Spoiler:
UPDATED FOR ANTORUS
-check spoilers for links to updated sections
1. Intro2. Gear 3. Talents
4. Racials
5. Spells and Cooldowns 5. Tips and Tricks
6. Weakauras
7. Addons
8. Consumables and Miscellaneous items
9. Your role as an Arcane Mage 10. Weakaura Links
Who are you?
Hi, I'm Herusx author of the 7.3.2 Frost Mage M+ Guide here on AT and a huge supporter of Arcane in M+. I am currently a raider for <Big Dumb Guild>. Top 10 World for mages since 7.2 on Raider.io and Wowprogress.
Woo a stream, started streaming recently! No set schedule yet
https://www.twitch.tv/herusxSo who's this guide geared towards?
This guide won't teach the basics of Arcane, there is already a well written one by Dikembe here on AT. This guide is for those that want to:
- Push to and clear their weekly 15 easily
- Push keys for that sweet M+ score
Arcane has different stat priorities depending on the situation and legendary combination. Gear swapping as Arcane is extremely important if you want to maximize your damage output in a dungeon. In general there are two categories, Bosses and Trash.
-Disclaimer: Since simming for M+ is obviously not the easiest thing to do, especially for a spec like Arcane. I have found the best results with these stat prioritizations. As I don't have hard proof on these numbers take this portion with a grain of salt.
Bosses
Just like raid, Bosses can vary from pure ST to constant cleave/AOE. But I'll focus on the pure ST aspect here in terms of stat priority. ST stat priority as Arcane goes as follows, Crit, Vers, and Haste with a http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570 centered build and Crit,Vers, Haste, and Mastery with a non http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570 build.
Trash
Stat priority for trash also differs depending on what legendary combos you have available. A build that uses http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570 should aim for as little mastery as possible and having a good mixture of the other 3 stats. While on the other hand a build without http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570 although not nearly as efficient should aim to have enough mastery to keep mana at a comfortable level while maintaining all three other stats.
As always, to be optimal with your own gear Always SIM yourself.
Check out the post here to learn how to sim yourself. There is also a well maintained website that makes simming yourself really simple and easy. Legendaries
Arcane is somewhat locked into certain legendaries. A lot of builds use KILT for its mana regen component, but it doesn't necessarily make it the best. There are three categories for legendaries: ST DPS, AoE DPS, and Defensive.
-ST DPS Legendaries
The best ST setup for bosses currently is http://www.wowhead.com/item=151642/soul ... bonus=3570 + http://www.wowhead.com/item=132410/shar ... bonus=3570.
There is also the http://www.wowhead.com/item=132410/shar ... bonus=3570 + http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570 setup and http://www.wowhead.com/item=151642/soul ... bonus=3570 + http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570 setup, but these results will largely come down to both personal preference and personal sims.
Another thing to consider is bosses that have adds. http://www.wowhead.com/item=132410/shar ... bonus=3570 + http://www.wowhead.com/item=151642/soul ... bonus=3570 may be the best in terms of ST damage but it pales in comparison to http://www.wowhead.com/item=151642/soul ... bonus=3570 + http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570 and http://www.wowhead.com/item=132410/shar ... bonus=3570 + http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570 for cleave damage.
Regardless of which setup you choose or is available to you. A set that includes http://www.wowhead.com/item=132410/shar ... bonus=3570 is the best possible setup to have. It allows you to have multiple http://www.wowhead.com/spell=80353/time-warp uses throughout a dungeon. Not just on bosses but also on trash. Make sure to keep track of your party's http://www.wowhead.com/spell=57724/sated debuff as yours will desync from multiple http://www.wowhead.com/spell=80353/time-warp/http://www.wowhead.com/item=120257/drums-of-fury usage.
-AoE DPS Legendaries
There are three notable setups for AoE DPS. Two that include http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570 and one without.
The best overall setup for now is http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570 + http://www.wowhead.com/item=151808/mant ... bonus=3570 or http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570 + http://www.wowhead.com/item=132452/seph ... bonus=3570 as it removes the need to drink between packs and evocation during a pull.
