Pianoforte
New Member
Hi, I'm Pianoforte, and this is "How to Pew Pew!" I am, by trait, an arcanist in my playing style. I've run deep Arcane builds since my toon hit lvl 10, and haven't veered away since. Frost and Fire guides may be in the works, but I will first focus on my most familiar and beloved spec: Arcane.
First off, this is Manly's thread from EJ: Manly This is going to be your best and most up-to-date resource for all things Arcane Mage.
Additionally, here is Ekyu's Ensidia mage guide: Ekyu
You can generally trust these player and the information they put forth. However, you may find their threads to be confusing and feel that they bog you down with fancy numbers and ugly math(s). My goal, then, is to read their data, compile it with my own experiences, compress it down to a more readable size, and make it a little more user-friendly.
But, before I dive in, I will link you to the weekly mage article that Christian Belt writes for WoW.com: Arcane Brilliance I will warn you, however, to use discretion in using Christian's articles. His articles are aimed toward more casual/newer players and often use old data, tactics. My guide here will be aimed more towards the confident, competent, ToC 10-and-up mage.
Any good mage must start with a good spec. Before I begin, understand this: Optimal spec can and will change throughout your toon's life. This is, perhaps, unfortunate, but it is also unavoidable. I'll begin by linking a few commonly-used builds, and then discussing, in detail, each talent and my/popular arguments for/against them.
Pianoforte's spec: Pianoforte:57/3/11
"Purer dps': Extremist 57/3/11
PoM-Pyro (Yes, it still exists): PoM-Pyro
Common 1: Common 57/3/11
Manly's Spec: Manly
Out of these options, you should be able to find one you like, or compile ideas you see executed within them. Now, I'll present argumentation for and against specific talents, starting with those deemed "absolutely neccessary."
FIRE:
Incineration: 6% increased crit chance on you main nuke can not be turned down. Get this talent.
FROST:
Ice Floes: 20% CD reduction on your second most important DPS increase (Icy Veins) and your most reliable survivability tool (Ice Block) make this talent an absolute must.
Precision: 3% increased hit chance clears up loads of room in your gear for other stats. Plus, you need Icy Veins and this is the only way to get to it.
Icy Veins: Get it. Period. I mean, really...20% increased casting speed on the most haste-reliant dps spec in the game? Yes, please.
ARCANE:
Arcane Focus: 3% hit is great. 3% reduced mana cost is better. Mathematically, in ICC content, this 3% reduced mana cost is worth more dps than putting 3 points in pushback reduction.
Arcane Subtlety Dispel resistance only effects Polymorph, which isn't a big deal in Wrath content. The threat reduction is raid-reliant. I would reccomend picking up both points, but you definitely want at least one.
Arcane Concentration: Get it. All 5 points. Arcane Mage is the #1 most notoriously mana inefficient spec. You NEED this. Besides that, it procs Arcane Potency, which is cool.
Spell Impact: 6% flat damage increase to you main nuke is good. Do it.
Focus Magic: is entirely overpowered. Even Blizzard says so.
Torment the Weak: 12% extra damage on anything that a tank is attacking (btw, Goodwone, we love you) is good. Do it.
Presence of Mind: This spell, by itself, isn't that great. The talents it opens up, however, are.
Arcane Mind: Do it.
Arcane Instability: Do it.
Arcane Potency: 30% crit chance increase upon Clearcasting...this is good.
Arcane Power: This spell is something of a double edged sword...but the edge you hit the bad guys with is way sharper. Do it.
Arcane Empowerment: Long tooltip. All of it is good. The last part is the best. Everyone will love you for it.
Arcane Flows: You NEED evocation's cooldown to be as short as possible. The shorter cooldown on the other stuff is sweet, too.
Mind Mastery: is what makes Arcane mage....arcane. It's your signature talent. It makes you seem smart, and being smart makes you cool.
Missile Barrage: is a huge dps increase, gives you a free way to dump your debuff, and is flashy and pretty to look at.
Netherwind Presence: You want haste. This gives it to you.
Spell Power: HOLY FREAKING CRAP!!!!!
All the things listed above are absolute MUSTS. Not getting them makes you a liability to your team.
Now for optional talents and why you may or may not want them.
FROST:
Frostbite: This is a popular choice. You need a way to get down your tree and the options all suck. Don't waste anymore than 2 points here if you choose to get it, though.
Improved Frostbolt: Again, you need to get down the tree somehow, some way. I find that putting 2 points here gives you a slightly better option if you mess up and get your arcane pool interrupted. "Durga, durga, you shouldn't get interrupted! You suxxorz!!!!' Pewp on you. It happens from time to time.
Frost Shards: This will increase your damage contribution from Blizzard on AE trash...if that matters to you. Don't waste more than 2 points here, if any.
Improve Warding: This talent is a bit complicated to read. Basically, it buffs your Frost Ward and Fire Ward and gives you a chance to get mana back if you fully resist AE damage. There is ALOT of AE damage in ICC. I find this talent to be very handy, especially if you pick up Magic Absorption
ARCANE:
Arcane Stability: There are many, popular builds that pick up 2-3 points in this talent. I, for one, wouldn't reccomend it. It's geared more towards PvP and will be of marginal benefit when raiding. Besides, where would you drop points? Threat reduction, mana talents, hit talents???
