WotLK Classic Fire Mage Gear and Best in Slot
On this page, you will find the best PvE gear and best in slot items for your Fire Mage in WotLK Classic.
WotLK Fire Mage Phase 1 / Tier 7 Best in Slot List
This is a list of gear that is considered to be the best in each slot.
The list below is following the stat priority of Hit rating to cap
> Spell Power > Critical Strike rating; > Haste rating; > Spirit;
> Intellect; > Stamina; > MP5.
It assumes 3% Hit from either a Balance Druid's
Improved Faerie Fire or from a Shadow Priest's
Misery and no 
Heroic Presence. You can see an
explanation for this priority on our stats page for Fire Mage below.
Other Fire Mage Best in Slot Lists
If you are starting out as a freshly-leveled Fire Mage, our pre-raid best
in slot list is meant to give you an idea of non-raid items you can chase as a
solo / pug player in preparation for raids. Do note that items from Heroic
dungeons or that require 
Frozen Orbs (which are obtained from Heroics)
can be harder to get than raid items due to their daily lockout.
Phase 1 / Tier 7 Best in Slot Table
The items on the following list for Tier 7 come from WotLK Raids and
Emblem of Valor-Vendors Harold Winston, Arcanist Adurin
(Alliance), and Magister Brasael (Horde) in Dalaran.
The 
Emblem of Heroism items can be bought from
Harold Winston, Arcanist Ivrenne (Alliance) and
Magistrix Lambriesse (Horde) in Dalaran. This list will
also give the best 2-3 options per slot (first option is best, etc.), in case
you cannot get the best item or already have the second-best. Make sure to use
two 
Purified Twilight Opals in a 
Blue Socket or
a 
Red Socket in order to activate
your 
Chaotic Skyflare Diamond 
Meta Gem.
) —
Dalaran
* Note for the T7 set-pieces: It is most important that you reach
the 4-set bonus, which can also be achieved by using the 10-Man pieces
from Naxxramas, such as 
Heroes' Frostfire Circlet or from
Emblem of Heroism, such as 
Heroes' Frostfire Robe.
WotLK Fire TTW Mage Phase 2 / Tier 8 Best in Slot List
This is a list of gear that is considered to be the best in each slot.
The list below is following the stat priority of Hit rating to cap
> Spell Power > Critical Strike rating; > Haste rating; > Spirit;
> Intellect; > Stamina; > MP5.
It assumes 3% Hit from either a Balance Druid's
Improved Faerie Fire or from a Shadow Priest's
Misery and Heroic Presence. You can see an
explanation for this priority on our stats page for Fire Mage below.
Other Fire Mage Best in Slot Lists
If you are starting out as a freshly-leveled Fire Mage, our pre-raid best in slot list is meant to give you an idea of non-raid items you can chase as a solo / pug player in preparation for raids.
Do note that items from Heroic dungeons or that require Frozen Orbs
(which are obtained from Heroics) can be hard to get due to
their daily lockout.
Worthwile Information When Gearing in Phase 2 / Tier 8
The items in the list below are considered to be best in slot for Fire Mages in Phase 2 / Tier 8. Thanks to the Mage Discord for gathering this information. Many of the items in this list will drop from rather difficult Hardmodes of Ulduar 25-man. The power gap between these items and their alternatives is rather big, which is why they are extremely sought-after by other caster classes in your raid. This combination of rather difficult Hardmodes and the popularity of these items, will make it unlikely for you to obtain the Best in Slot gear before the end of Phase 2. When gearing, make sure to utilize the T7 set bonuses before breaking them for a single item.
Another problem, when talking about bis lists, is that there are 17 equipment slots and about 1 to 5 "reasonable" items you could wear on each equipment slot. This very quickly leads to a astronomically high amount of possible gear combinations, which means presenting alternatives for the BiS is always prone to errors. In addition to that, almost every player is wearing different gear (different from Phase 1 BiS), so the best upgrade for player A could be not be the best upgrade for player B.
The easiest and most practical solution to this issue is to simply work towards the BiS from the gear you already have. We recommend to use Osthyvel's Mage Simulation, plug in your gear and enchants, as well as your raid buffs and consumables and to sim which item is the strongest next upgrade for you.
WotLK Fire TTW Mage Phase 2 / Tier 8 Best in Slot Table
The items on the following list for Tier 8 come from WotLK Ulduar.
The Tier 8 armor is sold by Paldesse in Dalaran for tokens
from Ulduar. The abbreviation HM refers to the
Hardmode of an encounter. Make sure to use two
Purified Twilight Opals in a Blue Socket or a Red Socket in
order to activate your Chaotic Skyflare Diamond Meta Gem. How to
get the 
Runed Stormjewel is explained in more detail in the
Gems section of the Fire Mage PvE
Enchants page. Please note that the value of 
Runed Scarlet Ruby and
Reckless Monarch Topaz/ Potent Monarch Topaz can be very
close.
| Slot | Item | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Helm |
|
|
| Neck |
|
|
| Shoulders |
|
|
| Back |
|
|
| Chest |
|
|
| Wrists |
|
|
| Hands* |
|
|
| Waist |
|
|
| Legs* |
|
|
| Feet |
|
|
| Rings |
|
|
| Trinkets |
|
|
| Weapons |
|
|
| Off-Hand |
|
|
| Wand |
|
*Using 4-set T8 is the best option for Fire since it provides a lot of
the needed hit rating and the 4-set bonus is very strong for Fire.
