Mage theorycraft Mages debate heavily about talent selection , or " spec " ( from the term " specialization " ) . Mages can select talents from three schools of magic : Arcane , Fire , and Frost , and when you see three numbers divided by slashes , as in 18 / 0 / 43 , the numbers indicate talent points spent in each of the three talent tree s in that same order . Generally speaking , players choose to specialize in one school or another . Note Mage specs , or " builds " , are also discussed in the topic Mage builds . Each spec benefits a mage differently and feeds different aptitudes . Most mages place the highest importance on one of these categories : Ultimately , it is a matter of play style : what casting fits the player ' s style better , allowing the maximal performance . In a raid in Burning Crusade , the mage ' s role is generally accepted as primarily to provide DPS , along with crowd control ( CC ) of humanoid and beasts and removing of curses . Often the discussion on what talent selections are best depends on the player ' s belief about issues that are not quantifiable , such as survivability . Arcane . Arcane is a DPS and utility tree . Multiple different spell rotations were used in the arcane tree historically , from Arcane Missile spam when Lightning Capacitor did not have an internal cooldown to AB , AB , AM or even AB - spam as typical high DPS rotations until Arcane Blast was nerfed in 3 . 0 . 2 . After patch 3 . 0 . 2 high DPS arcane spell rotations are centred around the new 51 - point talent [ Arcane Barrage ] . Typically in a 51 / 10 / 0 build the rotation is an iteration of Arcane Barrage and Fireball with Arcane Missiles replacing Fireball when [ Missile Barrage ] talent procs . As the AB debuff is 8 seconds , it was possible to squeeze in a Scorch ( or Fire Blast if close enough ) after the AM , and still have the next rotations AB start with the " old " debuff up , but land after it fades . Meaning that the AB will have the short cast time , but still only the low mana cost . ( AM takes 5 secs , Scorch 1 . 5 and AB 1 . 83 when 2 debuffs are stacked . Which means the AB will land 0 . 33 secs after the old one faded . It would be exactly when it fades with a 3rd AB ) . This bug was fixed in 3 . 0 . 2 . Arcane was only a viable spec in end game raiding if the user posses 2 pieces of Tier 5 . Another must have for arcane was the Serpent - Coiled Braid off of Morogrim Tidewalker in SSC ( for the 25 % additional mana from using emeralds as well as the bonus to damage when a gem is used ) . The added 20 % damage to Arcane Blast was the only viable option that made Arcane a possibility to come out with a large amount of DPS . Most T6 mages kept T5 shoulders and gloves all the way into the Sunwell . Arcane was the hardest spec for a mage to undergo in raids due to the constant need for attention to the Arcane Blast stacking debuff and mana . Arcane mages in high level stacked groups ( with a shadow priest and a restoration shaman ) could spam Arcane Blast for most of the fight attaining huge DPS . If properly executed an arcane mage could annihilate 2 / 48 / 11 or 0 / 40 / 21 mages without any problems at all . When speced properly Arcane Mages only needed 76 Spell hit meaning that there was far more room for stacking damage or haste . As Blizzard did not intend Arcane Blast to be the main nuke of the Arcane tree and did not want Arcane mage to feel compelled to carry 2 pieces of T5 deep into Wrath of the Lich King expansion , the DPS rotation of Arcane was completely refactored with new talents in patch 3 . 0 . 2 - 2 piece T5 bonus was lowered to 5 % ( down from 20 % ) and Arcane Blast debuff damage bonus was greatly lowered while also greatly increasing the mana cost penalty . These changes made Arcane Barrage - the new 51 - point Arcane talent , the new main nuke on the Arcane mages . Assumptions . Arcane Barrage and Arcane Missiles ( with Missile Barrage ) are the major nukes used in all Arcane builds . - - - Not updated for 3 . 0 . 2 below this line - - - Fire . Deep Fire is the spec of choice for maximum DPS , without regard to DPM , burst damage , or snaring / kiting a mob . Calculations . PvE direct damage component formula taken from Spell DPS To make the math feasible , we will make the following ( admittedly unrealistic ) assumptions : 2 / 48 / 11 spec . For this spec , the + critical damage % is . 90 . Fireball Fireblast Scorch Where the . 17 comes from the Playing with Fire ( 3 % ) , Firepower ( 10 % ) and Molten Fury ( 20 % * 20 % = 4 % ) talents . Since the battle is infinitely long , using the " ideal " rotation of 2 fireballs and 1 fireblast , while keeping scorch up ( lets assume 1 cast every 3 rotations just to be " safe " ) , you get a long rotation of 6 fireballs , 3 fireblasts and 1 scorch for a total damage per long cycle of : Over a total time of : ( 6 * 3 + ( 3 + 1 ) * 1 . 5 ) / ( 1 + Haste % ) = 24 / ( 1 + Haste % ) seconds . Example . Malula is a 2 / 48 / 11 specced fire mage with 1000 + damage , 100 hit rating , 25 % crit rating ( including talents ) and 50 spell haste . Hit Chance = ( . 83 + 100 / 12 . 615 ) = . 9393 Plus Damage = 1000 Crit Chance = . 25 Haste % = 50 / 1570 = . 0428 Malula ' s DPS = . 9393 * 1 . 32 * ( ( 4890 + 1000 * 1 . 9 ) * ( 1 + . 9 * . 25 ) + ( 2175 + 1000 * 9 / 7 ) * ( 1 . 036 + . 9 * . 25 ) + ( 333 + 1000 * 3 / 7 ) * ( 1 + . 9 * . 25 ) ) / ( 24 / ( 1 . 0428 ) ) = 733 . 46 Results . To be found . Frost . - - - Updated for 3 . 0 . 2 below this line - - - The Frost tree is notable for being the most recognized Mage PvP tree due to its combination of high survivability , derived from such talents as Ice Barrier and Cold Snap , and powerful control tools such as Summon Water Elemental and its many amplifiable snares . This notion is often accompanied by the idea that Frost builds are inferior in PvE by a large margin compared to other trees ' high - DPS options . In past times , this would be incorrect . A Frost DPS - oriented build did have lower sustained DPS than a Fire or Arcane DPS - oriented build , but historically this inferiority was around a measly few percent and was compensated by the tree ' s ability to provide high sustained burst through cooldown stacking of damage trinkets , the Water Elemental and its recently added Icy Veins ability , which was useful in burst - based fights like The Curator and shorter than average fights like in Zul ' Aman chest runs . Frost Mages are also at an advantage in longer than average fights or when there is no mana support due to their high DPM , which also allows them to use Molten Armor where other Mages might need Mage Armor . In Patch 3 . 0 . 2 , however , Frost DPS builds lag behind by around 10 % overall damage relative to Fire and Frostfire ( the most accepted raiding builds ) , a margin so large burst DPS , mana efficiency and survivability simply do not suffice to make Frost accepted in raids . Balance steps taken in this patch boosted Frost ' s AoE capability beyond that of all other Mage specs ( by giving Blizzard the ability to critically strike ) , and gave it raid utility in the form of the revamped Winter ' s Chill utility . Fire however received the same utility in the form of Improved Scorch , and it is doubtful whether Frost Mages will be seen with frequency in raids in the upcoming expansion . Raiding as Frost . For those who wish to raid Frost , the current optimized WotLK raid DPS build is as follows : ( 19 / 0 / 52 ) . To work optimally with this build the following steps are to be taken : Trinkets . General . When evaluating Trinkets , it ' s often beneficial to compare the average gains of the Trinket as a whole . For On - Use Trinkets , such as Icon of the Silver Crescent , it is , generally , sufficient to determine the effective + damage of the Trinket as follows : Where . . . So , for example , the following data exists for Icon of the Silver Crescent : Allowing the following value to be calculated : An important thing to note , however , is that this is merely an averaged expected + damage , and a much more accurate model of effective + damage can only be obtained by taking into account other variables such as Cooldown Stacking . The same formula also applies for On - Use Trinkets which grant other attributes as well , such as Hex Shrunken Head For On - Proc Trinkets , the working is different , and the effective gain from the On - Proc effect can be obtained as follows : Where . . . For example , we have the following information on Quagmirran ' s Eye : For the sake of example , we will consider the case of a talented 3 . 0s cast Fireball , with Using this information we can obtain : Similar formulas can also be used in evaluating trinkets such as Eye of Magtheridon , however the constant z , that is , the proc chance , is simply substituted for the relevant variable , in the case of Eye of Magtheridon , this is your chance to " not " hit . Shiffar ' s Nexus Horn . Shiffar ' s Nexus - Horn Forum Link to Discussion Model written out by Murphrid . Results . E = 225 * 10 / ( 45 + ( t / ( 0 . 