Arcane Mage DPS Mythic+ Tips 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
  • 5. Changelog
• +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. Choosing Azerite Gear as a Arcane Mage
  • 2. Choosing Azerite Traits as a Arcane Mage
    • 2.1. Outer Ring
    • 2.2. Middle Ring
    • 2.3. Inner Ring
  • 3. Azerite Traits Rotation Changes and Details for Arcane Mage
  • 4. Single Target Azerite Traits Simulations for Arcane Mage
    • 4.1. Outer Ring Trait Simulations for Arcane Mage on Single Target
    • 4.2. Middle Ring Trait Comparisons for Arcane Mage on Single Target
  • 5. AoE/Cleave Azerite Traits Simulations for Arcane Mage
    • 5.1. Outer Ring Trait Simulations for Arcane Mage on AoE/Cleave
    • 5.2. Middle Ring Trait Simulations for Arcane Mage on AoE/Cleave
  • 6. Outer Ring Traits for Arcane Mage
    • 6.1. Generic Outer Ring Traits
    • 6.2. Arcane Mage specific Outer Ring Traits
  • 7. Middle Ring Traits for Arcane Mage
  • 8. Inner Ring Traits for Arcane Mage
  • 9. Find Azerite Armor By Trait/Power
  • 10. 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
    • 2.1. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Arcane Mage in Mythic+
    • 2.2. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Arcane Mage in Mythic+
    • 2.3. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Arcane Mage in Mythic+
  • 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. Disclaimer
  • 2. Arcane Mage in Uldir
    • 2.1. Talent Cheatsheet
  • 3. Taloc
    • 3.1. Suggested Talents for Arcane Mage on Taloc
    • 3.2. Arcane Mage Playstyle on Taloc
  • 4. M.O.T.H.E.R.
    • 4.1. Suggested Talents for Arcane Mage on M.O.T.H.E.R.
    • 4.2. Arcane Mage Playstyle on M.O.T.H.E.R.
  • 5. Fetid Devourer
    • 5.1. Suggested Talents for Arcane Mage on Fetid Devourer
    • 5.2. Arcane Mage Playstyle on Fetid Devourer
  • 6. Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
    • 6.1. Suggested Talents for Arcane Mage on Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
    • 6.2. Arcane Mage Playstyle on Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
  • 7. Vectis
    • 7.1. Suggested Talents for Arcane Mage on Vectis
    • 7.2. Arcane Mage Playstyle on Vectis
  • 8. Zul, Reborn
    • 8.1. Suggested Talents for Arcane Mage on Zul, Reborn
    • 8.2. Arcane Mage Playstyle on Zul, Reborn
  • 9. Mythrax the Unraveler
    • 9.1. Suggested Talents for Arcane Mage on Mythrax the Unraveler
    • 9.2. Arcane Mage Playstyle on Mythrax the Unraveler
  • 10. G'huun
    • 10.1. Suggested Talents for Arcane Mage on G'huun
    • 10.2. Arcane Mage Playstyle on G'huun
  • 11. 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. Decursive
      • 1.6.2. Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 1.6.3. DeathNote
      • 1.6.4. Doom CooldownPulse
      • 1.6.5. 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
  • 3. Changelog
• +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, you will various tips and pieces of advice for clearing high Mythic+ content with your Arcane Mage.

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. Arcane Mage in Mythic+

Arcane Mage, although not the best out of the Mage specs, can hold its own in Mythic+. It can focus down priority targets very quickly due to its burst potential, and it can also do quite strong AoE damage when needed.

1.1. Arcane Mage Mythic+ Rotation

Both the single target and multi-target rotations do not change in Mythic+ content. For more information about the Arcane Mage DPS rotation, refer back to the Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities page.

1.2. Arcane Mage Utility

The main reason to bring a Arcane Mage to a Mythic+ group is for its damage, but aside from that, it also has some very valuable utility which makes every Mythic+ group want at least one Mage:

• Arcane Intellect is a big boost for both the other caster DPS in the group, as well as additional healing for the healer.
• Time Warp is a required cooldown for any Mythic+ group.
• Remove Curse can be useful to dispel Curses in some dungeons.
• An Arcane Mage adds some crowd-control in the form of Polymorph.
• Spellsteal can be useful in some dungeons to remove dangerous buffs from enemy targets. Sometimes it can also be used as a big DPS boost for the Arcane Mage by Spellstealing beneficial buffs that increase your damage.

2. Mythic+ Talents for Arcane Mage

Below are the suggested talents for Mythic+. There are a couple of choices you can make with the talents, which are discussed below.

Level	Choices
15	✘ Amplification	✔ Rule of Threes	? Arcane Familiar
30	? Mana Shield	✔ Shimmer	✔ Slipstream
45	? Incanter's Flow	✘ Mirror Image	✔ Rune of Power
60	✔ Resonance	✘ Charged Up	✘ Supernova
75	✔ Chrono Shift	✘ Ice Ward	✘ Ring of Frost
90	✔ Reverberate	✘ Touch of the Magi	✔ Nether Tempest
100	✔ Overpowered	✘ Time Anomaly	✔ Arcane Orb

There are 3 real choices to make in the talent tree for Mythic+ content.

