BlastWave:Thebigchangehereisanawesomeone.Thetooltipsaysit'llknocktargetsback,anditisn'tkidding.OneofthefirstthingsI'dadvisedoingafterthepatchhits,thoseofyouwhointendtospecFire,istowalkintoacrowdofenemiesandsetthisthingoff.Watchyourenemiesgoflying.Gigglewithglee.
Theintroductionofknockbackeffectstothegamewillendupbeingoneofthispatch'sgreatestlegacies,inmyhumbleopinion,especiallyinPvP.PictureusingthistohelpdefendtowersinAlteracValley,orkeeppeopleofftheflaginWarsongGulch.InArena,this'llbeagodsendforescapabilitypurposes,orjustasacontrolmethod.Eitherway,it'sjustasillyamountoffuntouse,andfunissomethingofwhichIthinkwecouldalluseabitmore.
MoltenShields:Insteadofa20%chancetoreflectspellsthespellstheyward,thistalentnowgrantsa30%chance.Sadly,yourCheap聽MoltenArmorwillnowtopoutata50%chancetoaffectrangedandspellattacks,downfrom100%.ThisisstillaPvPonlytalent,really.
MoltenFury:Thishasbeenbuffedandnerfed.Itnowaffectsmobsthatareat35%healthorunder(upfrom20%),butonlyincreasesdamagedonetothemby12%(downfrom20%).Thismakesthetalentusefulmoreoften,butatthepriceofdoinglessdamage.Overall,thisisstillaveryusefultalentforburningbossesdown.
EmpoweredFire(formerlyEmpoweredFireball):Thisstillgrantsthesamedamageboostitalwaysdid,butnowitappliestobothFireballandFrostfireBolt(whichwe'llbegettingatlevel75),anddoessoforonly3talentpointsinsteadof5.Averywelcomechange.
NewTalent-FieryPayback:I'mstillnotsoldonthisone.Anymechanicthatrequiresouralreadymeagerhealthbarstobeat35%orlowertoworkisneversomethingI'llfeelentirelycomfortablewith.Still,there'snodenyingthevalueofwhatitdoesdo:1.5secondPyroblastsona5secondcooldown?That'llbenicetosandwichintomyFireballspamming.Thewholeimpending-deaththingiscounteredabitbythe20%reductionindamagetaken,makingthisagreatPvPtalent,butbeingadeepFireMageinhigh-levelPvPisstillinadvisableanway.I'mjustnotsurehowoftenthis'llbeworthwhileinPvE,whichiswhatthistreeisdesignedfor.
NewTalent-Firestarter:Theinstant-castFlamestrikethiswillprovideaftercastingDragon'sBreathorBlastWaveisundeniablyabigAoEdamageboost.Theproblem?Ifyou'vejustcastBlastWave,yourtargetshavebeenknockedawayfromyouinalldirections,makingyouhavetowaitforthemtore-convergeuponyoutohitthemallwiththisanyway.Asmallcomplaint,butbothersome.
NewTalent-HotStreak:Aftergoingthroughalotofchangesinthebeta,thisspellisnowthoroughlysplendid.EverytimeyouscoretwocritsinarowwithanyofyourFiretreesingle-targetnukes,yougetainstantPyroblast.ConsideringhowoftenFireMagescancritwiththingslikeCombustion...mmm,delicious.
NewTalent-Burnout:Anotheronethatstartedoff"meh"andhassincebecomemuchmore"yeah!"Ilikethistalentalotnow.Itgivesaflat50%spellcritdamageboostataveryreasonablecost.Eachcritwillrunyou5%moreofthebasecostofthespell.That'saverygoodtrade-off.
NewTalent-LivingBomb:SinceIreviewedthistalentinSkillMasteryafewweeksback,ithaslostitsbug-riddenknock-upcomponent.Thisisaloss,butitwaslookinglikeitmightneverbeproperlyimplementedanyway.Asitstandsnow,thisisapowerfulinstant-cast,AoEDoTthatdoesn'tcosttooawfullymuchmanaandhasnocooldown.It'snoSeedofCorruption,but...ohscrewit.IgrowsowearyofhatingWarlockssometimes.Wait...whatamIsaying?Justignoreme,myblood-sugarmustbeloworsomething.
