Post by blazara on May 5, 2008 21:14:12 GMT
This is the area to post useful threads/guides for the class, i'll be sure to update this regulaly, hopefully we get a nice Archive of guides.
Also any really good FAQ answers posted in these forums will be placed in here.
Firstly: Mage leveling, fire, frost and AoE!
Frost vs Fire vs AoE for levelling:
A note: I took a mage to 70 early on in TBC, and I tried many different specs. These were my findings really!
The age old debate among mages is always: What do I level with! Frost or Fire!? Now, while this thread is here to help – I can’t say 100% that it will. I’ll try and play the positives vs the negatives of both, obviously. I’ll also bring AoE into it. It’s all really based upon playstyle, and how you like to do things. Everyone has different preferences, obviously!
Frost:
Frost is the most common choice now-a-days, with a good reason I guess: most people believe it to be the best Mage spec for soloing because of the control it gives you over mobs. While this is obviously true, it’s also a mindlessly weak spec until you’ve built up certain talents, namely ice shards and shatter. Up until that point, frost is FAR too slow to level with if you want some efficiency. It’s also f’ing boring, imo as there’s basically no damage, no crits, all you have is slow. ARRGHH. Anyways
. It’s level 29 before you can actually do anything with frost, sensibly, with this spec here: www.wowhead.com/?talent=oZZVVG000x. It doesn’t really matter in what order you choose it above Imp. Frostbolt to tell you the truth. I’d go Frostbite > Imp. Nova > Ice Shards > Shatter. I would wait till 29 though, but some people will insist on starting at level 10 . However as you flesh your tree out, frost becomes the best levelling tree. By level 66, it surpasses every form of levelling a mage has. Reason? Icelance. On my mage, at 66, all I needed was one frostbite proc for the mob to not get to melee range, as I could drop 2k frostbolt, 1.8k icelance, fireblast all in 4.5 seconds. It’s incredible. By 66, you want this build: www.wowhead.com/?talent=oZZVAGI0fxsiqt. Highest DPS, and best mana efficieny. Icy Veins may be worth investing in, but not for this point imo. This is THE BUILD to take you 66-70. No question, at all.
Fire:
The build that many people suggest, and you know what…I’m going to suggest it too! But, only up to level 29. Sorry guys! Fire levelling doesn’t work so well beyond there for my playstyle, being hit by mobs isn’t my style. Lots of people like it though, since you can just critroll mobs to death in seconds after about levels 30-40. If you want, however, you can level fire fairly efficiently all the way to level 66. It will work out the same as frost, as though you’ll have more downtime you’ll likely be killing faster. This is the build I’d take to 29: www.wowhead.com/?talent=oZEg0zb, starting with Imp. Fireball > Flame Throwing > 3 in impact > Burning Soul > 2 in impact > Ignite > Pyroblast (which you won’t really get/need, but whatever
). If you carry on, this build is what I’d take to 66 (but, seriously now, I REALLY recommend frost 66-70. It’s a lot faster): www.wowhead.com/?talent=obZEgMzfccReRt0h. I don’t recommend PoM Pyro for levelling…at all. It’s insanely inefficient.
AoE:
Okay, with the quest changes in recent patches this is probably less viable than it once was, but hey. It’s still a heck of a lot faster than either fire or frost if you’re good at it. But you have to be really good. I did it, and I got very practised at it, but be prepared to die a hell of a lot. To start, the common conception is that you use arcane explosion. I have one word to say about that: no. Reason? You’ll get pwned. Blizzard AoE levelling is where it’s at! Rather than me even TRY to explain this, I point to here: video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-903331917281359369 Perfect guide for it. Falls off in outland when you have to go to a single target spec, though, such as perhaps Frost (my preference at this point).
Gear:
While you’re levelling up, even in outlands, focus on +dam > int > sta for frost, otherwise for fire it’s +dam > crit > int > sta. There’s no real contest here. Maybe early on focus more on int if you run OOM after blowing a mob up in 3 seconds…
For the AoE build above, you should effectively scrap all ideas of taking +dam and go full int >> stamina. This weighting on stats is why I switched to single target pew pewing in outland, since there was a drastic shift in availability of gear!
Hopefully that should get our new mages started, any more questions, PM me!
-Enaid
-------------------------------------------------------------------
General information:
Mage wiki
It contains useful information about Mages
magewiki.wikispaces.com/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
All about mages
A compilation of informative and very useful mage threads that were previously stickied.
