Cataclysm Classic Arcane Mage Leveling

The Arcane spec is great for leveling. For the first few levels, it is basically spamming Fireballs. However, as soon as you unlock the Arcane talent tree at level 10, your gain Arcane Barrage. This is a very powerful tool for early leveling. With the early Arcane Blast, you will start doing serious single-target damage at even low levels. For AoE, Arcane is a bit on the weaker side, but together with Engineering grenades (see below in the preparation), you can also AoE level decently.

Move the slider below to make the guide update to your level!

Leveling has been greatly eased for casters in Cataclysm. Instead of visiting your class trainer every few levels for new spell ranks, spells automatically grow stronger with each level. Class trainers are only visited to learn spells. At level 10 your talent tree unlocks, giving you a talent tree to choose from, your talent tree specific ability ( Arcane Barrage for Arcane) and the first talent point. The next talent point comes at level 11 and from then on every uneven level, until level 81. From level 81 on, you gain talent points every level again. If you can, use any heirloom you can get, for the reasons above.

The first three talent points will be placed into Netherwind Presence.

The first three talent points will be placed into Netherwind Presence, followed by only two points into Arcane Concentration. This talent will be filled in later.

Two points should be placed into Improved Arcane Missiles for more damage with the talent points gained at Level 19 and 21.

Two points should be placed into Improved Arcane Missiles for more damage with the talent points gained at Level 19 and 21. Two points can then be placed in Improved Blink for improved mobility.

Two points should be placed into Improved Arcane Missiles for more damage with the talent points gained at Level 19 and 21. Two points can then be placed in Improved Blink for improved mobility and one point in Arcane Concentration.

The next two points go into Missile Barrage to make your Arcane Missiles fire faster.

The next two points go into Missile Barrage to make your Arcane Missiles fire faster. One point in Presence of Mind is a prequisite for the Arcane Tactics talent learned later and gives you an instant spell when you need it.

The next two points go into Missile Barrage to make your Arcane Missiles fire faster. One point in Presence of Mind is a prequisite for the Arcane Tactics talent learned later and gives you an instant spell when you need it. Putting two points into Torment the Weak is a prequisite for later, when Nether Vortex will automatically slow your Arcane Blast targets.

Arcane Tactics will be your next talent. This gives you and your raid party 3% more damage.

Arcane Tactics will be your next talent. This gives you and your raid party 3% more damage. From here, finish Torment the Weak with one last point.

Arcane Tactics will be your next talent. This gives you and your raid party 3% more damage. From here, finish Torment the Weak with one last point. Two talent points in Arcane Flows will reduce the cooldown of Evocation by 2 minutes.

Arcane Tactics will be your next talent. This gives you and your raid party 3% more damage. From here, finish Torment the Weak with one last point. Two talent points in Arcane Flows will reduce the cooldown of Evocation by 2 minutes. The next point in Improved Arcane Explosion is for group leveling/AoEing. If you plan to AoE level a lot, finish this talent instead of Arcane Flows.

Put one point in Slow. It is not worth using Slow on its own, but is taken for an interaction at the next talent point gain with Nether Vortex.

Put one point in Slow. It is not worth using Slow on its own, it will be applied automatically by Arcane Blast if you put the next two talent points into Nether Vortex, which is amplified by Torment the Weak.

Put one point in Slow. It is not worth using Slow on its own, it will be applied automatically by Arcane Blast, if you put the next two talent points into Nether Vortex, which is amplified by Torment the Weak. Arcane Potency soaks the next two points, which is a straight damage buff for your next two spells after a Clearcasting proc from Arcane Concentration or Presence of Mind.

Improved Mana Gem takes the next two points. Use this as a blasting tool whenever your target has high health.

Improved Mana Gem takes the next two points. Use this as a blasting tool whenever your target has high health. Place one more point into Improved Arcane Explosion, finishing the talent off.

Improved Mana Gem takes the next two points. Use this as a blasting tool whenever your target has high health. Place one more point into Improved Arcane Explosion, finishing the talent off, and place the next two talent points into Incanter's Absorption. You should avoid getting hit by enemies, however you can use this talent to your advantage to nuke high health targets.

Improved Mana Gem takes the next two points. Use this as a blasting tool whenever your target has high health. Place one more point into Improved Arcane Explosion, finishing the talent off, and place the next two talent points into Incanter's Absorption. You should avoid getting hit by enemies, however you can use this talent to your advantage to nuke high health targets, especially if combined with the next talent point in Arcane Power and the Mana Gem synergy.

