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Table of Contents
General Information
On this page, we list your Arcane Mage core abilities and how they should be used together (rotation) in World of Warcraft Legion 7.3.5. We also explain when to use your various cooldowns. Then, we go deeper and present all the subtleties that you will need to know if you want to excel at playing an Arcane Mage.
The other pages of our Arcane Mage guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.
About Our Author and Reviewer
This guide has been reviewed and approved by Blixius, a top Arcane Mage who raids in Bird is the Word.
1. Ability Priority List for Arcane Mage
The rotation of an Arcane Mage is outlined in the following priority list.
The concept is to maintain a high and stable Mana pool during your "Conserve"
phase, biding time until your cooldowns are available. As soon as your
cooldowns are ready, you enter the "Burn" phase where you siphon all your Mana
into damage. After the Burn phase concludes, you recoup your entire Mana pool
using 
Evocation, and the cycle begins anew.
1.1. Conserve Phase
The Conserve Phase is deceptively straightforward, but it mercilessly
punishes mistakes. Once Evocation is on cooldown, the only way
to regain your Mana is through 
Aluneth's Avarice or by waiting
for it to slowly regenerate. Therefore, paying close attention to your Mana
and your available spells is of crucial importance. Your goal is to stay
relatively healthy on Mana throughout the Conserve Phase, so that when your
Arcane Power comes off cooldown you are able to Burn as much Mana as
possible within that window for optimal output.
1.1.1. Building Charges
Follow this priority if you do not have 4 
Arcane Charges
currently.
- Cast
Arcane Missiles if either of the following is true:- You have 3 Arcane Missiles charges and there are 1-2 targets.
- You have 3
Arcane Charges, less than 55% Mana, and there are 1-2
targets.
- You have 3
- Cast
Arcane Explosion if there are 2+ targets within range. - Cast
Arcane Blast.
1.1.2. Maximum Charges
- Cast
Mark of Aluneth whenever it is available and you are
below 85% Mana. - Use
Rune of Power if either of the following is true:- You have just applied Mark of Aluneth.
- You have 2 charges, or are about to cap charges.
- You have just applied
- Cast
Arcane Barrage then 
Charged Up if your Burn Phase is
at least 35 seconds away. - Cast Arcane Missiles if you are at 3 missile charges and there are
1-2 enemies present.
- Cast Arcane Explosion if there are 2+ targets present and you have
at least 70% of your maximum Mana (60% if using
Mystic Kilt of the Rune Master). - Cast Arcane Blast if have at least 90% of your maximum Mana.
- Cast Arcane Missiles.
- Cast Arcane Barrage.
- Cast Arcane Blast (1 target) or Arcane Barrage
(2+ targets).
If you are playing with 
Supernova or 
Nether Tempest for
whatever reason, they should be prioritized above 
Arcane Explosion.
Once again, the goal is to save enough Mana for your Burn phase to still
last for all of Arcane Power while still dealing enough damage to be
effective. The more Mastery you currently have, the more 4 Arcane Charge
casts you will be able to manage without destroying your Mana pool entirely.
1.2. Burn Phase
The Burn phase commences at the start of the encounter, and whenever
Arcane Power is off cooldown thereafter. It is important to
ensure you will not be interrupted during the Burn phase, so avoid entering
this part of the rotating during heavy movement or when volatile mechanics are
active.
Before entering the Burn Phase, make sure you meet the following checklist:
Arcane Power is available.
Evocation is available, or will be available within 15-20
seconds.- At least one charge of Rune of Power is available.
- Charged Up is available (if using T21 4-Piece Bonus).
You should also make sure 
Presence of Mind is available, though
this is not required. You should not delay your Mark of Aluneth
for the Burn Phase unless it is only for a few seconds.
Always enter the Burn Phase with 4 Arcane Charges.
Below we have listed the order in which you should perform your spells during the Burn Phase:
- Cast Mark of Aluneth if available.
- If you have the Tier 21 4-Piece Bonus: Cast
Arcane Barrage.
- If you have the Tier 21 4-Piece Bonus: Cast
Charged Up.
