Hello there! I’ve never leveled a mage higher than like level 30, but now want to immerse myself into the class. All three of its specs sound interesting but I was wondering what the differences were? Are they different playstyles? I’m trying to find the right spec for me so any help is much appreciated!
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Fire is bursty, combustion go boom boom, very mobile and casts spells during casting spells.
Frost is sustained dmg, lots of slows and roots and great aoe.
Arcane is somewhere in the middle of both, likes to plant when casting from range and does its best aoe in melee.
Would it be viable this expansion to just play all 3 specs or is it too expensive with the legendaries? All three have 3 different covenants, too. I suppose it’d be best to focus on just one, eh?
It has been an expansion where top mages has played all 3. Arcane is hard locked on kyrian now but frost and fire will be venthyr for raiding and night fae for dungeons.
Personally I play fire for raid mainly but can use frost for 2 target cleave or funnel. In dungeons I use frost more but still use fire on bad tyran dungeons or smaller pull dungeon like top where ST dmg is more important. Its a common thing now in places like DoS for mages to play frost for most the dungeon then port out and switch to fire for the last boss or 2.
O and as a twist any raid encounter that are 2-3 target cleave the whole time necro frost is best lol. So yeah, there’s no easy answer if your playing it seriously. If it’s not a main necro is the most fun 
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Venthyr Arcane is great as well.
It’s far from being the best but I am having fun as necro so far if that’s worth anything
The difference in damage between kyrian and venthyr is pretty massive atm and it seems to be getting bigger in 9.2.
https://toegrinder.github.io/mage-compendium/sims?graphs=ptr_soulbinds
toe’s sims arent accurate for 9.1.5 currently, venthyr will beat kyrian by up to ~150 dps in pure single target damage. with additional targets kyrian will catch up and pull ahead
you are right about 9.2, as soon as kyrian gets access to their legendary they will in tun beat venthyr by 1-200 in pure single target and massively in mixed situations
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According to this, that’s not true for 9.1.5: https://www.simulationcraft.org/reports/T27_Raid.html
It might be in 9.2, but the smallest amount of venthyr legendary buff could make it stronger so I have some hope.
As soon as double Legendaries are out yeah Kyrian will be the clear favorite. With just the tier set available Venthyr should be stronger than Kyrian.
I would not play venthyr fire unless you’re masochistic.
Uh… I like Venthyr fire. The rotation feels smoother than nf imo and double leggo it’ll be even better.
The venthyr signature ability doesn’t fit the rotation at all and the procs can really screw you. The nf ability fits way better (even with skb, just need to know how to play with it).
But sure, it is subjective. I wouldn’t say that it objectively fits the rotation very well though.
You have to hold it for 30ish secs but you just cast it before combustion or the mini bust before the big bust, use a fireblast during it if your at max stacks. Stopping between combustions to cast SP feels strange to me especially if I’m trying to get the next combustion going before a pyroclasm or SKB proc expires. It feels restrictive compared to venthyr to me. They will both feel better in 9.2 anyway with the covenant leggos.
Edit: talking soley about skb rotation, I prefer SP with Discapliary Command.
Actually just tried Necrolord Arcane Mage. It satisfied me. Especially for raids and big bosses, another big burst window coming from Necrolord is pretty good. You can extends skeletal form’s duration 12 extra seconds and almost you can open a burst window every 20-25 secs in raids. I am not a mage expert but imo, Necrolord is good for pvp too. I always like the idea of stacking shields 
I like necro fire mage in m+, lining it with IQD for a megabustion every 3 mins with a lesserbustion in between, super fun. Double leggo necro sims highest for frost but there are concerns about its mobility.
If you fleshcraft, you can stand in stuff instead of moving!
I’ve just started immersing myself in mage myself. Here’s what I’ve learned so far:
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Frost has great crowd control. There’s some pretty good burst there, but most of the time you’ll be slowing stuff and just standing there casting frostbolt to generate icicles.
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Fire is extremely mobile. Assuming you have the talent, you get 3 fire blasts and 3 phoenix flames. Scorch can be cast while moving (and with a talent increase your speed after casting it). With combustion things just melt.
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Arcane is better at surviving imho. You have alter time, temporal shield (pvp), permanent slows on enemies. It’s more mobile than Frost, but not as bursty as Fire, so Minnji was right in saying they are in the middle.
Please note that I’m not end game mage, and this information is just based on my levelling experience. I found levelling the fire mage was easiest, though I had to take that talent I’ve never seen anyone use that blasts enemies back and slows them by 70%. If you get swarmed, it gives you enough time to start bursting them down one by one.
Between that, nova, poly, dragon’s breath and the speed boost from Scorch, you’ve got some decent CC and mobility.
I’ve been using it in wpvp, and there wasn’t many people who could survive 10 seconds of combustion.
I’m still a little confused about fire’s AOE rotation. Flamestrike just feels really, really weak. I usually find it more efficient to throw out pyroblasts and just single target everything while kiting, making sure to nova and breath when they get too close.
Overall, I found all the specs pretty enjoyable. I liked Arcane the most, but I find myself playing fire because it just kills stuff way faster xD
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