Arcane Mage 7.3

[Valks 2,375]

21 minutes ago, Saffina said:

Also is Mark of the Hidden Satyr really that good? over the course of an ursoc fight it did 1.7%??? seems garbage

I'm not sure why you feel that is garbage? It's a neck enchant and it is doing 1.7% of your total damage? Definitely not garbage. Top simming Arcane Mage for Ursoc used it and got 2.31% with it, so RNG is RNG too.

[Guest CheekyMonkey]

I'm not quite as sold on the Shimmer talent.  Most of the time I use blink I am moving to the side or away from the boss,  shimmer would only take me closer to what I am dps'ing.  The action of turning to blink away then turning back to face the boss wastes any GCD I would have saved with shimmer anyway.  Am I missing something?

[Guest Jade]

Blainie, please re read and understand what it is i am saying.  EVERY other spec/class it is clear that the writer loved the spec.  Please have someone who thoroughly loves and ejoys playing arcane as well because clearly yall aren't getting it.

[Zadina 923]

Our class guides have been written by around 5-6 people (and each of them has been checked and approved by a respective "pro" player). Some of these people are multi-classers, some are not, but even in the case of multiclassers, I don't think they enjoy each and every specialisation they play. My point is that whether they liked a class or not didn't affect the quality of the guide they wrote. The people who wrote these guides (and the ones who checked them) have been playing WoW for ages, they are theorycrafters and they actually got paid to do that job, so I don't think they just said "oh I hate x spec, I'll just write whatever comes to mind". And even if they did that, we have enough sense to not have published that.

Oh and by the way, other popular sites haven't even bothered with an Arcane guide yet. The most notable example I can think is Altered Time, which is considered the best site for Mages. It still doesn't have an Arcane guide - only some sims done by Frosted and some unofficial, extremely brief guides. I am not saying that Altered Time is lazy or bad, I have actually seen that they have been trying to find a well attested theorycrafter to write them an Arcane guide for almost a month now. The fact that there is still no guide proves that they haven't found the right person or there is just not demand, probably because not a lot of people play the spec and thus not a lot of people care about it. Why don't they play the spec? Perhaps it's not that good (there is also no Frost guide on Altered Time).

Now, I don't understand why you get so worked up about what seems to be a couple of sentences in an overall huge, very matter-of-fact and well written guide. I even saw a linguistic analysis in the previous page. I've studied linguistics as well and I have some examples of my own.

• In the Introduction > Class Overview:

Quote

The Arcane specialization is a great jack of all trades specialization in Legion. It continues to provide great burst damage and solid sustained damage on single target encounters, and in Legion it now boasts impressive AoE as well. Arcane is able to instantly apply pressure on new targets, making it a very strong specialization for bursting down priority targets without requiring time to ramp up. Like all Mage specializations, Arcane has high mobility and is fantastic at doing encounter-specific jobs and baiting mechanics.

This is an overall extremely positive introduction, perhaps even overselling Arcane. But I guess it's not good enough.

• Introduction > Viablity in the Current patch:

Quote

Arcane is currently weak relative to competitor specs. It handles pack-to-pack AoE very well, making it okay for dungeons, but lacks the sustained damage necessary to compete on boss encounters. Arcane's sister specialization, Fire, outpaces it in every regard.

One of these "taboo" sentences. However, it has a positive tone when it is said that "[Arcane] handles pack-to-pack AoE very well, making it okay for dungeons". If you are saddened by the "Fire outpaces it in every regard" bit, sorry but that's just a fact. We and other sites have established via theorycrafting, simulations, logs, the sheer amount of people playing Fire and just personal experience that Fire is better. If you think otherwise, you are either a genius or you have just encountered really bad Fire Mages or you haven't played a lot. Being emotionally attached to a spec isn't Icy Veins' problem, our writers are just doing their actual jobs.

• Stat Priority > Stat Weights

Quote

It is recommended that you stack Critical Strike instead of Mastery if you plan on playing Fire as a main or offspec, as the differences are minor for Arcane but it makes an extraordinary difference for Fire.

Another sentence that just blew out of proportion, context, you name it. I highlighted the "if" because people probably failed to notice it and notice the fact that this is a hypothetical sentence. The writer isn't saying that Crit is better than Mastery for Arcane; he is just saying that if you ever plan on playing Fire, just use Crit. Besides, you see how close the stat weights for Crit and Mastery are for Arcane. It just so happens that these two stats are the best for Fire, so why have two different gear sets when you can have the same and be totally carefree? It's just a note, a friendly reminder, a recommendation; the writer even says "it is recommended", he doesn't say "it is imperative" or "you must".

