How best to use Arcane Missiles?

[Schneeze]

I understand the basics of Missiles well enough - cast when you have 3 stacks in conserve and burn through stacks in burn - but I've never read a good source on the specifics. So, in an effort to set things straight, I'm going to list how I go about using Missiles and y'all tell me if I have the right idea or not.

- While both RoP and/or AP are active, I try my best to cast AM in pairs to capitalize on the Rule of Threes bug; if the first AM procs (don't have a tracker for it, so I have to listen for it), then I follow it up with a second and otherwise I wait for when I have 2 stacks of AM again. However, if either RoP or AP is about to expire in ~2 seconds, I will cast AM regardless of how many stacks I have.

- While conserving/not under the effects of cooldowns, I will cast AM after I get 2 stacks. This is the pattern:

• AB until 2 stacks of AM

• Finish the following AB cast

• Immediately cast AM once the AB cast finishes

• If still at 2 stacks, repeat this process. If at 1, continue AB

The idea behind this is to make sure that I both don't overcap on AM stacks and don't have to stop casting

- I will ignore the above rules and hold AM stacks if either burn or Mark+RoP are about to come up or there's something that will force me to move for longer than a channel of AM.

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So, am I missing anything?

[roldy]

snip

Seems perfectly reasonable. I mean the rule is basically don't waste AM procs and try to go into burn phases with two or three stacks of AM (not always possible if you run double ring at really low mastery). Using excess procs at 4 arcane charges to not overcap or to counter movement if the next burn phase is still some time away. Your method seems to be in accord with these rules. So unless you get poor results there shouldn't be anything to worry about.

Whether or not abusing the rule of threes bug is really worth the trouble is up to debate, but if executed well it is definitely a dps increase. Not much else to say here.

[Eyliria]

snip

Whether or not abusing the rule of threes bug is really worth the trouble is up to debate, but if executed well it is definitely a dps increase. Not much else to say here.

Hello, there.

Just so that I am clear on what's being talked about here... "guaranteed" forcing of Rule of Three by clipping the very last AM bolt of a Rule of Three AM, so that you gain 2 extra waves of missiles (-1 clipped, + 3 from the rule... and if you get lucky to get Rule of Three on your first out of 3 stacks, you give up 2 waves for 6 more, which is essentially an extra AM cast altogether.

Yea?

[roldy]

snip

"With a custom build of SimC and some very basic changes made to the APL to cater to this bug, I have seen gains of up to 1.5%. This is indeed a nontrivial DPS gain. The only change I made to the APL here is casting Arcane Missiles only at 2 stacks or more during burn, and chaining casts if the first benefitted from Rule of Threes.

What does this mean for you? Nothing, unless you really want it to."

Quoting Dikembe here. It's a dps increase, but not as much as people make it out be. Always depends on what you give up for it and whether it procs when it really counts (burn windows).