Mage Hero Talents — The War Within (11.2)

This page is specifically about Hero Talents in The War Within. If you want to learn more about the best regular talents for Fire Mage, check out our Talents page:

Sunfury is currently the best performing Hero Talent spec for Raiding. (almost 10% more DPS) It provides the best single-target damage and AoE damage and does not compromise on survivability or utility to do so.

The new Tier Set bonus from 11.2 is very strong for Sunfury, however, even without the Tier Set bonus, Sunfury is still the best performing Hero Talent spec for Raiding. Before obtaining the Tier Set, Frostfire is around 5% behind Sunfury instead of the 10% with tier, so it is a more viable alternative if you enjoy the playstyle more until you get the tier set.

Sunfury is currently the best performing Hero Talent spec for Mythic+. It provides the best single-target damage and AoE damage and does not compromise on survivability or utility to do so. Depending on pack size, it can be anywhere from 5% to 10% ahead of Frostfire, with no meaningful downsides.

The new Tier Set bonus from 11.2 is very strong for Sunfury, however, even without the Tier Set bonus, Sunfury is still the best performing Hero Talent spec in Mythic+. Frostfire does come closer in overall damage until you have the tier set, (around 3-5% depending on the size of the packs) making it a more viable alternative if you enjoy the playstyle more until you get the tier set, however, Sunfury is still the best performing spec overall.

2.

Best Hero Talent Builds for Fire Mage

Sunfury Hero Talent Build Frostfire Hero Talent Build

Sunfury currently has one setup for all situations, as it simply provides the best DPS in both AoE and single-target situations.

Frostfire currently has one setup for all situations, as it simply provides the best DPS in both AoE and single-target situations.

Sunfury has a couple of meaningful changes on your rotation. Specifically, when Combustion ends, you automatically gain Hyperthermia. During Hyperthermia, you spam Pyroblast the entire time. Additionally, during Hyperthermia, you still want to keep up Feel the Burn. You want to only press Fire Blast when you have Heating Up, not when you have Hot Streak. Even though Hyperthermia makes all Pyroblasts instant, it still benefits from the Hot Streak Mastery: Ignite damage bonus, which is why you want to time your Fire Blasts around generating additional Hot Streaks.

Additionally, Glorious Incandescence makes Fire Blast hit multiple targets. This makes it so that a single Fire Blast can provide you an entire Hot Streak from scratch. Additionally, Kindling cooldown reduction is significantly increased, since Fire Blast hits multiple targets at the same time, giving you more Combustions.

Frostfire comes with an additional proc you want to track, namely Frostfire Empowerment. When you get Frostfire Empowerment, you want to cast Frostfire Bolt. During Combustion, you simply use it as you would a Scorch or Phoenix Flames. Outside of Combustion, nothing really changes as Frostfire Bolt is already your main filler spell, so you will automatically use the proc.

Additionally, you will cast Phoenix Flames when Excess Frost procs.

Although not actually a rotational change, note that Fireball is automatically replaced for Frostfire Bolt when you spec into Frostfire.