FrostTree
Thebigearlychangesinthistreemostlyhavetodowithpositioning,soIwon'tlistthemindividually.IceFloesisnowa1sttiertalent,sothat'snice.ElementalPrecisionisnowa2ndtiertalent,sothat'snotsonice.Thechangeswillmostlyaffectnon-FrostMages,asthey'llfindsomeoftheirfavoriteearlyFrosttreetalentshavebecomelessaccessible.
FrostWarding:Inadditiontomovingdownatier,thistalenthaschangedabit.Insteadofa20%chancetoreflectanyFrostspellswhileactive,yourFrostWardwillnowgiveyoua30%chancetorefundanydamagethatwouldhavebeencausedbywardedspellsbacktoyouasmana.That'spotentiallyalargeamountofmanareturn,butnotverydependableatall.Yourmileagewiththismayvary.
Shatter:Dittohere.Sameforless.It'slikereverseinflation.
FrostChanneling:Ah,yougetmeallbutteredupbymakingmespendfewertalentpointsonthingsIlike...andthenyousuckerpunchmerightinthemanabar.ThistalentnowonlyreducesthemanacostofyourFrostspellsby10%insteadof15%.IguessFrostMagesjusthadtoomuchmana,huh?Whatever.SeeifIevertrustyouagain,Blizzard.I'mmoping,justsoyouknow.I'mmopingandifyounerfanythingelse,Imightjustpout.Don'tunderestimatemypoutpotential,Blizzard.IamMage,fearme.Rawr,orsomething.
FrozenCore:Thishasbeenexpandedtoreducedamagefromallspells,insteadofjustFire/Frostspells,whichismildlyexciting.
Winter'sChill:ThisusedtoonlyapplytoFrostspells,butnowthe10%extracritchance(whenfullystacked)worksforeveryspellcastonthetarget.Thisisaniceraid-wideDPSbuffthatFrostMagescanbringtothetablenow,andIthinkwecanallagreethatisagoodthing.It'slikeImprovedScorch,onlyit'scalledWinter'sChill.
NewTalent-ColdasIce:ThistalentislikeIceFloes'longlosttwin.Itlowersthecooldownonmanyofthehigher-levelFrostspells,whileIceFloesaffectsthelower-levelones.AdeepFrostMagewilllikelywanttohavebothofthesetalentsmaxedout.
NewTalent-ShatteredBarrier:Withthistalent,everytimeyourIceBarrierisdestroyed(meaningabsorbsitsmaximumamountofdamage)ittriggersafree,offtheglobalcooldownFrostNova.YournormalFrostNovacooldownisnotaffected.MoreFrostNovasareagoodthing.You'llneedtobecarefulaboutwhenitgoesoffinPvE,butinPvP,thishasadefiniteupside.
EmpoweredFrostbolt:Forthreefewertalentpoints,wegetalmostthesamevalue.Theextracritchancehasgonefrom5%to4%,butthebonusdamagehasstayedstrongat10%.Overall,thisisapositivechange.
NewTalent-FingersofFrost:Thisisagoodidea,butstillpoorlyimplemented.Itgivesyourchilleffectsa15%chancetoapplytheFingersofFrosteffect,whichconsidersthetargetfrozenforthenexttwospells.Thisisnice,butitisostensiblydesignedtoprovideShattercomboopportunitiesinPvE,onlyitdoesn'tdothis.WastingeitherofthosechargesonanIceLanceisabadidea,sinceyou'dbelosingDPSfromsimplyspendingbothchargesonFrostbolts.Thetalentisstillvaluable,butcouldbesomuchmore.InPvPitisquitepowerful.
NewTalent-BrainFreeze:A15%chanceoneveryFrostspellcasttogetafree,instantFireball?Itdoesn'tmakealotofsense,butI'lltakeit.ThistalentprovidesasubstantialDPSincrease,andisactuallybetterthanClearcasting,andatthreetalentpointsnoless.