Magic Absorption: I <3 this talent. It has amazing synergy with Improved Warding and reduces the stress on your healers by way more than either of you will ever realize. Example: with 2/2 in this talent and Shadow Protection from a priest, you will resist over half of every AE burst from Deathspeaker High Priests in Deathwhisper's room, and fully resist a few (and therefore get mana back) to boot. Over the course of a long boss fight, this can and will add up.
Arcane Fortitude: is for Frost and Arcane PvP. Do not get this for raiding.
Magic Attunement: Sadly, Dampen Magic and Amplify Magic rarely have use outside of PvP. You will occasionally find situations in which they are useful to a raid, but it is very rare. Extra range, however, can be quite convenient and give you a slight dps boost. This talent is certainly a viable option, depending on your playstyle.
Student of the Mind: Don't fall for this talent. It's a trick. Sure, you get some crit from spirit, but not only is that crit boost minimal, crit chance is one of an Arcane mage's least important stats. Let it come to you when it comes, but don't search for it. You wouldn't gear for spirit, so don't talent for it, either. There are way, way better options.
Arcane Shielding: You should never be using Mage Armor and very rarely be using Mana Shield. This talent is not worth the points in non-PvP situations.
Improved Counterspell: is for PvP.
Arcane Meditation: This talent requires some thought. Its value to YOU is dependent upon YOUR gear and YOUR ability to manage your mana-efficiency cooldowns. If you feel like you are using your cooldowns to your best ability, but you still run out of mana, gems, and evocate cooldowns on longer boss fights, move more points to this talent. If you notice that you are no longer having mana issues, take a point or two out.
Improved Blink: is for PvP.
Prismatic Cloak: if you, for some reason, have a point or two left over, this talent isn't "bad." However, it's geared more towards PvP and is only of marginal benefit in a raid. Most of the damage you will take will/should be AE magic damage, and talents like Improved Warding and Magic Absorption will actually provide you with a mathematically superior damage reduction than this talent.
Incanter's Absorption: at its best, this talent is insanely OP. At its worst, it can be a giant waste of talent points and character movement. With a shielding Priest, this talent is currently amazing. It's useful even just by implementing your own Ward spells. Think of this: You're fighting Marrowgar. "BONESTORM!!!" You run around a bit, grumbling that you wish you had Hunter range, avoiding Coldflame. Then, about 3 seconds before Bonestorm ends, you hit Frost Ward, purposely run straight through a Coldflame path, get under Marrowgar, pop all your cooldowns, and say to yourself "Holy crap, dude! I have 5k+ spellpower right now!!!" Yeah. That's awesome. However, if you don't have the guts, haste, and insanity needed to jump in and out of the poop on purpose, this talent will hold you back more than push you forward.
Slow: To say that this spell is situational is a grave understatement. You won't cast it that often. However, the times when you want to cast it, you'll be SO glad you have it. This can be a raid-saver when it comes to add management bosses.
Arcane Barrage: This spell is a real toss up. It depends greatly upon your haste, your instincts, your luck, and your playstyle. More on how to properly utilize Arcane Barrage later.
FIRE:
Never put more than 3 points into the Fire tree unless you're going for PoM-Pyro.
The Arcane mage's stat needs are fairly straightforward, but are also slightly different weight-wise to other mage specs.
Hit Rating: You need to get capped. Until you are hit capped, all other stats should be an afterthought. You need 17% total to get to cap. Arcane can get as much as 6% from talents, so cut the number down to 11%. If you are alliance, your raid will most likely have a Draenei of some sort standing around picking his nose and riding a Sea Turtle, so we can relatively safely make this number 10%. Moonkin and Shadow Priests can apply a debuff to enemies that increase chance to be hit by 3%. If you are absolutely, 100% sure that you will ALWAYS have one of these two around, you could go down to 7%, but I would strongly, I repeat, STRONGLY aim for a more self-sufficient 10%. Once you hit 10%, you can start focusing on your other stats.
Spellpower: is, was, and always will be priority number one. The bigger this number is, the better. Of course, you wouldn't sacrifice, say, 20 haste to pick up 3 spellpower, but the statement remains true that SP should always be your top priority. There is no cap on Spellpower. You can never have too much.
Haste: This is your second most beneficial dps stat as an Arcane mage. The Arcane rotation is based around working up your debuff and then dumping it for max damage. Haste should always be taken over crit, and has a certain weight against SP. I will go into this in more detail in the "Gems" section.
Crit Rating: Crit is not a big priority for Arcane mages. It is a convenience stat. It is, in fact, so relatively unimportant for Arcane, that is often better to take Intellect over Crit rating, but for the sake of stability, we will say that Crit Rating is slightly more important than Int. Rule of thumb: If you are running with 38-40% or more crit chance with only Arcane Intellect and Molten Armor, you gear is less than optimal and you should consider switching out some crit-heavy pieces in favor of more haste or spellpower.