On the other hand http://www.wowhead.com/item=132452/seph ... bonus=3570 + http://www.wowhead.com/item=151808/mant ... bonus=3570 is comparable in damage to http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570 + http://www.wowhead.com/item=151808/mant ... bonus=3570 and even out performs them. But a non http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570 setup brings along a huge draw back for the more inexperienced player. Mana is a big component of Arcane and given that our rotation is largely mana negative it is highly detrimental to those that aren't comfortable with the spec.
-Mana negative means outside of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12051/evocation and large amounts of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=190740/mastery-savant your rotation loses more mana than it gains
Here are some sims done with my own gear show casing the different legendary combinations on 3, 4, and 5 targets over the course of 5 mins. Now a 5 min pull in M+ is highly unlikely and was done to average out the proc rate of the shoulders and to give http://www.wowhead.com/item=132452/seph ... bonus=3570 enough times to proc.
-5 targets for 5 mins, http://www.wowhead.com/item=132452/seph ... bonus=3570 proc on CD with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=2139/counterspell
-4 targets for 5 mins, http://www.wowhead.com/item=132452/seph ... bonus=3570 proc on CD with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=2139/counterspell
-3 targets for 5 mins, http://www.wowhead.com/item=132452/seph ... bonus=3570 proc on CD with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=2139/counterspell
-note: http://www.wowhead.com/item=132452/seph ... bonus=3570 can be reliably procced on CD with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=122/frost-nova
To truly min/max your DPS in AoE as Arcane you would ideally be swapping between all 3 of those legendaries depending on the situation, but I highly recommend http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570 + http://www.wowhead.com/item=151808/mant ... bonus=3570 or http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570 + http://www.wowhead.com/item=132452/seph ... bonus=3570 for those just getting started.
http://www.wowhead.com/item=144274/grav ... bonus=3570 and http://www.wowhead.com/item=132442/cord ... bonus=3570 can be used in specific situations but are generally never used if you have any combination of the three mentioned above. If these two are the only ones you have available try to use http://www.wowhead.com/spell=209316/cord-of-infinity stacks to its fullest and use the extra http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12051/evocation to burn mana more often.
-Defensive Legendaries
If you're not going to be pushing keys past a 15 don't worry about this section.
The best defensive legendary you could possibly use is http://www.wowhead.com/item=132444/pryd ... bonus=3570. Paired with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=235450/prismatic-barrier I can have a 2.0mil absorb shield which is enough to survive almost all mechanics thrown at you in M+.
Whereas http://www.wowhead.com/item=133977/belo ... bonus=3570 is just as strong giving me a 1.1mil shield every blink. Although in most situations where a defensive legendary is needed wasting http://www.wowhead.com/spell=212653/shimmer charges for a shield isn't as optimal as Prydaz's passive shield.
The cool thing though is that the combination of http://www.wowhead.com/item=132444/pryd ... bonus=3570 + http://www.wowhead.com/item=133977/belo ... bonus=3570 gives me an insane 3.0mil shield which is sometimes necessary when DPS isn't an issue.
Trinkets -ST Trinkets
Just like in Raid your ST trinkets will remain almost identical, but I'll put some specific trinkets.
The single best trinket you can get for ST right now is http://ptr.wowhead.com/item=151969/term ... =3612:1502. Although you have to gear swap before you pull the boss, it is still the best ST trinket and should be used exclusively for bosses or tough single pull mobs. Here's a quick rundown of trinkets for ST:
- Stat Stick: Crit, Haste or Vers
Arcane benefits immensely from haste procs during any AoE pull as well as any trinket that uses arcane as its school of damage such as http://www.wowhead.com/item=147012/umbr ... =3562:1497, here are a few of the most notable trinkets:
- Stat Stick: Haste, Vers or Crit
-http://ptr.wowhead.com/item=151969/term ... =3612:1502 is the best ST and AoE trinket you could possibly have. Do what you need to so you can have this trinket.
Relics
Relics still follow the same guideline as raid with an exception. If you want to maintain raid damage follow this: Arcane Relics
-credit to Glynny
To maintain high overall dmg and still have solid ST DPS, the best relic setup to go for would be 3x http://www.wowhead.com/spell=187264/aegwynns-imperative relics. It'll allow you to maintain a longer burn on AoE as well as ST.