- Place Rune of Power if either of the following is true:
- Arcane Power is available and will be your next cast.
- Arcane Power is still active and your first Rune has expired.
- Activate Arcane Power.
- Once Arcane Power is active, we spam our filler spells in the
following order of priority:
- Cast Arcane Missiles if you are at 3 missile charges and there are
1-2 enemies present.
- Cast Arcane Explosion if there are 2+ targets stacked
together.
- Cast Arcane Missiles at any number of charges.
- Cast Arcane Blast.
- Cast
- Activate
Presence of Mind when your Arcane Power OR
your last charge of Rune of Power has ~3 seconds left (whichever will
expire first). - Cast Arcane Blast twice.
- Channel Evocation.
If there is AoE or cleave and you are talented into Resonance,
it is ideal to cast 
Arcane Barrage right at the end of
Arcane Power for the increased cleave damage.
See our Opening Sequence for instructions on what to cast when the fight starts.
2. Important Notes for Arcane Mage
2.1. Arcane Charges: Understanding Your Mana Pool
If you are unfamiliar with Arcane, managing your Arcane Charges
can be a bit confusing at first. Arcane as a specialization is fundamentally
very straightforward, but also stands apart from many specializations in the
respect that you have full control over your damage output and resource at all
times. Ultimately, the only wild card in the Arcane rotation is
Arcane Missiles, and it alters the specialization in a unique
way. Since Arcane Missiles does not cost any Mana to cast and also
generates an Arcane Charge, it functions as a way to regenerate
Mana without having to cast Arcane Barrage. Every time you do a
new pull on a boss, you will reorganize your abilities into a different
sequence due to the randomness of Arcane Missiles procs.
Ultimately this results in a very reactive playstyle revolving around the basic
Arcane Charge system.
For each Arcane Charge you have, you deal more damage with
your basic spells, however, the Mana cost is also increased by 100% per charge.
It is not possible the maintain a stable Mana pool by casting spells at 4
Arcane Charges, and therefore you will have to often clear your
charges with Arcane Barrage during the Conserve phase. While it
is technically ideal to generate another 4 Arcane Charges before
clearing them with Arcane Barrage, this will not always result in
a net Mana gain if Arcane Missiles does not proc. When you drop
below 70% Mana during the Conserve phase, it is beneficial to
instead generate between 1 and 3 Arcane Charges before clearing
with Arcane Barrage. Since the Mana multiplier is considerably
lower, this will result in much more Mana gained during the charge generation
and dumping cycle.
It is best to use your charges of Arcane Missiles when you are
high on Arcane Charges, or about to clear with
Arcane Barrage. The reason for this is that
Arcane Missiles has no Mana cost, and it is best to take
advantage of the increased damage multiplier from your
Arcane Charges for as long as possible before you clear (without
adversely affecting your Mana pool). During the Burn phase, it is still
preferable to cast Arcane Missiles over
Arcane Blast, as Arcane Missiles does more damage
and is also a faster cast (higher DPET or Damage Per Execution Time).
In conclusion, your Mana pool and Arcane Charges have inverse
synergy. The longer you remain at higher stacks of Arcane Charge,
the faster your Mana bar will deplete, but the more burst damage you will deal.
The shorter you remain at higher stacks of Arcane Charge, the
easier it will be to maintain a stable Mana pool (or possibly regenerate Mana),
though you will deal less burst damage. Arcane Missiles serves as
a tool to allow you to remain at high stacks for an increased period without
penalty, but occurs randomly, keeping you on your toes. Finally, during the
Burn phase the intent is to permanently remain at maximum
Arcane Charges until your Mana pool is entirely depleted.
2.1.1. Aluneth's Avarice
A new Artifact trait, Aluneth's Avarice, was added in Patch
7.2. Once you have acquired this trait, Mark of Aluneth will
restore 20% of your maximum Mana when it detonates. Outside of the opener,
it is important to always maximize the Mana return so you are never wasting
any of the resource return.
