It worked for frost (twice!), so let’s get Arcane some of that love.
44 Likes
While I wholeheartedly agree with this idea, I feel like we should try to create a thread where what we wants is clearly and adequately stated.
I was part of the beta and when I posted I tried to be clear and to be fair I think they used 90% of the ideas and suggestions. I did NOT test at high levels which was my mistake but I’d like to fix that. Let’s make arcane great again fluffy!
2 Likes
If Blizzard doesn’t want to do anything but tune the damage aura, Arcane Mage needs to be buffed to the same levels as Shadow Priest, as they fill similar roles.
4 Likes
The issue with a straight up aura buff for Arcane is that it already does pretty well in AoE and M+. Any large buffs (5-10%) would just put it in a place where other classes would QQ for weeks on end. On the other hand, its ST is severely lacking partly due to damage tuning but also due to the fact that Arcane is still a turret spec and is heavily reliant on CC for damage.
Baseline slipstream would partially fix the problem, as would implementing a similar spell to Ice Floes. Rather than a straight up aura buff though, I’d rather see CC AM get a large buff both to damage output and proc rates. That would fix Arcane’s ST significantly without breaking its AoE.
Realistically, Arcane is in deperate need of a complete overhaul but in the short term why not fix us so it’s not a dead spec for another 2 years?
5 Likes
Arcane is at least 5% undertuned right now. I would like to see that aura buff, coupled with other changes to help in mythic raid content (such as CC bad luck protection and increased duration). My suggested changes can be found here: Arcane mage buff ideas - #28 by Sebara-illidan.
3 Likes
Another day and still no love from Blizzard. 
Daily reminder to complain loudly until Blizzard finally notices us! 
3 Likes
So I actually just started leveling a mage and was having a blast as Arcane, still topping damage meters in instances while leveling, obviously irrelevant in the long term, but what causes us to like fall off of a cliff in the later game and how bad are we talking? Like not getting invited levels of bad or 3rd on the DPS but still included bad
Arcane is actually fine in M+. It’s raiding where you’ll start to encounter problems. To name a few:
- Movement in raid encounters harshly punishes Arcane. You won’t encounter this issue until max level.
- Burst windows are very RNG-reliant due to clearcasting’s proc rates. This has given rise to a degenerate opener where you spend all your mana fishing for clearcasting procs, evocate, and then actually enter your burn phase. The worst part is how it’s very easy for RNG to just not give you a single clearcasting despite burning all your mana.
- It’s very easy for your cooldowns to fall out of sync because of fight mechanics.
I’d say Heroic Artificer or Inerva are the very first fights where you will discover all of Arcane’s flaws at once. It’s all downhill from every fight after that.
The only issue arcane has in M+ is the fact that it has to deal with melee affixes such as spiteful and storming whenever you’re aoe’ing, but you have complete mobility during your aoe rotation, so it’s not too serious an issue.
7 Likes
I was noticing that the OOM on opener without a single clear cast proc and I just assumed I was missing talents or our mana pool got significantly larger as I got gear later so at least I am full aware of what to expect. SL is kind of hit or miss for me all over the place. I came back after leaving midway through pandas and a lot of the toons and specs I used to play seem to be “similar but different enough to not be enjoyable”
This post is pretty accurate. I would like to add that the arcane in M+ is just still nothing exceptional, but still completely viable. I feel the mechanic that pushes arcane to be viable is the PRIDE mechanic as we benefit from the mana regeneration. Once pride is removed from the rotation, it will be quite a bit harder for arcane mage to be viable especially 15+ tyrannical keys.
I loved that old burn and conserve system which is not really existent now. Case in point the new “burn” phase is overshadowed by a fire mage using combustion and not rewarding arcane mages for being a highly immobile class. Yet at the same time, I don’t want blizz to mess it up and tune arcane to rock bottom for all content (like arcane in arena).
All in all, I have very little faith that arcane would be changed besides maybe a small flat % buff. Blizzard’s priority is to just tell all mages that complain about arcane or frost “Don’t you guys have fire spec?”
3 Likes
So as I implied earlier I am just back to the game basically since a month before SL went live. Is that like an actual piece of feedback given by them or…?
Not officially, but Blizzard has made it pretty clear they have no interest in Arcane. It’s been relatively weak in most content, and Blizzard is yet to acknowledge it. It does fine in M+ depending on your group and affixes, but it is tanking in raid. The few minor changes it got for SL didn’t really make it any better to play, and its core mechanics are messy at best. Essentially it’s an outdated spec with outdated mechanics. Here’s hoping 10.0 brings a complete rework.
4 Likes
Didn’t arcane get a decent rework going into SL? From what I recall they received significant changes/improvements from the BFA iteration such as the ability to actually cleave, improved burst, baseline arcane orb, ToTM, major reductions to the number of CDs on pull, and more. I also recall these changes being well received at the time for the most part. I agree that some changes could be made to mobility to make it less punishing to deal with mechanics but if arcane was pumping at the top of the logs would anyone be talking about redesign? From what I see it’s a significant improvement over the last couple expansions in terms of gameplay and removes the arcane ST niche that existed previously.
