Arcane Mage Mythic+ Guide
Last Updated:September 15, 2024|Change Log|FAQ
Welcome to the Arcane Mage Mythic+ guide for the World of Warcraft patch 11.0! This guide covers everything you need to know to understand your character! Are you starting out and leveling up from 70? Check out the leveling guide!
Overview
Hero Talents
Sunfury
Sunfury is the main hero talent used in both single and AoE scenarios. Spellslinger is sadly around 20% behind in single target and slightly less behind in AoE. As such, the rest of the guide assumes Sunfury is being played.
- Spellfire Spheres
- This is the defining aspect of Sunfury. The entire playstyle revolves around generating as many Spellfire Spheres as possible. The more Spellfire Spheres generated, the more damage in single and AoE.
- Invocation: Arcane Phoenix
- Your Spellfire Spheres are spent through this talent. The bird popularly known as "Arlo" takes the generated Spellfire Spheres and cast spells such as Arcane Surge and even Flamestrike.
- Burden of Power and Glorious Incandescence
- These two talents go hand in hand and are the main reason why the playstyle revolves around generating as many Spellfire Spheres as possible.
- Thanks to Glorious Incandescence, the arcane charges lost from casting Arcane Barrage are regenerated instantly.
- Memory of Al'ar
- After Arcane Surge ends, the Arcane Soul buff is gained dependent on how many Spellfire Spheres were used. This buff allows the use of multiple fully charged Arcane Barrages in a row without depleting arcane charges and giving a stack of Clearcasting for each cast.
- Splintering Sorcery
- The entire fantasy of Spellslinger revolves around shooting dozens of spikes at your enemy during combat. Most of the hero tree talents are passive effects and you do not play around anything specific.
- Slippery Slinging and Look Again
- Generally, default to Slippery Slinging as you would need to drop some utility in the class tree to pick up Displacement. If you ever were to have Displacement however, Look Again is the default pick.
- Phantasmal Image
- This talent synergizes extremely well with Reduplication potentially making your Mirror Images more potent and a very short cooldown.
- Spellfrost Teachings
- Be ready to react to all the free extra Arcane Orbs you get while playing Spellslinger. Especially in AoE, you gain tons of free Arcane Barrages.
- Splinterstorm
- When playing Spellslinger, this trait contributes to changing your rotation in a quirky way. Shifting Power becomes the first button pressed after going into your first big burn!
Talents
Gameplay Altering Talents
Discover all talents that significantly alter your gameplay within the Spec and Class Talent trees. This section gives a concise overview of these talents and their applications but for a more detailed look check out the Rotation and Deep Dive sections below.
Spec Tree
- Arcane Surge
- This is your major cooldown as an Arcane Mage. Granting you massive spell power and mana regeneration.
- Touch of the Magi
- This is a short cooldown that accumulates 20% of your damage to the target for 12 seconds. Thus, making it one of the most important spells to play around in your rotation.
- Magi's Spark
- In most cases this talent is completely passive, just remember in AoE situations you need to cast Arcane Blast at least once during your Touch of the Magi window.
- Aether Attunement
- This talent allows every third cast of Arcane Missiles to deal increased damage and cleave onto other targets. This is your only Arcane Missiles that is fully channeled (more about clipping in deep dive).
- Arcing Cleave
- A majority of the cleave/AoE damage comes from this talent. Be sure to make good use of the Arcane Barrage spell.
- Orb Barrage
- Reacting and playing around this proc is very important in Cleave and AoE scenarios to not lose potential Arcane Charges as each Arcane Orb should fully regenerate your Arcane Charges.
- High Voltage
- This talent is an important aspect of building your arcane charges back up with Arcane Missiles especially in AoE.
Class Tree
- Shifting Power
- This spell is a channel used after your cooldowns to reduce all your spells by 12 seconds.
- Spellsteal
- There are a lot of magic mechanics you can Spellsteal to gain their benefit.
- Time Anomaly
- Be ready to react to the procs acquired get from this talent, they can impact the rotation differently depending on when they proc.
