Fire Mage Gearing Guide

As an experienced Fire Mage, you know that item level takes precedence over everything when it comes to gearing up. However, there is one exception – items with crit on them. In general, it’s best to avoid crit as a stat whenever possible. But don’t forget to simulate any item level upgrades you may come across.

Fire Mage Tier Set in 10.1

• 2-piece set bonus: Phoenix Flames applies Charring Embers to all enemies it damages. This debuff increases the damage taken from you by 6% for 12 seconds.
• 4-piece set bonus: When your direct damage spells hit an enemy affected by Charring Embers 20 times, the damage of your next 2 Phoenix Flames is increased by 200% and they refund a charge on use.

To make the most of our tier set, I highly recommend using a weak aura to track targets affected by our 2-piece set bonus, Charring Embers. This aura will essentially provide a 5% damage increase to every target affected by Phoenix Flames. You can find several helpful WeakAuras here.

Tier Set Thoughts and Conclusions

In my opinion, the Fire tier set is not the absolute best, but it’s definitely far from the worst. It does require a more active playstyle, as we need to press Phoenix Flames to apply the Charring Embers buff to our main target and ensure that we always have the damage modifier active. On the other hand, the 4-piece set bonus is more of a set-and-forget type. We need to use our normal rotation to hit the target with Charring Flames 20 times, activating our next 2 Phoenix Flames. These empowered spells deal 200% increased damage and refund a charge.

With the introduction of the From the Ashes talent, this rotation should feel less awkward as we will also regain a charge. The only thing we need to get used to is pressing Phoenix Flames every 12 seconds to maintain the Charring Embers buff. During my testing on PTR, I found that Ignite was affected by the 2-piece set bonus’ 6% damage buff. For example, if we use Combustion on a priority target and our Ignite cleaves to 8 other targets, they will also be subjected to the 2-piece 6% damage modifier.

Embellishments

There are a few embellishments that I recommend considering, in the following order:

1. 2x Shadowflame Tempered Armor Patch for raids with haste and mastery. Use them on any low piece of gear you have, such as boots or belt.
2. Shadowflame Tempered Armor Patch + Elemental Lariat Neck for Mythic+ dungeons with haste and mastery. Keep in mind that the lariat has lost some value due to nerfs and socket loss, but it’s still a solid option for fire mages.
3. Blue Silken Lining for a mastery buff while above 90% Health.
4. Potion Extender to increase potion duration by 50%. This is particularly strong in Mythic+ dungeons.
5. Alchemical Flavor Pocket is a “free” embellishment that allows us to keep our food buff through death. It’s very beneficial for both Mythic+ dungeons and raids.

Any combination of these embellishments can work, but note that Shadowflame is more suited for single-target encounters. Meanwhile, any combination can be effective in Mythic+ dungeons. For example, Potion Extender + Lariat / Blue Silken and Lariat or Potion Extender with all of the above options are all solid choices.

Trinkets

Here are some trinkets worth pursuing:

1. Spoils of Neltharus
2. Vessel of Searing Shadow
3. Ominous Chromatic Essence (choose haste or mastery as stats). This trinket becomes the best-in-slot if multiple people have it equipped with different stats, similar to the Icon trinket from the previous raid. Refer to the Method Oathstones guide for more information on how to obtain the desired stats from this trinket.
4. Irideus Fragment
5. Naraxas’ Spiked Tongue

Remember, these trinkets can greatly enhance your performance as a Fire Mage and should be a priority to obtain.