World of Warcraft: Forever Arcane Mage Leveling Guide

World of Warcraft Forever brings Azeroth into the future with updated quests, much-needed class changes, and the promise of new progression pathways at max level.

Mage leveling in World of Warcraft Forever has been changed significantly. Area-of-effect (AoE) grinding is (mostly) a thing of the past - in its place are robust changes to all Mage specializations, including the previously unviable Arcane specialization.

Arcane Mage leveling in Forever isn't just viable, it's promising. If you're playing Mage and want to forge a new path to level 60, this guide will teach you everything you need to know about spellslinging across Azeroth as an Arcane Mage.

Arcane Mage leveling in Forever is significantly different. In previous versions of World of Warcraft Classic, Arcane was regarded as a support tree - Mages leveled as Fire or Frost and only ventured into the Arcane tree as they approached Level 60.

New talents open up emergent gameplay opportunities for Arcane Mages. Specifically, the newly introduced talents Arcane Blast and Missile Barrage come together to empower Arcane Missiles as the spec's primary damage funnel.

Below is a quick list of what we consider to be the most important talents you'll be picking up as you level to 60.

• Improved Channeling: Provides essential spell pushback protection to core spells, Arcane Missiles and Arcane Blast.
• Arcane Subtlety: Now provides a flat damage increase against enemies with zero spell resistance.
• Arcane Blast: This new filler spell empowers Arcane Missiles for a high-burst gameplay loop.
• Missile Barrage: Turns Arcane Missiles into a Mana-free machine gun.
• Arcane Meditation: Provides much-needed combat efficiency through passive Mana regeneration.
• Arcane Mind: Increases Mana, spell Critical chance (via Intellect), and doubles the effectiveness of scoring spell Critical hits.

Additionally, we'll be dipping into the Fire talents to pick up the following.

• Incineration: Boosts the Critical strike chance of your Arcane Blast.
• Wake of Fire: Improves burst damage by increasing the Critical strike chance of Fire Blast.

Arcane is now a viable leveling specialization on its own. But while Fire and Frost Mages still benefit significantly from putting points into Arcane after Level 40, Arcane Mages don't have as much reason to dive into the other two specializations.

Putting points into Fire will provide a small damage boost early on, but little else. Meanwhile, Frost can be dipped into for defensive talents to help with survivability, but does very little for your damage.

Mages of all stripes excel at dealing high, consistent Magic damage from range. Changes to the Arcane tree in World of Warcraft Forever provide needed shape and structure to the spec's damage profile.

The Arcane Mage leveling rotation in Forever is all about casting Arcane Blast while fishing for Missile Barrage procs, then dumping a fast-channel Arcane Missiles into the target.

The Arcane Mage single-target rotation is simple. This is how you'll be spending the vast majority of your time while leveling in Azeroth. Situational details may require some on-the-fly thinking, but this will be the backbone of your rotation.

• Stand at max distance from the enemy. Once you have the Arcane Geometry talent, you should start combat at 36 yards.
• Before Arcane Geometry, cast Frostbolt to snare the enemy.
• Cast Arcane Blast 2-3 times, or until you get a Missile Barrage proc.
• Cast Arcane Missiles.
• Repeat if necessary. If the enemy is low health, finish them with your Wand.

That's all there is to it. There will be variability in your performance depending on proc rates of talents like Missile Barrage or Clearcasting (from Arcane Concentration). Keep these factors in mind:

• Avoid overkill. If an enemy has 30 health left, don't spend Mana on a spell that deals 90 damage. Deal damage efficiently with Scorch or your wand.
• Don't consume Clearcasting procs while you also have a Missile Barrage proc. Use the Clearcast on a different spell, then dump your Arcane Missiles.
• It's okay to take damage. Mages are glass cannons, but one mob getting a few hits on you isn't a big deal. You don't need to waste Mana Blinking away from or kiting one half-dead enemy.

Arcane Mage AoE in Forever is simple but strong; Arcane Explosion spam. All specializations use Explosion, but Arcane will have the strongest output at higher levels due to synergizing talents deep in the tree.

• If you're AoE grinding on your own, round up enemies by body-pulling, using your wand, or casting a rank-1 spell.
• Cast Frost Nova to freeze enemies together.
• If you have Cone of Cold, cast it to snare the cluster.
• Cast Arcane Explosion.

If you're playing in group content like Dungeons or Raids, all you need to do is stand near the tank and press Arcane Explosion. If it's not safe to do so, stand far away and use Blizzard instead, even if it's not an Arcane spell.

