Frostfire Mage Interview: Exploring the Portal to Dalaran - Frost & Fire Hero Talent Build

Hey everyone, WowCarry here! Today, we have some exciting news about the upcoming Hero Talent tree for Frostfire Mages. We recently had the opportunity to interview combat design leads, Jade Martin and Rodney Pare, who shared some interesting insights about this new feature. So, let's dive in and take a closer look at what the Frostfire Hero Talent tree has in store for us!

The Frostfire Hero Talent Tree

The Frostfire Hero Talent tree aims to seamlessly integrate both Frost and Fire specs for Mages, despite the significant differences in their respective Mastery abilities. It provides players with the ability to accumulate stacks of Frostfire Mastery buffs without having to cast spells from the opposing school. This means that Frost Mage players can accumulate Frostfire Mastery buffs without needing to use Fire spells, and vice versa for Fire Mage players.

One example mentioned during the interview is the Frostfire Bolt spell. When playing as a Frostfire Fire Mage, Frostfire Bolt will now accumulate Ignite, just like Frostbolt does for Frost Mages and Icicles. This change ensures that the Frostfire Hero Talent tree works in a consistent manner regardless of the Mage's spec.

It's important to note that there are slight differences between Frost and Fire versions of Frostfire Hero Talents. This is done for balance purposes, as Frost Mages don't have as much access to Fire spells as Fire Mages have to Frost spells. The developers are still working on fine-tuning the numbers to ensure a balanced experience for players.

Interview Highlights

• Design Choices and Tuning

According to the combat design leads, the Frostfire Hero Talent tree incorporates many ideas that were iterated upon by the developers. For example, they originally wanted to include a Frostfire version of Comet Storm/Meteor, but after further iteration, they felt that it didn't fit well within the talent tree. As a compromise, they introduced "Isothermic Core" to fulfill that idea in a different way. This demonstrates the dedication to refining and perfecting the Frostfire Hero Talent tree through multiple iterations.

If you encounter any issues or discrepancies when testing the new Frostfire Hero Talents, the developers encourage you to provide feedback so they can address and fix them as soon as possible. This player feedback is crucial in ensuring a smooth and enjoyable experience.

• Hero Talents and Feedback

The goal with Hero Talents is to enhance and add flavor to your favorite spec without making rotations overly complicated. The combat design leads emphasized that they want to avoid overwhelming players with an influx of new spells, as was the case with the Dragonflight talent revamps. The new Frostfire Hero Talents, such as "Flash Freezeburn," which grants maximum benefits of Frostfire Mastery and refreshes its duration, aim to alleviate concerns about maintaining stacks of Frostfire Mastery during critical moments.

It's worth noting that the intention of Hero Talents is not to homogenize how each spec plays. While both Frost and Fire specs should benefit from the Hero Talents in a similar manner, each spec should still maintain its own unique identity. If you feel that both specs become too similar when Hero Talents are added, the developers encourage you to provide feedback to help them fine-tune the experience.

• Miscellaneous

During the interview, it was mentioned that Spellslinger and Sunfury Hero talents are currently being iterated on, but no sneak peeks were revealed at this time. The developers have no plans to make Orb spells static, as the skillshot aspect of Arcane and Frozen Orbs adds a unique level of skill expression to those specs. While the idea of Flame Orbs is intriguing, there are no current plans to introduce a Flame Orb spell.

Finally, the combat design leads addressed the possibility of introducing new schools of magic, such as Conjuration spells. While this idea sounds cool, they are cautious of adding further button bloat, which was a concern that arose from the Dragonflight talent revamps.

And that's a wrap on our interview with the combat design leads about the upcoming Frostfire Hero Talent tree! We hope you're as excited as we are to delve into the world of Frostfire Mages. Remember, your feedback is essential in shaping the final version of these Hero Talents, so don't hesitate to share your thoughts with the developers. Until next time, happy gaming!

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