WoW Forever Mage Builds: Arcane, Fire, Frost Talents

Specs and roles

Spec	Role	PvE tier	Key point
Arcane	Damage	A	Arcane Blast and procs; burns mana fast
Fire	Damage	A*	Crits speed up Pyroblast
Frost	Damage	B	The safest, but lower damage

Tiers come from the beta tier list. The talent tables show only what Icy Veins and Wowhead agree on; each spec says where they differ.

A* for Fire: Noobtoboss puts it in B for dungeons.

Arcane: damage

In Classic, Arcane had no rotation of its own. In Forever it has Arcane Blast: each cast adds spell power and makes the next Blast much more expensive. Missile Barrage gives a proc: your next Arcane Missiles are faster and free.

Talent	Points	Why
Arcane Blast	1	Your main spell
Missile Barrage	2	Procs for Arcane Missiles

Icy Veins and Wowhead build the rest differently, and the embedded build in the Wowhead guide does not open. The rule both share: Arcane Focus is for enemies above your level, in dungeons and on bosses; if you only fight enemies of your level, take Improved Channeling instead. Icy Veins also takes Arcane Concentration 5 and Presence of Mind.

1
Arcane Blast
2–3 times in a row. Stack it longer only on a boss.
2
Missile Barrage
When it procs, Arcane Missiles.
3
No proc
After 2–3 Blasts, Fire Blast: the stacks drop and the mana drain stops.
4
A group on the tank
Arcane Explosion; Flamestrike first if you have the mana.

TipArcane Blast, Missile Barrage and Arcane Wrath are talents new to Classic. Icy Veins says hit will matter much more at 60 because of raid bosses.

Fire: damage

Fire lives on crits. Heating Up: crits from Fireball, Fire Blast and Scorch cut the cast time of your next Pyroblast, up to three stacks. Ignite adds damage after a crit. Without crit the spec falls behind.

Talent	Points	Why
Improved Fireball	5	Faster Fireball cast
Flame Throwing	2	Fire spell range
Burning Soul	3	Less cast pushback from damage, less threat
Pyroblast	1	Your big hit
Heating Up	1	Crit stacks speed up Pyroblast

Icy Veins and Wowhead agree. Both take Ignite, but with a different number of points. Wowhead takes Improved Scorch at 30 already, and Icy Veins calls it close to mandatory for PvE at 60. They differ: Icy Veins takes Master of Elements, Wowhead takes Critical Mass and Elemental Precision from the Frost tree.

1
Scorch
Up to 5 Improved Scorch stacks on a target with a lot of health.
2
Fireball
Your main spell.
3
Pyroblast
Once Heating Up has stacked.
4
Fire Blast
To finish a target.
5
A group on the tank
Flamestrike, then Blast Wave, then Arcane Explosion.

TipHeating Up is a new talent. The Icy Veins guide text still calls it Hot Streak, while the Icy Veins and Wowhead calculators call it Heating Up. Crit matters more for Fire than for the other Mage specs: Heating Up and Ignite run on it.

Frost: damage

Frost is the safest Mage spec, but in a group it deals less damage than Fire and Arcane. Ice Lance hits a frozen target three times as hard, and Fingers of Frost lets you hit as if the target were frozen.

Talent	Points	Why
Improved Frostbolt	5	Faster Frostbolt cast
Ice Lance	1	A hit on a frozen target
Fingers of Frost	2	Your next 2 spells act as if the target were frozen

Icy Veins and Wowhead agree. Both take Elemental Precision, but with a different number of points. Icy Veins also takes Frostbite, Ice Shards, Shatter and Frost Channeling; the Wowhead guide text recommends Ice Block and Cold Snap, and its embedded build does not open.

1
Frostbolt
Your main spell.
2
Fingers of Frost procs
Cancel the cast and use Ice Lance at once.
3
The target is frozen
Ice Lance while the freeze lasts.
4
Group of enemies
Against 3+ enemies, Cone of Cold and Ice Lance; against 5+, Cone of Cold on cooldown and Blizzard.

TipIce Lance and Fingers of Frost are new Forever talents. The stat order is disputed: Icy Veins puts hit first, Warcraft Tavern puts spell power first.