The damage output seems low, so everyone is either using Arcane Echo or Resonance. Even in BFA I’m pretty sure it was never used. The only benefit I can gather from messing around with it on dummies is it’s a good tool for getting things to proc.
So if I had to move during a fight it’s just something I can toss on a boss, or I can toss it before using Evocation. Or maybe during a conserve phase, before dumping Arcane Barrage, toss a NT, build up your charges before tossing another NT, Arcane Barrage, rinse repeat. None of this probably sounds good at all haha, but it’s the only things I can think of.
Also, I wonder why the damage increased per arcane charge is “71%”. Why specifically 71%?
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I think its actually a slight dps increase on single target over arcane echo but its minimal and complicates the rotation too much for it to be viable.
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That’s what I was thinking too. It feels like an Arcane Echo that you can have up constantly on a target. Since it’s an extra GCD, it’s probably more of a hassle.
I’ve tried to juggle with it and it’s annoying.
The duration of the DoT is too short, so you gotta refresh that thing way too often (I even got the impression it doesn’t even benefit from pandemic).
Add to that the the dmg is laughable and it becomes too much of a hassle to try keeping it up on the target.
If you can handle maintaining it so it doesn’t wear off, the damage isn’t that bad. On a pack of 3 you’re going to do about 1 clearcast missiles worth of extra damage, or a little over a regular AB cast. It has the potential to grow exponentially depending on how big the group is, so it can add a good amount to the dps chart. Right now if there is a lot of movement required and you literally cannot stop to free-cast it’ll give you an extra few abs for the encounter, to compare.
In a past xpac I would say its negligible because it had to be chosen over totm and reverberate, but since it was moved to the tier with echo and resonance its kinda so so. If its single target, you already lost benefit on single target with resonance, so mathematically, its only an increase in dps. If you’re playing and saving up to 3 charges of clearcast (which, lets be honest, is you playing with RNG) and you use echo, then you’re dealing more damage than NT. But if you want just a consistent bit of extra dps, NT doesn’t hurt. It just isn’t great either.
One of the ideas I’ve thrown around in other threads is for NT to be able to consume arcane charges. Then, right as the movement part’s come you can toss an NT and it would be comparable to 3 or 4 ab’s worth of damage while on the move, BUT you’d have to generate more charges afterwards, which is a fair trade.
Edit: In bgs and epic bgs NT is a lot of fun for stealthies and also helping to top the dps charts. NT is my secret weapon for healing groups too. It seems like a dumb idea but if I see a small group with 2 or 3 healers I immediately go into full AOE mode becuase its the only thing that can overwhelm multi-healer groups and get them oom real fast, even if you’re not directly killing anyone. You skyrocket to top dps using NT along with dropping barrages at 4 charges and using orb to get em all back and repeat. NT alone in those situations has sometimes made it to my top 2 spell in the dps list under missiles, most of the time its #3, but on a scale of fun, its up there. When you die and ressurect tho, it keeps you in combat if its still ticking on someone tho… kinda sucks… lol
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If NT lasted 18s I’d use it.
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Ah ty for all that useful info! I might just mess around with it for now just for fun. It’ll add a little pizzazz to my gameplay 
I do agree that I too wish the duration was longer.
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I wish they would make nether tempest baseline so we can have some nice consistent cleave damage
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It just needs a mechanic to have it refresh its duration when you hit the target with Blast or missles. And for its damage to actively scale with charges as you gain them. Or better yet, Not have it scale off charges at all, buff it and be its own damage.
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So I used it in BFA for a mostly non-conserve phase arcane build, entirely as filler, because I could stay out of conserve for a really long time with TA. Also, it was useful for proccing azerite armor damage procs. I think the last time I did the math on it, it wasn’t so bad, but with the changes to TA, it’s awkward at best (as TA gives haste now too, which doesn’t work well with not running out of mana fast). You never want to be below 4 charges if you’re using it, which really borks things up. Because theoretically staying at higher charges means you’re missing all the free damage from barrage outside of burn phases.
In general, outside burn phases, arcane is about efficiently converting mana to damage without wasting mana.
Really it should just have its damage increased and scale the same way AM does now.
All of the last few replies to this thread bring up ideas I’ve had for redesigning NT to be a more comprehensive arcane mage spell designed as an alternative to barrage (you can still use it as it is now, but more detailed) in another thread you guys may be interested in. Not trying to promote myself but it would be cool to get some more positive replies on it. Or to just share those ideas directly with you guys here, I’ll summarize it:
NT becomes baseline and CONSUMES arcane charges when cast, with arcane charges increasing its total damage by 100% per charge (tweakable). NT also grants you a 0.3% chance to generate clearcasting per tick of damage.
Clearcasting is changed to also provide instant arcane blasts. PoM is modified to granting you clearcast procs in order to synchronize the effect.
AB’s cast through clearcasting will refresh NT on target.
Slipstream talent is wiped and replaced with Arcane Perseverance: grants you longer clearcast duration and 25% resistance to dispel mechanics (a lil pvp love thrown in)
Nether Tempest talent is wiped and replaced with Arcane Meditation: The mage cannot fall below 1 arcane charge and generates a charge every 12 seconds.
The question you’d have after reading this is most like “what about slipstream? No more casting missiles on the go?” to which my answer is that your mobile damage will be fulfilled through the new NT mechanic, in addition to AB’s that are cast on the move, in addition to clearcast generation through NT itself which is giving you benefit even if you’re not doing anything at all. Missiles would be relegated to casting while standing still (just like you do normally if you don’t run slipstream) but this should be an exceptional increase in damage either way.
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