When using 
Staff of Endless Winter, you want to make up for the loss
of hit rating by using 
Conqueror's Kirin Tor Gauntlets via
Gauntlets of the Wayward Vanquisher from Mimiron 25-Man and
Leggings of the Enslaved Idol from Freya 25-Man HM. Using
the 4-set with gloves and the staff is between 130 and 160 DPS less
compared to full BiS, but it is easier to obtain.
WotLK Frostfire Mage Phase 2 / Tier 8 Best in Slot List
This is a list of gear that is considered to be the best in each slot.
The list below is following the stat priority of Hit rating to cap
> Spell Power > Critical Strike rating; > Haste rating; > Spirit;
> Intellect; > Stamina; > MP5.
It assumes 3% Hit from either a Balance Druid's
Improved Faerie Fire or from a Shadow Priest's
Misery and Heroic Presence. You can see an
explanation for this priority on our stats page for Fire Mage below.
Other Frostfire Mage Best in Slot Lists
If you are starting out as a freshly-leveled Frostfire Mage, our pre-raid best in slot list is meant to give you an idea of non-raid items you can chase as a solo / pug player in preparation for raids.
Do note that items from Heroic dungeons or that require Frozen Orbs
(which are obtained from Heroics) can be hard to get due to
their daily lockout.
Worthwile Information When Gearing in Phase 2 / Tier 8
The items in the list below are considered to be best in slot for Frostfire Mages in Phase 2 / Tier 8. Thanks to the Mage Discord for gathering this information. Many of the items in this list will drop from rather difficult Hardmodes of Ulduar 25-man. The power gap between these items and their alternatives is rather big, which is why they are extremely sought-after by other caster classes in your raid. This combination of rather difficult Hardmodes and the popularity of these items, will make it unlikely for you to obtain the Best in Slot gear before the end of Phase 2. When gearing, make sure to utilize the T7 set bonuses before breaking them for a single item.
Another problem, when talking about bis lists, is that there are 17 equipment slots and about 1 to 5 "reasonable" items you could wear on each equipment slot. This very quickly leads to a astronomically high amount of possible gear combinations, which means presenting alternatives for the BiS is always prone to errors. In addition to that, almost every player is wearing different gear (different from Phase 1 BiS), so the best upgrade for player A could be not be the best upgrade for player B.
The easiest and most practical solution to this issue is to simply work towards the BiS from the gear you already have. We recommend to use Osthyvel's Mage Simulation, plug in your gear and enchants, as well as your raid buffs and consumables and to sim which item is the strongest next upgrade for you.
WotLK Fire Frostfire Mage Phase 2 / Tier 8 Best in Slot Table
The items on the following list for Tier 8 come from WotLK Ulduar.
The Tier 8 armor is sold by Paldesse in Dalaran for tokens
from Ulduar. The abbreviation HM refers to the
Hardmode of an encounter. Make sure to use two
Purified Twilight Opals in a Blue Socket or a Red Socket in
order to activate your Chaotic Skyflare Diamond Meta Gem. How to
get the Runed Stormjewel is explained in more detail in the
Gems section of the Frostfire Mage PvE
Enchants page. Please note that the value of Runed Scarlet Ruby and
Reckless Monarch Topaz/ Potent Monarch Topaz can be very
close.
| Slot | Item | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Helm |
|
|
| Neck |
|
|
| Shoulders |
|
|
| Back |
|
|
| Chest |
|
|
| Wrists |
|
|
| Hands |
|
|
| Waist |
|
|
| Legs* |
|
|
| Feet |
|
|
| Rings |
|
|
| Trinkets |
|
|
| Weapons |
|
|
| Off-Hand |
|
|
| Wand |
|
*Please note that using 4-set T8 is not the best option for Frostfire
(unless you lack hit rating), since
Frostfire already gains 3% hit from 
Precision (6% for
Frostfire Bolt) and the set comes with a
lot of hit rating. However, it is somewhat okay, considering that the
Tier 8 Head (
Conqueror's Kirin Tor Hood from Thorim 25-Man)
and Legs (
Conqueror's Kirin Tor Leggings from Freya 25-Man) combo
costs you "only" around 120 DPS for Alliance and Horde, compared to full BIS.
The 4-set gear combo also allows you to use 
Pendant of the Shallow Grave from
Thorim 10-Man HM, when using 
Starshard Edge+
Cosmos.
Using Staff of Endless Winter as a weapon (without 4-set T8) is about a
50 DPS loss for Alliance players and about a 65 DPS loss for Horde players.
However, it requires you to wear 
Drape of Mortal Downfall from 25-Man
Steelbreaker HM, in order to make up for the hit loss on your weapon.
If you plan on using T8 Head/Legs together with the Staff of Endless Winter,
the combined DPS loss is "only" about 150 DPS for either Alliance or Horde,
compared to full BIS, but the gear is easier to obtain.
Further Enhancements
If you have further questions about gemming and enchanting these items, our Fire Mage enchants and gems page below provides more information.
Changelog
- 02 Jan. 2023: Updated for P2 and added Frostfire sets.
- 16 Oct. 2022: Fixed some wrong drop locations.
- 14 Sep. 2022: Page added.
This guide has been written by Wrdlbrmpft aka Arcanaenus, playing Mage since 2008. He is usually found in the Mage discord, where you may also ask him questions his guides do not answer.
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