Tier
With the introduction of a new tier comes new bonuses: http://ptr.wowhead.com/spell=251861/ite ... e-2p-bonus and http://ptr.wowhead.com/spell=251862/ite ... e-4p-bonus. Tier 21 brings along HUGE bonuses for AoE as well as ST. Its a good time to be playing Arcane in M+.
The one set bonus you absolutely want to have for M+ is T20-2p. It provides the best burst AoE and ST you can get for M+.
For ST you have a couple options, you can either go T20 2p + T21 4p with http://www.wowhead.com/item=151642/soul ... bonus=3630 + http://www.wowhead.com/item=132410/shar ... bonus=3630 or T20 2p + T21 2p with http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3630 + http://www.wowhead.com/item=132410/shar ... bonus=3630/http://www.wowhead.com/item=151642/soul ... bonus=3630.
For AoE I highly recommend using T20-2p + http://ptr.wowhead.com/spell=251861/ite ... e-2p-bonus even if http://ptr.wowhead.com/spell=251862/ite ... e-4p-bonus sims higher for you. Losing the instant 4 charges from T20-2p is a big detriment to your damage and usefulness in M+. You need the on demand damage and synergy it brings with http://ptr.wowhead.com/spell=251861/ite ... e-2p-bonus. Losing that much damage and front loaded burst is a huge waste of time.
Talents
The go-to talent setup as of now focuses on our ST/Cleave talents while still maintaining high AoE DPS. With varying choices here and there for utility depending on the dungeon.
Tier 1
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236628/amplification provides the highest overall DPS out of all 3 talents.
Tier 2
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=212653/shimmer is hands down the most versatile choice on this line, especially in situations requiring http://www.wowhead.com/item=133977/belo ... bonus=3570.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236457/slipstream can be used in lower level dungeons where http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power isn't necessary, but I highly recommend practicing shimmer+rune setups.
Tier 3
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power is our best ST and AoE talent choice here.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=1463/incanters-flow is good for those just beginning to play Arcane.
Tier 4
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205028/resonance should always be taken no questions asked. It is our best AoE and ST talent.
Tier 5
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=235711/chrono-shift provides the best overall use in this line. Also provides a blanket slow for http://www.wowhead.com/affix=8/sanguine, http://www.wowhead.com/affix=2/skittish, http://www.wowhead.com/affix=4/necrotic.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=113724 has its uses when a stun/cc is necessary for certain mobs and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205036/ice-ward pairs well with http://www.wowhead.com/item=132452/seph ... bonus=3570 and helping tanks kite mobs.
Tier 6
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205039/erosion is our best talent in this line.
Tier 7
The best talent to take in this row is http://www.wowhead.com/spell=155147/overpowered. It provides the best ST and 2nd best AoE in this line.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=153626/arcane-orb can be taken on lower keys or http://www.wowhead.com/affix=10/fortified weeks. Your ST dps will suffer slightly but your AoE consistency goes up immensely.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=234302/temporal-flux should never be taken over the other two.
Racials
Racials in M+ make a huge difference compared to its counterpart. Apart from DPS gains with races like Troll http://www.wowhead.com/spell=26297/berserking or Dwarf http://www.wowhead.com/spell=59224/migh ... e-mountain, the utility certain races provide make up for certain aspects Arcane lacks in. The top 3 racials to have in M+ in terms of racials are:
An AoE silence can easily save your group from a wipe.
A stun break can save yourself from an unfortunate death.
Shadowmeld can completely negate an entire mechanic if timed well.
Get accustomed to your racial, you never know how useful it might be! For example since I'm a Dwarf and I get http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20594/stoneform it allows me to clear the http://www.wowhead.com/spell=227742/garrote from http://www.wowhead.com/npc=114312/moroes#abilities.
Spells and Cooldowns
This part of the guide isn't going to map out each button press to the dot. It's going to give you general guidelines to take advantage of the weird timings that come with M+. Along with Utility spells most people don't even have binded!
