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Beta, level cap 30 · data read 13 Oct

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Fire Mage guide

Ranged DPS · our guide of 13 Oct 2026 Recommendation

Talent trees, every tier list's rating and the sim: the Fire tab.

In short

  • A ranged caster built on crits: at 5 of 5, Ignite makes a Fire crit burn the target for 40% of that spell's damage over 4 sec. Sourced: Talent database
  • Number 12 of 20 damage specs in our newest sim run, at 691 DPS. Sourced: Sim · 11 Oct run
  • Combustion, back to 3 charges since 1 Oct: each Fire damage spell that hits adds 10% to your Fire crit chance, until 3 direct Fire crits. Sourced: Talent database, Dev notes · 1 Oct
  • Weak spot while leveling: Combustion and Fire Power sit at the bottom of the tree, out of reach until well past level 30.

How it plays

Up to level 30. Fireball, Fire Blast on cooldown or to finish, and your wand when you're low on mana; Flamestrike and Arcane Explosion on packs. Improved Fireball and Ignite come first, then Impact, which gives Fire spells a chance to stun for 2 sec. At 30 the build adds Pyroblast, Burning Soul, Heating Up and Master of Elements, and your 21st point buys Critical Mass. Heating Up: when Fireball, Frostfire Bolt, Fire Blast or Scorch lands a direct crit, your next Pyroblast within 20 sec has 25% less cast time per stack, up to 3 stacks. Wake of Fire's buff lasts 30 sec since 24 Sep, so chain your pulls.

Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep, Talent database Source pending

At level 60. Theory Scorch five times for Improved Scorch's stacks if no other Fire Mage does it: each stack makes the target take 3% more Fire damage from you. Then Fireball, Pyroblast with Heating Up, Fire Blast while moving, and Combustion with your trinkets. Fire Power adds 10% Fire damage, and Blast Wave hits every enemy in the blast and dazes them for 6 sec.

Sourced: Talent database Source pending

Talents at a glance

  • Level 20: Improved Fireball 5, Ignite 5, Impact 1

    Improved Fireball + Ignite is the damage; one point of Impact (row 2 at 5).

    Recommendation · See the trees · Open in the calculator

  • Level 30: Improved Fireball 5, Ignite 5, Impact 3, Pyroblast 1, Burning Soul 2, Heating Up 1, Master of Elements 3, Critical Mass 1

    Pyroblast (row 3 at 10), Heating Up (row 4 at 15, requires Pyroblast), Master of Elements for mana, then Critical Mass with the 21st point (row 5 at 20).

    Recommendation · See the trees · Open in the calculator

  • Level 60: Improved Fireball 5, Incineration 3, Ignite 5, Impact 3, Flame Throwing 2, Pyroblast 1, Burning Soul 2, Heating Up 1, Master of Elements 3, Improved Scorch 3, Critical Mass 3, Blast Wave 1, Fire Power 5, Combustion 1, Arcane Focus 5, Arcane Concentration 5, Arcane Impact 3

    Combustion requires Critical Mass 3/3; Fire Power 5/5; Improved Scorch to stack the debuff; Blast Wave for packs. Arcane: Arcane Focus (hit), Arcane Concentration (Clearcasting), Arcane Impact.

    Theory · See the trees · Open in the calculator

Rotation at level 30

Recommendation

Single target

Open with Pyroblast from range, Fireball.

  1. Fireball
  2. Heating Up procs, then instant Pyroblast (the talent formerly called Hot Streak)
  3. Fire Blast
  4. Scorch to stack Fire Vulnerability

Groups

  • Flamestrike
  • Blast Wave later
  • Arcane Explosion

Tips

Heating Up buff lasts 20 sec (24 Sep).

Ignite no longer double-dips % modifiers.

Stats

Each guide's stat order as it gives it, the sim's stat weights, then ours. Guides dated before the last big tuning are shown but not counted.

One guideOnly one guide ranks the stats.

WhereStat order
Guide · 24 Sep PvE, level 30 · read 12 Oct · dated before 1 Oct, not countedHit › Spell power › Crit › Spirit › Intellect › Stamina › Mana per 5 sec
Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctHit › Spell power › Spirit › Intellect › Crit › Stamina
Guide · 9 Oct leveling, level 30 · read 12 OctNot ranked
Sim · stat weights level 60 · run 12 Oct, 5,000 iterations

Per 1%: Spell crit 6.91 tied with Spell hit 6.72 › Spell casting speed 4.97

Per point: Spell damage 0.542 tied with Fire spell damage 0.542 › Intellect 0.122 › Spirit 0.0341

No DPS change in this run: Mana every 5 sec, Mana, Arcane spell damage, Frost spell damage, Spell penetration.

The DPS each stat adds, for a level-60 character on the engine's preset gear in a 2-minute fight on a beta engine: a direction, not a verdict. = marks a tie: stats within each other's margin. Not counted toward "Guides agree".

Our order matches the sim's lists for the stats both name.

Ours RecommendationFire spell power › Hit › Spell crit › Intellect › Spirit

Where ours differs: ours puts Spell crit before Intellect and Spirit, which the guide ranks higher; ours puts Fire spell power before Hit, which the guide ranks higher; ours puts Intellect before Spirit, which the guide ranks higher.

Race

Each guide's race picks for Fire, then our pick for the Mage.

Alliance

  • Guide · 24 Sep PvE, level 30 · read 12 Oct · dated before 1 Oct, not countedNot given
  • Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctNot given
  • Guide · 9 Oct leveling, level 30 · read 12 OctGnome
  • Ours, for the Mage RecommendationGnome S

Horde

  • Guide · 24 Sep PvE, level 30 · read 12 Oct · dated before 1 Oct, not countedNot given
  • Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctNot given
  • Guide · 9 Oct leveling, level 30 · read 12 OctTroll, Orc
  • Ours, for the Mage RecommendationUndead S

Professions

One guideOnly one guide names professions.

  • Guide · 24 Sep PvE, level 30 · read 12 Oct · dated before 1 Oct, not countedEngineering, Tailoring, Herbalism, Alchemy
  • Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctEngineering, Tailoring
  • Guide · 9 Oct leveling, level 30 · read 12 OctNot given
  • Ours, for the Mage RecommendationTailoring + Enchanting; or Herbalism + Alchemy

What changed for Fire

  • 8 Oct: Frostbolt and Fireball ranks 1–5 and Arcane Missiles ranks 1–3 retuned so each new rank is an upgrade; Impact no longer procs from Flamestrike's damage over time.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 8 Oct

  • 1 Oct: Hot Streak renamed Heating Up (same talent, trees and builds here use the new name); Combustion back to 3 charges (was 4); Improved Scorch's Fire Vulnerability no longer double-rolls resistance; Winter's Chill no longer rolls resistance; scrolls can't be cast while moving.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 1 Oct

  • Arcane Missiles checks line of sight once at the start of the channel.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep

  • Fire: Wake of Fire buff 30 sec (was 20 sec), since the shorter buff was hard to use well while leveling; Hot Streak buff 20 sec (was 15 sec); Ignite no longer double-dips % modifiers.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep

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