2 * c ) ) ) Where . . . For a simpler understanding of this ; The higher your crit is , the more this becomes usable . But , if you have less crit , it ' s definitely not worth your time . It is also important to note the usefulness of this trinket decreases with longer cast times - for example , if you consider this spell used with Fireball ( 3s ) as opposed to Scorch ( 1 . 5s ) it adds 23 . 7 + damage at 30 % crit , as opposed to 32 . 1 + damage ; a quite substantial loss of 12 . 7 + damage total . A good amount of crit to aim for to make this trinket viable in raids is 30 % unbuffed . N . B . - with the duration now being fixed to 10s instead of 15s , the value of this trinket is somewhat diminished . Fall of the Lich King . As of Patch 3 . 3 , this page seems to be rather lagging and very messy . The four main Mage specs as of 3 . 3 are as follows , ranked in order of overall DPS . ( Writer ' s Note : I ' m writing these as I go , so they will come in piecemeal as I have time ) . Arcane . There are several different variations of this spec , depending on gear and raid composition . The base spec that I will discuss is a cookie cutter spec for beginners . This is especially good for a Mage who has just hit 80 , and as such is not hit capped . The talent tree can be found * here . This talent tree maximizes your chances to hit with Precision and Arcane Focus . The 3 points in Arcane Stability bank mainly on a Paladin in your raid having up Concentration Aura . If you know for a fact that there will not be Conc Aura , you should move 2 points from Arcane Concentration to Arcane Stability . If you have a well geared tank who knows what they are doing , you can move one point from Arcane Subtlety to Arcane Concentration . If you have a Shadow Priest or a Balance Druid specced into Imp . Faery Fire , that will remove 3 % of the hit rating you need , and if you also have a Draenae in your group , that will give you another 1 % . The chance to hit on a Level 80 Raid Boss for a level 80 caster is 83 % . So , with this spec , our chance to MISS is 11 % . With a Shadow Priest or Balance Druid , it becomes 9 % , and with a Draenae in our group , it becomes a 8 % chance to miss . 26 . 2 hit rating gives us 1 % chance to hit , so with optimal raid composition and the base spec listed here , we need at least 210 hit rating . If you are far enough over that , I HIGHLY suggest moving points from Arcane Focus to Incanter ' s Absorbtion , as this can greatly increase your DPS . If you have points in Incanter ' s Absorbtion , you will also want to move 2 points in the Frost tree from Ice Shards to Frost Warding . Make sure that you are using your Wards during raids , and make sure to use the right one . Don ' t use a Flame Ward on Sindragosa , who deals mainly Frost damage . Rotation . The rotation for this , and indeed for all Arcane Specs , is as follows . Arcane BlastX4 , Arcane Missiles . Note that if you have low mana , or low mp5 , you should reduce it to Arcane BlastX3 , Arcane Missiles . The reason that an Arcane Mage uses this rotation is because of the Talent Missile Barrage . This gives a 40 % chance for your Arcane Blast to proc a buff that will cut the casting time ( but not the overall damage ) in half . In order to calculate the odds of reaching a full stack of Arcane Blast ( the damage buff that it gives can ' t go over 4 stacks ) without a Missile Barrage proc , we take 60 % , the chance for the proc to NOT occur , and X , the number of times we cast Arcane Blast . So , in all likelyhood , every seventh or eighth rotation you will get to a full stack of Arcane Blast without a Missile Barrage proc . If you are using this spec , you most likely don ' t have much mana , so I would highly suggest that if this occurs , you simply terminate the stacks with an Arcane Barrage . Note : DO NOT allow the stack to simply fall off . This will lose you about 50 % of your DPS . Glyphs . The best Glyphs to use for this spec are Molten Armor , Arcane Missiles , and Arcane Blast in the Major slots , and Frost / Fire ward in 2 of your minor slots . For the 3rd minor , you should probably use Glyph of Slowfall , for any raid in which you get shot up into the air .