Arcane Brilliance: Grading the glyphs
by Christian Belt 
Jan 31st 2009 at 6:00PM
Each week Arcane Brilliance writes a column about the ins and outs of Magehood. Mostly, what's in a Mage's hood is the Mage's face (which may or may not have a lower jaw), and what's out of a Mage's hood is fiery death. Did you see what I did there? It's clever word-play, you see...ins and outs...Magehood...in a Mage's hood...out...get it? Oh, fine. You try to come up with something witty every week! It's hard! Stupid italicized introductory paragraphs...I should have just gone with some more Warlock-bashing.
I don't know about you, but when I was a kid, discretionary funds were rare and precious. There were so many toys to buy, and so little money with which to purchase them. If Grandma were to send me a card with five bucks in it for my birthday, that was a windfall of epic proportions. Each purchase had to be carefully planned, each dollar wrung for as much value as it could provide. Use the money now on a Storm Shadow action figure (with combat grip!), or save it to someday replace the NES controller that had died a premature death in the wake of a last second Tecmo Super Bowl loss to my little brother? Yes, my childhood was in many ways resource management training for later years spent playing games like Starcraft.
And games like World of Warcraft.
Do I spend my Stone Keeper's Shards on a meta gem now, or save them for that sweet Mammoth? Use my honor to upgrade my cloak now, or save it and get the trinket? Use that socket for spellpower or hit rating? Kill the Warlock, or kill the Warlock? So many choices.
All of which brings us to this week's topic: what to do with our precious and very limited Glyph slots? Follow me through the jump, and we'll discuss.
At level 80, you have available to you a total of three major and three minor glyph slots. Your choice of which glyphs to fill these slots with can significantly impact your effectiveness, both positively and negatively. A good glyph might increase your overall DPS, while a bad choice might waste the slot completely. Below, we'll look at some of the best choices for every kind of Mage, in an effort to help you make an informed decision.
The Raiding Arcane Mage
Major Glyphs: Arcane Blast, Molten Armor, Arcane Power
The first two are essentially no-brainers. Arcane Blast is your main nuke, and the glyph for it is a flat DPS increase with no down-side. Every Mage should use one slot to glyph their armor of choice, and after patch 3.0.8, mana conservation isn't nearly the issue that it once was, so many Arcane Mages can now afford the luxury of using Molten Armor over Mage Armor. The glyph for Molten Armor, again, is all upside and no downside--a 2% increase in crit chance. Though not the only choice for the final slot, Arcane Power is an overall DPS increase, with no real drawbacks. Three extra seconds of Arcane Power is a godsend during those moments when a boss has to die, and it has to die now.
Alternatives: Mage Armor, Arcane Missiles, Improved Scorch
If you're an Arcane/Fire Mage, Improved Scorch is a fine choice, and could probably replace Arcane Power, though generally only one Mage in your raid will need to have it. I like Arcane Missiles simply because it allows you to stand at max range and still use your normal rotation, though it's difficult to justify over the DPS increase of Arcane Power. Use Mage Armor if you find yourself burning through mana in longer fights too quickly. For Mages with an aggressive rotation, it can actually be a DPS increase over Molten Armor, simply because an extra 2% chance to crit does you no good when you have no mana with which to cast anything.
The Raiding Fire Mage
Major Glyphs: Fireball, Molten Armor, Improved Scorch
Fireball's glyph is an overall increase in DPS. The extra crit far outweighs losing the damage over time effect. Molten Armor should be your Armor spell of choice as a Fire Mage, and an extra 2% crit on a Fire Mage is the gift that keeps on burning, sort of like crabs. Being able to apply three stacks of Improved Scorch in one cast is also a nice DPS increase, and it's just incredibly convenient.
Alternatives: None
For the deep Fire Mage, viable glyph choices are in short supply. These are pretty much it for DPS increases. If you're having mana issues and you already have a Mage in your raid in charge of keeping the Improved Scorch debuff up, I suppose you could consider Glyph of Mana Gem, but that's about it.
The Raiding Frostfire Mage
Major Glyphs: Frostfire, Molten Armor, Improved Scorch
I know, this looks pretty similar to the glyphs for a Fire Mage. This is because in essence, Frostfire Mages are Fire Mages, only they use a different nuke. The Frostfire glyph is another wonderful, all-good, no-bad enhancement for the spec's major damage spell. It's a pretty massive straight-up DPS increase for a glyph, and no self-respecting Frostfire Mage should even consider showing his face in public without it. Again, Molten Armor is a no-brainer, and unless someone else in the raid has Improved Scorch covered, the glyph for it is a good choice for that final slot.
