Arcane Mage DPS Guide — The War Within (11.0.5)
Welcome to our Arcane Mage guide for World of Warcraft — The War Within (11.0.5). Here, you will learn how to play as an Arcane Mage in both raids and Mythic+ dungeons: from the very beginning to maximizing your DPS.
If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Arcane Mage guide.
Arcane Mage Overview
Arcane Mage is a very burst oriented specialization, that has various unique mechanics amongst DPS specs. Arcane does very high burst damage during its cooldowns, followed by a lower damage phase, biding time until the cooldowns come back up. Unlike other DPS specs in the game, Arcane has a mana pool it has to pay attention to. Many of its spells cost very large amounts of mana, and you will have to carefully maintain your mana, via cooldowns like Evocation and Arcane Surge to get the most of your toolkit.
Strengths and Weaknesses
- Single-Target DPS
- Mythic+/AoE DPS
- Burst damage
- High mobility
- Strong defensives
- Gains bonus single target damage from additional targets (funnel)
- Able to do a lot of its damage while on the move
- Reliant on cooldowns for DPS
- Has no ability to do AoE damage if targets are spread out
Changes to Arcane Mage in The War Within
Patch 11.0.5 Changes to Arcane Mage
Summarizing the 11.0.5 Changes to Arcane Mage
In 11.0.5, Arcane is getting a mini rework. The biggest changes of the patch are the removal of double-dipping Nether Precision and the addition of Aethervision. The combination of these 2 changes has various impacts on the rotation. The exact changes are difficult to summarize, so we highly recommend checking out the new Rotation Page.
Additionally, there is some shuffling around of various talents and some minor rebalancing of multiple talents. Due to this, the best talents have changed, which you can find on our Talents Page.
Lastly, due to all of the combined changes, Spellslinger now does a fair bit more AoE damage than Sunfury, while being being closer in single-target than before. This causes Spellslinger to be more viable than before, especially in Mythic+. Many of the pages of the guide have been updated for this, like our Mythic+ Page, Hero Talents Page, and various other pages.
11.0.5 Changes to Arcane Mage
- Double-dipping of Nether Precision was removed.
- The talent tree got 1 new talent, 1 removed talent, and some talents were moved around or changed:
- New Talent: Aethervision. This is a talent further focusing the build around Nether Precision, making it so that consuming Nether Precision with Arcane Blast increases the damage of your next Arcane Barrage by 10% and generate 2 Arcane Charges, stacking up to 2 stacks, for a total of 20% bonus damage and 4 Arcane Charges. The buff lasts 12 seconds.
- Resonant Orbs was removed. Static Cloud was moved to where Resonant Orbs used to be.
- Aethervision was put on the spot of Consortium's Bauble, which in turn was moved to the spot where Static Cloud used to be.
- Leydrinker no longer applies to Arcane Barrage, and casting Touch of the Magi now grants Leydrinker.
- Time Loop also increases the duration of Arcane Debilitation by 2 seconds and the proc chance increased from 15% to 25%.
- Charged Orb now also makes Arcane Orb do 15% more damage.
- Consortium's Bauble has been buffed to make Arcane Blast do 8% more damage (instead of 3%) and cost 5% less mana (instead of 3%).
- Arcane Missiles no longer consumes Ice Floes if talented into Slipstream.
- Spellslinger got various changes:
- New Hero Talent Signature Spell: A choice node with Shifting Shards that causes Magi's Spark to conjure 6 Arcane Splinters when it explodes.
- Splinterstorm now has a 5% chance to proc Clearcasting.
- Arcane Splinter damage increased by 30%.
- Spellfrost Teachings buffed to 5% (from 3%) and has been fixed to increase Arcane Orb damage by 10% for 10 seconds.
- Sunfury got various changes:
- Glorious Incandescence now also makes Arcane Barrage do 30% more damage.
- Memory of Al'ar buffed to increase Arcane Soul by 1 second per exceptional spell. (was 0.5 seconds)
- Ignite the Future now also increases maximum Mana Cascade stacks to 15.
- Burden of Power no longer affects Arcane Barrage.