The biggest mistake Mage players make while learning to perform well is using AoE abilities when too few enemies are present. If you're fighting 3 or fewer mobs, it's usually not worth it to dump your entire Mana bar on AoE.

Small changes make a big difference to how Arcane Mage plays in Forever. Beyond the gameplay loop created by Arcane Blast and Missile Barrage, Mage as a whole remains a best-in-class leveler due to these parts of the class' toolkit:

• Conjure Food & Conjure Water: Provides a steady (and cost-free) supply of refreshment while adventuring.
• Teleportation & Portals: Allows you to travel across most of Azeroth in an instant.
• Blink: This short-cooldown, short-distance teleport gets you out of most dangerous situations. When used on cooldown while running, Blink amounts to a roughly 20% increase in travel speed.
• Evocation: Restores most of your Mana pool over an 8-second channel.
• Mana Gems: Provides an emergency source of Mana to the Mage.
• Slow Fall: Allows for safe jumping off any mountain, ledge, or cliff, if you have a Light Feather reagent handy.

1. Spell Power: Blizzard has rebalanced how spellcasters scale in Forever. Damage spells are now weaker by default, but scale better with Spell Power, which has been made more abundant on gear, especially at low levels. This makes Spell Power a high-priority stat for Mages regardless of specialization.
2. Intellect: Increases your Mana pool and provides a small amount of extra Critical strike chance. Arcane Mages live and die by their Mana; Intellect gives Arcane much-needed breathing room in combat.
3. Spirit: Increases your health and Mana regeneration rates. Arcane Mages chew through Mana like crazy. The more Spirit you have, the less time you'll need to spend sitting around drinking water.
4. Critical Strike: Increases the chance of your damaging spells to deal 50% extra damage. This stat is a nice perk for Arcane, but is not integral to the spec's functionality.
5. Stamina: Provides 10 additional health per point. A certain amount of Stamina is required to survive AoE pulls and avoid death in dungeons, but you shouldn't gear for Stamina for its own sake while leveling.

If you're new to adventuring in Azeroth, you should know that leveling is a non-linear experience, particularly in the early levels. Zones can have quests that are 10+ levels apart. As such, you'll typically find yourself doing a few quests in a given zone and then traveling to a new area for more level-appropriate quests.

Don't be afraid to travel during your leveling experience. Different zones provide new Quests, Dungeons, and other opportunities. You'll also want to gather up a zone's Dungeon quests and run each Dungeon at least once. WoW Forever has significantly boosted the experience granted by Dungeon Quests. Each Dungeon is worth doing at least once for experience and loot alike.

Be Efficient With Your Time

You will be replacing items frequently, and skipping out on some powerful dungeon drops is totally fine. Traveling around Azeroth takes considerable amounts of time, and it is often not worth spending 30+ minutes to travel to a dungeon, just for a chance at getting an item to drop. However, doing dungeons is worth it for the quest XP alone, so try to plan around at least one trip to each dungeon.

• Zones to Quest in:
  • Loch Modan/Darkshore
  • The Barrens
• Available Dungeons:
  • Hall of Thanes
  • Ragefire Chasm

• Zones to Quest in:
  • Westfall/Darkshore
  • Silverpine Forest
• Available Dungeons:
  • Hall of Thanes
  • Ragefire Chasm and Ruins of Lordaeron

• Zones to Quest in:
  • Westfall/Redridge Mountains
  • The Barrens/Stonetalon Mountains
• Available Dungeons:
  • Hall of Thanes
  • Wailing Caverns

• Zones to Quest in:
  • Redridge Mountains/Duskwood
  • Hillsbrad Foothills/Stonetalon Mountains
• Available Dungeons:
  • The Stockade
  • Shadowfang Keep and Wailing Caverns

• Zones to Quest in:
  • Ashenvale/Duskwood
  • Ashenvale/Duskwood
• Available Dungeons:
  • Blackfathom Deeps and The Stockade
  • Blackfathom Deeps and Shadowfang Keep

• Zones to Quest in:
  • Wetlands/Ashenvale
  • Hillsbrad Foothills/Wetlands
• Available Dungeons:
  • Excavation Site: Wetlands and Blackfathom Deeps
  • Excavation Site: Wetlands and Blackfathom Deeps

• Zones to Quest in:
  • Wetlands/Ashenvale
  • Wetlands/Thousand Needles
• Available Dungeons:
  • Excavation Site: Wetlands and Gnomeregan
  • Excavation Site: Wetlands and Razorfen Kraul

Here are some items you'll want to pick up during your leveling journey. These items aren't required to level as a Mage in Forever, but are significant power spikes worth investing in.

