Spell Penetration

99% useless, as has been said before. When a mob actually has innate resists, it's generally the best choice to:
a) Put up Curse of Elements
b) Respec or Sit
c) Use a spell penetration gear set.

More or less in that order. It's generally dumb design though as it forces you to use warlocks.

Then again, it didn't prevent them making Sapphiron immune to a Death Knight Main Tank.
Or advertising Fire as "the AoE spec" when the only T7 fight where AoE matters (Sartharion) is against fire immunes.


I actually had my [Vestments of the Aldor] gemmed with spell penetration and [Ruby Drape of the Mysticant] enchanted it to use on Supremus/Winterchill (my +hit cloak to make up for the loss of +hit on the chest).
I forgot about it after the first few kills though.

I remember our shadowpriest hearthing after a few Illidari Council pulls to get some spell penetration PvP pieces from his bank.


Mirror Image GCD

I just checked it in game - Mirror Image triggers a GCD on everything that does not have a GCD.
Icy Veins, Cold Snap, Counterspell, Trinket, Lifeblood (the herbalism HoT). Those went on a GCD when activating Mirror Image.

Other instant or cast time spells were not affected.

So, to be precise:
The MI GCD is not on instants per se, but on things that are off of the GCD.
Only on those, and and all of them.

I'm not sure whats the point of that design. Pop all non-GCD stuff before MI, then activate MI ? Theres like no downside at all.

It's more likely to be a bug/oversight than a design decision.

Haven't seen this reported here: there will be no new wizard oils in Wotlk.

source: WotLK Beta (US-English) Forums -> Where are the sharpening stones?

In that thread someone says "You can't apply the old world items to your weapons at level 80, so there will be no need to farm them. " which means you can probably stop farming those weapon oils from scourge invasion now, assuming this poster is right. Now, if only that post showed up a couple days earlier...

Not just that... the existing oils will not work on lvl 80 items

Interestingly (or oddly, depending on your perspective) enough, the MI GCD on non-gcd spells is also unmodified by haste.

WotLK Beta (US-English) Forums -> Mirror Image Triggers a Cooldown On CS

Focus Magic Circle Jerk

You can properly do that now.
With 2 mages, they can cast Focus Magic on each other and they each get 6% crit (assuming they crit every 10 seconds).

In particular, you have 2 buffs called Focus Magic on you. One 30m buff, and one 10s buff.

Just tested it in beta with 2 mages.


Mirror Image

As for the Mirror Image GCD - probably a bug when they tried to take it off GCD.
There could be a reason for a GCD to limit burst since the 3 adds cast 3 Fire Blasts the moment they spawn, but it isn't relly game breaking burst.

Oddly enough, when I tried to put wizard oil on my [Scryer's Blade of Focus] in beta a couple of weeks ago, it told me that the weapon level was too high. I haven't run an instance since then (nor upgraded my weapon), so I just wrote it off as a bug.

has anyone actually tested any of the scourge invasion oils though? I wouldn't be surprised if they were an exception, seeing how they were reintroduced just now and that they can only be attained for a short period of time. Other seasonal buffs also seem to stack with everything, ignoring rules (mistletoe, halloween candies etc.).

So correct me if I'm wrong for assuming this, but was the current top realistic spec on the scoreboard, this one:

http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?mage...00000000000000

Created under the idea that our main nuke is going to be frostfire bolt? And if so, how does the increase in cast time (FFB having a higher cast time with no equivalent talent in comparison to Improved Fireball or Improved Frostbolt) equate to higher DPS? Sorry, I'm new to all this theorycrafting stuff but it just confuses me a little bit.

Also, why does this same spec have points in Dragon's Breath and Blast Wave considering the general consensus that AOE damage is useless in boss fights, and in AOE fights Blast Wave is all but useless now thanks to the new knockback effect?

I never did get a beta account, but several weeks ago on the PTR, I noticed that I could not apply [Superior Wizard Oil] to my [Grand Magister's Staff of Torrents]; it game me the "weapon is too high level" error. I believe that was announced by Blizzard as a known bug, and sure enough, when the patch went live, the oil works fine on my staff (heh). So I wonder if you're referring to that earlier bug, because the staff is a higher ilvl than the blade.

Assuming that the oils continue working as they do now on lvl 70 items, I wonder how much extra life that will give to some of the better lvl 70 weapons?

FFB has the same cast time as an Improved Fireball. You could take points out of DB and BW though and fill out World in Flames. I'm assuming with that spec blizzard would be the preferred aoe anyways.

Do we know yet whether LB or CS (for double IV) would be better for a FFB spec? Going to CS would also allow a couple more frost points to pick up things like shatter and 1/3 imp blizzard.

I believe LB is decidedly better than CS for a FFB build.

It is. With current LB specs, the dot is doing 8% of my overall damage and the final tick is doing about 5% of my damage, equating to 13 to 14% of my overall damage just from that one spell. That's much more of a percentage then what CS would give you for the extra IV.

Last time I did OS, the adds weren't immune to fire. Unless they have changed it from a month or so ago, they most definitely aren't immune.

It was more an off-the-book idea rather than an actual suggestion. If ignite munching is prevalent, the theory was that maybe it would be better off scorching/hot streak so as to avoid ignite munching, under the idea that you take advantage of incinerate while you were at it. Problem is, after I suggested that they released the glyph of fireball, which made it far less interesting.

As you noted, it seems I am getting far less ignite munching than I used to, I wouldn't really consider it.

Frostbite is a player debuff and is broken upon spell hit. Spell damage, as everyone knows, is calculated on spell cast, so if you cast two spells while frostbite is still up on a target, both of them will get the "shatter" bonus, regardless of whether or not frostbite is still active on the target when those spells land.

FoF is a player buff and is consumed upon spell cast. Players are able to quickly squeeze in an extra ice lance or any other instant on the second charge, but the ability to do so is somewhat lag related and could possibly be considered an exploit. Being able to do this hasn't (to the best of my knowledge) been acknowledged as intended or not.

The main issue is, however, your second point, and the answer is that it doesn't at all (ice lance), especially now since ice lance can no longer proc Fingers of Frost nor, more recently, brain freeze.

ibr: I'm able to consistently "shatter combo" an extra ice lance off my second FoF charge on ~200 latency. Some players, especially those on higher latencies, are unable to do so.

Theres a difference between how things should be, how we expect them to behave, and how it actually works.

Searix usually work from the 'how it actually works' angle whereas you work from the 'how we expect things to behave'.

I just ran a check of the spell power weapons, and if you have a Sunflare, it may well last until a Naxx weapon. ToC and the staves can be replaced earlier, at level 78, if you are willing to enchant a 78 blue.

Kirin Tor Reputation at Revered grants you the [Flameheart Spell Scalpel] which even with no enchant, ends up slightly superior to the Sunflare.