Alternatives: Mana Gem, I guess.
If you do have some other guy in the raid to cover Improved Scorch for you, you could possibly rationalize using that final slot on Mana Gem, but what if that guy dies? What then, huh? I say steal the glyph from his corpse and apply it to yourself, and then slip it back into his belongings when the fight is over, while everybody else is waiting for rezzes. Nobody will suspect a thing. Just be cool...be cool, man.
The Raiding Frost Mage
Major Glyphs: Frostbolt, Molten Armor, Water Elemental
Though it sucks hard to lose that snare in just about every other part of the game, when raiding, you don't need it. Glyph of Frostbolt is otherwise a flat DPS increase. As always, Molten Armor is the DPS armor of choice, and its glyph is quite good. Water Elemental won't gain you much by way of damage output, but your raid will love you having your big blue mana battery out more often.
Alternatives: Fireball
If you're not fond of supplying mana for the entire raid (maybe you don't like them that much), or it simply isn't needed as much in your raid, taking Glyph of Fireball is a DPS increase when Brain Freeze procs.
The PvP Arcane Mage
Major Glyphs: Evocation, Blink, Polymorph, Arcane Missiles
Yes, I'm fully aware that I listed four glyphs and that you only have three slots. The thing with PvP is that your choice of glyphs will vary greatly depending upon whether you're focusing on Battleground PvP or Arena, and what your team composition happens to be.
Evocation is a fantastic glyph for just about anybody. It gives you a way to heal with relative speed, and simply being an Arcane Mage gives you a few options for breaking free from combat and hiding long enough to actually use it. Blink is more useful than it might sound, allowing you cover large swaths of ground instantly (assuming, of course, that Blink even works properly). It's indispensable in fights against Rogues, Death Knights, or other casters, giving you a more effective way to get out of range, out of line of sight, or behind a caster quickly.
Glyph of Polymorph is a great boon when in larger groups, when the chances of your sheep breaking due to a stray DoT increases exponentially. An extra 5 yards on the end of your Arcane Missiles can mean the difference between a kill and that stinking cheetah making it behind yet another pillar and healing to max before you can catch him.
There are alternatives, of course, but these are the glyphs that I fluctuate between on my Arcane Mage, usually opting for Arcane Missiles over Polymorph due to my Arena team make-up. You may find that your playstyle works better with the added defensive option of Ice Block, or that your team needs you to play the role of de-curser, thus making Glyph of Remove Curse a must. Your healer might be so good that you don't need Evocation, or you may simply never have problems with DoTs breaking your sheep. Use what works for your situation.
The PvP Frost Mage
Major Glyphs: Icy Veins, Frost Nova, Ice Lance, Evocation, Ice Block
Again, some tough choices here, and whichever three you go with, chances are you'll be right. Icy Veins is almost as good as having another CC-breaking trinket, and definitely worth a slot. Frost Nova is a fantastic control option, and increases your burst damage by allowing more Shatter damage per Frost Nova. Ice Lance is worthwhile to keep targets in combat and just for the flexibility of having a 41 yard instant-cast spell. Ice Block can be very effective if timed well, providing you with an extra Frost Nova when it's needed, and we've already discussed the benefits of Evocation healing you.
Again, other options include Polymorph, Remove Curse, and some Frost Mages even like Fireball, to maximize those Brain Freeze procs. As before, a lot will depend on your preferred PvP forum, strategies, and team composition.
Minor Glyphs
As you may have noticed, I didn't list any minor glyphs anywhere above. The simple reason for this is that with only one exception, none of them really matter. They are by and large designed to be cosmetic or convenience alterations, and that's all they are. I'd argue that the psychological impact of being turned into a mutant penguin is significant, but I'd probably be alone. In reality, nobody cares which stupid-looking animal they've been transformed into, only that they can't control their character for a few seconds.
There are a few minor advantages to some of these minor glyphs. Fire and Frost Ward could potentially have an impact in PvP, but not enough to worry over. If you're going to do much PvPing, you might as well use a slot or two on one or both of them. I can heartily recommend Slow Fall, especially now that it's castable on others. Certain battlegrounds (Arathi Basin, I'm looking at you) make it a pleasure to cast Slow Fall over and over again, and to be able to do so with wanton disregard for worrying about reagents is simply fantastic.
