Haste, Haste, Haste! How the frak is it calculated?

Most people add haste sources together, for an arcane mage the basic form is Netherwind Presence (+6% spell haste) + Haste Rating. Blizzard treats each source of haste independently otherwise once you get a raid going it gets out of control really quickly, also it means you get a little less benifit. Lets assume 10% from hast rating

The Wrong Way: 6% + 10% = 16% so Arcane Blast goes from 2.50 to 2.10 (2.50 x
(1-16%))

The Right Way: I will show all the steps here for clarity and try put the numbers into words

New Cast Time = base cast time divided by the product of the benefit of all haste sources

NCT = 2.50 / ((1 + 6%) x (1 + 10%))
NCT = 2.50/ (106% x 110%)
NCT = 2.50 / 116.60%
NCT = 2.14 seconds

Some care needs to be taken with this for example Hyperspeed Accelerators are increasing your haste rating not adding another source of haste like (for example) Heroism, Icy Veins, and a Wraith of Air Totem would. Just for kicks- if you popped Icy Veins right now it would look something like this

NCT = 2.50 / ((1 + 6%) x (1 + 10%) x (1 + 20%)
NCT = 2.50 / (106% x 110% x 120%)
NCT = 2.50 / 139.92%
NCT = 1.79 seconds

It can get very complicated during a boss fight with all the various sources interacting together. Your cast times will go all over the place!

So Now We Know How it Works, Lets Look at Arcane Numbers!

Arcanist's will have access to at least three pools of haste, Haste Rating, Netherwind Presence and Icy Veins, So lets have a quick look some cast times with these at different levels of Haste Rating. For simplicity I will use Arcane Blast as it will be the most common spam and top it off with a graph.

Base Casting Time 2.50 seconds

Haste Rating 0 (+ 0%)
+ Haste = 2.50
+ Haste + Netherwind Presence = 2.36
+ Haste + Netherwind Presence + Icy Veins = 1.97

Haste Rating 164 (+ 5%)
+ Haste = 2.38
+ Haste + Netherwind Presence = 2.25
+ Haste + Netherwind Presence + Icy Veins = 1.87

Haste Rating 328 (+ 10%)
+ Haste = 2.27
+ Haste + Netherwind Presence = 2.14
+ Haste + Netherwind Presence + Icy Veins = 1.79

Haste Rating 492 (+ 15%)
+ Haste = 2.17
+ Haste + Netherwind Presence = 2.05
+ Haste + Netherwind Presence + Icy Veins = 1.71

Haste Rating 656 (+ 20%)
+ Haste = 2.08
+ Haste + Netherwind Presence = 1.97
+ Haste + Netherwind Presence + Icy Veins = 1.64

Haste Rating 820 (+ 25%)
+ Haste = 2.00
+ Haste + Netherwind Presence = 1.89
+ Haste + Netherwind Presence + Icy Veins = 1.57

Blogger is still fighting with me a little... I am sure I will get the hange of it soon!

Cyclical Spell Power Coefficients

All casters know that more spell power equals more damage. However I want to step a little beyond the normal. For example Scorch has a 42.86% spell power coefficient. While this is correct, it doesn't show it effect on your spell cycle.

For my Argent Tournament quest grind I like to use the following cycle.

Frostfire Bolt + Arcane Blast + Arcane Barrage

Cycle coefficient is 85.71% + 71.43% + (71.43% x (1+15%+3%)) = 241.43% *

* Arcane Blast is buffing Arcane Barrage by +15% and +3% for the glyph and I have ignored the FFB DoT as the mob will be well dead before the DoT deals significant damage

Its not very meaningful like this so breaking it down into per second, I feel, gives a really good indication. So assuming no haste benefits that's

3.0 + 2.5 + 1.5 = 7.0 seconds **

** It my personal style to add the global cool down as the time cost of an instant spell. You have to still be aware that is natural cool down is still 3.0 seconds if you want to do two in succession

241.43% / 7.0 = 34.49% per second

(for the curious if you only had Netherwind Presence that would increase this by +2.07% to 36.56%)

So in this cycle for every +10 spell power you have its adding +3.4 damage per second for a total of + 24 per 10 spellpower.

The cycle's coefficient per second does not look very sexy. But now we can build other cycles and explore 'The best cycle for class X spec Y' in a different way. I think this king of analysis is interesting for arcane due to how the Arcane Barrage buff stack, especially now that it goes up to four times for a massive +72% damage.

To cut to the chase, I built a graph with three different spell cycles

1. Arcane Blast spam ending with Arcane Missiles cast on Missile Barrage proc
2. Arcane Blast spam ending with Arcane Missile, but no Arcane Barrage proc
3. Arcane Blast spam ending with Arcane Barrage

In terms of maximising your spell power it looks like getting your Missile Barrage off early is a clear winner, followed by ending on an Arcane Barrage if long term Arcane Blast spam is unsustainable. In fact it does appear that if you move beyond x10, Arcane Barrage will gain more benefit.

