Title pretty much sums up my question.
If fissure spews out 6-8 fragments, each of which does ~2.5k damage, wouldn’t fissure be devastating? (I’m assuming of course that the mechanics for fissure is the same as that of ravenous earth).
If yes, then why do people see magi as - at best - a middling constellation?
Also, why all the love for hawk?
Fissure is, in practice, a lot less devastating than you’d think it would be on paper. The Magi constellation is in general very blah, certainly not the worst one you could take if you like setting things on fire but distinctly unexciting even for a T2 IMO.
Hawk grants a very nice % OA bonus (pretty much the best reason to take the constellation) and despite its comparatively lackluster affinity yield for a T1 it’s a relatively inexpensive investment that pays dividends with just about any build.
Why not viper instead for one more point?
Why not viper then for one more point?
Hawk also has 8% Crit damage and -15% cunning requirement to equip ranged weapons.
Magi is very meh, specially when Fiend, a T1 constellation, has a much better proc.
I don’t see anyone knock Fissure really but at the same time, I rarely see it used (I can recall 2 builds posted post-expansion that do, none pre-expansion).
To be honest, I would probably consider using Fissure on more builds but the low % chance of proccing it and the fact that Ulzuin’s Torch has better nodes and already provides a strong celestial power that deals Fire/Burn makes me question if I really need it.
Probably the only time where Fissure is really warranted is for Burn builds for an extra source and because it has Burn duration on one of it’s nodes.
Also, why all the love for hawk?
What’s not to love? It provides Offensive Ability and Crit Damage, both key stats for the vast majority of all builds, for a few points and is accessible to any build as it can sustain itself.
Por qué no los dos?
Though depending on one’s intended affinity path it just might not be in the cards. Viper is less generalized than Hawk, generally Viper gets snagged by elemental damage dealers in particular but there’s certainly nothing stopping someone from taking both somehow.
I used to have Magi in my devotions on a Pyromancer I think. Didn’t take me long to decide that Magi just wasn’t as worthy of the 7 or so devotion points required to fill it out as I hoped it would be, and freeing up 7 devotion points can open up some really interesting possibilities in post-AoM in particular. Pre-AoM Magi wasn’t really competitive for yield on devotion points spent, but after AoM dropped? Fuggedaboudit. Magi has definitely not kept up, I think, and if it weren’t for the fact that it wasn’t exactly remarkable before I’d call it a nasty case of powercreep.
Why not both? Viper + Hawk + Crossroads Primordial/Chaos/Eldritch provides a nice base to unlock Behemoth early on. Provides some OA and Crit too which is nice.
I sometimes use it on class combinations that lack an ability to heal on demand/sustain (Word or Renewal, Blood of Dreeg, ADCtH etc.).
Because sometimes you can’t afford that one more point. Because sometimes you want green affinity, not blue & red. Because sometimes that -15% cunning on ranged reqs is really nice.
Magi is definitely a victim of power creep. Nothing bad about it really but everything it does is done better elsewhere.
Magi is actually is not bad. Actually, magi is not half as bad. But magi required hell a lot of stars to complete (7) with very minor completion bonus (just 3 in green). Prock is ok.
Affinity yield is not really a primary concern with T2s. That, and Tempest was worse last I knew (1 measly green and 1 piddly blue for a 7-star constellation I think)
EDIT: Actually, Tempest is legit worse than Magi in every way. Faint and damning praise of Magi.
So I want to thank everyone for their replies. I’m just uncertain how to multireply everyone as this is my 3rd day on these forums. ><
Few other questions
As of now, I’ve a lvl 100 pyro with twin fangs attached to pox. The rationale is as follows - -180 OA which constantly spreads per the corpses on the battlefield. Twin fangs is thus constantly up and running which gives me a steady trickle of sustain and damage even as I’m kiting.
Would you reckon that’s a poor use of devotion points and skill points?
As far as the flat dmg of the proc goes, it’s best with non kiters, as you can keep a boss in one place with a couple of fissures up his ass (pun intended?).
For Kiters, if you can afford it and have good means of proccing it’s a decent burn stack.
hahaha. as a med school student, i totally got the pun. 
What about twin fangs/pox combo? Would you guys reckon it’s not the best use for devotion/skill points
In this vein of poor T2 constellations, are procs like Magi and Tempest inferior because they have no RR or because of their cooldown and chance to activate?
Tempest is solid and easy enough to get along with widow and ultos
Well, actually there are 5 builds posted by ArchHeretic on this forum after AoM release. Some of these builds use lightning damage as well. Yeah, this guy has fire in the eyes & in heart and is master in creating builds with cool and killer gameplay. 
What about T1 procs? I still fail to understand why/how fiend is better than fissure
My understanding thus far is that the issue has to deal with the opportunity cost needed to get these celestial powers, and the low affinity payoff they offer.