Intellect: Yes, you get some spellpower from it, but not a gamebreaking amount. Take it when it comes to you, but don't go out of your way for it, either.
Stamina: is more important (in my opinion) than Spirit in ICC content. Spirit gives you a tiny bit of regen (depending on talents, of course) and a tiny bit of Crit chance. Stamina makes you less likely to die. Not dying is better than spirit.
Spirit: This is a joker stat for Arcane mages. It contributes relatively nothing. All the spirit you will need will come on your gear whether you like it or not. Never go out of your way for more spirit.
Strength, Agility, Armor Penetration, Expertise: are not mage stats and should not be on your gear.
Thank your lucky stars that Mage gemming is quite possibly the easiest and most straight-forward part of playing your class. Be glad you're not a rogue trying to access a spreadsheet every time you get a new piece of gear to calculate whether you need Aremor Pen or Attack Power.
Factual Statement: Every gem you put into you gear (Meta excluded) should have spellpower, and thus, the color red, on it in some form. You should never use Blue, Green, or Yellow gems.
Meta Socket: Chaotic Skyflare Diamond is what you want. The multiplicative institution of the secondary effect of this gem is too good to pass up for any other Meta. Make absolutely sure that you have 2 Purple gems somewhere on your gear.
Red Sockets: This slot should always be filled with a Runed Cardinal Ruby. Always.
Yellow Sockets: These slots should have Reckless Ametrines in them, if the piece you are socketing has 2 or more sockets. If it has only one socket, the choice is yours. Typical one-socket pieces have a bonus of 5 SP. Therefore, matching the color would give you 17 Spellpower and 10 Haste vs. 23 Spellpower. 10 Haste is comparable to 6 Spellpower and makes this a genuinely personal choice.
Blue Sockets: You should only match your blue socket twice. No more, no less. You need two blue gems for your meta, and any more will only drag you down, rather than lift you up. You have two legitimate options for blue sockets: Purified Dreadstone and Glowing Dreadstone. I personally prefer the Glowing over the Purified, as I place heavier weight on Stamina than Spirit. However, the key is to only use 2 and only match on pieces with at least two slots.
So, in conclusion: IF your piece has at least 2 sockets and one of them is blue, use one of the above-listed gems, up to a maximum of 2 Purple gems. Never have more than 2. If you have 2 purple gems already, ALL blue sockets should be filled out with Red gems. If the piece has a yellow and blue socket, and you already have both purples on other gear, you should put Red gems in BOTH slots, as the Reckless gem is only beneficial when the socket bonus is unlocked. *Remember: If you are ever unsure of which gem to get, feel free to ask me and I will help you decide.*
Let me state, now, that I will not be discussing Engineering "nuke" enchants. The rocket-launchers, however fun they may be, are not for serious raiding. They scale horribly and are powerfully overshadowed by other, much better options.
Head: Arcanum of Burning Mysteries. Period.
Shoulder: Greater Inscription of the Storm. Period.
Chest: Powerful Stats is the best option. MP5 enchants are weak and should be avoided. However, if you're working on a budget, Super Stats is a great alternative.
Legs: Sapphire Spellthread or Brilliant Spellthread are your options. The choice depends on your preference between Spirit and Stamina. I opt for the Stamina.
Shoes: Here is where it gets tricky. There are two commonly used, viable non-Engineering options: Icewalker and Tuskarr's Vitality. Icewalker is, perhaps, the "safer" option. To use Manly's data, which is reliable, Tuskarr's Vitality will be a dps increase over Icewalker if your character must be moving more than 2 seconds per minute. So, on a fight like, say, Deathbringer Saurfang, it would be useless. However, against a boss like Rotface or Putricide, it is actually a significant upgrade. The extra stamina doesn't hurt anything, either. If you're awesome enough to have two pairs of identical shoes, one with each enchant, loan me some gold. But then, it would totally be sensible to carry them both and switch according to encounter. Now, for Engineers, you have the option of using Nitro Boots, which provides more crit than Icewalker, as well as another movement cooldown, which is always a good thing.
Wrist: Superior Spellpower.
Hands: Exceptional Spellpower should be used. Engineering has an on-use haste enchant as well that has a share category cooldown with Icy Veins. So, if you're an Engineer with that enchant, make sure to NOT put it in your Icy Veins macro and do not use either while the other's buff is still active.
Ring: Enchanters should always put Superior Spellpower on their own rings
Cloak Tailors should use Lightweave Embroidery. Others should use Greater Speed
Weapon: Arcane mages should use Black Magic, unless using a staff, in which case Greater Spellpower is also a viable option.
Glyph of Arcane Blast
Glyph of Arcane Missiles
Glyph of Molten Armor
Minors are fairly open. The only one I would strongly recommend is Slow Fall.
Glyph of Arcane Intellect
Glyph of Slow Fall
Glyph of Frost Ward
To avoid a LOT of typing, I'm going to present a few key abbreviations here.
