Arcane Mage PvE guide: level 60 Arcane Blast and Arcane Power raid build

Overview

Level 60 · Arcane Mage · DPS in dungeons and raids.

In Classic, Arcane was a support tree mages dipped into for Clearcasting and Arcane Power. The live WoW Forever Arcane tree is a real damage spec with two nukes. Arcane Blast stacks up to four times for 18 sec, each cast adding 12% of your Intellect as spell damage and 100% to Arcane Blast’s own mana cost. Arcane Wrath, new in the live client, is a projectile nuke that gains spell damage equal to 5% of your maximum mana, so Arcane Mind’s 10% Intellect feeds it twice. Missile Barrage turns Arcane Blast and Arcane Wrath casts into free, fast Arcane Missiles. The Fire tree now offers Arcane two talents: Accelerant takes 0.5 sec off Arcane Wrath and Incineration adds 10% crit to Arcane Blast, and, with the old Arcane hit talent gone from the live tree, Precision from Frost gives 6% hit with all spells. With no Fireball phase left, the spare points stay in Arcane for range and toughness. It is the most mana-intensive way to play a mage, and it needs testing more than any other mage build here.

Your job in the group

Your job is burst on the phases that matter and mana discipline everywhere else. Save Arcane Power and full Arcane Blast stacks for the moments the raid leader calls, such as an add that must die or a boss vulnerability window, and spend the quiet parts of a fight on Arcane Wrath, whose cost does not climb with your Arcane Blast stacks, so you still have mana for the next burst. You bring the same mage utility as any other spec: Arcane Intellect, Polymorph, Counterspell and Remove Lesser Curse.

Why play it

• Burst on demand: Arcane Power plus stacked Arcane Blasts is the strongest short window any mage build in this set has.
• Arcane resistance is rare on raid bosses in Classic, so Arcane rarely loses damage to immunities.
• Missile Barrage makes Arcane Missiles a free, fast filler after Arcane Blast and Arcane Wrath casts.
• Scales with Intellect twice: Arcane Blast stacks turn Intellect into spell damage and Arcane Wrath turns maximum mana into spell damage, so one stat feeds both nukes.
• Cheap hit from talents: three points of Precision cover 6% spell hit for Arcane Blast, Arcane Wrath and Missiles alike.

Weak points

• Mana-limited on long fights: without careful cycles, Arcane runs dry before the boss dies.
• Untested design: Arcane Blast, Arcane Wrath and Missile Barrage are new to this ruleset, and Arcane Wrath’s mana cost is not in its tooltip, so the right balance of Blast and Wrath has to be found in game.
• Arcane threat: burst windows can pull aggro even with Arcane Subtlety.
• Weak AoE: this build has no AoE talents, so dungeon trash packs are slower than for Frost.
• No Ice Block: it is a Frost talent, so a threat mistake or a missed mechanic has no immunity to fall back on.

Level 60 talent build

Arcane 38 / Fire 10 / Frost 3, all 51 points. The talent tree above shows the finished build.

Arcane (38)

• Improved Channeling 5/5 — Damage cannot interrupt Arcane Missiles and rarely delays Arcane Blast at 5/5.
• Arcane Resilience 2/3 — The last two points: armor equal to 50% of your Intellect at 2/3, and this build stacks Intellect.
• Arcane Subtlety 2/2 — Lowers target resistances by 15 and cuts Arcane threat by 30%, which matters for a burst spec.
• Magic Absorption 2/2 — +10 to all resistances and 2% of your mana back when you fully resist a spell.
• Arcane Concentration 5/5 — Clearcasting procs are best spent on a high-stack Arcane Blast, its most expensive cast.
• Missile Barrage 2/2 — 40% chance from Arcane Blast and 20% from Arcane Wrath (and Fireball or Frostbolt) at 2/2 to make the next Arcane Missiles free, half as long and firing every 0.5 sec. It sits in the second row now, so it comes early.
• Arcane Geometry 2/2 — 6 more yards on Arcane spells: room to stay out of boss mechanics while you keep casting.
• Arcane Impact 3/3 — +6% crit chance on Arcane spells at 3/3, and Arcane Mind later doubles what those crits are worth.
• Arcane Blast 1/1 — The core spell: each cast gives you 12% of your Intellect as spell damage and raises its own cost by 100%, up to 4 stacks for 18 sec.
• Arcane Meditation 3/3 — 50% of regeneration continues while casting, a small but steady help for a mana-hungry spec.
• Arcane Wrath 1/1 — The live client’s new Arcane nuke: 121 to 146 damage plus spell damage equal to 5% of your maximum mana, so Arcane Mind’s Intellect feeds it. Its cost is not tied to Arcane Blast stacks, Accelerant shortens its cast and it can proc Missile Barrage.
• Presence of Mind 1/1 — An instant cast every time it is ready, and required for Arcane Power.
• Arcane Mind 5/5 — +10% Intellect, which also means more maximum mana for Arcane Wrath, and doubled crit bonus on Arcane spells.
• Arcane Instability 3/3 — +3% spell damage and +3% crit chance on everything.
• Arcane Power 1/1 — 30% more spell damage for 15 sec at 30% more mana cost: line it up with full Arcane Blast stacks.