Your talent journey continues in the Fire talent tree. Should you get hit, the three points in Burning Soul will help you against spell pushback.

Your talent journey continues in the Fire talent tree. Should you get hit, the three points in Burning Soul will help you against spell pushback. Fill out Master of Elements next for that extra 30% base Mana cost return on critical strikes.

The last five points go into Piercing Ice and Shatter in the Frost talent tree. It depends on your personal preference on if you place points into Shatter or Piercing Ice first. Shatter can be really powerful if you freeze an enemy with Frost Nova, allowing you to land lethal critical hits.

As your Prime Glyphs we recommend taking Glyph of Arcane Blast, Glyph of Arcane Missiles and Glyph of Mage Armor. Glyph of Evocation, Glyph of Blink and Glyph of Arcane Power are great Major Glyphs. For Minor Glyphs Glyph of Slow Fall, Glyph of Conjuring and Glyph of Arcane Brilliance are solid choices. Please note, that all of these Glyphs are also great for end-game content.

If you prepare the following steps, you will zoom through levels. These preparations are not mandatory, but highly(!) recommended. The prep is absolutely worth the time spent, even if only for one alt. Furthermore, you can use them on any caster alt. First of all you want to start by using heirloom items, as well as enchants. For the first few levels, we also recommend white quality items with strong enchants on them, until you find better items. The enchanting part will give you an extreme time benefit while leveling. Of course you could go even crazier on enchants and prepare them for each level (there are even better enchants from TBC for level 35+ items), however, this guide will focus on the low hanging fruit. Especially in the lower levels, the benefits from preparation works wonders.

Item	Source	Enchant
Tattered Dreadmist Mask	1500 Gold, Guild bonus
Tattered Dreadmist Mantle	2175 Justice Points, Heirloom Vendors
Tattered Dreadmist Robe	2175 Justice Points, Heirloom Vendors	Enchant Chest - Greater Stats
Ancient Bloodmoon Cloak	1200 Gold, Guild bonus
Dread Pirate Ring	Win Kalu'ak Fishing Derby, Dalaran
Dignified Headmaster's Charge	3500 Justice Points, Heirloom Vendors	Enchant Weapon - Mighty Intellect
2x Discerning Eye of the Beast	2725 Justice Points each, Heirloom Vendors
Alliance: Thin Cloth Gloves	Vinasia in Darnassus	Enchant Gloves - Minor Haste
Alliance: Thin Cloth Shoes	Vinasia in Darnassus	Enchant Boots - Minor Speed
Alliance: Thin Cloth Bracers	Vinasia in Darnassus	Enchant Bracer - Greater Intellect
Horde: Tattered Cloth Gloves	Lauren Newcomb in Undercity	Enchant Gloves - Minor Haste
Horde: Tattered Cloth Boots	Lauren Newcomb in Undercity	Enchant Boots - Minor Speed
Horde: Tattered Cloth Bracers	Lauren Newcombin Undercity	Enchant Bracer - Greater Intellect

The heirlooms give you a total 40% bonus XP, which equals 40% less time spent leveling. For all enchants you will need only the following few materials and an enchanter (or you just buy the scrolls off the AH):

• 1 Small Radiant Shard, Aquamarine, Lesser Nether Essence each
• 2 Large Radiant Shard, Wildvine each
• 6 Greater Eternal Essence (transform one into 3 Lesser Eternal Essence)
• 8 Large Brilliant Shard
• 26 Illusion Dust

For consumables you want to prepare Wizard oils, as they work on heirlooms in Cataclysm. Minor Wizard Oil (Lvl 5+), Lesser Wizard Oil (Lvl 30+), Wizard Oil (Lvl 40+), Brilliant Wizard Oil (Lvl 45+) and Superior Wizard Oil (Lvl 58+), and are cheap to make. They persist through death as well, should you die while leveling.

Furthermore, Elixirs are also easy to come by and have a great effect. We recommend: Elixir of Wisdom (Lvl 10), Elixir of Greater Intellect (Lvl 25), and Flask of Distilled Wisdom (Lvl 50), Flask of the Frost Wyrm (Lvl 75), Flask of the Draconic Mind (Lvl 80+). Runn Tum Tuber Surprise can be used from level 45 on, Blackened Basilisk at level 55, Firecracker Salmon at level 70, and finally Seafood Magnifique Feast from level 80 on.

