Mage
One of the most heavily reworked classes: Arcane Blast and Missile Barrage in Arcane, Heating Up (ex-Hot Streak) and Wake of Fire in Fire, Ice Lance and Fingers of Frost in Frost. Second-fastest leveler after Hunter.
Source pending
Alliance races: Human, Gnome, SkyborneHorde races: Orc (new), Troll, Undead
Sourced: Blizzard news · 22 Sep
What the tier lists say
Each rating exactly as its tier list gives it, with the list's own date. Ratings are opinions, so lists often differ; we compare them only within one role.
Arcane
PvE · damage listsDifferent scalesA on one list, #2 of 5 on a ranked list
| Rating | List | Page date | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | damage dealers | page 3 Oct · read 6 Oct | 6 Oct |
| #2 of 5 | best raid DPS | page not shownnot dated · read 6 Oct | 6 Oct |
Fire
PvE · damage listsOne ratingS on 1 list
| Rating | List | Page date | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | damage dealers | page 3 Oct · read 6 Oct | 6 Oct |
Frost
PvE · damage listsOne ratingC on 1 list
| Rating | List | Page date | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | damage dealers | page 3 Oct · read 6 Oct | 6 Oct |
The whole class
PvP · class listsLists agreeS on 2 lists
| Rating | List | Page date | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | PvP tier list | page 2 Oct · read 6 Oct | 6 Oct |
| S | PvP tier list | page not shownnot dated · read 6 Oct | 6 Oct |
Leveling
Different scales
- #2 of 3best leveling classes · page not dated
- Aclass leveling tier list (levels 1–20) · page not dated
Class tier list, no mode stated
One rating
- Sclass tier list · page not dated
What changed this patch
1 Oct: Hot Streak renamed Heating Up (same talent, trees and builds here use the new name); Combustion back to 3 charges (was 4); Improved Scorch's Fire Vulnerability no longer double-rolls resistance; Winter's Chill no longer rolls resistance; scrolls can't be cast while moving.
Sourced: Dev notes · 1 Oct
Arcane Missiles checks line of sight once at the start of the channel.
Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep
Fire: Wake of Fire buff 30 sec (was 20 sec), since the shorter buff was hard to use well while leveling; Hot Streak buff 20 sec (was 15 sec); Ignite no longer double-dips % modifiers.
Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep
8 Oct: Frostbolt and Fireball ranks 1–5 and Arcane Missiles ranks 1–3 retuned so each new rank is an upgrade; Impact no longer procs from Flamestrike's damage over time.
Sourced: Dev notes · 8 Oct
Seen in the beta
Sim, 11 Oct run: Arcane 716 (eighth of 20 damage results), Fire 691 (12th), Frost 659 (16th) — the three specs are within 9% of each other. On the same run, the Frostfire hybrid scored 712.
Sourced: Sim · 11 Oct run
Gnome Eureka! nerfed to a 10% cost discount (was 50% for Mages) but keeps +10% damage on 3 spells.
Source pending
Mana management is the limiter for Arcane; Frost AoE farming is the fastest gold route.
Source pending