Other than that, the other huge sections in the Arcane guide (Spell Summary | Builds and Talent | Artifact Traits and Relics |Rotation, Cooldowns and Abilities | Gems, Enchants, and Consumables | Macros and Addons | Gear, Legendaries and Best in Slot), each of them with lengthy sub-sections, are just filled with raw, unbiased, objective, documented information about the spec itself. You are basically questioning the reliability of a whole guide based on two sentences in two relatively small (and for the Introduction, rather insignificant) sections. And I think I've proven to you that these two sentences aren't merely opinions, they are facts. You may not like them, but that doesn't change the truth.

I understand that some people are emotional and love the spec, but other specs and classes aren't that good in the current patch as well. I am not going to name them all, but one of them is our fellow Frost Mage specialisation. To my knowledge, we haven't had similar problematic comments in our other guide sections. Please just stick to discussion on the parts of the guide that actually matter (like if we have our facts correct, what we could change and why, proof that x is better than y) and not trivial stuff like emotional outbursts, how a sentence was written and whether it was opinion or not.

[Valks 2,375]

On 10/12/2016 at 7:26 PM, Guest CheekyMonkey said:

I'm not quite as sold on the Shimmer talent.  Most of the time I use blink I am moving to the side or away from the boss,  shimmer would only take me closer to what I am dps'ing.  The action of turning to blink away then turning back to face the boss wastes any GCD I would have saved with shimmer anyway.  Am I missing something?

You can turn and blink in the time it takes you to finish casting a spell. Just thought I'd jump onto my Mage and test, I can start an Arcane Blast, turn, blink twice and then turn back around before the cast finishes.

What are you using to turn? Mouse or keyboard?

[Valks 2,375]

7 hours ago, Guest Jade said:

Blainie, please re read and understand what it is i am saying.  EVERY other spec/class it is clear that the writer loved the spec.  Please have someone who thoroughly loves and ejoys playing arcane as well because clearly yall aren't getting it.

I do understand what you are saying. You also have to remember that Furty is not the only contributor to this guide. He writes the guide, but it is also reviewed by another individual. As mentioned in the guide, that individual doesn't want their name disclosed, but rest assured this guide is checked, and not just by anyone. It is by someone that is passionate enough about Arcane to work on theorycrafting it. 

I will suggest changing the stat priority to fit the Arcane weights, rather than the Arcane/Fire priority.

Other than this, there's nothing else that I can do.

[Kauchy 0]

hello,

Any idea when the BiS will be updated? You are like the only reliable source i use so yeah i'm pretty much waiting for it

+ If you could add a BiS trinket list it would be amazing

 

[Valks 2,375]

7 minutes ago, Kauchy said:

hello,

Any idea when the BiS will be updated? You are like the only reliable source i use so yeah i'm pretty much waiting for it

+ If you could add a BiS trinket list it would be amazing

 

I can't give an ETA, I'm really sorry. I have put in a note for it to be checked again and it is currently in the process of being updated. As for trinket BiS sims, I can see if we can get those done for you.

Once again, I'm sorry that you have to wait, but hopefully it'll be done soon!

[Saffina 1]

Does anybody know the soft cap for mastery atm?

 

Right now i have almost 50% mastery, 27% crit, just wondering when its safe to stop pursuing mastery and go for crit

[Guest Scandark]

9 hours ago, Saffina said:

Does anybody know the soft cap for mastery atm?

There's no actual cap, if you want to go for crit, just do, but raw mastery works better if you're trying to main spec arcane ! I'm sitting at 59% mastery ( around 14k5 mastery with food) and I get around 600k/sec for 30 sec on pulls on ursoc HM. Without any legendaries yet :< no luck here

[evanbloom 1]

On 10/15/2016 at 1:45 PM, Zadina said:

(...) I understand that some people are emotional and love the spec, but other specs and classes aren't that good in the current patch as well. I am not going to name them all, but one of them is our fellow Frost Mage specialisation. To my knowledge, we haven't had similar problematic comments in our other guide sections. Please just stick to discussion on the parts of the guide that actually matter (like if we have our facts correct, what we could change and why, proof that x is better than y) and not trivial stuff like emotional outbursts, how a sentence was written and whether it was opinion or not.

Thank you for referring to my linguistic analysis on a previous page. As I mentioned there, I am not referring to facts (which I do not dispute), merely to presentation and its effect on people. I also mentioned -- and I agree with you -- that indeed it is just two instances of unfortunate phrasing in an overall very well written guide.

