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WoW Forever Arcane Mage BiS at level 50
Summary
This is the site’s suggestion for Arcane Mage at level 50, not an official list: we use our Arcane stat weights to score every item a Mage can use with a required level of 50 or lower, and pick the best one for each slot. The beta does not reach this level yet (the current cap is 30): it is a forecast, and items and their sources may change.
Stat priority of the list, per point: Mana per 5 sec > Spell Power > Arcane Damage > Frost Damage. Percentage stats count too, per 1%: spell hit and spell critical strike. Only wand DPS is scored; other weapons count by their stats.
- Wand:
Noxious Shooter - Main hand:
Moonshadow StaveClassic data (not in the beta client) - Hands:
Sorcerer's Gloves - Waist:
Ban'thok SashClassic data (not in the beta client)
3 of the 16 pieces are new in Forever and 14 have a known source.
Gear by slot
For each slot, the suggested piece and the next two on the list.Head
Neck
Shoulders
Back
Chest
Wrists
Hands
Waist
Legs
Feet
Ring 1
Ring 2
Trinket 1
Trinket 2
Main hand
Off hand
Two-handed weapon: the off hand stays empty If you prefer one-hand + off hand, these are the best off-hand pieces:
Wand
More on Arcane Mage
Reasoning: Arcane in Classic is mostly about mana: Arcane Power and Arcane Mind scale with intellect and total mana, so intellect and mana per 5 s weigh more than for Fire/Frost. Spell power and hit like any caster; crit a bit less because there is no Ignite or Shatter.
Heads up: the beta is capped at level 30 and the weights are indicative, tuned for level 60 with no simulations behind them. Sources come from the WoWSims Forever database and, for items that already existed in Classic, from the Classic 1.12 database (CMaNGOS Classic-DB, marked "Classic data": they may change in Forever); an item without a source may not be obtainable yet. Set bonuses and procs are not scored. Everything will change with each build.
Treat these lists as a starting point: your talents, enchants and play style may make another piece the better pick.
Updated