Arcane Mage DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities — The War Within (11.0.5)

Last updated on Nov 26, 2024 at 16:17 by Dutchmagoz 69 comments
General Information

On this page, you will learn how to optimize the rotation of your Arcane Mage in both single-target and multiple-target situations. We also have advanced sections about cooldowns, procs, etc. in order to minmax your DPS. All our content is updated for World of Warcraft — The War Within (11.0.5).

If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Arcane Mage rotation.

1.

Arcane Mage Rotation

Welcome to our Rotation page for Arcane Mages. On this page you will find everything you need to know about actually playing the spec in Raiding scenarios.

1.1.

Mythic+

The primary focus on this page is on raiding scenarios. Although the rotation is going to give pretty good results in Mythic+ as well, for a more Mythic+ oriented rotation, see our Mythic+ page.

1.2.

Easy Mode

If the rotations below seem overwhelming to you, or you would like to read a more simplified version of the rotation, you might benefit from visiting our Easy Mode page, which outlines a close-to-optimal rotation in simpler terms.

1.3.

PvP

The content on this page is purely PvE-related. If you are looking for PvP Rotation Tips, please visit our PvP page below.

2.

Arcane Mage Rotations

Each of the sections below explain the rotation for Arcane Mage at different target counts. Click the boxes to switch to the desired damage type.

3.

Arcane Mage Rotation

The buttons below can be used to select between curated Single-Target and AoE/Mythic+ loadouts. You can also use the switches below to add or remove individual talents you may also be using. Keep in mind, some talents are so critical to the spec to function correctly, or you must take them to be able to navigate the tree properly, in which case they will not have a checkbox below and will be assumed picked.

2.1.

Presets

Sunfury Single-Target Sunfury Mythic+/AoE
Spellslinger Single-Target Spellslinger Mythic+/AoE
2.2.

Manual Selection

Hero Talents
Talent Selections, etc.
Arcane Explained Single-Target Rotation AoE Rotation
3.

Arcane Explained

Arcane is largely focused around a couple of key concepts:

  • Remain at 4 Arcane Charges as much as possible while casting as many empowered Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrages as possible. This is what most of our rotation tries to achieve. This means we generally only want to use Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrage when we have a way to build back 4 Charges immediately, via, for example, Glorious Incandescence Icon Glorious Incandescence, Intuition Icon Intuition and Aethervision Icon Aethervision, along with some other niche methods. This is a heavy strain on your Mana, which moves us onto our next point:
  • Use cooldowns quickly. This is important for almost all specs in the game, but Arcane really suffers when you sit on your cooldowns for a long time. Not only are you losing damage from not gaining the damage benefits from your cooldowns like Arcane Surge Icon Arcane Surge, but your mana generation is directly tied to your cooldowns, further lowering your damage and making it much harder to remain at 4 Arcane Charges.
  • Maximizing Aethervision Icon Aethervision bonus damage by combining it with Nether Precision Icon Nether Precision. At an initial read, the instinct would be to immediately use Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrage after getting 2 stacks of Aethervision. However, we can hold on to Aethervision until the next Nether Precision Icon Nether Precision (since it lasts 12 seconds) and then Arcane Barrage together with the Nether Precision damage, combining the damage bonus of Aethervision and Nether Precision into one hit.
  • Combining all of the above points together leads to a (simplified) playstyle of the following:
    • Cast Arcane Blast Icon Arcane Blast, to generate Clearcasting Icon Clearcasting so you can generate Nether Precision Icon Nether Precision via Arcane Missiles Icon Arcane Missiles.
    • Consume Nether Precision Icon Nether Precision via Arcane Blast Icon Arcane Blast, providing Aethervision Icon Aethervision, holding it until we can combine it with the next Nether Precision Icon Nether Precision for the additional damage.
    • When the next Clearcasting Icon Clearcasting procs, we use Arcane Missiles Icon Arcane Missiles to proc Nether Precision Icon Nether Precision, then consuming the first stack with Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrage, combining Aethervision Icon Aethervision and Nether Precision damage.
    • There are various other reasons to Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrage early, for example Glorious Incandescence Icon Glorious Incandescence (as Sunfury), Intuition Icon Intuition (4-set proc), execute phase (Arcane Bombardment Icon Arcane Bombardment), and some others. Check the full rotation for the in-depth details.
4.

Single-Target Rotation for Arcane Mage

The rotation of an Arcane Mage is outlined in the following priority list. First, you go into a specific sequence of spells to activate your cooldowns, followed by a priority list.

4.1.