The War Within Changes to Arcane Mage
Arcane Mage has received a rework in The War Within, with a complete spec talent tree rework and some changes to the base talent tree. Below, we will first go into the changes in the Mage talent tree before diving deeper into the changes in the Arcane tree.
Mage Class Changes
The Mage tree did not receive a lot of changes, but it did receive some important ones to hotly debated talents. Below, we list the most important changes:
- Temporal Warp has been removed, which was a highly divisive node, with some players loving it and some hating it. It was replaced for a passive 3% Intellect choice node against Time Anomaly.
- Ring of Frost and Ice Nova have been turned into a choice node, reducing the total amount of crowd-control available by a little bit, although neither were picked very often in PvE.
- Supernova has been moved from the Arcane tree to the class tree, and put into a choice node with Dragon's Breath. This new choice node is in a very central place in the tree, so it is easy to pick up.
Arcane Changes
In contrast to the Mage tree, the Arcane tree got completely reworked. Many nodes have been replaced, changed, combined, or split into multiple, and the location of almost every single node is different. Although many of these changes did not significantly change the playstyle, a few of these changes have a large impact on how you play.
Overall, Arcane has been reduced in complexity, which in recent years has arguably become both very complex and very scripted. At the highest level of play, people were using macros and WeakAuras that would interact with the game's core underlying systems like spellqueueing and server ticks in very unintuitive ways, or even intentionally causing the game client to freeze, to squeeze out the most damage. A large factor for this was Radiant Spark, which is being completely removed. However, various other talents are also being removed or changed to reduce some complexity.
See below a list of the most important changes. The full, exhaustive list of changes can be found on the Class Changes page, which is linked further below.
- The entire talent tree has been reworked, with almost all talents being in a different position.
- Radiant Spark and its related Harmonic Echo have been removed. Due to how core this was to the rotation, this significantly altered the playstyle, making the rotation less scripted and generally considered less complex.
- Conjure Mana Gem and its related Cascading Power have been removed.
- Foresight was removed.
- A new choice node, with Magi's Spark and
Improved Touch of the Magi has been added:
- Magi's Spark at first glance, is a node similar to Radiant Spark, but in practice is quite different. Unlike Radiant Spark, it is less strict in the order of spells you need to cast, just that you need to cast specific spells in the Touch of the Magi window for an additional explosion at the end.
- Improved Touch of the Magi is simply a direct buff to Touch of the Magi.
- Nether Munitions is a new talent that causes all enemies hit by Magi's Spark or Improved Touch of the Magi to take more damage from you.
- Arcane Familiar has been changed to no longer be a separate spell, but instead, it will be summoned upon casting Arcane Intellect.
- Energized Familiar buffs your Arcane Familiar to fire more bolts during Arcane Surge, and also sometimes gives you a small amount of Mana.
- Arcane Surge now also provides you with a stack of Clearcasting.
- Surging Urge is a new talent that makes your Arcane Surge do more damage based on the amount of Arcane Charges you have.
- Eureka is a new talent that makes Arcane Missiles or Arcane Explosion do more damage when they consume Clearcasting.
- Aether Attunement is a new talent that significantly increases Arcane Missiles and turns it into an AoE ability after consuming Clearcasting 3 times.
- Arcane Debilitation is a new talent that applies a stacking debuff on your target that increases the damage you do with Arcane Blast, Arcane Missiles and Arcane Barrage for each time you have hit the target with Arcane Missiles. This lasts a couple of seconds and each stack expires independently, meaning you cannot indefinitely keep increasing the stacks.
- Time Loop gives Arcane Debilitation a 10% chance to apply another stack. This effect, in turn, can proc itself, meaning that, theoretically, a single application could cause a chain of procs.
- Leysight is a new talent that increases Nether Precision's damage increase.
- Leydrinker is a new talent that causes Nether Precision a small chance to cause your next Arcane Blast or Arcane Barrage to echo for a portion of its damage.
Hero Tree Talents
On top of the relatively large changes in the Arcane tree, the Hero Talent Tree system was added. See our dedicated Arcane Hero Talent Tree page below for more information on Arcane's Hero Trees.
Leveling an Arcane Mage
If you want to play an Arcane Mage but currently do not have one at max level, you can check out our leveling guide for tips on your journey.