- Mass Barrier
- Make sure to use Mass Barrier to give your teammates Prismatic Barrier!
- Shimmer
- This talent node is the main reason Mages in general have such high mobility. Being castable while casting and off the GCD, it is essential you manage your Shimmer well to achieve 100% uptime on DPS during any encounter.
Hero Talents
- Lessons in Debilitation
- This talent option is more not wanting to limit the CC capabilities of Supernova than the free Spellsteal but it is nice.
- Sunfury Execution
- The default pick for all Mythic+ scenarios.
- Rondurmancy
- Numerically the best pick as Ignite the Future currently is bugged and does nothing.
Rotation
Tier Set
- 2-Set: Arcane Blast and Arcane Barrage damage increased by 6%.
- 4-Set: Casting Arcane Blast or Arcane Barrage has a 5% chance to make your next Arcane Barrage deal 20% increased damage and generate 4 Arcane Charges.
This tier set is a nice addition to the already pleasant arcane rotation. It increased the damage of our main abilities while also providing a free and empowered Arcane Barrage to use. Try to line this free Arcane Barrage up with your last stack of Nether Precision to double-dip the effects of Nether Precision while not losing Arcane Charges.
Single-Target
Opener
- The goal of the opener is to enter the Touch of the Magi window as fast as possible with 4 Arcane Charges.
- Evocation is casted 4 seconds before the pull happens.
- Arcane Orb is casted 1 second before the pull if you have less than 2 Arcane Charges.
- Touch of the Magi is off the GCD.
- The single target opener in Mythic+ builds 4 Arcane Charges to cast an Arcane Barrage before the Touch of the Magi because of the High Voltage talent.
- Be sure to cast Touch of the Magi before the Arcane Barrage hits the target.
Priority List
This is a general priority you aim to maintain throughout the fight.
All Arcane Missiles are clipped except ones empowered by Aether Attunement (more about clipping in deep-dive).
- Cast Shifting Power after your Arcane Soul expires.
- Cast Arcane Missiles if you have 3 Clearcastings.
- Cast Arcane Orb when you have less than 2 Arcane Charges.
- Cast Arcane Barrage if you have Burden of Power, are currently not casting Arcane Blast and have either 1 or 2 stacks of Nether Precision.
- Cast Arcane Blast queued into Arcane Barrage if you have 4 Arcane Charges and if one of the following is true:
- You have 1 stack of Nether Precision and Glorious Incandescence (this is from consuming Burden of Power).
- You have 1 stack of Nether Precision and Intuition (this is from your tier set).
- You don't have Nether Precision or Clearcasting procs but have Glorious Incandescence or Intuition.
- Cast Arcane Blast with Nether Precision.
- Cast Arcane Missiles with Clearcasting.
- Cast Arcane Blast.
- Cast Arcane Barrage if you are out of mana.
Arcane Soul Priority List
During Arcane Soul, ignore the above priority list and follow the priority below.
- Cast Arcane Barrage as your last GCD in Arcane Soul.
- End Arcane Soul with 3 Clearcastings.
- Cast Arcane Missiles if you have 3 Clearcastings.
- Cast Arcane Barrage with Nether Precision.
- Cast Arcane Missiles with Clearcasting.
- Cast Arcane Barrage.
Multi-Target
Opener
- The goal of the opener is to enter the Touch of the Magi window as fast as possible with 4 Arcane Charges.
- Evocation is casted 4 seconds before the pull happens.
- Arcane Orb is casted 1 second before the pull if you have less than 2 Arcane Charges.
- Touch of the Magi is off the GCD.
- Every Touch of the Magi has an Arcane Barrage casted before.
- Be sure to cast Touch of the Magi before the Arcane Barrage hits the target.
Priority List
This is a general priority you aim to maintain throughout the fight.
All Arcane Missiles are clipped except ones empowered by Aether Attunement (more about clipping in deep-dive).
- Cast Shifting Power after your Arcane Soul expires.
- Cast Arcane Blast once during Touch of the Magi to proc Magi's Spark.
- Cast Arcane Missiles if you have 3 Clearcastings.
