Arcane Mage - Frogstar (Accepted)

[Update: ICC 10 cleared up to Sindragosa (10/12) and Gunship Battle on heroic]

General information

Character name: Frogstar
Class: Arcane Mage (PvE), Arcane/Fire Mage (PvP)
Race: Draenei
Armory link: http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Ghostlands&n=Frogstar
UI screenshot: https://2img.net/h/i817.photobucket.com/albums/zz91/BrainKing/MageUI.jpg
Played Time on your character (and how much of that at level 80): About 1.5 year, more than 1 year at level 80.
Professions and level of professions: Jewelcrafting and Enchanting, both at max level.
Do you have a stable internet connection (Yes/No and average MS in raids): Very stable 10Mbps line, about 50-80 ms latency.

What other characters do you have? I have a couple of other characters at level 60 but they are all inactive now because I want to focus on my mage, getting the most of it.



Raid times and Experience

We raid 7 days a week, days and times could possibly change in the future, please delete yes or no below depending on whether you would be able to attend or not. (server times)
Monday 19:30-00:00 - Yes
Tuesday 19:30-00:00 - Yes
Wednesday 19:30-00:00 - Yes
Thursday 19:30-00:00 - Yes
Friday 19:30-xx:xx - Yes (02:00)
Saturday 19:30-xx:xx - Yes (02:00)
Sunday 19:30-23:00 - Yes

Do you have pre-WotLK raiding experience, if so what? No, I started to do raids after WotLK was released, however I completed all level 60 and 70 raids later.

What raiding experience do you have in WotLK? Please include which bosses you've done on heroic mode.

10 man: Naxxramas (cleared), Obsidian Sanctum (cleared with 3 drakes up), Eye of Eternity (cleared), Vault of Archavon (cleared), Onyxia's Lair (cleared), Trial of Crusader (cleared), Trial of Grand Crusader (2/5), Ulduar (6/14), Icecrown Citadel (10/12), Icecrown Citadel heroic (1/12)
25 man: Naxxramas (12/17), Obsidian Sanctum (cleared with 3 drakes up), Vault of Archavon (cleared), Onyxia's Lair (cleared), Trial of Crusader (cleared), Ulduar (3/12), Icecrown Citadel (6/12)


Character specific questions


Explain your current gear choices and how you hope to improve them in the future, meaning which stats do you prioritize and why.

Spell Power and Haste are my most prioritized stats because arcane mages don't need to stack critical chance as much as frostfire ones. I am already hit capped and my Enchanting/Jewelcrafring professions give me a nice spellpower boost. I hope to get some marks of sanctification to upgrade my T10 items (currently wearing 2 of them for a set bonus but I have another 2 in my bank) and I would like to obtain some other nice drops, e.g. http://www.wowwiki.com/Dislodged_Foreign_Object from Rotface to improve my overall DPS.

Comment on how you've chosen to gem and enchant your character, and why you have chosen these gems/enchants.

I am gemmed and enchanted for Spell Power and Haste, mostly (since I can do both professions myself, I was experimenting with different combinations and compared results). My meta gem (+21 critical and 3% critical damage increase) is widely recognized as the best meta for mages and I also utilize a T10 gear set bonus. Many of my spells are replaced by macros, taking advantage of Arcane Power / Icy Veins / Presence of Mind / spellpower boost trinket / spellpower potion, that usually push my DPS over 10k on a single target.

What glyphs are you using and why?

Major: Molten Armor (increased critical chance is great), Arcane Blast (it is a must have for arcane mages because it boosts our main nuke spell significantly), Arcane Missiles (along with talents and other buffs it makes my arcane missiles - especially when missile barrage procs - critical almost all the time).

Minor: Fire Ward and Frost Ward (the odds of spell reflecting are not high - 5% - but still better than nothing), Slow Fall (useful with bosses that like to push everyone up to the air).

Could you point out the strong points and focus of your spec?