Once you reach the max level, it can be somewhat overwhelming to completely change the way you play by suddenly implementing a large number of addons in a short space of time, especially if they have a heavy visual impact on your UI. We recommend using some of the more basic addons recommended on our Addons page below while leveling so that you have more time to get used to them during the easier phases of playing your class.
Basics of Arcane Mage Gameplay
Arcane Mage is a spec highly dependent on its cooldowns. It can do large amounts of damage during Arcane Surge and similar cooldowns while doing pretty low damage outside of them. As an Arcane Mage, you also have your Mana to consider, as your hardest-hitting spells cost a lot of Mana. This further highlights the importance of using your cooldowns well, as your cooldowns are the primary way to handle your Mana. Evocation provides you all of your Mana back over a couple of seconds, and Arcane Surge gives you more mana regeneration than you can spend while it is active.
Most of your time will be spent casting Arcane Blast as this is your main Mana expenditure spell. Additionally, Arcane uses various cooldowns, like Arcane Surge to boost the damage you do while burning through your Mana. The main way for Arcane to regenerate Mana will be via Evocation. Conserve phases are made possible via Arcane Barrage as this allows you to drop your Arcane Charges to reduce the Mana cost of your spells.
If you are a beginner to the spec and would like to learn the basic fundamentals of the class, or would like to learn some of the oddities of some of the Arcane spells, we recommend looking through the Spell Summary first, as well as the Easy Mode page linked below.
If you are already somewhat familiar with Arcane Mages, you can head straight to the Talents and Rotation pages to jump right into the more complex, detailed information.
How to Gear Up as an Arcane Mage
We have a dedicated page that goes over all the intricacies of gearing an Arcane Mage in the current patch, including the Best in Slot gear from the current tier.
After you have obtained some gear via the gearing guide above, you will want to make sure you are using the correct consumables, gems, enchants, and more. To help you with this process, we have a page on exactly this. Additionally, we have a stats page that goes over the stat priority and necessary changes that might occur from changing stat priorities.
End-Game as an Arcane Mage
Starting as an Arcane Mage is very different from end-game progression content. Because of this, we have dedicated pages that guide you on how to play optimally in Mythic+ and PvP. We will also give raiding tips closer to the release of the first raid.
Improving as an Arcane Mage
If you feel like you are making mistakes or are not sure what to improve on, you can check out the pages below for tips and answers to questions you might have.
Arcane Mage Viability in the Current Patch
With 11.0.5, Arcane got various buffs, making it an even stronger spec than it already was before 11.0.5.
Arcane is a very strong spec in Season 1 of The War Within. Especially Sunfury Arcane is extremely strong, both in Raiding and Mythic+. But Spellslinger is also strong, and very good in AoE scenario. Arcane does both incredible single-target damage and AoE damage and has very minimal downsides, making it a top tier spec in both Raiding and Mythic+.
The only exception is some specific raid encounters where Arcane struggles a bit to get its cooldowns off often without risking downtime during its cooldowns. However, the overall performance is still strong even on these fights.
Changelog
- 30 Oct. 2024 (talents page): Updated sunfury talents to pick Lessons in Debilitation instead of Gravity Lapse.
- 27 Oct. 2024 (rotation page): Updated rotation based on latest theorycrafting findings, primarily simplifying barrage usage for spellslinger, while being slightly more DPS.
- 23 Oct. 2024 (rotation page): Small modification to AoE rotation for spellslinger and added arcane tempo conditions to single-target rotation under advanced section.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (mythic+ page): Updated talents based on last minute nerfs.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (rotation page): Moved various parts of the rotation to advanced to provide a more approachable default rotation and fixed spellslinger rotation showing some sunfury lines.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (talents page): Updated talents based on last minute nerfs. Added single-target spellslinger build.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (this page): Removed Mana cascade change from ptr since it was nerfed to the pre-bugged amount.
- 21 Oct. 2024 (hero talents): Updated best hero talents for both Sunfury and Spellslinger for 11.0.5 rework. Added more context for picking between SF/SS now that both have uses. Updated rotational changes for rework.
- 21 Oct. 2024 (Leveling): Updated for 11.0.5 rework and slightly simplified rotation.
