Arcane Mage Leveling Guide From 1 to 80 for WotLK Classic

Last updated on Sep 22, 2022 at 00:40 by Wrdlbrmpft 3 comments

Discover the Arcane arts and their hidden powers in this leveling guide! While other leveling specs, such as Frost Single-Target Leveling, Frost AoE Leveling, and Fire Leveling enjoy more popularity, in WotLK the Arcane leveling is more appealing due to talent tree changes. This guide is tailored directly towards solo leveling and gives hints where you can change talents when you are group leveling.

1.

Arcane Mage Level-by-Level Rotation, Talents, and Trainer Skills

Move the slider below to make the guide update to your level!

Level: 1
2.

Talent Tree for Leveling as Arcane Mage

From Level 10 on you get one talent point per level, which you can use to build your talent tree. The talent menu can be accessed via the default keybind "N" in game.

Your talents should look like the trees below. However, for the Arcane tree you can swap some points around based on personal preference. The suggested order is optimized for Mana efficiency and damage.

Arcane Stability IconArcane Stability is one of the strongest Arcane talents and available right at the start. It reduces Arcane Missiles IconArcane Missiles' chance to suffer spell pushback from any attack by 20% per talent point. After spending 5 talent points, this means that no ranged, melee or spell attack can cause spell pushback while channeling Arcane Missiles. However, Arcane Missiles can still be interrupted by abilities like Silence IconSilence, Kick IconKick, Earth Shock IconEarth Shock, or simply by stun effects. This talent also affects Arcane Blast IconArcane Blast, which you can learn at Level 64. Keep an eye out for Rogue, Mage, Shaman, or Warrior-type NPCs, as some of these possess such interrupting abilities.

With three talent points in Arcane Focus IconArcane Focus, you will have a higher chance to hit targets one or two levels above you, which is very useful for leveling. Arcane Concentration IconArcane Concentration gives you a chance of entering the Clearcasting IconClearcasting state, thus having a lower average Mana consumption and later-on even more critical strike chance through the Arcane Potency IconArcane Potency talent.

For incredible Mana efficiency, and later on for more damage from the Arcane Potency IconArcane Potency talent, you continue putting more talent points into Arcane Concentration IconArcane Concentration. The range increase on all Arcane Spells but Arcane Explosion IconArcane Explosion and Blink IconBlink makes Magic Attunement IconMagic Attunement a strong new talent, because mobs you target take longer to reach and hit you, if you attack them from further away. The Mana efficiency of Arcane gets even better with the Arcane Meditation IconArcane Meditation talent, which lets 50% of your Mana regeneration continue during combat. Later on at Level 34, this 100% Mana regeneration in combat with Mage Armor IconMage Armor, making Intellect and Spirit more valuable for leveling. It has to be noted though, that this effect only works while casting and not while traveling. Nevertheless, this it is still a great talent, as you will only ever struggle with Mana when fighting and not while traveling. Two points in Torment the Weak IconTorment the Weak increase your damage with your main spells Arcane Missiles IconArcane Missiles and later on also Arcane Blast IconArcane Blast by 4% per point, if they are slowed. At this level you still play with Frost Armor IconFrost Armor and your foes will be slowed when they hit you. If you pull with Frostbolt IconFrostbolt, mobs are also slowed. It has to be noted that if you want to do group content, spending 2 points into Arcane Subtlety IconArcane Subtlety and no points into Magic Attunement IconMagic Attunement is a wise decision, as the threat reduction from Arcane Subtlety makes it a lot easier for your tank to hold aggro.

At Level 30, Presence of Mind IconPresence of Mind will become available, which makes your next spell with a cast time less than 10 seconds an instant spell. You can use this while traveling to cast Conjure Water IconConjure Water or Conjure Food IconConjure Food, instantly sheep an enemy while running away, or simply make any damage spell an instant cast such as Frostbolt IconFrostbolt for slowing enemies. Portal spells are not affected by this. At lLvel 31, you finish Torment the Weak IconTorment the Weak so it provides you with 12% damage to slowed targets instead of 8%.

