So, which build do we actually use for fire?

I see different talent suggestions on different websites. Icy veins only has a flame strike and single target build. However, that same website also says critical strike is our second best stat which I’m pretty sure is not right.

I tried using the ignite build from methods website, but my DPS suffered immensely as a result. Is there a go to build you guys have found for Small scale and large scale, AOE fights? I am also not sure if the standard single target builds are accurate as well

Please help

ST build for raid. Mostly ST-centric fights and ignite will just passively cleave where relevant. You can use the wowhead ones for reference. There’s a little bit of wiggle room for personal preference.

FS build for M+ unless you’re pushing way higher keys (mid 20s+). FS build is pretty much locked in talent choice-wise, and does decent upfront AoE damage without losing too much on boss damage. Ignite builds only really shine when mobs live for a long time and your ignite has a chance to ramp up. Even then, your role isn’t really to top the meters, but to do priority damage to an important/dangerous mob in a pull and let your ignite passively cleave on the side. (Ignite does the most damage when you can slam into one target, and suffers if you’re frequently switching targets.)

Crit being a good stat is really only applicable to the current season. Our tier set + Augury of the Primal Flame scale well with additional crit. Then you have on-use trinkets (e.g. Belor’elos) and staves (e.g. Nymue staff, Iridal) which I believe are also impacted by crit chance.

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Ok- I switched back to FS build and am doing well in 18s and up now. That said- I always score high on single target even when competing against rets, dks, warriors with Fyrakks weapon. I am pushing near 50% haste at this point.

Do you think it’s worth it to craft haste/crit on our dreamcrafted weapons? I’m still confused why a site like method would say crit isnt valuable and another site like icy veins claims it’s very important. I admit I don’t fully understand the interaction between crit chance and crit damage. Does more crit chance cause more crit damage? If so- it would make sense why it scales well with the things you mentioned

No, crit damage is a flat amount (200%) unless it gets modified by talents which only a few classes have and mages aren’t among them. Crit chance has no interaction with crit damage whatsoever.

Then, why would I see veins be calling for crit as the go to stat after haste?

Crit converts to Mastery at 75% during Combustion. Real reason is again trinkets/on-use effects + tier set bonus, which gives stacking crit damage from Pyro/FS crits. For FS build, Vers is better than Crit (since you’re very rarely hardcasting FS), but for ST, crit shines. (This is also because the Firestarter talent [which de-values Crit] has fallen out of favor.) You also generally want to be holding Fireblasts for Combust/SKB, so being able to build up SKB stacks from Fireball crits while minimizing force-converted Heating Up procs is pretty beneficial, especially this late in the season when we have enough Haste to spam out Fireballs in downtime fairly quickly.

Thank you- that makes more sense. I never thought about crit being valued to build up SKB stacks while avoiding using all my ignites thus not having 3 for combustion.

So do you think it makes more sense to go pure haste/crit for crafted pieces or an even spread of them makes the most sense? My crit is around 39% with two points in the crit bonus talent, my haste 48 I think, and vers is around 19 or so

Sim them both under Gear Compare and trust the robot