Mage Healer Guide for Season of Discovery Phase 2

Mages shine as healers in Phase 2, wielding Regeneration's healing beam to apply Temporary beacon, enabling them to heal allies through Arcane damage. Regeneración en masa extends this AoE healing, albeit with a shorter Temporary beacon duration. While Retroceder en el tiempo offers time reversal healing, it's currently underused. Notably, Chronostatic preservation allows Mages to store a potent heal for strategic deployment within 15 seconds. Baliza temporal consistency is key for maximizing healing potential. Masters of Arcane damage and healing synergy, Mage healers prove indispensable in diverse encounters, offering versatility and tactical prowess in the dynamic Season of Discovery landscape.

Viability of Mage Healer

Mage healing offers a unique and engaging approach, departing from traditional healing methods. By applying Temporary beacon and healing through Arcane damage, Mages stand out as versatile healers proficient in spot healing. They excel in maintaining beacons on targets and leveraging potent damage output to heal those marked. The introduction of Chronostatic preservation adds on-demand healing capabilities, enhancing their flexibility. Whether focusing on tank support with Regeneration or providing widespread healing through Mass regeneration, Mage healers contribute significantly to raids. Their proactive healing style requires a deep understanding of boss mechanics, allowing anticipation and timely healing. Balancing solid damage output with effective healing, Mage healers become invaluable assets, blending damage-dealing prowess with reliable support in the ever-evolving Season of Discovery.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths:

1. Proactive Healing: Mage healers excel in proactive healing, leveraging the unique mechanics of Temporal Beacon to anticipate and mitigate damage.

2. Damage and Healing Synergy: The ability to deal substantial damage while simultaneously healing through beacons provides a dual-purpose advantage, contributing both offensively and defensively.

3. Time Reversal: Offers the capability to reverse significant damage, providing a valuable tool for recovering from intense encounters.

4. Cleansing Abilities: Superior Curse Removal enables the Mage healer to decurse and dispel magic, adding versatility to their support toolkit.

5. High Mobility: Blink grants the Mage healer exceptional mobility, facilitating quick positioning and response to dynamic raid situations.

6. Resurrection Ability: Scroll of Reintegration allows Mages to revive fallen allies, enhancing their team utility.

7. Diverse Utility: Arcane Intellect, Conjure Water, Polymorph, Conjure Food, and Portal: Stormwind contribute to the Mage healer's extensive utility, further supporting the raid.

Weaknesses:

1. Squishiness: Mages are notably squishy, making them susceptible to incoming damage. Proper positioning and awareness are crucial for survival.

2. Proactive Healing Challenges: Proactive healing can be more demanding than reactive healing, requiring a deep understanding of encounter mechanics and precise timing.

3. Mana Dependency: Mage healers are mana-dependent, and the size of their mana pool directly affects their damage potential. Managing mana efficiently is crucial for sustained performance.

4. Lack of Defensive Abilities: Until reaching level 25, Mage healers lack defensive abilities like Ice Block, making them vulnerable in certain situations.

5. High Loot Contention: The Mage class faces high competition for desirable loot, potentially posing challenges in acquiring essential gear for optimal performance.

Best Specialization for Mage Healer: Arcane

Choosing the Arcane specialization is the optimal path for Mage healers. Since Baliza temporal relies on Arcane damage for healing, delving deep into the Arcane tree aligns seamlessly with this healing approach. Arcane talents offer essential benefits such as Enfoque Arcano, addressing the need for Spell hit to ensure accuracy with Arcane spells—critical for the primary healing method.

Concentración Arcana proves invaluable by providing a free spell cast, crucial for managing the mana-intensive nature of your main healing runes. Navigating the Arcane tree also grants access to other beneficial talents like Mente Arcana and Meditación Arcana, enhancing overall mana pool and regeneration. Additionally, the inclusion of the powerful cooldown Poder Arcano amplifies spell damage by 30%, albeit at the cost of a 30% increase in mana consumption. This specialization not only optimizes healing capabilities but also bolsters damage potential, making the Arcane tree the most effective choice for Mage healers.