- 21 Oct. 2024 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 21 Oct. 2024 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 21 Oct. 2024 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 21 Oct. 2024 (gear page): Updated bis + trinket tier lists to list Transmitter as second best trinket.
- 21 Oct. 2024 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 21 Oct. 2024 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 21 Oct. 2024 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 21 Oct. 2024 (Nerub-ar Palace page): Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 21 Oct. 2024 (mythic+ page): Updated best talents for 11.0.5 rework. Added Spellslinger vs Sunfury information. Added dungeon specific tips.
- 21 Oct. 2024 (rotation page): Updated single-target and AoE rotations for both hero talents 11.0.5 changes. Added Spellslinger presets now that it is a more viable hero talent setup.
- 21 Oct. 2024 (talents page): Updated best talents for 11.0.5. Added multiple AoE builds for Spellslinger and Sunfury.
- 21 Oct. 2024 (spells page): Updated spells for 11.0.5 changes.
- 21 Oct. 2024 (easy mode page): Updated talents and rotation for the 11.0.5 rework.
- 21 Oct. 2024 (this page): Added 11.0.5 changes and how they impacted the guide. Updated viability section for 11.0.5.
- 25 Sep. 2024 (rotation page): Updated AoE rotation to list target counts.
- 24 Sep. 2024 (gear page): Fixed incorrect profession linked for off-hand craft.
- 21 Sep. 2024 (stats page): Updated stat weights description to more clearly explain that using top gear is better.
- 20 Sep. 2024 (Nerub-ar Palace page): Added more tips to multiple bosses, added exact cooldown usage to various bosses and added cooldowns outline for Queen Ansurek.
- 16 Sep. 2024 (rotation page): Updated rotation slightly for latest improvements.
- 14 Sep. 2024 (talents page): Updated Delve talents to do slightly more AoE damage.
- 14 Sep. 2024 (this page): Updated viability section after latest nerfs.
- 11 Sep. 2024 (enchants page): Added weapon consumable (oil).
- 11 Sep. 2024 (rotation page): Update AoE rotation slightly to move the Arcane Blast line during ToTM to spellslinger rotation, as Sunfury automatically does it already.
- 10 Sep. 2024 (hero talents): Split Sunfury hero talents into a single target and an AoE build and add note about double-dipping NP as Spellslinger.
- 10 Sep. 2024 (gear page): Added note that you can craft embellishments on non spark items.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (hero talents): Removed double-dipping mention for Burden of Power due to removal in-game.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (cosmetics): Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (Leveling): Updated rotation to no longer double-dip Burden of Power due to removal.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (FAQ page): Updated best race to include more races that are all within 0.1% of each other.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (how to improve page): Updated slightly to emphasize mana management being tied to cooldown usage.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (simulations page): Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (gear page): Added 3 bis lists from different sources: Raiding, Mythic+, Overall. Added trinket tier list. Removed disclaimer from crafting text.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (addons page): Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (enchants page): Added Elusive Blasphemite as an option for more movement speed at the cost of a small amount of DPS.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (stats page): Updated stats to favour haste over mastery due to better gear unlocking in Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (Nerub-ar Palace page): Guide added.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (mythic+ page): Updated for TWW Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (rotation page): Separated the hero talent selector and updated the rotation to include more advanced lines as an optional checkbox. Rewrote arcane barrage usage to be easier to understand.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (talents page): Removed pre-season talents.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (spells page): Removed double-dipping mention for Burden of Power due to removal in-game, and removed bug mention of Ignite the future after the bug fix.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (easy mode page): Updated Rotation to be slightly better but similar difficulty level, and update stat priority for Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (this page): Updated basics section and viability section.
- 05 Sep. 2024 (talents page): Small improvements to aoe/cleave talents.
- 03 Sep. 2024 (gear page): Updated crafting recommendations and bis lists.
- 02 Sep. 2024 (rotation page): Updated rotation for the removal of Burden of Power double-dipping.
- 02 Sep. 2024 (talents page): Fixed a missing point in the Delve hero tree.
- 28 Aug. 2024 (spells page): Updated some spell descriptions.
- 27 Aug. 2024 (gear page): Updated crafting suggestions on updated Embellishments and updated bis lists.
