Jump to content
FORUMS
Sign in to follow this  
Stan

Mage Class Changes: August 11th

Recommended Posts

14386-an-analysis-of-legion-mage-changes

Finally, here is an overview of Mage changes that went live this week on the Shadowlands Beta. General changes include Rune of Power rework, Mirror Images damage reduction, and more.

Blizzard Logo(Source)

Hello Mages. In this week’s build, we’ve made many changes to Arcane as well as a few updates to the other specs to address recent concerns about talents and GCD usage.

General Mage Changes

  • Mirror Image Mirror Images  damage greatly reduced, Frostbolt Frostbolt added to all Mirror Image Mirror Images, and while your images are active, damage taken is reduced by 20%. Taking direct damage will cause one of your images to dissipate.
    • Developers’ notes: The goal is to push Mirror Image Mirror Images away from a DPS cooldown and give it a defensive component. Now, only taking direct damage will cause an image to dissipate and there is an ICD of 2 seconds to ensure at least a 6 second uptime when taking damage.
  • Rune of Power Rune of Power has been reworked to cast at your location when you use one of either Combustion Combustion, Arcane Power Arcane Power, or Icy Veins Icy Veins, depending on your spec.
    • Developers’ notes: This change is aimed to help with the cast time and GCD utilization at the beginning of an encounter, while remaining viable in your opener as a high burst window.

Arcane

The following Arcane changes are focused on reducing ramp up time, as well as opening up more talent options based on the content you’re running.

  • Arcane Power Arcane Power cooldown reduced to 2 minutes (was 3 minutes).
  • Touch of the Magi Touch of the Magi now generates 4 Arcane Charges on cast.
  • New Talent: Master of Time Master of Time – Reduces the cooldown of Alter Time Alter Time by 30 seconds. Alter Time Alter Time resets the cooldown of Blink when you return to your original location.
  • Alter Time Alter Time has been moved to Level 24 for Arcane mages.
  • Resonance Resonance damage per target hit with Arcane Barrage Arcane Barrage increased to 15% (was 10%).
  • Charged Up removed.
    • Developers’ notes: Touch of the Magi Touch of the Magi will now generate 4 charges baseline. This opens up the Level 35 tier for more viable options that focus heavily on dealing AoE damage.
  • New Level 35 Talent: Arcane Echo Arcane Echo – Direct damage you deal to enemies affected by Touch of the Magi Touch of the Magi, causes an explosion that deals [0.15xSP] Arcane damage to 8 nearby enemies.
  • Time Anomaly Time Anomaly now grants Time Warp Time Warp for 6 seconds.
    • Developers’ notes: A simple change, but this should make Time Anomaly Time Anomaly feel more satisfying as a talent since gaining Time Warp Time Warp is always a good thing, but gaining Arcane Charges isn’t something you’d always necessarily want.

Fire

Fire updates are centered around the change that saw Phoenix Flames Phoenix Flames baseline as the Ignite spread.

  • Phoenix Flames Phoenix Flames damage increased and recharge time reduced, but no longer guarantees critical hits.
    • Developers’ notes: Phoenix Flames Phoenix Flames still interacts with Hot Streak Hot Streak, so it can benefit within the Combustion Combustion window, but outside of that, it will primarily function as a way to spread your Ignite.
  • Alexstrasza's Fury Alexstrasza's Fury Dragon's Breath Dragon's Breath now also gains a 50% increased critical strike damage bonus.
  • New talent: From the Ashes From the Ashes – Increases Mastery by 2% for each charge of Phoenix Flames Phoenix Flames off cooldown, and your direct-damage critical strikes reduce its cooldown by 1 second.

More Shadowlands Class Changes

6D5HKWY2GULD1465340163386.png Death Knight KONFY3G21NRT1465340163602.png Mage 4K4NG17DH5OC1465340163651.png Rogue

Death Knight 9.0.1 Class Changes

Mage 9.0.1 Class Changes

Rogue 9.0.1 Class Changes

742W2C4VQJ651465340163518.png Demon Hunter MD3875H6PEN31465340163613.png Monk TGVJ0Y6O051R1465340163670.png Shaman

Demon Hunter 9.0.1 Class Changes

Monk 9.0.1 Class Changes

Shaman 9.0.1 Class Changes

BIML5YS7P8XA1465340163522.png Druid FTPZBBV8LWHM1465340163625.png Paladin Y65BR5SJIAKM1465340163689.png Warlock

Druid 9.0.1 Class Changes

Paladin 9.0.1 Class Changes

Warlock 9.0.1 Class Changes

3AP8QPDFMH191465340163595.png Hunter MMF2M70OD4PY1465340163646.png Priest Q21ASBT2SDXX1465340163697.png Warrior

Hunter 9.0.1 Class Changes

Priest 9.0.1 Class Changes

Warrior 9.0.1 Class Changes

Related News

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Actually was better for arcane before the changes.  Rune of power aligned with touch of the magi and arcane power aligned with Deathborne.  Now instead of a 45 sec cooldown and 2 charges on RoP it only gets cast w/arcane power, thats a lot to lose for a 1.5 sec GCD.

