Arcane Mage DPS Gear and Best in Slot — The War Within (11.0.5)
On this page, you will find the best gear and best in slot items for your Arcane Mage in World of Warcraft The War Within (11.0.5).
If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Arcane Mage gear and best in slot.
Gearing an Arcane Mage
Welcome to our Gearing Page for Arcane Mage. This section will cover everything you need to know about equipping your character correctly.
If you have a new piece of gear for which you need gems and enchant advice, you can find everything on our dedicated page below.
Best in Slot Gear for Raiding
BiS Gear for Arcane Mage
The War Within Season 1 Overall BiS List for Arcane Mage
This list contains the Best in Slot Gear for Arcane Mage in The War Within Season 1 from all sources, including Raiding, Mythic+, Delves, The Great Vault, and Crafted.
Note that there is no such thing as a singular, all-encompassing "BiS". The best items vary per character and situation, and many items are essentially equivalent in terms of DPS, namely when we are just shuffling secondary stats around. I will list one "BiS" item per slot, but ultimately, BiS lists are not very practically useful and you should be simming your character to find out what gear to equip next. Nonetheless, there is a huge demand for this list, and thus, you can use the list below as a guideline as to what an endgame set of gear looks like.
| Slot | Item | Source/Note |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon |  Sovereign's Disdain (639) |
Queen Ansurek in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Off-Hand |  Vagabond's Torch (636) with  Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension and Haste + Mastery |
Crafted — Inscription |
| Helm |  Cocoonsilk Cowl (639) |
Great Vault |
| Neck |  Sureki Zealot's Insignia (639) |
Sikran in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Shoulder |  Beacons of Violet Rebirth (639) |
Rasha'nan/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Cloak |  Ward of Violet Rebirth (639) |
Matrix Catalyst |
| Chest |  Runecoat of Violet Rebirth (639) |
Broodtwister Ovi'nax/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Bracers |  Consecrated Cuffs (636) with  Writhing Armor Banding and Haste + Mastery |
Crafted — Tailoring |
| Gloves |  Jeweled Gauntlets of Violet Rebirth (639) |
Sikran/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Belt |  Acrid Ascendant's Sash (639) |
Queen Ansurek in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Legs |  Coattails of Violet Rebirth (639) |
Nexus Princess Ky'veza/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Boots |  Slippers of Violet Rebirth (639) |
Matrix Catalyst |
| Ring #1 |  Seal of the Poisoned Pact (639) |
Queen Ansurek in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Ring #2 |  Writhing Ringworm (639) |
Broodtwister Ovi'nax in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Trinket #1 |  Treacherous Transmitter (639) |
Nexus Princess Ky'veza in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Trinket #2 |  Spymaster's Web (639) |
Silken Court in Nerub-ar Palace |
Season 1 Overall BiS List for Arcane Mage
This list contains the Best in Slot Gear for Arcane Mage in The War Within Season 1 from the Nerub-ar Palace Raid.
Note that this BiS List is for items from Nerub-ar Palace. I am separating the BiS lists by gear sources. This is what you send to your Raid Leader/Loot Council when they ask you what your BiS gear is from the Raid.
Note that there is no such thing as a singular, all-encompassing "BiS". The best items vary per character and situation, and many items are essentially equivalent in terms of DPS, namely when we are just shuffling secondary stats around. I will list one "BiS" item per slot, but ultimately, BiS lists are not very practically useful and you should be simming your character to find out what gear to equip next. Nonetheless, there is a huge demand for this list, and thus, you can use the list below as a guideline as to what an endgame set of gear looks like.