AB=Arcane Blast, AM=Arcane Missiles, ABarr=Arcane Barrage, and MBAM=Missile Barrage Arcane Missles, AB(x)AM=Arcane Missiles with 'x' stacks of AB debuff.
Rotation for stand-still fights up to 2pc T10: ABx4, AM, repeat.
This is the rotation that has given Arcane mage a somewhat bad wrap for being overly simple. There IS a technique called the "Arcane Shatter," in which you launch an ABarr just before the last tick of your AM. However, this requires precise timing, no latency, and run the high risk of costing you dps, rather than increasing it. I don't recommend attempting to employ this, especially if you regularly experience any lag when raiding.
Rotation for 2pc T10: ABx?, MBAM The ? here means this: You will spam Arcane Blast until you get a Missile Barrage proc. If you get it after 2 AB, use it. If you get it after 1, use it. Do NOT, however, run yourself out of mana waiting for your luck to improve if you haven't gotten a proc. If you experience an unlucky string, dump your debuff with an old fashioned AM and begin again. Now, after you cast MBAM, you will gain a buff called "Pushing the Limit." You will resume AB spam, fishing for a proc. The key is that AB(4)AM is still better dps than AB(2)MBAM. So, wait until your "Pushing the Limit" buff falls off, and then refresh it with an MBAM as soon as possible after that. Do not cast MBAM while you still have time left on your buff; squeeze in as many AB as you can during your "Pushing the Limit" buff.
Arcane Barrage: This is a short "when and how to ABarr" mini-guide. ABarr is, quite possibly, the Arcane mage's most misunderstood and misused spell. If you're not Arcane Shattering (which I don't encourage), ABarr should never be a part of your regular, standstill rotation. ABarr is meant for period when you must move for longer than [6sec - AB cast time]. If you can can arrive at your destination in time to get an AB off before the AB debuff falls off, then you should not use ABarr. This is a large part of why Tuskarr's Vitality, Blink, and Haste Rating are so important to Arcane mages. However, if you're running to your spot and know that you will NOT make in there in time to cast AB before the debuff wears off, you should cast ABarr while moving. Examples of when you most likely will NOT need to ABarr include collapsing on a spore when fighting Festergut, reconvening under Marrowgar, and generally just getting "out of the poop." These movements should take little time and are probably handled almost entirely by Blink. You most likely will want to use ABarr when you have to switch sides of the room against Putricide for example. The key is to be judicious, trust your haste, and practice. Practice, practice, practice. This is where Recount can be extremely helpful. If you see that you used 15-20 ABarrs during a boss fight, you probably casted it too often.
ABarr has a second use worth mentioning. ABarr is a far cheaper way to dump your AB debuff. If you are fishing for an MBAM proc or are nearly out of mana, ABarr might be the best way to rid yourself of the insane mana costs of AB(4) and allow you to conserve mana.
Cooldowns: Synchronize them. Arcane Power, Icy Veins, Mirror Image, Trinkets, and Potions of Speed should be used simultaneously. The entire point of bringing an Arcane mage to a raid is burst damage during burn periods. The Arcane burn period is the strongest in the game, albeit at the highest resource cost to the user. This is why you're here, so utilize it. On bosses, use them on CD. Presence of Mind should be used on cooldown.
Mana Gem: Should be used on CD in boss fights. Mana Gem is a much better way to restore mana back than potions or Evocation. Use your first mana gem as soon as it will not "overheal" your mana bar. Bascially, as soon as you know you're missing more than what the Mana Gem will restore, you should use it to get that cooldown ticking.
Evocation: Evocation is a tricky trickster. Like Mana Gem, it's nice to have the cooldown going as soon as it's beneficial. However, Evocation should always be timed to Cast-time oriented cooldowns. Try to start Evocation on the last tick of buffs like Heroism, Icy Veins, Power Infusion, and Pushing the Limit. However, the second key to Evocation is making sure that you get the most out of your 6+ seconds of 0 dps. Watch your Boss Mods and make sure that you can afford to use the entire duration of Evocation before you begin it. Understand that bad luck can and will happen: sometimes, Rotface will turn and puke on you just as you start Evocating. Sometimes, your finger will slip and you'll accidentally cancel it. Don't panic. Use a mana potion, switch to a mana-conserving playstyle, and wait for your mana gem cooldown. If your gem still has a long time left, your potion is on cooldown, and you're out of mana, inform Vent. A Druid might be able to spare Innervate, you might get a Power Infusion, or maybe a Resto Shaman will drop a Mana Tide.
Final Rotation Tip: Above all else, the key to magery is keeping your GCD active. Always be casting SOMEthing. If you need to run, throw a fireblast. If you're running long enough to make ABarr worth it, use ABarr, then a Fireblast. Ice Lance. SOMEthing. Any time spent not spent casting is time spent doing 0 damage. Keep either Scorch or Frostbolt on your action bar somewhere just in case your Arcane school gets knocked offline somehow.
UPDATES LATER: "Macros," "Gearing Up"
First off, this is Manly's thread from EJ: Manly This is going to be your best and most up-to-date resource for all things Arcane Mage.