The sole exception I mentioned above is Glyph of Blast Wave. If you are a Mage that has this spell, and you wish to use it in a raid, you should probably invest in this minor glyph. The mana cost reduction is nice, sure, but the main reason to have this is for its supposed "drawback." That knockback effect Blast Wave has is fun for awhile and all, and when soloing and in PvP it can be a lifesaver, but when AoE is called for in an instance, it's a pain. When raiding, you simply don't want to be sending a large group of trash flying in various directions most of the time. Removing the ability to do so is a good idea.
What glyphs are you using on your Mage, and why? If you have alternatives that I haven't mentioned, I'd love to hear about them. And yes, I know that I didn't actually grade any of the glyphs, as the title of the column may have suggested I would. Whatever. I just thought it was clever, you know...grading...glyphs...they both start with the letter "G"...alliteration and all that...sigh.
Every week Arcane Brilliance teleports you inside the wonderful world of Mages and then hurls a Fireball in your face. Check out our recent guide to gearing your Mage for Naxxramas, or our look at the goodies Arcane Mages are getting in patch 3.0.8. Until next week, keep the Mage-train a-rollin'.Filed under: Mage, Wrath of the Lich King, (Mage) Arcane Brilliance, Classes, Guides, Raiding, Features, PvP, Tips, Analysis / Opinion, Inscription
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Andreith Jan 31st 2009 6:08PM
I approve. Wonderful guide!
Moyran Jan 31st 2009 6:25PM
Thanks for the guide, I actually just reglyphed (that a word?) last night, but I seem to have already made the right choices. Any chance on getting a Mage pvp guide next week?
Frank Jan 31st 2009 6:31PM
no notes for a PvP fire mage? we do exist, you know. other than that, great stuff, as always. thank you!
Kincaid Jan 31st 2009 6:52PM
We're a largely ignored demographic, I'm afraid. I use Evocation, Molten Armor, and Improved Scorch if you're curious. The channeled healing is a lifesafer.
Frank Feb 1st 2009 2:10AM
yep, me too. burn baby burn!
Mugutu Jan 31st 2009 6:46PM
I personally use, as a raiding arcane mage, Mage Armor, Evocation, and Arcane Blast. Even though the healers I run with are usually competent, I find it just plain stupid to not be able to heal myself for 60% every 2 minutes, especially on heavy AoE fights like Sapphiron and Thaddius. I'll be evocating anyway, I might as well make my healers' lives easier in the process.
Kakistocracy Jan 31st 2009 6:56PM
Blastwave's knockback can be downright handy to bounce people back to the tank's aoe when they wander off to the healer, if you plan to spam it so get the instant flame strike, then sure, it will get in the way, but if you're one of those mages that run into aggro related troubles while in melee range, I'd say keep that knockback.
dameblanche Feb 1st 2009 6:43AM
I wouldn't easily choose glyph of blast wave. In my case the knock back effect is the reason why I finally feel comfortable as a vulnerable mage to be on healer-protection control. In fights where waves of adds from different directions pop up, I am constantly on the healers back, casting blast wave followed with frost nova when he gets attacked. The healers in my guild know this, so once the mobs are frozen on a safe distance and its AoE time, I'm not scared to draw a lot of agro while AoE'ing, because at that point my healer will give me as much attention as the tank in healing.
MusedMoose Jan 31st 2009 7:30PM
Sounds like this will be great advice when I (finally) hit the endgame. I'm still leveling up my mage, just hit 40 last night, and I have to say that I frickin' love the Arcane Missles glyph. That plus appropriate talents means I have a 41-yard range with AM, meaning I can tag things from pretty damn far away. I think I like it most in dungeons, though - sometimes I hardly need to even be in the same room as the boss. *grin*
And the minor Slow Fall glyph? Soooooo very handy for grinding, saves you a bag slot and turns high cliffs into just another way of getting around.
Jack Spicer Jan 31st 2009 7:42PM
I really enjoyed this guide. Although I would have loved to have seen a "Glyphs for solo and 5-man content" section.
All of the writers on WoW Insider who write the class specific posts should have to write a similar article with the same format.
Thander Jan 31st 2009 8:00PM
For 5-mans, you usually want the same glyphs as raiding. You have a little more freedom because losing a few dps doesn't matter much in 5-man.
