Over-geared Fire mage horrible dps

[Eyepwnface 0]

I have been struggling with my dps not being where it should be. Simulationcraft says my damage should be 785k. Now I understand that is under ideal circumstances but I am no where even close to that. I am not sure if it is a simple rotation issue or what. I am fairly certain my gear is solid. Opener for me is usually rune of power about 5 seconds from pull, potion of prolonged power at 3 seconds, fireball and depending on hot streak going into either living bomb or combustion, from there try to keep instant pyroblast queued as I cast fireball (meaning don't use it until I have cast fireball etc. I think something is fundamentally wrong here. I have played a mage since BC never been excellent at fire but dps has been better then this. I have poured through many things trying to figure this out and ended up more confused at times. I have watched advanced fire mage dps guides and I have some good weak auras for 4 piece and other procs it just isn't coming together. I came back to wow in January after leaving during Warlords. Any help would be deeply appreciated. 

 

Armory link: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/character/thrall/Eyepwnface/advanced

link of fellow guild member that does better constantly then me: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/character/thrall/Submeincoach/advanced

Link to warcraft logs most recent: https://www.warcraftlogs.com/reports/GKxdD63CN1JjTwQm#type=damage-done

Link to logs with me and guild member in it: https://www.warcraftlogs.com/reports/t42vryKpmd1agQfZ#type=damage-done

 

[Mystic0x 1]

Hello there, I face the same problem when I play my mage, and I think the solution to both our problems is our gear, as fire mages we want a lot of crit, something your helm doesn't have. Your trinkets could use some switching around too, refer to Icy Veins' fire mage bis gear section, where they'll tell you what to wear and what trinkets pull ahead. Sometimes its not always your opener :3. GLHF :D

[MunchiesOMG 2]

You definitely under-performed on Tichondrius, but still contributed more than enough damage to clear the fight. On Chromatic Anomaly (CA) you absolutely murdered him. As both of these fights are major DPS checks in Nighthold, I think this indicates you have a massive consistency issue. Based on your logs, armory, and your post I think I can help you fix a few issues:

1) Stop casting Scorch. Looking at several fights throughout the raid I noticed that Scorch not only outpaces the number of Fireballs you cast by a wide margin, but tends to be your most cast spell in NUMEROUS encounters. For example during your CA kill you cast Scorch 29 times (your most cast spell) compared to the 20 times you cast Fireball. The only time you should be casting Scorch during this fight is the brief period of time in which the tank brings the boss to the add, after that you should stop casting it unless the boss is at 30% health and you have the legendary belt; you do not. Use Fireball as your primary Hot Streak generator. 

2) You have taken RoP, but you rarely cast it. During CA you cast it one time and it no one way lined up with your burst. This bring me to my next point: why on Earth would you waste 5 seconds of RoP before pull? You're effectively only getting 5 seconds of RoP if you do it this way and by the time you use Combustion you either have a second or two left or its already gone. If you want to maximize the effectiveness of RoP, make sure to do the following:

• Never have both charges on CD. Try to keep one charge in the bank and keep the other one if you are approaching a significant DPS check and need to squeeze out some additional damage.
• Line your RoP up with your Combustion. Remember that Combustion can be cast off the GCD, so this means you can cast Combustion right as your RoP cast finishes. If you do it this way you will get maximum overlap between the two. Now you're pumping out guaranteed crits with 50% increased damage for the next 10 seconds; that's insane.
• Be mindful of mechanics. On Tichondrius if DBM says you're about to get his aids, don't cast RoP because you'll just have to move to the other side of the room and you'll have wasted a charge. Thinking ahead is key.

3) Start casting Phoenix Flames more consistently. On Gul'dan I noticed you seem to expend all of your charges at once and then are relegated to casting them as they trickle in. There are also several incidents where you seem to notice later on that you are maxed on charges and frantically try to dump them. Always try to keep at least one charge in the bank, but never let yourself cap out at three charges for more than a few seconds. That is a waste of your weapon talent and DPS.

4) Stop instantly consuming Hot Streak the moment you get it. While this works out to be an instant spike, it is a long term DPS loss. After you get a Hot Streak, cast Fireball and consume Hot Streak the moment Fireball finishes its cast. This ensures that the likelihood one of those spells will crit is significantly high which makes chaining your Hot Streaks more consistent, not to mention the chance that they both crit and refund the Hot Streak is also reasonably probable. In other words, doing this will increase the chance that you'll maintain a steady supply of Heating Up and make juggling Fire Blast charges much easier on you.

5) Pay attention to bracer procs. You seem to cast only one or two each fight, so you're missing out on massive amounts of damage. If one of these procs pops up during your Combustion/RoP combo, stop and hard cast. The damage is absurd.

6) You're over stacked on crit. Thanks to the two piece bonus making enhanced pyrotechnics insanely good, it's much easier to ensure you'll get the Heating Up proc you need to Fire Blast into. Anything above 55% is pretty much worthless and 50% is arguably the smartest bet, especially since Combustion no longer increases Mastery by 100% of your crit. Start cutting down on the crit and try replacing it with some Haste, which will make casting Fireball much more appealing to you. Haste also indirectly increases the power of your bracers as it becomes easier to cast Pyroblast in time before the proc wears off which means you're effectively going to enjoy more procs. I'm currently sitting at about 52% crit and 21% haste and my Fireball is a 1.67 second cast time. If you can't get the haste you need right away, swapping your ring enchants for haste and your neck enchant for mark of the claw will help your transition greatly.

7) Focus on yourself! Unless you're in a guild with tools, clearing bosses is clearing bosses regardless of what your DPS is. Meters checking is pointless and only creates toxic behavior; use it as a tool to help you improve yourself as a player, not as a way to compare yourself to others. While your overall performance was not in line with what your gear is capable of, your guild cleared without issue and that is what is important. Hope some of this helps!

Edited May 5, 2017 by MunchiesOMG

[Eyepwnface 0]

MunchiesOMG,

Thank you for your time and your advise. I have noticed I was casting scorch too much and I am trying to minimize it. I do have the belt but was not wearing it at the time. I gave up on RoP and went MI instead because apparently I suck at it but will try again with your technique. I will work on banking one Phoenix Flames. I had wondered about the instantly consuming hot streak but thought I needed to get it off to maximize my dps and I apparently had it figured wrong. I have my crit to 50% now and haste to 20% I am hoping that will help. Just so you know I am not a dps whore at all but I want to feel like I am contributing to our raids and we are starting to do more mythic nighthold so I want to do the best I can. Again MunchiesOMG I appreciate your time and advise sorry took so long to get back to you but been busy the last couple weeks.