2.2. Spells That Benefit From Arcane Charges
Evocation is no longer affected by
Arcane Charges, but it is still preferable to ensure you do
not clear your charges with Arcane Barrage before casting
Evocation. The reason for this is that you will finish
Evocation with 100% Mana and 4 Arcane Charges,
allowing you to immediately cast a 4 charge Arcane Blast instead
of Mana capping for a few seconds.
2.3. Truncating Arcane Missiles
Many channelled basic spells, such as 
Drain Soul, benefit from
truncating (or "clipping") the channel after the penultimate tick, allowing you
to immediately lead into the next cast without delay.
Arcane Missiles, however, fires off an extra missile every time
it ticks throughout the channel, making it extremely beneficial to fully
complete your channel before queuing up the next spell. Many players will
accidentally clip the last tick of the channel, cancelling the final missile
and robbing them of a noticeable amount of damage. This can be solved by using
!nochannel macros, which prevents you from interrupting a channelled spell with
another cast. This induces slight input lag, causing a slight delay between the
end of your channel and the beginning of a new cast, so it is not recommended.
For players that want maximum results, the best solution is AddOns. The easiest
way to avoid missile clipping is by installing Gnosis, a cast bar AddOn
specifically designed to make channelled ticks easily identifiable. Unlike the
in-game castbar or most other AddOns, it updates dynamically with latency so
your true tick rate is always displayed. This is the castbar used almost
unanimously by all high level players, but it is especially beneficial for
Arcane Mage due to the importance of Arcane Missiles.
2.4. Effectively Handling AoE
As a specialization that is typically known for single target damage, AoE is
a bit of a foreign concept to some Arcane Mages. It is possible, however, to
deal effective AoE damage as Arcane. Arcane Power does
technically affect your AoE spells, however, it is extremely inefficient to
dedicate your Burn phase to AoE damage (generally speaking), however, there are
some exceptions to this rule. For example, in a dungeon environment where you
know your cooldowns will be up in time for the boss, it makes sense to use your
cooldowns to help clear the trash in a more timely fashion.
To effectively deal AoE damage, you should cast 
Arcane Orb to
quickly generate Arcane Charges and
Arcane Missiles. Apply a 4-charge Nether Tempest to
a central target, and spam Arcane Explosion. Use your charges of
Arcane Missiles as needed to help regenerate Mana and single out
priority targets. Essentially, perform the rotation per normal, replacing
Arcane Blast with Arcane Explosion. If you are
talented into Resonance, your Conserve phase will also pack a
noticeable punch on AoE due to the increased damage from
Arcane Barrage.
If you are playing with 
Charged Up and Arcane Orb,
you can drop your stacks with Arcane Barrage and instantly
rebuild them without effort.
If you are performing AoE on a raid boss, it is important to continue to pay
close attention to your Mana bar. Arcane Explosion is very
expensive, and it can be easy to quickly consume a full Mana bar if you are not
careful.
2.5. Rune of Power
Rune of Power is a medium length cooldown that is best used to apply
significant pressure during its duration. You should always overlap
Rune of Power and Arcane Power, as this will result in the
maximum possible burst. Start by casting Rune of Power, and immediately
activating Arcane Power at the end of the cast), so they will both end
at the same time. You should also ensure your Rune of Power is always
available for Mark of Aluneth, as it boosts the damage
significantly. Rune of Power does have 2 charges, allowing you to save
the second for a usage of your choice. Good times to use your second rune
charge:
- For Mark of Aluneth if it is desynced with Arcane Power;
- after Arcane Power ends and you have enough Mana to last another 10 seconds in the Burn phase;
- to push a damage check;
- when several advantageous procs overlap;
- during a period of zero movement;
- with excess Mana in the Conserve phase at 4 Arcane Charges;
- on AoE.
2.6. Arcane Orb
Arcane Orb is an extremely flexible ability that can be used
in almost any way you prefer. Generally, it is best to use it to help generate
Arcane Charges efficiently and help procure
Arcane Missiles. It can also be used to help maintain Mana
stability at 4 stacks of Arcane Charge by casting it on AoE to
help with the generation of Arcane Missiles. It is best left to
contextual judgement to determine the optimal usage. If in doubt, use it on AoE
opportunities to generate Arcane Charges and deal damage.
2.7. Prismatic Barrier
Do not forget to cast this any time you have to slightly reposition and
Blink/
Shimmer is either unavailable or would move you too far to be
useful. It lasts for 30 seconds, and has a 30-second cooldown, meaning
you can keep a 100% uptime on the magic damage reduction if magic damage
taken is heavy. You can and should cast it before the start of every
engagement.
3. Core Concepts for Arcane Mage
Arcane Mage is an elementary enough specialization to perform on a target dummy, but there are a few key factors that will separate the good from the great. Learning to focus on what is important and master the core concepts of a specialization is what leads to strong overall performance on the damage charts. There are 3 major concepts that form the central trinity of optimizing for success:
- Mana management during the Conserve phase;
- flawless execution during the Burn phase;
- movement management.
Managing movement is a fundamental skill shared by all the caster classes in World of Warcraft. The highly mobile nature of the Mage class allows flexible and creative ways to move during combat, making it of supreme importance that you give this the proper respect.
3.1. Mana Management During Conserve Phase
It is highly recommended you develop an instinct for your Mana regeneration rate by practicing on a target dummy or in LFR. The more Mastery you have, the faster you will regenerate Mana in combat, making this regeneration highly variable depending on your level of gear.
It is important to have a good sense of the interplay between your
Arcane Charges and your current Mana pool. On encounters with cleave
and AoE, pay close attention to your timers if you plan on capitalizing on the
extra targets. If you need to unleash a little extra burst in the Conserve
phase for an important add, AoE opportunities, or to push a damage check,
ensure you correctly budget Mana and a Rune of Power charge in
advance.
Mana regens at fixed 1.5% of max Mana per second, increased to 1.364% if
using Arcane Familiar. Evocation however, does benefit from the extra 10% Mana
from Arcane Familiar. This is further increased through stacking Mastery, which
will dampen the amount of pooling and lower the number of
Arcane Barrage casts per fight, allowing you to stay at 4
Arcane Charges longer.
If you have an AddOn that allows you detach your Mana bar, it is highly
recommended you put it somewhere near the lower centre of your screen so you
can easily keep track of your current resource level. Newer players tend to
overburn during the Conserve phase and are unable to execute a complete Burn
phase because of this. Remember to use Arcane Missiles on 4
Arcane Charges whenever possible to cheat the Mana multiplier but
exploit the damage buff.
3.2. Executing the Burn Phase Consistently
Since 75% of Arcane gameplay (the Conserve phase) is about setting up the
Burn phase, it is of paramount importance that you consistently and flawlessly
execute it once it begins. Arcane Power should be used on cooldown
wherever possible, though you do want it to overlap with any other major damage
buffs (such as the legendary ring and Rune of Power). You should cast
Evocation immediately upon hitting 0 Mana and save your
Arcane Missiles charges until after Evocating, so the Evocate cooldown
will be up as soon as possible later in the fight.
Pay close attention to the Burn phase priority list posted at the top of this page. This seems very straightforward on the surface, but a surprising number of players will stutter in the execution. Make sure you are prepared before entering the Burn phase!
3.3. Movement Management
While it is difficult to describe the best ways to position and move during a dungeon or raid encounter, it is essential to your success as an Arcane Mage.
Try and use Blink for "urgent" movement — when you need to
travel from one place to another as quickly as possible.
Prismatic Barrier is a good choice when you only need to take
a few steps, as it only costs a single GCD. Shimmer is a great talent
as it is off GCD and does not interrupt your current cast.
Displacement is incredibly underutilized by a lot of players,
but is an essential part of your mobility kit. This spell is fantastic for
mechanics that force you to run out of the raid and return moments later.
It is also great for dealing with dance mechanics — after the "dance" ends
you can return to your original location without delay. Do not underestimate
Displacement and do not be afraid to get creative with how
you use it! It should be noted that when using Shimmer, your casts
are also uninterrupted by Displacement in addition. The
Shimmer talent is very strong overall, allowing you to stay in
line of sight mid cast if the boss moves, or quickly dodge a mechanic without
interruption.