- Cast Arcane Blast queued into Arcane Barrage if you have 4 Arcane Charges, 1 Nether Precision stack and if one of the following is true:
- You have Glorious Incandescence (this is from consuming Burden of Power).
- You have Intuition (this is from your tier set).
- You have Clearcasting.
- You have an Arcane Orb charge.
- Cast Arcane Barrage if you have either Intuition or Glorious Incandescence and no Clearcasting or Nether Precision.
- Cast Arcane Barrage if you have both Aether Attunement and Clearcasting.
- Cast Arcane Missiles with Clearcasting if you either do not have Nether Precision or have less than 4 Arcane Charges.
- Cast Arcane Orb when you have less than 2 Arcane Charges.
- Cast Arcane Blast with Nether Precision.
- Cast Arcane Explosion if you have less than 1 Arcane Charge.
- Cast Arcane Blast.
- Cast Arcane Barrage if you are out of mana.
Arcane Soul Priority List
During Arcane Soul, ignore the above priority list and follow the priority below.
- Cast Arcane Barrage as your last GCD in Arcane Soul.
- End Arcane Soul with 3 Clearcastings.
- Cast Arcane Missiles if you have 3 Clearcastings.
- Cast Arcane Barrage with Nether Precision.
- Cast Arcane Missiles with Clearcasting.
- Cast Arcane Barrage.
Deep dive
Mana Management
Generally, the only part of the rotation where mana is an issue is after the second Touch of the Magi of the fight if you lusted on pull. In this situation, it is best to cast Arcane Barrage if Arcane Blast can not be casted due to lack of mana. Build back up Arcane Charges with Arcane Orb and continue the cycle. You can enter your Arcane Surge Touch of the Magi combo with 0% mana as Arcane Surge gives you all of your mana back. Generally, mana is not a big concern anymore compared to previous iterations of Arcane Mage.
Shimmer Cast Immunity
Shimmer is very unique as it gives the caster a small grace period of being able to cast spells while moving. This lets Mages perform some technical maneuvers in order to lose zero damage during knockbacks or other events where casting is required and the Mage needs to move small steps. At a basic level, you achieve this by first casting a spell, using Shimmer, taking the small step then standing still and resuming casting. When using this on a knockback, you first start casting a spell, use Shimmer right before the knockback and Shimmer again as soon as the knockback goes off. If done correctly, the cast should not have canceled and you have achieved full uptime during a knockback without Ice Floes!
Clipping Arcane Missiles
- Clipping refers to intentionally canceling your Arcane Missiles channel in order to cast another spell.
- Currently, it is best to clip every Arcane Missiles besides ones empowered by Aether Attunement in both Single and AoE. This is done because the Nether Precision buff and Spellfire Spheres are simply too important. This allows for less time casting Arcane Missiles and more time generating Spellfire Spheres which results in more damage.
Double-Dipping
Double-dipping is a core game mechanic that Arcane Mage's utilize to increase their damage. Double-dipping refers to having two spells benefit from a singular buff. This is thanks to spell queuing! In short, if you have a Nether Precision, you can cast Arcane Blast queued into Arcane Barrage and have both spells benefit from the buff.
Orb Barrage Minmaxing
There is a trick you can use to maximize your Orb Barrage efficiency in AoE scenarios. I have coined this trick the "7-10 Split".
DISCLAIMER: This trick is highly technical and mechanically taxing. I do not recommend trying this trick unless you are proficient at Arcane Mage already.
7-10 Split
The 7-10 split refers to casting multiple fully charged Arcane Barrages with a singular Arcane Orb. This is only usable when there are 8 or more targets. The difficulty is dependent on how stacked the mobs present are. The looser the stack, the easier it is to use this trick. You can achieve this when the mobs are almost fully stacked but it is extremely difficult.
You can achieve this majestic feat by first having an Arcane Orb headed towards 8 or more targets. When the Arcane Orb hits 4 enemies, send a Arcane Barrage before the Arcane Orb damages the rest of the enemies. You want to stand around 20+ yards from the mobs (this distance depends on your haste, the higher your haste, the closer you can stand) in order to not lose globals waiting for the Arcane Orb to hit the targets.
