WoW ForeverMechanics

Mage Downranking in WoW Forever

Mage spell ranks in WoW Forever, with the rank that does the most per mana at each spell power. These numbers are not yet tested in play.

Mage downranking, in short

The short answer · at level 60

If the fight ends firstTop rankMost damage per second on all 11 Mage spells, at every spell power.

If mana runs out firstRank 1Wins per mana past a spell power between 59 SP (Fire Blast) and 359 SP (Cone of Cold), spell by spell.

What Rank 1 gives up0.27× to 0.72×of the top rank per second, at 500 SP.

Which one matters depends on whether your mana or the fight runs out first.

Some figures carry a tag: Measured in playOriginal game rule

Words on this page

Per second: Damage for each second a cast takes. Instant spells count as 1.5 seconds.
Per mana: Damage for each point of mana a cast costs.
SP: Spell power: bonus damage from your gear.
Top rank: The strongest rank, and the costliest.
Rank: One spell, several strengths. Higher ranks cost more mana.
Downranking: Casting a lower rank to save mana.
Takes over: The SP where Rank 1 starts to lead per mana.
Classic Era: Classic Era is the live Classic server ruleset. WoW Forever is the new client.
Classic Era rule: In Classic Era, ranks learned below level 20 lose part of their share. Forever has not confirmed this.

Mage spells, rank by rank

Bar: the rank with the most per mana at each SP. Chart: per mana as SP grows. How to read a card

Top rankMiddle rankRank 1Your SPFaint line: a rank that never leadsSorted by takeover SP

Fire Blast

Rank 1 leads per mana from 59 SP7 ranks, 5 never lead per mana

At 500 SP: Rank 1Rank 1 vs Rank 7, at 500 SP3.13× per mana0.37× per second

Original game ruleIf low ranks lose part of their share

Rank 1Rank 7

Every rank of Fire Blast

Fire Blast, every rank at level 60
Rank	Learned at level	Damage at 60, before gear	Share of spell power	Mana	Per cast, 500 SP	Per second, 500 SP	Per mana, 500 SP	Most per mana	Most per mana, original game rule
Rank 1	6	31	0.429	40	246	163.7	6.1	59 SP and up	145 SP and up
Rank 2	14	63	0.429	75	278	185.0	3.7	Never	Never
Rank 3	22	107	0.429	115	322	214.3	2.8	Never	Never
Rank 4	30	172	0.429	165	387	257.7	2.3	Never	Never
Rank 5	38	247	0.429	220	462	307.7	2.1	Never	Never
Rank 6	46	344	0.429	280	559	372.3	2.0	Never	Never
Rank 7	54	453	0.429	340	668	445.0	2.0	Up to 59 SP	Up to 145 SP

Share of spell power is the coefficient: how much of your spell power one cast adds.

Frostbolt

Rank 1 leads per mana from 63 SP11 ranks, 9 never lead per mana

At 500 SP: Rank 1Rank 1 vs Rank 11, at 500 SP2.94× per mana0.51× per second

Original game ruleIf low ranks lose part of their share

Rank 1Rank 11

Every rank of Frostbolt

Frostbolt, every rank at level 60
Rank	Learned at level	Damage at 60, before gear	Share of spell power	Mana	Per cast, 500 SP	Per second, 500 SP	Per mana, 500 SP	Most per mana	Most per mana, original game rule
Rank 1	4	20	0.407	25	223	148.9	8.9	63 SP and up	Never
Rank 2	8	30	0.489	35	275	152.6	7.8	Never	Never
Rank 3	14	48	0.597	50	347	157.5	6.9	Never	Never
Rank 4	20	73	0.706	65	426	163.9	6.6	Never	64 SP and up
Rank 5	26	109	0.814	100	516	172.1	5.2	Never	Never
Rank 6	32	141	0.814	130	548	182.6	4.2	Never	Never
Rank 7	38	189	0.814	160	596	198.7	3.7	Never	Never
Rank 8	44	253	0.814	195	660	220.1	3.4	Never	Never
Rank 9	50	318	0.814	225	725	241.8	3.2	Never	Never
Rank 10	56	398	0.814	260	805	268.2	3.1	Never	Never
Rank 11	60	475	0.814	290	882	294.0	3.0	Up to 63 SP	Up to 64 SP

Share of spell power is the coefficient: how much of your spell power one cast adds.