Additionally, here is Ekyu's Ensidia mage guide: Ekyu
You can generally trust these player and the information they put forth. However, you may find their threads to be confusing and feel that they bog you down with fancy numbers and ugly math(s). My goal, then, is to read their data, compile it with my own experiences, compress it down to a more readable size, and make it a little more user-friendly.
But, before I dive in, I will link you to the weekly mage article that Christian Belt writes for WoW.com: Arcane Brilliance I will warn you, however, to use discretion in using Christian's articles. His articles are aimed toward more casual/newer players and often use old data, tactics. My guide here will be aimed more towards the confident, competent, ToC 10-and-up mage.
SPEC
Any good mage must start with a good spec. Before I begin, understand this: Optimal spec can and will change throughout your toon's life. This is, perhaps, unfortunate, but it is also unavoidable. I'll begin by linking a few commonly-used builds, and then discussing, in detail, each talent and my/popular arguments for/against them.
Pianoforte's spec: Pianoforte:57/3/11
"Purer dps': Extremist 57/3/11
PoM-Pyro (Yes, it still exists): PoM-Pyro
Common 1: Common 57/3/11
Manly's Spec: Manly
Out of these options, you should be able to find one you like, or compile ideas you see executed within them. Now, I'll present argumentation for and against specific talents, starting with those deemed "absolutely neccessary."
FIRE:
Incineration: 6% increased crit chance on you main nuke can not be turned down. Get this talent.
FROST:
Ice Floes: 20% CD reduction on your second most important DPS increase (Icy Veins) and your most reliable survivability tool (Ice Block) make this talent an absolute must.
Precision: 3% increased hit chance clears up loads of room in your gear for other stats. Plus, you need Icy Veins and this is the only way to get to it.
Icy Veins: Get it. Period. I mean, really...20% increased casting speed on the most haste-reliant dps spec in the game? Yes, please.
ARCANE:
Arcane Focus: 3% hit is great. 3% reduced mana cost is better. Mathematically, in ICC content, this 3% reduced mana cost is worth more dps than putting 3 points in pushback reduction.
Arcane Subtlety Dispel resistance only effects Polymorph, which isn't a big deal in Wrath content. The threat reduction is raid-reliant. I would reccomend picking up both points, but you definitely want at least one.
Arcane Concentration: Get it. All 5 points. Arcane Mage is the #1 most notoriously mana inefficient spec. You NEED this. Besides that, it procs Arcane Potency, which is cool.
Spell Impact: 6% flat damage increase to you main nuke is good. Do it.
Focus Magic: is entirely overpowered. Even Blizzard says so.
Torment the Weak: 12% extra damage on anything that a tank is attacking (btw, Goodwone, we love you) is good. Do it.
Presence of Mind: This spell, by itself, isn't that great. The talents it opens up, however, are.
Arcane Mind: Do it.
Arcane Instability: Do it.
Arcane Potency: 30% crit chance increase upon Clearcasting...this is good.
Arcane Power: This spell is something of a double edged sword...but the edge you hit the bad guys with is way sharper. Do it.
Arcane Empowerment: Long tooltip. All of it is good. The last part is the best. Everyone will love you for it.
Arcane Flows: You NEED evocation's cooldown to be as short as possible. The shorter cooldown on the other stuff is sweet, too.
Mind Mastery: is what makes Arcane mage....arcane. It's your signature talent. It makes you seem smart, and being smart makes you cool.
Missile Barrage: is a huge dps increase, gives you a free way to dump your debuff, and is flashy and pretty to look at.
Netherwind Presence: You want haste. This gives it to you.
Spell Power: HOLY FREAKING CRAP!!!!!
All the things listed above are absolute MUSTS. Not getting them makes you a liability to your team.
Now for optional talents and why you may or may not want them.
FROST:
Frostbite: This is a popular choice. You need a way to get down your tree and the options all suck. Don't waste anymore than 2 points here if you choose to get it, though.
Improved Frostbolt: Again, you need to get down the tree somehow, some way. I find that putting 2 points here gives you a slightly better option if you mess up and get your arcane pool interrupted. "Durga, durga, you shouldn't get interrupted! You suxxorz!!!!' Pewp on you. It happens from time to time.
Frost Shards: This will increase your damage contribution from Blizzard on AE trash...if that matters to you. Don't waste more than 2 points here, if any.
Improve Warding: This talent is a bit complicated to read. Basically, it buffs your Frost Ward and Fire Ward and gives you a chance to get mana back if you fully resist AE damage. There is ALOT of AE damage in ICC. I find this talent to be very handy, especially if you pick up Magic Absorption
ARCANE:
Arcane Stability: There are many, popular builds that pick up 2-3 points in this talent. I, for one, wouldn't reccomend it. It's geared more towards PvP and will be of marginal benefit when raiding. Besides, where would you drop points? Threat reduction, mana talents, hit talents???