Opener / Cooldown Sequence

You should go into the Cooldown Sequence whenever Evocation Icon Evocation, Arcane Surge Icon Arcane Surge and Touch of the Magi Icon Touch of the Magi are ready.

The opener consists of a very specific sequence of spells into a standard priority system. The same sequence below applies any time you have your cooldowns ready, not just the opener.

  1. Cast Evocation Icon Evocation, for Clearcasting Icon Clearcasting and the Intellect buff.
  2. Cast Arcane Missiles Icon Arcane Missiles, consuming the Clearcasting Icon Clearcasting from Evocation and granting Nether Precision Icon Nether Precision;
  3. Activate any on-use Racials that provide stat boosts, like Berserking Icon Berserking or Blood Fury Icon Blood Fury.
  4. Activate Treacherous Transmitter Icon Treacherous Transmitter if Spymaster's Web Icon Spymaster's Web has less than 40 stacks.
  5. Activate Spymaster's Web Icon Spymaster's Web if Spymaster's Web Icon Spymaster's Web is at 40 stacks.
  6. Cast Arcane Surge Icon Arcane Surge;
  7. If you have 4 Arcane Charges, cast Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrage. This will not be the case in the opener, but later in the fight, you will do this sequence while on 4 Arcane Charges;
  8. Cast Touch of the Magi Icon Touch of the Magi. If this is after Arcane Barrage, make sure you cast it while Arcane Barrage is traveling towards the target. Due to Touch of the Magi being off the global cooldown, it should apply before Arcane Barrage reaches the target.

This marks the end of the specific opener/cooldown sequence. After this, follow the priority list below:

4.1.1.

Arcane Mage Priority List

  1. Go into the cooldown sequence above whenever Evocation Icon Evocation, Arcane Surge Icon Arcane Surge and Touch of the Magi Icon Touch of the Magi are ready;
  2. Cast Shifting Power Icon Shifting Power whenever it is ready and none of your cooldowns are currently active: Arcane Surge Icon Arcane Surge, Arcane Soul Icon Arcane Soul, Siphon Storm Icon Siphon Storm (the buff from Evocation Icon Evocation) or Touch of the Magi Icon Touch of the Magi;
  3. During Arcane Soul Icon Arcane Soul (the buff you get after Arcane Surge Icon Arcane Surge ends), cast Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrage.
  4. Cast Arcane Missiles Icon Arcane Missiles when you have Clearcasting Icon Clearcasting, and you do not have Nether Precision Icon Nether Precision, OR you have 3 Clearcasting stacks.
  5. You should interrupt Arcane Missiles Icon Arcane Missiles by casting your next spell as soon as your global cooldown is over unless the Arcane Missiles is impacted by Aether Attunement Icon Aether Attunement.
  6. Cast Arcane Orb Icon Arcane Orb when available and you have 0 or 1 Arcane Charge;
  7. Cast Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrage if Touch of the Magi Icon Touch of the Magi is ready, Arcane Surge Icon Arcane Surge is not ready in the next 45 seconds, and you have 4 Arcane Charges. Immediately cast Touch of the Magi after Arcane Barrage.
  8. Cast Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrage in any of the following situations:
    • You have Glorious Incandescence Icon Glorious Incandescence (the proc after Burden of Power Icon Burden of Power).
    • You have 2 stacks of Aethervision Icon Aethervision.
    • You have Intuition Icon Intuition (tier).
  9. Cast Arcane Blast Icon Arcane Blast as your filler.
  10. Cast Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrage if you are out of Mana.
5.

Multi-Target Rotation for Arcane Mage

Note that the AoE rotation below assumes you have Arcing Cleave Icon Arcing Cleave selected. Without Arcing Cleave, Arcane does very limited AoE damage, so we strongly suggest you always pick Arcing Cleave for any AoE scenario.

The AoE rotation for Sunfury Arcane Mage is very similar to the single target rotation, with only minor changes, mostly being slightly more aggressive around Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrage.

5.1.

When to do AoE Rotation as an Arcane Mage

You should follow the aoe rotation below on 5 targets or more, or 3 targets or more if the targets are all below 35% health (due to Arcane Bombardment Icon Arcane Bombardment). On fewer targets, we suggest simply following the single-target rotation.

5.2.

Arcane Mage AoE Opener/Burst Sequence

You should go into the Burn Phase sequence when Evocation Icon Evocation, Arcane Surge Icon Arcane Surge and Touch of the Magi Icon Touch of the Magi are ready.

The opener consists of a very specific sequence of spells into a standard priority system. The same sequence below applies to any burn phase, not just the opener.