Another tip for leveling is to level Engineering, but this takes a bit more time than the other steps do. It is one of the two best professions a Mage can get and you need it for your endgame content anyways. Furthermore, it gives you access to Iron Grenades (Lvl 20), Thorium Grenades (Lvl 35), Saronite Bombs (Lvl 50) and other useful stuff. Make sure to always max out your Engineering Skill while leveling, especially since you plan on AoE leveling.

Having First Aid as a helping leveling profession goes without saying. Do not sleep on this, you can use very high level bandages very early (see the "Requires ..." tooltip), as you can learn high ranks of First Aid early on. For instance, Expert First Aid - Under Wraps does not have a level requirement, only a First Aid skill requirement, making Heavy Runecloth Bandage usable at level 10. At level 35, when you do the First Aid quest for the skill of 300 (Triage), you can use Master First Aid - Doctor in the House afterwards, level to 350 skill and use Frostweave Bandage. At level 65 you can visit the Northrend/WotLK tailoring trainers to skill up to 450 and use Heavy Frostweave Bandages and Embersilk Bandages. Level 75 is required to finish your First Aid training and to use Heavy Embersilk Bandage and Dense Embersilk Bandage.

Please visit the class trainer from time to time to learn the highlighted core-spells. Learning all the other spells not mentioned here is optional, but does not hurt.

• Levels 1-4 — It is not worth learning spells yet, just level.
• Level 5 — Fire Blast and Arcane Missiles.
• Level 9 — Counterspell
• Level 12 — Evocation
• Level 14 — Polymorph
• Level 16 — Blink
• Level 18 — Cone of Cold (AoE ability)
• Level 20 — Arcane Blast
• Level 22 — Arcane Explosion (AoE ability)
• Level 24 — Self-Teleports to major cities
• Level 30 — Ice Block and Remove Curse.
• Level 34 — Molten Armor
• Level 36 — Mage Ward
• Level 38 — Conjure Refreshment
• Level 42 — Group-Portals to major cities.
• Level 44 — Flamestrike (AoE ability)
• Level 46 — Mana Shield
• Level 48 — Conjure Mana Gem
• Level 50 — Mirror Image
• Level 52 — Blizzard (AoE ability)
• Level 58 — Arcane Brilliance
• Level 66 — Teleport and Portal to Shattrath (Iorioa in the middle of Shattrath).
• Level 68 — Mage Armor
• Level 74 — Teleport and Portal to Dalaran (Archmage Celindra in Dalaran).
• Level 76 — Ritual of Refreshment
• Level 81 — Flame Orb
• Level 83 — Ring of Frost
• Level 85 — Please visit your class trainer to learn all spells!

The Arcane rotation is pretty easy, so we jump right into it.

For single-target combat, you cast Fireball or Frostbolt pull mobs. Use Arcane Missiles if it procs (and the mob does not hit you, causing spell pushback). Arcane Barrage can be used to finish off mobs or on while moving. Occasionally Frost Nova or Blink if you need to gain distance.

For single-target combat, you cast Arcane Blast to pull mobs and build stacks. Be careful, if you gather too many stacks, Mana cost will explode. Use Arcane Missiles if it procs (and the mob does not hit you, causing spell pushback), or Arcane Barrage to reset your stacks and deal big damage. Occasionally Frost Nova or Blink if you need to gain distance. Arcane Barrage is also a great spell to cast when you need to move. Use cooldowns like Presence of Mind, Arcane Power whenever you need to hard nuke a target.

In AoE combat, you basically only spam Arcane Explosion, use Cone of Cold to slow mobs. With Frost Nova, you can let your enemies eat one Arcane Explosion or Blizzard, before it breaks. Flamestrike can be used together with Presence of Mind. If you have Engineering, the grenades mentioned in the Preparation part of this guide will help you a big time.

In both AoE and single-target situations, make sure to always have a Mage Armor ( Molten Armor from level 34 on, Mage Armor) and your Arcane Brilliance (Level 58+) up. At level 81, learn Flame Orb and use it on cooldown! Ring of Frost is learned at level 83 and is a great tool for CCing mobs and for AoE, too. Blink, Slow Fall, Polymorph and Ice Block can be life-savers. Evocation can be used every 4 minutes (2 minutes if talented) to restore 45% of your mana. Teleport spells to the major cities of your faction can be learned at each cities' Mage trainer from level 24 on. These can greatly reduce your travel time. Once you have learned Mirror Image, you can use them to focus enemy fire on them while you nuke your foes.

Congratulations on hitting Level 85 in Cataclysm! Now that your leveling process is over, you can learn more about Level 85 Arcane Mage gameplay by reading our fully detailed guide below.