DPS Rotation & Cooldowns

This rotation offers a general priority list for Arcane Mage abilities, along with key cooldowns at the bottom. It's based on a standard build and is here to help while we work on a smarter, build-aware system. If you are very new to the game or this class, we added info on the new assisted rotation features at the bottom of this guide. Updated for the latest patch in World of Warcraft: Midnight Pre-Patch (12.0.1).

Single Target

Ensure Arcane Surge and Touch Of The Magi are ready before engaging.

• Arcane SurgeView detailsUse when ready and Touch Of The Magi will be ready within 5 seconds.
• Touch Of The MagiView detailsUse when Arcane Surge has ~5 seconds left.
• Arcane BarrageView detailsUse with 4 Arcane Charges and max Arcane Salvo stacks.
• Arcane MissilesView detailsUse when Clearcasting is active.
• Arcane OrbView detailsUse when <2 Arcane Charges.
• Presence Of MindView detailsUse when Touch Of The Magi has <1 second left, followed by Arcane Blast.
• EvocationView detailsUse if mana <10% and Arcane Surge and Touch Of The Magi are inactive.
• Arcane BlastView detailsUse as filler.

Start with Arcane Surge and Touch Of The Magi for burst. Use Arcane Barrage with max stacks, Arcane Missiles with Clearcasting, and Arcane Orb to build charges. Manage mana with Evocation and use Arcane Blast as filler.

AoE

Position yourself to hit all targets with AoE abilities.

• Arcane SurgeView detailsUse when ready and Touch Of The Magi will be ready within 5 seconds.
• Touch Of The MagiView detailsUse when Arcane Surge has ~5 seconds left.
• Arcane BarrageView detailsUse with 4 Arcane Charges and max Arcane Salvo stacks.
• Arcane OrbView detailsUse when <2 Arcane Charges.
• Arcane MissilesView detailsUse when Clearcasting is active.
• Arcane ExplosionView detailsUse when fighting 3+ targets.
• EvocationView detailsUse if mana <10% and Arcane Surge and Touch Of The Magi are inactive.
• Arcane BlastView detailsUse as filler.

For AoE, prioritize Arcane Surge and Touch Of The Magi for burst. Use Arcane Barrage with max stacks, Arcane Orb to build charges, and Arcane Explosion for 3+ targets. Manage mana with Evocation and use Arcane Blast as filler.

Cooldowns

• Arcane SurgeView detailsPrimary DPS cooldown; use on cooldown or during high-DPS phases.
• Touch Of The MagiView detailsUse on cooldown, ensuring alignment with Arcane Surge.
• Time WarpView detailsUse as directed by group leader or at the start of combat for maximum group benefit.

Use Arcane Surge and Touch Of The Magi on cooldown, aligning them for max burst. Activate Time Warp as directed or at the start of combat for group-wide haste.

New to Class? Try Assisted Rotation

Patch 11.1.7 introduced new features that make it eaiser to pick and play new characters. These new settings can be enabled from settings » gameplay enhancements:

• Single-Button Assistant
• Assisted Highlight
• Cooldown Manager

If you are new to World of Warcraft or a certain class, enabling Assisted Highlight and Cooldown Manager can help you learn which abilities to prioritize and use.

While the Single-Button Assistant can be a much easier and more accessible way to play the game, it does come with a slight performance hit due to a small GCD penalty, as you will have to wait 25% longer in between spells and abilities.

To see which specs are best with the Single-Button Assistant feature, you can check out our DPS Rankings which uses SimC to sim every class using this feature.