Arcane Mage...how does it work?

[AdoptASloth 0]

Alright, so I have just a couple of questions about Arcane as a specialization. I have a mage, recently 90.

 

1. What specialization would be best for gearing up toward my Arcane set? (Which specialization will provide the most to a Flexible raid environment?)

 

2. At what point in my gear level would it be plausible to make the transition to Arcane?

 

3. As Arcane, would I only be able to provide sustained assistance in fights such as Immerseus (normal, due to the constant movement on heroic), Nazgrim, and Iron Jugg (normal, due to the sawblade/line method on heroic)? Or will I be able to provide a persistent, noticeable advantage to my raid?

 

 

 

 

[voltaa 16]

1. Frost and Acrane share very similar stat allocation (Haste and Mastery) So if you gear up as frost  going for a slightly more mastery heavy build, it would be very easy to switch over to arcane.

 

2. Any point past 535ish is probably a good starting point for arcane, you may try it earlier or later depending on how comfortable you are with the spec, it gets considerably easier/stronger once you have a decent amount of haste (9522 or above) as well as a decent amount of mastery (11k+) as well as when you pick up your t16 2 set and 4 set.

 

3. I'm not sure I understand what you are asking here, but Arcane will put out consistent high numbers on all encounters, especially if you are doing 25 man.  In ten man you may notice your dps dropping or being inconsistent from week to week due to being picked for mechanics (kiting lazers on Siege or IJ etc) but that's more the nature of 10m than the spec itself.

 

You mention the "constant movement" on heroic Immerseus, and one thing you are going to have to be able to do if you want to play arcane is realize that the encounter isn't causing the movement, you are.  You can't control when you will have to move all the time, but you can control how and where you move, you are going to have to start taking movement and how you do it very seriously in order to put out the numbers you want, this spec is all about planning and forethought, the rotation is simple, the execution of the actual fight is where you will lose the most of your dps.  There is no fight this tier with enough sustained movement to make arcane not viable, only players who make it that way for themselves.

[AdoptASloth 0]

1. Frost and Acrane share very similar stat allocation (Haste and Mastery) So if you gear up as frost  going for a slightly more mastery heavy build, it would be very easy to switch over to arcane.

 

2. Any point past 535ish is probably a good starting point for arcane, you may try it earlier or later depending on how comfortable you are with the spec, it gets considerably easier/stronger once you have a decent amount of haste (9522 or above) as well as a decent amount of mastery (11k+) as well as when you pick up your t16 2 set and 4 set.

 

3. I'm not sure I understand what you are asking here, but Arcane will put out consistent high numbers on all encounters, especially if you are doing 25 man.  In ten man you may notice your dps dropping or being inconsistent from week to week due to being picked for mechanics (kiting lazers on Siege or IJ etc) but that's more the nature of 10m than the spec itself.

 

You mention the "constant movement" on heroic Immerseus, and one thing you are going to have to be able to do if you want to play arcane is realize that the encounter isn't causing the movement, you are.  You can't control when you will have to move all the time, but you can control how and where you move, you are going to have to start taking movement and how you do it very seriously in order to put out the numbers you want, this spec is all about planning and forethought, the rotation is simple, the execution of the actual fight is where you will lose the most of your dps.  There is no fight this tier with enough sustained movement to make arcane not viable, only players who make it that way for themselves.

 

This sums it all up wonderfully. I am in a 10-man raiding guild, so your answers helped me see both sides of it all. I just know that most guides say "stationary dps" for Arcane. I didn't realize all the actual behind-the-scenes planning that goes into Arcane with prescision of movement to maximize, haha.

 

I appreciate the fast and helpful response!

[Tigersharrk 4]

2. Any point past 535ish is probably a good starting point for arcane, you may try it earlier or later depending on how comfortable you are with the spec, it gets considerably easier/stronger once you have a decent amount of haste (9522 or above) as well as a decent amount of mastery (11k+) as well as when you pick up your t16 2 set and 4 set.

 

 

 

Ok thx, so these are the numbers I needed to hit for mastery and haste to be viable stat wise. I have always played Arcane but haven't been on for awhile and noticed my DPS is low even in decent gear, of course I'm only iLvl 511 so that could be why. So I hit the 11k+ (11171 to be exact) for mastery but my Haste is only 3519 and I'm wondering if that's what has been wrong with my DPS and should I transmod more into haste? Any advice will be appreciated,thx.

[voltaa 16]

Ok thx, so these are the numbers I needed to hit for mastery and haste to be viable stat wise. I have always played Arcane but haven't been on for awhile and noticed my DPS is low even in decent gear, of course I'm only iLvl 511 so that could be why. So I hit the 11k+ (11171 to be exact) for mastery but my Haste is only 3519 and I'm wondering if that's what has been wrong with my DPS and should I transmod more into haste? Any advice will be appreciated,thx.

 

These aren't numbers that you need to hit, but moreso numbers where you will notice the the most pickup in your dps as arcane.  I would not recommend sacrificing mastery for haste, even with the extremely low haste level that you have, keep stacking mastery and as your ilvl increases you will naturally gain that haste.