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=202910352&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Class Guides:
Mage Leveling and Talent Builds
A compilation of current mage builds at level 70
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=173227419&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mage 5 vs 5 arena guide
This is a general guide for Mage arena-play
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=298944048&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Swindley's guide to doing max raid dps!
This is simply an informative post on how to achieve the highest DPS. If you enjoy other specs/talentpoints, then get those instead!
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=282399094
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bangy's little guide to Blizz Mage AoE grind
AoE grinding is a very good way of grinding and here is a good guide on how it's done
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=107621534
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
100 Amazing Mage Tricks!
Clever tips and tricks from experienced mages
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=305702965&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Solipsists Kiting / Movement perfection topic
A guide to some advanced techniques to squeeze the maximum performance from your mage
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=508741315&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"What Race Should I Choose?" A 'Little' Guide
Soo many people have asked it, so this guide was thrown together to help answer this question.
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=1295821241&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Shaan's Guide to Arena Talent Builds.
A list of pros and cons of various Arena talent builds
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=1296680720&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Arcane specific guides:
<no threads added yet>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Fire specific guides:
<no threads added yet>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Frost specific guides:
<no threads added yet>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Gear:
Mage Level 70 Pre-raid Gear
This is a collection of what may be considered to be the best pre-raid Mage gear
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=302171544&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mechanics:
+Crit vs +hit vs +dmg. What to choose?
A guide with the purpose of helping Mages to decide between +Crit vs +hit vs +dmg on thier Gear
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=289879530&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Spell Hit for mage
A small guide to help the people who are looking for information about spell hit ratings
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=2844779710&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Macros and Add-ons:
Macro Collection
A compilation of useful Macros for Mages
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=302060763&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Miscellaneous:
A Little Guide For Asking A Mage For Water
you'd think that a guide about asking nicely wouldn't be needed, but apparently...
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=299066285&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[Guide] Asking a Mage
Incase one guide wasn't enough, another detailed guide on how to make friends with your local mage
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=1878328010&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mage PvP movie Archive (TBC only)
A compilation of the best level 70 Mage PvP movies
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=3705021323&sid=1
Guess what? Its another breeks post!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
My guide to raid dmg, many things taken from the swindley's guide to max raid dps.
1. Spec: Go 2/48/11 for maximum dps (http://www.wowdb.com/talent.aspx?id=8#f3ef19efe2cefefe8fe4bf2ef6ef3cfef5 )
Or if you have mana problems 10/48/3, elemental precision in frost and clearcasting.
2/48/11 is the maximum dps spec, icy veins, nice crits, mana effiency, it got it all.
graph showing dps with different specs:
img241.imageshack.us/img241/4113/magetriplepointlr0.jpg
2. Get tailoring. Craft spellfire (and spellstrike if you cannot get anything better).
Other gear with +dmg, + hit and +crit, don't care about intellect. Get heroic badge rewards!
3. Use this rotation: scorch x5 then fireball spam, scorch when debuff is about to wear off.
Once scorch debuffs are up, you can also do fireball fireball fireblast if you have extra mana to burn, like a boss below 20% or if you for some lucky reason have 3 shadowpriests in your group etc.
4. Don't bother with scorch debuff on low hp trash, just fireball them. Here you can throw in a scorch/fireblast just before they die for good measure. (ninja execute!)
6. Always have max rank mana gem, it got 3 charges. Even if you've forgot to make it, make it in combat(bossfights) because You'll win mana on it anyway. Use first charge early(80% mana or so, just when you get below the amount it restores). Use cheap pots, chug them down whenever CD is up. Might need Super mana pots with no shpriest. Use these also early, as soon as you've spent ~3000 mana.
7. Although using the most expensive flasks/pots every single time is understandably too expensive, theese cheap items you should get: Superior Wizard Oil (lasts through death, oh joy!), Blackened Basilisk (23spelldmg and spir, supercheap \o/ ).
Also use Flask of supreme power at bossfights.
8. Use Molten armor. With comsumables you should be ok with mana, though very rare cases might need Mage armor.
9. When you have used 2 charges of combustion, do fireball, then immediatly fireblast, both spells will get the ekstra crit % from combustion. Same mechanic as frostbolt +icelance on frozen targets.
Ps. remember to refresh scorch just before you activate combustion:) You do not want to see scorch running out, and "waste" last combustion charge on having to refresh it;) That is, if you're alone refreshing scorch:)
10. Fireblast while moving. Often you have to quickly change positions, or move short distances while raiding. If you're in range, a quick fireblast while moving will limit your dps loss. In very dynamic fights, this alone can be a reason to not use the fireball fireball fireblast rotation, save the fireblast for movement instead.