| Slot | Item | Source/Note |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon |  Takazj's Entropic Edict (639) |
Silken Court in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Helm |  Devotee's Discarded Headdress (639) |
Rasha'nan in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Neck | Sureki Zealot's Insignia (639) |
Sikran in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Shoulder | Beacons of Violet Rebirth (639) |
Rasha'nan/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Cloak |  Royal Emblem of Nerub-ar (639) |
Ulgrax the Devourer in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Chest | Runecoat of Violet Rebirth (639) |
Broodtwister Ovi'nax/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Bracers |  Skeinspinner's Duplicitous Cuffs (639) |
Silken Court in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Gloves | Jeweled Gauntlets of Violet Rebirth (639) |
Sikran/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Belt | Acrid Ascendant's Sash (639) |
Queen Ansurek in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Legs | Coattails of Violet Rebirth (639) |
Nexus Princess Ky'veza/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Boots | Assimilated Eggshell Slippers (639) |
Broodtwister Ovi'nax in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Ring #1 | Seal of the Poisoned Pact (639) |
Queen Ansurek in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Ring #2 | Writhing Ringworm (639) |
Broodtwister Ovi'nax in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Trinket #1 | Treacherous Transmitter (639) |
Nexus Princess Ky'veza in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Trinket #2 | Spymaster's Web (639) |
Silken Court in Nerub-ar Palace |
Season 1 Overall BiS List for Arcane Mage
This list contains the Best in Slot Gear for Arcane Mage from The War Within Season 1 Mythic+.
Note that this BiS List is for items from Mythic+. I am separating the BiS lists by gear sources. This is the list you can chase when you want to improve your gear by farming Mythic+ dungeons.
Note that there is no such thing as a singular, all-encompassing "BiS". The best items vary per character and situation, and many items are essentially equivalent in terms of DPS, namely when we are just shuffling secondary stats around. I will list one "BiS" item per slot, but ultimately, BiS lists are not very practically useful and you should be simming your character to find out what gear to equip next. Nonetheless, there is a huge demand for this list, and thus, you can use the list below as a guideline as to what an endgame set of gear looks like.
Note that tier pieces are still included. Although technically not farmable in Mythic+, they do appear in the Mythic+ Great Vault (639) options and can be upgraded from Mythic+ pieces with Matrix Catalyst. Due to how important they are to building your character, and still obtainable if you only do Mythic+, I included them here.
| Slot | Item | Source/Note |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon |  Melodious Iron Songspire (639) |
Great Vault (639) or The Stonevault (626) |
| Helm |  Intertwiner's Shadowcowl (639) |
Great Vault (639) or City of Threads (626) |
| Neck |  Strapped Rescue-Keg (639) |
Great Vault (639) or Cinderbrew Meadery (626) |
| Shoulder | Beacons of Violet Rebirth (639) |
Rasha'nan/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Cloak |  Anvilhide Cape (639) |
Great Vault (639) or The Stonevault (626) |
| Chest | Runecoat of Violet Rebirth (639) |
Broodtwister Ovi'nax/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Bracers |  Vitriolic Veinwoven Wraps (639) |
Great Vault (639) or City of Threads (626) |
| Gloves | Jeweled Gauntlets of Violet Rebirth (639) |
Sikran/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Belt |  Cord of the Pious Warder (639) |
Great Vault (639) or Siege of Boralus (626) |
| Legs | Coattails of Violet Rebirth (639) |
Nexus Princess Ky'veza/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Boots |  Tainted Earthshard Walkers (639) |
Great Vault (639) or The Stonevault (626) |
| Ring #1 |  Devout Zealot's Ring (639) |
Great Vault (639) or The Dawnbreaker (626) |
| Ring #2 |  Stitchflesh's Misplaced Signet (639) |
Great Vault (639) or The Necrotic Wake (626) |
| Trinket #1 |  Ara-Kara Sacbrood (639) |
Great Vault (639) or Ara-Kara, City of Echoes (626) |
| Trinket #2 |  Mereldar's Toll (639) |
Great Vault (639) or The Dawnbreaker (626) |
Best Trinkets for Arcane Mage in The War Within Season 1
Raiding Trinket Tier List for Arcane Mage
This Trinket Tier List is single-target biased, as this tends to be the most important aspect of Raiding. When Trinkets are equal on single-target, I will "break the tie" by looking into which Trinket performs better in AoE/mixed scenarios.
A "Tier" as defined by this list is around 0.5% DPS, meaning that S-Tier Trinkets are around 0.5% better than A-Tier Trinkets, and so on.
Any trinket not shown on this list is generally considered worse than all other trinkets available on this list.
S-Tier
Spymaster's Web — Our undisputed best Trinket for all situations. Usually you will want to delay using the active portion until some kind of large damage increase, 
Time Warp or a boss phase that needs high burst.
A-Tier
Treacherous Transmitter — A difficult trinket to use, but when used well, it is the second best trinket alongside Spymaster's Web.
