PvE Arcane Mage Talents & Builds – WoW Classic
Nevermore • Updated June 7, 2025
Find the best raid and dungeon single-target build for Arcane Mage, along with an AoE build that can be used for AoE dungeon-spamming. Arcane Mages have only one standard viable build that can be used throughout WoW Classic, with the build having a few possible variations while keeping most of the key talents.
Standard Build
The Standard Arcane/Frost Mage build is commonly known as the best Single-Target damage output throughout the majority of the game. It consistently performs the best as long as it is paired with a Winter’s Chill build in the same group, showcasing an amazing display until the later parts when the Fire Specialization takes over.
The build only takes a few talents in the Frost Tree, however, it primarily uses Frostbolt as its main damage source. From the Frost Tree, only a few talents are extremely important such as Improved Frostbolt, Elemental Precision, Ice Shards, Piercing Ice, and Frost Channeling. Frost Channeling in particular is very important since u will consume a lot of Mana with this build. Cold Snap is subjective, yet very useful in case you need to double Frost Nova.
Meanwhile, in the Arcane Talent Tree, you have multiple mandatory talents such as Arcane Focus, Arcane Subtlety, Arcane Concentration, Arcane MeditationPresence of Mind, Arcane Mind, Arcane Instability, and lastly, Arcane Power. The rest of the talents from the Arcane Tree are somewhat subjective, meaning that you can experiment with the build for a bit of variation. An example of a variation for this build would be to replace the Magic Absorption talent with both the Wand Specialization and Magic Attunement talents.
You will always want to reach Arcane Power and Arcane Instability since they are your biggest damage modifiers. However, be careful with how you use Presence of Mind, as it can lead to some dangerous situations where you pick up too much Threat if you use it right at the beginning before the Tank picks up aggro.
AoE Build
This variation of the Arcane Standard build keeps all the Arcane Tree intact while changing some of the vital talents from the Frost Tree. The idea behind the build is to maintain Single-Target damage capabilities while also accessing the Shatter talent. The major downside of this build is that it doesn’t have Frost Channeling, meaning that it’s not sustainable for high-end raiding, even with Mana consumables.
This build is specifically tailored for Dungeons, yet it doesn’t perform as well as a full Deep Frost AoE build in terms of AoE Damage Output, aiming to be a hybrid between Single-Target/AoE.
PvE Arcane Mage Talents & Builds
Now with all the different play styles Arcane can have for each individual player I’ll be listing out the spec out rotation to follow for each one.
Deep Arcane – General rotation is Arcane Blast until you need to regen mana then you’ll go into a 1 Arcane Missile 1 Frostbolt rotation back into 3 AB’s (Arcane Blasts) rinse and repeat and you’ll be net positive on mana gain with Mage Armor up. CD usage should be used at the start to get Arcane Blast debuffs up quicker, which will in turn result in more damage done.
Arc Fire – Same as the Deep Arcane Build, you’ll spam AB until you need to regen mana, once you need to start regening mana you will swap to one of the two filler rotations 1) 1 Scorch -> 2 Fireballs -> AB or 2) 5 Scorches -> AB
Arc Frost – This is the Highest DPS spec in TBC Classic for Mages if used right, Same as the other specs (minus Fire on Icy Veins Usage, (IV)) Pop IV and Presence of Mind at the start and Spam Arcane Blast, use IV again once the first one ends by using Cold Snap, once you need to regen Mana swap into a 3 Frostbolt -> 3 AB spam for mana Regen. Once you have enough mana for AB spam rinse and repeat till the boss is dead and you are out of mana.
Please note, if playing Arcane you will need raid support to achieve the highest potential of these three specs – Innervates, Mana Tide Totems and Shadow Priests are highly needed to make these 3 specs achieve their damage ceiling.