WotLK Popping your CDs - FFB LB Mage

[michaelfloyd3]

Hey guys, I am playing a FFB and im just curious as to when to use my cooldowns

I typically wait until both phylactery and charred have procced and then use combustion, icy veins, and mirror image (ive got 4p t10).

However, once Cds start to come off CD during a fight, when should i use them?

Should i use them as they come off CD, or wait the full 3 minutes for them all to be available at once?

Any help would be appreciate

[Maniacofpeace]

My opener is something like this:
1) Pre-cast a Pyroblast hardcast when the pull timer is at 5 seconds, if the fight allows it.
2) Mirror images as the tanks pull
3) Scorch if needed.
4) LB + Combustion + Icy Veins + Berserking
5) FFB spam begins

There's no benefit to timing Combustion with Icy Veins. Combustion is going to benefit only a fixed number of spells regardless of how fast you cast them. There is, however, a benefit to timing Combustion with trinkets and Mirror Images. On a fight like BQL, where your usage of CD's is limited, wait for Mirror Images to come back before you Icy Veins, unless of course the boss is going to die before your Mirror Images come back up. On a long fight like Lich King, I usually just pop Combustion and Icy Veins on CD, unless I know there might be something that's gonna interrupt my DPS and prevent me from getting the most out of them.

[michaelfloyd3]

i get that icy veins / combustion dont impact each other, but if youre already saving icy veins to go with mirror image, combustion also does more with mirror image also, so wouldnt it make sense to just save them for all at once?

[Nidoxii]

Start like this :
1. FFB clipped with LB
2. Pop Mirrors + icy veins + combustion
3. Spam FFB

- You can wait with combustion for both trinkets to proc and for the warlock pet to crit, just don't do it too late so that combustion gets wasted on the Living bomb explosion.

- As for when to use cooldowns, you will usually want to time them with trinket procs of course, but watch out if you have to stop dps or move, then it might be a bit of a waste, but you always want to use cd's as fast as it allows so you can use it more times in a fight, especially LK. For lk 25 hc I usually I use my cd's at start, have them ready when phase 2 starts with hero, and then Combustion is back for ragings in second transition. After that we go into phase 3 and after we get out of frostmourne you should have all 3 cooldowns ready or combustion just about to get ready. Then get into position, avoid vile spirits and pop cd's, usually this is the time when your charred will proc if you never stopped casting whole encounter.

[Maniacofpeace]

i get that icy veins / combustion dont impact each other, but if youre already saving icy veins to go with mirror image, combustion also does more with mirror image also, so wouldnt it make sense to just save them for all at once?

Depends on the fight. If you only have enough time to get off one more round of CD's, go ahead and pop them together. If you're potentially gaining more CD's used by using them on CD, such as on LOD, go ahead and pop them off CD.

For lk 25 hc I usually I use my cd's at start, have them ready when phase 2 starts with hero, and then Combustion is back for ragings in second transition. After that we go into phase 3 and after we get out of frostmourne you should have all 3 cooldowns ready or combustion just about to get ready. Then get into position, avoid vile spirits and pop cd's, usually this is the time when your charred will proc if you never stopped casting whole encounter.

Honestly, the only CD you benefit from casting with Bloodlust is Mirror Images. Stacking haste cooldowns provides no benefit over using them separately, and like I mentioned earlier, combustion only benefits a limited number of spells. If you're DPSing the boss during the first transition phase (and you should be), you should aim to pop your second Icy Veins while attacking him here, as correctly specced mages have should be permanently critting here.

[Nidoxii]

Depends on the fight. If you only have enough time to get off one more round of CD's, go ahead and pop them together. If you're potentially gaining more CD's used by using them on CD, such as on LOD, go ahead and pop them off CD.



Honestly, the only CD you benefit from casting with Bloodlust is Mirror Images. Stacking haste cooldowns provides no benefit over using them separately, and like I mentioned earlier, combustion only benefits a limited number of spells. If you're DPSing the boss during the first transition phase (and you should be), you should aim to pop your second Icy Veins while attacking him here, as correctly specced mages have should be permanently critting here.

You stack your ignite when you crit the boss before the first tick of ignite happens which is 2 seconds. Popping combustion and mirrors here with icy veins makes sure your casts are less than 2 seconds and that they will crit, making your ignite stack up a lot. Even if you constantly crit in transition, there are no debuffs on the boss, the warlock pet might not even be hitting anything and not giving you the sp buff. Using icy veins in transition will not make your ignites stack, your casts jist won't be fast enough.

[Maniacofpeace]

You stack your ignite when you crit the boss before the first tick of ignite happens which is 2 seconds. Popping combustion and mirrors here with icy veins makes sure your casts are less than 2 seconds and that they will crit, making your ignite stack up a lot. Even if you constantly crit in transition, there are no debuffs on the boss, the warlock pet might not even be hitting anything and not giving you the sp buff. Using icy veins in transition will not make your ignites stack, your casts jist won't be fast enough.

Ignite stacking is a huge myth. You seem to misunderstand the way Ignite works. Your crits build a damage bank. All fire spell crits contribute towards this damage bank, and whenever ignite ticks, that damage bank loses half the total amount of damage stored in it. Your ignite does exactly the same regardless of when those crits happened, so long as all those spells crit for the same amount. Go ahead and test this on a dummy. Basically, there is virtually no benefit to "stacking ignite". There was a misconception amongst retail mages that they had to "keep ignite running high", but ignite doesn't work that way at all.

The point about the warlocks is also a moot point. Any half decent warlock should have the sense to cast curse of elements on the boss before you run out for transition phase, as well as to keep his felguard attacking the raging spirits for spellpower.