- 24 Aug. 2024 (talents page): Added Delve Talent Tree.
- 22 Aug. 2024 (rotation page): Update AoE rotation to clarify funnel vs AoE rotation usage.
- 22 Aug. 2024 (rotation page): Slightly change priority on single target rotation to clarify you should use missiles before dumping Burden of Power if you have it, and some small readability improvements on AoE.
- 21 Aug. 2024 (hero talents): Page added.
- 21 Aug. 2024 (cosmetics): Reviewed for The War Within.
- 21 Aug. 2024 (Leveling): Updated for The War Within.
- 21 Aug. 2024 (FAQ page): Reviewed for The War Within.
- 21 Aug. 2024 (how to improve page): Reviewed for The War Within.
- 21 Aug. 2024 (simulations page): Reviewed for The War Within.
- 21 Aug. 2024 (gear page): Updated for The War Within.
- 21 Aug. 2024 (addons page): Reviewed for The War Within.
- 21 Aug. 2024 (enchants page): Updated for The War Within.
- 21 Aug. 2024 (stats page): Updated for The War Within.
- 21 Aug. 2024 (rotation page): Updated for The War Within.
- 21 Aug. 2024 (talents page): Updated for The War Within.
- 21 Aug. 2024 (spells page): Updated for The War Within.
- 21 Aug. 2024 (easy mode page): Updated for The War Within.
- 21 Aug. 2024 (this page): Updated for The War Within.
- 30 Jul. 2024 (cosmetics): Page added.
- 30 Jul. 2024 (gear page): Fixed not having 4 piece in the overall bis list.
- 29 Jul. 2024 (FAQ page): Updated best race.
- 29 Jul. 2024 (simulations page): Added race sims.
- 26 Jul. 2024 (rotation page): Arcane in Arcane Tempo lines and slightly updated AoE rotation to make it more clear you always Arcane Barrage before Arcane Missiles with 4 charges. Further improved Nether Precision notes to apply more optimisations.
- 25 Jul. 2024 (rotation page): Add in Arcane Missiels interrupt conditions to the rotation, reorganized the burn phase into 2 separate parts, the initial burn phase sequence, into the priority list.
- 24 Jul. 2024 (rotation page): Clearcasting proc rates were changed on live, causing Arcane Blast to have 5% higher proc rate than Arcane Barrage. Updated rotation to incorporate this by removing the Arcane Barrage execute playstyle.
- 24 Jul. 2024 (talents page): Minor update to suggested talents based on bugs on live servers.
- 24 Jul. 2024 (talents page): Updated suggested talents due to Illuminated Thoughts being fixed on live servers, causing it to be significantly better than on beta & ptr.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (MoP Remix): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (Leveling): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (FAQ page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (how to improve page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (simulations page): Reviewed for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (gear page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (addons page): Reviewed for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (enchants page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (stats page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (rotation page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (talents page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (spells page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (easy mode page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (this page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 17 Jun. 2024 (The War Within): Page added.
- 14 May 2024 (MoP Remix): Page added.
- 12 May 2024 (Leveling): Updated talents and rotation slightly.
- 10 May 2024 (this page): Updated viability section.
- 07 May 2024 (Leveling): Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 07 May 2024 (FAQ page): Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 07 May 2024 (how to improve page): Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 07 May 2024 (simulations page): Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 07 May 2024 (gear page): Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 07 May 2024 (addons page): Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 07 May 2024 (enchants page): Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 07 May 2024 (stats page): Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 07 May 2024 (mythic+ page): Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 07 May 2024 (rotation page): Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 07 May 2024 (talents page): Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 07 May 2024 (spells page): Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 07 May 2024 (easy mode page): Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 07 May 2024 (this page): Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 01 May 2024 (FAQ page): Updated viability section.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (Leveling): Reviewed for Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (FAQ page): Updated viability section for Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (simulations page): Reviewed for Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (gear page): Updated for Season 4: updated bis lists, added bullion items, updated suggested crafting.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (addons page): Reviewed for Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (enchants page): Added new head enchant (Incandescent Essence) and updated Phial suggestions
- 22 Apr. 2024 (stats page): Reviewed for Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (mythic+ page): Reviewed for Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (rotation page): Reviewed for Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (talents page): Reviewed for Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (spells page): Reviewed for Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (this page): Added changes for Season 4 and updated viability section.
