elementalist mage vs. shadow priest
just wanting to know which would be better for my alt tell pros, cons, and good builds for them.
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My vote is for the Elementalist Mage.
Considering Evocation and instant AE are trainable this upcoming patch, there is no reason to waste talents up the arcane tree IMO. Here is a PvP based Elementalist build that I plan on doing, not set in stone, but something I am considering, please give feedback. I wanted to have all the good burst damage abilities (Blastwave, CoC etc) while at the same time putting some points in stuns and snares (Impact, and Frostbite) Here's a link, check it out, and let me know what you think! http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/...03203102051300 |
I would have a hard time giving up POM though. It is so handy.
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The ability to spec half Fire/Frost while still being able to achieve Evocation and IAE is amazing for both PvP and PvE. The fact that you can achieve Ice Block to pick insane ammounts of damage, as well as having Blast Wave and other such talents from both trees is just awesome. I have a few reasons why I am a little hesitant to try an elementalist build: 1) No PoM (As Mazzlefizz stated) 2) No ICS (This is the biggest loss IMO) 3) Difficulty level in using both fire and frost effectively. So, if you are up for a new challenge, and ready to try and master the best of fire and frost, as well as have two of the best arcane talents at your disposal, I suggest trying an elementalist build next patch, it will be very powerful for both PvP and PvE. If anyone has any other elementalist builds or non elementalist builds with the redone talents, please link them here so we can discuss! -Rei |
Something I'm thinking of trying out:
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=RZxgGzccuZVA0corzo has nice things from both worlds, while still allowing u some versatility in what your doing. Also gives good options for what you want to do in raids, you get the increased dmg from Frostbolts, when fighting Fire immune mobs, and also get the ability to do rolling ignites with Fireball/Scorth |
[EDIT: just noticed this post is over 2 years old... oops!]
Been working on designing my elementalist (fire & frost) mage design... geared for PvP. Basic Build http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=oZfVcfoh0zZAI0uobuhbd Key features: Pyroblast, Improved Scorch (main dmg spell), Blast wave (knock back AOE), Icy Veins, Cold Snap, and Ice Barrier. Frost Strong Build (basic + frost) http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=oZfVc...AI0IobuIbd0dsx Key features: (same as basic build), Improved water elemental!, and some other stuff. Fire Strong Build (basic + fire + couple frost) http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=oZfVc...bZAI0uobuhrd0b Key features: (same as basic build), Combustion, increased damage stuff. Not sure what I want! haha. I'm currently (ever since the new trees) a Fire Mage. I was always a Frost Mage before. I'm considering giving up my current build for this... I'm mostly just trading the ability to have instant cast Pyroblasts (which are really nice!) and living bomb (which isn't as wonderful as I thought it'd be, although not horrible... it's won me some PVP battles where I just kept casting it and running from the enemy!!), and some increased damage talents... for better protection and an elemental. :-) As for the elementalist build above... seems more PvE oriented... I like PvP :-) [EDIT] Notes: main damage spell is Scorch (hence improved scorch). I don't use fireball usually but with the brain freeze talent I guess I'll cast an instant one every once in a while. Frost is used to control the enemy and protect yourself. [EDIT] Ok, after reviewing it, I edited it some more. Realized that since I won't be spamming frost spell, the winter's chill was kinda worthless. So I put those points into frozen core for the spell protection. Also, don't really need flame throwing since most of my fighting will be relatively close to take advantage of blastwave, frost nova, cone of cold, etc. With scorch and defensive spells (ice barrier, frost nova, blast wave, water elemental freeze spell) I should be able to stay very mobile. [EDIT] Combine Major Glyphs: Water Elemental (reduces cooldown 30 more seconds!), Improved Scorch (adds 3 Improved Scorches each hit instead of 1), and either: Evocation (hp & mana regen), Ice Block (if you love your frost novas), or Icy Veins (remove movement and spell casting slowing effects). Minor Glyphs: doesn't really matter. I like the slow fall one, and the frost & fire ward ones look "ok." But none really matter. |
Elemantalist, all the way, two talents, Presence of Mind, Pyroblast. FYI thats an instacast pyro. I saw that build first time on a 49 twink in a BG. My huntard had NO IDEA wtf hit him. Niether did I. It took me a bit to figure out the spec, and took me a little longer to do it myself. In the arcane tree Arcane Concentration and Arcane Meditation help a ton with this build, for when ever you actually need a second pyro, and Icy veins in frost rounds it all of nicely.
