Arcane Mage leveling guide
Mana management and cooldowns. Pick this if you like Arcane Missiles. How the Arcane talents play from level 10 to 60.
On this page7 sections
At a glanceOur pickOpinion, not confirmed by BlizzardOur reading of the Arcane talent text, not a tested rotation.
- Build at level 60
- 35/0/16 (35 Arcane, 16 Frost)
- 16-point milestone
- Missile Barrage, level 25
- Last Arcane talent
- Arcane Power, level 40
- In a group
- Damage
- Our first choice for leveling a Mage
- Frost
How Arcane plays
- Arcane is a Mana puzzle. Each Arcane Blast you cast makes all your other spells hit 10% harder, up to 4 times, while its own Mana cost climbs by 175% a time.
- The answer the talents give is Arcane Missiles. Missile Barrage, the milestone, gives Arcane Blast a 40% chance to make your next Arcane Missiles cost no Mana, last half as long and fire a missile every 0.5 sec, and Improved Channeling keeps damage from interrupting the channel.
- Arcane Concentration adds a 10% chance of Clearcasting after any damage spell hits: your next damage spell costs no Mana.
- Presence of Mind makes one spell instant, and Arcane Power, the last talent, is 15 sec of spells that deal 30% more damage and cost 30% more Mana.
- A wand, 25% stronger with Wand Specialization, is how the build saves Mana in the early levels.
What to press first
Most important first. Not a rotation.
- 1
Build with Arcane Blast, as far as your Mana allows
Arcane Blast stacks for 8 sec, or until any other damage spell is cast, and every stack makes the next one dearer.
- 2
Spend Missile Barrage on Arcane Missiles
Missile Barrage makes that Arcane Missiles cost no Mana, and it carries the damage bonus the Arcane Blasts built.
- 3
Spend Clearcasting on your most expensive spell
Arcane Concentration makes the next damage spell cost no Mana, whichever spell it is.
- 4
Pair Presence of Mind with a long cast
Presence of Mind makes your next Mage spell an instant cast.
- 5
Press Arcane Power when your Mana is healthy
Arcane Power makes every spell cost 30% more Mana for the 15 sec it lasts.
- 6
Finish with the wand
Wand Specialization adds 25% to its damage.
Talents that change how you play · 10
From Wand Specialization at level 10 to Improved Frostbolt at 45.
The level is when our build first takes the talent.
- Levels 10–11
The wand becomes part of each fight.
- Levels 12–14
Arcane Missiles is interrupted less.
- Levels 15–19
Clearcasting: every so often the next damage spell is free.
- Level 20
A new spell, and the question of how many to cast.
- Level 25
Missile Barrage16-point milestone
Arcane Blast starts setting up free, fast Arcane Missiles.
- Levels 26–28
Some Mana comes back while you cast.
- Level 30
One long cast made instant.
- Levels 31–35
More Intellect, and critical strikes with Arcane spells hit much harder.
- Level 40
Your hardest-hitting 15 sec, and your most expensive.
- Levels 45–49
Improved FrostboltFrost
Frostbolt becomes an option: it casts faster, and Missile Barrage already gives it a 20% chance to trigger.
Gear to look for
What the talents reward on items, and items that carry it.
- Intellect, which Arcane Mind raises by 10%.
- A wand, from level 10.
- Chance to hit with Arcane spells gets Arcane Focus only from level 39, so until then it comes from gear.
Opinion, not confirmed by BlizzardItems that carry what these talents name.
Levels 10-20
The Hall of Thanes, levels 13-18 Alliance
Cloth hands · 6 Intellect, 3 Stamina
Quest: Important Heirlooms, choose 1 of 2
Wand · 18.5 DPS, 3 Intellect
Quest: Old Ironforge Incursion, choose 1 of 3
Groups and dungeons
In a group: damage. New group talents before 3 dungeons.
In a group these talents support damage.
- Arcane Subtlety reduces the threat of your Arcane spells by 30% at two points, and the build has both by level 29.
- Improved Counterspell, which silences the target for 4 sec, is not in this build. A group that needs casters shut down is a reason to take it.
New group talents by the time each dungeon opens
Strengths and trade-offs
2 strengths, 2 trade-offs.
Strengths
- Free spells from two talents, Arcane Concentration and Missile Barrage.
- Burst when you choose it: Presence of Mind and Arcane Power.
Trade-offs
- No Arcane talent in the build slows or freezes anything. The control comes from Frost, and this order does not reach Frostbite until level 50.
- Arcane Blast's rising cost is easy to misjudge. Cast one too many and the fight ends with a wand.
Compare this build
Keep reading
Sources and what isn't confirmed
Unconfirmed: reported, not confirmed by Blizzard
- The Hall of Thanes being open to the Alliance only
- The items under Gear to look for, and their stats, as public coverage reports them
Not announced
- Stat weights
- A leveling talent order from Blizzard
Sources
- Beta 1.60.1 talent data: every sentence about how the tree plays is read from the Arcane talent text. Nothing here is a published guide or a tested rotation
- Warcraft Tavern, 19 Sep 2026: the items under Gear to look for, and where each comes from
- Warcraft Tavern's Forever Mage guide: which armor and weapons a Mage can use, and from what level
Updated . Talent data: beta 1.60.1. Details can change in any later build or patch.