Mana Management
I'm going to start this off by touching on mana management since this is the one aspect that everyone even including myself struggle with. We currently have five ways to regen mana, four during combat and one only out of combat. These include:
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=210726/mark-of-aluneth (with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=238090/alu ... ice?rank=0)
In a ST fight the http://www.wowhead.com/item=132410/shar ... bonus=3570 + http://www.wowhead.com/item=151642/soul ... bonus=3570 setup does the best pure ST damage and given that it doesn't use http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570 mana regen is a huge factor in DPS. The obvious thing to do is to use http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12051/evocation on CD at the end of your burn phase. Outside of this you can either have a high http://www.wowhead.com/spell=190740/mastery-savant or do a more conservative rotation such.
In an AoE fight the best way I've found to avoid going oom is to primarily use a http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570. Since the Kilt + Mantle or Kilt + Sephuz setup will cover for all ranges of targets there really is no need to go without http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570. But if you can not run a Kilt build the best thing to do is to carry around water and carefully manage your http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12051/evocation CD. Always plan ahead and use your mana sparingly, especially if the upcoming pack requires higher DPS.
Cooldowns
Now onto CDs, our main source of damage revolves around http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=224968/mark-of-aluneth. Arcane power has a short CD compared to Frost and Fire so it should be used almost always on CD and paired with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power. Since http://www.wowhead.com/spell=224968/mark-of-aluneth gives back 20% mana with the new trait http://www.wowhead.com/spell=238090/aluneths-avarice, MoA should be used in conjunction with Arcane Power to extend burn duration and outside of Arcane Power to give yourself what is known as a "mini-burn."
If you decide to take http://www.wowhead.com/spell=153626/arcane-orb, which is a completely viable talent to take in M+, over http://www.wowhead.com/spell=155147/overpowered here are a few things to know. This spell should be used on CD for every pack and every boss you pull. For ST you should use this to gain http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge rather than using it at 4 charges. Arcane Orb does a lot of damage and scales very well with number of enemies. When using it on an AoE pack you want to be casting it with as many damage modifiers as you can. This includes http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power, and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205025/presence-of-mind (with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=242248/ite ... e-2p-bonus). Ideally your opener for a pack would look like this:
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=224968/mark-of-aluneth > http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power > http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power+http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205025/presence-of-mind(with a PoM /cancelaura) > http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage>http://www.wowhead.com/spell=153626/arcane-orb
With the new T20-2p http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205025/presence-of-mind can now be used as a secondary CD in conjunction with our primary CDs. What makes our T20 2p so strong is that it allows us to go into either ST or AoE burst much quicker, giving us much higher uptime of four http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge along with the 10% dmg increase. Don't forget that since PoM with T20 now gives us 4 http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge instantly make sure to always dump your charges with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage if you already have more than 1 http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge.
-when using PoM in an AoE situation it is a huge DPS increase to cancelaura the PoM buff which can easily be done with a simple /cancelaura Presence of Mind macro.
Proper http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power usage can be tricky if you're not used to it. What you want to do to properly utilize http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power with [url]http://www.wowhead.com/spell=22496 ... of-aluneth/[url]http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power is to precasts MoA and go into a http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power > http://www.wowhead.com/spell=212653/shimmer during the rune cast so that you can be in range to use http://www.wowhead.com/spell=1449/arcane-explosion.
Apart from CDs and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power usage, the biggest thing to know is when to spam http://www.wowhead.com/spell=1449/arcane-explosion and when to use http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage. Currently you should spam http://www.wowhead.com/spell=1449/arcane-explosion on 2+ targets when you have either MoA on target, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power is active, or T20-2p is active. Even with http://www.wowhead.com/item=151808/mant ... bonus=3570 you should still spam explosion for at least the duration of T20 2p + Rune. Outside of CDs you should always barrage at 4 http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge to conserve mana when you can, unless you know what you're doing with your mana.
The last thing I can tell you is to have a way to track your CDs in a clear manner. You always want to go into a pack with at least one charge of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power. http://www.wowhead.com/spell=224968/mark-of-aluneth and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205025/presence-of-mind (with T20-2p) for the harder packs, and [url]http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power for the really hard packs.
Utility Spells
As an Arcane mage we have some utility/cc available to use, but it's no where near as strong as Frost. Currently what we have available to us is http://www.wowhead.com/spell=31589/slow, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=122/frost-nova, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage (with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=235711/chrono-shift), and [url]http://www.wowhead.com/spell=219407/polymorph. Out of all of our CC we have available, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage (with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=235711/chrono-shift) and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=31589/slow will be our most used CC.
