Patch 3.2 Mage Changes

• [Arcane Blast]: Mana cost reduced by 12%

Arcane mages are one of the most mana challenged specs to play which makes this change very welcome, by the time you hit your third stack of the debuff your saving around 200 mana per cast. (see table below)

• [Invisibility]: Can no longer be interrupted by a hostile action or damage done during the 3-second fade time, however an invisible mage can still be stunned or silenced.

I really do weep whenever I think of how far this spell has fallen from its glory in the Alpha. Originally the spell could  last up to 30 seconds but it had a random chance to end early, not only that but you could see everyone around you and casting spells did not end the duration until you took a hostile action, meaning you could wind up a full 6 second pyroblast and not be seen until it went off.   Now back in the alpha Pyroblast did a hell of a lot more damage then it did now so by the time you saw a mage you were more than likely dead or at half health. This “May” have contributed to the removal of the spell by the time beta rolled around. (yes those were Quotes around “May”)

Sorry I tend to lose focus when I’m strolling down memory lane, anyway it’s a pleasant if not very dramatic change. If you PvP it could be useful if you don’t have [Prismatic Cloak] in your spec (probably because your frost), however three seconds is still an eternity.  If you look at it from a PvE standpoint it makes sure you retain the full aggro dump and may be a more reliable method of saving you from the occasional repair bill than previously, overall nothing big but still a buff is a buff .

• Talents
  • Fire
    • [Empowered Fire]: In addition to its existing effects, this talent now also grants a 33/67/100% chance to regain 2% of base mana each time the [Ignite] talent deals damage.

Now this is an interesting change to an existing talent that makes a Frostfire spec a lot more attractive for raiding. So basically an Ignite procs on a fire spell critical and tics once every 2 seconds up to 4 seconds, (so twice) whenever you crit with a fire spell (which should be a lot if your frostfire) you will will be receiving 4% of your base mana back over 4 seconds. I’ll be interested to see how good this actually pans out to be.