However, I disagree with calling people's emotional reactions trivial. This guide is has an informative function, but people are people and will get emotional. Emotional and informative are both elements of a text's function and effect at all times whether you want it or not.

The best conclusion is Blainie's:

Quote

I will suggest changing the stat priority to fit the Arcane weights, rather than the Arcane/Fire priority.

Thank you and keep up the excellent work.

[Valks 2,375]

16 hours ago, Saffina said:

Does anybody know the soft cap for mastery atm?

As said above, there isn't a specific cap. You can sim yourself to see the difference in stat weights, perhaps a lack of one stat might increase its worth, but it's unlikely.

[Saffina 1]

I know this trinket is shit, but even at this kinda of level + socket will it be enough to bypass the shock baton?

 

[Saffina 1]

7.1 is bringing fire nerfs and arcane buffs, sucks to be a fire mage bandwagoner

[Drin 1]

Do I have to use Mark of Aluneth with a Rune of Power on, always?! Because as you've mentioned in the Opening Sequence I must first use Mark of Aluneth then cast a Rune of Power! Thanks!

[Rosario 0]

I wonder if there could be a note made regarding the Talent Charged up as it becomes significantly better if you have the mystic Kilt legendary since you gain a 40 sec CD mini Evocation via 4 charge arcane barrage netting you 16% mana, at the end of a burn phase into evocation you can continue the burn phase longer using this method with nearly no downtime, at high enough mastery (50% and higher) this allows for an almost unlimited burn phase. Of course its important to take into account loss of quickening stacks when you start to regain mana this way, but the loss is negligible assuming youve reached close to 50 stacks anyway as they automatically drop off at that point. 

[Rosario 0]

Willgenberg, Mark of aluneth ticks are affected by whatever your stats are as they come off this is unique to mark as far as I know so casting mark first will make certain that the final tick which has the highest damage (as it is a percentage of your total mana pool) will gain both Rune and arcane power's damage buffs, and not have you casting free cast spells during the duration of arcane power.

[Guest Briony]

On 10/19/2016 at 8:50 AM, Willgenberg said:

Do I have to use Mark of Aluneth with a Rune of Power on, always?! Because as you've mentioned in the Opening Sequence I must first use Mark of Aluneth then cast a Rune of Power! Thanks!

You will always want to cast Rune of Power BEFORE casting Mark of Aluneth. Each tick of Aluneth gains a +50% damage bonus if you're standing in Rune of Power. Rune of Power has a shorter cooldown than Aluneth so it will always be up (if you play it smartly) when it's time to use the combo again.

The current 7.0.3 meta for Arcane involves getting Quickening up to 42 stacks (with ~60% mana left) when both Rune of Power and Arcane Power are up... then cast both of those spells and then spam Arcane Blast for the next 10 seconds. You'll see a HUGE DPS increase and you can usually pull this off 1-2 times per raid boss.

However, in 7.1... the proposed changes for Arcane involve a 20% increase in mana cost for Arcane Blast (as well as a dmg buff) but when you do the math (without legendaries/set bonuses) it ends up being a 6-7% damage loss... so we'll have to see how that works out once the 7.1 changes are finalized.

[Saffina 1]

They actually realized this and are going to add more % damage i assume

 

[benedictify 0]

you changed all the 100%'s to 125%'s -- so it says "if you are not at 125% mana..."

[Valks 2,375]

On 10/17/2016 at 11:34 PM, Saffina said:

I know this trinket is shit, but even at this kinda of level + socket will it be enough to bypass the shock baton?

Easiest way to check this is by simming your character in Simcraft. Will tell you exactly which is better.

[Valks 2,375]

On 10/19/2016 at 7:36 AM, Saffina said:

7.1 is bringing fire nerfs and arcane buffs, sucks to be a fire mage bandwagoner

It seems Frost is actually going to be nailing it on ST. I can't wait to see as people catch up on the artifacts this week so that we can see Frost in full action. I would assume we'll now see Frost for raiding ST, perhaps Fire for M+, Arcane for burst AoE. Let's see!

[Valks 2,375]

On 10/20/2016 at 8:20 AM, Rosario said:

I wonder if there could be a note made regarding the Talent Charged up as it becomes significantly better if you have the mystic Kilt legendary

I'll leave a note for Furty to review, thanks for the tip :)

[Valks 2,375]

On 10/28/2016 at 6:00 AM, benedictify said:

you changed all the 100%'s to 125%'s -- so it says "if you are not at 125% mana..."

Thanks for the heads up, will pass it on to Furty :)

[Guest Sacuri]

Hi 

no BiS Update so far?