Arcane Mage Guide 6.0

 

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