NewTalent-ImprovedWaterElemental:Thisisanexampleofatalentthatstartedoffheavenly,buthassincedescendedintofarmoreterrestrialterritory.Themanabatteryeffectisstillnice,butit'llonlyenduprestoring7.2%oftheraid'stotalmanaovertheelemental's1minuteduration.That'snothingtosneezeat,butafarcryfromthe35%orsothatitstartedoffrestoring.Theextratimeonyourelementalisalsoworthwhile.Allthingsconsidered,thisisstillavaluabletalent.
NewTalent-ChilledtotheBone:ThisisaniceDPSboost.5%extradamagetoyourprimarynukesanda10%bufftoyourchilleffectsiswellworththetalentpoints.
MagicAttunement:Thechangehereisquitenice.Inadditiontoitsoldeffect,italsoincreasestherangeofyourArcanespellsby6yards.Yes,please.
SpellImpact(formerlyArcaneImpact):ThisusedtoonlyaffectArcaneExplosionandArcaneBlast.Nowitworksonalotmorespells.Alotmore.Icangetbehindthat.
NewTalent-StudentoftheMind:Nothingflashyhere;itdoeswhatitsays.10%extraspiritisniceifyouhavealotofspiritalready,lessniceifyoudon't.Ifyoudon't,waittopickthisoneupuntilyoustartpickingupallthecastergearyou'llrunintointheexpansion.Ithasatonofspiritonit.
ImprovedCounterspell:Theonlydifferencewiththisoneisthatthefirsttalentpointgives2secondsofsilence,ratherthana50%chancetosilencefor4seconds.Thesecondtalentpointdoesexactlywhatitusedtodo.
ArcaneShielding(formerlyImprovedManaShield):Muchnicer.ItreducestheamountofmanadrainedbyManaShieldby33%(upfrom20%)withtheaddedbonusofbuffingyourMageArmorresistancesby50%.CombineMageArmorwiththisandMagicAbsorptionandyou'llberesistingspellslikeacrazy...um...spell-resistingperson.Orsomething.
NewTalent-TormenttheWeak:ThisspellworksreallywellwithSlow,finallygivingArcaneMagesareasontousethatspellinPvE.ApplySlow,andthendo12%moredamagewithspellsyou'llbeusingalot,likeArcaneMissilesandArcaneBarrage.ReapplySlowasneeded.It'sassimpleasthat.
ImprovedBlink:Thishasbeenbuffednicely.ItnowreducesthemanacostofBlinkby50%aswellasgivinga4secondbuffwhenyouBlinkthatmakesyou30%hardertohit(upfrom25%).Evennicer,thetalentonlycosts2talentpointsinsteadof3.
ArcanePotency:Samespellasbefore,butnowonlycoststwotalentpointsandalsoappliestothefirstspellcastafteractivatingPresenceofMind.Forfewertalentpoints,thisspellwillnowalsobeusefulmoreoften.That'snotshabby.
PrismaticCloak:Thistalentcosts3talentpointsnowinsteadof2,butthebenefitsfaroutweighthatdrawback.Itdecreasesalldamagetakenby6%insteadof4%,andhastheaddedeffectofreducingthefade-outtimeforInvisibilityby3seconds.ThatmakesInvisibilityinstant.Thisisamust-haveforPvP,noquestion.
ArcaneEmpowerment:ThistalentstillbuffsyourArcaneMissilesby45%ofyourtotalspellpower,butnowalsoaffectsyourArcaneBlastspells(onlyby9%though).BlizzardalsooptedtoremovethestupidmanapenaltyforArcaneMissiles.Thanks,Blizz!
NewTalent-Incanter'sAbsorption:Ok,letmeexplainthisoneasbestIcan.SayyouhaveFireWardup.YougethitbyaFireballandyourFireWardabsorbs1125damage.15%of1125is169roundedup.Forthenexttenseconds,yourspelldamagewillbeincreasedby169.IfyourPriestbuddyweretothencastPowerWord:Shieldonyouandyouweretoabsorbanadditional1265damage(15%ofwhichis190),yournewbuffof190spelldamagewouldoverwritetheoldbuff,lastingforanothertenseconds.Thisspellworksfairlywellifyou'reskilledatthrowingupwardspellsandManaShieldattherighttimes,oryou'reinanencounterwhereyou'reabsorbinglotsofdamageforsomereason.
