PvE
Arcane Mages are very High DPS when it comes to PvE environments. The key is knowing the rotation and not going out of mana too soon. Once you have the rotation mastered, an Arcane Mage can be both fun and effective PvE.
Pros
- Excellent Single Target DPS
- Good Multiple target DPS
- Simple Rotation
Cons
- Managing Mana can become an issue if you don’t play the rotation correctly.
- Very poor mobility
Important Stats
- Intellect
- Mastery
- Multistrike = Haste
- Critical Strike
- Versatility
Spell Priority and Strategy
Arcane Brilliance, Frost Armor, Rune of Power
Talent spec
15 Icy Floes
30 Alter Time
45 Ice Ward
60 Cauterize
75 Unstable Mage
90 Rune of Power
100 Prismatic Crystal
Major Glyphs:
- Glyph of Arcane Explosion
- Glyph of Arcane Power
Minor Glyph
Glyph of Momentum
Single target Priority
- Arcane Missiles will be used if you 4 stacks of Arcane charge and 3 charges of arcane missiles
- Arcane Blast if above 93% mana
- Cast Arcane Missiles at 4 stacks of arcane charge
- Cast Arcane Barrage at 4 stacks of Arcane Charge
- Cast Arcane Blast
Multiple target
Same as single target except add:
- Spam Arcane blast to build up arcane charge
- Arcane Barrage to spend
PvP
This is a base build for a PvP Arcane mage. All of the spells, skills and talents are geared toward fighting in a PvP environment.
Pros
- High Burst Damage to quickly eliminate a player
- Great queuing with a healer
- Arcane Barrage is instant cast and hits hard
- Arcane Missiles will continue to cast even if the player runs out of range
Cons
- Low Survivability
- Mana can become an issue
- Few cooldowns for emergency situations
Stat priority
- Haste
- Mastery
- Multistrike
- PvP power = Intellect
- Critical strike
- Versatility
Talent spec
15 Evanesce
30 Alter Time
45 FrostJaw
60 Cold Snap
75 Nether Tempest
90 Mirror Image
100 Arcane Orb
Major Glyphs:
- Glyph of Arcane Explosion
- Glyph of Arcane Power
- Glyph of Frost Nova
Minor Glyph
- Glyph of Momentum
Spell Priority and Strategy
Arcane is an easy spec to master and with the proper knowledge of your abilities and when to use them, PvP can be a fun and exhilarating experience for any Arcane Mage.
Buffs
Arcane Brilliance, Frost Armor
Melee Opponent
- Keep Ice Barrier up
- Begin with a Polymorph if you are able to
- Apply Slow, and cast Nether Tempest
- Cast Arcane Blast
- Frost Nova once in melee range and blink away
- Make sure slow is still on and then repeat
- Use Arcane Missiles when available and Arcane Barrage as a finisher
- Utilize the other abilities such as Frostjaw or Ring of Frost to keep melee dps from reaching you.
Caster Opponent
- Keep Ice Barrier up
- Begin with a polymorph if you are able to
- Try to reserve a counterspell for a heal if it’s a healer and a crowd control ability if it’s a dps.
- Cast Nether tempest
- Cast Arcane Blast
- Use Arcane missiles when available and Arcane Barrage as a finisher
- Utilize other abilities such as spellsteal to take bubbles and heals off your opponents.
Leveling
Arcane mage excel in single target burst situations and have mediocre AoE abilities. If you want to kill your targets quick, this is the spec for you.
Pros
- Excellent Single Target burst damage
- Simple rotation
Cons
- Low Mobility
- Low survivability
- Mana can be an issue if rotation is not done properly
- AoE damage is not as good as Frost or Fire
Important Stats
- Intellect
- Mastery
- Multistrike = Hasste
- Critical strike
- Versatility
Talent spec
15 Ice Flows
30 Alter Time
45 Ice Ward
60 Cauterize
75 Unstable magic
90 Rune of Power
100 Arcane Orb
Major Glyphs:
- Glyph of Arcane Explosion
- Glyph of Arcane Power
- Glyph of Frost Nova
Minor Glyph
Glyph of Momentum
Spell Priority and strategy
Arcane Brilliance, Frost Armor, Rune of power
Single target rotation
- Arcane Missiles if 4 stacks of arcane barrage and 3 charges of arcane missiles
- Arcane Blast if above 95% mana
- Cast Arcane Missiles at 4 stacks of Arcane charge
- Cast Arcane Blast
Multiple Target rotation
Same as single target except add
- Spam Arcane blast to build up arcane charge
- Arcane Barrage to spend