For soloing, go for things that reduce mana costs and increase dps for spells you use all the time. Just be careful to look at the downsides. Frostbolt glyph will be horrible for soloing. Blast wave glyph will also not be so good for soloing. The knockback helps reduce damage you take from melee.
Evocation, water elemental (3-4 extra ticks of mana from him), fireball, and arcane blast are some of the good ones. Look at the full list of mage glyphs on wowhead. Then just choose ones that fit these ideas.
D tothe Y Jan 31st 2009 8:09PM
Exactly, even tho we can pick it from the article, i saw the category's and was like "i dont do this stuff yet, pass!" but i swallowed my assumption and read on. Us Casual's are here too! Dont forget about us!
turtlehead Feb 1st 2009 12:21AM
Take evocation for soloing to and through 80. It's a terrific save-your-butt and also cuts downtime. Swap it out when and if you start raiding.
No idea what your definition of casual (that word needs to be put to death; there's no agreed meaning) is, but some raid completions currently take less time than a heroic 5-man clear. The Winterspring raid takes roughly eight minutes.
If by casual you mean "low level with lots of alts", pretty much just get a feel for what gear you want and you're golden. Low level mage, spellpower, int, stam and practice sheeping. All you need :)
Cy Jan 31st 2009 8:56PM
"I like Arcane Missiles simply because it allows you to stand at max range and still use your normal rotation"
Unless Wowhead and my memory are both wrong, the three main arcane nukes now all have a 30-yard base range, and Magic Attunement increase them all equally. So this glyph doesn't serve a purpose except extending the range of AM above the others.
Personally, I use the AB, Mage Armor, and Mana Gem glyphs for raiding 57/3/11, although the gem glyph will probably get swapped out for Arcane Power once I gear up a bit more. We have the ability to control our own mana consumption via AB stacking, and I find that adding in an extra AB or two to my rotation is far better than getting 5% crit from glyphed Molten Armor on short fights. And if it's a long fight, that extra regen is happiness.
Again, I'm not sporting as big of a mana pool as I want yet either, so that could make all the difference.
Minor glyphs: Penguin, Slow Fall, and Arcane Intellect. There's not much else out there for raiding mages, unless you use Fire/Frost Ward often.
Cetha Jan 31st 2009 9:56PM
if you have not yet tried the Evocation glyph, I highly recommend it, I have found it useful in so many situations that I am unwilling to give it up, even though I might be better served with having something else in its slot, since I'm not much of a min/maxer I don't mind.
Turtlehead Feb 1st 2009 12:25AM
"Water Elemental won't gain you much by way of damage output, but your raid will love you having your big blue mana battery out more often."
The WE is a large (10%) chunk of frost's pitiful--compared to other specs--damage. Maxing its uptime for the DPS on raid bosses is crucial. Without it the frost mage is royally screwed. Any regen is bonus. Only thing going for frost right now is letting the torment/fire and frostfire/LB mages skip scorching.
"Alternatives: Fireball"
I suppose you *could* glyph the 1% of DPS but it'd be awfully silly.
Not played with the new arcane beyond target dummies, but mage armor seems like a much better bet than AP. Going to test it tomorrow. Don't enjoy arcane, never have, but will give it another shot.
wordsofivory Feb 1st 2009 3:01AM
You fine ever consider creating a regular feature focused entirely on glyphing?
There'd be plenty to write about, specs for each class, for both PvE and PvP, information on minor glyphs, even insights into some of the more superificial but fun ones (Polymorph, anyone?).
Glyphs have, after all, offered a great amount of unexplored customisation, and there's probably a lot of people wandering around in the dark trying to get the best out of it.
I bet I'm not the only who think it'd be a neat idea.
Mognet T Feb 1st 2009 6:13AM
Good article, and that's coming from a Mage/Scribe. I have been looking to change up my glyphs and this has given me a few ideas. I also like the lack of typos, errors, and/or incorrect information this week! Keep up the good work.
Joe Feb 1st 2009 7:25AM
Where may I find your email address or contact you privately?
mystery Feb 1st 2009 8:02AM
You neglected to mention the best pvp benefit of glyph of polymorph...for some reason, shadow word: death counts as a DoT, so posession of the glyph means priests can't SW:D your polys...at low ratings it's rare to see this, but most of the higher up mages seem to use it (i play a priest and hate that glyph a LOT)