This does seam to be inconsistent with the currently accepted Arcane Blastx4 + Arcane Missile. Likely this is because Arcane Blast buff increase the base damage of a spell- this type of analysis completely ignores the effect of two spells have the same cast time and spell power coefficient but different base damage and talents haven't been included (like spell impact), trinket or set bonus procs, critical strike, raid buffs the list goes on.

So some work is definitely needed here.

As a final note, I think this also shows how bad Arcane DPS can be without
Missile Barrage or even Arcane Barrage, all that spell power means nothing
if you can't effectively tap into it.

Lets Talk Tier

With T10 on the horizon I think it's a good idea to look back and reflect on this expansion's (WotLK) gear.

Tier Seven: Frostfire Garb
Two Set: +40% mana from mana gem and +225 spell power for 15 seconds
Four Set: +5% critical strike spell damage

The two set was amazing for Arcane saving it for your I WIN macro* was a huge damage boost and it topped up your mana. I was in a 10 man guild, so there was no valorous gear for me in a hurry- so Glyph of the Mana Gem was a must with this set bonus.

The four set was nice, but since we where trying to stack haste it was not so sexy. This definitely favoured Fire / Frostfire builds' and strangely enough it was named for them!

Tier Eight: Kirin Tor Garb
Two Set: Arcane Blast has a chance to grant +350 spell power for 15 seconds
Four Set: There is a chance that Missile Barrage will not be consumed
when used

Again the two set was good, but four was a bit lame as normally you had moved on to Arcane Barrage or even into your Arcane Blast cycle before it was even noticed, At the time thought the Arcane Blast Buff only stacked three times and the chance for Missile Barrage to proc was half so it might be a bit different now.

No a personal note I did enjoy the pants suit (I know people where upset…) as I could finally wear a tabard for a while and not look like a tool.

Tier Nine: Khadgar's Regalia
Two Set: +20% armour from Frost Armour, +10% mana regeneration from Mage Armour, +15% extra critical strike from Molten Armour
Four Set: +5% critical strike with Arcane Blast and Arcane Missile.

I really like both of these set bonuses. But I am not a fan of how you get them. Emblems, Trophies, Tokens…

By the time your moving into Tier Nine your mana pool should be high enough that the additional regeneration from Mage Armour is not needed, meaning its molten armour all the way for 70% of spirit is converted into critical strike rating.

Passively stack critical strike this way is a win-win for arcane due to the increase in mana regeneration. I am not going to go into Student of the Mind now- I think that is a personal choice as there is some sacrifice needed to get this if you want to go this way.

The four set is interesting, since the current arcane cycle is Arcane Blast x4 Arcane Missile or even more Arcane Blast if you want to wait for Missile Barrage to proc, so its really a +5% critical strike to your whole cycle so I for one will find it hard to want to break the four set.

Although I will collect all five pieces of the set I consider the chest to be the weakest with +hit it's very easy to be massively over hit capped from raid ToC10/25. Ironically I think Blizzard planned for this and its why Merlin's Robe is so damn awesome, but at 8x Crusader Orb's I don't think I will be getting one anytime soon (obviously it will depend on your realm and gold- on EU Emerald Dream they are currently 800 - 900 each.).

Also for those curious the Hood of Fiery Aftermath shares the same stats as T9.25 hood and has the same badge cost (75) only you need a trophy… so do what you can to get that trophy!

Tier Ten: Unknown
Two Set: Missile Barrage also grants you +12% haste for 5 seconds
Four Set: Your Mirror Images grant you +18% damage for 30 seconds

These are currently in the Player Testing Realm and as such subject to change.

These both look really interesting to me and I think T9 (2) + T10 (2) will be worth holding onto until T10 (4) becomes available.

Also with the changes to Scorch and Frozen Core I have a feeling that Frostfire will be the spec of choice for T10, but don't despair! Arcane still looks to be strong especially if the change to Enchant Weapon- Black Magic (to a +Haste proc) comes throught as this is looking stronger than then mighty spell power!

My only concern with this set is that Mirror Image is changing from a general threat reduction to a serious DPS boost. Personally in my rotation I like to drop MI as part of my I WIN macro, just in case it goes a little crazy, but this potentially could add more aggro then it drops!

Summary
Our friends at EJ's have done the hard work of evaluating the set bonuses, although I do recommend that you get your hands on Rawr as access to different equipment will change what is good for you. For Arcane the set bonuses look to be as follows

Set Bonus: + DPS increase.
T7 (2): +2%
T7 (4): +1%
T8 (2): +2.5%
T8 (4): +1%
T9 (2): +1.5%
T9 (4): +2.5%
T10 (2): +?
T10 (4): +?

Arcane Tree

Probly best to start with the Tree itself. Currently the basic tree is 57/3/11 (something like this).

The arcane tree runs out of DPS improving talents very quickly so its better to get them from other tree. It is a shame that the utility talents aren't very useful. There are few points that can spend to customise the spec, but they will change the playstyle of the spec. So lets have a look starting with Fire since we have 3 points in it

Fire

Tier 1
3 pts Incineration: +6% Critical Strike chane on Arcane Blast.