Best Runes for Mage Healer

1.  Regeneration: This rune is essential and will be utilized regardless of your chosen gameplay style. It channels a healing beam on the target, making it a cornerstone of Mage healing.

2.  Mass Regeneration: Ideal for those focusing on AoE healing, this rune provides a wider healing coverage. It's a great choice for supporting the raid during intense encounters with multiple allies in need of healing.

3.  Living Flame: If you're seeking to enhance your damage output, this rune offers a significant boost. While primarily a damage-focused rune, it can still contribute to healing through Temporal Beacon.

4.  Arcane Explosion: A mandatory rune for Mage healers, as it serves as the main damage ability while also providing considerable healing. Its versatility makes it a staple in Mage healing rotations.

5.  Missile Barrage: This rune synergizes exceptionally well with Arcane Explosion, enhancing its effectiveness. The combination of these two runes maximizes both damage and healing potential.

6.  Chronostatic Preservation: Provides greater control over healing targets by allowing the Mage healer to store a heal for future use. This rune enhances strategic healing decisions during intense encounters.

7.  Spell Power: Opting for more damage, this rune increases the damage output of critical hits by 50%. While sacrificing some healing potential, it amplifies the Mage healer's offensive capabilities.

Gameplay Mage Healer

Playing a Mage Healer is straightforward yet requires strategic decision-making. Follow these steps to optimize your healing effectiveness:

Rotation:

1. Apply Beacons: Use Regeneration and/or Mass Regeneration to apply Temporal Beacon to targets requiring healing. Ensure consistent coverage on tanks and allies with debuffs.

2. Deal Arcane Damage: Utilize Arcane Explosion, Arcane Missiles (preferably during Missile Barrage procs), and Living Flame (if chosen) to deal Arcane damage. Spot heal with an Arcane wand when mana conservation is essential.

3. Arcane Explosion (AoE Packs): Employ Arcane Explosion when facing AoE trash packs. Despite the 80% healing reduction, it can still be valuable in certain situations.

4. Time Reversal: Leverage this interesting spell on a short cooldown to frequently reverse damage on beacon targets. Note its rune slot conflict with Arcane Explosion, the primary burst healing tool.

5. Temporal Beacon Application: Know that Regeneration and Mass Regeneration don't require full channeling to apply Temporal Beacon. Cast and touch the target to instantly apply the beacon.

6. Chronostatic Preservation Usage: Employ Chronostatic Preservation as needed to heal priority targets. Tailor its use to the urgency of healing requirements.

Healing Priority:

1. Regeneration and Mass Regeneration: Primary healing tools for applying Temporal Beacon. Use Regeneration for single-target healing and Mass Regeneration for AoE healing.

2. Arcane Damage Spells: Arcane Explosion, Arcane Missiles, and Living Flame (if selected) serve a dual purpose of dealing damage and healing. Utilize Missile Barrage procs for enhanced Arcane Missiles.

3. Living Flame: If chosen, use Living Flame frequently for healing, keeping it close to cooldown. Maintain four stacks of Arcane Explosion for Living Flame's buff.

4. Arcane Explosion for Burst Healing: Deploy Arcane Explosion strategically to heal targets with Temporal Beacon, avoiding mana depletion. Aim for four stacks if mana allows; otherwise, use at three.

5. Chronostatic Preservation: Regularly use this rune to provide additional healing based on priority needs.

6. Cooldown Management: Make efficient use of cooldowns such as Arcane Presence, Arcane Power, and Arcane Goggles with Gneurolinked Filament for added healing and damage amplification.

Stats and Gear for Mage Healer

Stat Priority:

1. Spell Hit: Aim for the 5% cap to ensure your spells land consistently.

2. Intellect: Provides increased mana pool and critical strike chance. Early game at LV 40, Intellect is crucial for mana and critical strike.