Arcane Mind IconArcane Mind increases your Intellect by 3% per talent point up to a total of 9%. It has to be noted that if you want to do group content, spending 2 points into Arcane Subtlety IconArcane Subtlety and only two points into Arcane Mind IconArcane Mind is a wise decision, as the threat reduction from Arcane Subtlety makes it a lot easier for your tank to hold aggro. With Arcane Potency IconArcane Potency, each time you get the clearcasting effect from Arcane Concentration IconArcane Concentration or Presence of Mind IconPresence of Mind, you will have an increased Critical Strike chance of 30% for your next spell cast while clearcasting is active. Arcane Instability IconArcane Instability will give 3% more damage and a 3% higher crit chance and is also a prerequisite to your Level 40 cooldown talent Arcane Power IconArcane Power.

At Level 40, Arcane Power IconArcane Power, the big cooldown ability of the Arcane tree becomes available. When used, it allows you to deal 20% more damage for 15 seconds, but your spells cost 20% more Mana. This is particularly useful when you need to kill a strong enemy or many enemies in a short amount of time and can also be used in conjunction with Arcane Explosion IconArcane Explosion to finish off enemies quickly. The Arcane Empowerment IconArcane Empowerment talent significantly buffs the Spell Power contribution to Arcane Missiles IconArcane Missiles, making gear with Spell Power almost 50% stronger for Arcane Missiles. As if this was not enough already, the talent also provides 3% more damage for you and your party. The talent Arcane Flows IconArcane Flows reduces the cooldown of several Arcane cooldowns by 30%, but most importantly it makes your 4-minute Evocation IconEvocation a 2-minute ability. Together with Glyph of Evocation Icon Glyph of Evocation, this talent tremendously decreases your downtimes, as Evocation will now restore 60% of your health and Mana on a 2-minute cooldown. Mind Mastery IconMind Mastery is one of the strongest Arcane leveling talents, turning 15% of your Intellect into Spell Damage. Together with Arcane Mind IconArcane Mind, each point of Intellect gives you Spell Power, making Intellect a more valuable stat from now on.

A total of three points go into the Mind Mastery IconMind Mastery and Arcane Mind IconArcane Mind talents, increasing their efficiency. Two more points are spent on Missile Barrage IconMissile Barrage. At this point this talent is rather useless, but the two points serve as preparation for buffing Arcane Blast IconArcane Blast at Level 64 and Arcane Barrage IconArcane Barrage at Level 60, and we need points to be able to skill Spell Power IconSpell Power and Netherwind Presence IconNetherwind Presence. The Talent Spell Power IconSpell Power increases your Critical Strike damage from 150% to 175%, which goes hand in hand with the Clearcasting IconClearcasting effects from Arcane Concentration IconArcane Concentration, Presence of Mind IconPresence of Mind, and Glyph of Arcane Missiles Icon Glyph of Arcane Missiles. Netherwind Presence IconNetherwind Presence gives you 6% more Haste, which basically increases your damage by 6%. Please note that Slow IconSlow is not a good talent to choose, because it puts mobs into combat with you, so you lose a global cooldown where you cannot damage. If you pull with Frostbolt instead, you also get the slow for Torment the Weak IconTorment the Weak or you simply pull with Arcane Missiles IconArcane Missiles and benefit from the Ice Armor IconIce Armor slow.

The Level 60 talent Arcane Barrage IconArcane Barrage gives you access to the instant-cast ability with the same name. It shoots a bolt at your target that deals a decent amount of damage and has a 3-second cooldown. This spell is good for finishing off enemies or to use while running. A good rotation is Arcane Barrage IconArcane Barrage, Fire Blast IconFire Blast, Arcane Barrage IconArcane Barrage. The 3 points in Missile Barrage IconMissile Barrage give your freshly-learned Arcane Blast IconArcane Blast and Arcane Barrage IconArcane Barrage spells a chance to halve the cast time of your Arcane Missiles IconArcane Missiles and make them cost no Mana. Needless to say, this is an extremely potent talent that will significantly accelerate your leveling speed. Finally, it is also time to complete the talent Spell Impact IconSpell Impact that increases the damage of your new main spell Arcane Blast by 6%. For leveling, Ice Floes IconIce Floes in the Frost talent tree is not just a filler talent, as it decreases the cooldown of Frost Nova IconFrost Nova, Cone of Cold IconCone of Cold, Ice Block IconIce Block, and Icy Veins IconIcy Veins by 20%. All those spells can be integrated in your leveling and will be needed from time to time.

