Spell damage, spell hit and crit decide this set, and a Blacksmithing sword and four Tailoring crafts lead their slots. Our gear search picked it from the items you can reach before the 9 December raids, and it averages item level 62.3.

Pre-raid gear

Below each slot you'll find the next items down and the DPS a swap would cost. A "level" gap is smaller than the simulator's noise.

Weapons

Sageblade is the main hand on every fight: 94 spell damage and 1 % hit on a sword you can buy, since the Blacksmithing craft binds when equipped. The sword matters most to a Human, whose Sword Specialization adds 2 % spell crit with it: leaving it for Sageclaw costs a Human 17.3 DPS. For the Horde's Troll, with no sword bonus, a swap to Mindfang is 3.4 DPS.

Tome of Fiery Arcana adds 40 Fire damage and comes from a vendor. The next off hand costs 5.1 DPS.

Chest

Robe of the Archmage is the one piece you can't buy. It binds when picked up and is a Tailoring craft, so you have to be a tailor to own it, and the next chest costs 12.7 DPS. Once every five minutes it also gives back 375 to 625 mana, which the rotation takes early in the fight. Belt of the Archmage, Inferno Gloves and Mantle of the Timbermaw also come from Tailoring, but they are bind-on-equip and turn up for sale.

Trinkets

Talisman of Ascendance is a quest reward from Eastern Plaguelands and leads its slot by 20.7 DPS. Its use stacks 40 spell damage on each of your next five spells, once a minute.

Weakness Analyzer, from Pix Xizzix's stock in Stranglethorn Vale, earns the slot with 22 spell damage. Its on-use crit, 5 % until you next crit and ready every 90 seconds, is missing from our simulator, so the trinket is better than its number here.

Cloak, rings and legs

Pix Xizzix, the Stranglethorn Vale vendor, also has Arcanoweave Cloak and Blessed Band of Light, each with 1 % hit.

The cloak leads its slot by 8.0 DPS here and by 15.1 DPS on a three-minute fight against three bosses, where hit is worth twice as much. The other ring, Brilliant Watcher's Signet, is The Watchers' reward at Exalted, so start that reputation early.

The leggings come from the Warsong Gulch quartermasters: Sentinel's Silk Leggings from the Silverwing Sentinels, Outrider's Silk Leggings from the Warsong Outriders.

On one boss the neck and the wand are close to ties: Amulet of the Dawn and Chains of the Lich trade places by fight within about 2 DPS, and so do Pyric Caduceus and Brilliant Wand. The wand counts only for its stats, because the simulated mage never shoots it.

Enchants

• Head and legs: Arcanum of Focus, 8 spell damage each.
• Chest, hands and feet: Mystic Rugged Armor Kit, Forever's armor kit with 6 spell power and 40 armor, which fits chest, legs, hands or feet.
• Wrist: Healing Power. Its 8 spell damage is what wins the slot. You need Argent Dawn Revered for the formula.
• Neck: Spell Power, a Forever enchant worth 6 spell damage.
• Weapon: the set carries no weapon enchant. Brilliant Wizard Oil goes on the main hand instead.

Consumables

Bring these every time: Flask of Supreme Power (11.1 %), Brilliant Wizard Oil on the main hand (3.5 %), Greater Arcane Elixir (2.6 %) and Major Mana Potion (0.0 %). Demonic Rune adds 0.0 % and costs 600 to 1,000 health a use, on a cooldown of its own, apart from potions and mana gems.

The others add little: Cerebral Cortex Compound is worth 0.4 %, Elixir of Fire Power 0.7 %, Runn Tum Tuber Surprise 0.2 % and Mageblood Elixir 0.0 %. On a one-minute single-boss fight you never run dry, so the mana potion is worth 0.0 % there.