Hey everyone! Just subbed back on a couple days ago and was looking at bringing my mage up to snuff possibly. I used to main my shadow priest but since I came back I’ve seen that they’ve been in the gutter, so I wanted to give the mage another go.
Out of the two specs, what would you guys think I should pick?
I like M+ raiding and pvp lol
I tried arcane and my goodness was it confusing. I could spend tons of time figuring it out.
Frost I have actually never tried. So I dunno
Community help! Haha
I think Arcane is performing better overall but it has one of the most convoluted openers and rotation in the game, if not the most. It just isn’t for everyone. Personally I would stick with Frost simply due to comfort unless your guild makes a case that they really need an Arcane mage.
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Arcane isn’t so bad as long as you take the time to imprint the various burn phases into muscle memory. The issue I have had with it is maintaining the flow during encounters. I just got 4 piece tier and it makes me want to go back to it just for the Arcane Missile Cleave, but I’m going to stick with Frost for prog just because I can do it with my eyes closed.
Frost is very straightforward and smooth for me, but you have to like pressing Glacial.
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Frost rotation is all about spamming procs, yeah? Haha
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Arcane is the best!
I am giving it another go! Just gonna mind numbingly hit training dummies till I understand it lol
Arcane. AOE Missiles.
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I’ve always enjoyed the ramp and payoff aspect of some of the older iterations of Shadow. While Arcane plays completely different, Arcane’s rotation still has that ramp and payoff aspect that is quite satisfying to me. And it’s AoE rotation doesn’t rely on a ground targeted spell like Shadow Crash (Which I hate. Please replace with Mind Sear!)
It also doesn’t hurt that I can continue to DPS while purple.
Since the talent rework with Dragonflight, and then the entire mage rework, all the new stuff can seem confusing. I recommend spending time with each to see how you feel personally.
PvPwise. Don’t do it lol Just roll a lock. You’re gonna hate what’s on the other-side even once you get geared.
I feel that Arcane is one of those super-divisive specs. People tend to either really enjoy it, or find it obnoxiously awful. I think a lot comes down to whether you prefer the setup/payoff or the priority/reaction playstyle. I prefered Arcane when it didn’t require using 47 abilities before being able to damage, but again a lot of people do seem to enjoy that.
Not really any more. There’s still a lot of proc-related stuff but some of the procs are lower priority. Frost in M+ is all about getting that Orb>CmS>CoC>Orb>CmS combo out while making sure instant cast Blizzard is always slapped down and big abilities are shattered with nova.
Of course, you also have GS procs that you want to use (especially with 2pc) every proc if there are 2+ targets and/or you can shatter it. Ice Lance now takes a bit more of a back seat and is almost more of an icicle generator, Flurry is there for shatter combos, and Frostbolt is used if nothing else is ready. Frosts new rotation since 10.1.5 added a lot to the spec.
Frost is the easiest to do consistently good damage with. Each time im pushing a new key level I swap to frost. Arcane is my favorite spec out of the 2, because I love the big setup numbers…it does seem overly-confusing at first but then the 2 ramp/burn phases just get committed to muscle memory.
I would say the only annoying thing about arcane is during certain keys/weeks, you will inevitably run into a 20-30 second chunk during boss fights where you will barely be casting because you are out of mana…but before that you will be absolutely be ripping.
TLDR; frost for consistency and ease…arcane for big burst and more thoughtful approach to gameplay.
frost in keys you only have to be in melee for cone of cold reset which is usually once a pack. arcane you have to be in melee at all times which is super annoying with some affixes like spiteful or storming. fortunately you can AE, barrage and orb all in midair on storming weeks xD
Do neither unless you want carpal tunnel syndrome. Play a Warlock, you and your fingers will thank me later.
Arcane is love, Arcane is life!
frost has been super fun to play in m+ and raid. i kinda feel like frost is griefing on sanguine weeks, so i’ll prob swap back to arcane for that, or learn fire…fire looks fun to play as well…
mage has been really fun for me, this is my first season ever playing one after being a dk main for over a decade 