The two points in Improved Frostbolt IconImproved Frostbolt and Ice Shards IconIce Shards are mostly filler talents to reach Icy Veins IconIcy Veins faster. Precision IconPrecision, however, is a really good talent that hit-caps your Arcane spells against targets up to two levels above you. Icy Veins IconIcy Veins is a cooldown that can used in conjunction with Arcane Power IconArcane Power or separately, if you wish. It increases your cast speed by 20% and makes you immune to spell pushback for 20 seconds. The final three talent points go into Ice Shards IconIce Shards and Arcane Subtlety IconArcane Subtlety to further improve the Critical Strike damage of Frostbolt IconFrostbolt and to reduce your threat from Arcane Spells. By now you should be in a few Dungeon groups to already farm your pre-raid gear. There, Arcane Subtlety IconArcane Subtlety makes sense, but the two points can also be used for the Frost Warding IconFrost Warding talent if you prefer solo play.

3.

Leveling Glyphs

In Wrath you will be able to unlock Glyphs that improve your abilities at the following levels:

  1. Level 15 unlocks your first Major and Minor Glyphs;
  2. Level 30 unlocks your second Major Glyph;
  3. Level 50 unlocks your second Minor Glyph;
  4. Level 70 unlocks your third Minor Glyph;
  5. Level 80 unlocks your third Major Glyph.

As an Arcane Mage you will want to be using Glyph of Evocation Icon Glyph of Evocation and Glyph of Arcane Missiles Icon Glyph of Arcane Missiles. The final major glyph is only unlocked at Level 80, at which point you should swap to an end-game build.

For minor glyphs, Glyph of Arcane Intellect Icon Glyph of Arcane Intellect, Glyph of Frost Armor Icon Glyph of Frost Armor, and Glyph of Slow Fall Icon Glyph of Slow Fall are fine quality of life options.

4.

Rotation for leveling up as an Arcane Mage

  1. Cast Arcane Intellect IconArcane Intellect and Frost Armor IconFrost Armor if you are missing their buffs.
  2. Cast Arcane Intellect IconArcane Intellect and Frost Armor IconFrost Armor if you are missing their buffs. Use Mana Shield IconMana Shield in any situation where you could die.
  3. Cast Arcane Intellect IconArcane Intellect and Ice Armor IconIce Armor if you are missing their buffs. Use Mana Shield IconMana Shield in any situation where you could die.
  4. Cast Arcane Intellect IconArcane Intellect and Mage Armor IconMage Armor if you are missing their buffs. You can also benefit from Frost Armor IconFrost Armor/Ice Armor IconIce Armor and Torment the Weak IconTorment the Weak if you feel your Mana regeneration is good enough without Mage Armor IconMage Armor. Use Mana Shield IconMana Shield in any situation where you could die.
  5. Cast Arcane Intellect IconArcane Intellect and Molten Armor IconMolten Armor if you are missing their buffs. If you feel that your Mana regeneration is lacking, use Mage Armor IconMage Armor instead. Another option is to use Ice Armor IconIce Armor and benefit from Torment the Weak IconTorment the Weak once a mob hits you, crit/Mana regeneration is good enough without Molten Armor IconMolten Armor/Mage Armor IconMage Armor. Use Mana Shield IconMana Shield in any situation where you could die.
  6. Cast Fireball IconFireball as your main attack.
  7. Cast Frostbolt IconFrostbolt as your main attack.
  8. Always use a Wand and your Shoot IconShoot ability. From Level 5 on, you can use Lesser Magic Wand Icon Lesser Magic Wand and quest zones gradually offer you upgrades on your Wand.
  9. Cast Fireball IconFireball as your main attack.
  10. It is recommended to open with Frostbolt IconFrostbolt and then go into Arcane Missiles IconArcane Missiles, as upon channeling Arcane missiles the enemy will immediately start running toward you. Therefore you will keep learning Frostbolt IconFrostbolt as an opener and to have a spell available to cast when you get locked out on the Arcane spell school.
  11. It is recommended to open with Frostbolt IconFrostbolt and then go into Arcane Missiles IconArcane Missiles, as upon channeling Arcane missiles the enemy will immediately start running toward you. Therefore you will keep learning Frostbolt IconFrostbolt as an opener and to have a spell available to cast when you get locked out on the Arcane spell school. The Torment the Weak IconTorment the Weak talent works with Frost Armor IconFrost Armor and Ice Armor IconIce Armor when mobs hit you and get slowed, so from now on you can also skip the Frostbolt if you want to use Frost/Ice armor over Mage Armor IconMage Armor.
  12. It is recommended to open with Frostbolt IconFrostbolt if you want to benefit from Torment the Weak IconTorment the Weak and then go into Arcane Blast IconArcane Blast. If you get a Missile Barrage IconMissile Barrage proc, or after casting 5 Arcane Blasts in a row without a proc, finish your next Arcane Blast and cast Arcane Missiles IconArcane Missiles. You will keep learning Frostbolt IconFrostbolt as an opener and to have a spell available to cast when you get locked out on the Arcane spell school. Whenever you need to kill strong enemies with a large hitpoint pool, cast Arcane Blast IconArcane Blast and benefit from Missile Barrage IconMissile Barrage. The Torment the Weak IconTorment the Weak talent works with Ice Armor IconIce Armor when mobs hit you and get slowed, so from now on you can also skip the Frostbolt if you want to use Ice Armor over Molten Armor IconMolten Armor/Mage Armor IconMage Armor.
  13. Arcane Barrage IconArcane Barrage can be used while moving and to trigger Missile Barrage IconMissile Barrage.