  1. Cast Evocation Icon Evocation, for Clearcasting Icon Clearcasting and the Intellect buff.
  2. Cast Arcane Orb Icon Arcane Orb when available and you have 0 or 1 Arcane Charge;
  3. Cast Arcane Missiles Icon Arcane Missiles, consuming the Clearcasting Icon Clearcasting from Evocation and granting Nether Precision Icon Nether Precision;
  4. Activate any on-use Racials that provide stat boosts, like Berserking Icon Berserking or Blood Fury Icon Blood Fury.
  5. Activate Treacherous Transmitter Icon Treacherous Transmitter if Spymaster's Web Icon Spymaster's Web has less than 40 stacks.
  6. Activate Spymaster's Web Icon Spymaster's Web if Spymaster's Web Icon Spymaster's Web is at 40 stacks.
  7. Cast Arcane Surge Icon Arcane Surge;
  8. Cast Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrage;
  9. Shortly after Arcane Barrage, while it is traveling toward the target, cast Touch of the Magi Icon Touch of the Magi. Due to Touch of the Magi being off the global cooldown, it should apply before Arcane Barrage reaches the target;

This marks the end of the specific opener/burn sequence. After this, follow the priority list below:

5.3.

Arcane Mage AoE Priority List

  1. Go into the above burst sequence when Evocation Icon Evocation, Arcane Surge Icon Arcane Surge and Touch of the Magi Icon Touch of the Magi are ready;
  2. During Touch of the Magi Icon Touch of the Magi, cast a single Arcane Blast Icon Arcane Blast to trigger the Arcane Blast portion of Magi's Spark Icon Magi's Spark;
  3. Cast Shifting Power Icon Shifting Power when none of your cooldowns are currently active.
  4. Cast Arcane Orb Icon Arcane Orb when you have 2 or fewer Arcane Charges;
  5. During Arcane Soul Icon Arcane Soul (the buff you get after Arcane Surge Icon Arcane Surge ends), cast Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrage.
  6. Cast Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrage if you have 4 Arcane Charges and one of the following:
    • Glorious Incandescence Icon Glorious Incandescence (the proc after Burden of Power Icon Burden of Power).
    • Intuition Icon Intuition (4-set proc).
    • 2 stacks of Aethervision Icon Aethervision.
    • Arcane Orb Icon Arcane Orb is ready.
  7. Cast Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrage if Touch of the Magi Icon Touch of the Magi is ready, Arcane Surge Icon Arcane Surge is not ready in the next 45 seconds, and you have 4 Arcane Charges. Immediately cast Touch of the Magi after Arcane Barrage.
  8. Cast Arcane Missiles Icon Arcane Missiles when you have Clearcasting Icon Clearcasting and you do not have Nether Precision Icon Nether Precision;
  9. You should interrupt Arcane Missiles Icon Arcane Missiles by casting your next spell as soon as your global cooldown is over unless the Arcane Missiles is impacted by Aether Attunement Icon Aether Attunement.
  10. Cast Arcane Explosion Icon Arcane Explosion if you have 0 Arcane Charge to generate your first Arcane Charge.
  11. Cast Arcane Blast Icon Arcane Blast as your filler to generate additional Arcane Charges.
6.

Important Notes for Arcane Mage

6.1.

Arcane Charges: Understanding Your Mana Pool

Arcane is unique among DPS specs, as it is one of the few who not only have to manage their Mana, but Mana itself is a key part of the spec identity. Arcane Charges are the main reason for this. Arcane Charges have the following effect:

  • Increase the mana cost of Arcane Blast Icon Arcane Blast by 100% per stack.
  • Increase the damage of Arcane Blast Icon Arcane Blast by 60% per stack and reduce the cast time by 8% per stack.
  • Increase the damage of Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrage by 30% per stack.
  • The above effects are further increased by your Mastery.
  • Arcane Charges stack up to 4.

As you can tell, Arcane Charges have a significant impact on the damage of some of your key abilities, but it also makes Arcane Blast cost significantly more Mana. Due to this, simply spamming Arcane Blast while on 4 stacks of Arcane Charges will cause you to go out of Mana very fast.

To deal with this, Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrage exists to drop your Arcane Charges back to zero and make your Arcane Blast Icon Arcane Blast more affordable.

Having said that, because casting Arcane Blast Icon Arcane Blast on low charges does very little damage, you want to avoid casting those as much as possible. This offers a unique challenge, where you try to limit your low stack Arcane Blasts without running out of Mana and being completely unable to cast anything.