NewTalent-ArcaneFloes:LikeIceFloes...onlyforArcaneMages!TakingaminuteoffthecooldownsforPresenceofMind,ArcanePower,andInvisibilityissomethingIwouldthinkeveryArcaneMageeverwouldlike,especiallyforonlytwotalentpoints.
MindMastery:Nerfed.Insteadofincreasingyourspelldamageby25%ofyourtotalintellect,thistalentnowincreasesyourspellpowerbyonly15%.I'mnotsurewhythistalentwasdeemedtoopowerful,butnowit'saquestionablevaluefor5talentpoints.
Slow:Buffed.12%ofbasemanainsteadof20%,slowsmovement,castingtime,andrangedattackspeedby60%insteadof50%.AddinthevalueofTormenttheWeakandthisspellisnowusefulinbothPvPandPvE.Worthapick-upforanyArcanebuild.
ArcaneTree
ArcaneFocus:Thisusedtocost5talentpointsandreduceyourtarget'sresistancetoyourArcanespellsby10%.Itwasn'tverygood.Nowit'samust-takeforanyArcaneMage.Forthreepoints,itgivesyou3%extrachancetohit(muchbetterthanaloweredchancetoresist)withyourArcanespells,plusitdoesdoubledutybyreducingtheirmanacostbythatsame3%.Hugeupgrade.
Edit:ApparentlyI'mwronghere.10%loweredchancetoresististhesameas10%increasedchancetohit.Thankstoanumberofcommentersforthecorrection.Thespellhitportionofthetalentappearstobeanerf,butaddingthe3%manacostreductionbringsitinlinewithElementalPrecision.Sorryforthemistake,asalways.
ArcaneSubtlety:ThisstillprovidesthesameArcanethreatreduction,whichisgreatinPvE,andnowprovidesa30%chanceyourspellswon'tbedispelledinsteadofafairlyuselessloweringofyouropponent'sspellresistancesby10.That10wouldn'tscale,andwasneververygoodtobeginwith,sotheloweredchancetodispelyourspells(picturethatfelhunterhavingahardertimeeatingyourbuffs)isbetter.
ArcaneStability(formerlyImprovedArcaneMissiles):TheonlychangehereisthatthetalentnowappliestoArcaneBlastaswell.IfArcaneBlasteverbecomeslessofamanadrainandcanberelieduponasanukeagain,thistalentwillmaketwoofArcane'sprimarydamagedealersunpushbackable.Spellcheckertellsmethatisn'taword.Don'targuewithme,spellchecker.Iwilldestroyyou.
ArcaneFortitude:ThishasbeenmovedtotakethespotvacatedbyWandSpecialization(solong,WandSpecialization!Yousucked,butyoudiditwithflair.)andhasbeenchangedtorequire3talentpointsinsteadofjustoneandincreaseyourarmorby150%ofyourtotalintellectratherthan100%.It'sstillaverysituationaltalent,usefulonlytoPvPMages,andthenonlymarginally.Forthreetalentpoints,I'mgoingtobepassing.
MagicAbsorption:Thistalent,ontheotherhand,isathingofbeauty.Thoughthemanareturnmechanichasgonefrom5%onafullresistto2%,italmosthadtobenerfedbecauseofthefrequencywithwhichMagesresistspellswiththistalent.Insteadofaflat10%increasetoallresistancesfor5talentpoints,thistalentnowgrants1resistancepointperlevelatthecostofonlytwotalentpoints.Thatmeansawhopping70resistanceineverycategoryatlevel70,and80whenweallhit80,andthen120whenwereachlevel120fourexpansionsfromnowandwe'reallfightingArthgeras,Arthas'illegitimatelovechildwithSargeras.Thisisaverynicetalent.
NewTalent-FocusMagic:Here'showthisworks:Youcastitonafriendlytarget(onlyusableononetarget,andcan'tbeself-cast),andtheygeta30-minutebuffthatgrantsthema3%extrachancetocritwithspells.Everytimetheycrit,yougeta10-secondbuffthatdoesthesamethingforyou(3%spellcritchance).Useitonaclassthatcastsalotofspellsandcritsfrequently(thoughIhaven'tconfirmeditworksonhealingspellcrits,I'dgoHolyPaladinhere)andyour3%critbuffwillbeupmostofthefight.Itdoesn'tstack,insteadoverwritingtheoldbuffeachtimeyourfriendcrits.Ifusedproperly,it'satwo-personbuffthatisn'tbadatall.Forjustonetalentpoint,it'sworthapick-up.
