[Guide] PvE Mage Guide

Hi! Because I like to think logically and in perspective, I have some questions about the choice of Incanter's Absorption talent for Arcane Mage.
So if I have to analyze this talent:
If we speak for encounter where there is no Fire or Frost spell AOE damage (where we can use Frost or Fire Ward to proc this talent) the only way to proc this talent is Mana Shield. So:

1. 1330 damage absorption = average 200 SP for 10 sec (in case all Mana Shield is absorbed by one hit).
2. draining 1.5m per point absorbed = 1995 mana + 221 mana (the cost of the Mana Shield spell) = 2216 mana lost for each time using of Mana Shield spell.
3. The use of Mana Shield very often will drop the longevity of Arcane Mage's mana very fast.

So my question is if you don't use this only for burst, why actually you need this talent? I perfectly know that Arcane Mage really suffer by mana loosing and here we can speak about throughput vs longevity. I know arcane mage is not healer spec and hardly we can speak about longevity for dps but the mana management is really important for Arcane Mage. I had to watch some streams of Arcane Mages and I was really surprised when I saw some Arcanes on 4k mana on 50% of LDW 25hc after spended Evocation.
Second my question is: Is it better on longer fight like Lich King and lower geared Mage with not so much haste the use of 3AB (instead of 4) then AM? Cause:

1 AB = 214 mana
2 AB = 588 mana + 15% more spell damage
3 AB = 963 mana + 30% more spell damage
4 AB = 1337 mana + 45% more spell damage
AM = no mana cost cause of Missile Barrage + 60% more spell damage

1. Thoughput

The choice here is between one more AB with 45% more spell damage + AM with 60% more spell damage VS AM with 45% more spell damage but reducing each cycle with 1 additional AB => casting AM more offten

Personally I tested several times using rotation with 3 ABs and with 4 ABs and the difference between dps values was not so big. In both cases I tested with such value of haste raiting where I can be able to cast 4 ABs with 4pT10 proc.

2. Longevity

Calculating all mana required for these spells we have 3102 (with 4AB) VS 1765 mana (with 3AB) which is ~43% mana saving.

All this is because it's one to go with full BiS group raping most of the bosses for 3 minutes and completely different going with no so well geared group.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vsetoq

3. The use of Mana Shield very often will drop the longevity of Arcane Mage's mana very fast.

---

Using mana shield to proc Incanter's Absorption needs a bit of foresight. You have to think in advance-- If using mana shield will put you in a spot where you can't dps when you should be dpsing, then it's not worth it. If, on the other hand, there is downtime expected due to the mechanics of the fight, you can definitely use it and it's a dps gain.
An example would be using mana shield before BQL air phase. You can safely evocate during that period of downtime, so the mana loss is insignificant.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vsetoq

So my question is if you don't use this only for burst, why actually you need this talent?

---

It can be used to sustain your dps, but don't disregard burst, because it's an important aspect of the spec.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vsetoq

I had to watch some streams of Arcane Mages and I was really surprised when I saw some Arcanes on 4k mana on 50% of LDW 25hc after spended Evocation.

---

That sounds like a perfect example of poor decision-making and mana management. On Lady you can simply use the frost wards on Frostbolt Volleys to continuously proc IA. You can use mana shield too, but obviously not like that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vsetoq

All this is because it's one to go with full BiS group raping most of the bosses for 3 minutes and completely different going with no so well geared group.

---

That said, it is objectively a dps gain to make use of Incanter's Absorption. How much you get from it depends on your mage and general raiding prowess, but you cannot say it's not worth it because the mediocre or average player can't exploit the full potential of their class.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vsetoq

Is it better on longer fight like Lich King and lower geared Mage with not so much haste the use of 3AB (instead of 4) then AM?

---

Short answer is yes. But that doesn't only apply to lower-geared mages.

There's 2 things to keep in mind here and you correctly assessed them yourself. :)

First off, when you are under the effect of a haste steroid that lets you fit 4 AB + AM during your 2p bonus, then that is the rotation you should be going for. There is little point in not casting another hasted AB before AM, if you can have both of them hasted.