2.1. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Arcane Mage in Mythic+

Rune of Power is in theory the better choice here. It is both more DPS on single-target and on AoE. However, in certain dungeons it may be hard to stay in your Rune of Power due to a variety of different reasons. If you notice you are forced to move out of your Rune of Power multiple times during a dungeon, you should consider Incanter's Flow.

2.2. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Arcane Mage in Mythic+

Reverberate is the better AoE DPS option. However, during Tyrannical weeks, Nether Tempest should be considered. This is because Nether Tempest is not far behind Reverberate on AoE, and can actually be used for single-target DPS.

2.3. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Arcane Mage in Mythic+

Arcane Orb is the go-to choice for most Mythic+ dungeons, however, during Tyrannical weeks you should consider Overpowered for dungeons with hard DPS checks on bosses.

3. Mythic+ Affixes

The way Mythic+ affixes are tiered in Battle for Azeroth has changed quite a bit since their launch in Legion.

There are now three weekly affixes and one seasonal affix. The first affix available instantly at level two and three, the second affix starts at level four, the third affix enabled at level seven, and finally the seasonal affix at level ten.

3.1. Tier One Affixes

• Fortified increases the Health pool of all non-boss enemies by 20% and damage dealt by 30%.
• Tyrannical increases the Health pool of boss enemies by 40% and their damage dealt by 15%.

Fortified and Tyrannical are the two affixes every player will see. These affixes shift the focus of dungeons from boss to trash depending on the week. Arcane Mages can perform quite well in both Tyrannical and Fortified weeks, but it does not excel at either. During Tyrannical weeks, players may want to take more single-target oriented trinkets, gear, or even talents but that will be both dungeon and key level dependent.

3.2. Tier Two Affixes

• Raging increases the damage dealt by enemies below 30% by 100% until they die.
• Teeming adds additional trash mobs to certain packs throughout each dungeon.
• Bolstering buffs remaining enemies Health pools and damage dealt by 20% when an enemy dies nearby. To counter this affix, DPS all mobs down evenly and focus your casts into high Health mobs if there are any.
• Sanguine places a pool of blood on the ground when a mob is slain. This pool will heal remaining enemies who stay inside the zone and also damage players.
• Bursting forces enemy mobs to detonate when slain, afflicting the group with a stacking debuff that causes players to suffer 10% of their max Health in damage every four seconds. When handling the Bursting affix, ask how many stacks your healer can handle and try to not mindlessly DPS and exceed your healers stack limit. You can use Ice Block to remove these stacks for when there are too many stacks, or Greater Invisibility to greatly reduce the damage you take from it.

3.3. Tier Three Affixes

• Volcanic spawns volcanic plumes underneath and around players when in combat with any enemy. When damaged by Volcanic, players suffer 50% of their maximum Health pool in damage. The more enemies you are in combat with, the more Volcanic that will spawn.
• Grievous afflicts players with a stacking DoT when they fall below 90%. Use Prismatic Barrier liberally during Grievous weeks and bring consumables to assist your healer when out of combat.
• Quaking will periodically attempt to interrupt casters by creating a damaging zone around each player. About 3 seconds after the zone forms, it will deal 20% maximum Health in damage to each player caught in the zone as well as interrupting any hard casts being finished during the shockwave.
• Explosive will occasionally spawn Explosive Orbs that need to be targeted and burned down within a short period of time or they will deal significant damage to the party. Explosive Orbs are not cleaveable and the amount of orbs that spawn scales with the amount of enemies pulled. Arcane Explosion will not hit the Explosive Orbs, so you have to actively target them to kill them.
• Necrotic debuffs the target of enemy melee swings with stacking healing reduction and minor DoT.
• Skittish reduces the amount of threat generated by tanks throughout the dungeon. You should be careful of being in melee range during Skittish weeks for Arcane Explosion because you get additional threat when in melee range.

3.4. Seasonal Affix

Infested is the seasonal affix for the launch of Battle for Azeroth. Enemies afflicted with the Infested debuff will be scattered throughout each dungeon once you reach key level ten. These mobs will heal enemies around them and when slain, will spawn two Spawn of G'huun that will attempt to infest remaining enemies.

There are several ways to handle Infested mobs depending on pack size, which mob is infested, and group composition. The first way to handle an Infested enemy is to burn down the infested target and the subsequently spawning Spawn of G'huun while either crowd controlling or ignoring the other mobs in the pack. The second way is to crowd control the Infested mob and burn down all the other enemies.

4. Mythic+ Azerite Traits

There are two Arcane Mage-specific traits should be used when possible in Mythic+

• Explosive Echo will increase your AoE damage significantly in Mythic+.
• Arcane Pressure is extremely strong in Mythic+, especially combined with Resonance. If you make sure to have 4 Arcane Charges when a group of enemies hits 35% Health, you can instantly Arcane Barrage them, follow it up with an Arcane Orb which should give you 4 Arcane Charges again, and allow you to Arcane Barrage again. In a lot of Mythic+ levels this rotation of 3 spells will outright finish off an entire pack of enemies from 35%, especially if you managed to get the trait on multiple pieces of Azerite gear.

5. Changelog

• 28 Aug. 2018: Added Overpowered as a viable talent choices for Tyrannical weeks.
• 20 Aug. 2018: Changed talent suggestions based on more in-game experience and simulations.
• 10 Aug. 2018: Added Arcane Mage Mythic+ page.

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