Top Mage DPS Spec?

[Deleted]

Any Arcane Mage that doesn't use Mage Armor isn't a Mage at all... Just a retard..

Well, in Dungeon-run I still use Molten Armor :P

[Swizzle]

on live the rotation is abababababababababababababab

I'm obviously talking about cata, in cata we wont have mirror image as dps cd, and you will save AP for mana gem cd

As long as those things do damage, they are a DPS CD, though not nearly as drastic as they are in t10.

[Micke]

+1 Swizzle

[Parablius]

Quick question: does Blizzard actually think that arcane is enjoyable?
Just saying, its as tedious as drying paint and twice as easy.
And the worst part is it's probably one of the most drab and uninteresting specs in the game aesthetically. Your main spell is just a short, small blast of light in your hand and on the target. It feels like I'm throwing firecrackers at mobs, not hurling bolts of arcane energy.

Sorry about the QQ. But after hearing "arcane is good" i had to vent somehow.

[Micke]

Yeah too many look at the arcane math on EJ and go "omg its such a complicated spec which makes it sooo fun!"

But complicated doesnt necessarily = fun

it's a game after all and you shouldnt have to read 10 pages of math on EJ just to discover if a spec is actually fun or not, it should be something that you could see by simply glancing at it, something that brings out that childlike smile on your face

you shouldnt have to be a math nerd to enjoy arcane

[Swizzle]

You don't have to be a math nerd, but the complexity of the spec itself, and not the number of fingers you use per second to do damage, is what adds to the challenge for those who like maxing out what they do. The difference between all those complicated classes/specs and arcane is that arcane has no passive damage. There's no auto attack, no deep wounds, no ignite, no righteous vengeance, no weapon swing DoTs, no pet, no auto shot...basically there are no passive things to do damage for the arcane mage, making their damage done recount/skada seem weak.

[Deleted]

I dont know what passive damage has to do with anything i mean tbh dots arnt passive damage, you still have to cast them etc you could just say for example 1 living bomb will equal 20-30 k damage just like ab is 10-20, makes no difference when that damage arrives(unless target is dying). Also it doesnt matter how the damage gets put on if an arcane mage is doing more total damage/fight than other specs then it is infact better. passive damage has literally nothing to do with it lol.

[Swizzle]

Did I say Living Bomb was passive? No I did not.

[Skarrd]

Did I say Living Bomb was passive? No I did not.

Oh you did.

Arcane sucks cuz passive damage. Living Bomb.

[Deleted]

after reading some of the post , i literally had to make a username to post because i was so shocked.

arcane while good on fights were you stand still and just spam, it is really bad on fights which require alot of movement, all youve got when your moving is barrage, which just doesnt cut the mustard.
Fire on the other hand has fireblast, living bomb and pyro(under the right circumstances)(*edit - we can even cast scorch while moving now , i forget about this XD ) that can be cast on the go. ofcourse arcane is a good spec, it always has been, but from my own experience once you start hitting the longer fights in HC 25 your damage done at the end in most cases will be greater with fire, this is due to arcane having one "uber" moment every three minutes, with arcane you pop C/ds and just go crazy, if something happens during this, like getting unchained magic from syndra you are literally gimped for dps for three whole minutes, with fire it is usualy slow at the start of the fight but any moment in the roation can go from the normal casting to a moment of mad dps based on if you get the proc for pyro,

i would definatly say as being a mage with 11/12hc 25 that fire is easier - yes i said it you keep a high ammount of damage output while your power buttons are on cooldown, this being said, if your raiding normal content, or lack the sufficient crit to make fire a realistic choice, then arcane can definalty put out insane dps, its just than youll be whapping out the dps when you pop your c/ds. and then sweating to stay on the meter when they go down, while the rogues and the warriors are just smashing the crap out thee boss the arcane mage will be checking the clock to see when arcane power is back up

again this is only from my experience in icc hardmodes, im sure that in normal modes and maybe even fights like sarufang hc arcane would be the way to go, but after playing mage for two years i can honestly swear that its easier to stay high on the meters in fire(in an hc raiding envioroment), i raidied most of icc as arcane dont get me wrong, and sure fire may do less damage on the dummies, but in a raid situation its certainly better

i like to think of it as "arcane" being the magic beans of the mage trees, on shorter fights , yea bust out the arcane be on top of the board, any decent HC fight when the rogues, locks and warriors start whapping out there magic beans youll be snowed under, fire will shine through in these situations, and lets face it, fire on LK HC is just mad dps - even before the patch it was crazy

[TruffleMuffin]

Fire is better at the moment for LK 25 HC. By about 1million damage over the fight. This equates to about 1k DPS. That's from our first kill last night, me being Fire against another Mage arcane, both with equivalent gear.