• Wands
  • Greater Magic Wand is an incredibly strong low-level wand that holds value well into your 20s.
  • Gravestone Scepter is available from the Blackfathom Deeps quest Blackfathom Villainy beginning at level 18. Players generally run Blackfathom Deeps between levels 20 and 26. This wand is your best option until at least level 30.
  • Level 30 Mages have access to a spec-specific wand like Nether Force Wand from a level-30 class quest.
• Weapon
  • Alliance players can grab the Golemheart Stave from Hall of Thanes as early as level 13. Horde players can complete Hidden Enemies in Ragefire Chasm to obtain Staff of Orgrimmar at a similar level.
  • Alliance players can grab Emberstone Staff from The Deadmines as low as 17. Horde players can complete the Wailing Caverns quest Leaders of the Fang for the Crescent Staff at a similar level.
  • If you have Enchanting, craft a Glimmering Staff at 25. Death Prophet Spine from Razorfen Kraul is another option as you approach 30.
• Helmet
  • Helms with stats don't begin to drop until the late 20s. However, if you have Tailoring, you can craft Pearly Circlet at level 20. This crafted helm will last you well into your 30s.
• Shoulders
  • Statted shoulder armor is similarly rare, but adjustments to quest rewards in Forever have made early options like Talbar Mantle much more worthwhile.
• Rings
  • You'll begin seeing useful rings around level 16. Alliance players should acquire Minor Channeling Ring from WANTED: Chok'sul when able. Patient explorers can also aim for Philanthropist's Ring by handing in 20 books to their faction's library in either Stormwind or the Undercity. It's a tedious task, but the ring will last you well past level 30.

We can't offer gear or leveling suggestions beyond the WoW Forever beta level cap of 30. Check back after launch for updated guidance!

Craft when you log in. Mages use a lot of food and water while leveling. When you first log in for the day, empty your Mana bar to craft food, water, and a Mana Gem if you have one. Pro tip: Battlegrounds provide zero-cost spellcasting in the preparation room. It may be worthwhile to join a Battleground, craft all the food and water you need, then /afk out.

Maintain professions.WoW Forever has made crafting professions much more useful, especially at low levels. Tailoring will take time and gold to level, but doing so provides unique gearing opportunities you can't get elsewhere in your leveling journey.

Plan your travel.Mages can teleport to capital cities starting at level 20. Use this unique perk to cut down on travel time. For example, a Horde Mage in Thousand Needles who needs to get to Ashenvale Forest can teleport to Orgrimmar and fly from there rather than getting on the taxi at Freewind Post. Similarly, Mages should never set their Hearthstone to a capital city they can teleport to.

Make friends. Mages are a self-sufficient class, but WoW Forever encourages, and in some cases requires, group play and cooperation. Helping out other players pays dividends later when you find yourself in need of a tank or healer for a dungeon. You'd be surprised at how much good will you can generate by sharing a stack of food or water with another adventurer!

Get a wand as soon as possible. Wands provide a way to deal steady damage without spending Mana. At low levels, wands are often more powerful than your actual spells.

Maintain professions. Forever significantly upgrades all crafting professions. Each profession provides substantial upgrades beginning at level 10. Staying on top of your professions helps you plug gaps in your gearing as you level.

Avoid downtime. Whether it's fighting for mob tags in high-traffic areas or waiting for an escort quest to respawn, downtime kills leveling efficiency. To level quickly, most of your active gameplay time should be filled with mob grinding or uncontested questing.

Hit dungeons. Forever dramatically increases experience from dungeon quests, making them all worth doing at least once provided there are quests available to your faction (Horde players have no quests for The Deadmines, for example).

Level	Important Ability/Class Quest/Game-Altering Talent
14	Arcane Explosion
20	Blink, Evocation, Teleport: City, Arcane Blast
25	Missile Barrage
26	Cone of Cold
28	Conjure Mana Gem
30	Teleport: City, 21-point Talent
38	Conjure Mana Gem
40	Portal: City, 31-point Talent, Frostfire Bolt
48	Conjure Mana Gem
58	Conjure Mana Gem

• Recommended: Tailoring + Enchanting
  • Tailoring has been changed to provide high-quality gear upgrades across the entire leveling experience. Enchanting now comes with unique personal enchants and new craftable wands.
• Alternative: Herbalism or Mining + Skinning
  • If you want to level as fast as possible, keeping up with a crafting profession will get in the way. Two gathering professions provide steady cash flow. You can also build a stockpile of materials to be used at Level 60 if you want to level something like Tailoring, Alchemy, or Engineering from scratch.

More WoW Forever Mage Guides

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