Fire Mage
vs
Frost Mage
What’s the best spec for Mages, Frost or Fire? Below breaks down their current DPS potential and compares the two.
This page analyzes multiple simulations for both Frost Mages and Fire Mages using profiles and settings intended to achieve their maximum DPS. Multiple sim environments are used to test how they perform in various conditions. Is one the AoE king? Does one scale better with gear upgrades? Is one more bursty, and more reliant on big cooldowns? Below analyzes the data to find the strengths of each.
Simulation results were created with SimulationCraft
Using game data from Patch 10.0.5 • WoW Dragonflight •
- Fire Mage
- Best AoE DPS (in perfect settings)Fire Mage achieved 39.85% more AoE DPS than Frost Mage when there was no movement or lag.
Frost Mage- Best boss DPS (in perfect settings)Frost Mage achieved 4.16% more maximum boss DPS than Fire Mage when there was no movement or lag.
- Best boss DPS (in realistic settings)Frost Mage achieved 9.04% more maximum boss DPS than Fire Mage when dealing with occasional movement, lag and crowd-control.
- Least affected by movement (single-target)Frost Mage’s single-target DPS was -14.49% less affected by increased movement compared to Fire Mages.
- Best gear scalingFrost Mage scaled better with increased item-levels, single-target DPS benefited 10.66% more from 372 ilvl to 422 compared to Fire Mages.
- Simplest GameplayFrost Mage has fewer damaging abilities which could indicate a simpler rotation.
- DPS less dependant on big cooldownsFrost Mage’s DPS is less bursty, meaning it had more consistent damage. With 32.38% less difference in lowest and peak DPS during a fight when compared to Fire Mages.
While the above highlights the DPS advantages between Fire and Frost Mages, the DPS potential should not be the only factor in your decision. Ultimately, you should also consider the playstyle that you enjoy most while crushing it in Mythics+ and Raids!
Resources
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