fights where it is better for the mage that is going to poly to have marking privileges. If they do, and their poly macro includes the auto marking, then the whole party will know which mob not to hit.
• Hunter’s can’t tame my pet pig! Although they could put it on ice.

Cone of Cold – I spray Ice, lots of mobs get angry with me, but they only take a little longer to get to me.

Targets in a cone in front of the caster take 410 to 448 Frost damage and are slowed by 50% for 8 sec.

• I don’t use this much… I always tend to die (see next point) my preference is Dragons Breath.
• This tends to draw silly amounts of aggro.
• It shares a cooldown with Dragon’s breath, so I wont be doing both in a short period.

Kiting – I can’t. I know, I know, I am a mage and I should be able to. Isn’t it magecraft 101?

• Well see I am a Fire Mage, and generally the mob is dead before I need to kite, so I haven’t learnt how. Apparently it takes practice and I don’t have the spare time to ghostrun back to try again.
• Now, I might try.. if things are really bad, but in reality I have less seconds of life that you have fingers on one hand.
• I’m sure Zupa is rubbing his hand with glee right now.. I’m going to respec Gnome and teach him how to kite.

Aggro/Threat - yeah whatever. If there is one thing I know how to do, it’s generate threat.

Luckily I also know how to install and watch a threat meter, and I can shed the aggro permanently given a few seconds – 3 nice, 5 best. I can also dump aggro onto healers ala late Hunter Feign death via Iceblock – don’t worry I will get it back when the Iceblock ends. So some tips.

Tank Aggro.

• I need my tank of choice to have aggro, and he needs to be building the threat at a steady rate. The only problem is when people open up too early, or pets have growl on etc, that the tank isn’t building threat. If you stun the mob, the tank isn’t generating threat. So don’t! Let the tank get hit, generate threat and we can all climb the threat wave together.
• If you get the aggro from the tank, or stop him generating it, my mid-air fireball is going to trump your aggro and I am going to take the healers down with me. Yes I do spikey damage, but I account for that, what I don’t account for is the tank being prevented from generating threat.

I’m watching the Aggro…

But that doesn’t mean you can’t point out that I am about to go over the tank, or as in some cases go over the 2nd highest threat.

• Sometimes I get distracted… fire is pretty you know. Sometimes aggro changes suddenly – deaths, vanishes, stuns etc.
• I love it when I hear my mates yell, watch out Gnome, your getting high, or your in 2nd position (which generally is OK), cause that gives me a chance to reassess where I am at, maybe slow down, maybe go invisible, maybe survive.

On a side note:

Invisibility does not equal death!

I lol when I pop invis and the Omen watchers panic cause I am not on the list anymore. Yes death is a quick way to drop aggro, but invisibilty is preferable, even to me. The number of times when a fight is tight and I hear people screaming because we are down to 1 good dps (+the rest of them), and it all looks doomed… But I am excited, I’m popping trinkets etc cause the mob is in it’s last 20% and that means blasting time.. so I need to shed the aggro to give me a window.

Off Mage Class, but relevant – Hunter Feign death.

Use it, use it as much as you want, just don’t wait to use it. Cause when that mob peels off the tank to hit you, and you go tricky nighty night, the mob looks around, licks it’s lips and says “Gnome I’m coming for you now”

AoE Spam – Yeah, I know I am going to die….

Mages wield the elements of fire, frost, and the arcane to destroy or neutralize their enemies. They are a robed class that excels at dealing massive damage from afar, casting elemental bolts at a single target, or raining destruction down upon their enemies in a wide area of effect.

Yeah, I know I am going to die…. (didn’t I just say that… well worth repeating), but here’s an idea. If a tank is the tank for single target damage, let me be the tank for AoE damage (pre-arranged of course).

Q. Why?
A. Cause I want the bubbles, shields and heals all to myself! (Actually I always want that, but during AoE, I love it).

You see if all the “bubbles” and heals are on me, and I am doing the majority of the damage, then no one else needs a heal or a bubble. I will have the undivided attention of the mobs. I wont need to cast the mana sucking Mana Shield (once described somewhere as the best debuff you can get – if only you could cast it on an opponent)

Next point is… You let the tank get aggro right? Well then let me get in a hit to two 1st.

I like to start with a Flamestrike. If the mobs stay in the one place (usually a pally tanking, or I have frost nova’d them etc.), then they get the benefit of the DoT associated with Flamestrike – assuming they stay put. The other thing is it is going to take me 3 seconds to cast that. So if you come in with your instant or shorter cast spell too, guess where the mobs are going… you! Guess who’s got the bubble… me! Guess who’s going to die… yep you, and probably a few of the healers too.

So either wait until you see the big explosion, or time your cast to drop just after mine.

When we do damage.

All the time of course, but the last 20% is special for us.

Increases damage of all spells against targets with less than 20% health by 20%.

OK, so assuming we have been good and maintained the scorch debuff, have our trinkets and combustion ready, now is the time that we make the previous damage in the fight look weak.

• Often if a Fire Mage appears to be under performing, it’s because they died before this point.
• Of course we need to make sure we have a nice threat ceiling, have mana etc – but assuming we are ready this is where we really shine – or explode.
• Now if this moment in time can be combined with a Curator’s evocate (a stretch I know) or other damaging increasing moments that some mobs have… well…

I love the smell of napalm in the morning, night and noon!

OK, final point…

Invisiblity – It’s great 100% aggro drop – if I don’t do anything for 5 seconds (running like the chicken pet I have is OK), don’t get AoE’d, don’t get healed don’t get anything… leave me a lone for 5 seconds OK?

Fades the caster to invisibility over 5 sec, reducing threat each second. The effect is cancelled if you perform or receive any actions. While invisible, you can only see other invisible targets and those whom can see invisible.

• From memory I am out of combat at that point too, so I could theoretically sit down and have a BBQ.. not that there is ever time for it… but I could.
• So don’t panic if I disappear of your threat meter, but feel free to suggest 3 seconds before it’s too late that I should dump a bit of threat, and try and keep the mobs away from me for 3-5 seconds.
• Ohh and I can’t see the mobs while I am invisible (apart from those also invisible), but I can see you – so if you need me to move somewhere, don’t say behind x mob, say come to freddy.

OK, and one last joke that Mages like to pull on the unsuspecting….

You know, we just had a tough pull, party wiped, we are all eating, drinking, buffing when you see the Mage leap to his feet scream “Leeerrroooyyyy” and run into the room full of mobs.

1. Never chase and idiot into a room full of mobs,
2. The mage is probably invisible and just having a lend of you.. notice the mobs aren’t hitting the mage for a change… I guess they can’t see him!

Gnomer and Out!