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Arcane Mage

Damage specialisation · Tier B in Mythic+, 3.4% of the sample

PvE GuideRaid logs, Mythic+ players and PvE buildsACTIVEPvP GuideRated ladder talents, gear stats and builds

Opener

The order abilities first landed across 4 top-parsing pulls, with the median time into the fight. The percentage is how many of those parses used the ability at all — a step at 100% is the opener, one at 60% is a choice some players make.

  1. 1Arcane Surge+0.8s100%
  2. 2Arcane Blast+1.4s75%
  3. 3Light's Potential+1.4s75%
  4. 4
Arcane Missiles
+2.5s
100%
  • 5Arcane Barrage+3.4s100%
  • 6Touch of the Magi+3.5s100%
  • 7Prismatic Bolt+7.3s50%
  • What follows what

    What was pressed next, counted over every observed pair. This is the closest a log gets to a priority list — but it describes behaviour, not a rule: a player casting Execute because it lit up looks the same here as one following a plan.

    • Arcane Missiles67 casts→Arcane Barrage34%Arcane Missiles26%Prismatic Bolt26%
    • Arcane Barrage62 casts→Arcane Missiles50%Arcane Barrage24%Touch of the Magi10%
    • Arcane Blast40 casts→Arcane Blast74%Arcane Barrage10%Arcane Orb5%
    • Prismatic Bolt38 casts→Prismatic Bolt47%Arcane Barrage42%Arcane Missiles8%
    • Touch of the Magi8 casts→Arcane Missiles75%Arcane Barrage13%
    • Arcane Orb7 casts→Arcane Blast33%Arcane Missiles33%Light's Potential17%

    Ability usage

    Casts per minute across 20 top-parsing kills in The Venomous Abyss. Per minute rather than totals, so a long fight does not read as a heavily used ability.

    Single target

    5 fights where almost all damage went to the boss

    1. 1Arcane Missiles16.5per min
    2. 2Arcane Barrage13.9per min
    3. 3Prismatic Bolt6.0per min
    4. 4Arcane Blast3.4per min
    5. 5Touch of the Magi0.8per min
    6. 6Shimmer0.6per min

    Multi-target

    10 fights with substantial add damage

    1. 1Arcane Missiles15.6per min
    2. 2Arcane Barrage13.8per min
    3. 3Prismatic Bolt5.5per min
    4. 4Arcane Blast

    Fights are sorted by how much damage landed on boss units rather than by a hand-kept list of which encounter is the AoE one, so the split stays right after a retune. Fights in between are left out of both columns.

    Updated 31/08/2026. These are observed casts, not a recommended priority — the order reflects how often an ability came up, which is not the same as when to press it.

    Secondary stats

    Secondary stat split across the 100 best-geared synced characters. Averaged per player, so one heavily geared character cannot define the answer for everyone.

    • Haste37.4%908 avg
    • Versatility27.2%637 avg
    • Critical Strike19.0%480 avg
    • Mastery16.4%411 avg

    What PvE players are playing

    Talent choices across 162 synced characters playing this specialisation. These are observed picks, not recommendations — they say what the ladder is doing, not what you should do.

    Where builds differ

    Taken by between 15% and 90% of players. This is where the real decisions are.

