Arcane Mage lvl 103 question

[Friedbones 3]

I have been having some problems finding any information for my Arcane Mage who is only level 103.  I went to the Icy-Veins Mage links to see what I could find for leveling from 100-110 but the one entry there only showed the Fire Mage information.

Is it possible to have anyone link me to the Arcane Mage information for 100-110?  Or is it not available?

I am finding very little for the Arcane Mage at this lower level to help me with setup.  I am attempting to acquire the Arcane Mage artifact weapon before I level too much more.  I ask because a lot of complaints I've seen are indicating not to wait until 110 because the mobs/bosses will be harder.

So if anyone has any suggestions to help me with a decent setup in order for me to get through this instance, I would appreciate it.  My Fire Mage instance bugged out before I got past the first mini boss and had to enter a support ticket.  All they did was send me the weapon.  I really wanted to explore the fight sequences to see how well I could do but was disappointed that the instance bugged.

I don't want to complain, but I really thought if there was a Fire Mage write up, there should also have been one for all three of the specs at the 100-110 levels.

Any and all assistance will be appreciated.

Edited October 7, 2016 by Friedbones

[Friedbones 3]

Are there not any Arcane Mage setups for lower levels?  I was so hoping  someone would pop in and offer some assistance in this request.

I've actually started running around questing with my Arcane Mage just to see how I could work with it, but I died more than I did on my Frost Mage.  So much so that I totally parked my Mage until I could find some help.

I would really appreciate it if someone could help me out here.  I am an older player and not as fast on reflexes as all you younger players, but I really enjoy the casting specs a lot.

[Pandacho 286]

Maybe moving the tread to the Mage section would help :)

[Rambunxious 1]

icy veins has plenty on arcane mage talents etc   u just  didnt hit arcane mage....and ur artifact weapon is ur first quest after getting to Dalaran  u dont wait till 110

[Friedbones 3]

Thank for moving this to the correct thread.  When I wrote it I was not really considering where I was posting ...sorry about that.

@Rambunxious, I understand what you are saying.  However, I started off with my Frost Mage then proceeded to my Fire Mage.  I've had very little luck using the Icy Viens' Arcane setup even in simple questing.  I die way too often and run out of mana no matter what I do.  I have also tried using some different setups as well, but still not working for me.

I ran across the 100-110 link for the Fire Mage and was hoping to find something similar for the Arcane Mage but could not find it.  So here I am still trying, and failing consistently just trying to get something to work as well as my other two specs.

I've gone back reading as many posts as I can about Arcane but a lot are negative and don't really offer much help.  Since I don't have the Arcane weapon yet, I decided to shelve my mage for now since it appears I am inept at using it.  I would like to but not really impressed with the differences between the abilities of the Arcane vs either of the other two specs.  

I have no issues with the other two specs, in fact I do rather well.  At least with them I don't die so often and I certainly don't run out of mana so quickly, if at all.  I don't understand why the Arcane seems so wanting.

[Friedbones 3]

Update:

At the time of my previous posting, I still had not been able to obtain my Arcane Mage weapon.  But yesterday I finally succeeded in getting my Arcane weapon. Thanks to those folks who suggested I remove my armor and only fight with my jewelry and weapon. I also want to thank those folks that suggested I try using another spec until getting to where I have to use the tomes in the bubbles.

I am extremely happy for those suggestions because it made my final attempt work like a dream. I used my Frost spec and only died once. Thank you all very much.

Who knew that fighting only in your bikini would actually work.   lol

[Thazi 4]

Arcane has never been a truly easy spec to play.  There is a lot going on with your priority rotation that you always have to keep watch of.  At any moment the priority can change.  Any mishaps that may befall your priority can lead to instantly losing your DPS potential and not being able to regain it.

Arcane is very low on the totem poll.  I would seriously only play it if you a: know how to and b: enjoy it.  Enjoying it comes from knowing it so they go hand in hand. 

Mana management is the key thing.  If you understand the mechanics behind Arcane Missiles, Arcane Blast, Arcane Barrage, you can easily manage your mana and keep your DPS at the top of its potential.  It's just simply not that easy.

[Rylar 0]

I've mained arcane on my mage always and love it. I'd love to help you out.

Why don't you have the artifact weapon yet? You can get it as a frost/fire mage if you need to, and you may need to if it has scaled up as a lesser weapon will really hurt past 102. 

