HOLY SHIT ANTORUS IS OUT, WHAT DO I DO
Please keep in mind that over the next 3 - 4 weeks, information may change very rapidly as we progress through Antorus or adapt to any class tuning. Check back often; I'll try to keep this up to date as best I can.
Relax. Not much has changed, as far as overall playstyle is concerned. Here's a quick tl;dr:
- BiS legendaries haven't changed. http://www.wowhead.com/item=132410/shard-of-the-exodar / http://www.wowhead.com/item=151642/soul-of-the-archmage are BiS on pure single target. http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... une-master as an alternative for safer mana usage. http://www.wowhead.com/item=151808/mant ... -kirin-tor for AOE.
- Stats haven't changed, insofar as they're still all over the place for Arcane. Mastery has gotten a little more valuable due to http://www.wowhead.com/spell=251862/ite ... e-4p-bonus affecting mana consumption, but is still garbage.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205032/charged-up is genuinely good on single-target with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=251861/ite ... e-2p-bonus, but only single-target. Nevermind everyone, it's back to being dogshit.
- There are some important rotational changes during burn phase to capitalize on http://www.wowhead.com/spell=251861/ite ... e-2p-bonus.
- With the loss of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=246225/ite ... e-4p-bonus, "miniburns" aren't really a thing anymore.
Changelog
Spoiler:
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- Introduction: What is an Arcane Mage?
- The Arcane Toolkit
- Talents
- Stats
- Artifact
- Relics
- Legendaries
- Priority List
- Easy Mode / BM Hunter Version
- Videos
- FAQ
- Be real: is this spec Viable™ right now?
- What about trinkets?
- What about other trinkets?
- I need WeakAuras to tell me how to hit buttons.
- I know what you said about stats, but you really should have mentioned the 18% Haste goal. That's well-established.
- I heard you need like 30% Mastery though.
- Where can I watch some Arcane streams?
- I heard the Arcane APL heavily undervalues Mage T20 Arcane 4P Bonus.
- What about potions?
- Our healers are buttholes and don't deserve Greater Blessing of Wisdom. How do I justify stealing it?
- I heard there's a bug with Rule of Threes. What's that about?
Introduction: What is an Arcane Mage?
Arcane's playstyle revolves primarily around two phases: conserve, and burn. In our burn phase, we align our cooldowns to deal as much burst damage as possible, and expend the remainder of our mana before regenerating with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=135449/evocation. During the conserve phase, we aim to maximize our DPS while maintaining sufficient mana reserves for the burn phase. This is the backbone of Arcane gameplay and has been for quite a while. These days it's a little less cut and dry, as we have multiple legendaries that affect our mana consumption, thereby delaying or prolonging our burn phases or altering our conserve phase rotations. The fundamental burn-conserve cycle, however, stays intact.
In addition to mana, we have another resource to manage in http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge. We build stacks of this resource as we use our primary damaging abilities, and each stack in turn buffs these abilities, while at the same time making our filler spells, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30451/arcane-blast and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=1449/arcane-explosion, more costly. During a conserve phase, we will frequently have to reset our stacks with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage. Maintaining a balance between staying at maximum http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge stacks and avoiding unnecessary mana expenditure is another key component of Arcane gameplay.
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The Arcane Toolkit
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=190740/mastery-savant: Our new Mastery in Legion. Provides a damage buff to abilities affected by http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge. Affects mana as well by increasing pool size and regen.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12051/evocation (Evo): Channeled spell, regenerates all our mana over 4 ticks (25% each). The first tick we get instantly, and the rest occur as the channel continues.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30451/arcane-blast (AB, ABlast): Acts as both as a filler spell and a significant source of our damage. Hits hard, harder as we build http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge, and is itself a source of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge stacks. Goto filler spell for single target.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=1449/arcane-explosion (AE): Our AoE damage spell. Damage is buffed from http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge, and itself is a source of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge stacks. Goto filler spell whenever another target shows up.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles (AM): Our proc ability. Buffed by http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge. Can be triggered by basically any damaging spell that we have. Unlike Fire and Frost, we do not gain an insta-cast from this proc. Instead, AMs are channeled, firing out a salvo of projectiles with each tick, with a chance for additional projectiles from http://www.wowhead.com/spell=215463/rule-of-threes.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage (ABarr): An AoE/cleave ability in itself, buffed by http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge via increased number of targets hit as well as damage. Clears our http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge stacks, thus acting as a sort of reset button for our rotation.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=224968/mark-of-aluneth (MoA): Gained from our artifact, providing an additional source of damage, especially in AoE situations. With http://www.wowhead.com/spell=238090/aluneths-avarice, becomes a nontrivial source of mana regen for us.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power (AP): Our primary DPS cooldown. Buffs our spell damage and reduces our mana costs, allowing us to cast more spells at max http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge stacks.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205025/presence-of-mind (PoM): Another DPS cooldown. Primary use of this ability will be during our burst window to land an additional 2 http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30451/arcane-blast where we wouldn't have otherwise, but could also be used for high priority adds or during times of movement. With http://www.wowhead.com/spell=242248/ite ... e-2p-bonus, usage is very different; since it gives us a damage buff, we want to use it immediately when popping http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power, instead of waiting.
