Need help with Arcane rotation.

[Nevianx]

Hi guys.

I would highly appreciate any information on the following questions that have arised during my attempt to get at least half-decent at Arcane:

1. If I'm at 4 AC stacks, 98% mana, 0 AM procs, casting AB and suddenly I get an AM proc (from Arcane Orb) what should I do - stop casting AB and use AM, or let AB finish casting and then AM?

2. How much mana should I have left before I stop burning it during Burn phase? Should I have just enough to get it back up to full with 1 tick of Evo? Or can I afford 2 Evo ticks or even more?

3. When exactly should I cast AM during Burn phase and am I supposed to do so at all?

I've read on Icy-Veins that I should start my Burn phase with 4 AC stacks and 3 AM procs, but I can't figure out what exactly do I do during Burn phase aside from spamming AB untill my mana is low enough to get it back up with Evo.

I take it that due to Arcane's mastery it's not worth casting AM when at low mana (because it will do significantly less damage)? But, if so, why should I start burning mana with 3 AM procs? If I am indeed supposed to cast AM during Burn phase - when exactly do I do so?

Should I use my AM procs right after I have 4 AB stacks and popped my CD's? Or perhaps just before I cast Evo? Should I simply make sure I don't cap AM procs and cast them whenever I feel like I'm close to capping them? I'm honestly a bit lost with this.

4. If the Boss is on low health (execution phase) should I swith to burning my mana even if I don't have cooldowns (assuming I know the boss will be dead before I stay to long at sub 50% mana)? Or should I rather stick to conserve phase?

5. I take it that my spells do the most damage at 100% mana. But at what mana % do they start dealing less damage?

Thanks.

[Zelendria]

1. You don't use AO at 4xAC. AO is best used as a buildup tool to skip the slow, low dmg AB's. However if you did use it, no you wouldn't stop casting.
(Technically with PoF you might forget this rule, but I wouldn't worry too much about that at the min)

2. It's not a straight cut answer without knowing your gear. Before class trinket you had AP glyphed and aimed for 50% mana give or take up to 10% without any major DPS losses.
With class trinket you don't have AP glyphed and you burn until AP runs out or 50% if you didn't get there with AP up.

3. AM is your hardest hitting spell. Without class trinket you weave them with ABs to keep mana high then stop using them at 70%, only using if you get to 3 stacks.
With the class trinket and 4pc, you use all AMs before placing PC/AP to try and proc your pets, then use them as above with PC still up and once PC wears off you only use at 3 stacks.

4. If you know the boss is dying yes you can blow your mana regardless of CD's. What you don't want to do is miss time it and end up with hardly any mana and it's still alive.

5. <100%

This guide is more up to date with current gear in mind.
http://altered-time.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1455

[Kuromaji]

1. You don't use AO at 4xAC. AO is best used as a buildup tool to skip the slow, low dmg AB's. However if you did use it, no you wouldn't stop casting.
(Technically with PoF you might forget this rule, but I wouldn't worry too much about that at the min)

2. It's not a straight cut answer without knowing your gear. Before class trinket you had AP glyphed and aimed for 50% mana give or take up to 10% without any major DPS losses.
With class trinket you don't have AP glyphed and you burn until AP runs out or 50% if you didn't get there with AP up.

3. AM is your hardest hitting spell. Without class trinket you weave them with ABs to keep mana high then stop using them at 70%, only using if you get to 3 stacks.
With the class trinket and 4pc, you use all AMs before placing PC/AP to try and proc your pets, then use them as above with PC still up and once PC wears off you only use at 3 stacks.

4. If you know the boss is dying yes you can blow your mana regardless of CD's. What you don't want to do is miss time it and end up with hardly any mana and it's still alive.

5. <100%

This guide is more up to date with current gear in mind.

pretty sure you're misleading there..

1. pretty sure what he meant was he got to 4 stacks after casting AO.

Rule of casting AM: You cast ABlast till you get to 93% of mana unless there's 3 stack of AM then you dont let it cap, cast AM.

example: at 98% of mana you have 1 AM. Keep casting ABlast.

2. Burning phase stops at 50% of mana. at this point you should have 4 arcane charges. casting Evocation here will only require 2 ticks to get you back to 100%.

3. You cast AM in burning phase when you have it. (in conservation mode, ABlast has priority till you drop to 93% mana, see the difference).

however at 65% you want to stop casting AM. save it. cast ABlast till you get to 50%, evocation, then use AM (if there's 3 charges, if not, ABlast - refer you question 1)

[Zelendria]

pretty sure you're misleading there..

No pretty sure I'm not and if I am you will have to point out where.

[Nevianx]

Guys thank you very much for your help! Now I'm starting to get it.

I have another question tho.

in conservation mode, ABlast has priority till you drop to 93% mana

Why is this? Why does AB have priority over AM (unless 3 stacks of AM proc) until 93% mana?

[Zelendria]

93% is the magic (whole) number in regards to mana regen. Building and resetting AC around this number is optimal to not go too low on mana or cap it.

At 4AC
>93% AB
<93% AM or SN if you have it talented. Otherwise you use Barrage to reset and build AC again.
Rinse repeat. In theory it's one of the easiest specs of all DPS, but also probably the hardest to execute.

You use AM <93% because it's mana free so you regen while it channels possibly allowing you to use another AB before Barrage.
The idea is you want to stay at AC4 and use as many of your hard hitting spells as possible, following the rule above, before you Barrage and start again. That's why you weave missiles to keep regen going.

[Nevianx]

Thank you very much for your time and help, Zelendria. Much appreciated.