Always make yourself some food as you will constantly need to eat to regain mana while leveling. Invisibility is your friend, if you get into trouble don't be afraid to run. Keep up your shield as much as possible. Remember you have sheep.

The first style of dps I learned this expansion is to build up arcane charges with blast. Then when you have 4 charges you can start using your procs of magic missile. At ~15% mana, if you dont have evocation ready start weaving barrage/blast to regain mana (or stop and eat and keep blasting). You will run out of mana constantly, this is intentional.

The second style I found was weaving nether tempest in between every cast of blast or missile (once you have 4 charges). This is done to proc more magic missiles and get the most stacks of quickening. Only missile and blast (and explosion) increase stacks of quickening, but each stack makes tempest do more dps. Still you are mainly casting it to get the possible proc for missiles. When you are getting really low on mana immediately follow up a blast with evocation and watch your quickening timer. wait as long as you can but make sure you can cast blast or explode and hit a target before the timer expires. when this is successful you will get to about 80-90% mana, but keep full stacks of quickening.     Eventually you have to go back to the first style and dps takes a huge drop. Until you can do it again.

Tips:

Dont cast missiles with less than 4 charges.

Dont forget Mark of A

Keep Ice Barrier up.

[Friedbones 3]

11 hours ago, Rylar said:

I've mained arcane on my mage always and love it. I'd love to help you out.

Why don't you have the artifact weapon yet? You can get it as a frost/fire mage if you need to, and you may need to if it has scaled up as a lesser weapon will really hurt past 102. 

Always make yourself some food as you will constantly need to eat to regain mana while leveling. Invisibility is your friend, if you get into trouble don't be afraid to run. Keep up your shield as much as possible. Remember you have sheep.

The first style of dps I learned this expansion is to build up arcane charges with blast. Then when you have 4 charges you can start using your procs of magic missile. At ~15% mana, if you dont have evocation ready start weaving barrage/blast to regain mana (or stop and eat and keep blasting). You will run out of mana constantly, this is intentional.

The second style I found was weaving nether tempest in between every cast of blast or missile (once you have 4 charges). This is done to proc more magic missiles and get the most stacks of quickening. Only missile and blast (and explosion) increase stacks of quickening, but each stack makes tempest do more dps. Still you are mainly casting it to get the possible proc for missiles. When you are getting really low on mana immediately follow up a blast with evocation and watch your quickening timer. wait as long as you can but make sure you can cast blast or explode and hit a target before the timer expires. when this is successful you will get to about 80-90% mana, but keep full stacks of quickening.     Eventually you have to go back to the first style and dps takes a huge drop. Until you can do it again.

Tips:

Dont cast missiles with less than 4 charges.

Dont forget Mark of A

Keep Ice Barrier up.

Thanks everyone for the tips.  

As I mentioned in my update I did finally get my arcane weapon.  I had previous fails that were really disheartening to the point I was ready to just park that spec and leave it alone to gather dust.  But after a few folks gave me some different suggestions about how to go about it and that I could actually use a different spec to get the boss down, it helped a lot.  Also one person actually said to go into the fight without my armor, only jewelry and weapon.  Apparently there is a connection between weapon power/level and the strength of the attacks.

Now that I managed to acquire it, I shall be practicing some setups to get used to the skills.  I may never be as good as you guys, but I really would like to be able to quest without dying so often because I was overwhelmed.  So I shall look into a few different suggestions you have offered and see what I can manage.  Probably a few things at a time until I get that so called "muscle memory" going.  But having so many skills on my hot bar that don't always work when you want them to, is a bit frustrating.

My hope is that the spec will get some attention from the devs to help make it a better balanced one.  At this point, it isn't quite on the same level as the Frost or Fire specs for ease of use and viability for a newcomer to the mage.

But I do appreciate the help.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Friedbones
fix spelling and grammar errors

[Friedbones 3]

Ok, here's another question.  Are there any decent macro setups that an Arcane Mage can actually use with any reliability (besides what is already provided on this website)?

I've tried to figure out what I can use together for good effect but my efforts have fallen flat.  

So any suggestions would really be great.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Friedbones

[Rylar 0]

I havent found a need for any specific macros. a mouseover on sheep and maybe counterspell could be helpful.

[Friedbones 3]

1 hour ago, Rylar said:

I havent found a need for any specific macros. a mouseover on sheep and maybe counterspell could be helpful.

ok, thanks for responding.