The second point is related to Longevity, as you mentioned. So, once Bloodlust/Heroism, Berserking (if you're troll), Power Infusion, Icy veins, Potion of Speed wear off, you won't be able to fit 5 spells in your 2p bonus anymore. At that point, you should revert to a 3 AB + AM rotation, as it is much more mana efficient.

So to sum it up: The default arcane rotation of any arcane mage (with 2p t10) should be 3AB + AM. When under the effect of major haste steroids you should swap to a 4AB+AM rotation, but revert back to the default one once they're expired. You always want to cast Arcane Missiles under the 2p bonus, they pack quite a punch!

Another tip is to NEVER macro Mirror image + racial + icy veins + etc. to one macro. It's just a horrible choice to blow all your cooldowns in such an uncontrolled way, and 99% of the time it will put you above haste cap (< 1.0s cast time on Arcane Blast), which is a waste. Instead chain your haste cooldowns in such a way that you extend the duration of your "4AB+AM" phase as much as possible.

Hopefully this helps ^_^

Thanks for your reply :)

Since I'm kinda new to this server (and WotLK) and surely too new to mages I have some questions:

1. Which is more viable, staves or MH/OH?
2. Why?
3.Can OH be enchanted? And if yes, with which enchant?

1. Best in Slot areMH + OH, however Staves also work while gearing up.
2. Because they give you more and better stats than Archus, the highest ilvl staff available.
3. No, Held-in-offhand items cannot be enchanted.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KheyEL

Since I'm kinda new to this server (and WotLK) and surely too new to mages I have some questions:

1. Which is more viable, staves or MH/OH?
2. Why?
3.Can OH be enchanted? And if yes, with which enchant?

---

1. Most of time at a same ilvl if you can have both item MH/OH combo it will be better.
2. Because Staves are more oriented on basic Stats and MH/OH on secondaries. And as a mage (and dps overall you are looking for secondary statistics as hit spellpower hast crit)

840 HASTE is enough for arcance spec?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by blackmafia

840 HASTE is enough for arcance spec

---

It's playable, but far from ideal. You want your Arcane Blast to be reduced to 1.0s cast under the effect of haste modifiers like Bloodlust/Heroism and Icy Veins (with wrath of air totem present & 2p t10 bonus).

The guide covers this in the arcane section, but you want about 1450 haste ideally.

When to switch to ffw or fireball spec? What i have heard u start with arcane, then go ffw and finally when u are bis, you go fireball spec.

Hello,

ffw : don't exist, I think you made a confusion between FFB (for Frostfire Bolt) and TTW (aka TTW fire spec|named by the most valuable talent of the template : Torment the Weak)

So you tell us you heard to start with Arcane, then go to FFB and at BIS jump to TTW Fire.

First of all you can play whatever you want no matter what it's told to you.

But if you mean going the way you will always play the most powerfull spec at the right moment, it's not totally the way to go I would have adviced.

In my opinion, Arcane is the best spec to use as an early 80, and she will always stay at a top competitive spot.

But the TTW Fire spec will outperform it a little bit when you'll be full or almost full BIS-gear.

The fact why I'll advice you to jump on TTW Fire spec before the BIS-Gear point. Is that perfoming at a top level as a Arcane mage, is way harder then reaching the same numbers as a TTW Fire mage.

Assuming the difficulty of playing Arcane mage properly, I'll advice you to leave the spec for TTW Fire spec when you fill these requierments :

- Having your hit cap (by any way) : means reaching 13% (341 pts) if you are in the Alliance, or 14% (368pts) if your are in the Horde.
- Having a fire crit percentage between atleast 46-48%.
- Having at least then 2 pieces bonus from the Tiers 10 gear set.
- Having at least a score of haste higher or equal to 650

As I said before Arcane will always be powerfull, if your are perfoming with it stick on it as long as you can. If you are not, wait for the requierement quote above and jump on TTW Fire.


Playing FFB have no interest in terms of powerfullness, indeed no matter the gear level TTW Fire will always overpowered it.


For further infos on mage's spec, just read the original post of the thread you are speaking on, or take a look on this website : PVE Mage 3.3.5 | Dedicated Website


Take care,


Tiny.

yes i mixed ffb with fft.

Thanks alot with great answer. I heard that FFB build is better than TTW when u dont have that much crit yet, but still u get better dps with ffb than with arcane? is that true? or does ttw>ffb in EVERY situtation?

Hi,

For all my answers, I'll not argue, just give you my answer as a fact. Debatting on such large points will take a while at it as already be done a lot of times. You can trust my words or not it's up to you. Otherwise, just dig the forum you will certainly find the right answer and the arguement which come with it.


1. "I heard that FFB build is better than TTW when u dont have that much crit yet"

Quote:

---

Playing FFB have no interest in terms of powerfullness, indeed no matter the gear level TTW Fire will always overpowered it.

---

You had wrong infos, sorry.

2. "but still u get better dps with ffb than with arcane"

In terms of dps output :
before 4T10 : Arcane >> FFB
pre-BIS (ilvl 264 incl. 4T10) : Arcane >> FFB
BIS : Arcane kind off equal to FFB

But FFB gameplay is just a reduced TTW gameplay (less range, filling spell longer), so there is no point to don't play TTW if you decide to go for a different gameplay then Arcane.

Note : At the opposite of the commun idea, FFB requiert a higher gear then TTW to be efficient, the FFB spec rely way more on the crit rate.

3. "is that true?"

No.

4. "or does ttw>ffb in EVERY situtation?"

Quote:

---

Playing FFB have no interest in terms of powerfullness, indeed no matter the gear level TTW Fire will always overpowered it.

---

Yes.



Take care,


Tiny.

PS : Be sure to remember :

Quote:

---

The fact why I'll advice you to jump on TTW Fire spec before the BIS-Gear point. Is that perfoming at a top level as a Arcane mage, is way harder then reaching the same numbers as a TTW Fire mage.

---

Arcane is really hard to play propely, remember that when you will see your dps fall down facing other mage.
Arcane is about not moving at all. It requiert a prefect mastery of all encounter/Timers, a amazing management of your 2 only instant spells (Images and Arcane Blast under Presence of Mind) in order to made you only moves authorized during the encounter. But it's another long storie =)

Thanks alot, appreciated!

hi there
i am an arcane mage, almost 6k gs and self-buffed, i have 2960 sp, 40.67% crit and 1242 haste. i have cts normal and spyglass hc for my trinkets and have 20 haste and sp+haste gems. i can swap a few pieces out and get to 1400 haste (losing 4pc t10 in the process).. and i have a few questions here:

1. is it worthwhile to use hc gunship gloves and lose 4pc t10 bonus? (i dont have plaguebringer pants and have hc kilt of untreated wounds)
2.is it ok to use 10haste+ 10 spirit gems in blue sockets?
3. most importantly, i'm trying to squeeze in 3 AB+AM under 2pc t10 bonus for mana saving rotation. what would be exact haste figure be to attain that (with moonkin aura and wrath of air totem)? additionally, is it fine to pursue this number or would it better to go for some other setup?

Thanks in advance for your time and help!

EDIT: p.s. i have ilvl 264 t10 gloves

Pursuiting a haste cap in arcane is not worth if you loose that much SP in the process, haste cap will be fulfil when you'll get the DFO, do not gem 20 hast, prefer hybrids SP Haste gems on all Yellow and Red sockets, for blue you can go for haste spirit but when you will get the DFO make sur to get back to SP Spirit gems

Haste is a mean, but SP is the key, haste it's not worth it being at 1200 haste and only at 2K9 SP, try to climb at 3k5-4k SP at least having 1k haste only at you stage of gear is OK

Prefer the 4T10 over any HS items, the bonus is way to huge to drop it,


I hope these advices will help you get through your journey as arcane mage !


See you


Tiny

PS: if you have any other question I will be glad to help