Fire (10)

• Incineration 5/5 — +10% crit chance on Arcane Blast at 5/5, and Arcane Mind doubles what those crits are worth.
• Accelerant 5/5 — 0.5 sec off Arcane Wrath at 5/5 (the same cut applies to Fireball and Frostfire Bolt), so your low-cost nuke casts faster.

Frost (3)

• Precision 3/3 — +6% hit with all spells at 3/3 from the Frost tree, now the only hit talent a mage has.

Rotation and priority

1. Open with Arcane Blast and build stacks. The stacks last 18 sec from the first cast, and the tooltip gives the 12% of Intellect as spell damage to you, not to Arcane Blast alone, so Missiles and Arcane Wrath should share it; check that in game.
2. With stacks up and a Missile Barrage proc, cast the free Arcane Missiles to cash in the spell damage bonus.
3. When the next Arcane Blast gets too expensive, switch to Arcane Wrath for the rest of the 18 sec: it keeps the stacks’ spell damage, its cost does not rise and it can proc Missile Barrage. How many Blasts to cast before switching is a mana question to test on your own gear.
4. Burst window: Eureka! and Arcane Power, then Arcane Blast to 4 stacks and Presence of Mind on the last Arcane Blast.
5. Use Clearcasting on the most expensive Arcane Blast you can.
6. Mana Gem, Evocation and potions follow each burst window so you can build stacks again.

Resources

Mana is the whole game for this build. Arcane Blast’s cost climbs by 100% with every stack, and Arcane Power adds 30% on top. Plan cycles: a high-mana burn with Arcane Blast and Arcane Power, then Arcane Wrath casts to finish each stack window without the rising cost. Eureka! (8 sec of 10% cheaper, 10% stronger damage spells, 2 min cooldown) belongs in the burn phase, Presence of Mind can be used on every cooldown, and Evocation should never be held for too long.

Stat priority

Spell hit first: Precision gives 6%, gear covers the rest until you stop seeing Arcane Blast miss. Then Intellect, which is worth more for Arcane than any other mage build because of Arcane Mind, Arcane Blast’s spell damage stacks and Arcane Wrath’s bonus from maximum mana. Spell damage and spell crit follow; Arcane Mind makes crit strong for Arcane spells. Mana regeneration matters on long fights.

Gear and set bonuses

The datamined Tier 1 mage set is Manaflare Regalia. Its bonuses: 2 pieces, +1% spell hit; 3 pieces, 5 sec shorter Counterspell cooldown; 4 pieces, up to 21 spell damage against Elementals; 5 pieces, Frostfire Bolt gets a higher chance to trigger Missile Barrage and Fingers of Frost and extra crit chance during Combustion. The item pieces are still withheld in the datamine, so slots and stats are unknown. Arcane gains from the hit bonus; the 5-piece Missile Barrage part applies only if Frostfire Bolt is trainable in WoW Forever, so do not chase the fifth piece for Arcane until that is confirmed.

Consumables and professions

• Spell damage: Greater Arcane Elixir and Brilliant Wizard Oil are the Classic choices; there is no Arcane-only elixir, so general spell damage elixirs apply.
• Mana above all: Major Mana Potions, Demonic or Dark Runes, Mageblood Potion and Brilliant Mana Oil if you are short on mana more than damage.
• Intellect: Arcane Intellect and any Intellect food or scrolls available in Forever.
• Professions: Tailoring and Enchanting as for other mages; Alchemy if you want to keep up with the potion cost of this spec.

Sources

Rotation, stat and matchup advice adapts these Classic 1.12 guides to the WoW Forever talent trees; talents, set bonuses and new abilities come from this site’s WoW Forever data.

• Icy Veins: Classic Mage DPS Guide
• Icy Veins: Classic Mage DPS Spec, Builds, and Talents
• Icy Veins: Classic Mage DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
• Icy Veins: Classic Mage DPS Stat Priority
• Icy Veins: Classic Mage DPS Enchants and Consumables