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Talents
Level 15
tl;dr Take http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236628/amplification. http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles are a significant source of damage, and this talent only makes them better. You can consider http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205022/arcane-familiar for AoE but make sure that you're not sacrificing all that extra http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles damage.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205022/arcane-familiar
Boosts our mana pool by 10%, thereby directly buffing http://www.wowhead.com/spell=224968/mark-of-aluneth damage, and giving us extra mana for conserve phases. Unfortunately http://www.wowhead.com/spell=224968/mark-of-aluneth is still pretty underwhelming even with this talent, and the impact on conserve phase is negligible. However, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205022/arcane-familiar can actually enjoy some success on AoE/cleave fights. In those situations you will often be casting less http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles, which will of course devalue http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236628/amplification.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236628/amplification
Buffs http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles damage by 12% per http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge. Staying at max http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge stacks whenever possible is one of our rotational goals, so a direct damage buff based on total stacks synergizes well with our existing rotation.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205035/words-of-power
Grants increased http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles proc chance based on our current mana levels. However, the potential bonus procs do not justify taking this talent over the others. Arcane rotations are more heavily mana negative now compared to 6.x where it was trivial to hover around 90% mana at all times. This means that at full mana, we would receive a bonus 5% chance to proc http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles, but this talent would only get worse as we execute our rotation. This talent simply is not powerful enough.
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Level 30
tl;dr http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236457/slipstream is my preferred choice here. I find it allows me to reposition more often and more reliably. http://www.wowhead.com/spell=212653/shimmer has its own benefits, however. Depending on your preference or the encounter, choose whichever works best.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=212653/shimmer
Replaces http://www.wowhead.com/spell=1953/blink in favor of a 2-charge, castable-while-casting ability. Provides the same functionality to http://www.wowhead.com/spell=212799/displacement-beacon, turning it into http://www.wowhead.com/spell=212801/displacement. The intention of this talent is to provide extra mobility by allowing you to reposition quickly without interrupting a cast.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236457/slipstream
Previously, with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=108839/ice-floes, one charge was almost always used for http://www.wowhead.com/spell=135449/evocation. Using a charge preemptively would prevent knockbacks from interrupting the channel, and allow you to reposition for mechanics if necessary. We have since lost http://www.wowhead.com/spell=108839/ice-floes, meaning a knockback or channeling in a bad spot can completely screw over your mana pool. http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236457/slipstream provides a solution for that, but that benefit is negated by simply knowing and preparing for boss mechanics ahead of time. But if you're dumb like me, you can get yourself some extra protection.
The main selling point for http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236457/slipstream is the ability to cast http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles on the move. Procs can be very frequent, especially with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=187276/eth ... ensitivity and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=211379/ite ... e-2p-bonus. Your ability to maintain some respectable amount of DPS on the move will be much stronger.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=235463/mana-shield
Perhaps this is useful in a PvP environment, but otherwise you should probably let your healers spend mana on healing, and you can spend mana on damage. Take less damage yourself overall and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=235450/prismatic-barrier should be sufficient for taking some of the burden off your healers.