Scorch

Rank 1 leads per mana from 64 SP7 ranks, 5 never lead per mana

At 500 SP: Rank 1Rank 1 vs Rank 7, at 500 SP1.95× per mana0.65× per second

Rank 1Rank 7

Every rank of Scorch

Scorch, every rank at level 60
Rank	Learned at level	Damage at 60, before gear	Share of spell power	Mana	Per cast, 500 SP	Per second, 500 SP	Per mana, 500 SP	Most per mana
Rank 1	22	42	0.429	50	257	171.1	5.1	64 SP and up
Rank 2	28	59	0.429	65	274	182.3	4.2	Never
Rank 3	34	73	0.429	80	288	191.7	3.6	Never
Rank 4	40	98	0.429	100	312	208.2	3.1	Never
Rank 5	46	122	0.429	115	336	224.1	2.9	Never
Rank 6	52	156	0.429	135	371	247.0	2.7	Never
Rank 7	58	181	0.429	150	396	263.9	2.6	Up to 64 SP

Share of spell power is the coefficient: how much of your spell power one cast adds.

Fireball

Rank 1 leads per mana from 69 SP12 ranks, 8 never lead per mana

At 500 SP: Rank 1Rank 1 vs Rank 12, at 500 SP3.08× per mana0.53× per second

Original game ruleIf low ranks lose part of their share

Rank 1Rank 2Rank 3Rank 12

Every rank of Fireball

Fireball, every rank at level 60
Rank	Learned at level	Damage at 60, before gear	Share of spell power	Mana	Per cast, 500 SP	Per second, 500 SP	Per mana, 500 SP	Most per mana	Most per mana, original game rule
Rank 1	1	21	0.429	30	235	156.9	7.8	69 SP and up	Never
Rank 2	6	36	0.571	45	322	160.9	7.1	64 to 69 SP	Never
Rank 3	12	59	0.714	65	416	166.6	6.4	48 to 64 SP	Never
Rank 4	18	93	0.857	95	521	173.7	5.5	Never	59 SP and up
Rank 5	24	142	1.000	140	642	183.3	4.6	Never	Never
Rank 6	30	184	1.000	185	684	195.5	3.7	Never	Never
Rank 7	36	220	1.000	220	720	205.8	3.3	Never	Never
Rank 8	42	276	1.000	260	776	221.7	3.0	Never	Never
Rank 9	48	350	1.000	305	850	242.7	2.8	Never	Never
Rank 10	54	433	1.000	350	933	266.5	2.7	Never	Never
Rank 11	60	507	1.000	395	1,007	287.7	2.5	Never	Never
Rank 12	60	543	1.000	410	1,043	298.0	2.5	Up to 48 SP	Up to 59 SP

Share of spell power is the coefficient: how much of your spell power one cast adds.

Arcane Missiles

Rank 1 leads per mana from 91 SP8 ranks, 6 never lead per mana

At 500 SP: Rank 1Rank 1 vs Rank 8, at 500 SP2.20× per mana0.48× per second

Original game ruleIf low ranks lose part of their share

Rank 1Rank 8

Every rank of Arcane Missiles

Arcane Missiles, every rank at level 60
Rank	Learned at level	Damage at 60, before gear	Share of spell power	Mana	Per cast, 500 SP	Per second, 500 SP	Per mana, 500 SP	Most per mana	Most per mana, original game rule
Rank 1	8	74	0.858	85	503	167.8	5.9	91 SP and up	Never
Rank 2	16	141	1.144	140	713	178.2	5.1	Never	124 SP and up
Rank 3	24	243	1.430	235	958	191.6	4.1	Never	Never
Rank 4	32	342	1.430	320	1,057	211.4	3.3	Never	Never
Rank 5	40	489	1.430	410	1,204	240.8	2.9	Never	Never
Rank 6	48	666	1.430	500	1,381	276.2	2.8	Never	Never
Rank 7	56	873	1.430	595	1,588	317.6	2.7	Never	Never
Rank 8	56	1,045	1.430	655	1,760	352.0	2.7	Up to 91 SP	Up to 124 SP

Share of spell power is the coefficient: how much of your spell power one cast adds.