- 19 Mar. 2024 (Leveling): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
- 19 Mar. 2024 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
- 19 Mar. 2024 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6. and updated the sections to avoid double negatives.
- 19 Mar. 2024 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
- 19 Mar. 2024 (gear page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
- 19 Mar. 2024 (addons page): Reviewed for 10.2.6, removed link to a no longer relevant pack and added new macro for Arcane Barrage + TOTM.
- 19 Mar. 2024 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6. and added explanation for best gems.
- 19 Mar. 2024 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
- 19 Mar. 2024 (mythic+ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6. and updated talent choice information.
- 19 Mar. 2024 (rotation page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6. and fixed some typos and removed the "quiet movement" section as it was rather duplicate with other sections.
- 19 Mar. 2024 (talents page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
- 19 Mar. 2024 (spells page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6. and fixed some typos and updated some abbreviations.
- 19 Mar. 2024 (easy mode page): Reviewed for 10.2.6.
- 19 Mar. 2024 (this page): Reviewed for 10.2.6 and updated viability section with some minor changes.
- 15 Mar. 2024 (rotation page): Remove no longer relevant Arcane Missiles clipping section.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (Leveling): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (gear page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (mythic+ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (rotation page): Updated rotation with optimisations found.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (talents page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (spells page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (easy mode page): Updated rotation to be easier and slightly more DPS.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (this page): Updated for Patch 10.2.5.
- 16 Dec. 2023 (FAQ page): Updated viability section based on December 19th buffs.
- 16 Dec. 2023 (this page): Updated viability section based on December 19th buffs.
- 24 Nov. 2023 (FAQ page): Updated viability section based on live data.
- 24 Nov. 2023 (this page): Updated viability section based on live data.
- 13 Nov. 2023 (gear page): Updated BiS to account for different M+ loot and updated raid only bis.
- 07 Nov. 2023 (gear page): Updated BiS and embellishments due to sporecloak nerf.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (Leveling): Reviewed for Patch 10.2
- 06 Nov. 2023 (FAQ page): Updated viability section in preperation for season 3.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (simulations page): Reviewed for patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (gear page): Updated BiS, embellishments and other relevant sections for 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (enchants page): Removed references to Onyx Annulet and Primordial gems as they are no longer relevant for 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (mythic+ page): Updated talents for 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (rotation page): Updated base rotation for 10.2, added season 3 tier set rotation, season 3 trinkets and other items to the rotation.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (talents page): Updated optimal talents for 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (spells page): Reviewed for patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (easy mode page): Updated talents and rotation for 10.2 changes.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (this page): Added 10.2 changes section, removed old changes sections, updated viability section.
- 01 Oct. 2023 (enchants page): Updated food buff suggestion.
- 26 Sep. 2023 (gear page): Changed layout.
- 07 Sep. 2023 (FAQ page): Updated viability section with more details.
- 07 Sep. 2023 (this page): Updated viability section with more details.
- 04 Sep. 2023 (Leveling): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (gear page): Added 3 different best-in-slot builds.
- 04 Sep. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7.
- 04 Sep. 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (mythic+ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (rotation page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (talents page): Changed talent layout to be easier to navigate.
- 04 Sep. 2023 (spells page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (this page): Added 10.1.7 guide changes.
- 09 Aug. 2023 (this page): Updated viability for after the Fire and Frost nerfs.
- 15 Jul. 2023 (FAQ page): Updated viabiliity question for the balance patch.
- 15 Jul. 2023 (this page): Updated viability for the balance patch.