This includes identical number of pickups with valks, and no Impact DoT spreading during the course of the fight.

[Motocarota]

Thanks for your opinion gnomeundercover, I have a clue of the situation now

(no sarcasm)

[Deleted]

when you say it like that it doesnt sound like much, but in a 25 LK hc run , 1k dps can be the diffrence between the bottom and the top of the meter, with eveeryone wanting to min/max these days , 1k dps for two equally geared people that happened to be diffreent specs is a big diffrence imo. 1million damage done more is massive, and thats why i would say to mages reading this who are unclear about specing, that just becasue some of your mates have screenshots of 15-20k dps as arcane on the dummy, the lich king isnt going to stand still and not dps. on fights like LK HC were you are forced to move alot interupting rotations and c/ds. fire is more forgiving of this,

[Deleted]

Well, my personal best hit was 120k, but my colleage Mage in my guild (full 277 gear) made a 160k (!!) Crit on Blood Queen HC-25.

In some fights I see every 1,6 second: 74k Crit!, 76k Crit!, 79k Crit!, 84k Crit!, 30k non-crit, 85k Crit! etc etc. That, my fellow mages, will keep me stay Arcane for now. Faceroll, just LOVE it

Ofc, for some fights Fire will be better, especially LK and his spirits and high-movement fights.

[Vasz]

Wheeeeee....



And 37k Target Dummy Crit:

Just because you are pulling big crits, doesn't mean your dps is that good. You are only pulling just past 7K dps on Patchwerk and only just over 6K dps on target dummy.

Big crits do not = big dps.

[Deleted]

Just because you are pulling big crits, doesn't mean your dps is that good. You are only pulling just past 7K dps on Patchwerk and only just over 6K dps on target dummy.

Big crits do not = big dps.

never a truer word spoken

[Shamslam]

My GS is like 5300 (4pcT10, 2 are sanc and then welfare gear) and I can get up around 55k crits and was hovering near 13k DPS. I still fire *may* win out at higher gear levels, but at lower gear levels you still have the req of high crit. At my gear, fire doesn't come close.

[Deleted]

I like Arcane.

[Titan]

after reading some of the post , i literally had to make a username to post because i was so shocked.

arcane while good on fights were you stand still and just spam, it is really bad on fights which require alot of movement, all youve got when your moving is barrage, which just doesnt cut the mustard.
Fire on the other hand has fireblast, living bomb and pyro(under the right circumstances)(*edit - we can even cast scorch while moving now , i forget about this XD ) that can be cast on the go. ofcourse arcane is a good spec, it always has been, but from my own experience once you start hitting the longer fights in HC 25 your damage done at the end in most cases will be greater with fire, this is due to arcane having one "uber" moment every three minutes, with arcane you pop C/ds and just go crazy, if something happens during this, like getting unchained magic from syndra you are literally gimped for dps for three whole minutes, with fire it is usualy slow at the start of the fight but any moment in the roation can go from the normal casting to a moment of mad dps based on if you get the proc for pyro,

i would definatly say as being a mage with 11/12hc 25 that fire is easier - yes i said it you keep a high ammount of damage output while your power buttons are on cooldown, this being said, if your raiding normal content, or lack the sufficient crit to make fire a realistic choice, then arcane can definalty put out insane dps, its just than youll be whapping out the dps when you pop your c/ds. and then sweating to stay on the meter when they go down, while the rogues and the warriors are just smashing the crap out thee boss the arcane mage will be checking the clock to see when arcane power is back up

again this is only from my experience in icc hardmodes, im sure that in normal modes and maybe even fights like sarufang hc arcane would be the way to go, but after playing mage for two years i can honestly swear that its easier to stay high on the meters in fire(in an hc raiding envioroment), i raidied most of icc as arcane dont get me wrong, and sure fire may do less damage on the dummies, but in a raid situation its certainly better

i like to think of it as "arcane" being the magic beans of the mage trees, on shorter fights , yea bust out the arcane be on top of the board, any decent HC fight when the rogues, locks and warriors start whapping out there magic beans youll be snowed under, fire will shine through in these situations, and lets face it, fire on LK HC is just mad dps - even before the patch it was crazy

Arcane is probably the easiest, most brain dead spec to play in 277 gear, at level 80 out of any DPS class in the game.

Also, DPS doesn't mean shit. EDPS and Damage Done is what maters.

[honclfibr]

As long as those things do damage, they are a DPS CD, though not nearly as drastic as they are in t10.

They're only a dps cooldown if they're worth the global, and that's a big if.