- 1 Intellect = 15 mana

- 60 Intellect = 1% Increased Critical Strike

3. Spell Power: Enhances the potency of your spells. Most gear will have Spell Power and Intellect.

4. Critical Strike: Increases the chance to land critical hits, boosting overall damage.

5. Spirit: Improves health and mana regeneration. Especially valuable at lower levels.

6. Stamina: Provides additional health. While not a priority, it's essential for survival against mechanics.

Gear Recommendations:

1. Ring of the Knowledge Keeper A or Ring of the Advisor H: Honored with Silverwing Sentinels, offering stamina, spell damage, and mana regeneration.

2. Arcane Neuro-Threaded Goggles: A powerful tailor-crafted helm with high Spell Power and an on-use effect for additional Spell Power.

3. Bloodvine Cloak: Obtainable from the Blood Moon event in Stranglethorn. Costs 2 Silver Blood Coins and serves as a solid cloak until Best in Slot options.

4. Resonating Blood Ring: Purchase from the Blood Moon event in Stranglethorn. A Best in Slot ring for Arcane Mages.

5. Abyssal Power Wand: Best in Slot wand rewarded from a Mage quest. Obtainable early on for powerful spellcasting.

6. Summoner's P6/W6/V6 Mana Resonator: A strong trinket and Best in Slot for Phase 2. Aim to acquire this for enhanced performance.

Best Races for Mage Healer

Alliance:

1. Gnomes:

- Escape Artist: Allows you to break free from immobilizations, roots, snares, and slows. Extremely useful in PvP and can be lifesaving in PvE situations.
- Expansive Mind: Provides a flat 5% increase in Intellect, enhancing your mana pool and spell critical strike chance.
- Engineering Specialization: Grants an additional 15 Engineering skill, allowing Gnomes to reach 240 Engineering skill and access unique engineering items like Dynamite and Heavy Dynamite.

2. Humans:

- Perception: Provides increased stealth detection, mainly useful in PvP situations.
- Human Spirit: Grants increased Spirit, slightly boosting mana regeneration.
- Diplomacy: Offers a 10% reputation gain bonus, but not particularly useful in Classic WoW.
- Sword Specialization: Provides a minor increase in skill with swords, which is irrelevant for Mages.

Horde:

1. Troll:

- Berserking: Provides a damage boost, especially effective when low on health. Can be situationally useful in PvE and PvP.
- Regeneration: Offers health regeneration, providing sustained survivability.
- Beast Slaying: Provides a damage bonus against beasts, situational in PvE.
- Bow Specialization and Throwing Specialization: Irrelevant for Mage healers.

2. Undead:

- Will of the Forsaken: Allows you to break free from fear, charm, and sleep effects. Extremely useful in PvP and situational in PvE.
- Shadow Resistance: Provides additional shadow resistance, helpful in encounters with shadow-based mechanics.
- Cannibalize: Allows you to heal by consuming corpses, providing a quick heal between pulls or during leveling.

Best Professions for Mage Healer

1. Tailoring:

- Mandatory for Mage Healers: Tailoring is considered mandatory for Mage Healers, primarily because it allows you to craft the powerful Arcane Neuro-Threaded Goggles. This item offers a substantial amount of Spell Power and stats, along with a potent on-use effect providing 50 Spell Power for 12 seconds on a ten-minute cooldown. Being a Tailor is crucial to crafting and using this helm, making Tailoring the go-to profession for Mage Healers in Phase 2.

2. Enchanting:

- Highest DPS Option: Enchanting is the recommended second profession for Mage Healers who prioritize DPS. By choosing Enchanting, you gain access to the powerful enchantment Sigil of Innovation, which provides 20 Spell Power for a duration of 30 minutes. This enchantment contributes significantly to your damage output, making it the highest DPS option among the available professions for Mage Healers in Phase 2.

Tags: