Cataclysm Classic Arcane Mage Talent Builds

The default Arcane talents offer a potent combination that optimizes damage output and mana management, making them the preferred choice for many players. With talents like Arcane Power, Presence of Mind, and Arcane Potency, Arcanes can unleash devastating bursts of arcane energy while maintaining control over their Mana resources. This setup not only excels in delivering high sustained damage but also provides flexibility in adapting to various combat situations. Overall, these default talents empowers Arcane Mage to dominate the battlefield with their formidable magical prowess.

This is the basic Arcane raiding build. Should you use Arcane only as a single-target nuke spec, you can also take the 2 points from Improved Arcane Explosion and put them into Improved Blink or Blazing Speed for more freedom in movement, or in Fire Power in order to increase your Flame Orb damage.

• Arcane Concentration — This talent grants you the opportunity to cast a Mana-free spell (via Clearcasting), which proves highly advantageous given the occasional need for mana preservation in the Arcane Mage's playstyle.
• Arcane Flows — With a notably reduced cooldown on Evocation, Arcane Mages can execute their high damage rotations more frequently, significantly enhancing overall damage output.
• Arcane Potency — After using Presence of Mind or triggering Clearcasting, this talent offers a DPS boost in the form of increased critical strike chance.
• Arcane Power — Your primary DPS cooldown.
• Arcane Tactics — This talent is indispensable unless there's already an equivalent buff provided to your raid, such as from another Arcane Mage or a Beast Mastery Hunter.
• Burning Soul — Given that Arcane Mages rely heavily on non-instant cast and channeled spells, having pushback reduction is immensely advantageous.
• Fire Power — Worth considering for the added damage to Flame Orb.
• Focus Magic — Provides a unique buff to both the Arcane Mage and one other raid member, increasing the critical strike chance of the target by 3% and yours as well, if the Focus Magic target crits.
• Improved Arcane Explosion — This talent significantly increases the frequency at which you can cast Arcane Explosion, your primary AoE ability.
• Improved Blink — This talent briefly boosts your speed after using Blink, making you move faster.
• Improved Arcane Missiles — This talent provides a significant DPS increase, especially when paired with Missile Barrage.
• Improved Mana Gem — During the burn phase, where you'll deal significant damage at the expense of mana, this talent serves a dual purpose. It extends the burn phase by utilizing a Mana Gem, consequently increasing subsequent damage output.
• Incanter's Absorption — Your Mage Ward will now amplify your damage every time you absorb Fire, Frost, or Arcane damage.
• Master of Elements — Crucial for mana management of Arcane Mages.
• Missile Barrage — The decreased interval between each missile of Arcane Missiles is essential for maximizing damage output.
• Nether Vortex — Enables you to benefit from Torment the Weak on your current target.
• Netherwind Presence — This talent boosts your spell haste by 3% with every spell. Spell Haste is highly beneficial for Arcane Mages.
• Piercing Ice — This Frost tree talent enhances critical strike chance with all spells by an additional 3%.
• Presence of Mind — Utilize this ability consistently for optimal DPS enhancement.
• Prismatic Cloak — Your healers will greatly appreciate the damage reduction this talent provides.
• Slow — Necessary for accessing the final Arcane talent and benefiting from Torment the Weak via Nether Vortex.
• Torment the Weak — Even if raid bosses aren't directly affected by snares or slows, the game still registers them as slowed or snared by such spells. This ensures Torment the Weak remains active on virtually any boss, particularly when further down the talent tree with Nether Vortex.

The Prime Glyphs used by Arcanes are Glyph of Arcane Blast, Glyph of Mage Armor and Glyph of Arcane Missiles.

Major Glyphs for Arcane are Glyph of Evocation, Glyph of Arcane Power and Glyph of Blink.

For Minor Glyphs, Glyph of Arcane Brilliance, Glyph of Conjuring and Glyph of Slow Fall are reasonable choices.