In short
- Arcane amplifies the rest of your toolkit; its new milestones are Arcane Blast (11) and Missile Barrage (16).
- Arcane Blast stacks up to 4 times and raises the damage of your other spells, at a growing mana cost.
- Missile Barrage makes Arcane Missiles twice as fast and free, and it also triggers from Fire and Frost spells.
Identity
In Forever, Arcane is the tree that sets up and empowers your next cast: according to Blizzard, it manipulates and consumes mana for more damage and gains new ways to strengthen whatever you cast next. Official: Published by Blizzard in a source we have read.
Milestone talents
- 11 pointsArcane BlastOfficial: Published by Blizzard in a source we have read.Source:Blizzard EntertainmentBlizzard Entertainment: World of Warcraft: Forever Class Deep Dives — Mage & Shaman (opens in a new tab)
- 16 pointsMissile BarrageOfficial: Published by Blizzard in a source we have read.Source:Blizzard EntertainmentBlizzard Entertainment: World of Warcraft: Forever Class Deep Dives — Mage & Shaman (opens in a new tab)
- 21 pointsPresence of MindClassic reference: This is how it works in WoW Classic. Forever has not announced a change; not yet checked in game.
Tier 5 in Classic. Forever mentions it (Arcane Power now requires it) but does not confirm its row.
Source:Warcraft WikiWarcraft Wiki: Presence of Mind (opens in a new tab)Blizzard EntertainmentBlizzard Entertainment: World of Warcraft: Forever Class Deep Dives — Mage & Shaman (opens in a new tab) - 31 pointsArcane PowerClassic reference: This is how it works in WoW Classic. Forever has not announced a change; not yet checked in game.
Tier 7 in Classic. Forever only changes its prerequisite (now Presence of Mind).
Source:Warcraft WikiWarcraft Wiki: Arcane Power (Classic) (opens in a new tab)Blizzard EntertainmentBlizzard Entertainment: World of Warcraft: Forever Class Deep Dives — Mage & Shaman (opens in a new tab)
Changed talents
Pick a talent to see what changes, why it matters and where the information comes from.
Magic Attunement
No longer an Arcane talent; it is now part of the baseline class.
Wand Specialization
Now costs 2 points for the same effect.
Arcane Focus
Redesigned: increases your chance to hit with Arcane spells.
Improved Channeling
Formerly: Improved Arcane Missiles
Formerly Improved Arcane Missiles. Now also protects Arcane Blast from damage-based interruption.
Arcane Subtlety
Moved from row 1 to row 2. Its resistance-ignoring effect is slightly stronger and its threat reduction slightly weaker.
Magic Absorption
Its effect now has a 1 s cooldown.
Arcane Concentration
Lower trigger chance when casting spells of a significantly lower rank.
What it means
- Analysis: Our reading of official mechanics. Not tested in game.Penalises the classic trick of using low ranks to fish for free procs cheaply.
Arcane Resilience
Moved from row 3 to row 2, no longer a milestone talent, and now costs 2 points for the same effect.
Arcane Geometry
New row 3 talent: increases the range of Arcane spells.
Arcane Impact
Formerly: Improved Arcane Explosion
Formerly Improved Arcane Explosion. Now increases the critical strike chance of all Arcane spells.
Arcane Blast
New 11-point milestone talent (a new version of the spell). 2.5 s cast with immediate damage. Increases the damage of your other Mage spells and its own mana cost.
- Stacks up to 4 times and lasts 8 s or until another spell is cast.
What it means
- Official: Published by Blizzard in a source we have read.Blizzard frames it like this: older versions encouraged casting only Arcane Blast; this one wants you to use other spells after building stacks. The rising mana cost limits how far you can chain it.
- Pending: No reliable information yet.No official values for damage, cost or per-stack bonus yet.
Arcane Shielding
Formerly: Improved Mana Shield
Formerly Improved Mana Shield. Improves Mana Shield's mana cost reduction further and also increases the resistances granted by Mage Armor.
Improved Counterspell
At 1 point, Counterspell always applies a shorter Silence instead of a 50% chance to Silence.
What it means
- Analysis: Our reading of official mechanics. Not tested in game.Makes the control reliable rather than random: more valuable in PvP and in dungeons with dangerous casters.
Arcane Meditation
Increased Spirit mana regeneration while casting. Now requires Arcane Concentration.
Missile Barrage
New 16-point milestone talent. Arcane Blast, Fireball, Frostbolt and Frostfire Bolt have a chance to make your next Arcane Missiles channel twice as fast and cost no mana.
- The chance is doubled for Arcane Blast.
What it means
- Analysis: Our reading of official mechanics. Not tested in game.It triggers from spells of all three schools, so it fits both pure Arcane and hybrid builds.
Arcane Mind
Redesigned: increases Intellect instead of maximum mana, and also Arcane spell critical strike damage. No longer requires Arcane Resilience.
Arcane Instability
No longer requires Presence of Mind.
Arcane Power
Now requires Presence of Mind.
How the pieces fit
- Set up and cash in. Arcane Blast raises the damage of your other Mage spells and lasts until you cast another spell. Blizzard explains it this way: older versions encouraged casting only Arcane Blast; this one wants you to use other spells after building stacks. Official: Published by Blizzard in a source we have read.
- Missile Barrage as the payoff. Arcane Blast has double the chance to trigger Missile Barrage, so chaining it should often give you fast, free Arcane Missiles. Analysis: Our reading of official mechanics. Not tested in game.
- Mana is the brake. Each Arcane Blast costs more than the last. Arcane Meditation (more regeneration while casting) and Mage Armor gain value in this tree. Analysis: Our reading of official mechanics. Not tested in game.
- Interruption protection. Improved Channeling now also protects Arcane Blast from damage-based interruption. Official: Published by Blizzard in a source we have read.
- More reliable missiles. Since the 24 September build, Arcane Missiles only checks line of sight when the channel starts. Official: Published by Blizzard in a source we have read.
- More range. Arcane Geometry increases the range of Arcane spells: handy for keeping your distance. Official: Published by Blizzard in a source we have read.
Still unknown
Not documented yet
- Why it is missing
- There are no official values for Arcane Blast damage, its per-stack bonus or the Missile Barrage chance.
- What we will do
- We will measure in game how much each stack adds and how much mana the sequence costs.