Mages get Frostfire Bolt, Shamans get Lava Burst

Blizzard’s new class deep dive for WoW Forever covers the Mage and the Shaman. Every Mage learns Frostfire Bolt at level 40, a spell that counts as both Fire and Frost. Shaman totems last 5 minutes instead of 2, and weapon imbues an hour.

As in the deep dives on the Hunter and the Druid and the Priest and the Warrior, talents start at level 10, with milestones at 11, 16, 21 and 31 points. Talents, Legacy talents included, are changed at a class trainer in a major city. Dual Specialization unlocks at level 40. Everything can still change during the beta, says Blizzard.

Mage

Frostfire Bolt has a 3 second cast and hits like Fireball. It then leaves damage over time and a slow on the target. The spell uses the higher of the Mage’s Fire and Frost spell damage, and the lower of the target’s two resistances. Most talents for Fire or Frost also boost it. With Ignite and Ice Shards, a critical Frostfire Bolt deals 280% damage, Blizzard calculates.

Mages also get their own minor tradeskill: Comprehension. With Comprehend Scroll, in the General tab of the spellbook, they read scrolls that creatures drop in the world. What the scrolls give, players have to find out themselves. Cone of Cold lasts shorter, against gold farmers and boosters who kite large groups of creatures. Mage Armor gives more Mana from Spirit.

Arcane gets Arcane Blast at 11 points. It raises the damage of every other Mage spell, and its own Mana cost, up to 4 times for 8 seconds. Missile Barrage at 16 points can make the next Arcane Missiles twice as fast and free. Arcane Mind now gives Intellect instead of maximum Mana, and Magic Attunement becomes baseline.

Fire gets Heating Up. Critical strikes with Fireball, Frostfire Bolt, Fire Blast and Scorch cut the cast time of the next Pyroblast by 25%, up to 3 times. Ignite is now a separate debuff per Mage instead of one shared debuff. Frost gets Ice Lance at 11 points, with 300% more damage on frozen targets, and Fingers of Frost, which makes a target count as frozen. Ice Block moves to 16 points, Cold Snap to 21 points with a 10 minute cooldown.

Improved Blizzard now slows by 40% instead of 65%. That too is aimed at farming instances with area damage. Arcane Concentration and Impact trigger less often from low rank spells. Gold farmers fished for free procs with cheap spells, says Blizzard. The same penalty applies to similar talents of every class.

Shaman

Totems have a global cooldown of 1 second instead of 1.5. Totems with a lasting buff stay up for 5 minutes instead of 2, and resistance totems cover the whole raid. A new display shows which totems are active and how long they last; a right click removes one. Weapon imbues last 60 minutes instead of 5 and stack with Sharpening Stones, Weightstones and Wizard Oil.

Call of the Elements, at level 20, unlocks the totem bar. One cast of 3 seconds places a set of four totems, one per element. Call of the Spirits at level 30 and Call of the Ancestors at level 40 add a second and third set. Totemic Recall destroys every totem and returns 25% of their Mana. On the beta, that Mana does not come back yet, a known bug. Totemic Projection, at level 22, teleports all totems up to 30 yards.

Fire Nova Totem is gone. The new spell Fire Nova erupts at the Fire Totem that is already down, as often as the Shaman wants. Windfury Totem and Flametongue Totem become party buffs instead of weapon enchants, and do not stack with each other. Tranquil Air Totem is removed. Lightning Bolt casts in 2.5 seconds from rank 4, Chain Lightning in 2 seconds.

Elemental Combat loses Elemental Mastery. With that talent, Elemental Shamans would have been far too strong in PvP once their damage in PvE went up, Blizzard explains. Instead, the tree ends in Lava Burst at 31 points, with 20% more damage on a target with Flame Shock. Lightning Overload can cast a second Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning for free, at half damage.

Enhancement gets Stormstrike at 16 points instead of 31, with an 8 second cooldown. It now strengthens the next Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning or Earth Shock by 20%. Maelstrom Weapon can make Lightning Bolt instant. Rage of the Farseer, at 31 points, gives 30% attack speed for 25 seconds, a personal take on Bloodlust. Restoration gets Water Shield at 11 points and ends in Riptide.

Mage milestone talents

Talent	Tree	Points
Arcane Blast	Arcane	11
Missile Barrage	Arcane	16
Ice Lance	Frost	11
Ice Block	Frost	16
Cold Snap	Frost	21

Shaman milestone talents

Talent	Tree	Points
Call of Thunder	Elemental Combat	16
Earthbound	Elemental Combat	21
Lava Burst	Elemental Combat	31
Shamanistic Focus	Enhancement	11
Stormstrike	Enhancement	16
Spirit Weapons	Enhancement	21
Rage of the Farseer	Enhancement	31
Water Shield	Restoration	11
Mana Tide Totem	Restoration	16
Riptide	Restoration	31

Which talents Fire has at 11, 16, 21 and 31 points, Blizzard does not say. Every talent of both classes, rank by rank, is in the talent calculator for the Mage and the Shaman.