WoW TWW 11.1 Development Notes - Mage Changes

Developers’ notes: Our updates for Frostfire Mage are focused on reducing the incentive to track auras and to make the talents more connected and conducive with each other.

• Excess Fire now triggers when you cast Meteor or Comet Storm (was reach max stacks of Fire Mastery).
• Frostfire Burst damage increased by 70%.
• Excess Frost now triggers when you consume Excess Fire (was reach max stacks of Frost Mastery) and may stack up to twice. Excess Frost now casts Ice Nova at 200% effectiveness (was 125%).
• The talent locations of Excess Frost, Excess Fire, Isothermic Core, Imbued Warding, and Meltdown have changed.
• Frostfire Bolt will now appropriately consume Overflowing Energy when it critically strikes.
• Frostfire Empowerment is now tracked on the personal resource display.

• Consuming Glorious Incandescence while at or around max range will now appropriately summon Meteorites.

Developers’ notes: We’re happy with where Arcane’s gameplay has landed after their 20th Anniversary Celebration update changes. Our primary goal in Undermine(d) is to simplify the number of variables one has to consider when casting Arcane Barrage.

• Enlightened has been updated – Arcane damage dealt is increased based on your current mana, up to 6% at full mana. Mana regen is increased based on your current mana, up to 20% when out of mana.
• Arcane Surge is now tracked on the personal resource display.
• The position of some talents have changed in gates 1 and 2.

Sunfury

• Glorious Incandescence has been updated – Spells that consume Burden of Power summon a storm of 4 Meteorites at their target. Meteorites summoned this way grant 1 Arcane Charge upon landing.
• Burden of Power once again benefits Arcane Barrage.
• Burden of Power is now tracked on the personal resource display.

Developers’ notes: Fire’s resource economy post-The War Within has been too generous, which has made certain spells like Fireball and Scorch feel unnecessary while also impacting how we can tune Pyroblast and Flamestrike. Our goal here is to reduce your access to Phoenix Flames and less-so Fire Blast while amping up your spenders to help increase skill expression, increase your reliance on casting, and make your exciting spells hit a bit harder. We will be monitoring these changes and adjusting accordingly.

• Heat Shimmer has been updated – No longer makes Scorch instant-cast. Now increases Scorch damage by 10%.

Developers’ notes: Instant-cast Scorches are another contributing factor to Fire’s resource overflow.

• Pyrotechnics has been updated – Critical chance increased to 20% (was 10%).
• Controlled Destruction has been updated – Now also triggers from Fireball.
• Master of Flame has been updated – Now increases Ignite and Fireball’s damage by 15% when Combustion is not active.
• Call of the Sun King has been updated – No longer grants an additional charge of Phoenix Flames and now grants 15% increased Phoenix Flames damage.
• Fire Blast cooldown increased to 14 seconds (was 12 seconds).
• Hyperthermia duration reduced to 5 seconds (was 6 seconds).
• Pyroblast damage increased by 10%.
• Pyroblast mana cost reduced to 1.5% base mana (was 2.5%).
• Flamestrike damage increased by 10%.
• Flamestrike mana cost reduced to 1.5% base mana (was 2.5%).
• Sun King’s Blessing damage bonus increased to 280% (was 260%).
• Phoenix Reborn now refunds 1 Phoenix Flame charge on use (was 2).
• Phoenix Reborn’s Phoenix Flames damage bonus increased to 200% (was 100%).
• Phoenix Reborn’s description, auras, and tooltips have been updated to better communicate their effects.
• Fixed an issue that caused Pyromaniac to grant Hyperthermia more often than it should.
• You can no longer trigger Hyperthermia when you already have it.

• Freezing Winds has been redesigned – Now causes Frozen Orb to deal 15% more damage to units affected by your Blizzard.

Developers’ notes: Freezing Winds was impacting our ability to increase access to Frozen Orb or put more power into Fingers of Frost. With the addition of Hero Talents, Frost is more flooded with Fingers of Frost than ever before, and we’d like to reduce Fingers of Frost’s proc rate so it can feel more meaningful when you have it while also giving us the design space to do more with it in the future.

• Blizzard damage increased by 100%.
• Blizzard increased to a 12 yard radius (was 8 yards).
• Blizzard duration increased to 12 seconds (was 8 seconds).

Developers’ notes: We’re interested in increasing Blizzard’s usability so it remains a compelling option when Frost Mages are in area of effect scenarios without requiring too much cognitive load.

• Ice Lances empowered by Fingers of Frost no longer consume Winter’s Chill.
• Glacial Assault’s description has been updated to better communicate its effects.
• Permafrost Lance’s talent icon has been updated to match its aura icon.

Spellslinger

• Consuming Fingers of Frost or Winter’s Chill now generates a Splinter (was Winter’s Chill).

Developers’ notes: Fingers of Frost not consuming Winter’s Chill means that Spellslinger would now not generate Splinters in many situations they would’ve previously. This adjustment is to make the flow of generating Splinters feel more consistent from your core rotation while pulling back on the Splinter generation from ancillary effects.

• Splintering Orbs now generates 5 Splinters for Frost Mages (was 6).
• Frost Splinter damage reduced by 10%.
• Splinterstorm damage reduced by 10%.
• Embedded Frost Splinter damage reduced by 10%.

• Temporal Shield (PvP Talent) has been removed.

• New PvP Talent: Ignition Burst – Heat Shimmer now additionally causes your next Scorch to become instant cast and cast at 100% effectiveness.