[Archived] Arcane Mage 5.4

[Vladamyr 169]

I am wondering about Nether Tempest. It is castable on multiple enemies, so in an AOE situation is it worth maintaining multiple counts of it?

[Batar 0]

Ya, for sure. NT,NT,NT,AM,AB,Abarr etc. 3 targets is great, 4 is doable, once you start getting to that 5 and above mark tabbing becomes a nightmare, but if you can do it, go for it. Would likely want to switch to frost bomb then for ease.

[Damien 1,514]

Think the paragraph describing arcane as the easiest to play could be amended. Damage is roughly divided into thirds, which is the same for fire. Frost damage could be divided into fifths, and could be more difficult to play if you consider having your pet out difficult.

Also, would recommend something along the lines of this for a priority list.

Cast bomb if CD is up or at 6 stacks with no missile proc and less than 2 secs remaining on CD

Cast missiles if proc is >1 or if at 6 charges and mana < 93%

Cast AB if mana > 93%

Cast Abarr if mana< = 85%

I'll wait until after the release of MoP to give such precise advice. Things may still change and I think it's too early to be that precise. In any case, I will keep that in mind, so thank you :)

I am wondering about Nether Tempest. It is castable on multiple enemies, so in an AOE situation is it worth maintaining multiple counts of it?

Yes it is castable on multiple enemies, but I don't see a situation where it would be more beneficial than Living Bomb or Frost Bomb.

[Langland 0]

In the Gearing Up section I don't see mention of the new DMF trink, Relic of Yu'lon, how does this match up to the others? For instance, Though the passive buff is slightly less than the valor trink, the proc seems a good deal more powerfull

[Damien 1,514]

In the Gearing Up section I don't see mention of the new DMF trink, Relic of Yu'lon, how does this match up to the others? For instance, Though the passive buff is slightly less than the valor trink, the proc seems a good deal more powerfull

Thank you so much for this! I had completely forgotten to add the new DMF trinkets. I'll do it right away. I'll also update the DMF guide :P

[Langland 0]

In the section on enchanting, you recomend Elemental force as a cheeper alternative to jade spirit, Should i take this to mean that the dammage proc from Elemental force is better than the mastery proc of Windsong?

[Guest Gandalf]

Mages will need expertise at lv90? if yes what is the soft cap for this?

ty

[Guest Gandalf]

So at lv90 what is the best spec for mages on this pacht fire, frost or arcane?

[Vladamyr 169]

In regards to expertise, expertise also adds spell hit now. So expertise rating = hit rating. This allows items that have hit and another stat to be reforged into hit and expertise (in essence giving you the convenience to get as much hit rating as you need)

All the specs are very equivalent. According to SimulationCraft.org its the following:

T14H = Fire>Frost>Arcane

T14N = Frost>Arcane>Fire

But in both cases it's less than 3% difference. This means that whatever rotation or spec you are most comfortable in playing will be optimal for you.

[Guest DiiGiiTAL]

Hard to find decent guides any more, thank you so much for putting this together. Just an after thought - is it fully up to date up to patch 5.0.5?

[Stoove 347]

Hard to find decent guides any more, thank you so much for putting this together. Just an after thought - is it fully up to date up to patch 5.0.5?

I believe the policy is generally to update to the new patch once it's released or very close to release.

[Damien 1,514]

Hard to find decent guides any more, thank you so much for putting this together. Just an after thought - is it fully up to date up to patch 5.0.5?

All our guides should be updated for Patch 5.0.5. That said, there are 34 specs in total, and we're just two people maintaining them all, so chances are we may have missed a few things. Don't hesitate to notify us if you find anything that you think may be outdated ;)

Thank you for the positive feedback!

[Guest DiiGiiTAL]

All our guides should be updated for Patch 5.0.5. That said, there are 34 specs in total, and we're just two people maintaining them all, so chances are we may have missed a few things. Don't hesitate to notify us if you find anything that you think may be outdated

Thank you for the positive feedback!

Sorry but wasn't 5.0.5 released in September? And also, fat chance of me finding anything that might be outdated!

[Stoove 347]

Sorry but wasn't 5.0.5 released in September? And also, fat chance of me finding anything that might be outdated!

You're correct, I assumed you meant the upcoming patch, but I don't keep track of them myself. What Vlad said is correct; they **should** be up to date, but errata do creep in by accident. =]

[DiiGiiTAL 1]

I don't think they changed much, mage-wise, between 5.0.4 and 5.0.5. Sorry, I am knid of asking question as I research at the same time! Been on a WoW hiatus for nearly a good while now and it's all so different. Last thing I remember was downing Shannox on heroic and that's about it.

So there is not a clear 'burn' and 'preserve' phase anymore? Also, I used to have a macro that I always used to start my rotation with which included things like popping trinkets, potion, mirror images etc. Does anyone have one of those updated for MoP Arcane Mages?

Edited November 8, 2012 by DiiGiiTAL

[Damien 1,514]

I don't think they changed much, mage-wise, between 5.0.4 and 5.0.5. Sorry, I am knid of asking question as I research at the same time! Been on a WoW hiatus for nearly a good while now and it's all so different. Last thing I remember was downing Shannox on heroic and that's about it.

So there is not a clear 'burn' and 'preserve' phase anymore? Also, I used to have a macro that I always used to start my rotation with which included things like popping trinkets, potion, mirror images etc. Does anyone have one of those updated for MoP Arcane Mages?

With the mana regeneration mechanics of the Tier 6 talents, things are lot more subtle than they used to be for the Burn and Preserve phases. You can easily get your mana back, so that gives you a lot of freedom to burn it when you want, which makes the spec a lot more interesting, in my opinion.