Here is a clip from S2 Dragonflight showcasing this very well. Even though it is a previous patch, the concept is the same as Orb Barrages has not changed.
As you can see, the mobs are fairly stacked and every global during Touch of the Magi is filled with fully charged Arcane Barrages even when getting average procs.
Understanding Mechanics
Rotational min-maxing is just one aspect of mastering a specialization, but there are numerous other key mechanics that influence your performance. Use the following guides to improve them.
Dungeons
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Boss Tips
Avanoxx
- Use defensives on Alerting Shrill.
- Avoid kiting Starved Crawlers into the boss else the boss receives Insatiable.
- Use your crowd control to keep them stacked.
- AoE them down as soon as possible.
- Send Arcane Surge immediately on pull to have Arcane Soul up for the adds.
- Plan movement well because of Vile Webbing
Anub'zekt
- Be ready to react with Shimmer when targeted by Burrow Charge.
- Kill Bloodstained Webmages fast and interrupt Silken Restraints.
- Generally they will be passively cleaved down.
- Movement on this fight can becoming annoying because of the restricted area. Plan your movement accordingly to the fight.
Ki'katal the Harvester
- Use defensive while you're affected by Cultivated Poisons since this is the main damaging ability of the fight.
- When you're affected by Grasping Blood you can use any form of crowd control instead of killing it to cancel your root.
- You can Shimmer while still being affected by the root. This allows free movement if in danger from the Cultivated Poisons waves. Be careful, the Grasping Blood MOB will stay at the initial location.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Resonant Barrage from Trilling Attendant.
- Horrifying Shrill from Ixin.
- Revolting Volley from Bloodstained Webmage.
- Venom Volley from Blood Overseer.
- Pay extra attention to these casts:
- Alarm Shrill from Sentry Stagshell
- A really long cast that needs to get disrupted.
- Massive Slam from Nerubian Hauler and Hulking Bloodguard
- A short stun that ramps in damage done per cast.
- Alarm Shrill from Sentry Stagshell
Boss Tips
Orator Krix'vizk
- Use your defensives during Vociferous Indoctrination.
- Movement on this fight is highly technical as an Arcane Mage. Shimmer is what enables Mage to have such high mobility and this spell has little value on this fight. Be more aware of spells that are castable while moving as they are the only chance a Mage gets to move on this fight.
- Using Shimmer away is a last resort as the grip does a lot of damage.
Fangs of the Queen
- Watch out for Knife Throw. Use defensives if you're targeted by this ability.
- Another movement centric fight as the two bosses dash around the boss arena constantly. This time, you can use Shimmer as much as you want!
The Coaglamation
- Use your defensives for Dark Pulse. This happens at 100 boss energy.
- Save big defensives such as Greater Invisibility and Ice Cold to stand in puddles in order to save encounter space when soaking orbs.
- Try to save instant cast spells for the knockback to not lose any damage. You can also utilize Shimmer cast immunity as explained in the Deep Dive section.
Izo, the Grand Splicer
- Use your defensives for Splice since it's the highest damage event during this fight.
- Line up your Touch of the Magi windows with the Umbral Weave mechanic. This allows for a quick elimination of the webs.
- Try not to Shimmer too far ahead of the group as Splice can move the orbs to your location.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Web Bolt from Sureki Silkbinder.
- Grimweave Blast from Covert Webmancer.
- Mending Web from Covert Webmancer.
- Twist Thoughts from Herald of Anurek.
- Void Wave from Sureki Unnaturaler.
Boss Tips
E.D.N.A.
- Always stack up to spawn Volatile Spikes close together to ensure you can detonate them all with 1 Refracting Beam.
- Use defensives for Earth Shatterer.
Skarmorak
- Use your defensive before Unstable Crash happens or while you have multiple stacks of Unstable Energy.
- Generally crystal shards die to passive cleave but, swap to them if they are not dying.
- Save your Touch of the Magi for each absorb shield.
Master Machinists Brokk and Dorlita
- It is important as an Arcane Mage to save Counterspell as it is easy to Shimmer and kick the boss after the boss jumps away.
