Arcane mage preservation phase DPS

[Siniwelho]

I'm a new WoW player doing my first raids. I selected Arcane spec mainly because it the easiest mage spec to start with and I'm not a very good player. I used to play Runescape so using your left hand is a new thing to me. I will try other specs when I'm more comfortable with the controls.

I have read several Arcane mage PvE guides and I think that I understand the basics: burst phase and preservation phase. In dungeons Arcane works very well because usually a "Burst - Evocation - Burst" chain will down the boss so there is no need for preservation. And it seems that Arcane is good on some raid bosses too because to my great amazement I was the best DPS on Hagara in my last LFR run (well, this will probably tell more about the team than about me).

But what puzzles me is the low DPS of the preservation phase. Testing with a dummy yields only about 18k DPS if Flame Orb is on cooldown. I can normally do 3 Arcane Blasts before I break the stack with Arcane Missiles or Arcane Barrage - sometimes even 4. However besides the Flame Orb I don't see a clear way to improve my DPS during the preservation phase. On fights like Ultraxion Arcane starts well, but at the end of the fight all my about equally geared guild members are way ahead of me because after the first 45 seconds in the fight my DPS has only one way: down.

Is there something I could try to improve my DPS in the preservation phase?

Terveisin

Siniwelho

http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/character/e ... o/advanced

[Guromin]

Hi,

Is there something I could try to improve my DPS in the preservation phase?

During my conservation phases I use a term I call "mini-burn phases" to help damage. Instead of keeping my mana at 90% the entire time I spam lower while intellect procs are active (Power Torrent, Lightweave, ect) and use all Arcane Missiles possible while they are not up until I am back to 90% mana. There isn't much you can do during the conservation phase to increase damage, but that's okay. It's intended to be lower damage.

If you are not familiar with Elitist Jerk's I would check out their site and this guide. It will not only help you for arcane, but also Fire when you decide to try it out.

I would recommend downloading Rawr. It's a program that will optimize your gear, reforging and gemming. The author of the program is an excellent programmer and does a great job.

Here's a few general arcane pointers:

If possible, use Evocation at the last second of an intellect proc so you gain more mana back.

Always be ready to use Evocation the second it comes off CD. Don't wait for it to come off CD to start bringing your mana down. You want it to already be there the second you can use Evocation.

-Guromin

[Siniwelho]

During my conservation phases I use a term I call "mini-burn phases" to help damage. Instead of keeping my mana at 90% the entire time I spam lower while intellect procs are active (Power Torrent, Lightweave, ect) and use all Arcane Missiles possible while they are not up until I am back to 90% mana.

Oh yes, I can see the logic there. So far I have slavishly broken the stack when mana goes below 90%. But now I will pay more attention to the procs.

Hmm - does the above also mean that you prefer Lightweave Embroidery over fixed +50 intellect enchant?

If possible, use Evocation at the last second of an intellect proc so you gain more mana back.

Always be ready to use Evocation the second it comes off CD. Don't wait for it to come off CD to start bringing your mana down. You want it to already be there the second you can use Evocation.

Sigh. I'm fully aware that timing your actions is the key to master Arcane. But when the encounters are new to you and to the rest of the team it can be difficult to time your phases right without prolonging the preservation phase - which will mean low DPS. Well, only practise will help there.

Thanks for answering my question even though it was a "low level" one. I will check the links you gave and report here possible changes/improvement so that others reading these forums can get some useful info.

Siniwelho

[Guromin]

Hmm - does the above also mean that you prefer Lightweave Embroidery over fixed +50 intellect enchant?

Absolutely. Having the burst helps damage far more than the static value increase. It gives you flexibility to min/mix your damage while a constant small intellect amount does not.

when the encounters are new to you and to the rest of the team it can be difficult to time your phases right without prolonging the preservation phase

Practice makes perfect! No one enters a fight knowing exactly the best way to optimize their damage on the first attempt. Once you learn the fight mechanics and they become second nature you will find it much easier to focus on your rotation and maximize your damage output.

-Guromin

[Siniwelho]

Ok,

now I have played enough that based on my experiences I can list some points to new Arcane mages in patch 4.3. Of course when the release date of MoP was announced yesterday it means that this will get old in two months. :)

1) Why I can't do the same DPS as the others in my raid team?

Because that's how it is in patch 4.3. You need to be a very good player and know the instance well to compete with the other classes who only do their standard rotations. The longer the fight the poorer Arcane is. The main reason for this is the low damage of Arcane Missiles. (Which will change in MoP). And the lack of DoT's doesn't help either.

2) How I can do better DPS in raids?

- The biggest DPS improvement comes from timing your Evocations right. If casting Evocation is interrupted by moving or by some encounter mechanics you will lose a lot of DPS.
- Try to fit as many burst phases as you can into the fight. This means that you should end the fight with nearly no mana.
- Aim your burst phases at times when the boss takes increased damage for example at Hagara and Zon'ozz.
- While in conservation phase try to track the intellect procs (Power Torrent and Lightweave Embroidery) and burst more when they are active. Longer Arcane Blast chains give better DPS. I recommend that you get an addon for notifying about the procs. Power Auras is one example.

Note that you don't always have to be the best overall DPS'er to do well. The Burning Tendons at Spine of Deathwing are good (and only?) examples.

I tested things doing LFR Fall of the Deathwing. I admit that it is not the optimal way because the performance of the LFR teams varies too much, but just by learning the encounter and getting my timings right I was able to increase my DPS. At Madness I started with 30k DPS and now I can do about 53k. And I'm not a good player - far from that.

This is how I do platforms 1-4:

- Flame Orb and DPS the limb in conservation phase
- when Mutated Corruption comes hit it with a full burst
- Evocation before Elementium Bolt
- mini-burst at Elementium Bolt when it comes
- continue with Corruption in conservation phase (if needed)
- new Flame Orb somewhere here
- DPS the limb in conservation phase until Regenerative Bloods come
- just before the Bloods cast 4x Aracane Blast for the stack
- use Arcane Explosion for the Bloods
- then just DSP the limb and Blistering Tentacles, but keep in mind that you should have full mana when starting a new platform
- after platform 3 is cleared create a Mana Gem

Lastly: enormous thanks to Guromin for mentioning Rawr. Without it the hit rating would have made me cut my wrists because almost always when you get new gear you will need to reforge for optimal hit rating.

[Guromin]

I am very pleased to hear that you have seen such immense improvement. I hope this carries with you into the next expansion!

-Guromin