I prefer to use the standard raiding 57/3/11 talent set (arcane / icy veins), focused on the best spellpower/haste combination to maximize the dps. I was experimenting with sacrificing 1 talent point to get the Slow spell which can be handy in some situations, but turned back to the original spec because other classes in the raid usually slow mobs more effectively, thus my Torment the Weak talent procs anyway.

As for spell rotation, I use Arcane Blast 4x, sometimes 5x if Missile Barrage does not proc, followed by Missile Barrage or Arcane Barrage (if Missile Barrage does not proc after 5th Arcane Blast, but it does not happen more than twice an hour, statistically). Mirror Image used at the start of a boss encounter and reactivated when its cooldown is over. Since this rotation is very effective but also mana consuming, usually after the first cycle (Arcane Blast 4x, Missile Barrage) I use a mana gem and when my mana pool drops below 20-30%, I use Evocation to restore it (preferrably after a haste boost procs to lower the channeling time). I use the Arcane Flows talent to shorten Evocation cooldown to 2 mins, so my mana pool is not an issue even during long boss fights.

I also use Fire/Frost Ward on some bosses to boost my DPS output (Incanter's Absorption talent) and restore my mana pool (Frost Warding talent). Since the Mage Nuggets addon simplifies spell stealing a lot, I love to use this ability very often because it results in a significant dps/haste boost on some bosses, or at least makes them less lethal.

Regarding consumables, I am currently using Flask of the Frost Wyrm and Firecracker Salmon to boost my spellpower and always have at least 20 potions of Wild Magic at the raid start to use them when necessary. I also carry at least 20 Fish Feasts. When there is no priest or warlock with felhunter in the raid, I also use a spirit scroll for a better regeneration.

Do you have any notable offspec gear and are you experienced/up to date with the mechanics of playing your offspecs?

My offspec is currently tuned to PvP, so I have a nice PvP gear (almost all items are of 251 or 264 level) and I have a really nice experience with that. However, I understand that this guild is mostly focused on hardcore raiding, and since I have already reached my goal ("of the Alliance" title for 100k honorable kills), I can, if necessary, drop PvP completely and create a secondary PvE spec for some boss encounters.

We require you to have at least one crafting profession (not engineering). If you have two gathering professions, would you be prepared to reroll one?

I already have 2 crafting professions. Jewelcrafting for Dragon's Eye gems and Enchanting for ring spellpower enchants. Both professions are maximized to 450 and I was trying to obtain as many recipes as possible (e.g. I have all epic designs of gems and all important enchant formulae - except Ulduar ones, I always had a bad luck in loot rolls).


General questions

Previous guilds and reasons for leaving?

I tried a couple of guilds (Afterlife, Puggers Heaven, Dark Legion) but after some months I left them, mostly because of these reasons: Not enough well geared players, raid starts delayed too often and too much (1 hour or more) according to calendar events, people leaving after 2 hours of raiding, many people not coming to the raid followup the next day. I don't blame the mentioned guilds themselves, there were many good and friendly players, and I always learned something new, however the perspective of a 25 men raid progress seemed to be kind of pessimistic. I want to join a guild that takes raiding really seriously and all members of a group work as a team. At this moment, I am not a member of any guild.

What role do you feel you provide in a raid and what areas of strengths do you feel your class and spec has over others?

My main role usually was to burst as many damage as possible and thanks to my arcane/ice veins talents and a lot of useful macros, I reached the top position in the damage report very often. However, I am also useful in other ways - for instance, decursing and CCing is very effective, thanks to a couple of neat addons, macros and my overall low latency. When I overaggro (it does not happen too often, thanks to Omen3 addon, but I can still happen if, for instance, the tank becomes offline for 10 secs), a well timed combination of Ice Block, Blink and Invisibility allows me to drop my aggro quickly and continue nuking in a couple of seconds, instead of mindless dying.