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Level 45
tl;dr You want http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power. Arcane burst is quite insane. If you don't think you can manage it or can't be bothered to, take http://www.wowhead.com/spell=1463/incanters-flow and suffer a DPS loss.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=55342/mirror-image
Spawns copies of yourself that will cast http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30451/arcane-blast at your target. For Fire and Frost, the images can get off a lot more casts, making it a more worthwhile choice. It should be noted that Images do not benefit from Mastery.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power
Temporarily provides us with bonus spell damage. Requires you to stay close to the Rune placement, though you have more breathing room than you might think. A WeakAura helps out a lot with this to make sure that you don't move out of range. Can be problematic on encounters with heavy movement, but you just have to look at boss timers and plan ahead.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=1463/incanters-flow
A cycling buff providing between 4% - 20% bonus damage. This is the only passive talent in the row, so it's the easiest option. Typically best for specs/builds that are not burst heavy, i.e., Frost without http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205021/ray-of-frost. Historically it has rarely, if ever, proven worth it to "game" the bonus damage, e.g., waiting for 5 stacks before using a http://www.wowhead.com/spell=157980/supernova. Theoretically it might be a marginal DPS increase but in practice it is not likely to be worthwhile.
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Level 60
tl;dr http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205028/resonance.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=157980/supernova
Insta-cast nuke. Includes a knockback. This was quite good when we had 2 charges, but is somewhat underwhelming now. You could consider taking this if you need extra CC in M+, for example, as it effectively acts as an AoE interrupt in that regard. But honestly, if you're being forced to take http://www.wowhead.com/spell=157980/supernova for CC instead of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205028/resonance for damage, your group has some serious problems.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205032/charged-up
Gain 4 stacks of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge instantly. The only "resource"-building talent to maintain its original functionality since http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205029/flame-on and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205030/frozen-touch became passives. Enjoys some synergy with http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... une-master, offering a quick 12% mana gain on demand. Also enables better usage of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=251861/ite ... e-2p-bonus, allowing for more spells to be cast at maximum http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge with the damage buff active.
As of 11/29, with the latest nerfs to set bonuses, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205032/charged-up is back to being useless.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205028/resonance
Buffs http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage damage per target hit. Excels in multi-target encounters and is not that far behind on single-target either. If you're uncomfortable with using another active talent and would prefer a passive, you can consider taking this as your default choice.
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Level 75
tl;dr Take http://www.wowhead.com/spell=235711/chrono-shift for combined CC/mobility.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=235711/chrono-shift
Turns http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage into an AoE snare and speed boost, offering both offensive and defensive benefits. The snare can be very handy in M+, or raid encounters with adds susceptible to crowd control. The speed boost can provide some additional mobility by allowing you to reposition quicker.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=113724/ring-of-frost
As an AoE root and interrupt this is a decent utility spell. Can be helpful in M+ for interrupts, like the caster mobs in http://www.wowhead.com/zone=7812/maw-of-souls. However, has somewhat of a long cooldown, is easily broken, and you have to rely on lucky timing for the interrupt.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205036/ice-ward
Provides 2 http://www.wowhead.com/spell=122/frost-nova charges. Useful perhaps if you find yourself absolutely needing extra roots.
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Level 90
tl;dr http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205039/erosion is best for all scenarios.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=114923/nether-tempest
Arcane equivalent of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44457/living-bomb. Pulses AoE damage around the target. This is basically a dead talent since Quickening was removed.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=157976/unstable-magic
Chance for http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30451/arcane-blast to explode for bonus damage. Simply doesn't do enough damage to justify taking instead of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205039/erosion.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205039/erosion
Places a stacking debuff on all targets hit by your spells that increases damage by up to 8%. The 3 second grace time before stacks start dropping pretty much means you can't wait longer than 1 or 2 http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30451/arcane-blast. You may be concerned about maintaining stacks, but it's rare that they drop off, and even if they do, the benefit that you gain throughout the fight from just taking this talent instead of the other two makes it the default choice.
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Level 100
tl;dr http://www.wowhead.com/spell=155147/overpowered is king of this tier.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=155147/overpowered
Aptly named, compared to the usefulness of the other two talents. Provides a significant boost to http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power by increasing the bonus damage and mana cost reduction, allowing for longer and more powerful burn phases. Extremely strong for single-target and AoE/cleave alike.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=234302/temporal-flux
Causes your http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30451/arcane-blast to be cast quicker proportional to your http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge stacks. Will likely inflate the value of Mastery for you, as you will be casting http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30451/arcane-blast more often, and thus losing mana at a greater rate. Considering all the damage you already leave on the table by opting out of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=155147/overpowered, it should be clear to avoid this talent.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=153626/arcane-orb
Similar to http://www.wowhead.com/spell=84714/frozen-orb, but doesn't stop moving when it hits a target. Builds http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=79683/arcane-missiles. Even on AoE encounters, this is hardly worth missing out on http://www.wowhead.com/spell=155147/overpowered. You could consider this for M+ maybe, but that's robbing you of a lot of boss damage.