Specifically, correct http://www.wowhead.com/spell=219407/polymorph usage is really crucial for high m+. CC'ing a mob completely out of combat until ready to be killed is highly valuable. Certain mobs such as http://www.wowhead.com/npc=95842/valarjar-thundercaller with their http://www.wowhead.com/spell=198595/thunderous-bolt and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=198599 can easily wipe a group on a high level http://www.wowhead.com/affix=10/fortified key.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=113724/ring-of-frost is also very useful in high m+ since it is our only incapacitate spell as a Arcane mage. Mobs such as http://www.wowhead.com/npc=98691/risen-scout#abilities with their http://www.wowhead.com/spell=200291 can do millions of damage onto an entire group if not stunned, disorientated, or incapacitated. Given that Arcane only has one of those 3 as a talent, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=113724/ring-of-frost should only be used in specific situations that require it. It is also a tricky spell to get used to, it's not an instant CC like http://www.wowhead.com/spell=31661/dragons-breath or http://www.wowhead.com/spell=119381/leg-sweep.
As for the other Utility spells, apart from http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage (with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=235711/chrono-shift) use your head and kite appropriately. For example don't http://www.wowhead.com/spell=122/frost-nova during http://www.wowhead.com/affix=2/skittish when your tank is running. It'll get your melee killed! Unless you like messing with your friends...
Lastly, DO NOT FORGET ABOUT http://www.wowhead.com/spell=2139/counterspell. Kicking casts in M+ is more important than most people realize. A lot of mobs have spells that can easily kill you or your entire group. Now obviously knowing what to kick and what to let by comes with practice and experience, but just keep in mind to kick casts. If you're lucky you might be with a good group that can guide you to interrupt casts. Otherwise trial and error!
Major Defensive Spells
We have two major defensives, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=45438/ice-block and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=110959/gre ... visibility.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=110959/gre ... visibility is our bread and butter defensive, with a 2 min CD and 60% dmg reduction it is one of the best caster defensives in the game. Apart from the dmg reduction component, GI allows us to negate targeted mechanics very easily. Just like how http://www.wowhead.com/spell=58984/shadowmeld can interrupt/stop mechanics, GI does it even better. Mechanics such as http://www.wowhead.com/spell=191977/impaling-spear or http://www.wowhead.com/spell=212834/nightmare-bolt.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=45438/ice-block is our other major defensive CD and just like GI can be used to entirely negate a large array of mechanics. More explained in the Tips and Tricks section.
Minor Defensive Spells
We have one minor defensive with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=235450/prismatic-barrier. A lot of people may think prismatic barrier isn't all that great since it's absorb amount is much less than http://www.wowhead.com/spell=11426/ice-barrier, but don't forget that prismatic barrier also gives a 15% magic reduction and reduces magic effects on you by 25%. So A LOT of magic based mechanics can be negated without having to use http://www.wowhead.com/spell=45438/ice-block. Use it religiously it'll save your healer some mana and ultimately make the run go quicker. Less time wasted on healing in between packs means more DPS uptime.
Tips and Tricks
Here are some tips and tricks that can either improve QoL or even provide big DPS increases that you might not have known about.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=195676/displacement is HUGE for M+. Nothing compares to having four blinks in succession with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236645/shimmer. Given that http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles can be channeled while using blink, you should be taking full advantage of this to re-position yourself.
-note: The affects of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236645/shimmer on displacement (no GCD and castable while casting other spells) can still be retained with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236457/slipstream. You just have to make sure you log out with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236457/slipstream talented.
A huge tip for the non http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570 and even for Kilt users is that you can get an extra http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12051/evocation between packs by swapping in http://www.wowhead.com/item=144274/grav ... bonus=3570.
-credit to Unstable.
The biggest tip I can give you in M+ is keybind http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30449/spellsteal. It is in my opinion one of the most useful aspects of being a mage in M+. There is a huge range of mob abilities that can be spellstolen as well as purged, here's some of the most notable:
- BRH http://www.wowhead.com/npc=100486/risen-arcanist : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=197797/arcane-blitz
- ARC http://www.wowhead.com/npc=98733/wither ... #abilities : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=210662/unstable-flux
- ARC http://www.wowhead.com/npc=105617/eredar-chaosbringer : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=211632/brand-of-the-legion This one is cast on the Chaosbringers' target gotta watch for it!