The arcane power change to 2 mins was also not a buff as it lasts 10sec instead of 15 (same amount of uptime every 6 mins)..  Seems like a developers attempt to add "skill" to the spec by mismatching our cooldowns, and balancing the talent tree by nerfing talents.  Here's an idea, balance by increasing the pop of the lesser selected talents, NO ONE LIKES A NERF FIX!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wait, did any spec actually use Mirror Images? I love the spell but always read it was rubbish compared ot the choices on that row. Had they buffed it before this? Another defensive on a glass cannon spec seems... off

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
7 hours ago, CheekyMonkey said:

Actually was better for arcane before the changes.  Rune of power aligned with touch of the magi and arcane power aligned with Deathborne.  Now instead of a 45 sec cooldown and 2 charges on RoP it only gets cast w/arcane power, thats a lot to lose for a 1.5 sec GCD.

The arcane power change to 2 mins was also not a buff as it lasts 10sec instead of 15 (same amount of uptime every 6 mins)..  Seems like a developers attempt to add "skill" to the spec by mismatching our cooldowns, and balancing the talent tree by nerfing talents.  Here's an idea, balance by increasing the pop of the lesser selected talents, NO ONE LIKES A NERF FIX!

Well, no, there are some condouits to buff the CD of AP, so its gonna be like in BfA, 1.5 cd. (So, they change it and came back).

 

Deathborne is a Covenant skill? Then it's not alligned with AP, like, what if I choose a different one? 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
5 hours ago, Bobbis said:

Wait, did any spec actually use Mirror Images? I love the spell but always read it was rubbish compared ot the choices on that row. Had they buffed it before this? Another defensive on a glass cannon spec seems... off

It's a base spell now, so you can use it on the open world (and as a low deffensive I see)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
7 minutes ago, Ravenclaw89 said:

It's a base spell now, so you can use it on the open world (and as a low deffensive I see)

Yeah, just seems off. I guess I'm used to thinking of it as an offensive CD, it makes sense being a more def based one.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 8/12/2020 at 10:06 AM, Bobbis said:

Yeah, just seems off. I guess I'm used to thinking of it as an offensive CD, it makes sense being a more def based one.

I think the premise is enemies are less sure which version of you to attack, so their hesitation leads to less damage.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Changes to Arcane look solid... Touch of the Magi reminds me a bit of Havoc for Destruction Warlock and will be a nice way to hop from pack to pack without worrying about having to save charges all the time.

Changes to Time Anomaly are amazing and further cements that talent as my favorite of the tier (maybe the spec). Really good class/spec fantasy with an awesomely fun example of RNG.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 8/13/2020 at 4:50 PM, durdyenglish said:

I think the premise is enemies are less sure which version of you to attack, so their hesitation leads to less damage.

The problem is that your copies attacks with frostbolt and I do it with Arcane Explosion ?

 

On 8/13/2020 at 4:56 PM, durdyenglish said:

Changes to Arcane look solid... Touch of the Magi reminds me a bit of Havoc for Destruction Warlock and will be a nice way to hop from pack to pack without worrying about having to save charges all the time.

Changes to Time Anomaly are amazing and further cements that talent as my favorite of the tier (maybe the spec). Really good class/spec fantasy with an awesomely fun example of RNG.

I like it too, but I still believe OP is a more reliable talent, but TA is great for open world. I like the new talent: Arcane echoes, it's a nice aoe spell. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
Sign in to follow this  

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

  • Similar Content

    • By Starym
      We have another triple entry in the hotfix ledger, as Radiant Echoes gets more improvements in retail, while Season of Discovery and Cata Classic get additional class changes.
       August 7  (Source)
      Player-characters
      Steady Flight should no longer be removed after entering an Arena. Quests
      We tuned up the Prototype Shredder MK-03 so that “Eye for an Eye” can be completed. Radiant Echoes Event
      Increased Flightstone and upgrade Crest drop rates in the event. Reduced the HP scaling on all event bosses so that they should be killable in a more-reasonable timeframe. Developers’ notes: This includes both ‘minibosses’ (e.g. Hogger, Thorim) and final bosses (e.g. Remembered Onyxia, Ragnaros). Season of Discovery
      Hunter Heart of the Lion once again has a 100 yard range. Warrior The Focused Rage rune will now correctly reduce the cost of Meathook by 3. Cataclysm Classic
      Fixed an issue where Faerie Fire did not deal intended amounts of threat when used on NPCs targeting another unit.
    • By Stan
      Due to a bug introduced with the War Within pre-patch, some players are receiving item level 250 gear from the weekly cache.
      We've seen numerous reports on Reddit and the official forums that the Last Hurrah weekly quest on live servers drop low-level gear for some players. Apparently, the bug was first introduced with the War Within pre-patch two weeks ago and still hasn't been fixed.
      Here's an example of a low item level drop from the Cache of Awakened Treasures by Omnifox.