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Stats
Stats are complicated, moreso for Arcane than for the other Mage specs, in my opinion. There's nothing that you particularly want to stack, no raw numbers that you're looking to shoot for. You pretty much have to sim yourself at all times to get an idea of what your priorities are. With tools like Raidbots doing all the work for you, it's easier than ever to get in the habit of simming yourself often. Do yourself a favor and learn ASAP.
With that said, I will reluctantly offer a few huge generalizations:
- When it crits, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30451/arcane-blast is pretty painful.
- Versatility is pretty much always going to be good. It's a flat damage buff, can't really go wrong with that. You won't reach a point where there's diminishing returns here.
- Mastery is worse than you probably think it is. It's not like last expansion where it was one of our better stats, neck and neck up there with Haste, for example. Nowadays it's basically a worse version of Versatility. The return on investment that you get for stacking Mastery just isn't there, and the effect on your mana pool is negligible.
- There is no meaningful Haste breakpoint to be found. I realize that doesn't make a lot of sense, as one would think that the more Haste you have, the more spells you can cast into http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power. From all the testing myself and others have done, there doesn't appear to be any specific breakpoint that you want to hit. If someone gives you a percentage and says that you should target it, they made it up.
- However, that is not to say that Mastery and Haste are completely forgettable. They actually interact with each other quite a bit, as both directly affect your mana consumption. More Haste means increased rate of consumption, and more Mastery means increased mana available to be consumed. The takeaway from this is to have enough Mastery to support the amount of Haste that you have, as that will determine how much leeway you have during your conserve phase and protect you from going OOM.
You'll notice that I just made a case for literally every stat being good. This is exactly why I said "stats are complicated", and why "sim yourself" is more than just a meme. It's honestly the best way for you to figure out what you should be focusing on.
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Artifact
Pre-empowered
After http://www.wowhead.com/quest=45864/a-gift-from-the-six
Images by Zulandia.
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Relics
tl;dr http://www.wowhead.com/spell=187264/aegwynns-imperative is your best trait.
For sim results in various scenarios, refer to Glynny's Arcane sim dump.
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Legendaries
tl;dr http://www.wowhead.com/item=132410/shard-of-the-exodar and http://www.wowhead.com/item=151642/soul-of-the-archmage are BiS on pure single target. http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... une-master is also very desirable, particularly for the massive quality of life buff it provides in preventing you from ever really going OOM. http://www.wowhead.com/item=151808/mant ... -kirin-tor is hilariously good for AoE.
Summary
http://www.wowhead.com/item=132410/shard-of-the-exodar (Shard): Your http://www.wowhead.com/spell=80353/time-warp does not apply http://www.wowhead.com/spell=80354/temp ... splacement, and is not inhibited by similar debuffs. This effectively means you can gain multiple http://www.wowhead.com/spell=80353/time-warp buffs in a single fight. For example, if you use http://www.wowhead.com/spell=80353/time-warp on pull, then receive http://www.wowhead.com/spell=80353/time-warp, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=2825/bloodlust or similar from someone else in the raid (or use http://www.wowhead.com/item=120257/drums-of-fury yourself), then use http://www.wowhead.com/spell=80353/time-warp again when it comes off cooldown, that's three bursts you can pull off with 40% Haste. That is hugely beneficial to Arcane.
http://www.wowhead.com/item=133977/belovirs-final-stand (Belovir): Gain an absorb shield after using http://www.wowhead.com/spell=1953/blink. Useful if you're in a situation where healers need some pressure taken off of them, but not particularly good.
http://www.wowhead.com/item=151642/soul-of-the-archmage (Soul): Provides http://www.wowhead.com/spell=234302/temporal-flux for free. http://www.wowhead.com/spell=234302/temporal-flux is actually not terrible, gameplay-wise; http://www.wowhead.com/item=124516/tome ... ting-words from T18 was very powerful, and the upcoming http://ptr.wowhead.com/spell=251862/ite ... ants-haste offers a very similar buff. You simply cannot afford to pass up on http://www.wowhead.com/spell=155147/overpowered. http://www.wowhead.com/item=151642/soul-of-the-archmage lets you have the best of both worlds.
http://www.wowhead.com/item=132413/rhon ... g-armwraps (Rhonin): http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles gives you a chance for a free http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30451/arcane-blast. Arcane equivalent of http://www.wowhead.com/item=132406/marq ... e-sun-king, basically. With the amount of time you spend casting http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles, you'll likely see a lot of these procs. Still, Arcane is still too burst heavy, so getting a little extra free damage in conserve phase isn't much to write home about.
http://www.wowhead.com/item=132442/cord-of-infinity (Cord): Each tick of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles buffs your http://www.wowhead.com/spell=224968/mark-of-aluneth damage by 1%. Stacks up to 100 times. The distinction between each tick and each cast here is very important. With http://www.wowhead.com/spell=215463/rule-of-threes, you have a chance to gain 8 stacks in a single channel of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles. Not bad and doesn't take up a tier slot.
http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... une-master (Kilt): Gain 3% mana per http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge consumed by http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage. Kilt is bae and always will be, if only because of the peace of mind it provides. The Arcane conserve rotation is heavily mana negative but this legendary single-handedly removes mana from your concerns. You want this legendary.
http://www.wowhead.com/item=144274/gravity-spiral (Spiral): Provides an extra http://www.wowhead.com/spell=135449/evocation charge. Probably has the most disruptive effect on rotation, and is admittedly very likely undervalued in sims. You can consider saving an extra charge for your mini-burn between http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power uses when only http://www.wowhead.com/spell=242248/ite ... e-2p-bonus is active.
http://www.wowhead.com/item=151808/mant ... -kirin-tor (Mantle): 10% chance per http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge consumed by http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage to launch an http://www.wowhead.com/spell=153626/arcane-orb. Crazily good for AoE. If you're running M+, you'll likely be using this legendary.
http://www.wowhead.com/item=132455/norgannons-foresight (Norgannons): After standing still for 6 seconds, gain the ability to cast while moving for 4 seconds. Arcane's always had mobility problems; this helps to alleviate them. However, you are not exactly a turret without these, and should be able to handle most mechanics and periods of movement without too much trouble, making http://www.wowhead.com/item=132455/norgannons-foresight pretty useless overall.
http://www.wowhead.com/item=132452/sephuzs-secret (Sephuz): Passive 2% Haste and an additional 25% for 10 seconds after interrupting or using crowd control abilities. You can do a lot worse than this legendary, frankly. On fights where you can reliably trigger http://www.wowhead.com/spell=208051/sephuzs-secret on cooldown (with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=122/frost-nova, for example) it performs exceptionally well.
http://www.wowhead.com/item=132444/pryd ... agnum-opus (Prydaz): 25% HP absorb shield every 30 seconds. The goto legendary for early progression on fights that are testing the limits of your healers, e.g., http://www.wowhead.com/npc=105503/guldan, Sisters of the Moon.
http://www.wowhead.com/item=144259/kilj ... rning-wish (KJ, KJBW): Launch a nuke that does AoE damage. Not affected by any multipliers; that means http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power.
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Simulations
For sim results in various scenarios, refer to Glynny's Arcane sim dump.
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Priority List
Precombat
Enter this phase when you're pulling the boss.
- At -3 seconds, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=55342/mirror-image, if you've taken this talent.
- At -2 seconds, http://www.wowhead.com/item=127843/poti ... adly-grace.
- At -2 seconds, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30451/arcane-blast.
Build
Enter this phase when all of the following are true:
- You have less than 4 http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge.
- You are not currently in a burn phase.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=153626/arcane-orb, if you've taken this talent.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles, if all of the following are true:
- You have 3 stacks of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles.
- There is less than 3 targets.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles, if all of the following are true:
- You have 3 http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge.
- You have 50% mana or less.
- There is less than 3 targets.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=1449/arcane-explosion, if more than 1 target.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30451/arcane-blast.
Burn
Enter this phase when all of the following are true:
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power is available.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=135449/evocation is available or will be available in about 20 seconds.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205025/presence-of-mind is available, if you have http://www.wowhead.com/spell=242248/ite ... e-2p-bonus.
- At least 1 charge of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power is available, if you've taken this talent.
- Cancel the http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205025/presence-of-mind buff, if active and there are more than 2 targets.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=114923/nether-tempest, if you've taken this talent, and any of the following are true:
- The dot is not up on the target.
- The dot has 3 or less seconds remaining.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=224968/mark-of-aluneth.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=55342/mirror-image, if you've taken this talent.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power, if you've taken this talent, and any of the following are true:
- You are at 30% mana or above.
- Your http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power is available.
- Your http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power buff is still up.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=26297/berserking (Troll) / http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20572/blood-fury (Orc).
- http://www.wowhead.com/item=127843/poti ... adly-grace, if any of the following are true:
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power buff is active, and your http://www.wowhead.com/spell=26297/berserking (Troll) / http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20572/blood-fury (Orc) buff is active.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power buff is active, and you are not Troll / Orc.
- http://www.wowhead.com/item=147017/tarn ... -medallion or other trinkets.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage, if all of the following are true:
- You have http://www.wowhead.com/spell=251861/ite ... e-2p-bonus.
- The damage buff from http://www.wowhead.com/spell=251861/ite ... e-2p-bonus has expired.
- You are at 4 http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge.
- You have a way to instantly regain all your http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge, i.e., http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205032/charged-up, or http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205025/presence-of-mind with the http://www.wowhead.com/spell=242248/ite ... e-2p-bonus.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205025/presence-of-mind, if any of the following are true:
- You have 30% mana or more and you have http://www.wowhead.com/spell=242248/ite ... e-2p-bonus.
- Your http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power buff is active you have http://www.wowhead.com/spell=242248/ite ... e-2p-bonus.
- Your http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power or http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power buff has about 3 seconds left.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205032/charged-up, if you're not at 4 http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=153626/arcane-orb, if you've taken this talent.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage, if all of the following are true:
- There is more than 4 targets.
- You have http://www.wowhead.com/item=151808/mant ... -kirin-tor equipped.
- You have 4 http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles, if all of the following are true:
- You have 3 stacks of them.
- There is less than 3 targets.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30451/arcane-blast, if the http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205025/presence-of-mind buff is up.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=1449/arcane-explosion, if more than 1 target.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30451/arcane-blast.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=135449/evocation, and interrupt after 2 ticks (75% mana regained).
Conserve
Enter this phase when:
- You have 4 http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge.
- You are not currently in a burn phase.
- Cancel the http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205025/presence-of-mind buff, if active and there are more than 2 targets.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=224968/mark-of-aluneth, if you are below 85% mana.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=55342/mirror-image, if you've taken this talent.
- Start your miniburn, if all of the following are true:
- You have http://www.wowhead.com/spell=246225/ite ... e-4p-bonus.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205025/presence-of-mind is available.
- Your next burn will not begin for 30 seconds or more.
- 1 charge of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power is available or you have not taken this talent.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power, if any of the following are true:
- You're about to cap on charges.
- You've just casted http://www.wowhead.com/spell=224968/mark-of-aluneth.
- Execute the following combo, if http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205032/charged-up is available and it will be back up again for your next burn:
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles, if all of the following are true:
- You have 3 stacks of them.
- There is less than 3 targets.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=157980/supernova, if you've taken this talent.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=114923/nether-tempest, if you've taken this talent, and any of the following are true:
- The dot is not up on the target.
- The dot has 3 or less seconds remaining.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=1449/arcane-explosion, if all of the following are true:
- There is more than 1 target.
- You have more than 70% mana.
- You have more than 60% mana and http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... une-master equipped.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30451/arcane-blast, if any of the following are true:
- You have more than 90% mana.
- You have a proc from http://www.wowhead.com/item=132413/rhon ... g-armwraps.
- Your http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power buff is active with http://www.wowhead.com/item=132451/myst ... une-master equipped.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=1449/arcane-explosion or http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30451/arcane-blast, if http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage is still on cooldown.
Miniburn
Enter this phase only when you meet the conditions in Conserve phase, #4.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power, if you've taken this talent.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205025/presence-of-mind.
- Go back to Conserve actions.
Easy Mode / BM Hunter Version
Burn when you have 4 http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=12042/arcane-power is available and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=135449/evocation is available or coming off cooldown soon. If you have http://www.wowhead.com/spell=242248/ite ... e-2p-bonus, wait for http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205025/presence-of-mind to be up, too.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage if your damage buff from http://www.wowhead.com/spell=251861/ite ... e-2p-bonus is down and you can regain your http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge instantly.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205025/presence-of-mind.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205032/charged-up if you're not at 4 http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles whenever you get a proc.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30451/arcane-blast until you can't cast anymore.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=135449/evocation.