- COS http://www.wowhead.com/npc=111563/duskw ... #abilities : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=209033/fortification
- HOV http://www.wowhead.com/npc=96574/stormforged-sentinel : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=198745/protective-light
The best way to keep an eye out for these buffs is to either download an addon that displays the spellstealable buffs clearly or through Elvui, which gives an option to highlight spellstealable buffs with a yellow border. There may be other ways to track it that I'm not aware of but I personally go about it through Elvui.
-Edit: I have actually forgot how to make spellstealable/purgeable buffs appear with a yellow border on Elvui. If I or anyone else finds out how to do so I'll update the guide ASAP.
Apart from http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30449/spellsteal there are plenty of innovative and cool ways to use our spell kit to either mitigate or negate entire mechanics. Spells like http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236645/shimmer and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=45438/ice-block.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236645/shimmer can be used to:
- Karazhan http://www.wowhead.com/npc=114350/shade-of-medivh : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=227615/inferno-bolt can be avoided if you blink at the end of the cast while the bolt is traveling.
- HOV http://www.wowhead.com/npc=95675/god-king-skovald : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=193659/felblaze-rush can be avoided completely with a well timed blink.
- HOV http://www.wowhead.com/npc=99868/fenryr : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=196497/ravenous-leap can also be avoided with blink but is a bit trickier than the others, you gotta watch where you blink! Don't wanna blink into someone who is also targeted.
- ARC http://www.wowhead.com/npc=98206/general-xakal : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=197810/wicked-slam should be immuned! Its a huge AoE nuke.
- VOTW http://www.wowhead.com/npc=95886/ashgolm : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=192519/lava can be cleared by walking over multiple patches and blocking the debuff off.
- BRH http://www.wowhead.com/npc=98949/smashspite-the-hateful : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=198079/hateful-gazehttp://www.wowhead.com/spell=224188/hateful-charge can be immuned if targeted onto you or you can save a teammate by ice blocking in its pathway.
- EOA http://www.wowhead.com/npc=91784/warlord-parjesh : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=191977/impaling-spear can be stopped by invising when targeted.
- DHT http://www.wowhead.com/npc=99192/shade- ... #abilities : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=212834/nightmare-bolt can also be stoppped by invising.
- COS http://www.wowhead.com/npc=101831/advisor-melandrus : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=209676/slicing-maelstrom can be finally mitigated.
If you haven't noticed yet mechanics that can be avoided by http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236645/shimmer tend to be mechanics that include a travel time. While mechanics that can be avoided with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=45438/ice-block/http://www.wowhead.com/spell=110959/gre ... visibility tend to be big one-shot mechanics that can either target you or another player.
Last tip, Gear Swapping.
Gear swapping is a HUGE part of optimizing M+ performance, you can't be running an entire dungeon using just ST gear and expect to top meters! There's two ways to get comfortable with gear swapping that I know of. One is to use the in game gear manager then binding the gear set to a key or clicking the set on a bar. The other way, which is what I use personally, is through an addon called Opie Rings. The addon page can explain it in full, but it basically uses one keybind to give you a radial dial to put whatever you want. Here's a quick look at what it looks like.
-link https://mods.curse.com/addons/wow/opie
One thing to note when it comes to gear swapping is that on-use trinkets will go on a 30 sec CD timer even if it is already "off CD". So if you're using something like http://www.wowhead.com/item=147012/umbr ... =3562:1497 or http://www.wowhead.com/item=147017/tarn ... =3562:1497 make sure you give yourself enough time before its use.
-hot tip:use http://www.wowhead.com/spell=66/invisibility to gear swap even in combat!
Weakauras
Apart from standard spell cooldown and buff trackers there are a couple of weakauras I use specifically to help me with M+.
- Quaking WA -tracks the timing of http://www.wowhead.com/affix=14/quaking so you don't get locked out.
- Unspent talent point WA -if you're using http://www.wowhead.com/item=151642/soul ... bonus=3570 this will save yourself the embarrassment of missing a talent!
