Phase 3 Fire Mage for Black Temple and Hyjal. Wear 4-piece Tempest Regalia (shoulders, chest, hands, legs) with Cowl of the Illidari High Lord. Hit-cap first, then spell damage, haste, and crit. Zhar'doom is the preferred weapon; Tempest of Chaos + Chronicle of Dark Secrets is the strong 1H alternative. Epic gems (Runed Crimson Spinel, Veiled/Potent Pyrestone) replace Phase 2 rares as soon as you can cut them.
Fire rewards stable casts and clean Ignite timing. Keep Combustion for burn windows, manage mana with Evocation / Clearcasting, and always sit at the spell hit cap for your raid buffs (Elemental Precision, Totem of Wrath, Inspiring Presence).
✓ Strengths
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Top-tier single-target DPS once Ignite is rolling and the raid is hit-buffed
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Strong execute with Pyroblast / Fire Blast weaving in Combustion windows
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Flexible gearing — crafted Nimble Thought bracers and Belt of Blasting fill gaps while farming BT
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Zhar'doom and Skull of Gul'dan are massive Phase 3 power spikes
✕ Weaknesses
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Mana hungry on long Hyjal trash / council-style fights without strong regen support
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Movement-heavy bosses punish long Fireball casts harder than Arcane/Frost
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Heavily contested caster loot (Zhar'doom, Skull, Tempest tokens)