I have a nice collection of addons to make a mage UI which suits my needs the best. It contains the following addons:
DBM, Omen3, Recount, Grid2, Quartz, Titan Panel, SexyMap, Bartender4, Mage Nuggets, Decursive, Control Freak, EPGP LootMaster.

I also take advantage of some addons which are not absolutely necessary for raiding but handy anyway:
Ampere, AtlasLoot, Postal, TipTac, WIM, Ackis Recipe List.

What 1 thing would you change about your class if you could?
I would either improve CC abilities to allow doing damage to the target without breaking the control (which is not possible with Polymorph) or add some DoT spells to the arcane talent tree. It would be also nice to make our Invisibility more rogue-like - longer time before it wears off and an ability to see at least some kind of enemies.


What do you think you can add to Eternals?
I am a very dedicated and patient player who more listens than talks and always stays to the end of the raid, no matter how many wipes happen. I like to study and explore new strategies and boss encounters, and not only because I want to get as many achievements as possible. :-)


What do you think Eternals can do for you?
I was always looking for a stable and progressive guild with experienced and mature players who understand that raiding is always a team work and every single member should do his best at all circumstances. As I heard from many sources, Eternals would be a great choice for me.


Do you know anyone from Eternals who might have something nice to say about you?
I am afraid not but it is possible that some people who joined Eternals after raiding with me know me.


Personal information; Name, age, where you live, interests/hobbies, Job and family that will nag you to stop raiding?
Filip Rachunek, 37, Prague (Czech Republic). I am a freelance programmer who runs his own game server that provides a very nice passive income, so I am very flexible and available during the whole day, working from home. Nobody will nag me to stop raiding because my wife plays WoW too. :-)


Additional information which you would like to name?

I am usually online from morning till night because I can do my normal work with WoW window at the background, thanks to my fast PC and big 30'' monitor (2560x1600). :-) So it is very easy to contact me anytime and ask for anything. I love to do achievements of any kind, currently having 7615 points, and I also like to help others to get their achievements. I spent a lot of time to get a decent raiding gear (5965 gear score at the moment) and boost as many factions to exalted as possible (using "the Exalted" title now), and I want to improve my experiences and abilities in a nice and friendly guild. I am a very patient person who knows that the key to the victory is a perfect team work and a full concentration (so you'll never see me saying "sorry phone call" during the whole raid).

Heya I'm curious about those macros you mention. Which cooldowns exactly do you have tied to your spells? I'm personally very wary about tying cd's to spells as it can often result in your cd's blowing when you can't make the most use of it (whirlwinding phase on Marrowgar, right when you get an ooze debuff on you on Rotface, just before the airphase on Sindragosa etc. - basically any movement phase).

Also i'm wondering howcome you don't use the 4set bonus as you say you have it? It's a substantial dps boost (especially when used with the other cd's), are you sure those 2 off-set pieces make up for that? And at 140 over hitcap, surely there's a better way to maintain hitcap than the ilvl264 hit trinket?

Anyways, well written app, good luck

edit: Oh right, almost forgot, howcome you don't use speed potions?

Hi Subeam. :-) Well, these are some of my macros:

/use Maghia's Misguided Quill
/cast Arcane Power
/cast Icy Veins
/cast [mod:shift] Presence of Mind
/cast Arcane Blast
This is what I use to start a boss fight on most bosses because it simply burns all possible damage boosts at once before I have to move at all. Regarding Marrowgar, I activate Frost Ward prior to this, in order to absorb frost clouds if they happen to strike me in the very beginning (and it also increases my DPS thanks to Incanter's Absorption talent), so I can just stand and nuke for at least 20 secs. Furthermore, I also keep my Frost Ward up just in case that I get impaled and hit by the cloud at the same time, so healers have less work with me. Rotface - well, since you never know when you become infected, I use my cooldowns when I think it is a good time for it (for instance, when someone else is infected and slime spray just ended). Every boss fight is unique and it's just a matter of practice and experience to find the best moment for the highest damage burst.

