Arcane Missiles handles bosses; Arcane Explosion clears the packs. Put your damage upgrades into those two spells and take Ice Barrier alongside them. Adjust your picks when one side starts falling behind.
This guide follows Holdherhand’s Naxxramas setup. You do not need to copy every choice from the run: the remaining spell slots are flexible, and luck is an optional trinket choice.
The setup
- Talents: 41 points in Arcane and 10 in Frost, as described in the video.
- Main damage: Arcane Missiles and Arcane Explosion.
- Support: Ice Barrier.
- Other spells: choose what you prefer, but keep the damage upgrades focused on the two Arcane spells.
The talent split is a starting reference, not a node-by-node tree. The in-run jewellery choices below are separate from your permanent talents and character equipment.
What to pick when you level up
Keep Missiles and Explosion reasonably even. If packs are clearing comfortably but bosses are taking too long, put more upgrades into Missiles. If groups are the problem, give Explosion more attention instead.
| What is happening in the run? | What to favour |
|---|---|
| Boss damage is falling behind | Arcane Missiles upgrades. |
| Groups are not clearing well | Arcane Explosion upgrades. |
| Neither is struggling | Keep investing in both rather than leaving one behind. |
| Explosion already reaches the enemies across the screen | A useful upgrade elsewhere rather than more area. |
Do not let Explosion’s damage against crowds convince you to neglect Missiles. Clearing lots of enemies and killing a boss are different jobs. The same goes for area upgrades: a higher-rarity offer is not automatically a good pick once Explosion already has the coverage you need.
There is no exact radius target here. The range mentioned in the video is an estimate, so use the coverage in your own run rather than chasing that number.
Rings, trinkets and the necklace
For rings, aim for critical strike and cooldown reduction. For trinkets, pair critical damage with either luck or double cast. Holdherhand prefers the Arcane Explosion necklace over the Missiles one, without changing the need to keep Missiles upgraded for bosses.
When a jewellery choice appears, check what you are still missing before taking another upgrade to an item you already have. In the source run, missing rings and trinkets take priority over some upgrade offers. After getting a necklace, the general plan is to get the rest of the jewellery in order before spending more picks on the necklace.
Compare the actual effects offered before committing: a small necklace improvement may be less useful than filling a missing slot or improving another accessory. For the slot basics, see the jewellery guide.
Do you need luck?
You can take critical damage with double cast if you want to skip the luck trinket.
Holdherhand favours luck during the run, but finishes without the necklace he wanted and questions that choice himself. It is not a guarantee of the item you are chasing, and this video does not establish which trinket pairing is stronger.
Watch the original guide
For spell and talent reference, see the Mage page. If you are unsure how new spells, upgrades and rerolls fit together, start with spell upgrades.
Sources & scope
Based on Holdherhand’s 21 October 2026 video; page, description and full available transcript checked on 22 October 2026. The description links the Aethus game. Recording build unknown; talent nodes, on-screen values and the run outcome were not independently verified. This is a summary of the creator’s advice, not our own playtest or a best-build ranking. Approximate damage and range figures are omitted.