2 Likes
The changes were well received at the start because of the borrowed power systems filling in the holes in the spec. Namely Arcane Pummeling increasing clearcasting proc rates, Equipoise increasing AB damage and reducing how punishing it was to not get clearcasting, and all the essences.
Now that those are all stripped away, Arcane’s flaws are visible for all to see and are impossible to ignore.
4 Likes
The borrowed power systems led to the degenerate arcane missile spam gameplay with no equipoise traits being run.
The big issue currently seems to be a lack of control over CC procs and mobility compared to other classes, leading to a larger variance in dps pull to pull. This could possibly be fixed by a small buff (10%?) to CC proc rates. Upcoming venthyr changes will also allow for a more predictable build, but will unfortunately mean arcane mages will have to switch covenants if that’s the build they’re interested in.
In my opinion saying blizzard doesn’t show arcane any love after the significant improvements it made to the class for SL is not an accurate statement. It’s clearly still missing something but QOL and gameplay is the best arcane has seen in multiple expansions.
1 Like
We need a buff, yes… but we need an overhaul to the spec more than anything. It has been the bastard child of the three specs since the dawn of WOW. It got a minor change in WotLK and has not really changed much since then. If managing my mana is something that only Arcane requires, then it should come with a sense of compensation for added complexity, not punishment for getting screwed by terrible RNG on clearcasting or lack thereof. If Arcane has the least amount of mobility in an iteration cycle where more and more movement becomes “normal” in WOW then those moments where I get to stand still should be impactful and feel like it makes the lack of movement worth the wait… I mean we don’t even have truly ranged AoE and the other two specs do… So if I play “melee” mage in AoE it should be exceptionally strong with AoE. Arcane feels like there are so many asterisks and additional complexity or shortcomings to it, without enough of a reward factor.
2 Likes
The spec got an overhaul specifically targeting some of the weaknesses arcane has had the last few iterations.
Saying you should get a benefit for managing mana is like a balance Druid saying they should get a benefit for managing astral power. Or an ele shaman saying the same with maelstrom. Mana is arcanes resource. Choosing when and where to spend that resource is the same for many specs in the game and what separates good players from bad.
Reduce CC rng and mobility issues. Either buff CC proc chance or give ToTM a CC proc or something. Make it proc 2 or 3 times below 30% to give arcane an execute. Regardless the spec is better gameplay wise then it’s been in years.
1 Like
There are a few changes in Shadowlands I appreciate. The fact that Mastery now affects all Arcane Damage means it isn’t worthless compared to Critical Strike, and the mana return on Arcane Barrage (especially now that it’s been bugfixed) means that Haste isn’t disposable either. The value of our secondary stats is a lot closer than it was before thanks to that.
The buff to Amplification and the nerf to Shimmer made Slipstream a more attractive talent. Clearcasting is valuable enough that the casting protection is hard to pass-up (I didn’t care as much in BFA if I stepped out of a clearcast for mechanics).
But I’m not a fan of Touch of the Magi. It’s a lateral move to link Rune of Power to Arcane Power and then give us another spell to cast in its place when we burst. The promise that Arcane’s burst cooldowns would have a more fluid entry (the long set-up time for damage was one of the sore points in BFA, and it’s still a sore point in Shadowlands) rings kind of hollow. It also came with a painful nerf to Arcane Power and the Overpowered Talent, because TotM always gets stacked on top of it. I know it was also intended to give us more options while cleaving, but I find it weak compared to spamming arcane explosion with rune of power.
I can understand if the design intention in Shadowlands was to move more of our damage out of our burst phase and into our general rotation; a change like that would have made Arcane a lot healthier on long boss fights while raiding and during tyrannical weeks. But it seems to me like these changes failed to do that. They just cancelled each other out, and spec feels clunkier for having to manage something like TotM with our other abilities.
3 Likes
That’s not at all comparable. Show me where either of the other two specs have to manage a resource like arcane does… Unless you arcane explosion your mana bar gone it’s completely ignored, yet arcane has to hinge it’s literal every decision around it. Mana is of zero concern to either fire or frost.
3 Likes
While I think it would help having a few talents made baseline and giving us new choices, where we actually have a viable choice (unlike the cookie cutter end all be all builds across all specs) there is no bandaid fix for the spec at this point. It’s long overdue for a complete redesign.
This back and forth between burst and conserve phase isn’t realistic anymore. The spec is no longer fun in a game where EVERY mechanic is something that’s on the ground you have to move away from, where you are constantly punished for avoiding lethal mechanics, and are pigeon holed into slipstream as the only choice, which is STILL piss poor of an answer compared to what you get for mobility with the other two specs.
Mobility is one of the greatest problems with the spec, but only ONE of the mechanical issues the spec is plagued with. But it’s not the flavor of the month spec, so they’ll just ignore the problems of arcane like they have the last decade.