How to use Phoenix Flames.

[Rybus]

Mod Edit: Moved to Q&A
Greetings, mages.

I have a question about using Phoenix Flames. Right now I have taken second golden skill in my artifact tree (PR). Before it, i was using PF only during combustion, consuming all 3 charges. Now with that golden node PF's CD decreased dramatically. SO. I can think of only two possible "windows" for using it withoout DPS loss:

1) Right after the insta-Pyro crit (I get Heating Up buff and the GCD of Pyro still goes so i have half of a GCD to track the crit and use PF)
2) In a chain casting situation like this: Fireball (nocrit) - Fireball (nocrit) - Fireball (crit) - Cinderrstorm - PF (Critical fireball reaches the target during the CiS cast and i have time to track the crit and insert PF right after CiS).

But both this situations are kinda unreliable. For the first one you have to stand in melee camp cause you want your pyro travel time to be as short as possible.
And the second situation occures rarely.

So, my question is: How do you use your PF and are there any other tricks to use it correctly?

P.S. Extremely sorry for posting the topic in a wrong section.

[Glace]

I simply just queue up PF after fireball (without HU). If fireball crits you get a Pyro proc. If fireball doesnt crit you get HU proc. Cast another fireball and use fireblast if you have HU. Pyro after.

[Rybus]

Well, I've always thought that you should always use 100% crit abilities only to upgrade heating-up's.
In fact, in your example when fireball doesn't crit, you simply use a Phoenix-Blast combo to create a pyro.

[Xenost]

Even with the golden trait I still use all my PF during RoP to setup a max number of PB during the 10 s of RoP. (coupled with Flame On and pre stacking FB), most of my use of PF are after casting a pyro because of that, some happens to be after a fireball depending on the remaining stacks of FB/PF (and if RoP will be long enough for me to do Fireball->PF->FB-> Pyro)

Well, I've always thought that you should always use 100% crit abilities only to upgrade heating-up's.
In fact, in your example when fireball doesn't crit, you simply use a Phoenix-Blast combo to create a pyro.

PF is a bit diferrent in that regard because it's a high damage CD and you can't use it during a cast, making it hit at the same time as a fireball is not possible due to a low travel speed.

During RoP sequence you want to avoid casting (you can cast CiS because of the high damage per execute time if you are out of PF, I don't know if casting CiS on CD applies during RoP) so you can fit the most PB possible, due to this PF-FB combo is really good during RoP.

[Rybus]

Thank you for the explanation. I will conserve PF stacks for ROP and cast them after I spend all blasts.

[Xenost]

That's not the way I use them during RoP, I just alternate PF-FB-PB if PB crit ->FB(or PF if 0 FB and flame On is on CD) if PB doesn't crit -> PF-FB .

If I don't have Flame On and only two PF, I know I will have time to cast Fireball during RoP and still fit as much PB so I do the Fireball->PB on one of those PB.

With 1800 haste you can fit 7 GCD during RoP, if you fireball 1 time you can still fit 5 GCD (2PF,3PB idealy) .

With CiS it's harder to decide, what priority CiS has during RoP, I'd say if you have to sacrifice a PB for a CiS it's not worth.

So before using RoP you should always think about how many PB you are guaranteed to have 3 PF + Flame On Guarantees 4 PB if you enter RoP with heating up/hot streak and accounts for 7GCD so you don't want to cast there, most of the time you will have 2 PF 2FB which already accounts for 4 GCD, so there I don't know what's better :
-fishing for a PB (with fireball->PB )
-using CiS which won't give you any more PB

Edit: I was bit wrong here because of best case scenario, if you enter RoP with hot streak and 2 PF, if everything crit you do : PB(1); FB; PB(2); PF(3); PB(4); PF(5); PB(6) , which let no time for casting fireball (you may have time to cast CiS depending on your haste), if you have 1 PF and won't get a second during RoP uptime you can cast Fireball

I tend to think that it's better to fish for a PB (which means you will rarely use CiS inside of RoP, except if you don't have any more PB to do fireball->PB) but only sims can tell what's right.