Hey guys! Brainard here, bringing another suggestion, this time for a new specialization: the Storm Mage! This is an idea I’ve been cooking up for a little bit, and before I spend a ton of time working out the numbers, I just want to get a feel for everyone’s opinion of this.
To briefly explain: this spec does not have cooldowns in the traditional sense that it doesn’t have a button that it can press to increase damage by X%. Instead, you spend your time building Voltage and spending it on either Thunderbreak or Ionic Spark. Note that I intend for it to be very long to fill up your voltage bar to the max, requiring around 2 minutes with 0% haste and 0% mastery (since mastery increases voltage).
This, in turn, means that Thunderbreak hits like a truck. I’m talking crits of 60-80% of Combustion’s total damage (which sounds completely broken, but remember that this can only happen every 120 seconds because you have to fill up your bar).
For AOE rotations, I turned blink into a damage spell, and your big AOE spender (Ionic Pulse) is meant to be used every ~30 seconds or so in a sustained AOE fight (because the AOE Generators generate more voltage in AOE than ST generates generate in ST fights)
Without further ado, I present the Storm Mage:
- Voltage (resource bar): minimum of 0, maximum of 1000. This resource is generated by a variety of builder spells (listed below) and consumed by casting powerful spenders. In addition, Mastery is intended to increase this resource bar to increase the damage of big spenders.
- Mastery: Unleash the Storm: Increases your maximum Voltage by 100 (+10 per 35 points). Also increases your critical damage (not critical chance) by 10% (+1% per 35 point).
- Note for other expansions with different scaling values: the amount Mastery required for a 1% increase to both of these is equivalent to the amount of Critical Strike chance for a 1% increase in critical strike change in terms of secondary stats points (i.e. 35 points in Shadowlands).
Passives:
- Static Charge (passive): Applies a charge of static electricity to the enemy. When discharged with Surge, the next spell affecting the target has it’s critical strike chance increased by 33% per stack (Max of 3 stacks).
- Fulminant Charge (passive): After consuming a total of 9 Static Charges, your next Lightning Dash deals an additional (XXX% Spell Power) Nature damage around each target hit and generates additional Voltage.
- Charged up (passive): After consuming 3 stacks of Static Charge on a target, you have a 20% of making your next Static Field instant cast and deal XXX% increased damage (boosted damage must be ~20% higher than Ionic bolt to make it worth casting in ST and MT).
Generators:
- Ionic Bolt: Discharges a bolt of lightning at the target, dealing (XXX% Spell Power) Nature damage to the target and applying 1 stack of Static Charge.
- Static Field: Detonate a field of static energy at the target area, dealing (XXX% Spell Power) to targets affected (square root AOE scaling) and applying 1 stack of Static Charge to all affected enemies.
- Lightning Dash: Take on the form of thunder to dash through your enemies, traveling 20 yards forward in the direction you are facing, dealing (XXX% Spell Power) Nature damage all targets along the way and apply a charge of Static Charge to all targets affected. This also frees you from all stuns and bonds.
- Replaces Blink.
- Shimmer talent instead provides 2 charges of Lightning Dash and allows Lightning Dash to be cast while casting other spells, but increases the cooldown to 20 seconds and no longer breaks stuns and bonds.
- Surge: Discharge lightning at all targets affected by Static charge, dealing (XXX% Spell Power) per Static Charge to all targets with Static Charge within 40 yards.
- Thunderstrike: Hurls a resonant bolt of lightning at the target, dealing (XXX% Spell Power) Nature damage, increased by 100% per static charge present on the target.
Spenders:
- Ionic Pulse: Feed all Voltage into a spark over 3 seconds, which detonates for [Voltage x (0.15% Spell Power)] Nature damage to all targets within 12 yards.
- Thunderbreak: Gather the fury of the storm for 5 seconds, then release a massive thunderbolt, consuming all available Voltage to deal [Voltage x (0.5% Spell Power)] Nature damage to the target.
Cooldown:
- Capacitance: Stores all expended Voltage for the next 7 seconds, returning that amount to you once expired.
- Essentially allows you to cast Thunderbreak or Ionic Spark twice in 7 seconds.
Defensives:
- Fulminant Barrier: Surrounds you with a protective lightning barrier, absorbing (Maximum Health * 20 / 100 * (1+Versatility)). Taking damage grants 20 Voltage per 1% Maximum Health Absorbed.
- Thunder Ball: Transform into a ball of lightning, increasing movement speed by 200% for 5 seconds and reducing all damage taken by 50%.
- 2 minute cooldown
- Ice Block (same as live)
- Alter time (same as live)
Mechanics:
- Frost Nova (same as live)
- Invisibility (same as live)
