Why this build
How the build works
This Fire Mage build turns crits into more damage in three ways. Ignite makes every Fire crit burn the target for another 40% of that spell’s damage over 4 seconds. Heating Up lets non-periodic crits from Fireball, Fire Blast and Scorch cut the cast time of your next Pyroblast by 25% per stack, up to three stacks within 20 seconds. Master of Elements refunds part of the base mana cost on Fire and Frost crits (20% at two ranks), which keeps a crit-heavy Mage casting longer.
Accelerant takes 0.5 seconds off Fireball, so your filler lands faster and gives you more chances to crit. Improved Scorch makes each Scorch add 3% Fire damage taken, stacking to 15% for 30 seconds, which is worth setting up on anything that lives longer than a few casts. Burning Soul gives Fire spells a 70% chance to keep their cast time when you take damage and reduces Fire threat by 30%. One point of Flame Throwing adds 3 yards of range.
Leveling tips
Put levels 10 to 14 into Accelerant and 15 to 19 into Ignite. Row 3 opens at 20: Burning Soul first, Pyroblast at 24, then Improved Scorch and Heating Up. Fire feels weak early because crit chance is low on leveling gear; Ignite and Heating Up get better as your crit rises.
Do not stack Scorch on normal mobs. Fireball, Fire Blast and a wand finish are cheaper. Remember that Spirit regeneration pauses for five seconds after you spend mana, and wanding does not reset that timer, so a wand finish is a cheap way to save mana. In dungeons, the Blast Wave version gives you a real AoE button.
Changes in WoW Forever
Heating Up is new and changes how Fire plays: Pyroblast becomes a regular quick cast after a run of crits, not just an opener. The 28 Oct hotfix renamed Improved Fireball to Accelerant (it now also speeds up Frostfire Bolt and Arcane Wrath), moved Improved Fire Blast to row 3, raised Incineration to 5 ranks and cut Critical Mass to 3 ranks. Spell hit now comes from Precision in the Frost tree, which covers all schools.
Toward level 60
Provisional. The most planned level 60 Fire build adds Critical Mass 3, Fire Power 3 and full Master of Elements, then spends about 22 points in Frost for Precision, Ice Shards, Shatter and Fingers of Frost. Some older plans take Combustion instead. These are calculator plans from before anyone reached 60, so expect them to move.