Essential Arcane Talents

Having reached a point where resting my warlock is a matter of necessity, I decided to give my old mage Brodix another try, this time respeccing him with arcane talents. He had grown very unwieldy by the time I stopped playing him last, and it was my hope that this would make him viable for soloing again.

The results were truly phenomenal. After acquiring a great deal of experience as a caster elsewhere, returning to Brodix gave me a genuine appreciation for the feats of which mages are capable. Talents that I had previously looked down on as inferior now stood forward with their true value apparent.

For those who plan to level a mage in solo, I have only one suggestion for you. Devote your first 15 talents points to the Arcane tree. Specifically, you’re going to want Improved Arcane Missiles, Arcane Concentration, and Improved Arcane Explosion. Those who have played casters in solo will need very little explanation for these, but here are the justifications for those new to the role.

Firstly, interruption means death. Mages have many ways to kite (i.e. keep enemies at a safe distance while pelting them with spells), but even the best mages will get struck during most fights. When that happens, your DPS plummets. Seconds of added casting time puts a huge drain on your limited health and lost channelling time makes your mana-to-damage ratio skyrocket. Simply put, casters cannot afford to be interrupted. By dropping your first five points into Improved Arcane Missiles, you now have an efficient, high DPS spell handy that cannot be interrupted by damage.

Second, mana is your lifeblood. A mage who is low on health can throw up a Mana Shield and stay alive. A mage who is low on mana has to find some way of recovering it or he’s dead. With five points in Arcane Concentration, one in every ten of your damage spells will be free. If you’re good at coordinating this, you can attain a very low mana-to-damage ratio by using your most costly spells only when this talent procs. This is as much of a staple as Improved Arcane Missiles; no mage should pass this one up.

Lastly, aggro happens. Even the most careful mage can’t help but pull a few adds from time to time. This can be a deadly situation if not dealt with quickly. By dropping five points into Improved Arcane Explosion, you now have an instant-cast area effect spell. To my knowledge, no other class has this sort of ability. When you get those adds, just spam your Arcane Explosion until your drop one or two of them, then lay into the remaining mob with your Arcane Missiles. Needless to say, this talent can quickly turn a mage into a camp-killer.

Remember also that talent builds need not be final. My primary mistake with Brodix was not that I wanted to spec him for Frost. It was that I did so immediately without any regard as to what would make levelling him easier. Most people will develop a build plan over the short term followed by a completely different build at 60th, which is definitely the way to go. Plan on respending later on. Otherwise you might end up with a character that is difficult to level and frustrating to play for long stretches of time.