Back to the specs for Fire Mage's, I've been enjoying this build here, and can't really see the benefit from adding more into arcane concentration. I also am focusing on more single target DPS, with improved flamestrike for the situational needs of Aoe.


Talents & Glyphs - Game - World of Warcraft



What do you guys think of this build? Would you use it for raiding? I'm doing my first tomorrow for cataclysm.

Another anecdotal experience with SMF: I converted after giving up on finding heroic 2h (40+ runs, 1 drop, taken by a hunter). My DPS immediately went up, but I am assuming it's purely because I am using heroic 1h vs 333/316 2h. Until I can get in some tests with 2h of the same ilvl, it's hard to make true comparisons. However, because of the faster weapons, the somewhat generalized rage generation, and the increased haste from 2xHurricanes, i'm almost always rage capped with an average of 349 ilvl.

I can't wait to start getting better gear/weapons, as I feel our dps is going to scale dramatically well, as it has in the past.

Trying to just get back into the game, and figure out how to play again. I haven't done any kind of testing and am just spouting some hypotheticals here, but has anyone explored what it would mean to put your spillover points into BM rather than MM? I know MM has always been the "other tree" for BM and SV in the past, but consider...

Marksmanship
2 - GFTT (10 petfocus per autoshot critical)
3 - Efficiency (-6 focus cost on Explosive Shot and -3 on Arcane)
2 - Sic 'Em! (Free "basic" pet attack after Explosive or Arcane crit)
2 - Careful Aim (+30% crit on Cobra for first 20% of fight)
1 - ??? (ISS, BD, OWN)

Beast Mastery
3 - Bestial Discipline (+30% petfocus regen)
2 - One With Nature (+20% AoH bonus)
3 - Frenzy (+30% pet attack speed)
2 - ??? (IMP, GFTT, finish OWN)


I don't know how the damage from the pet breaks down, and exactly where it comes from in terms of auto vs "basic." However, I'm going to assume (almost assuredly incorrectly) that GFTT and BD have roughly the same net effect on the pet in an either/or situation. If that is indeed the case, how valuable is Frenzy? Earlier in the thread, 26thraider suggested pet damage is around 16% of overall, and +30% of that is an overall 4.8% increase. Of course, that's neglecting the fact that not all pet damage is hasted, but even at halfway that would be 2.4%, which isn't terrible...at least as good as Careful Aim's effective 6% increase on Cobra Shot. I doubt the AoH bonus from OWN stacks up to Efficiency, but if those two loose points are redirected into GFTT for a 8/2/31 build, can a pet with Wild Hunt drain the incoming focus quickly enough, and if so how good is all this?

Obviously, I need to download some DPS tracking mods and get some numbers of my own, since this is all completely out of my butt and loaded with assumptions and oversimplifications at this point, but is there any merit in pursuing this line of reasoning? Is there any reason why the prevailing trend I've seen so far here has been to go full marks on the spillover, when most of the meaningful marks points end up focusing on the pet as well?

Random thought that may seem kinda stupid, but would there be any gain in gemming mastery anywhere? I have noticed that the more HoL procs, the more I can swipe away with a TV -> Filler -> TV -> TV type of rotation depending on where my HoPo is at the time. Subsequently at this time I do notice more of a climb in my dps and damage done even when Inq and Zeal drop off. So seemingly logically wouldn't gemming/reforging mastery up to a certain point be beneficial for dps increase? Or are we operating off the assumption that Post T11/T12 gear will give us enough mastery that we can just avoid that mechanic for now?

I haven't really calculated anything out, but it's just something I noticed when watching my meters at times in dungeons/raids that I was curious about.

I have to agree that the Fear glyph is a huge required glyph. However, I need to find a macro to stop autocasting firebolt on my fear target, aside from using passive and auto assigning him to do so.

Hard Casting Soulfire? Honestly I feel like such a noob for using my old rotation from WotLK..I'm going to test this priority system when I get home.

Thanks for the guide.

edited for typo

Since Cata has came out any word on a Shockadin spec?