Arcane Explosion

Rank 1 leads per mana from 119 SP6 ranks, 4 never lead per mana

At 500 SP: Rank 1Rank 1 vs Rank 6, at 500 SP1.71× per mana0.33× per second

Original game ruleIf low ranks lose part of their share

Rank 1Rank 6

Every rank of Arcane Explosion

Arcane Explosion, every rank at level 60
Rank	Learned at level	Damage at 60, before gear	Share of spell power	Mana	Per cast, 500 SP	Per second, 500 SP	Per mana, 500 SP	Most per mana	Most per mana, original game rule
Rank 1	14	34	0.143	75	106	70.3	1.4	119 SP and up	166 SP and up
Rank 2	22	58	0.143	120	130	86.3	1.1	Never	Never
Rank 3	30	99	0.143	185	170	113.3	0.9	Never	Never
Rank 4	38	140	0.143	250	211	140.7	0.8	Never	Never
Rank 5	46	189	0.143	315	260	173.3	0.8	Never	Never
Rank 6	54	249	0.143	390	320	213.3	0.8	Up to 119 SP	Up to 166 SP

Share of spell power is the coefficient: how much of your spell power one cast adds.

Frostfire Bolt

Rank 1 leads per mana from 154 SP3 ranks, 1 never leads per mana

At 500 SP: Rank 1Rank 1 vs Rank 3, at 500 SP1.30× per mana0.72× per second

Rank 1Rank 3

Every rank of Frostfire Bolt

Frostfire Bolt, every rank at level 60
Rank	Learned at level	Damage at 60, before gear	Share of spell power	Mana	Per cast, 500 SP	Per second, 500 SP	Per mana, 500 SP	Most per mana
Rank 1	40	137	0.814	205	544	181.5	2.7	154 SP and up
Rank 2	50	235	0.814	285	642	213.9	2.3	Never
Rank 3	60	349	0.814	370	756	252.0	2.0	Up to 154 SP

Share of spell power is the coefficient: how much of your spell power one cast adds.

Flamestrike

Rank 1 leads per mana from 183 SP6 ranks, 4 never lead per mana

At 500 SP: Rank 1Rank 1 vs Rank 6, at 500 SP1.41× per mana0.28× per second

Original game ruleIf low ranks lose part of their share

Rank 1Rank 6

Every rank of Flamestrike

Flamestrike, every rank at level 60
Rank	Learned at level	Damage at 60, before gear	Share of spell power	Mana	Per cast, 500 SP	Per second, 500 SP	Per mana, 500 SP	Most per mana	Most per mana, original game rule
Rank 1	16	107	0.285	195	250	83.2	1.3	183 SP and up	225 SP and up
Rank 2	24	197	0.285	330	340	113.2	1.0	Never	Never
Rank 3	32	310	0.285	490	453	150.8	0.9	Never	Never
Rank 4	40	441	0.285	650	583	194.3	0.9	Never	Never
Rank 5	48	589	0.285	815	731	243.7	0.9	Never	Never
Rank 6	56	756	0.285	990	898	299.4	0.9	Up to 183 SP	Up to 225 SP

Share of spell power is the coefficient: how much of your spell power one cast adds.

Blizzard

Rank 1 leads per mana from 274 SP6 ranks, 4 never lead per mana

At 500 SP: Rank 1Rank 1 vs Rank 6, at 500 SP1.19× per mana0.27× per second

Rank 1Rank 6

Every rank of Blizzard

Blizzard, every rank at level 60
Rank	Learned at level	Damage at 60, before gear	Share of spell power	Mana	Per cast, 500 SP	Per second, 500 SP	Per mana, 500 SP	Most per mana
Rank 1	20	196	0.336	320	364	45.5	1.1	274 SP and up
Rank 2	28	344	0.336	520	512	64.0	1.0	Never
Rank 3	36	504	0.336	720	672	84.0	0.9	Never
Rank 4	44	708	0.336	935	876	109.5	0.9	Never
Rank 5	52	924	0.336	1,160	1,092	136.5	0.9	Never
Rank 6	60	1,168	0.336	1,400	1,336	167.0	1.0	Up to 274 SP

Share of spell power is the coefficient: how much of your spell power one cast adds.