Regarding popping trinkets, potions, Mana Gem, Arcane Power, and Mirror Image at the beginning, it is still viable. Mirror Image no longer has its global cooldown removed when Arcane Power is active (Glyph of Arcane Power was changed and no longer does that). Mana Gems no longer increase your spell power, but thanks to Glyph of Loose Mana, you should still use them at the same time as your other cooldowns so that you stay close to 100% for longer (thus dealing more damage). Finally, you need to include Alter Time in the list of cooldowns you will pop (but only after activating Arcane Power).

[DiiGiiTAL 1]

Thanks Damien. So the beginning to the rotation would start with a macro that pops Mana Gem, Arcane Power, Mirror Image and then Alter Time? Or activate Alter Time individually?

Edited November 8, 2012 by DiiGiiTAL

[Elfwyndeer 0]

It is unfortunate that your addon does not support MAC... back to Curse I go...

[Damien 1,514]

It is unfortunate that your addon does not support MAC... back to Curse I go...

Which addon?

Thanks Damien. So the beginning to the rotation would start with a macro that pops Mana Gem, Arcane Power, Mirror Image and then Alter Time? Or activate Alter Time individually?

I personally would wait a bit before activating Presence of Mind. Make sure to have a few stacks of Arcane Charges before you do so. The idea is to benefit from the increase damage from Arcane Charge and from Presence of Mind, at the same time. Also, do not cast Alter Time before reaching 6 Arcane Charges, as otherwise it will reset your charges to what they were when you cast it.

[MichaelTheys 10]

There are a few mistakes in the arcane mage rotation page.

1) 4.2.1 mastery adept part you say at the bottom of this part (+132%) while it should be 150%

2) in 4.2.2 you say arcane blast at 6stacks cost 38.250 mana per cast that chances now to 24750 (if i didn't miscounted myself)

3) in the arcane missle part on the same page you say between brackets that the dmg is still increased by 22% should been 25%.

It are yust a few mis types i point out nothing bad :), and surely time enough to chance héhé get the HC tacts from raid bosses first :)

[BERSERKS 4]

after 5.1 patch and huge nerf on fire and buff to arcane

What do u think about this idea ?

"Never drop your 6 stacks of Arcane Charge. Use scorch to manage your mana. If you drop below 90% mana, 1 or 2 scorch is enough depending on your haste "

i test it out and it seem good for me but what to see what u guys think about it

also check this post i just post plz about 5.1 arcane rotation

https://www.icy-veins.com/forums/topic/1166-arcane-dps-51-new-rotation/

Edited December 7, 2012 by BERSERKS

[Damien 1,514]

There are a few mistakes in the arcane mage rotation page.

1) 4.2.1 mastery adept part you say at the bottom of this part (+132%) while it should be 150%

2) in 4.2.2 you say arcane blast at 6stacks cost 38.250 mana per cast that chances now to 24750 (if i didn't miscounted myself)

3) in the arcane missle part on the same page you say between brackets that the dmg is still increased by 22% should been 25%.

It are yust a few mis types i point out nothing bad :), and surely time enough to chance héhé get the HC tacts from raid bosses first :)

Thank you! These were things I forgot to update following the changes in 5.1 :)

[Morinehtar 0]

Hi,

Thanks for this great guide!

I have questions regarding gemming.

Your partner site AskMrRobot (AMR) suggest different gemming for each color socket.

• Red socket: AMR advises Artful Vermilion Onyx (Intelligence+Mastery). You advise pure Expertise if having trouble reaching Hit Cap, then pure Intelligence otherwise but not Intelligence+Mastery.

• Blue socket: AMR advises Sensei's Wild Jade (Hit+Mastery). You advise Intelligence+Hit.

• Yellow socket: AMR advises Fractured Sun's Radiance (pure Mastery). You advise Intelligence+Mastery.

What gemming is right or wrong here?

[midgettoes 6]

Hi,

Thanks for this great guide!

I have questions regarding gemming.

Your partner site AskMrRobot (AMR) suggest different gemming for each color socket.

• Red socket: AMR advises Artful Vermilion Onyx (Intelligence+Mastery). You advise pure Expertise if having trouble reaching Hit Cap, then pure Intelligence otherwise but not Intelligence+Mastery.

• Blue socket: AMR advises Sensei's Wild Jade (Hit+Mastery). You advise Intelligence+Hit.

• Yellow socket: AMR advises Fractured Sun's Radiance (pure Mastery). You advise Intelligence+Mastery.

What gemming is right or wrong here?

In general, I would say AMR is correct here. Pure int tends to be worse than int + secondary or pure secondary due to the fact int isn't worth twice as much as a secondary stat.

In practice, I would say you need to check simcraft and find your OWN stat weightings (as they change every time you change your gear) and input them in AMR to get the best possible results.

[Damien 1,514]

Hi,

Thanks for this great guide!

I have questions regarding gemming.

Your partner site AskMrRobot (AMR) suggest different gemming for each color socket.

• Red socket: AMR advises Artful Vermilion Onyx (Intelligence+Mastery). You advise pure Expertise if having trouble reaching Hit Cap, then pure Intelligence otherwise but not Intelligence+Mastery.

• Blue socket: AMR advises Sensei's Wild Jade (Hit+Mastery). You advise Intelligence+Hit.

• Yellow socket: AMR advises Fractured Sun's Radiance (pure Mastery). You advise Intelligence+Mastery.

What gemming is right or wrong here?

Thank you for reporting this. In general, you should trust Ask Mr. Robot. We don't have the tools that they have to test that stat weights have changed. With patch 5.1, the value of Mastery slightly increased, in such a way that Intellect is no longer more than twice better than Mastery.

We are working on such a tool for ourselves, but meanwhile there are always slight changes like this that we are going to miss :P