TBC Classic Arcane Mage Guide (Phase 3)

Arcane Mage is a ranged cloth-wearing caster and one of the strongest specializations in TBC. It delivers the highest and most controllable burst damage among mages, the best sustained damage of the three trees, and one of the best area-of-effect outputs. The main challenge is mana consumption. It is very high, so the mage spends other players' mana-restoring cooldowns, including Innervate, and converts them into damage. The core spell is Arcane Blast, while Frostbolt works as an economical filler.

• Arcane Blast — main single-target damage and used the whole time under cooldowns
• Frostbolt — economical filler: at 1500–3000 mana switch to a cycle of 3× Arcane Blast + 3× Frostbolt; with high haste — 3 and 4
• Molten Armor — if mana lasts until the end of the fight, otherwise Mage Armor
• Fire Blast — while moving and for finishing off, it has no travel time
• Blink — instead of running when changing position, so you don't lose casts

Area-of-Effect Priority

• Arcane Explosion — the foundation of AoE damage; threat is so low you can start almost right behind the tank
• Cone of Cold — on cooldown, if all targets are in front of you
• Flamestrike — can be placed in advance, but generates a lot of threat
• Blizzard — the safe option from range and a slow

• Arcane Power — +30% to damage and to mana cost for 15 seconds, 3-minute cooldown; the main damage cooldown
• Icy Veins — the second damage cooldown; do not activate it before a phase where you get stunned or forced to run
• Cold Snap — resets the cooldown of Icy Veins; make sure it doesn't fall out of sync with Arcane Power. It also resets Ice Block and Ring of Frost
• Presence of Mind — instant cast: finishing off, damage while moving, or refreshing the debuff from Arcane Blast
• Evocation — mana restoration; use it together with Innervate and Mana Tide Totem as often as possible
• Remove Lesser Curse — removing curses from the raid; on some fights this is your responsibility
• Arcane Brilliance — keep it on yourself and the group

The point of the cycle with Frostbolt is that the cost of Arcane Blast is calculated at the moment the cast finishes. If you start a new blast on the last second of the debuff, it will cast in 1.5 seconds but charge the base cost — 195 mana instead of 634 (or 39 mana on top with two pieces of the T5 set).

Gnome

• Expansive Mind increases intellect by 5%.
• Escape Artist instantly removes slowing and immobilizing effects. 1.5-minute cooldown.
• Arcane Resistance increases arcane resistance by 10.
• Engineering Specialization increases engineering skill by 15.

Human

• The Human Spirit increases spirit by 10%.
• Perception sharply increases stealth detection for 20 seconds. 3-minute cooldown.
• Diplomacy increases reputation gained by 10%.

Draenei

• Inspiring Presence increases the spell hit of the whole group within 30 yards by 1%.
• Gift of the Naaru heals the target over 15 seconds.
• Shadow Resistance increases shadow resistance by 10.
• Gemcutting increases jewelcrafting skill by 5.

Troll

• Berserking increases spell casting speed by 10–30% depending on how wounded you are, for 10 seconds. 3-minute cooldown.
• Beast Slaying increases damage against beasts by 5%.
• Regeneration increases health regeneration by 10% and allows you to regenerate 10% of it even in combat.
• Throwing Specialization increases critical strike chance by 1% when wielding a thrown weapon.

Blood Elf

• Arcane Torrent restores mana and silences enemies within 8 yards for 2 seconds. 2-minute cooldown.
• Arcane Resistance increases all resistances by 5.
• Arcane Affinity increases enchanting skill by 10.

Undead

• Will of the Forsaken grants 5 seconds of immunity to fear, charm and sleep. 2-minute cooldown.
• Cannibalize restores 35% of health over 10 seconds by eating a nearby humanoid or undead corpse.
• Shadow Resistance increases shadow resistance by 10.
• Touch of the Grave triples the time you can stay underwater.

Enchanting

Provides Enchant Ring - Minor Intellect — a very strong enchant that can only be applied to your own rings and stops working if you drop the profession. Plus Disenchant for breaking down surplus equipment.

Engineering

Explosives like Dense Dynamite and Super Sapper Charge are not subject to the AoE damage cap and weave into the rotation. It also provides Destruction Holo-Gogs, Rocket Boots Xtreme Lite, Zapthrottle Mote Extractor and Dimensional Ripper - Area 52.

Tailoring

In the first phase it provides strong sets — Spellfire (Spellfire Robe, Spellfire Gloves, Spellfire Belt) and Spellstrike (Spellstrike Hood, Spellstrike Pants) — but they are quickly displaced by raid gear. At 375 skill it unlocks the best leg enchants: Runic Spellthread and Golden Spellthread.

Leatherworking

Provides drums with 30-second buffs. Because of the Tinnitus debuff they can only be received once every 2 minutes, so the profession's value has dropped noticeably.