Arcane Mage looks like a decent option if you're looking to play a ranged DPS in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight. They're middle of the pack in terms of performance on our tier list of Dragonflight DPS specs, have some incredible burst potential, and are still more than capable of getting the job done. To help perform to the best of your ability, our best in slot guide will point you in the direction of the best gear possible from Mythic+ and Raids in Season 1 of Dragonflight!

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Arcane Mage Best In Slot Stat Priority

The most important factor to consider when obtaining new gear is your stat priority. In general, you should follow a rule like this:

1. Intellect
2. Critical Strike
3. Mastery
4. Versatility
5. Haste

In all honesty, all of these stats are incredibly close in value. It is vitally important to sim for your best upgrades; the stats are that close.

Important Notes For BiS Lists

It is important to note that any jump in ilvl by more than 10 points almost always results in the higher ilvl item being better. If you have an upgrade of 5 ilvl or less, compare the stats based on the stat priorities to decide the better item.

When weighing options of other items not listed below, refer to the stat priority of the class and spec. Keep in mind that stats eventually have diminishing returns, so it is not required to have absolutely every slot stack the same 2 stats. For simplicity, we offer the best per slot assuming you have not capped out these stats.

The calculations for diminishing returns are as follows:

• 0 to 30% in a stat - no penalty.
• 30% to 39% in a stat - 10% penalty.
• 39% to 47% in a stat - 20% penalty.
• 47% to 54% in a stat - 30% penalty.
• 54% to 66% in a stat - 40% penalty.
• 66% to 126% in a stat - 50% penalty.

In the case where you have reached 30% in a secondary stat, an item that has a secondary stat that is lower on priority may in fact be a better upgrade. This is why it is always important to sim your gear. For simplicity, we offer the best item in that slot assuming you have not capped out these stats.

Arcane Mage BiS Gear

The items appearing in these lists may come from Mythic+, Raids, or The Vault. Their item level will depend on the instance's level of difficulty (Normal, Heroic, Mythic, Mythic+ 1-20). This list does not include Renown or Crafting items as it is meant as a guide on what dungeons or raids to attend to get your best gear from these sources.

Item tooltips will show the Mythic 9 or the Normal Raid difficulty item level version.

Best Head

Two options that give you Crit and Mastery, including Tier.

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Best Neck

Your neck options are solid. Sim to make sure you're wearing the best one.

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Best Shoulders

Most likely you'll wear tier, but as always, sim it.

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Best Back

Lots of options beyond the cloaks below.

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Best Chest

There are several options beyond what's listed below.

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Best Wrist

One option in raid, and its slim pickings in Mythic + too.

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Best Hands

Non-tier from raid has your best stats, but again, it's a slim margin between the four secondary stats. Sim to be sure!

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Best Waist

There's no belt that's a "perfect" set up with Crit and Mastery, but that's okay!

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Best Legs

Tier legs should be your best option here.

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Best Feet

We're gonna list a couple of options for your boots. There's a decent amount and this is where the fact that your stats are so evenly ranked can come in handy.

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Best Rings

There are a lot of options for rings, so we'll see how they end up. Make sure you sim!

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Best Trinkets For Arcane Mages

The website Bloodmallet has run simulations on Patchwerk style fights to determine which trinket is best for Frost Mages. We'll track what trinket does well with one target, three targets, and five targets.

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Best Weapons

Generally, whichever combination of items is a higher ilvl will be your best bet. Sim to make sure.

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Best Gems For Arcane Mage

Here we list the best gems you can socket your gear with for Arcane Mages. As always, it is best to sim to ensure you're using the best options available. These gems are chosen given consideration to your best stats.

• Epic unique gem - Inscribed Illimited Diamond
• Remaining gems - Sensei's Alexstraszite

Best Enchants For Arcane Mage

Here are the best enchants available for Arcane Mages in Dragonflight.

• Cloak - Homebound Speed
• Chest - Waking Stats
• Bracers - Devotion of Speed
• Legs - Frozen Spellthread
• Boots - Plainsrunner's Breeze
• Rings - Devotion of Critical Strike
• Weapon - Sophic Devotion

How To Simulate To Determine Your Best Gear

Raidbots is a tool that World of Warcraft players can use to figure out if the gear they just looted is an upgrade. As mentioned earlier, there are so many nuances and diminishing returns as certain points in the game, that determining an exact set of bis gear is impossible. With the ilvl scaling of Mythic+ loot on higher keys and utility different gear has for different fights, there just isn't a pure "this is the absolute best for the entire Season" list. It's even something that certain classes have come across in Classic Wrath!

Don't worry, because we're still here to help. We highly recommend using raidbots to determine if an item you just acquired is an upgrade. Here's a quick guide to help you run simulations to see if your new item is an upgrade:

• Make sure you have the Simulationcraft add-on installed.
• With your new loot in your inventory, open your chatbox and type /simc.
• A window will open up. Copy the entire text and paste it on the Raidbots Top Gear page. I included my Simulation craft window for my personal character below

• This step is important. On the Top Gear page, scroll down and make sure you're selecting the gear you want simmed. If you do not select the gear you're wearing, as well as the gear in your inventory you just acquired, you won't know if you picked up an upgrade.
• Raidbots will then let you know which items allow you to maximize your DPS!

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