- Use your defensive during Exhaust Vents and Blazing Crescendo.
Void Speaker Eirich
- Use your defensives on Entropic Reckoning.
- Make sure to utilize Shimmer and place Entropy away from the group. Following this logic, the farthest Void Rift should be consumed first so the group members with less mobility can reach the closer ones.
Trash Tips
- Focus down Earth Burst Totem from Cursedforge Stoneshaper. They have a low amount of health but are not affected by AoE abilities.
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Howling Fear from Ghastly Voidsoul.
- Censoring Gear from Turned Speaker.
- Piercing Wail from Void Bound Howler.
- Restoring Metals from Forgebound Mender and Cursedforge Mender.
- Arcing Void from Cursedheart Invader.
Boss Tips
Speaker Shadowcrown
- This ship is the bane of an Arcane Mage. Shimmer works half the time and Arcane Orb constantly gets stuck within the ship. Be prepared to not get any value from Arcane Orb and move much more than usual.
- Consider using a defensive if you're affected by Collapsing Night. Getting out of this quickly is important since it deals a lot of damage every 0.5 seconds.
- Do not try to Shimmer Obsidian Beam as it does not work (I have tried).
Anub'ikkaj
- Be prepared to shoot the Dark Orb into a desirable path.
- Use defensives for the Dark Orb and Shadowy Decay.
Rasha'nan
- Be ready to deliver Arathi Bombs as Mage's have very high mobility and it is easy for us.
- Be aware of Erosive Spray. It applies Lingering Erosion which is dangerous when combined with other damage events.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Night Bolt from Nightfall Shadowmage.
- Ensnaring Shadows from Nightfall Shadowmage.
- Tormenting Beam from Nightfall Darkcaster.
- Umbral Barrier from Nightfall Darkcaster.
Boss Tips
Ingra Maloch
- Interrupt Spirit Bolt every time a non-tank player is targeted.
- Try to line up your cooldowns with Droman Oulfarran's Droman's Wrath to gain a huge DPS boost. This happens when Droman Oulfarran reaches 20% health.
- This usually results in sending a mini burn Touch of the Magi at the start of the fight, allowing you to have Arcane Surge big burn for the damage amp.
Mistcaller
- Help CC the Illusionary Vulpins to prevent them from reaching their target.
- If your group is not crowd-controlling the Illusionary Vulpins be sure to kill it quickly.
- Use your defensives during the Guessing Game as your party is figuring out which is the right illusion.
Tred'ova
- Tred'ova uses their brain when casting Acid Expulsion. As such, the boss tries to predict the movement of the players from the previous Acid Expulsion. Try not to use movement abilities such as Shimmer because it makes the next round of dodging more difficult.
- Save Alter Time and Shimmer to quickly break Mind Link.
- Try to break the Consumption shield as quick as possible.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Spirit Bolt from Drust Harvester.
- Harvest Essence from Drust Harvester.
- Nourish the Forest from Mistveil Tender.
- Bramblethorn Coat from Mistveil Shaper.
- Stimulate Regeneration from Spinemaw Staghorn.
- Stimulate Resistance from Spinemaw Staghorn.
Boss Tips
Blightbone
- Use defensives if you're targeted by Heaving Retch.
- Try to stay far away from the adds that spawn throughout the fight.
Amarth, The Harvester
- Make sure to kick or control either the Reanimated Crossbowman or Reanimated Mage if you're not planning on killing them quickly.
- Try to save Touch of the Magi for Land of the Dead so that the adds die quickly after spawning
Surgeon Stitchflesh
- Be prepared to Shimmer into place when targeted by Meat Hooks throughout the fight.
Nalthor the Rimebinder
- Be prepared to Shimmer into a corner when targeted by Frozen Binds.
- If you get sent down, Mirror Image allows you to take zero damage while killing the add downstairs.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Drain Fluids from Corpse Harvester and Corpse Collector.
- Necrotic Bolt from Zolramus Sorceror & Zolarmus Necromancer.