Frost
The whole point of points in frost is to get Icy Veins.

Tier 1
3 pts Ice Floes: lowers cooldown on Icy Viens, Frost Nova and Ice Block
2 pts Frostbite: Just as you have to use the points and its more useful here. Provides some benifit to grinding as I find the best rotation for this is FFB, AB, ABar

Tier 2
3 pts Precision: +3% hit will all spells, -3% base spell mana cost.
2 pts Ice Shards: +66% damage on critical strike. For when AoE is needed or FFB is used

Tier 3
1 pt Icy Veins: Lowers cast speed by 20% and reduces pushback for 20 seconds (cooldown 3 minutes/2 minutes 24 seconds with 3 points in Ice Floes).

Arcane
You will find from the ones I put x pts that you will need to go back and choice some of these as you will need 5 points per tier to move onto bying the next level of Talents.

Tier 1
2 pts Arcane Sublety: Reduces threat from Arcane spells by 40%
3 pts Arcane Focus: +3% hit with Arcane spells, -3% base spell mana cost of Arcane spells
x pts Arcane Stability: This one is personal choice, but pushback from being attacked really blows and this is one way of dealing with it- most people take three points and enjoy the pally -35% pushback buff.

Tier 2
0 pts Arcane Fortitude: this is not a PvE talent
x pts Magic Absorbtion: This increases resistance and when a spelll is fully resisted gives back mana. a very nice general talent.
5 pts Arcane Concentration: 10% chance after a spell hits of going into a clear casting state and the mana cost of the next spell cast reduced to 0. Not as tasty as it used to be (AB is now +175% rather than 200%), but still considered core. Due to is placement on the tree I think it would be difficult to not buy this talent and use the points effectively. To make up for this it recieves a benifit from Arcane Potency (Tier 6) for an additional critical strike chance

Tier 3
x pts Magic Attunement: Increases range of Arcane spells (x3 yards). while it doesnt' increase DPS in WotLK it has meant that you can be out of the range of AoE that various bosses do meaning it enables you to continue DPSing uninterupted.
3 pts Spell Impact: +6% damage Arcane Blast. This is massive, in terms of pure casting your going to be casting AB 80% of the time or more.
x pts Student of the Mind: up to +10% spirit. not really desirable until T8/9 equipment when used in conjunction with Molten Armour for additional crit. With Arcane don't really desiring crit it can be a nice boost, but will come at a cost of sacrificing a DPS talent elsewhere. This is not currently considered an optimal talent.
1 pt Focus Magic: Gives a buff to another player for 30 minutes of +3% spell critical strike, however when they crit you get +3% critical strike for 10 seconds.

Tier 4
x pts Arcane Shielding: Lowers mana cost of Mana Shield and increases resistances on Mage Armor. IF your using Mage Armour... it can be great for some additional resistances and should be used in conjuction with Magic Absorbtion.
0 pts Improved Counterspell: although I have put 0 here it could be taken but most bosses are immune to counterspell.
3pts Arcane Meditation: +50% mana regeneration during combat.
3pts Torment the Weak: +12% damage to snared or slowed targets. All tanks apply this in one way or another so its a core talent.

Tier 5
0 pts Improved Blink: While sexy is just not a PvE talent
1 pt Presence of Mind: instantly cast a spell with a cast time less than 10 seconds. A great DPS boost and recieves a bonus critical strike modifier from Arcane Potency (Tier 6).
5 pts Arcane Mind: increases intellect by 15%, +mana, +crit. very sexy but limited.

Tier 6
0 pts Primatic Cloak: Again very sexy but isn't a PvE talent
3 pts Arcane Instability: +3% critical spell strike and +3% damage all spells
2 pts Arcane Potency: +30% on your the spell benifiting from either PoM or CC

Tier 7
3 pts Arcane Empowerment: Gold increased damage of your main nukes AB & AM
1 pt Arcane Power: For the next 15 seonds all spells cost +20% mana but does +20% more damage
0 pts Incanter's Absorption: Sexy, but too situational for real benifit. Arguable would work well in fights that do constant damage or use frost/fire ward, as the use of Mana shield would be to expensive.

Tier 8
2 pts Arcane Flows: Lowers cooldowns PoM, AP and Evocation. Gold!
5 pts Mind Mastery: turns 15% of intellect into spellpower.

Tier 8
0 pts Slow: Very sexy for soloing but not so for raiding.
5 pts Missile Barrage: This is it... the bees knees of Arcane this is a huge DPS boost.

Tier 9
3 pts Netherwind Presnce: +6% haste = +6% DPS
2 pts Spell Power: +50% (a for a total fo +100%) damage on a critical strike of all spells

Tier 10
1 pt Arcane Barrage: Arcane only instant spell. Not so sexy at the moment, but very useful and no doubt will be back into the rotation after 3.2.2

First Post

Yes this is the first. And likely the entry that I will test things on be reopening and typing, editing etc.

You will have to bear with me on this one.