Arcane Mage Guide for WoW Forever: Talents, Rotation and Leveling

Arcane was a support tree in Classic. In Forever it is a real damage spec: Arcane Blast, Missile Barrage and Arcane Wrath are new, and Arcane Power gives you 15 seconds of 30% extra damage. Almost everyone plays it with a Fire dip for Pyroblast and Heating Up. The rankings put Arcane at A for raids, and mana is what holds it back.

Talents and builds

The links open the talent calculator with the finished build, including why the points go where they go.

• Leveling: Arcane leveling (points 36/12/3). Works towards the capstone Arcane Power, then finishes with the last hit point, Arcane Geometry for range and Improved Fire Blast. The calculator shows the point-by-point order below the tree.
• Raid: Arcane/Fire PvE (raid & dungeons) (points 32/16/3). Arcane with a Fire sub-spec is the best option: Improved Fire Blast range builds Heating Up stacks for Pyroblast, alongside Missile Barrage, Arcane Wrath, Arcane Meditation, Arcane Blast and the burst capstone Arcane Power.
• PvP: Arcane PvP ("Pyro PoM Pyro") (points 32/19/0). Cooldown-dependent burst: crowd-control a target, hard-cast Pyroblast, then Presence of Mind for an instant Pyroblast, or use Arcane Wrath as the instant cast.

Where it ranks

• PvE DPS (raid): Nearly all sources say A: Arcane Power opens strong burst windows, mana limits them. Since 9 November the Arcane Concentration chance is split across the cast and the missiles instead of rolling on each.
• PvP (battleground/open world): Drops from A to B: Arcane Power and Presence of Mind give burst, Improved Counterspell silences. The new lists mostly rate Arcane B or C though; only one older list says S.
• Leveling: A and B: strong burst, but mana often lasts for only a few mobs in a row.

The tiers combine several tier lists and level-60 simulations. Raid logs only exist from 9 December, so treat this as a snapshot. Every spec side by side: rankings.

How Arcane Blast works

Each Arcane Blast turns 12% of your Intellect into spell damage and raises the cost of the next one by another 100%, up to four stacks. The effect lasts 18 seconds from the first cast and can't be extended. Aim for four stacks when your mana allows it. In long fights or on weaker gear, stop at two or three.

Missile Barrage has a 40% chance to proc from Arcane Blast and 20% from Arcane Wrath, Fireball, Frostbolt and Frostfire Bolt. Your next Arcane Missiles is then free, twice as fast and fires every 0.5 seconds. A Clearcasting proc from Arcane Concentration survives it, and the missiles can trigger Clearcasting themselves.

Single-target rotation

Pre-cast Pyroblast before the pull. Then:

1. Pyroblast once you have three Heating Up stacks, which makes it 75% faster to cast.
2. Fire Blast on cooldown. It adds a Heating Up stack on every hit, two on a crit, and shares an 8-second cooldown with Ice Lance.
3. Arcane Missiles on Missile Barrage and Arcane Wrath on cooldown. Arcane Wrath gains 5% of your maximum mana as spell damage.
4. Arcane Blast to build stacks.
5. Scorch as the last filler while Fire Blast is still cooling down.

Spend Clearcasting on an expensive multi-stack Arcane Blast or on Arcane Wrath, not on cheap spells.

Cooldowns

• Arcane Power: 30% more damage at 30% higher cost for 15 seconds. Use it at full Arcane Blast stacks together with your trinkets.
• Presence of Mind makes your next spell instant. Put it on Arcane Wrath, your longest cast.
• Evocation only when you are nearly out of mana and it can channel fully. Use your mana gem as soon as it won't overfill you.

Multiple targets

Arcane Explosion is your AoE, and Arcane Impact gives all Arcane spells 6% crit. On one or two mobs it isn't worth it. Arcane Subtlety cuts the threat of your Arcane spells by 30%, but it does nothing for your Fire and Frost spells.

Stats

Hit rating up to 17% against raid bosses. Precision gives 6% at 3/3, and the rest, about 110 rating, comes from gear. After that, spell power and crit rating. Intellect is worth more to Arcane than to the other mages, because Arcane Blast and Arcane Wrath scale with it directly and Arcane Mind raises it by 10%. Spirit pays off too: with 3/3 Arcane Meditation and Mage Armor, your regeneration keeps running in full while you cast.

Common mistakes

• Spamming Arcane Blast until you are dry. From the third stack on, every cast costs a multiple of the base price.
• Burning Clearcasting on a cheap spell.
• Fire Blast at three Heating Up stacks instead of Pyroblast.
• Forgetting that Arcane has no Ice Block. If you don't kite or break line of sight, you die fast.

Leveling as Arcane

Arcane is strong solo and drinks little, because Missile Barrage keeps handing you free missiles. Arcane Blast unlocks at 20, Arcane Wrath at 25, Presence of Mind at 30, Arcane Mind at 35 and Arcane Power at 40. Take Improved Channeling early so getting hit doesn't push back your Missiles, Arcane Blast and Arcane Wrath.

The usual loop: Frostbolt to slow, Arcane Wrath, one to three Arcane Blasts until Missile Barrage, then Arcane Missiles. If the mob gets close, Frost Nova and step away, and let your wand finish it. For AoE, gather a pack, Frost Nova and spam Arcane Explosion, but only from four mobs up. The leveling build leaves Improved Counterspell for the very end, when you are farming in contested spots.

In raids

Arcane brings strong burst windows with Arcane Power, plus Polymorph and Counterspell, but no raid debuff. How much of that damage lands depends on your mana, so plan your mana gem, potion and Evocation into every fight.

Further reading

• Mage class guide: races, new abilities and every build of the class
• The other specs: Fire Mage, Frost Mage
• Raid comp planner: put your raid together and see which buffs are still missing
• Mage talent calculator: plan your own build and share it as a link