Basically what the topic asks. Is it still super complicated to get any halfway decent damage out of or can the ordinary joe without multiple PhDs play it and have alright damage?
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Well, yes… and no…
They reworked the spec and removed Arcane Spark as a cooldown. The cooldown timers are now much more in synch, but there are some fun new procs that need to be tracked and taken advantage of. I did not play the Beta, but it feels to me like it is incomplete.
Oh, there also is not any wiggle room on talents for Arcane. There are about 27 talent points that are basically mandatory now to take to keep up the “flow” from full charges to none and back again, and then just a few optional ones. I have read that there will be even less choices when the Hero talents are available.
There are several posts here about the spec that goes into some detail about what others think. You will still need several weak auras and macros in my opinion to keep up with all the procs to keep your damage up. I am hoping things will improve and/or Blizzard will make some changes, but it isn’t a really strong hope. 
Thanks.
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this is my advice. I just started a arcane mage start from the beginning(lvl10) so you can learn on your way to leveling… dont just jump into at lvel 70… so far im at level 24… and it so much fun!!! im loving it
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Easier in the sense there’s two less buttons to kickstart big burst. Harder in the sense that there’s more rng in building arcane charges. Mainly, you just need to learn the order of casting CDs (big burst and little burst) and when to use shifting power to make sure the CDs line up for these windows. You 100% need a wa that tracks arcane missile uses, because the 4th one does aoe and the others you cancel in aoe before full channel. Also, probably need one to track the new magi cause you have to use barrage, blast, and missiles in the window. In summation, a bachelors should be enough.
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I was on the fence about trying out Arcane mage but this sentence alone has completely turned me away lol.
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lol its not that bad you’re most likely gonna have a class wa anyway that’ll do it and to cancel you just hit an aoe ability
A lot of people I have spoken with have said that Frost is still good, if you wanted to play a Mage.
Thanks.
I was considering that yeah, I have a mage at 70 already but no real idea what the new arcane is like so it just seemed easier to level a new mage to get an understanding.
Crap dont know how im gonna explain to the wife I have to go back to school and take a loan to learn how to play a spec im interested in lol
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lol fr though it’s not that bad just more punishing to mess up than others because you can find yourself oom without evocation or surge. Hard to compare to shaman but kinda like spamming chain heal rather than using riptide+surge
if like RNG gameplay…
Lol! Well as someone who completed a dual J.D./PhD program I can confidently tell you even that isn’t enough. Arcane has been and continues to be a disjointed mess of a spec that requires a level of skill in memorization (both mental and physical muscle memory), reflexes, and the ability to constantly track a myriad of cooldowns that’s pretty much unparalleled in the game.
I’ve long since given up playing the spec at a higher level and strongly discourage other players from trying to follow guides by top streamers who literally play this game like it’s their job (because it is). It’s akin to looking to Olympic sprinters for advice on how to run when all you’ve done before is jog in the park.
I am at stage in my gaming “career” where I don’t really care about performance and only play what I enjoy, it’s very liberating. I like Arcane’s fantasy and pretty purple pixels so I stick with it even though I despise the playstyle. Unless you’re pushing cutting edge content or fighting for a raid spot in a top guild (neither of which I recommend, lol) you’ll be just fine doing everything else by simply following the basic rotation and safely ignoring the ludicrous shenanigans required to squeeze out those top damage numbers. It’s simply not worth the hassle, imo, even if you can somehow muster the wherewithal and skill.
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Can we stop with this misconception… Arcane has by far the easiest rotation of mage specs in DF it’s not a complicated spec. Demo lock is literally a harder version of DF arcane.
Arcane is easy if you’ve done your homework, but it’s a lot of homework
EDIT:
I really like this about Arcane. Theme-wise, it makes sense. I picture an Arcane mage to be a bit of a nerd with magic. I wish we had both play styles – a complex playstyle that gives a slight advantage (and mostly flexibility on what kind of damage profile you do) and then a simpler option in the talent tree that still does well but isn’t nearly as flexible and doesn’t have the more difficult quirks like double-dipping. I think that is how to make everyone more or less happy
Not as difficult as Shadowlands-DF Arcane, not as easy as some other classes. The rotation is very set in stone for the most part, the only real decision making you seem to do is regarding if it’s worth clip barraging yet or wait until you have a way to quickly rebuild charges through orbs, CC procs or big CD reset.
Arcane will always be a more complicated specialization because it is fragile, has to act quickly and has defenses that require them to be activated before damage arrives. Although the rotation has been toned down, these key characteristics of the arcane still remain.
Furthermore, it is important to highlight that the arcane still has the mechanics of worrying about its mana, something that in history is something notable for the wizard who manipulates arcane magic in its pure state.
I’d rather see arcane charges disappear than this mechanic involving our mana.
You can not be serious with this opinion.
Like easily have you tried both specs… Arcane mage in DF has legit nothing going on by far the easiest performing spec and the reason I chose to raid on it lol. As long as you don’t mess up your 2 windows and remember to press shifting power this spec is brain dead. You can’t really mess anything up in it worst thing you can do is not hit your burn windows perfectly.
Demo lock you get so much more punished for missing failing to extend w/ tyran or missing any windows for your summons since it makes it so stuff won’t line up.
Yeah arcane DF was easier then demo lock easily. Matched the sim on arcane within an hour of picking it up, demo was not as easy to not mess up a window to get the sim. I only mythic raided on arcane to be fair, but i figure the class that can literally cast while moving half the time + having 2 shimmers and PoM is much easier then demo lock who is stuck hardcasting 24/7 lol.
It’s really not a lot of HW…
Big burn → shifting power → Mini burn
Stuff like missile clipping, and PoM at final GCD of ToTM are such minor DPS gains that it really does not make a big difference if you do them or not.
Most of DF arcane really does not have much to learn…
PoM isn’t really worth it anymore. You’re forgetting about the recent topic of double-dipping NP. Also you want to stack Acane Debilitaion, Arcane Tempo, Enlightened, and NP going into your big burn or you’ll lose like 20% of your damage while the pull is up. That’s the difference between something like 850k and 1.3M damage. That counts for a lot in a key.
So, hard disagree here but you do you
EDIT: oh don’t forget you’re doing that within the 25% damage amp window of TOTM, so you get even more value from the “stuff like” that you mention (not to mention more value from Arcane Echo from the haste of AT, that’s not factored into this) UGH and I forgot Big Brained too! That’s another few intellect %!
Thought you were talking DF arcane my b I agree new arcane is awesome w/ a lot more to it!