Please note that this mage spec is optimized for "[Arcane Blast] Only" and offers very high sustained DPS.

Important: Cataclysm brought significant changes. First thing you will notice that mana cost of Arcane Blast increases drasticaly with each new level (80-85) and your mana pool will be drained even faster. In order to solve this issue when leveling you must:

• Keep Haste under 5%
• Buy cheap armour from Auction with Intellect but NO Haste
• Reforge Haste to Critical Hit for more mana refund from [Master of Elements] talent

You will have to eat [Conjured Mana Cake] in dungeons at every oportunity.

Mage is pure DPS class and must convert mana to damage. If mage ends fight with 100% mana bar then mage is not using his full capacity. A lot of mages with high gear score play it wrong in Cataclysm by using old "4 x [Arcane Blast] + [Arcane Missiles]" rotation. Problem is that players are not realizing that high level (gear score) mages can use just Arcane Blast in long fights as long as their Haste is limited to certain amount. Slow Arcane Blasts (4 stack) can do much more damage than faster 4xAB+AM rotation. Assumption that Haste is always better than Crit is wrong. Haste is good in very short fights but gives you completely nothing in long mana burn fights. Haste just depletes your mana faster while Crit offers more DPS per mana.

In order of DPS gain:

[Burning Shadowspirit Diamond]	Meta	(+54 Critical Rating and +3% Critical Damage)
[Brilliant Inferno Ruby]	Red	(+40 Intellect)
[Reckless Ember Topaz]	Red / Yellow	(+20 Intellect and +20 Haste Rating) - 2 min fights
[Artful Ember Topaz]	Red / Yellow	(+20 Intellect and +20 Mastery Rating)
[Potent Ember Topaz]	Red / Yellow	(+20 Intellect and +20 Critical Rating) - 5 min fights
[Veiled Demonseye]	Red / Blue	(+20 Intellect and +20 Hit Rating)
[Timeless Demonseye]	Red / Blue	(+20 Intellect and +30 Stamina)

If you have reached 17% Hit Chance on Spells then use "Timeless Demonseye" for Blue Socket instead of "Veiled Demonseye" or hit points will be wasted. You can try to reforge your armor and reduce "Hit Rating" in order to avoid "Timeless Demonseye" gem option.

Note: Match socket color to use bonus!

[Mage Armor] [Flask of the Draconic Mind] [Runescroll of Fortitude II] [Seafood Magnifique Feast] [Severed Sagefish Head] [Volcanic Potiond] Note: Make sure that you have plenty of these items in your bag before entering raid instance. Apply buffs and scrolls after everybody buffs so items won't be wasted. If you have a difficult fight with wipes then be kind and share some items with your raid members because it will improve success of the team - remind them to acquire this stuff from Action House next time.

Mages should always reforge armour's Spirit and Haste to Hit (up to 17% cap) or Mastery. Spirit is useless for Mage now and haste is only good in very short fights but will leave you with empty mana bar too soon in long fights against Skull Elites.

Up to 2 min fights: Haste Rating gives DPS advantage over Critical Rating in short fights or longer fights where you can't cast because you need to move frequently.

Up to 5 min fights (recommended): Critical Rating is better than Haste Rating for long fights, because slower casts means better mana conservation - you can stay longer at the 50-100% mana range and benefit from Mastery: Mana Adept (+15% DPS).

Stack stats in this order: Hit, Intellect, Mastery, Haste / Critical

Note: in very short fights (less than 30 sec): Your DPS will be lower than usual since low level targets will be killed before you can reach 4 stacks of Arcane Blast buff (+63% DPS) or before you will finish casting. You can switch to healthier target in the middle of the fight because others will finish previous one in the second anyway. But keep in mind that primary target usually will have various debuffs from raid members (like increase of damage taken by 6%) which can increase your DPS significantly. Set Focus on tank so it will be easier to select primary target.

Note: If you are Level 85 Mage with 8K GearScore then use Ironforge dummies to check balance between Haste and Critical Rating. If you spam Arcane Blasts only (+Mage Armour +Mage Armour Glyph) then you should last about ~50 sec till mana is depleted. If you last less than 50 seconds then consider replacing some Haste with other stat: Intelect, Mastery or Critical Strike

[Alchemy] [Herb Gathering]

Prime Major Minor

[Enchant Cloak - Greater Intellect] [Enchant Chest - Peerless Stats] [Enchant Bracer - Mighty Intellect] [Enchant Gloves - Greater Mastery] [Ebonsteel Belt Buckle] [Powerful Enchanted Spellthread] [Greater Inscription of Charged Lodestone] [Arcanum of Hyjal] [Enchant Boots - Lavawalker] [Enchant Weapon - Power Torrent] [Enchant Off-Hand - Superior Intellect]

Map keys to macros: [1] - Arcane Blast macro [2] - Arcane Missiles macro [3] - Arcane Barrage spell (cast when moving)

[Arcane Blast] - Max DPS

[Arcane Missiles] - Conserving Mana (Used in very long fights only)
[Mirror Image] - Creates 3 copies of the caster, which attack the mage's enemies. Lasts 30 sec.

[Blizzard]

[Polymorph]

[Counterspell]
[Camera Distance]

Try not to spend more than 2-3 seconds on moving between [Arcane Blast] casts or you will lose DPS by losing 4 Stacks of Arcane Blast buff. 2-3 seconds is enough to jump out of a dangerous pool (fire, frost ...) or de-curse a friendly player. Remember that jump is better than run; because it requires only 1 quick key hit while run requires you to hold down keyboard key for entire movement process. Try to plan your movement ahead - before end of casting. Always think about how your actions will affect team's performance as a whole. Remember: If team dies - you die. Be ready to sacrifice some of your DPS if it could benefit your team member and bring victory. But maintain some minimum DPS, because most pople will respect you for your DPS first.

Skilled players should be able to be on top of Damage meter while at the same time be on lower end of Activity meter and perform all extra actions required for a good team play.