Mage DPS optimization guide

Work in Progress

Optimizing mage DPS comes down to a great number of factors, one of which is which spell damaging increasing factors there are.

SPA (Spell Affect)

 * See also: SPA list

SPA types

SPA stacking

Burn vs Sustained
A common way to distinguish between scenarios a Mage can be in, is to talk about Grouping and Raiding, where Grouping typically centers around making sure that the palette is used, but also can center around a specially hard mob, and Raiding is very often centered against a very hard Mob. A functional distinction between a Burn and Sustained will therefore serve us well.

Burn: time to prepare and plan, most AAs will be up, the goal is to take a large mob down as fast as possible. Raid-DPS is often conotated with Burn, and it is often measured in how much damage an individual can do to a boss mob, aDPS is assumed to be factored in, but typically is less emphasized in forum discussions, compared to how much DPS is actually accounted to the individual (especially by DPS classes). A main challenge is to rotate and stack the right modifiers at the right time, as well as right spell selection, etc.

Sustained: A lot of lower power mobs, "trash mobs", with a few mobs that are somewhat tougher, but very far from being raid class. Measurability is typically an aggregated log over a gaming session, a Heroic Adventure, or some place in between. Success criteria is the groups ability to solve its challenges fast, combined with the individuals ability to DPS. Stacking modifiers in a "Burn stack" is less beneficial, since mobs will typically go down quite fast, and the added time and attention to stackin up the burn is taking away from time and attention that could be used to just kill the trash mob. A main challenge is therefore to utilize the different modifiers as automatically as possible, so that the modifiers are not sitting unused, while also considering to strecht out the modifiers instead of stacking them, so that a more even dps can be attained.

Stacking Tracking
We have: Heart of Flames, SPA 124 (additive)

Heart of Vapor

Flames of Power

Elemental Union

Elemental flames

Conjurers Synergy

Spell damage from items

Frenzied Burnout

Worn foci, SPA 124 (additive)

Conflicts & non-conflicts

Heart of flames does not stack with Flames of Power

Heart of Flames stack with Elemental Union