- 11 Jul. 2023 (Leveling): Upated levelling tree for the new talent trees.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (FAQ page): Updated viability for 10.1.5 after the Arcane rework, and removed RoP vs IF question due to RoP removal
- 10 Jul. 2023 (how to improve page): Updated for the Arcane rework of 10.1.5
- 10 Jul. 2023 (simulations page): Reviewed for the Arcane rework of 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (gear page): Updated BiS for new optimal gear due to rework, and updated Onyx Annulet section for nerfed version.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (enchants page): Updated Onyx Annulet section for the 10.1.5 nerf and reviewed the rest for the Arcane rework in 10.1.5
- 10 Jul. 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for the Arcane rework of 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (mythic+ page): Updated suggested talents and rotation for reworked Arcane.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (rotation page): Updated rotation for the reworked Arcane.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (talents page): Updated suggested talents for after the 10.1.5 Arcane rework.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (spells page): Updated all spells and talents for the Arcane Mage rework of 10.1.5
- 10 Jul. 2023 (easy mode page): Updated Rotation and Talents for the Arcane rework for 10.1.5
- 10 Jul. 2023 (this page): Added 10.1.5 changes section and updated viability section for 10.1.5.
- 25 May 2023 (gear page): Added Timwalking section.
- 10 May 2023 (gear page): Updated trinket suggestions based on further improvements.
- 09 May 2023 (rotation page): Updated rotation to include further 4-set optimisations.
- 08 May 2023 (gear page): Updated trinket suggestions based on improved sims and further theorycrafting.
- 01 May 2023 (Leveling): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (FAQ page): Updated viability section for 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (simulations page): Removed outdated simulations.
- 01 May 2023 (gear page): Updated best-in-slot items, crafting suggestions and other gearing advice for 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (enchants page): Moved Primordial Stone information and updated advice based on 10.1 changes.
- 01 May 2023 (stats page): Updated stat priotiy due to 10.1 changes.
- 01 May 2023 (mythic+ page): Removed mentions about thundering and reviewed for 10.1 changes.
- 01 May 2023 (rotation page): Updated rotation to include Season 2 tier optimisations.
- 01 May 2023 (talents page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (spells page): Updated some descriptions to be more clear and cleaned up some duplicate spells.
- 01 May 2023 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (this page): Added 10.1 changes, added a section pointing out the major changes to the guide made for 10.1 and updated viability section for 10.1 tuning.
- 28 Apr. 2023 (addons page): Added a generic weakaura pack containing all neccesary WeakAuras for all specs.
- 25 Mar. 2023 (gear page): Updated Onyx ring suggestions based on hotfixes.
- 25 Mar. 2023 (enchants page): Updated Primordial Stone Gem suggestions based on hotfixes.
- 22 Mar. 2023 (gear page): Updated bis to include Onyx Annulet due to new gem combinations being found.
- 22 Mar. 2023 (enchants page): Update Primordial Stone Gem suggestions due to Desirious Blood Stone combinations being very strong.
- 21 Mar. 2023 (enchants page): Updated Primordial Stone gem suggestions based based on Obscure Pastel Stone being Arcane instead of Shadow on live servers.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (Leveling): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (Legendaries): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (gear page): Added Onyx Annulet information and reviewed for patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (enchants page): Added Primordial Stone gem suggestions and reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (mythic+ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7 and provided some small phrasing tweaks.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (rotation page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (talents page): Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (spells page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (this page): Added link to enchants and gems page for primordial gems.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (Leveling): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (mythic+ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (rotation page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (talents page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (spells page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (this page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 15 Jan. 2023 (this page): Replaced 10.2 changes for 10.2.5 changes.
- 10 Jan. 2023 (FAQ page): Updated the burn phase conditions to account for Siphon storm talents.
- 17 Dec. 2022 (gear page): Updated crafted gear due to bronzed grip changes.
- 14 Dec. 2022 (enchants page): Added weapon imbuement advice.
- 13 Dec. 2022 (gear page): Further updated crafted gear info with latest theorycrafting knowledge.
- 13 Dec. 2022 (enchants page): Updated phial advice.
- 13 Dec. 2022 (rotation page): Improve burn rotation slightly and add more clarity to end of the burn phase.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (Leveling): Minor changes to levelling tree.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (FAQ page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (simulations page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (gear page): Updated gear advice based on season 1 available gear and crafted gear.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (gear page): Added more info for crafted gear.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (addons page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (enchants page): Updated phial advice.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (enchants page): Updated gems advice based on better simulations.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (stats page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (mythic+ page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (rotation page): Added section explaining rotational changes due to the tier set.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (talents page): Minor change to the suggested talent trees to split them more into raiding vs dungeons instead of single target vs aoe.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (spells page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 30 Nov. 2022 (rotation page): Updated burst rotation slightly based on new theorycrafting.