Frost Nova

Rank 1 leads per mana from 341 SP4 ranks, 2 never lead per mana

At 500 SP: Rank 1Rank 1 vs Rank 4, at 500 SP1.08× per mana0.41× per second

Original game ruleIf low ranks lose part of their share

Rank 1Rank 4

Every rank of Frost Nova

Frost Nova, every rank at level 60
Rank	Learned at level	Damage at 60, before gear	Share of spell power	Mana	Per cast, 500 SP	Per second, 500 SP	Per mana, 500 SP	Most per mana	Most per mana, original game rule
Rank 1	10	23	0.029	55	37	24.7	0.7	341 SP and up	Never
Rank 2	26	37	0.029	85	51	34.0	0.6	Never	647 SP and up
Rank 3	40	56	0.029	115	70	46.7	0.6	Never	Never
Rank 4	54	76	0.029	145	90	60.0	0.6	Up to 341 SP	Up to 647 SP

Share of spell power is the coefficient: how much of your spell power one cast adds.

Cone of Cold

Rank 1 leads per mana from 359 SP5 ranks, 3 never lead per mana

At 500 SP: Rank 1Rank 1 vs Rank 5, at 500 SP1.07× per mana0.41× per second

Rank 1Rank 5

Every rank of Cone of Cold

Cone of Cold, every rank at level 60
Rank	Learned at level	Damage at 60, before gear	Share of spell power	Mana	Per cast, 500 SP	Per second, 500 SP	Per mana, 500 SP	Most per mana
Rank 1	26	101	0.129	210	166	110.3	0.8	359 SP and up
Rank 2	34	149	0.129	290	214	142.3	0.7	Never
Rank 3	42	210	0.129	380	275	183.0	0.7	Never
Rank 4	50	274	0.129	465	338	225.3	0.7	Never
Rank 5	58	343	0.129	555	408	271.7	0.7	Up to 359 SP

Share of spell power is the coefficient: how much of your spell power one cast adds.

Spells not charted here

Learn level not knownArcane BlastArcane WrathBlast WavePyroblast

Ranks not numberedFrozen OrbLiving BombLiving Flame

No spell power share listedIce LanceIce BarrierPolymorphand 11 more

What these numbers assume

Show the assumptions

Counted

One cast on one target at level 60, with no talents.
Each rank's base value, level growth and spell power share.
The mana cost of each rank at level 60.

Not counted

Talents, crits, misses and resists.
Cooldowns, procs and extra targets.

Original game ruleIn Classic Era, casts sit at least 1.5 seconds apart. Forever has not confirmed this, so shorter casts count as 1.5 seconds.

Original game ruleIn Classic Era, ranks learned below level 20 lose part of their share. Forever has not confirmed this. The muted bar shows that case.

Measured in playPlayers found that low ranks stay castable from the spellbook.

Per cast: base value + share × spell power
Per mana: per cast ÷ mana cost
Per second: per cast ÷ cast time, at least 1.5 s
Takeover: the spell power where two per mana lines cross
Classic Era rule: share × (1 − (20 − learn level) × 0.0375), below level 20 only

Each damage roll counts at its average.
On the listed numbers, no rank takes the lead past the end of the bar.
A talent that cuts a flat amount of mana can move where Rank 1 takes over. So can a proc that makes the next cast free. Percentage talents cannot.
Spell power marks are points on a scale, not gear levels.
A rank that leads for less than two points of spell power folds into the next one.

Sources: the WoW Forever beta, build 1.60.1, and the original game, build 1.15.9.

RankedBoost is not affiliated with or endorsed by Blizzard Entertainment. World of Warcraft and Blizzard Entertainment are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Images: Blizzard Entertainment official artwork and World of Warcraft Forever game client assets.