11. 164 hit is a MUST for higher lvls of raiding.
Optional:
Sleep with your nearest lock to get him/her to use COE instead of COS.
Beg raidleader to get in a group with a shadowpriest.
Hug your local elemental shaman. (I even managed to talk mine into getting the 3crit/hit totem!)
Most of these things are from the guide... all of them nearly
Another Ruine Guide, I <3 this guy
Also any really good FAQ answers posted in these forums will be placed in here.
Firstly: Mage leveling, fire, frost and AoE!
Frost vs Fire vs AoE for levelling:
A note: I took a mage to 70 early on in TBC, and I tried many different specs. These were my findings really!
The age old debate among mages is always: What do I level with! Frost or Fire!? Now, while this thread is here to help – I can’t say 100% that it will. I’ll try and play the positives vs the negatives of both, obviously. I’ll also bring AoE into it. It’s all really based upon playstyle, and how you like to do things. Everyone has different preferences, obviously!
Frost:
Frost is the most common choice now-a-days, with a good reason I guess: most people believe it to be the best Mage spec for soloing because of the control it gives you over mobs. While this is obviously true, it’s also a mindlessly weak spec until you’ve built up certain talents, namely ice shards and shatter. Up until that point, frost is FAR too slow to level with if you want some efficiency. It’s also f’ing boring, imo as there’s basically no damage, no crits, all you have is slow. ARRGHH. Anyways
. It’s level 29 before you can actually do anything with frost, sensibly, with this spec here: www.wowhead.com/?talent=oZZVVG000x. It doesn’t really matter in what order you choose it above Imp. Frostbolt to tell you the truth. I’d go Frostbite > Imp. Nova > Ice Shards > Shatter. I would wait till 29 though, but some people will insist on starting at level 10 . However as you flesh your tree out, frost becomes the best levelling tree. By level 66, it surpasses every form of levelling a mage has. Reason? Icelance. On my mage, at 66, all I needed was one frostbite proc for the mob to not get to melee range, as I could drop 2k frostbolt, 1.8k icelance, fireblast all in 4.5 seconds. It’s incredible. By 66, you want this build: www.wowhead.com/?talent=oZZVAGI0fxsiqt. Highest DPS, and best mana efficieny. Icy Veins may be worth investing in, but not for this point imo. This is THE BUILD to take you 66-70. No question, at all.Fire:
The build that many people suggest, and you know what…I’m going to suggest it too! But, only up to level 29. Sorry guys! Fire levelling doesn’t work so well beyond there for my playstyle, being hit by mobs isn’t my style. Lots of people like it though, since you can just critroll mobs to death in seconds after about levels 30-40. If you want, however, you can level fire fairly efficiently all the way to level 66. It will work out the same as frost, as though you’ll have more downtime you’ll likely be killing faster. This is the build I’d take to 29: www.wowhead.com/?talent=oZEg0zb, starting with Imp. Fireball > Flame Throwing > 3 in impact > Burning Soul > 2 in impact > Ignite > Pyroblast (which you won’t really get/need, but whatever
). If you carry on, this build is what I’d take to 66 (but, seriously now, I REALLY recommend frost 66-70. It’s a lot faster): www.wowhead.com/?talent=obZEgMzfccReRt0h. I don’t recommend PoM Pyro for levelling…at all. It’s insanely inefficient.AoE:
Okay, with the quest changes in recent patches this is probably less viable than it once was, but hey. It’s still a heck of a lot faster than either fire or frost if you’re good at it. But you have to be really good. I did it, and I got very practised at it, but be prepared to die a hell of a lot. To start, the common conception is that you use arcane explosion. I have one word to say about that: no. Reason? You’ll get pwned. Blizzard AoE levelling is where it’s at! Rather than me even TRY to explain this, I point to here: video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-903331917281359369 Perfect guide for it. Falls off in outland when you have to go to a single target spec, though, such as perhaps Frost (my preference at this point).
Gear:
While you’re levelling up, even in outlands, focus on +dam > int > sta for frost, otherwise for fire it’s +dam > crit > int > sta. There’s no real contest here. Maybe early on focus more on int if you run OOM after blowing a mob up in 3 seconds…
For the AoE build above, you should effectively scrap all ideas of taking +dam and go full int >> stamina. This weighting on stats is why I switched to single target pew pewing in outland, since there was a drastic shift in availability of gear!
Hopefully that should get our new mages started, any more questions, PM me!