/stopcasting
/cast Spellsteal
This is very useful on Deathwhisper's cultists and/or any other mobs who can become quite dangerous with buffs that can be stolen. The stopcasting command ensures that the actual Spellsteal would be cast immediately, even if I am in the middle of casting Arcane Blast etc.

/cast Presence of Mind
/cast Frostbolt
An instant "snare bolt" to get a couple of precious seconds if, for instance, a Saurfang's add is chasing me and is not slowed down by other raiders (hunter's frost trap, death knight's chains etc.). Since my Presence of Mind is on 1.4 min cooldown (Arcane Flows talent), the macro is usually applicable multiple times during one boss fight.

/cast [target=focus,exists,nodead,harm] Polymorph
/stopmacro [target=focus,exists,nodead,harm]
/cast [combat,harm,exists,nodead] Polymorph
/focus [exists,harm,nodead] target
/clearfocus [target=focus,dead]
A very useful crowd control tracker on a focused target while the primary one can be still nuked. If nobody else wants to handle the mindcontrolled person during Lady Deathwhisper's fight, I can handle it with a simple click. But I admit that druid's Cyclone is more effective and, unlike Polymorph, works on druids in tree forms as well. :-)

Speed potions - I just found the usage of critical/spellpower potion more effective because my haste rating is already quite good and Black Magic enchant on my staff procs very often, so the spellpower boost is at least more mana effective. But I always carry a couple of potions of speed, just in case - they can become handy.

According to Be Imba, I am hit overcapped by only 61 points, not 140. Anyway, as I have mentioned in my first post, I'll be happy to replace this trinket with the one that drops from Rotface when I am lucky enough to win it. :-) And the 716 spellpower boost is useful too, isn't it?

Anyway, I am always open to new ideas and never say that my gear set is final and cannot be modified. :-) I like to experiment, compare and improve.

Be Imba doesn't include the raidbuffs then, clearly. 3% from either a spriest or a boomkin + 1% from your own racial + 6% from talents... ;o

It's nice to see you have some useful macro's too (i use Decursive instead of the sheep macro, as it doubles for decursing quickly too, but nice macro idd), but like i said, i have some reservations about the cooldowns macro, being tied to your main nuke it can pop your cd's during phase changes, movement phases etc.. Not to mention they're so much more powerfull stacked together, in alot of the cases it's well worth holding off on AP until IV is off cd too. Especially with 4set T10, where you combine them with mirror image and increase your dmg done by 18% for 30s.

Yes, it's true but everyone has own style of playing, huh? It would be boring if all mages just follow the same pattern without any modifications. :-) Like I said, I am always willing to try new ways of playing.

I use Decursive too but mostly to remove curses. Having a separate macro for sheeping is more convenient, at least for me. There is a lot of free place on my 30 inch monitor. :-D

Ah yes, Decursive.. i didn't see that on your UI though, how does that work for you then? My Decursive is a small sized bundle of boxes which i left-click to decurse and right-click to sheep when someone's mind-controlled. Still plenty of free space on my screen to see green puddles ^^

Would like to have a chat ingame somewhere over the weekend about the rotation you use, tier set bonuses and cooldowns. Sure, everyone has their own playstyle, but i think all mages have the same goal: to do as much damage as possible.. and there's a few things you could tweak to see a better result.

Subeam wrote:Ah yes, Decursive.. i didn't see that on your UI though, how does that work for you then? My Decursive is a small sized bundle of boxes which i left-click to decurse and right-click to sheep when someone's mind-controlled. Still plenty of free space on my screen to see green puddles ^^

Heh heh, got ya. The trick is that my Decursive UI is se to 90% transparency, so the little squares are practically invisible until there is someone to be decursed - then the particular unit appears with a nice bright color.

No problem to discuss mage tweaks, I am always up to improve my skills. I've added you to Friends List.

You've been accepted on trial, contact an officer in game for an invite

Thank you. I will contact them ASAP.