- Rasping Scream from Skeletal Marauder.
- Frostbolt Volley from Reanimted Mage.
- Goresplatter from Corpse Collector.
- Repair Flesh from Flesh Crafter.
- There are a bunch of mobs that create armies. Generally, killing the main mob that summoned them instantly kills the entire pack so it is beneficial to single target down the summoning mob.
- There are several weapons throughout the dungeon that can be used to clear trash more efficiently.
Boss Tips
Chopper Redhook
- Line up your cooldowns with the boss walking over Bombs which afflict him with Heavy Ordnance.
- The boss moves very slow so do not over move when running away from him.
- You can use Greater Invisibility just before the end of the fixate on your if you can not get to a bomb in time. This makes the boss skip its grip and damage done to the group.
Dread Captain Lockwood
- Focus down the Ashvane Cannoneer during the phase change to quickly use Unstable Ordnance to get the boss down from the ship.
- Try not to send damage right before Dread Captain Lockwood runs away into their ship. She phases at 66% and 33%.
- Be careful to not over move with Sighted Artillery as the spell comes out several seconds after the ground visual is shown.
Hadal Darkfathom
- If you can't find a safe spot for Tidal Surge, pop a defensive such as Ice Cold and hope for the best.
- Be careful not to bait Crashing Tide near the pillar in the middle as it makes dodging Tidal Surge very difficult if you must stand in it to dodge.
Viq'Goth
- Save instant cast spells and Alter Time for whenever the knockback is incoming.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Brackish Bolt from Irontide Waveshaper.
- Watertight Shell from Irontide Waveshaper.
- Water Bolt from Bilge Rat Tempest.
- Choking Waters from Bilge Rat Tempest.
- Bolstering Shout from Ashvane Commander
Boss Tips
General Umbriss
- This fight is very simple due to Shimmer. Happily blink anywhere you want to dodge the bosses mechanics.
- Make sure to drop Rumbling Earth towards the edge of the boss encounter to make it easier on the group.
- Use defensives before the Commanding Roar cast.
Forgemaster Throngus
- Use defensives during Blistering Heat.
- When targeted with Molten Spark, be sure to drop this pool on the outside perimeter of the boss encounter.
Drahga Shadowburner
- Use defensives during Twilight Buffet.
- Do not let the adds reach you when targeted by the Flaming Fixate mechanic.
- The orc is not the main boss of the encounter. After he dies, he does some RP and jumps on the back of a dragon! The encounter ends when the dragon reaches 50%.
Erudax, the Duke of Below
- Use defensives during Abyssal Corruption and Void Surge.
- You can use Mutated Hatchlings as a funnel for more boss damage!
- Be sure to spread in the tiny space provided when targeted by the Abyssal Corruption mechanic.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Earth Bolt from Twilight Earthcaller.
- Mass Tremor from Twilight Earthcaller.
- Shadowflame Bolt from Twilight Beguiler.
- Sear Mind from Twilight Beguiler.
- There are several abilities you can Remove Curse throughout the dungeon so help decurse whenever possible.
Affixes
The Affix system got revamped going into The War Within Season 1 retiring most Affixes as well as introducing new kiss-curse ones while also changing on which key level these appear.
- +2 Affixes -- Rotates on a weekly basis
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Ascendant
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Voidbound
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Oblivion
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Devour
- +4 Affixes -- Alternates between each other on a weekly basis
- Tyrannical
- Fortified
- +7 Affix
- Challenger's Peril
- +10 Affixes -- Alternates between each other on a weekly basis, is always the opposite of the +4 Affix
- Tyrannical
- Fortified
- +12 Affix
- Xal'atath's Guile -- Replaces the +2 Affix
Following you get some useful tips for handling different Mythic+ Affixes as an Arcane Mage.
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Ascendant
- Dragon's Breath, Supernova and Blast Wave are all great tools for this affix.
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Voidbound
- Important to kill this instantly as it reduces damage taken for all nearby enemies, also plan your cooldowns around this affix so you're not forced to swap target during your Touch of the Magi.
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Oblivion
- Use your mobility to your advantage and soak as much as possible.
