TBC Classic Fire Mage Stat Priority

1. Spell Hit rating to cap. That is 165 without Inspiring Presence and Totem of Wrath, 152 with Inspiring Presence only, 127 with Totem of Wrath only and 114 with both;
2. Spell Damage;
3. Spell Haste;
4. Spell Crit;
5. Intellect;
6. Stamina;
7. Spirit and MP5;

All Fire spells gain 3% Hit chance from Elemental Precision. The general aim is to be Hit capped for bosses and level 73 targets (16%), so Fire Mages need 13% hit chance from gear and buffs. On trash mobs, Fire Mages may use an item set with 26 hit rating on it, since they naturally get 3% hit from Elemental Precision and only need 2% more hit to cap out versus level 72 targets. Spell Hit rating until the cap is the best stat any Mage can get, 12.62 Spell Hit rating are required for 1% Spell Hit chance.

Any increase in this stat increases the damage all your spells do. This stat scales even better in TBC with the Empowered Fireball talent, giving Fireball 15% more damage from the stat Spell Damage.

Casting 1% faster means doing 1% more damage but spending 1% more Mana. If you have a lot of Haste as a Fire Mage, this can be a double edged sword, as this talent lets you go out of Mana (oom) faster. Fire Mages should, if possible, be in a group with a Shadow Priest group, as their best spec usually has Mana problems. 15.77 Spell Haste rating will increase Spell Haste by 1%.

Fire spell Critical Strikes do 216,3% damage with Chaotic Skyfire Diamond, 210% damage without the Skyfire Diamond (including Ignite damage), therefore Spell Crit is pretty good for Fire Mages. However, the 22.08 Critical Strike rating required to increase your Critical Strike chance by 1%, make this stat one of the most "expensive" in terms of item budget. As a consequence, Fire Mages only gear for Crit, if there is no alternative to it.

Intellect increases your Mana pool, your Mana regeneration, and Critical Strike chance with spells slightly. 80 points of Intellect are required to increase the Critical Strike chance by 1%. You should never gear for Intellect as a Fire Mage, and only take the Intellect that naturally comes with gear.

Stamina increases your Health, which makes you more likely to survive, if you get damaged. The rule is simple: Stamina is no stat you should actively gear for, but it never hurts to have some. For High King Maulgar in Gruul's Lair, one Mage needs enough Stamina to reach 10.000 health, in order to tank one boss.

Both stats increase your Mana regeneration, but are most unimportant. Fire Mages will experience Mana issues, however, stacking those two stats will not solve these issues.