Magic Absorption: I <3 this talent. It has amazing synergy with Improved Warding and reduces the stress on your healers by way more than either of you will ever realize. Example: with 2/2 in this talent and Shadow Protection from a priest, you will resist over half of every AE burst from Deathspeaker High Priests in Deathwhisper's room, and fully resist a few (and therefore get mana back) to boot. Over the course of a long boss fight, this can and will add up.
Arcane Fortitude: is for Frost and Arcane PvP. Do not get this for raiding.
Magic Attunement: Sadly, Dampen Magic and Amplify Magic rarely have use outside of PvP. You will occasionally find situations in which they are useful to a raid, but it is very rare. Extra range, however, can be quite convenient and give you a slight dps boost. This talent is certainly a viable option, depending on your playstyle.
Student of the Mind: Don't fall for this talent. It's a trick. Sure, you get some crit from spirit, but not only is that crit boost minimal, crit chance is one of an Arcane mage's least important stats. Let it come to you when it comes, but don't search for it. You wouldn't gear for spirit, so don't talent for it, either. There are way, way better options.
Arcane Shielding: You should never be using Mage Armor and very rarely be using Mana Shield. This talent is not worth the points in non-PvP situations.
Improved Counterspell: is for PvP.
Arcane Meditation: This talent requires some thought. Its value to YOU is dependent upon YOUR gear and YOUR ability to manage your mana-efficiency cooldowns. If you feel like you are using your cooldowns to your best ability, but you still run out of mana, gems, and evocate cooldowns on longer boss fights, move more points to this talent. If you notice that you are no longer having mana issues, take a point or two out.
Improved Blink: is for PvP.
Prismatic Cloak: if you, for some reason, have a point or two left over, this talent isn't "bad." However, it's geared more towards PvP and is only of marginal benefit in a raid. Most of the damage you will take will/should be AE magic damage, and talents like Improved Warding and Magic Absorption will actually provide you with a mathematically superior damage reduction than this talent.
Incanter's Absorption: at its best, this talent is insanely OP. At its worst, it can be a giant waste of talent points and character movement. With a shielding Priest, this talent is currently amazing. It's useful even just by implementing your own Ward spells. Think of this: You're fighting Marrowgar. "BONESTORM!!!" You run around a bit, grumbling that you wish you had Hunter range, avoiding Coldflame. Then, about 3 seconds before Bonestorm ends, you hit Frost Ward, purposely run straight through a Coldflame path, get under Marrowgar, pop all your cooldowns, and say to yourself "Holy crap, dude! I have 5k+ spellpower right now!!!" Yeah. That's awesome. However, if you don't have the guts, haste, and insanity needed to jump in and out of the poop on purpose, this talent will hold you back more than push you forward.
Slow: To say that this spell is situational is a grave understatement. You won't cast it that often. However, the times when you want to cast it, you'll be SO glad you have it. This can be a raid-saver when it comes to add management bosses.
Arcane Barrage: This spell is a real toss up. It depends greatly upon your haste, your instincts, your luck, and your playstyle. More on how to properly utilize Arcane Barrage later.
FIRE:
Never put more than 3 points into the Fire tree unless you're going for PoM-Pyro.
STATS
The Arcane mage's stat needs are fairly straightforward, but are also slightly different weight-wise to other mage specs.
Hit Rating: You need to get capped. Until you are hit capped, all other stats should be an afterthought. You need 17% total to get to cap. Arcane can get as much as 6% from talents, so cut the number down to 11%. If you are alliance, your raid will most likely have a Draenei of some sort standing around picking his nose and riding a Sea Turtle, so we can relatively safely make this number 10%. Moonkin and Shadow Priests can apply a debuff to enemies that increase chance to be hit by 3%. If you are absolutely, 100% sure that you will ALWAYS have one of these two around, you could go down to 7%, but I would strongly, I repeat, STRONGLY aim for a more self-sufficient 10%. Once you hit 10%, you can start focusing on your other stats.
Spellpower: is, was, and always will be priority number one. The bigger this number is, the better. Of course, you wouldn't sacrifice, say, 20 haste to pick up 3 spellpower, but the statement remains true that SP should always be your top priority. There is no cap on Spellpower. You can never have too much.
Haste: This is your second most beneficial dps stat as an Arcane mage. The Arcane rotation is based around working up your debuff and then dumping it for max damage. Haste should always be taken over crit, and has a certain weight against SP. I will go into this in more detail in the "Gems" section.
Crit Rating: Crit is not a big priority for Arcane mages. It is a convenience stat. It is, in fact, so relatively unimportant for Arcane, that is often better to take Intellect over Crit rating, but for the sake of stability, we will say that Crit Rating is slightly more important than Int. Rule of thumb: If you are running with 38-40% or more crit chance with only Arcane Intellect and Molten Armor, you gear is less than optimal and you should consider switching out some crit-heavy pieces in favor of more haste or spellpower.
Intellect: Yes, you get some spellpower from it, but not a gamebreaking amount. Take it when it comes to you, but don't go out of your way for it, either.
Stamina: is more important (in my opinion) than Spirit in ICC content. Spirit gives you a tiny bit of regen (depending on talents, of course) and a tiny bit of Crit chance. Stamina makes you less likely to die. Not dying is better than spirit.