NewTalent-MissileBarrage:Averyfuntalent.ItwasmorevaluablebackwhenArcaneBlastwasmorespammable,butit'sstillagreattimehadbyall.ThistalentisessentialtomakeyourArcanespellrotationsmorepowerful,asthatoccasionaldoublespeedArcaneMIssilesisasubstantialDPSincrease,andlooksawesomewhenitpopsout.I'mabigfanofthistalent,especiallynowthatitprocsoffofArcaneBarrage.
NewTalent-NetherwindPresence:Thisiswellworthyourtalentpoints.6%spellhasteisaflatDPSincrease,whichiswhattalentsthisdeepinthetreeshouldprovide.
SpellPower:Thishasmovedfromtier7totier10,butitstilldoesthesamethingitalwaysdid,anddeepArcaneMageswon'tcareaboutthemove.Arcane/FireorArcane/FrostMagesmight,butwecan'thaveeverything,Iguess.Nomatterhowmuchwemaywantit.
NewTalent-ArcaneBarrage:Bynow,youlikelyknowofmytorridloveaffairwiththisspell.Ifnot,goreadmysteamy,gushingSkillMasteryonthesubject.Inshort:Instantcast,3-secondcooldown,highdamagenuke.Iloveit.ItgivesArcaneMagesawaytododamageandstillremainmobile.Itfitsnicelyintoeveryspellrotation.Iloveit.Again,ifIweretodescribemyfeelingsforthisspellinoneword,thatwordwouldbe"love."IhopeI'vebeenclearaboutthis.
FireTree
ImprovedFireBlast:Thistalenthasmovedtotierone,coststwotalentpointsinsteadofthree,andprovidesa2secondreductioninthecooldownofyourFireBlastspellsinsteadof1.5.IlikewhenBlizzardmakesmytalentsbetterineveryway,don'tyou?
Incineration:Thoughitnowrequiresthreetalentpointsinsteadoftwo,thisalwaysqualitytalenthasmovedtotierone,makingitmoreaccessible,andthatextratalentpointpushesthecritchancebonusfrom4%to6%.Ifthatisn'tenough,thecritbonusnowappliestotwoextraspells,ArcaneBlastandConeofCold,makingthetalentvaluabletomorebuilds.
NewTalent-BurningDetermination:Thisisaninterestingpassiveability,providing10secondsofsilenceandinterruptimmunityanytimeyoubecomeaffectedbyeithermechanic.Thesilenceorinterrupteffectthattriggeredtheimmunitywillstillrunitscourse,butanyadditionalKicks,EarthShocks,Counterspells,orwhateverthatgetattemptedduringtheensuingtensecondswillbouncerightoffofyou.It'sagreatPvPability,butoflimiteduseinPvE.
NewTalent-WorldinFlames:Thisispartofthewhole"MagesarekingsofAoE"movementBlizzardinsistsonfoistingonus.It'sagoodtalent,though,applyingtojustabouteveryAoEspellMageshave,inallthreetrees.Thatextra6%chancetocritisaddsupquicklywhenyou'renuking18targetsatonce.Onethingthatpuzzlesme,though,isthename.Ifwe'recastingBlizzard,howexactlyarewecreatinga"worldinflames?"I'mconfused.
Impact:MovingthistalentfromtieronetotierthreesucksforFrostorArcanehybrids,butthetalentitselfisnowonlythreetalentpointsforthesamevalue.ItcouldbeworseIguess.
Pyroblast:Takes5secondstocastnowinsteadof6.Wellok,then.
ImprovedScorch:Thishasgonefromaself-bufftoaraidbuff.Insteadofgetting15%extradamagetoFirespellswhenfullystackedonthetarget,thisnowprovides10%extracritchanceforeverycaster.Anythingthatmakesusmorevaluabletotheraid,Iguess.
MasterofElements:Insteadofonlyrefunding30%ofthemanacostofyourFireandFrostspells,thisnowappliestoanyspellcast.
Tags:Cheap