With the arrival of Cataclysm, the talent system received a massive overhaul, changing from the 71 talent points system to a more compact 41 points system. As such, many of the old talents were either completely removed or changed, resulting in fewer possible build variations. One key aspect of the new system is that you must use at least 31 points in your main specialization to use the remaining 10 points in a secondary specialization.
Talent Builds
There’s room for some flexibility in Arcane talent builds, so you can customize your choices according to your own needs. The following talents could be considered as options:
- Improved Blink may be useful on any fight where you need to cross a large distance, but most of the time your Blink ability will do the job just fine on its own.
- Prismatic Cloak is one talent you can cut if you need the points for something more situationally useful.
- Improved Arcane Explosion can be useful for short periods of AoE burst, but as an Arcane Mage you’re usually better off focusing on your single-target damage, which is significantly stronger
- Incanter’s Absorption is great for any fight that has Fire, Frost, or Arcane damage for your Mage Ward to absorb. Otherwise it’s useless and you can put the points in something else.
- Nether Vortex can be useful in small group content where no one else is applying a similar debuff.
Glyphs
Prime Glyphs
- Glyph of Arcane Blast
This glyph is standard for any Arcane Mage build since it buffs your core ability.
- Glyph of Arcane Missiles
Another straightforward buff to one of your core abilities.
- Glyph of Mage Armor
Anything that helps you regenerate mana is useful since Arcane DPS is all about mana management.
- Glyph of Arcane Barrage
This glyph is not worth taking above the other three options above. You won’t be using this spell often enough for it to be worthwhile, even on movement-heavy fights.
Major Glyphs
- Glyph of Arcane Power
This glyph allows some of your abilities to ignore the GCD whenever you activate your main damage cooldown so you can use them without interrupting or delaying your DPS rotation during this crucial window.
- Glyph of Evocation
This glyph gives you a way to heal yourself, which is something you don’t otherwise have. It’s recommended to always have this active.
- Glyph of Invisibility
This glyph can turn your Invisibility spell into an extra mobility cooldown, which is pretty nice.
- Glyph of Blink
A little bit of extra movement doesn’t hurt, but the Invisibility glyph will be more useful since it gives you a separate option for when Blink is on cooldown.
Minor Glyphs
- Glyph of Mirror Image
This glyph is a DPS increase for Arcane Mages, since your Mirror Images will benefit from your Arcane Blast stacks when they cast it.
- Glyph of Conjuring
This glyph will save you a decent chunk of mana whenever you need to summon another Mana Gem in combat.
- Glyph of Arcane Brilliance
This one reduces the mana cost of your buff spell so it’s not as costly if you need to rebuff someone during combat.
- Glyph of Slow Fall
You won’t need to worry anymore about whether you have Light Feathers in your bag when you cast Slow Fall. If you want this glyph, it can replace the Arcane Brilliance one above.
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About the Author
Luxrah
I've been playing World of Warcraft on and off since vanilla, usually as a healer or caster and often as a guild leader. I play both retail and classic. I also love RPGs, sandboxes, and sims.