    • By Starym
      Week 2 brings quite a few changes, as Hunters in particular rise up, while Shadow has a really bad time. The top 3 remains the same and very consistent, so let's jump in and see what's going on.
      Warcraft Logs Points
      The below logs are based on POINTS, and not actual damage or healing, meaning they log the timed completion for the specs, with higher keys getting more points, obviously. The time in which the dungeon is completed is also a factor, but a much, much smaller one, as it grants very few points if you do it significantly faster than just any in-time completion. We're also using the Normalized Aggregate Scores numbers, for clarity, meaning the top spec is marked as 100 and then the rest are ranked in relation to that peak point.
      All Keys
      95th percentile DPS
      The top 3 remains quite stable with the Evoker-Paladin-Warrior trio reigning supreme. We see the first change of the week right after that though, as Frost DK continues its upward march in dungeons as well as in raids, taking 4th from Elemental. Both DKs are on the rise, as Unholy also moves a spot up, taking advantage of Shadow's precipitous 5-spot fall to the bottom of the top 10. Arms remains stable as two Hunters burst in, Beast Mastery taking 8th and Marksmanship 9th, as Frost Mage disappears down towards the bottom. Speaking of the bottom, Devastation gets some new roommates there, as Outlaw and Destruction fall and give Enhancement and Feral a break.

      Mythic+ All Keys 95th Percentile Data by Warcraft Logs.
      All Percentiles
      As with the top percentiles, the top 3 remains solid, but 4th is immediately changed, thanks to Shadow's massive drop in performance this week. The Priest loses even more ground here, falling 9 spots into 13th, opening 4th up for Arms. Beast Mastery moves even higher here, grabbing 5th and moving in front of Elemental and Frost DK, as Marksmanship brings up the rear and completes the Hunter sandwich in 8th. Affliction breaks into the top 10, just ahead of Unholy which dropped to the final spot.

      Mythic+ All Keys All Percentile Data by Warcraft Logs.
      Raw DPS U.GG DPS Rankings
      U.gg's rankings are based on actual DPS taken from Warcraft Logs data, focusing on the top players and span the past two weeks.
      Frost DK finds itself on top in the raw DPS rankings, as Augmentation isn't calculated properly here. Fury and Arms grab the next two spots, moving ahead of Ret, and the Fyr'alath wins continue in 5th, where Unholy finished the legendary axe streak. Even Survival joins the Hunter good times in 8th, where all three specs gather, just ahead of Balance who closes out the top 10.
      Mythic+ All Keystone DPS rankings by u.gg.
       
       
      For even more in-depth data for each individual key head on over to Warcraft Logs. And if you're interested in more info on the specs themselves you can always check out our class guides (updated for the pre-patch), as well as our Mythic+ guides and Mythic+ tier list.
    • By Stan
      For the next two weeks, the Archaeology quest for Spirit of Eche'ro is available on live servers, so don't forget to get the rare mount before it's gone for 6 months!
      How to Get the Spirit of Eche'ro Mount
      1. Download MapCoords or some other add-os that displays coordinates in the game.
      2. Teleport to Azsuna from the Stormwind/Orgrimmar Portal Room or use your Dalaran Hearthstone to reach Dalaran (Legion) if you have one in your inventory.
      3. Seek out Archaeology Trainer Dariness the Learned in Dalaran at 41,26 and learn Archaeology if you already haven't.
      4. Accept The Right Path quest from the Archaeology Trainer and make your way to Thunder Totem in Highmountain.
      5. Talk to Lessah Moonwater to accept Laying to Rest. For the quest, you must collect 600 Bone Fragments of Eche'ro by rotating between four digsites in Highmountain. The exact locations with coords are outlined below.
      Digsite 1: Darkfeather Valley (50, 44) Digsite 2: Dragon's Falls (58, 72) Digsite 3: Path of Huin (44, 72) Digsite 4: Whitewater Wash (39, 65) it takes roughly around 2 hours to get the mount.
      Spirit of Eche'ro
      "The spirit of Huln Highmountain's pet moose."

      Hurry up! You only have until August 21, 2024, to get the mount!
    • By Stan
      MoP Remix characters that will transfer over to retail will receive a gear boost!
      With Patch 11.0.2 now live on Public Test Realms, you can copy over MoP Remix characters from retail! It appears all MoP Remix characters will receive a character boost so you can dive straight into action when the War Within expansion launches.

      We can't unfortunately log in to the game with the MoP Remix char on the PTR so we can't confirm the Item Level of gear for max level characters. However, keep in mind that the gear boost will scale with your level, so if you're below max cap, you will receive gear appropriate to your current level.
      When Can We Expect MoP Remix Characters to Transfer to Retail?
      MoP Remix ends on August 19, so we assume the characters will need to be transferred to retail by August 22 when Early Access begins.
×
×
  • Create New...