Mana Shield IconMana Shield, can be kept up during battle in order to minimize health lost. However, Mana Shield also takes Mana from you, so you might have to spend more time drinking. Generally it is recommended to use Mana Shield only as an emergency tool for survival or if you notice that you spend more time regenerating Health than regenerating Mana. Further, Evocation IconEvocation should be used on cooldown, together with Glyph of Evocation Icon Glyph of Evocation, to restore 60% of your health and Mana every 4 minutes. By Level 46, you will have specced into Arcane Flows IconArcane Flows and will be able to use this ability every 2 minutes.

Another great emergency tool for restoring Mana is Conjure Mana Gem IconConjure Mana Gem. These gems can be used while leveling and can make the difference between killing a mob or a 2-minutes corpse run.

Utility skills, such as Frost Nova IconFrost Nova, should be used to keep enemies away from you or to freeze and finish them off.

Utility skills, such as Frost Nova IconFrost Nova, and AoE skills such as Cone of Cold IconCone of Cold should be used to keep enemies away from you or finish off packs of enemies as required.

You can make your own food and water with Conjure Food IconConjure Food and Conjure Water IconConjure Water. These spells should definitely be learned, as water and food from vendors will cost you far more gold than these spells do. Sometimes other players even want to buy conjured water and you can gain a little extra gold. Conjured items disappear after 15 minutes of being logged out.

You can make your own food and water with Conjure Refreshment IconConjure Refreshment. This spell should definitely be learned, as water and food from vendors will cost you far more gold than this spell does. Sometimes other players even want to buy conjured water and you can gain a little extra gold. Conjured items disappear after 15 minutes of being logged out.

Even though this is an Arcane guide, from Level 70 on solo Dungeon leveling with a Living Bomb IconLiving Bomb Fire build becomes a very, if not the most viable leveling strategy for Mages. In addition, consider taking a look at the AoE leveling locations in the Frost Mage AoE Leveling Guide (make sure to set the slider to Level 70 so you see the leveling locations there). Most AoE farming cannot or can only hardly be pulled off with Arcane specs. If you want to AoE level from this point on, now is the best time to respec into Fire.

4.1.

Summary of Trainer Skills for Arcane Mage

5.

Additional Arcane Mage Information After Reaching Level 80

After you reached level 80, there is still a lot to learn. Our Arcane Mage PvE Guide covers the most relevant and up-to-date information about your Arcane Mage spells, talents, rotation, gear, and much more.

6.

Changelog

  • 22 Sep. 2022: Added level 70-80 top leveling strategies.
  • 19 Sep. 2022: Page added.
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