It's actually the other way around, Epidemic would be a far better place to pull points since it only gives you an extra 8 seconds when you have to waste a Unholy rune on a Plague Strike.

While, if used correctly, BT should give you at least 2 free Obliterates, possibly 3 or 4 depending on RE procs and usage, every 30 seconds.

Alright, I know better than to post here without having some actual hard evidence. Downloaded recount and got to work. My gear is terrible, and so is my shot pattern, but it should be equally bad regardless of the configuration.

I started off with a basic 31-point Surv build with no talents. I then ran 3 test runs with a marks build (1/9/31) and then one with a BM build (9/1/31). Both builds had 1 into each focus-gaining talent. The pet was still always starved, at about 20% hunter crit. Pet was ferocity (cat).


6720 = 5834 + 890 none
29.7% Explosive
29.7% Cobra
19.3% Auto
11.3% Serpent
08.8% Black Arrow
69.8% Melee
30.2% Claw

7800 = 6742 + 1058 MM (no LnL for long time)
38.3% Cobra
25.3% Explosive
16.0% Auto
10.0% Serpent
08.4% BA
60.3% Melee
39.7% Claw

8006 = 6878 + 1128 MM
34.5% Cobra
29.5% Explosive
16.1% Auto
10.4% Serpent
06.7% BA
56.5% Melee
43.5% Claw

8058 = 7029 + 1029 MM
38.1% Cobra
25.9% Explosive
15.9% Auto
10.5% Serpent
06.7% BA
56.7% Melee
43.3% Claw

7512 = 6279 + 1233 BM (minimal LnL)
30.5% Cobra
30.0% Explosive
18.9% Auto
10.6% Serpent
09.0% BA
66.0% Melee
34.0% Claw

7690 = 6397 + 1293 BM
31.3% Cobra
30.7% Explosive
17.9% Auto
11.1% Serpent
08.3% BA
65.4% Melee
34.6% Claw

7533 = 6428 + 1105 BM
32.0% Cobra
29.6% Explosive
16.9% Auto
11.7% Serpent
09.0% BA
66.7% Melee
33.3% Claw

Avg explosive (on BM run #3) 3675 x3 = 11025
Cobra Shot 4273
Auto 2343
Serpent 1491
BA 2426
Melee 783
Claw 1166



At first glance it would seem that the advantage goes to the marks build, but this was against a training dummy, which is perpetually at 100% health. I wish I had looked at average shot damage during each run, but there shouldn't be any real reason why the damage was skewed in favor of Cobra during the marks runs unless we're getting an effect from Careful Aim. So CA was basically having about 5x the effect that it would normally. Since two of the runs were 38% dmg from Cobra, removing the CA portion of the damage would leave it as 29.2% damage base, and thus more like 31% actualized damage. In other words, those figures are skewed high strictly because of Careful Aim. The third run with the 8058 would actually be about 500 less when we fix that.

So my first test on the training dummy is pretty inconclusive. Maybe someone else who is more consistent and/or with better gear could try. These weren't highly controlled samples, although I would argue they were controlled "enough."

So can someone here tell me what the priority timeline is for the boomkin stats?

I want to know because im having trouble deciding between [Helm of the Typhonic Beast] and [Helm of Temperance]

-- Is 158 mastery > than 158 crit?

Which is the higher priority?

@Arcazua

The big deal with the MM talents is that it helps out your shots. Elemental shots get the bonus of crit AND mastery, where as your pets attacks only get the benefit of crit. Efficiency and Careful Aim are HUGE dps buffs, those 2 alone are worth dabbling into the MM tree for and there is not a BM equivalent.

There are 2 new enchanting pets, the Magic Lamp (Alliance) and the Enchanted Lantern (Horde). It's just come into my mind that although the recipe is only for 1 faction, the pet can be put into the neutral AH...and maybe sold for much more for the other faction.
Too bad I'm not an Enchanter. Has someone tried this yet? if yes, please comment.