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Devour
- Make sure to Remove Curse yourself every time this affix goes off.
Stat Priority
Understand your secondary stat priority and the tertiary stats needed for optimal performance during Mythic+ dungeons as an Arcane Mage. For more detailed information, visit the Stats and Attributes guide.
Higher Item level items are better in most scenarios. For an accurate representation of what item to equip you should use Simcraft! A static "Stat Priority" is just a starting point and can easily shift depending on your individual gear.
All secondary stats are affected by diminishing returns. Click here to learn more!
Tertiary
- Avoidance - Great stat to reduce the damage intake of "Area of Effect" abilities.
- Leech - Provides additional healing through damage dealing. Leech is a great stat tertiary stat to have, especially on AoE.
- Speed - Niche tertiary that can be very useful and has been proven useful in the past. Makes playing certain mechanics a lot easier.
Gear
| Slot | Item | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Cocoonsilk Cowl | Mists of Tirna Scithe |
| Neck | Sureki Zealot's Insignia | Sikran |
| Shoulder | Beacons of Violet Rebirth | Catalyst |
| Cloak | Wings of Shattered Sorrow | Rasha'nan |
| Chest | Runecoat of Violet Rebirth | Catalyst |
| Wrist | Consecrated Cuffs | Crafting |
| Gloves | Jeweled Gauntlets of Violet Rebirth | Catalyst |
| Belt | Acrid Ascendant's Sash | Queen Ansurek |
| Legs | Coattails of Violet Rebirth | Catalyst |
| Boots | Slippers of Violet Rebirth | Catalyst |
| Ring 1 | Seal of the Poisoned Pact | Queen Ansurek |
| Ring 2 | Experiment 08752's Band | City of Threads |
| Trinket 1 | Ara-Kara Sacbrood | Ara-Kara, City of Echoes |
| Trinket 2 | Spymaster's Web | The Silken Court |
| Weapon | Sovereign's Disdain | Queen Ansurek |
| Offhand | Vagabond's Torch | Crafting |
Below you are presented with a good list of farmable alternatives that are obtainable outside of WoW’s weekly lockout system. While replaced in time as you progress, these offer immediate character power.
| Slot | Item | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Crown of Enfeebled Bodies | Grim Batol |
| Neck | "Emergency Stop" Keychain | The Stonevault |
| Shoulder | Reanimator's Mantle | The Necrotic Wake |
| Cloak | Anvilhide Cape | The Stonevault |
| Chest | Shadowed Orator's Tunic | The Stonevault |
| Wrist | Necropolis Lord's Shackles | The Necrotic Wake |
| Gloves | Gory Surgeon's Gloves | The Necrotic Wake |
| Belt | Cord of the Pious Warder | Priory of the Sacred Flame |
| Legs | Curse-Tainted Leggings | Grim Batol |
| Boots | Membranous Slippers | The Dawnbreaker |
| Ring 1 | Stitchflesh's Misplaced Signet | The Necrotic Wake |
| Ring 2 | Experiment 08752's Band | City of Threads |
| Trinket 1 | Ara-Kara Sacbrood | Ara-Kara, City of Echoes |
| Trinket 2 | Empowering Crystal of Anub'ikkaj | The Dawnbreaker |
| Weapon | Wand of Untainted Power | Grim Batol |
| Offhand | Pail of Preserved Obscurity | City of Threads |
Trinkets
Below you can find active and passive alternatives to our recommended trinkets. Do note that some trinkets are better than others depending on the mythic+ dungeon.
Active Trinket alternatives
- Ovi'nax's Mercurial Egg
- Decent on-use trinket but can be worse if it's a movement heavy fight.
- Treacherous Transmitter
- Very strong on-use trinket but has a downside.
- Requires you to complete one out of 3 tasks before getting the effect.
- Very strong on-use trinket but has a downside.
Passive Trinket alternatives
- Unbound Changeling
- Good passive trinket that procs secondary stats.
- Hadal's Nautilus
- Damage proc trinket that's decent on both single-target and AoE.
