Could I get some ideas for a solo pve rotation? I haven't played in over a year and would like some veteran advice. As a side note, I play on Vox but see that there are other highly populated servers. Would there be any reason for me to stay on Vox?
When I was 100, here is the solo rotation I used- 100 Fickle- 100 Spear- 95 Spear- 90 Spear Always use Force of Elememts AA every time it refreshes I always would lead with Rxxx Servant, then my spell weave as listed above. When Rxxx Servant refreshes, I would cast that. At some point I had to make a decision if to continue to cast Rxxx or not. Basically if I was chain pulling mobs, I would continually cast Rxxx. On my next pull I would make sure to get hit by the mob first before sending pet so that any remaining Rxxx would then attack the new mob. If no mobs, then I would stop casting Rxxx once I felt casting one would not last the duration of the remaining HP of the mob. O and I always used Malo AA on mobs, either on initial pull or after my first Rxxx Servant on mob.
Regarding your server, I know vox is a low population server, so really any place is going to be better then there, for grouping and guilds..If you're planning on raiding I would certainly pick a different server.. Personally if I were to be looking for a new server to go to, I'd check out http://www.elitegamerslounge.com/home/progress/index.php?expansion=TBMOverall Look to see which server has multiple guilds beating the expansion and choose from one of those servers, generally they are more populated and you've got a good chance of finding some type of raiding home, if that's what you're looking for.. As for a lineup at 100, it depends on what you're doing..Just killing trash? I'd use a rain lineup, it's very efficient on mana, if you're killing a named, I might switch out for spears and put storm in there as well, if you're using your HoE AA. Fickle has it's uses, I suppose. I don't personally use it much in group content but I know other Mages who do. If you're serious about fine tuning what you're doing I'd suggest downloading a parser, so you can actually see what's working for you and what's not. Good luck!
That was pretty much it until they capped critical chance on rains to 40%. Now, spears are a lot more useful than rains. They are single target and thus don't break crowd control and do considerably more damage in the long run. Auntie Edith wants to add that the Flames of Power proc from Fickle does NOT apply on rains, either.
Assuming you don't have ADPS, RS->Rain->Rain->Spear will produce higher DPS than a Spear lineup outside of first spire (so use Spears on burns). The bigger issue I see is mana; I can't maintain a rotation with 3 Spears without bleeding mana pretty fast. The OP talked about a solo lineup, so I'm doubt breaking CC will be a huge issue. As far as fickle, I personally really hate the spell, but there certainly are ways to work it in so that Spear gets the Flames of Power proc. My personal recommendation would be to start with RS->Rain->Rain->Spear (and therefore not use fickle), but I'd also recommend that the OP test multiple lineups to see what works best for him.
The RS line also eats mana. I'd consider sustained (overall damage on a Single HA or something) not how fast you can kill something. Rains with a bolt or two now and then. I would consider using your DPS AAs as soon as their up, unless you know you have a name comming.
At 100, especially when 100 was the highest level (no Rain crit % nerfs, yet), Relentless Servant, Rain of Scythes, Rain of Blistersteel, and Spear of Blistersteel were higher dps, and more mana efficient, than "100 Fickle- 100 Spear- 95 Spear- 90 Spear". Even with the rain crit % nerfs this still holds true, if no adps is going. These parses had solely these spells being cast, no primary pet (Water, Earth, Fire, Air (they live in Harmony)). Cicelee's Weave: /GU Combat Dummy Heda in 259s, 10121k @39078 --- Enkel + pets 10121k Enkel's Weave: /GU Combat Dummy Heda in 248s, 12098k @48781 --- Enkel + pets 12098k This point, Rain weave > Fickle weave, is further compounded when you consider you will be pulling multiple mobs, and Rains are hitting an extra time, non twincast, per cast. In a purely sustain situation, without adps/burns (yes, full sustain includes burns, I get it) Rain Weave > a Spear/Fickle Weave, at 100. Who cares? At 100 were using Rains over Fickle for a reason. Probably should parse before posting, or declare the parameters for your overarching statement. Edit: Messed up final quote and originally had uote= instead of [quote=.
I'm no mage or bard expert, but I believe spears probably win over rains with a bard. Iirc aria doesn't effect rains, but will effect spears. Epic+fierce eye is also a large boost to crit rate that has high uptime which will not benefit rains due to crit cap. Mana efficiency also becomes mostly a non-issue with bard dicho. Edit: Well, assuming the bard has his dicho. If we're talking strictly level 100 without the bard dicho, I guess mana could be a concern. I'd still guess spears are better.
I listed the straight DD route because I am an ineffective, horrible magician who cannot handle adds with rain spells. My only saving grace as a magician is my mod rod ability; however I do fear I may not be as good as that as I think I am...
Just higher base damage for more dps. When you disc up with Firstspire+HeartofFlames it's assumed you're prioritizing raw damage over everything.
You became so good at the class that you've prestiged... starting over is hard, but I'm sure your machine gun tactics of dropping a smile on every oom paladin will become a reality. Don't let bard dicho discourage you from your true calling!