The main way we do this is by using other spells that do high damage and then recouping our Mana during the time we are casting those spells. The biggest factor for this is Arcane Missiles Icon Arcane Missiles. This does high damage, provides various other beneficial effects, and costs a few seconds to cast, giving us valuable time to regenerate our Mana. However, this is locked behind the Clearcasting Icon Clearcasting proc. There are also other ways we can recoup some mana, for example, casting Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrage into Arcane Orb Icon Arcane Orb into Arcane Barrage Icon Arcane Barrage gives you a few precious seconds of mana regeneration without having to cast these low-stack Arcane Blasts. As a Sunfury Arcane Mage, we also get access to Glorious Incandescence Icon Glorious Incandescence, and finally, our 4-set bonus Intuition Icon Intuition.

Finally, our big mana regeneration tools are Evocation Icon Evocation, which fully regenerates our Mana, and Arcane Surge Icon Arcane Surge, which, after fully draining our Mana, grants us a very high amount of mana regen for some time, during which we can cast anything we want without losing Mana.

7.

Arcane Mage: Opening Sequence

At the start of the fight, simply pre-cast Evocation Icon Evocation and then immediately go into the cooldown sequence. Keep in mind entering raid combat resets your Arcane Charges, so if you plan to use Arcane Orb Icon Arcane Orb (for example, on AoE), you wait until combat has entered, or you will lose the stack gained from casting it.

8.

Changelog

  • 27 Oct. 2024: Updated rotation based on latest theorycrafting findings, primarily simplifying barrage usage for spellslinger, while being slightly more DPS.
  • 23 Oct. 2024: Small modification to AoE rotation for spellslinger and added arcane tempo conditions to single-target rotation under advanced section.
  • 22 Oct. 2024: Moved various parts of the rotation to advanced to provide a more approachable default rotation and fixed spellslinger rotation showing some sunfury lines.
  • 21 Oct. 2024: Updated single-target and AoE rotations for both hero talents 11.0.5 changes. Added Spellslinger presets now that it is a more viable hero talent setup.
  • 25 Sep. 2024: Updated AoE rotation to list target counts.
  • 16 Sep. 2024: Updated rotation slightly for latest improvements.
  • 11 Sep. 2024: Update AoE rotation slightly to move the Arcane Blast line during ToTM to spellslinger rotation, as Sunfury automatically does it already.
  • 09 Sep. 2024: Separated the hero talent selector and updated the rotation to include more advanced lines as an optional checkbox. Rewrote arcane barrage usage to be easier to understand.
  • 02 Sep. 2024: Updated rotation for the removal of Burden of Power double-dipping.
  • 22 Aug. 2024: Slightly change priority on single target rotation to clarify you should use missiles before dumping Burden of Power if you have it, and some small readability improvements on AoE.
  • 22 Aug. 2024: Update AoE rotation to clarify funnel vs AoE rotation usage.
  • 21 Aug. 2024: Updated for The War Within.
  • 26 Jul. 2024: Arcane in Arcane Tempo lines and slightly updated AoE rotation to make it more clear you always Arcane Barrage before Arcane Missiles with 4 charges. Further improved Nether Precision notes to apply more optimisations.
  • 25 Jul. 2024: Add in Arcane Missiels interrupt conditions to the rotation, reorganized the burn phase into 2 separate parts, the initial burn phase sequence, into the priority list.
  • 24 Jul. 2024: Clearcasting proc rates were changed on live, causing Arcane Blast to have 5% higher proc rate than Arcane Barrage. Updated rotation to incorporate this by removing the Arcane Barrage execute playstyle.
  • 23 Jul. 2024: Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
  • 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
  • 22 Apr. 2024: Reviewed for Season 4.
  • 19 Mar. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6. and fixed some typos and removed the "quiet movement" section as it was rather duplicate with other sections.
  • 15 Mar. 2024: Remove no longer relevant Arcane Missiles clipping section.
  • 15 Jan. 2024: Updated rotation with optimisations found.
  • 06 Nov. 2023: Updated base rotation for 10.2, added season 3 tier set rotation, season 3 trinkets and other items to the rotation.
  • 04 Sep. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
  • 10 Jul. 2023: Updated rotation for the reworked Arcane.
  • 09 May 2023: Updated rotation to include further 4-set optimisations.
  • 01 May 2023: Updated rotation to include Season 2 tier optimisations.
  • 20 Mar. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 18 Jan. 2022: Updated burst rotation based on latest theorycrafting and expanded on the AoE rotation.
  • 13 Jan. 2022: Improve mana gem rotation and added talon usage.
  • 13 Dec. 2022: Improve burn rotation slightly and add more clarity to end of the burn phase.
  • 11 Dec. 2022: Added section explaining rotational changes due to the tier set.
  • 30 Nov. 2022: Updated burst rotation slightly based on new theorycrafting.
  • 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
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