- Explosives WA -tracks number of http://www.wowhead.com/affix=13/explosive currently spawned and highlights their nameplate.
- Party Interrupt Tracker -tracks everyone's interrupt to help manage interrupts.
I personally do not use a lot of addons specific to M+ and don't find any of them to be particularly useful. There are however a few general addons that are a must if you're serious about pushing keys.
- DBM or LittleWigs -just like in raid, its your biggest tool for M+ bosses.
- Weakauras -to take advantage of those awesome weakauras I listed.
- Details! -or any other damage meter. However I recommend getting one that shows damage taken and death recounts accurately so that you can learn what abilities are killing you.
With every dungeon you should be prepared to come in with at least:
- http://www.wowhead.com/item=133573/seed ... fish-plate or food of choice, also keep in mind utility foods such as http://www.wowhead.com/item=133577/fighter-chow.
- http://www.wowhead.com/item=120257/drums-of-fury in case your group doesn't have a 2nd http://www.wowhead.com/spell=2825/bloodlust.
- http://www.wowhead.com/item=40771/cobalt-frag-bomb which can be used to substitute lack of CC.
-credit to Norrinir
- http://www.wowhead.com/item=127834/anci ... ing-potion optional but wink wink you should bring these!
- http://www.wowhead.com/item=127840/skaggldrynk if your http://www.wowhead.com/spell=66/invisibility is on cd.
I'll split this up into two categories one for Farming either for the gear or the weekly and the other for Pushing Keys.
Farming
An Arcane mage brings high burst and sustained AoE along with above average ST damage. A lot of your CDs are going to be used to deal with harder packs throughout a dungeon as well as providing solid sustained AoE. With http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power's short CD, you should be using this on CD to speed up the dungeon clear even if it means losing it on bosses. We're there for high burst AoE and generally when you're farming M+ your other two DPS can make up for your ST. Apart from DPS take advantage of the passive slow we have in http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage (with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=235711/chrono-shift) and the ability to negate damage with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=110959/gre ... visibility and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=45438/ice-block.
Pushing Keys
Arcane is extremely useful on http://www.wowhead.com/affix=10/fortified weeks for its high sustained AoE, but it doesn't necessarily make Arcane bad on http://www.wowhead.com/affix=9. The downside to Arcane is that it suffers on certain weeks, such as http://www.wowhead.com/affix=2/skittish and http://www.wowhead.com/affix=11/bursting. Knowing when to take Arcane for certain affixes will depend largely on your group's composition and your comfort level with the spec. Which all comes down to repetitive play and practice. Aside from affixes, given Arcane's kit, we are able to provide burst damage more often throughout the course of a high key both on AoE and ST. With the right gear setups and practice you could easily be pulling 2mil overall on a dungeon. Arcane takes a lot more practice than the other two specs to be "proficient" at it, but the pay off gives you a spec that rivals Boomkins in damage. Remember to go into every boss fight with at the least http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power and every AoE pack with one charge of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205025/presence-of-mind(with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=242248/ite ... e-2p-bonus). Saving bigger CDs for priority packs such as the imp pack in CoS.
Plan your CDs and your mana accordingly. If you're not using http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... bonus=3570 don't be afraid to tell your tank to let you get a drink in between packs. If you can use http://www.wowhead.com/spell=110959/gre ... visibility to quickly get yourself out of combat to get a drink in.
Weakaura Links
I've recently made my own Frost mage weakaura set, as well as one for Arcane, that are tailored more for M+ than for raid. I also customized a set of weakauras tracking certain abilities in dungeons that I found to be the most useful.
- Dungeon WA -Dungeon WAs are separated per dungeon
Aside from mage specific things regarding M+, a lot of your success in pushing keys comes with a lot of practice. Being knowledgeable with all the dungeons takes time. Min/Maxing every little thing you can takes a lot of practice and execution. Remember that M+ is a race against a timer, every little thing adds up.
Feel free to add your insight, I'm more then welcome to new ideas and strategies. Also if you think I'm wrong feel free to correct it I'm more than willing to admit fault.
If you see me on discord feel free to ask questions, currently going by Herusx
Have fun pushing keys