Ara-Kara Sacbrood — Very strong passive trinket, can be used as second trinket instead of Treacherous Transmitter for an easier playstyle and only a tiny DPS loss.
B-Tier
Mereldar's Toll — A Strong active trinket that also provides your group a benefit.
Empowering Crystal of Anub'ikkaj — A strong passive trinket, although slightly worse than Ara-Kara Sacbrood
Ovi'nax's Mercurial Egg — A strong passive trinket, although harder to use than the others in this category, but similar performance when activated perfectly.
C-Tier
Unbound Changeling — A decent passive trinket.
Quickwick Candlestick — Slightly worse than Treacherous Transmitter, but easier to use, so in practice, usually preferred.
D-Tier
Gale of Shadows
Imperfect Ascendancy Serum
Hadal's Nautilus
Satchel of Misbegotten Minions
Raiding Trinket Tier List for Arcane Mage
This Trinket Tier List is focused more on AoE damage, as a large portion of Mythic+ is AoE damage.
A "Tier" as defined by this list is around 0.5% DPS, meaning that S-Tier Trinkets are around 0.5% better than A-Tier Trinkets, and so on.
Any trinket not shown on this list is generally considered worse than all other trinkets available on this list.
S-Tier
- Spymaster's Web — Our undisputed best trinket for all situations. Usually, you will want to delay using the active portion until some kind of large damage increase, Time Warp, or a boss phase that needs high burst.
A-Tier
- Treacherous Transmitter — A difficult trinket to use, but when used well, it is the second best trinket alongside Spymaster's Web.
- Ara-Kara Sacbrood — Very strong passive trinket, can be used as second trinket instead of Treacherous Transmitter for an easier playstyle and only a tiny DPS loss.
B-Tier
- Mereldar's Toll — A Strong active trinket that also provides your group a benefit.
- Empowering Crystal of Anub'ikkaj — A strong passive trinket, although slightly worse than Ara-Kara Sacbrood
- Ovi'nax's Mercurial Egg — A strong passive trinket, although harder to use than the others in this category, but similar performance when activated perfectly.
C-Tier
- Unbound Changeling — A decent passive trinket.
- Quickwick Candlestick — Slightly worse than Treacherous Transmitter, but easier to use, so in practice, usually preferred.
D-Tier
- Gale of Shadows
- Imperfect Ascendancy Serum
- Hadal's Nautilus
- Satchel of Misbegotten Minions
Best Crafted Items for Arcane Mage
Disclaimer: What to craft is highly dependent on your own personal goals, what content you are doing, and what items you have looted so far. We strongly suggest you run your own simulations on raidbots by using droptimizer to figure out your personal best crafting options.
You will want to craft Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension (can only be crafted
on weapon or off-hand) combined with Writhing Armor Banding.
The slots and order to craft this on is highly dependent on what gear you have
available and what level of content you are doing and thus the items available
to you.
Keep in mind you can craft 590 item level items that do not cost a Spark,
and apply an embellishment to those. For example, you can craft Pioneer's Cloth Cuffs
with Writhing Armor Banding without needing a Spark, so you can craft this
to get the benefit of the Embellishment without having to wait for an additional spark.
Best Crafting Order for Arcane Mage
Vagabond's Bounding Baton (double-check you pick the Intellect staff!)
with 
Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension and Haste + Mastery is a very solid starter option.
Although not technically best-in-slot, it requires fewer Crests than a 1-hand + off-hand,
so you save on crests and can upgrade other slots instead early on.
- An Intellect main-hand weapon (
Scepter of Radiant Magics for example)
with Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension and Haste + Mastery is another very good first
option. Although also technically not best-in-slot, you will use a 636 weapon
for a long time, and it grants an immense amount of immediate power.
Craft with Haste + Mastery. Crafting this is preferable over a Staff if you can
get a 636+ off-hand quickly. 
Vagabond's Torch with Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension is best-in-slot
over crafting a weapon, but it provides significantly less DPS than crafting a weapon
unless you loot a strong 1-handed weapon early on. If you do loot or expect to
loot a 636+ weapon early on, you should craft Vagabond's Torch first. Craft with
Haste + Mastery.- After either a weapon or off-hand with Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension, craft
Consecrated Cuffs with 
Writhing Armor Banding, with Haste + Mastery. - Next, chase Item Level where needed. None of the crafted options aside from your first 2 will be best-in-slot, so just go for whichever slot gives you the biggest item level bump.