Embellishments
It's recommended to hold your Spark of Omens craft and wait for further tuning.
- Writhing Armor Banding
- Empowers any Nerubian embellishment by 100%.
- Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension
- Gain a random secondary stat stacking up over time.
Remaining Sparks
- Crafted items are 636 item level and regular items are 639 on max item level therefore it's not beneficial to equip crafted items outside of your 2x embellishments unless you don't have access to other high item level gear on that slot.
Simcraft
To find the best combination of gear available to you or identify the best possible upgrades, visit our Simcraft guide to learn how to utilize Simcraft easily and effectively.
Consumables
- Phials
- Flask of Alchemical Chaos -- maximum DPS.
- Flask of Tempered Versatility -- less DPS but more survivability.
- Food
- Feast of the Divine Day
- Feast of the Midnight Masquerade
- Combat Potion
- Tempered Potion
- Health Potion
- Algari Healing Potion -- a big burst of healing
- Weapon Oil
- Algari Mana Oil -- default
- Augment Rune
- Crystallized Augment Rune
- Sockets
- Quick Onyx
- Culminating Blasphemite -- Unique, use one of each gem color to enhance your Culminating Blasphemite.
- Deadly Sapphire
- Versatile Emerald
- Masterful Ruby
Enchantments
| Head | Nerubian Gemweaver |
| Neck | Magnificent Jeweler's Setting 2x |
| Cloak | Enchant Cloak - Chant of Winged Grace |
| Chest | Enchant Chest - Crystalline Radiance |
| Wrist | Enchant Bracer - Chant of Armored Avoidance Nerubian Gemweaver |
| Waist | Nerubian Gemweaver |
| Legs | Sunset Spellthread |
| Boots | Enchant Boots - Defender's March |
| Ring 1 | Enchant Ring - Radiant Haste Magnificent Jeweler's Setting 2x |
| Ring 2 | Enchant Ring - Radiant Haste Magnificent Jeweler's Setting 2x |
| Weapon | Enchant Weapon - Authority of the Depths |
You buy Nerubian Gemweaver from the Great Vault Vendor to add sockets to your Helm, Wrists & Waist.
Races
For min-maxing an Arcane Mage in Mythic+, different racial traits can provide a tremendous benefit to your character. If this is not your top goal, picking a race that fits your style works just as well.
- Stoneform -- Dwarf
- One of the most potent racials in Mythic+ currently and historically.
- Dispels Magic and Bleed debuffs.
- Use-cases:
- Cultivated Poisons, Ki'katal the Harvester (Ara-Kara, City of Echoes)
- Putrid Waters, Viq'Goth (Siege of Boralus)
- Curse of Entropy, Drahga Shadowburner (Grim Batol)
- Shadowmeld -- Night Elf
- Also one of the most potent racials in Mythic+ historically.
- Use-cases
- Run past basically any mob and then cast Shadowmeld to make them reset. Even works on mobs that have stealth detection if you get enough distance before you Shadowmeld.
- Escape Artist -- Gnome
- Free yourself from roots.
- Rocket Jump -- Goblin
- Do a small jump in the direction your character is facing.
- Hyper Organic Light Originator -- Mechagnome
- Works the same way as Mirror Image in terms of threat.
Recommendation
Dwarf and Night Elf abilities have such a big impact on your Mythic+ experience that you need to use either of them if you're serious about pushing keys with your Arcane Mage.
Macros
Discover recommended macros for Arcane Mage during Mythic+ dungeons and watch a quick video guide on creating simple macros for your character.
Mouseover Macros
Remove Curse
#showtooltip
/cast [@mouseover] Remove CursePolymorph
#showtooltip
/cast [@mouseover] PolymorphRecommended Macros
Addons
Below, you see a screenshot of the author's User Interface for their Arcane Mage, outlining which addons are used and how they are utilized in Mythic+ dungeons to make your life easier.
Addons
WeakAuras
Changes this Patch
Patch 11.0.2
Patch 11.0
FAQ
Q: Why is my Touch of the Magi small?
Credits
Written By: Hopeful, Wolfdisco
Reviewed By: Soda