- 30 Nov. 2022 (talents page): Updated Temporal Warp vs Time Anomaly description to be more informative.
- 30 Nov. 2022 (spells page): Updated Temporal Warp description for changed time warp functionality.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (Leveling): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (FAQ page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (simulations page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (gear page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (addons page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (enchants page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (stats page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (mythic+ page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (rotation page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (talents page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (spells page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (easy mode page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (Leveling): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (Legendaries): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (Torghast): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (FAQ page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (how to improve page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (simulations page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (gear page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (addons page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (enchants page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (stats page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (Castle Nathria page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (Sanctum of Domination page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (Sepulcher of the First Ones page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (mythic+ page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (rotation page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (talents page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (spells page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (easy mode page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Jan. 2022 (gear page): Added Voidmenders Shadowgem to list of trinkets.
- 22 Jan. 2022 (Patch 9.2 Analysis): Updated for Patch 9.2.
- 20 Jan. 2022 (gear page): Fixed typo.
- 18 Jan. 2022 (rotation page): Updated burst rotation based on latest theorycrafting and expanded on the AoE rotation.
- 16 Jan. 2022 (mythic+ page): Updated suggested talents to Mana Gem build and some minor tip changes.
- 16 Jan. 2022 (talents page): Added information about the mana gem build and when to pick Harmony or Mana gem builds.
- 15 Jan. 2022 (Patch 9.2 Analysis): Page added with initial thoughts and information.
- 13 Jan. 2022 (rotation page): Improve mana gem rotation and added talon usage.
- 12 Jan. 2022 (enchants page): Added spellthreads advice.
- 01 Nov. 2021 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Reviewed and approved for Patch 9.1.5.
- 13 Jul. 2021 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Updated for Patch 9.1 raid release.
- 25 Apr. 2021 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Page Created.
- 12 Oct. 2020 (Ny'alotha page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 13 Jan. 2020 (Uldir page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.3 and no changes are necessary.
- 13 Jan. 2020 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.3 and no changes are necessary.
- 13 Jan. 2020 (Crucible of Storms page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.3 and no changes are necessary.
- 13 Jan. 2020 (The Eternal Palace page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.3 and no changes are necessary.
- 20 Jul. 2019 (The Eternal Palace page): Added Azshara tips.
- 16 Jul. 2019 (The Eternal Palace page): Removed disclaimer.
- 14 Jul. 2019 (The Eternal Palace page): Added boss tips.
- 10 Jul. 2019 (The Eternal Palace page): Added initial talent suggestions.
- 07 Jul. 2019 (The Eternal Palace page): Page added.
- 24 Jun. 2019 (Uldir page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.2 and no changes are necessary.
- 24 Jun. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.2 and no changes are necessary.
- 24 Jun. 2019 (Crucible of Storms page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.2 and no changes are necessary.
- 12 May 2019 (Crucible of Storms page): Added more tips.
- 15 Apr. 2019 (Uldir page): This page has been reviewed and no changes are necessary for the release of the Crucible of Storms raid.
- 15 Apr. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): This page has been reviewed and no changes are necessary for the release of the Crucible of Storms raid.
- 15 Apr. 2019 (Crucible of Storms page): Guide added.
- 03 Feb. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): Added tips for Opulence.
- 30 Jan. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): Updated for Jaina stun hotfixes.
- 28 Jan. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): Added more Jaina info and suggestions.
- 21 Jan. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): Added Battle of Dazar'alor guide for Arcane Mages.
- 10 Dec. 2018 (Uldir page): This page has been reviewed for Patch 8.1 and no changes are necessary.
- 30 Aug. 2018 (Uldir page): Added guides and talent recommedations for Heroic and Normal modes.
- 10 Aug. 2018 (Uldir page): Added Arcane Mage Boss by Boss page (empty for now).
More Mage Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been written by Dutchmagoz. Dutchmagoz is a Mythic raider in one of the top raiding guilds, Turtles and the owner of the Mage Discord server, Altered Time, where he is involved in all things Mage, and you can reach out to him directly for feedback or questions about the guide.
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