I Don't Want to Play Fire

Classes Mage
1

Good day or evening, readers. I have created this post to express a gripe I continuously keep facing - directly and indirectly - when confessing even the smallest problems I may face when playing as an Arcane Mage (or when others do). It is to be told to press N, and respec to Fire.

I must quickly add that yes, I do have a guild, and my guildies are not in any way complacent in this. The issue is not LFG PuGs either, as I do not play much in endgame group content. It is other social spaces, such as Discord servers, or forums elsewhere.

No, I do not want to play Fire. Yes, the damage is great. Yes, there are some really good Talents and Conduits. Yes, Minute Mage exists. Yes, it provides everything - more mobility, double the damage, big numbers. Yes, it is doing the best, especially after the disastrous near-last-minute Frost nerfs.

But there is one thing it does not give. Fun, to me. Thirty minutes on a target dummy, and I was simply exhausted and bored. Frustrations could build up when I wanted an instant cast but my critical hits failed to satisfy. Too many abilities, especially on AoE - Phoenix Flames Ignite spread is so wonky. I could not see myself micro-managing simple class/spec gameplay in content that is hard as is.

This is not to disregard the fact that there are people who exist who enjoy Fire. The visuals are amazing, as a side note. But, to dismiss those playing a “non-meta” specialization in a pure DPS class especially - such as Survival Hunters - as those who hinder their groups and their own numbers by not simply respeccing, is to forget the fact that WoW is a game. A game to have fun in. No, having fun is not saying every few minutes - “I am having so much fun!!” Having fun in a game is snuggling up in your seat, and effortlessly and comfortably playing the content you want to see and experience.

Thirty minutes told me all, that I did not want to multispec as I thought I would. Thirty minutes told me that no, Fire is just not for me, and even if I tout myself as an altaholic and versatile player, I am not going to force myself into it. And thirty minutes told me that, unless close friends of mine asked me of it, I will not push even moderately high content as it.

Thanks for taking time out to read this.

36 Likes
2

Amen to that!

3 Likes
3

“I could not see myself micro-managing simple class/spec gameplay in content that is hard as is.”

As a frost its exactly how I felt when I tried fire.It feels awkward to play compared to frost.

3 Likes
4

Well, this exactly how it feels for all beloved “non-fire” mages we have out there.
I totaly agree with you. We got ditched and Blizzard plays “i’m retard” card - completly blind to the facts of current class spec balance state :frowning:

3 Likes
5

I also don’t really like playing fire, unfortunately i kinda have to but oh well.

I agree with so much in this post, ignite change was an absolute killer and it’s just not the same spec as it was with lucid dreams and bracers.

However i will say that 30 min on target dummy is a really bad meassure of whether you enjoy fire mage. I hated it aswell, but after playing it in m+ and learning it i have come to like it overall, despite it having aspects i really don’t like.

Try playing arcane or frost for 30 min on target dummy and see if you aren’t bored out of your mind in 1 min.

1 Like
6

I have been maining Arcane since its lowest point in BfA - I subscribed to legitimate WoW only in June or so, and Arcane was the specialization I got attracted to extremely swiftly - and I genuinely enjoyed it. I have dabbled in other classes such as Priests, Druids and what have you, but few things made me as drawn away from them as Fire and Monk as a whole did. Again, this is not to throw shade on players of these specializations, or even these specializations themselves - but I rely very greatly on first impressions. I really did not feel like doing a Keystone as Fire just to be sure of my apprehensions. I agree, 30 minutes on a target dummy are not enough to judge a specialization. And that is exactly what I seek to express in my post. I do not want to play Fire. I want to stick with my convictions and discomfort. I do not want to go with something I am unsure of playing just because a PuG told me to re-roll. I don’t want to subject myself again to the frustrated learning curve when the core of the spec doesn’t appeal to me.

2 Likes
7

I like that post. I wanna point out that i respect every Specc and i dont want others to get nerfed just the bottom 5 to get buffed so the difference from Best to Worst specc is a little less segnificant.

4 Likes
8

Weirdly all casters stopped being fun to me this xpac. (Rip my warlock and mage)

2 Likes
9

Yeah fire might be crazy op currently, but I just don’t like the rotation so I’m going to continue playing frost because it’s what I enjoy. Hopefully changes will be made soon to help frost stay viable because the difference in dps is crazy :confused:

3 Likes
10

I leveled this Mage as an alt, since i was declined all the time with my warrior when i want to play 7 Keys an higher.

Its a fu***** joke, i got invites with no score or Ilvl on this Mage, so i was able to overcome my Warriors rio by 200 in just 2 Days.

When i was playing Mage last time in ICC, i really enjoyed the specc since combust was a mighty dot which you could spread all over the targets with fireblast.

The sustained damage was higher, the Mage didnt have this massive Burst.
One side i like Fire, on the other side i just dont like the Downtimes outside of combust. Its lame

3 Likes
11

ICC (wotlk) combust was not a dot, it was cooler than being a dot. Fire mage Dots in general were just stronger (Ignite for 40% of spell damage on crit; Living Bomb)

Combust dot became a thing in Cata, something which a despised and turned the class from a Direct damage nuclear bomb to an affliction warlock with a blink

1 Like
12

I really do not want to play fire either but it just spits out so much more damage compared to frost that it’s crazy
I just wish fire wasn’t the ONLY option every damn tier

2 Likes
13

You would rather play ICC Mage where you had only one button to press - Arcane Blast? Those were the times… :smiley: You could literally faceroll, like literally literally (bind all keys on keyboard to Arcane Blast), and be top DPS.

1 Like
14

Legion Arcane was fun.

8 Likes
15

Sounds great to me. Boss and raid mechanics are far more interesting than a complicated rotation.

1 Like
16

Its was AB AB AB AB AM, still very interesting :smiley:

17

Lol try BM

18

If you don’t want to play fire, then don’t play fire. You don’t sound like an end-game min maxer. Play what you like and move on.

1 Like
19

Thank you for stating exactly what I say to people who ask me to re-roll. :grinning:

2 Likes
20

LOL Mr obvious here.

Oh sure play what you want.It’s not like its gonna make trying to accomplish anything that much harder.You need to remember this is an mmo that relies on other ppl to progress and those ppl don’t give a damn about what you like to play.They see you in the “wrong spec” and insta booth most of the time.