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): +?