- Build 4 http://www.wowhead.com/spell=36032/arcane-charge with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=30451/arcane-blast if there is 1 target or http://www.wowhead.com/spell=1449/arcane-explosion if there is more than 1 target.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=224968/mark-of-aluneth on cooldown.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=116011/rune-of-power if about to cap on charges, or you just casted http://www.wowhead.com/spell=224968/mark-of-aluneth. Save a charge for burn!
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles if there's less than 3 targets.
- http://www.wowhead.com/spell=44425/arcane-barrage.
Videos
T21 Opener
T20 Opener
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FAQ
Q. Be real: is this spec Viable™ right now?
A. If you are genuinely asking this question, then for you the answer is yes, it is completely Viable™. Outside of bleeding edge progression, you can pretty much play whatever the hell you want.
Q. What about trinkets?
A. You want http://www.wowhead.com/item=154172/amanthuls-vision and http://www.wowhead.com/item=147017/tarn ... -medallion for single-target. For multiple targets, swap http://www.wowhead.com/item=147017/tarn ... -medallion for http://www.wowhead.com/item=151955/acri ... t-injector.
Q. What about other trinkets?
A. There are no others. But if you insist, you can consult Bloodmallet's trinket sims.
Q. I need WeakAuras to tell me how to hit buttons.
A. There's a whole section on wago.io. Here are some popular choices:
- Powered's Arcane Mage HUD v2.4 - Legion
- Khakhan's Arcane Mage
- Ipse's WA's - Mage (all specs)
- Glynny's Mage Weak Auras (all specs)
A. No, it's not. That's not a thing and never has been a thing. I don't know which of you came up with this bullshit number but you really opened a Pandora's Box of feelycraft that persists to this day.
Q. I heard you need like 30% Mastery though.
A. You need to go back and reread the entire Stats section.
Q. Where can I watch some Arcane streams?
A. Nowhere, apparently. You can watch me play Frost if you want, or if you're a decent Arcane main I can add you here for a modest price.
Q. I heard the Arcane APL heavily undervalues http://www.wowhead.com/spell=246225/ite ... e-4p-bonus.
A. Honestly, I don't think there's any more blood in that stone. The http://www.wowhead.com/spell=246225/ite ... e-4p-bonus is being used about as good as anyone could come up with at this point.
Q. What about potions?
A. They're very close. If you want to save money just go for http://www.wowhead.com/item=142117/poti ... nged-power.
Q. Our healers are buttholes and don't deserve http://www.wowhead.com/spell=203539/gre ... -of-wisdom. How do I justify stealing it?
A. You're a terrible person, but BoW will in fact give you some extra DPS. Here's what you can expect from n stacks of GBoW:
Q. I heard there's a bug with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=215463/rule-of-threes. What's that about?
A. Yes, indeed, there is still a bug with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=215463/rule-of-threes. A simplified explanation is that your previous cast of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles can determine whether or not your current cast will benefit from http://www.wowhead.com/spell=215463/rule-of-threes.
To expand on this, http://www.wowhead.com/spell=215463/rule-of-threes is determined at the start of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles cast. This state of this benefit, however, is snapshot if you "refresh" http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles in its last moments. The implication of this is that properly refreshing a http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles that has benefitted from http://www.wowhead.com/spell=215463/rule-of-threes will ensure the subsequent cast also benefits. Unfortunately, if you refresh a http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles that has not benefitted from http://www.wowhead.com/spell=215463/rule-of-threes, you ensure the subsequent cast will not benefit either.
What does this mean for DPS? More than I'd like it to, frankly.
With a custom build of SimC and some very basic changes made to the APL to cater to this bug, I have seen gains of up to 1.5%. This is indeed a nontrivial DPS gain. The only change I made to the APL here is casting http://www.wowhead.com/spell=5143/arcane-missiles only at 2 stacks or more during burn, and chaining casts if the first benefitted from http://www.wowhead.com/spell=215463/rule-of-threes.
What does this mean for you? Nothing, unless you really want it to.
At this time we're not planning on implementing this bug into SimC nor the APL. It's not quite impactful enough, and frankly Blizzard needs to get on this shit and fix it ASAP. Additionally, the DPS gain in SimC may not be reproducible reliably. A lot of human error is taken out of the equation here. You need to recognize when to refresh and when not to refresh, refresh at the right time (which probably hurts higher latency connections), avoid clipping ticks, and so on.
However, if you're in some global top 10 raid team:
- This guide isn't even for you.
- Your DPS on the bench doesn't matter anyway.
- You can exploit this at your leisure for a modest DPS boost until Blizzard kills it.
