Useful info for a raiding mage

[Melonni]

So, you're a mage and you want to top the damage meters like Melonni? Here's some stuff that's helped me. =P

I was gonna write most of this myself, but then realized that almost everything I wanted to say would just be paraphrasing an already great guide posted on the Nihilum guild website.

The Quantzirian guide for above average magi of the Warcraft world
Go on, read it.

A few things from the above guide that I'd like to expand on ...

Spell hit:
Elemental Precision is currently (as of 2.3.2) bugged in an awesome way, or the tooltip is incorrect. It currently gives +6% spell hit to Frost spells and +3% spell hit to Fire. So if you are a frost spec (like 40/0/21 or 10/0/51), the hit cap for you is ~124.

I'd link the ElitistJerks.com posts confirming this bug through a series of tests, but they're eluding me right now. Will post once I find them again.

Gemming:
Before you're hit capped, the best gem to be socketing for DPS purposes will be the Orange +DMG/+Hit gems. ([item]Veiled Noble Topaz[/item] [item]Shining Fire Opal[/item])

After you're hit capped and have sockets to spare, you can go with Red +DMG gems ([item]Runed Living Ruby[/item]), or Orange +DMG/+Crit gems. ([item]Potent Noble Topaz[/item] [item]Potent Fire Opal[/item])

As for socket bonuses, I personally try to grab them whenever possible, even if it's something that may not seem special like +6 stamina. As a mage, your health will always be on the lower end, sometimes dangerously low if you're using high DPS / low stats gear such as Spellfire, Spellstrike, and [item]Belt of Blasting[/item]. So for blue sockets, I use +DMG/+Sta gems ([item]Glowing Nightseye[/item] [item]Glowing Tanzanite[/item]) 'cause it's the best DPS-purpose gem you can find that will match a blue socket. Plus the stamina is handy.

Consumables:
[item]Superior Wizard Oil[/item]
Materials needed -
Imbued Vial x1 -- Available from Alchemy Suppliers
Arcane Dust x3 -- Disenchant a green or two for these, or have a friend do it for you
Nightmare Vine x1 -- If you're unable to weed these from SMV, just buy a stack via AH every once in a while. =)

[item]Blackened Basilisk[/item]
Materials needed -
Chunk o' Basilisk x1 -- They drop decently from the basilisks poking around Terokkar Forest, Zangarmarsh, and the reddish ones hanging around Skald in Blade's Edge Mountains. Very easy to get.

I can cook these, so if you lack the cooking skill yourself, just message me in-game. =) Also, it is worth keeping some +20 (or +30) Stamina food with you for certain fights where you know you'll be taking a bunch of damage and possibly die - think Gruul, or the Eagle avatar in ZA. I won't list those 'cause there are bunches, lol.

[item]Flask of Pure Death[/item]
[item]Flask of Blinding Light[/item]
[item]Flask of Supreme Power[/item] (Not-as-good, but less expensive)
Flasks will give you a notable DPS boost, but can be expensive. I'd encourage you to use these on our progression raid nights where there will be a lot of wiping and learning to do. =)

[item]Adept's Elixir[/item]
[item]Elixir of Draenic Wisdom[/item]
I use these on our 'farm content' for cost reasons - if you need any made, I can craft them on my rogue.

[item]Flame Cap[/item]
[item]Destruction Potion[/item]
These are additional consumables that are sometimes overlooked. They haven't proved terribly useful to me lately due to our lack of Shadow priests, but they are worth keeping around, and are nice when paired with a spriest/caster shammy where your pot/gem cooldown isn't constantly reserved for mana. If you need any Destruction Potions crafted, I can do them on my rogue.

[item]Super Mana Potion[/item]
[item]Unstable Mana Potion[/item]
[item]Crystal Mana Potion[/item]
[item]Super Healing Potion[/item]
Always carry a decent supply of mana potions with you as a raiding mage! OOM is never cool and severely cuts into your DPS. Crystal Mana Potions can be purchased with Apexis Shards (rewarded for Ogri'la dailies).

You won't need to use health potions that often, but they sometimes can prove to be life-savers. Remember, a dead mage contributes nothing.

*****

Useful websites

www.ElitistJerks.com
Great theorycraft forum, strict rules against spreading BS.

Theorycraft-o-Matic
www.manoutoftime.org/staticpages/index.php/tcom
Excellant tool that gives you a bunch of useful info regarding DPS output, stat scaling, etc. based on your current Armory info and/or stats you specify.

*****

In closing, I hope this was of some semi-use to somebody, and remember I'd be happy to discuss this stuff in-game if you're looking for advice on an upgrade, rotations, or other related stuff.

And yeah, I know damage meters aren't everything. xD

[fiere redfern]

Just a note, Mel - the Elitist Jerks URL has a typo. The actual site is: http://elitistjerks.com/ 

[Tolwen]

Ty Mel, This answered a lot of my questions

[Melonni]

Since posting this, I've designated my rogue to be my main character, and I've slacked a bit on keeping up with Mage theorycraft. So I would suggest to anyone interested to regularly read the ElitistJerks.com forum, namely the mage-focused threads.

Also, my approach towards stamina needs have changed. For starters, a (raiding) mage should always gem for purpose of maximizing DPS, and never over-use +Dmg/+Sta (or +Haste/+Sta) gems if it's resulting in lower damage stats. Only two fights (if I recall correctly, unsure about Sunwell) absolutely demand a minimum amount of health to avoid being killed - Doomwalker and Najentus. However, I know very well that a low health mage can easily die to uncontrollable factors in many other fights.

So there are two solutions, the lazy one and the optimal one. The lazy solution ... overuse +sta hybrid gems in your primary gear "just in case", and hinder your damage potential in every fight you do, even if you didn't need that extra stamina. The better solution ... gem/enchant for maximum damage potential, and keep some S3/Vindicator PvP gear with you for encounters where you're concerned about low health.

I'd also like to say that this post isn't directed at anyone in particular ... if anything, it's more directed at myself. I wasn't properly gemming my gear for a while due to fear of having low stamina, but I've come to realize it's not the optimal approach to maximizing my potential, and staying alive too.