- If you crafted an intellect weapon, after looting a 636+ weapon, drop the crafted weapon and switch to the Embellished off-hand option instead.
- At this point, you are mostly done crafting. You can spend future Sparks on off-spec items, alternatively statted crafts for different situations, and so on.
The War Within Season 1 Tier Set for Arcane Mage
The Tier Set is comprised of 5 items of the Violet Rebirth set. Wearing 2 and 4 pieces from the set gives you DPS bonuses:
-
Mage Arcane Season 1 2pc — 
Arcane Blast and
Arcane Barrage damage increased by 6%.
-
Mage Arcane Season 1 4pc —Casting Arcane Blast or
Arcane Barrage has a 5% chance to make your next Arcane Barrage deal 20%
increased damage and generate 4 Arcane Charges.
The Tier Set Bonus is absolutely mandatory for competitive play, and you should prioritize obtaining it. You can use the Matrix Catalyst to convert regular items (from Mythic+, for example) into Tier Items.
You only need 4 pieces out of 5 to get both set bonuses. We recommend you get all items except for the Helm, due to the crit. Check out the BiS List for more information.
The 2-set is a simple direct damage increase. The 4-set, however,
provides you with a very important proc, namely 
Intuition. This proc
allows you to immediately gain 4 Arcane Charges, which impacts when and
how we use Arcane Barrage. Generally, it means we can more aggressively
use Arcane Barrage, but there are some nuances to it. Check out our
rotation page to see how it plays combined with the rest of the rotation.
Evaluating Upgrades
The easiest way, and also the method we suggest, to compare multiple items is to use Raidbots' Top Gear. Here, you can input an export from the Simcraft AddOn, select the items to compare, and it will find out which of the items are best. See below for a guide on how to sim yourself.
Changelog
- 21 Oct. 2024: Updated bis + trinket tier lists to list Transmitter as second best trinket.
- 24 Sep. 2024: Fixed incorrect profession linked for off-hand craft.
- 10 Sep. 2024: Added note that you can craft embellishments on non spark items.
- 09 Sep. 2024: Added 3 bis lists from different sources: Raiding, Mythic+, Overall. Added trinket tier list. Removed disclaimer from crafting text.
- 03 Sep. 2024: Updated crafting recommendations and bis lists.
- 27 Aug. 2024: Updated crafting suggestions on updated Embellishments and updated bis lists.
- 21 Aug. 2024: Updated for The War Within.
- 30 Jul. 2024: Fixed not having 4 piece in the overall bis list.
- 23 Jul. 2024: Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 22 Apr. 2024: Updated for Season 4: updated bis lists, added bullion items, updated suggested crafting.
- 19 Mar. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
- 15 Jan. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
- 13 Nov. 2023: Updated BiS to account for different M+ loot and updated raid only bis.
- 07 Nov. 2023: Updated BiS and embellishments due to sporecloak nerf.
- 06 Nov. 2023: Updated BiS, embellishments and other relevant sections for 10.2.
- 26 Sep. 2023: Changed layout.
- 04 Sep. 2023: Added 3 different best-in-slot builds.
- 10 Jul. 2023: Updated BiS for new optimal gear due to rework, and updated Onyx Annulet section for nerfed version.
- 25 May 2023: Added Timwalking section.
- 10 May 2023: Updated trinket suggestions based on further improvements.
- 08 May 2023: Updated trinket suggestions based on improved sims and further theorycrafting.
- 01 May 2023: Updated best-in-slot items, crafting suggestions and other gearing advice for 10.1.
- 25 Mar. 2023: Updated Onyx ring suggestions based on hotfixes.
- 22 Mar. 2023: Updated bis to include Onyx Annulet due to new gem combinations being found.
- 20 Mar. 2023: Added Onyx Annulet information and reviewed for patch 10.0.7.
- 24 Jan. 2022: Added Voidmenders Shadowgem to list of trinkets.
- 20 Jan. 2022: Fixed typo.
- 17 Dec. 2022: Updated crafted gear due to bronzed grip changes.
- 13 Dec. 2022: Further updated crafted gear info with latest theorycrafting knowledge.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Added more info for crafted gear.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Updated gear advice based on season 1 available gear and crafted gear.
- 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 24 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
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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