◊ manly

Spell Penetration is quite simple. Most mobs, and I mean literally 99%+ of mobs, have 'none'. None that can be mitigated by any mechanic available (except for possible bugs). This is quite easy to test and prove by casting a ton of spells without COE, and then cast with COE (looking only at the different in amount/total of partials, not the actual damage increase). You notice quite fast that repeating the tests over and over the results are pretty much the same as flipping coins. This pretty much indicates that there are no results. Of course, on very extensive tests you won't see any real gain from it.

It comes into play on mobs having innate resists. The classic example is supremus, which has roughly 200 FR. But theres also illidari council that puts a buff from time to time increasing magic resistance. There are a few examples but they are really few and far between. For the most part, its never going to affect your gearing decisions, or spec. It might however affect your play. For example, on our early illidari council kills I was trying to save my movements/evocations (if applicable) and scorches when the buff was up rather than when its not. But again, to my knowledge, its the only raid boss having a buff applying spell resistance (rather than spell mitigation dampen magic style), so really its the one and only time it applied. There was also the ghosts in karazhan that did that.

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bug Arcane Potency only applies to the first Arcane Missile bolt.

 

Roywyn

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.

The Blue Bar and you - the complete Fire Mage 2.4 mana compendium: http://elitistjerks.com/658230-post3191.html

DPS spec and class comparison in Naxxramas gear: http://code.google.com/p/simulationc...i/SampleOutput

And [Timbal's Focusing Crystal] doesn't proc on AM.
Neither does [The Egg of Mortal Essence] since 3.1.

 

◊ manly

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.

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bug Arcane Potency only applies to the first Arcane Missile bolt.

 

Prandur

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

 

Prandur

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?

 

Saphya

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...

 

Kyriani

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

 

Thalur

It's just like that on live right now, with resto shaman's Tidal Force. You can use a macro

/cast Nature's Swiftness
/cast Tidal Force
/cast Healing Wave

but if you try to use Tidal Force before Nature's Swiftness, the cast will fail. Makes no sense at all.

 

Zaldinar

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

To truly model the game, we first must research it.
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...icId=109841969
Proven TheoryCrafting Stuff, chain casting in a PTR near you soon.

 

Roywyn

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.

The Blue Bar and you - the complete Fire Mage 2.4 mana compendium: http://elitistjerks.com/658230-post3191.html

DPS spec and class comparison in Naxxramas gear: http://code.google.com/p/simulationc...i/SampleOutput

And [Timbal's Focusing Crystal] doesn't proc on AM.
Neither does [The Egg of Mortal Essence] since 3.1.

 

Doroteasenjk

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.

 

Prandur

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.).

 

Dargonai

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?

 

Flitwik

The high crit value of FFB, you may find it very well explained in this thread after a fast research.
Empowered Fire applys also the FFB

 

Vand1

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?

 

Niv

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.

 

Vand1

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.

 

Niv

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

 

Bulgarth

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.

 

Searix

A few notes i've been musing about-

Fingers of Frost currently works like frostbite, different than what that mage forum/blue post said. You can DEFINATELY shatter combo FoF (Frostbolt, Frostbolt+Ice Lance/Brain Freeze) atm. Whether Ice Lance (and Fireball?) scales enough is another question

To or not to: Saving Brain Freeze for FoF
For the life of me i cannot decide here, it seems like when i need it up for FoF it's never up, but conversely its up and i save it it keeps reproccing.

It's a sizeable dps increase over ice lance when you use it to combo as 0/10/51.

Proccing Scorch+Hot Streak
I cannot for the life of me get the beneficial aspect of this to work (forgive me if i misunderstood you manly), and i cannot say that i really ever lose ignite ticks to fireball+pyro anymore

 

Lemming

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.

 

◊ manly

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.

Log on with different model:
1- Create a character of the desired model. Log on/off.
2- At character selection screen, select your actual character; mouseover the new, desired model character, and hold down left click; hit enter and release left click at the same time.
bug Arcane Potency only applies to the first Arcane Missile bolt.

 

alia

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.

 

◊ manly

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'.

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bug Arcane Potency only applies to the first Arcane Missile bolt.

 

Celani

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.