New Mage- Arcane

[Elanale]

Let me preface this by saying I've played as various sorts of tanks for four years now.

Prot, Prot, Feral. Even a bit of DK. Tanking is what I do- I am one of nature's tanks. Therefore I view Mages- well, originally I viewed them as a bloody nuisance, and then when AOE threat (and all threat for that matter) became completely trivial I began to view them as just another DPS, albeit one that provided me with no useful buffs. But my guild lacks Mages, and has way too many tanks, so perhaps it's time for change.

Actually, just glancing over a few stickies has confirmed that the spec I had in mind was actually more or less the cookie cutter spec. Even got a nice stat weighting from the sticky in this forum, props to the people who wrote it. Only question I'm left with is:

->What do Arcane Mages use PoM on now, since they don't go anywhere deep enough for Pyroblast these days?

[egonomic]

I still go by the old Pyro spec (57/14/0) because of impact for pvp. Shit helps a whole lot.

[Elanale]

No PvP on this toon. I'm one of nature's tanks, if I'm wearing a dress I want to be damned sure that someone capable is going to keep the giant monsters from turning me into a sticky puddle on the floor. Pure, meter-leading, unrestrained DPS speccing.

Thanks though. What do the cookie cutter Arcane DPSers go with?

[Loklar]

Its probably most useful for sheeping piller-humpers. Even if they've been slowed they manage to get out of LoS before a sheep goes off.

I'm not a great pvper, but when I was Arcane I almost always used it for sheep. If you have Arcane Potency then by all means use it when you have 3X stack of Arcane Blast for the crit bonus.

[Uruhara]

Let me preface this with saying, I am a shaman. I've recently leveled my mage up to 80 and have been doing some research on it, but I am by no means the definitive source on this. Seeing as no one has responded to your actual question tho.

Deep arcane is not the facemelting spec that FFB or deep fire specs are. From what I've see / read they just can put up the numbers in the same way. That being said, its what I play (I just think the playstyle is more fun ) and you can still do some respectable damage. This is especially true at entry raid gear levels where they can even out damage other mages pretty regularly.

PoM is great for AoE packs when used with Flamestrike. Pop PoM ->Flamestrike -> Icy Veins -> Blizzard for maximum aoe dps. Good for trash packs at least 3 mins before bosses, or on AoE bosses like Gluth or XT.

If there is no AoE on a boss, you'll wanna use it for an Arcane Blast, but never the first or second AB, always the 3rd +. Because of your AB debuff this is the most dmg you can get out of it. Try to never use it during Icy Veins or BL.

Lastly, it is great for fights with movement, especially if it keeps your AB debuff stack up while moving and then cast Arcane Barrage at full effect.

Hopefully this gives you somewhere to start. Again, all of this could be misinformation and I apologize for that. I'm about to go back to Elitist Jerks and do some more research on all this Mage stuff now that mine is geared up a little bit.

[Pasture]

PoM is great for AoE packs when used with Flamestrike. Pop PoM ->Flamestrike -> Icy Veins -> Blizzard for maximum aoe dps. Good for trash packs at least 3 mins before bosses, or on AoE bosses like Gluth or XT.

Not really.

Arcane Explosion might be a lacklustre form of AoE but it does allow you to move with the targets. Healbots and zombies will be moving. They will move out of your Flamestrike and Blizzard. It's much easier to move with them spamming Arcane Explosion.

[Link3492]

No PvP on this toon. I'm one of nature's tanks, if I'm wearing a dress I want to be damned sure that someone capable is going to keep the giant monsters from turning me into a sticky puddle on the floor. Pure, meter-leading, unrestrained DPS speccing.

Thanks though. What do the cookie cutter Arcane DPSers go with?

I dont think people read that you do not pvp. So to answer your question and not waste your time, I use PoM on AB generally speaking on a boss.

[Elanale]

Oh, I do PvP, but for PvP I prefer my Arms Warrior.

Arcane Blast, though. Thanks. Got it. Good to know.

[Uruhara]

I've only ever done Gluth on my Mage 2x and as frost, (since I've had to respec to kite adds,) so I don't know for sure. But I can easily use a full Blizzard on a pack of chow w/o Icy Veins, but that is with the slow from Blizzard in frost spec. Totems and traps can slow the mobs as well, so I would assume it would be easy to get a full hasted blizzard onto a pack with a little help from your friends.

Also, Frost Nova is great for keeping adds stuck in your Flamestrike dot. The initial strike on an instant Flamestike is nothing to sneeze at as well. I'm not sure how it measures up in mana efficiency with Arcane Explosion though.

Just my $0.02. Pasture's practical experience may be more valuable than my "theories".

[Sedative]

Oh, I do PvP, but for PvP I prefer my Arms Warrior.

Arcane Blast, though. Thanks. Got it. Good to know.

Be sure not to waste it on, for example, the first AB of your rotation...

To compliment my DPS, when I'm arcane, I like to use it on a 4th AB because I'll get the most damage from the almost guaranteed crit chance and 3 existing stacks of the AB buff.