Specialization - Which one is right for you?

Well this is a somewhat worthwhile question now after the patch, time was immo was your only choice because of its utility and monstrous dps output. Don't get me wrong, there are those out there who specced differently even before the patch and were more than formidable, but immolation was the default so to speak. After the patch there is a sizable drop off in damage output from immolation, coupled with the immolation bread and butter ability detonate being reduced in damage greatly, it seems immolation is no longer the specialization of the masses.

So which spec to go for now? Well imho I believe it depends greatly on what you will be doing. Will you be participating solely in ORVR, taking keeps and/or defending them? Roaming 6 man's looking for those ever elusive epic fg vs fg encounters? Will you be a PvE fiend farming every lair and dungeon you can find waiting for the glorious encounters when Inevitable City gets it door's smashed down? Constantly hammering scenario's to get to R40/RR80?

Obviously each spec is viable for any of the above, but some are tailored better for certain activities obviously. Ill try get down a list of pro's and con's for each and where I think you get the most value out of your spec.

On a side note I understand that certain conclusions below will be stating the blatant obvious for some, but im going to put them out there anyway for those unfamiliar and/or just starting their brave journey as a Bright Wizard.



Inciniration

Ok well this is your first choice, the inciniration line. Basicly single target DD nuke spec, obviously there is far more to it than that, but you get an idea of what its like. While I played with this spec I have to say I had a lot of fun, absolute face melter with the right ability rotation and approach (Just dont think that you'll be takin down a heavy resist stacked Black Orc in one rotation :P )

For dungeons etc it can really shine. If you gotta group where one of your healers can absorb all your backlash and you keep a slot in your rotation for burnout you can really get a nice steady dps output of huge proportions.

In 6 man fg vs fg is where inciniration shines in my opinion. Really helpful for burning down that Sorc or healer first, which can be a little irritating with the other specs because conflag is too stationary and immo is too easy to heal thru after the patch.

Pro's :

Great direct damage spells
Can overload a healer with dps
Good PvE/Dungeon utility
Great spike damage for solo PvE

Con's :

Alot of stationary time
Limited utility in Fortress/Keeps attack and defense
Cast pushback from damage and interrupts via "out of range"


Well there you have it, my humble thougths on the inciniration tree. I had some fun, had some dissapointments, all in all quite a spec. As for whether to use it or not, I'll leave that to you.

Below would be what for now, I think is a viable incin spec:

http://www.wardb.com/career.aspx?id=11#15:41472:6:40:0:0:29:8207:563:8198:8199:14108:14109





Immolation next....

Nerf bat, end of the world?

Ok so some people gotta be feeling like this guy about now, ive certainly been reading enough posts about it and hearing about it in game. Yeh ok we got hit pretty hard but is it all that bad? To be honest we were doing godly dps before the patch, a bright wizard in any of my sc's was always top regardless of rank. Ok now there were a few exceptions but that was the way it went.

Now after the patch it isnt as easy to get top of the boards any longer :P (Mind you topping the charts doesn't mean you played incredible or anything, but thats a talk for another day ) Although to be honest I noticed that bw's are doing damage equal to run of the mill ranged classes for their rank when played with mediocre skill, whereas can still output impressive dps when played right.

I think it comes down to a lot of things in the end, player skill with the class being one of the main ones. All in all even though detonate got hammered and our dps shrunk overnight we are sill a completely viable class with some great potential for fun and carnage. You're just gonna have to be more cautious, more patient, and more focused on killing :)

Mythic made a post relating to it on Vnboards recently stating:

Hi all,

I wanted to stop by this thread to address some of the concerns being voiced by the Bright Wizard and Sorcerer/ess community. I realize that if you don't see an official reply, it may seem that your concerns are going unheard. The truth is, the community team (Andy, James, Missy, and I) may not always get the chance to comment on every thread we read, but we do read darn near every single thread here and we do pass along the concerns, feedback, and suggestions, especially the ones that are largely unanimous.

We have conveyed the following BW/Sorc community issues/concerns with the Combat & Career team:

• Damage output versus damage done to the BW/Sorc by the Combustion/Dark Magic mechanic (risk versus reward, as it were)
• High percentage of spell damage mitigation due to resist stacking
• Itemization concerns (ie. weapon skill on caster items)
• The differences between Sorc debuffing Willpower versus BW debuffing Corporeal damage

If you've reported any bugs, we've forwarded those as well, but don't hesitate to let us know of any in the future.

So maybe the future isn't so bleak for us all :D

Combustion figures...

Combustion level / Critical Chance / Critical Damage / Backlash Chance
1 - 10 / +5% / +10% / 5%
11 - 30 / +10% / +20% / 10%
31 - 70 / +20% / +40% / 15%
71 - 90 / +40% / +80% / 25%
91 - 100 / +50% / +100% / 35%

So your gonna be up pretty high most of the time when your in rvr (all the time! :P ) When your up there you got basicly a 1 in 3 chace to blow yourself up on certain abilities that state "May cause an explosion". Get unlucky several times in a row and it could be quick death, especially if you look up and see one of these standing over ya :P

OK so you got a BW....

As per mythic the description goes as follow:

"The Bright Wizard is a master of destruction by magic, and a specialist in fire. Fire is at the heart of his every ability, and indeed at the heart of the Wizard himself. Using the power of the wind of fire, he can lay waste to swaths of enemies, or incinerate select foes with white hot energy. His magic feeds upon itself, upon the enemy, and upon the Wizard. Embracing the fires within his mind, the Bright Wizard himself is engulfed in flame. He directs this inferno against his foes, filling them with searing power until they burst, incinerated by arcane flames so hot they threaten to ignite the air itself."

Hmmm not the most accurate desription in the world, but not bad. Though I would mention that while he fills his mind, and unleashes all that power on low hp, he's gonna be waiton for a rez :P
Combustion really is where the BW breathes, all the great dps pumping benefits, and all the times when it has just left u feeling like a punished child :P

A quick recap now for anyone new to WAR or who hans't had the time to play the Bright Wizard.
I'll keep this pretty brief too, we'll want to delve into things into more detail in their respective area's.

Basicly your a glass cannon, (glass being key there) the field artillery, basicly ranged dps magic user. Pure clothie, will be absolutely DECIMATED if caught off guard by a heavy dps.
While they may be soft as a wet bag, they can churn out mostrous dps, unparalleled on the order side when played correctly and setup right. You gotta deal with a combustion mechanic while bringing down those torrents of dps too though. Basicly the higher it is , the higher crit % and +crit rate, also theres a chance of explosion which if left unchecked , or for example if you knock out a fireball at 100 combustion with 200 hp left...... TOAST more often than not im afraid, but we'll get back to that later.