Azeroth Survivors Mage build reference for v0.131.0: The documented default opener is Fireball. Fire, Frost and Arcane provide different trigger chains, opening spells and ways to affect nearby enemies. A Fire idea connects fire critical interactions to the spells that can use them. Set your actual point budget before reviewing the route; a later starting-skill change may not exist at an early checkpoint.
The planning idea
A Fire idea connects fire critical interactions to the spells that can use them. A Frost idea trades some choices toward slows, roots and related attacks. Arcane has its own missile and extra-cast conditions.
Early decisions
Check the current stage before counting a late loop. Pyroclasm adds Pyroblast while retaining Fireball. Summon Water Elemental replaces Fireball with Frostbolt; Arcane Power replaces it with Arcane Missiles. These are different starting-skill effects, not identical replacements.
Choices & alternatives
Read boss-specific control text. A root or stun may have a shorter boss duration in the catalog; do not treat a crowd-control demonstration as a permanent boss lock.
Equipment conditions
Keep equipment assumptions visible when comparing offensive choices with recovery. Do not combine crit, cooldown and extra-cast text into a DPS formula without verified rules.
When the plan falls short
Dense packs can enable explosion or critical-trigger chains that do not behave the same against a single target.
Load starting idea
Starting ideas are editable editorial drafts based on source-checked fields, not completed-run benchmarks.
Evidence
Editorial starting idea. Record control uptime, the actual starting spell and isolated boss performance before calling one school stronger. No such benchmark has been run here.
Reference client v0.131.0 (e7d9dd47), checked 31 Oct 2026. Primary-checked fields are labeled; historical v0.125.0 values stay separate. See Sources & method for coverage.