Arcane Mage DPS Frequently Asked Questions in Battle for Azeroth (BfA) 8.0.1

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 8.0.1 Changes for Arcane Mage
  • 3. Arcane Mage Strengths
  • 4. Arcane Mage Weaknesses
  • 5. Arcane Mage Viability in the Current Patch
  • 6. Contents
  • 7. ChangeLog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. The Basics for Arcane Mage
  • 2. Talent Choice for Arcane Mage
  • 3. Stat Choice for Arcane Mage
  • 4. Basic Rotation for Arcane Mage
    • 4.1. The Burn Phase
    • 4.2. The Conserve Phase
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Arcane Mage Spell Summary
  • 2. Main Resources of Arcane Mage
  • 3. Basic Abilities for Arcane Mage
  • 4. Important Procs for Arcane Mage
  • 5. DPS Cooldowns for Arcane Mage
  • 6. Defensive and Utility Abilities for Arcane Mage
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices for Arcane Mage
  • 2. Talent Cheat Sheets for Arcane Mage
    • 2.1. Single Target
    • 2.2. Heavy Cleave/AoE
    • 2.3. For General Use
  • 3. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents for Arcane Mage
  • 4. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents for Arcane Mage
  • 5. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Arcane Mage
  • 6. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Arcane Mage
  • 7. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Arcane Mage
  • 8. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Arcane Mage
  • 9. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Arcane Mage
  • 10. PvP Talents (War Mode)
    • 10.1. Arcane Mage War Mode Talents
  • 11. ChangeLog
• +Azerite Traits and Armor
  • 1. Disclaimer
  • 2. Azerite Traits for Arcane Mage
  • 3. Outer Ring Traits for Arcane Mage
    • 3.1. Generic Outer Ring Traits
    • 3.2. Arcane Mage specific Outer Ring Traits
  • 4. Middle Ring Traits for Arcane Mage
  • 5. Inner Ring Traits for Arcane Mage
  • 6. Azerite Traits Rotation Changes and Details for Arcane Mage
  • 7. Relative strength of Azerite Traits for Arcane Mage
    • 7.1. Single Target Azerite Traits comparison for Arcane Mage
      • 7.1.1. Outer Ring Trait Comparisons for Arcane Mage on Single Target
      • 7.1.2. Middle Ring Trait Comparisons for Arcane Mage on Single Target
    • 7.2. AoE/Cleave Azerite Traits comparison for Arcane Mage
      • 7.2.1. Outer Ring Trait Comparisons for Arcane Mage on AoE/Cleave
      • 7.2.2. Middle Ring Trait Comparisons for Arcane Mage on AoE/Cleave
    • 7.3. Inner Ring Trait Comparisons for Arcane Mage
  • 8. Find Azerite Armor By Trait/Power
  • 9. ChangeLog
• +Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Ability Priority List for Arcane Mage
    • 1.1. The Burn Phase
    • 1.2. Conserve Phase
  • 2. Important Notes for Arcane Mage
    • 2.1. Arcane Charges: Understanding Your Mana Pool
    • 2.2. Spells That Benefit From Arcane Charges
    • 2.3. Truncating Arcane Missiles
    • 2.4. Effectively Handling AoE
    • 2.5. Rune of Power
    • 2.6. Prismatic Barrier
  • 3. Core Concepts for Arcane Mage
    • 3.1. Mana Management During Conserve Phase
    • 3.2. Executing the Burn Phase Consistently
    • 3.3. Movement Management
      • 3.3.1. Quiet Movement
  • 4. Arcane Mage: Opening Sequence
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Mythic+ Tips
  • 1. Arcane Mage in Mythic+
    • 1.1. Arcane Mage Mythic+ Rotation
    • 1.2. Arcane Mage Utility
  • 2. Mythic+ Talents for Arcane Mage
  • 3. Mythic+ Affixes
    • 3.1. Tier One Affixes
    • 3.2. Tier Two Affixes
    • 3.3. Tier Three Affixes
    • 3.4. Seasonal Affix
  • 4. Mythic+ Azerite Traits
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Common and Worst Mistakes
  • 1. Having High Downtime
  • 2. Going into the Burn Phase at the Wrong Time
  • 3. Ending the Fight on High Mana
  • 4. Not Knowing How To Sim Yourself
  • 5. Analyzing Your Mistakes as an Arcane Mage
• ×Frequently Asked Questions
  • 1. Battle for Azeroth Frequently Asked Questions for Arcane Mage
    • 1.1. Should I Use Rune of Power or Incanter's Flow?
    • 1.2. When Should I Enter the Burn Phase?
    • 1.3. Do I Use Reverberate or Nether Tempest for Dungeons?
  • 2. ChangeLog
• +Boss by Boss Strategies
  • 1. ChangeLog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. The Basics of Stats for Arcane Mage
  • 2. Arcane Mage: Getting a Better Understanding
    • 2.1. Statistics Explanations
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems for Arcane Mage
  • 2. Enchants for Arcane Mage
  • 3. Consumables for Arcane Mage
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. Addons for Arcane Mage
    • 1.1. ElvUI
    • 1.2. Weak Auras
    • 1.3. Boss Mods
      • 1.3.1. BigWigs Bossmods
      • 1.3.2. Deadly Boss Mods
    • 1.4. Name Plates
      • 1.4.1. KUI Nameplates
      • 1.4.2. TidyPlates
    • 1.5. Damage Meters
      • 1.5.1. Skada
      • 1.5.2. Details
    • 1.6. Extra AddOns
      • 1.6.1. Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 1.6.2. DeathNote
      • 1.6.3. Doom CooldownPulse
      • 1.6.4. Angry Assignments
  • 2. Macros
    • 2.1. Generic Macros for Mages
      • 2.1.1. Stopcast Blink
      • 2.1.2. 1-Button Block
      • 2.1.3. Block Cancel
    • 2.2. Specific Macros for Arcane Mages
      • 2.2.1. Stopcast Displacement
• +Gear and Best in Slot
  • 1. Azerite Gear for Arcane Mage
  • 2. Evaluating Upgrades
  • 3. Trinket Notes for Arcane Mage
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Simulations
  • 1. Disclaimer
  • 2. ChangeLog