    • Mirror Image88%

      141 players · Class

    • Winter's Protection84%

      135 players · Class

    • Ashes of Inspiration82%

      131 players · Hero

    • Burden of Power82%

      131 players · Hero

    • Codex of the Sunstriders82%

      131 players · Hero

    • Explosive Potential82%

      131 players · Hero

    • Glorious Incandescence82%

      131 players · Hero

    • Invocation: Arcane Phoenix82%

      131 players · Hero

    • Mana Cascade82%

      131 players · Hero

    • Memory of Al'ar82%

      131 players · Hero

    • Merely a Setback82%

      131 players · Hero

    • Pyrocosm82%

      131 players · Hero

    • Rondurmancy82%

      131 players · Hero

    • Savor the Moment82%

      131 players · Hero

    • Spellfire Salvo82%

      131 players · Hero

    • Spellfire Spheres82%

      131 players · Hero

    • Orb Barrage79%

      126 players · Specialization

    • Improved Conjuration78%

      125 players · Class

    • Master of Escape67%

      107 players · Class

    • Consortium's Bauble62%

      99 players · Specialization

    • Mass Invisibility61%

      98 players · Class

    • Remove Curse61%

      98 players · Class

    • Freezing Cold58%

      93 players · Class

    • Ring of Frost58%

      93 players · Class

    • Improved Counterspell56%

      89 players · Class

    • Permafrost Bauble55%

      88 players · Class

    • Time Manipulation51%

      81 players · Class

    • Improved Warding48%

      76 players · Class

    • Ice Cold42%

      67 players · Class

    • Arcane Familiar39%

      62 players · Specialization

    • Ice Ward29%

      46 players · Class

    • Captured Thoughts21%

      34 players · Class

    • Orb Mastery21%

      33 players · Specialization

    • Mana Confluence18%

      28 players · Class

    • Archmage's Wrath17%

      27 players · Hero

    • Attuned Familiar17%

      27 players · Hero

    Near-universal picks (49)taken by 90%+ — effectively baseline
    • Alter Time100%

      160 players · Class

    • Arcane Warding100%

      160 players · Class

    • Charm of Aegwynn100%

      160 players · Class

    Rarely taken (97)under 15% — situational or out of favour
    • Energized Familiar13%

      21 players · Specialization

    • Mana Bomb8.8%

      14 players · Specialization

    • Incantation of Swiftness7.5%

      12 players · Class

    Import a real build

    Loadouts from the highest-rated synced players of this specialisation. Paste straight into the game.

    • Azunazx

      hyjal · US3,747

    • Datpoly

      thrall · US3,692

    • Horothewise

      illidan · US3,650

    • Taikasonni

      twisting-nether · EU3,624

    • Manabananaz

      malganis · US3,612

    Learn the spec

    This page measures what players do. For rotation, stat priority and matchup play, these are the references.

    • WowheadpveRotation, stat priority, gear and consumables. The most complete free PvE reference.
    • Icy VeinspveRotation walkthroughs and talent reasoning, written for players learning a spec.
    • Raider.IOpveMythic+ routes, affix planning and dungeon-by-dungeon breakdowns.

    Other Mage specs

    • Fire
    • Frost
    4.8per min
  • 5Touch of the Magi0.8per min
  • 6Shimmer0.3per min
  • 7Light's Blessing0.2per min
  • 8Prismatic Barrier0.1per min
  • Charm of Medivh100%

    160 players · Class

  • Greater Invisibility100%

    160 players · Class

  • Ice Block100%

    160 players · Class

  • Improved Blink100%

    160 players · Class

  • Inspired Intellect100%

    160 players · Class

  • Reflection100%

    160 players · Class

  • Temporal Realignment100%

    160 players · Class

  • Tome of Antonidas100%

    160 players · Class

  • Flow of Time99%

    158 players · Class

  • Tome of Rhonin99%

    158 players · Class

  • Quick Witted98%

    157 players · Class

  • Energized Barriers98%

    156 players · Class

  • Master of Time96%

    153 players · Class

  • Illuminated Thoughts5.0%

    8 players · Specialization

  • Impetus5.0%

    8 players · Specialization

  • Improved Spellsteal3.8%

    6 players · Class

  • Blizzard3.1%

    5 players · Specialization

  • Brain Freeze3.1%

    5 players · Specialization

  • Everlasting Frost3.1%

    5 players · Specialization

  • Fingers of Frost3.1%

    5 players · Specialization

  • Flash Freeze3.1%

    5 players · Specialization

  • Flurry3.1%

    5 players · Specialization