Spirit: This is a joker stat for Arcane mages. It contributes relatively nothing. All the spirit you will need will come on your gear whether you like it or not. Never go out of your way for more spirit.
Strength, Agility, Armor Penetration, Expertise: are not mage stats and should not be on your gear.
GEMS
Thank your lucky stars that Mage gemming is quite possibly the easiest and most straight-forward part of playing your class. Be glad you're not a rogue trying to access a spreadsheet every time you get a new piece of gear to calculate whether you need Aremor Pen or Attack Power.
Factual Statement: Every gem you put into you gear (Meta excluded) should have spellpower, and thus, the color red, on it in some form. You should never use Blue, Green, or Yellow gems.
Meta Socket: Chaotic Skyflare Diamond is what you want. The multiplicative institution of the secondary effect of this gem is too good to pass up for any other Meta. Make absolutely sure that you have 2 Purple gems somewhere on your gear.
Red Sockets: This slot should always be filled with a Runed Cardinal Ruby. Always.
Yellow Sockets: These slots should have Reckless Ametrines in them, if the piece you are socketing has 2 or more sockets. If it has only one socket, the choice is yours. Typical one-socket pieces have a bonus of 5 SP. Therefore, matching the color would give you 17 Spellpower and 10 Haste vs. 23 Spellpower. 10 Haste is comparable to 6 Spellpower and makes this a genuinely personal choice.
Blue Sockets: You should only match your blue socket twice. No more, no less. You need two blue gems for your meta, and any more will only drag you down, rather than lift you up. You have two legitimate options for blue sockets: Purified Dreadstone and Glowing Dreadstone. I personally prefer the Glowing over the Purified, as I place heavier weight on Stamina than Spirit. However, the key is to only use 2 and only match on pieces with at least two slots.
So, in conclusion: IF your piece has at least 2 sockets and one of them is blue, use one of the above-listed gems, up to a maximum of 2 Purple gems. Never have more than 2. If you have 2 purple gems already, ALL blue sockets should be filled out with Red gems. If the piece has a yellow and blue socket, and you already have both purples on other gear, you should put Red gems in BOTH slots, as the Reckless gem is only beneficial when the socket bonus is unlocked. *Remember: If you are ever unsure of which gem to get, feel free to ask me and I will help you decide.*
ENCHANTS
Mage Enchants are fairly standard, but do have some deviation, or "flavor" that is worth taking into consideration.Let me state, now, that I will not be discussing Engineering "nuke" enchants. The rocket-launchers, however fun they may be, are not for serious raiding. They scale horribly and are powerfully overshadowed by other, much better options.
Head: Arcanum of Burning Mysteries. Period.
Shoulder: Greater Inscription of the Storm. Period.
Chest: Powerful Stats is the best option. MP5 enchants are weak and should be avoided. However, if you're working on a budget, Super Stats is a great alternative.
Legs: Sapphire Spellthread or Brilliant Spellthread are your options. The choice depends on your preference between Spirit and Stamina. I opt for the Stamina.
Shoes: Here is where it gets tricky. There are two commonly used, viable non-Engineering options: Icewalker and Tuskarr's Vitality. Icewalker is, perhaps, the "safer" option. To use Manly's data, which is reliable, Tuskarr's Vitality will be a dps increase over Icewalker if your character must be moving more than 2 seconds per minute. So, on a fight like, say, Deathbringer Saurfang, it would be useless. However, against a boss like Rotface or Putricide, it is actually a significant upgrade. The extra stamina doesn't hurt anything, either. If you're awesome enough to have two pairs of identical shoes, one with each enchant, loan me some gold. But then, it would totally be sensible to carry them both and switch according to encounter. Now, for Engineers, you have the option of using Nitro Boots, which provides more crit than Icewalker, as well as another movement cooldown, which is always a good thing.
Wrist: Superior Spellpower.
Hands: Exceptional Spellpower should be used. Engineering has an on-use haste enchant as well that has a share category cooldown with Icy Veins. So, if you're an Engineer with that enchant, make sure to NOT put it in your Icy Veins macro and do not use either while the other's buff is still active.
Ring: Enchanters should always put Superior Spellpower on their own rings
Cloak Tailors should use Lightweave Embroidery. Others should use Greater Speed
Weapon: Arcane mages should use Black Magic, unless using a staff, in which case Greater Spellpower is also a viable option.
GLYPHS
The Major Glyphs are set, and no other combination is viable.Glyph of Arcane Blast
Glyph of Arcane Missiles
Glyph of Molten Armor
Minors are fairly open. The only one I would strongly recommend is Slow Fall.
Glyph of Arcane Intellect
Glyph of Slow Fall
Glyph of Frost Ward
"ROTATION"
Understand, first, that "Rotation" is in quotes for a reason. You will somewhat rarely be able to stand still and spam a perfect rotation while raiding. Having the rotation as a mage is not what sets you apart from other, less awesome mages. The key to magery is mana-management and on-the-spot decisions.To avoid a LOT of typing, I'm going to present a few key abbreviations here.