Always try to position yourself in a location central to fight movement. For example, if the boss is being moved in a circle, try to stay on the inside of the kite path to ensure minimal movement.
3.3.1. Quiet Movement
Many players will unconsciously move during fights, despite it being unnecessary. For example, sometimes the boss or adds will be moved by the tank a couple yards, and though you are still in range to cast, you subconsciously mirror that movement, costing you global cooldowns. Consciously work to "quiet" your movement, and reduce unnecessary movement to a minimum. The best way to see this in action is to take a video of your raid, then watch yourself play. Most players will be surprised by the amount of wasted movement they commit. When you are forced to move, make use of the tips above, and make your path as direct and decisive as possible.
4. Arcane Mage: Resonance Opening Sequence
- Use
Potion of Prolonged Power 2 sec before the pull. - Cast Mark of Aluneth.
- Place Rune of Power.
- Activate Arcane Power and any racial cooldowns or on-use
trinkets.
- Activate Presence of Mind and cast Arcane Blast twice
(unless Arcane Missiles has 3 charges, in which case reverse this step
with the next one).
- Cast Arcane Missiles if you have 3 charges or are below 100%
Mana.
- Cast Arcane Blast to stay under 100% Mana. Cast
Arcane Missiles whenever you have 3 charges or are below 100%
Mana.
- Cast Arcane Blast as a filler.
- Place Rune of Power again when Arcane Power ends (only if
Bloodlust was used).
- Spam Arcane Blast.
- Use Arcane Missiles when available.
- Spam
- Cast Evocation when your Mana is empty and commence Conserve
phase.
5. Arcane Mage: Charged Up Opening Sequence
- Use Potion of Prolonged Power.
- Precast Mark of Aluneth 1.5 seconds before the pull.
- Activate Charged Up.
- Place Rune of Power.
- Activate Arcane Power and any racial cooldowns or on-use
trinkets.
- Activate Presence of Mind.
- Spam Arcane Blast.
- Use Arcane Missiles whenever you have 3 charges or are below 100%
Mana.
- Place Rune of Power again when Arcane Power ends (only if
Heroism or Bloodlust was used).
- Spam Arcane Blast.
- Use Arcane Missiles when available.
- Spam
- Cast Evocation when your Mana is empty and commence Conserve
phase.
6. ChangeLog
- 19 Feb. 2018: Updated Conserve and Burn Phase priority/rotations.
- 28 Nov. 2017: Added some notes for players who have the Tier 21 4-Piece Bonus.
- 29 Aug. 2017: No changes needed for patch 7.3.
- 20 Jul. 2017: Updated some text from the opener/APL to match each other more clearly.
- 12 Jun. 2017: Updated Resonance opener.
- 30 Mar. 2017: Slight updates for both openers to maximize Aluneth's Avarice. Added section dedicated to Aluneth's Avarice.
- 29 Mar. 2017: Opener remains the same as it is inefficient to delay Arcane Power in order to fully benefit from Aluneth's Avarice.
- 27 Mar. 2017: No changes needed for Patch 7.2. Might need to update the opener at a later time once we figure out how the Mana restoration from Aluneth's Avarice can be best put to use.
- 20 Mar. 2017: Added an additional opener and updated sections regarding Charged Up.
- 09 Jan. 2017: Updated for 7.1.5 — APL, Prismatic Barrier, Movement Management, and Opener.
- 25 Oct. 2016: Arcane Charge paragraph was updated following the Patch 7.1 increase in Mana cost per charge (now 125%, up from 100%).
- 15 Sep. 2016: Updated opener.
- 29 Aug. 2016: Updated for Legion's launch.
- 19 Jul. 2016: Many min-maxing improvements throughout the page.
- 18 Jul. 2016: Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
CONTENTS
FROM THE MAGE FORUMS
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- Collected questions (Fire)
- Acrane questions
- Low DPS in Antorus
- Frost Mage Haste vs. versatility
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