General Information

On this page, we list all of the frequently asked questions for an Arcane Mage in World of Warcraft Battle for Azeroth 8.0.1.

The other pages of our Arcane Mage guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

About Our Author

This guide has been written by Dutchmagoz. Dutchmagoz is a Mythic raider in UnknownError, owner of the Mage theorycrafting website Altered Time, and an admin of the Mage Discord server, Halls of the Guardian.

1. Battle for Azeroth Frequently Asked Questions for Arcane Mage

This section will go over several of the most frequently asked questions regarding Arcane Mages in Battle for Azeroth.

1.1. Should I Use Rune of Power or Incanter's Flow?

Rune of Power and Incanter's Flow are very close in overall DPS. Because of this, it is quite hard to figure out when to use which talent. In general, on a fight with very little movement and other fight mechanics, Rune of Power is usually the best choice. Below we have listed the reasons to not run Rune of Power:

• There are raid mechanics which you can not plan for in advance that may cause you to have to move out of your Rune of Power.
• There is a lot of movement required on the fight in general.
• It is also worth noting that Rune of Power is a lot harder to play with than Incanter's Flow, so it should not be used when you are not very comfortable with the spec and fight.

1.2. When Should I Enter the Burn Phase?

As described in the rotation section of the guide, there are a couple of requirements before you can enter your Burn Phase:

• Arcane Power is ready;
• you have 4 charges of Arcane Charges;
• at least one charge of Rune of Power is available, if running the talent;
• you have at least 50% Mana (30% if Overpowered is talented).

What is important to note here, is that there are no requirements in regards to Evocation. A lot of players think Evocation needs to be (almost) ready before you can enter the Burn Phase, but this is not true. If Evocation is not ready, you simply start your Burn phase, and when you run out of Mana, you start your Conserve Phase. Then when Evocation is ready, you use it to generate back to full Mana and continue your Conserve Phase. This also works the other way around; when Evocation is (about to be) ready, you should make sure you are low on Mana, so you can use it right as it becomes available. You do not have to save it for your Burn Phase. It is important to keep both Arcane Power and Evocation on cooldown as much as possible.

1.3. Do I Use Reverberate or Nether Tempest for Dungeons?

Reverberate is the higher DPS talent for AoE, as long as you can be in melee range, so if the dungeon requires constant AoE damage it is the best talent. However, most dungeons require a good mix of AoE and single-target, and even during AoE situations, it is often the case that one target is more important than the others. In these situations, Nether Tempest is the best choice, because it allows you to focus on a primary target while still doing some additional AoE damage.

2. ChangeLog

• 12 Aug. 2018: Updated for Battle for Azeroth launch.
• 06 Aug. 2018: Page added.