AB=Arcane Blast, AM=Arcane Missiles, ABarr=Arcane Barrage, and MBAM=Missile Barrage Arcane Missles, AB(x)AM=Arcane Missiles with 'x' stacks of AB debuff.
Rotation for stand-still fights up to 2pc T10: ABx4, AM, repeat.
This is the rotation that has given Arcane mage a somewhat bad wrap for being overly simple. There IS a technique called the "Arcane Shatter," in which you launch an ABarr just before the last tick of your AM. However, this requires precise timing, no latency, and run the high risk of costing you dps, rather than increasing it. I don't recommend attempting to employ this, especially if you regularly experience any lag when raiding.
Rotation for 2pc T10: ABx?, MBAM The ? here means this: You will spam Arcane Blast until you get a Missile Barrage proc. If you get it after 2 AB, use it. If you get it after 1, use it. Do NOT, however, run yourself out of mana waiting for your luck to improve if you haven't gotten a proc. If you experience an unlucky string, dump your debuff with an old fashioned AM and begin again. Now, after you cast MBAM, you will gain a buff called "Pushing the Limit." You will resume AB spam, fishing for a proc. The key is that AB(4)AM is still better dps than AB(2)MBAM. So, wait until your "Pushing the Limit" buff falls off, and then refresh it with an MBAM as soon as possible after that. Do not cast MBAM while you still have time left on your buff; squeeze in as many AB as you can during your "Pushing the Limit" buff.
Arcane Barrage: This is a short "when and how to ABarr" mini-guide. ABarr is, quite possibly, the Arcane mage's most misunderstood and misused spell. If you're not Arcane Shattering (which I don't encourage), ABarr should never be a part of your regular, standstill rotation. ABarr is meant for period when you must move for longer than [6sec - AB cast time]. If you can can arrive at your destination in time to get an AB off before the AB debuff falls off, then you should not use ABarr. This is a large part of why Tuskarr's Vitality, Blink, and Haste Rating are so important to Arcane mages. However, if you're running to your spot and know that you will NOT make in there in time to cast AB before the debuff wears off, you should cast ABarr while moving. Examples of when you most likely will NOT need to ABarr include collapsing on a spore when fighting Festergut, reconvening under Marrowgar, and generally just getting "out of the poop." These movements should take little time and are probably handled almost entirely by Blink. You most likely will want to use ABarr when you have to switch sides of the room against Putricide for example. The key is to be judicious, trust your haste, and practice. Practice, practice, practice. This is where Recount can be extremely helpful. If you see that you used 15-20 ABarrs during a boss fight, you probably casted it too often.
ABarr has a second use worth mentioning. ABarr is a far cheaper way to dump your AB debuff. If you are fishing for an MBAM proc or are nearly out of mana, ABarr might be the best way to rid yourself of the insane mana costs of AB(4) and allow you to conserve mana.
Cooldowns: Synchronize them. Arcane Power, Icy Veins, Mirror Image, Trinkets, and Potions of Speed should be used simultaneously. The entire point of bringing an Arcane mage to a raid is burst damage during burn periods. The Arcane burn period is the strongest in the game, albeit at the highest resource cost to the user. This is why you're here, so utilize it. On bosses, use them on CD. Presence of Mind should be used on cooldown.
Mana Gem: Should be used on CD in boss fights. Mana Gem is a much better way to restore mana back than potions or Evocation. Use your first mana gem as soon as it will not "overheal" your mana bar. Bascially, as soon as you know you're missing more than what the Mana Gem will restore, you should use it to get that cooldown ticking.
Evocation: Evocation is a tricky trickster. Like Mana Gem, it's nice to have the cooldown going as soon as it's beneficial. However, Evocation should always be timed to Cast-time oriented cooldowns. Try to start Evocation on the last tick of buffs like Heroism, Icy Veins, Power Infusion, and Pushing the Limit. However, the second key to Evocation is making sure that you get the most out of your 6+ seconds of 0 dps. Watch your Boss Mods and make sure that you can afford to use the entire duration of Evocation before you begin it. Understand that bad luck can and will happen: sometimes, Rotface will turn and puke on you just as you start Evocating. Sometimes, your finger will slip and you'll accidentally cancel it. Don't panic. Use a mana potion, switch to a mana-conserving playstyle, and wait for your mana gem cooldown. If your gem still has a long time left, your potion is on cooldown, and you're out of mana, inform Vent. A Druid might be able to spare Innervate, you might get a Power Infusion, or maybe a Resto Shaman will drop a Mana Tide.
Final Rotation Tip: Above all else, the key to magery is keeping your GCD active. Always be casting SOMEthing. If you need to run, throw a fireblast. If you're running long enough to make ABarr worth it, use ABarr, then a Fireblast. Ice Lance. SOMEthing. Any time spent not spent casting is time spent doing 0 damage. Keep either Scorch or Frostbolt on your action bar somewhere just in case your Arcane school gets knocked offline somehow.
UPDATES LATER: "Macros," "Gearing Up"
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