Your tactic is simple, chuck spells until Arcane Concentration Procs, then Prescence, Pyro and hug the body for good measure. So far, this is my favorite way to play a mage. |
Considering this thread is 3 years old, I'd imagine it's a safe bet that he made a decision ;)
BTW, what's with people calling mages elementalists? We already have those now and they are called shamans. People need to quit giving custom names to talent builds. Blizzard has already named every talent tree. If it's not broken, don't fix it! :D |
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What Gako was describing wasn't an elementalist/FFB spec, though. I would characterise his description as an arcane/fire spec. |
I was going to say... I didn't think elementalist builds really existed anymore for mages. Or at the very least, they aren't called that anymore. O.o
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On-topic, I'm not so sure you should be doing Frostfire/Elemental for your mage at all. Watching the vids I do, doing the research I do, and watching the raids I do, the chart-topping Mages are all Arcane Mages, and in PvP, you'll find no faster killing Mage than an Arcane Mage. For raiding, I recommend this build: 56/3/12 Arcane Major Glyphs: Arcane Missiles, Arcane Blast, and Mage Armor Minor Glyphs: Arcane Intellect, Slow Fall, and... whatever! A lot of people like to ask why I skipped putting a point into Slow if I'm spec'd for Torment the Weak. So many other classes put up snaring debuffs that it's not an issue, but if it's necessary that you do it yourself, you can throw out a Jeebus Bolt or pop Mirror Image and get the desired effect, or you can pull a point out of Permafrost and put it into Slow. For PvP, I recommend this build: 58/10/0 +3 Arcane Major Glyphs: Evocation, Frost Nova, and Polymorph Minor Glyphs: Arcane Intellect, Fire Ward, and Frost Ward Nothing owns arenas and battlegrounds like an unsilenceable Mage with nearly nothing but beefy insta-casts. It's a huge mana dump, but if you're playing the spec right, your opponent is dead by the time being /oom is an issue. And, if that's not the case, be a Rogue. Poly them in place, pop insta-cast Invisiblity, run somewhere to Evocate, and start over. In this spec, I chose to throw the extra three points into Ice Flows for the reduced cool-down on Frost Nova. However, depending on your arena partner(s) and play style, you may want to put one of them into Slow, Focus Magic, and/or Arcane Power. (When I was still doing arenas before Wrath dropped, my 2's partner was a Retadin, and he loved Focus Magic, but I wasn't getting enough out of it, so I spec'd out of it.) If you have any questions about either build, feel free to ask. To see what I have to say about Fire, click here. |
Frostfire builds are still very viable and are actually better at certain gear levels than arcane-heavy builds, at least for PvE. Personally, I don't raid on my mage very often and just don't have the gear to support an arcane build. I get much more mileage out of both my stats and mana pool size with a frostfire spec. I've tested my FFB spec against the cookie-cutter arcane specs with my current crappy gear; while my "damage per second" was higher, it wasn't sustainable for longer fights. If I had full Naxx gear or better, I could see making the change to fire/arcane, but I would actually reduce my overall damage output by doing so now (confirmed after much testing and spreadsheet work).
PvP-wise, it's still a toss-up between frost and arcane for me. Frost just has so many survivability mechanisms and so much utility that it's hard to pass up some of the deeper talents. I guess it really depends on what you like to do, though. I'm more of a battleground PvP'er (I don't like the Arena system much) and having ice barrier, the water elemental for the frost novas, and a blizzard that snares just come in too handy in places like AV or EotS ;) Ultimately, I love that top-end mages are doing so well with arcane...I'm just not geared nearly as well as they are (:p) and that's something to consider when recommending specs. What I do like most, though, is that we finally have a few spec choices that are viable instead of only one clear-cut, hands-down winner. Oh, side note...any rogue that lets a mage dictate the course of the fight is a free kill to begin with :p |
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I love that I can finally have intelligent conversations with all my Mage buddies about what specs work well for PvE and PvP that don't boil down to, "Good raiding is 3/47/11 and good PvP is 17/0/44." I gained a lot of pride in my class when 3.0 and the new Mage trees happened. Quote:
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