Arcane Missiles

Arcane Missiles
Arcane Missiles (10 ranks) Mage ability 30 s. yd range 785 Mana at max rank Channeled sec cast Launches Arcane Missiles at the enemy, causing X Arcane damage each second for Y sec.
Properties
Class	Mage
School	Arcane
Cooldown	None
Improvements	[Improved Arcane Missiles], [Empowered Arcane Missiles], [Arcane Subtlety], [Arcane Focus]

[[Category:mage abilities]][[Category:mage abilities]]

Arcane Missiles is a channeled mage spell that shoots a series of missiles at the target, one each second over a period of time, dealing direct arcane damage.

Rank	Mana Cost	DPS	Seconds	Total Damage	Level	Cost
1	85	24	3	72	8	2
2	140	36	4	144	16	15
3	235	56	5	280	24	40
4	320	83	5	415	32	1
5	410	115	5	575	40	1 80
6	500	151	5	755	48	2 80
7	595	192	5	960	56	3 50
8	655	230	5	1150	60	4 20[1]
9	685	240	5	1200	63	5 70
10	740	264	5	1320	69	8 70

• 1. Arcane Missiles (Rank 8) can also be trained from [Tome of Arcane Missiles VIII], a drop from bosses in the Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj raid instance.[1].

Talent improvements

The [Improved Arcane Missiles] talent will reduce the chance that damage taken will interrupt channeling. At max rank, Arcane Missiles will never be interrupted by damage.

The [Empowered Arcane Missiles] talent will increase the amount of spell damage that applies to Arcane Missiles, but increases its mana cost.

The [Arcane Subtlety] talent will reduce the amount of threat caused by Arcane Missiles, and [Arcane Focus] will reduce the chance that the spell is resisted.

Notes

While you stand and channel, Arcane Missiles launches bolts of arcane energy at your target, dealing the given damage each second. Unlike other channeled spells, each second (or "tick") is considered a separate direct damage missile which passes through the normal direct damage checks (crit, resistance). Hence every missile can crit or miss on its own.

Like all channeled spells, the mana is deducted before channeling starts, so the full cost is paid regardless of how many missiles are actually launched or needed before the spell is interrupted or the target is dead.

Tips and tactics

This is the mage's best DPS single-target spell. The long channeling time makes it prone to interruption, especially in PvP, but a full talent upgrade makes it uninterruptable by regular damage, though abilities like [Kick] and [Shield Bash] will still stop the casting. When fully upgraded, this is a way to do fast (albeit expensive) damage to something that is trying to kill you with melee weapons.

It is very powerful against enemy casters, as it slows casting with every missile.

A helpful talent here is [Arcane Concentration]. A common tactic in groups when so talented is to cast a fast, cheap spell (like [Scorch] or an upgraded [Frostbolt]) until clearcasting is achieved, then cast a free Arcane Missiles.

Known bugs

There is a bug that prevents base mana regeneration when using the Clearcasting effect for Arcane Missiles.

Occasionally, Arcane Missiles will launch an inconsistent number of missiles.[2]