-Enaid
-------------------------------------------------------------------
General information:
Mage wiki
It contains useful information about Mages
magewiki.wikispaces.com/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
All about mages
A compilation of informative and very useful mage threads that were previously stickied.
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=202910352&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Class Guides:
Mage Leveling and Talent Builds
A compilation of current mage builds at level 70
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=173227419&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mage 5 vs 5 arena guide
This is a general guide for Mage arena-play
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=298944048&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Swindley's guide to doing max raid dps!
This is simply an informative post on how to achieve the highest DPS. If you enjoy other specs/talentpoints, then get those instead!
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=282399094
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bangy's little guide to Blizz Mage AoE grind
AoE grinding is a very good way of grinding and here is a good guide on how it's done
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=107621534
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
100 Amazing Mage Tricks!
Clever tips and tricks from experienced mages
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=305702965&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Solipsists Kiting / Movement perfection topic
A guide to some advanced techniques to squeeze the maximum performance from your mage
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=508741315&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"What Race Should I Choose?" A 'Little' Guide
Soo many people have asked it, so this guide was thrown together to help answer this question.
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=1295821241&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Shaan's Guide to Arena Talent Builds.
A list of pros and cons of various Arena talent builds
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=1296680720&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Arcane specific guides:
<no threads added yet>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Fire specific guides:
<no threads added yet>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Frost specific guides:
<no threads added yet>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Gear:
Mage Level 70 Pre-raid Gear
This is a collection of what may be considered to be the best pre-raid Mage gear
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=302171544&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mechanics:
+Crit vs +hit vs +dmg. What to choose?
A guide with the purpose of helping Mages to decide between +Crit vs +hit vs +dmg on thier Gear
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=289879530&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Spell Hit for mage
A small guide to help the people who are looking for information about spell hit ratings
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=2844779710&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Macros and Add-ons:
Macro Collection
A compilation of useful Macros for Mages
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=302060763&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Miscellaneous:
A Little Guide For Asking A Mage For Water
you'd think that a guide about asking nicely wouldn't be needed, but apparently...
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=299066285&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[Guide] Asking a Mage
Incase one guide wasn't enough, another detailed guide on how to make friends with your local mage
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=1878328010&sid=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mage PvP movie Archive (TBC only)
A compilation of the best level 70 Mage PvP movies
forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=3705021323&sid=1
Guess what? Its another breeks post!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
My guide to raid dmg, many things taken from the swindley's guide to max raid dps.
1. Spec: Go 2/48/11 for maximum dps (http://www.wowdb.com/talent.aspx?id=8#f3ef19efe2cefefe8fe4bf2ef6ef3cfef5 )
Or if you have mana problems 10/48/3, elemental precision in frost and clearcasting.
2/48/11 is the maximum dps spec, icy veins, nice crits, mana effiency, it got it all.
graph showing dps with different specs:
img241.imageshack.us/img241/4113/magetriplepointlr0.jpg
2. Get tailoring. Craft spellfire (and spellstrike if you cannot get anything better).
Other gear with +dmg, + hit and +crit, don't care about intellect. Get heroic badge rewards!
3. Use this rotation: scorch x5 then fireball spam, scorch when debuff is about to wear off.
Once scorch debuffs are up, you can also do fireball fireball fireblast if you have extra mana to burn, like a boss below 20% or if you for some lucky reason have 3 shadowpriests in your group etc.
4. Don't bother with scorch debuff on low hp trash, just fireball them. Here you can throw in a scorch/fireblast just before they die for good measure. (ninja execute!
)6. Always have max rank mana gem, it got 3 charges. Even if you've forgot to make it, make it in combat(bossfights) because You'll win mana on it anyway. Use first charge early(80% mana or so, just when you get below the amount it restores). Use cheap pots, chug them down whenever CD is up. Might need Super mana pots with no shpriest. Use these also early, as soon as you've spent ~3000 mana.
7. Although using the most expensive flasks/pots every single time is understandably too expensive, theese cheap items you should get: Superior Wizard Oil (lasts through death, oh joy!), Blackened Basilisk (23spelldmg and spir, supercheap \o/ ).
Also use Flask of supreme power at bossfights.
8. Use Molten armor. With comsumables you should be ok with mana, though very rare cases might need Mage armor.
9. When you have used 2 charges of combustion, do fireball, then immediatly fireblast, both spells will get the ekstra crit % from combustion. Same mechanic as frostbolt +icelance on frozen targets.
Ps. remember to refresh scorch just before you activate combustion:) You do not want to see scorch running out, and "waste" last combustion charge on having to refresh it;) That is, if you're alone refreshing scorch:)
10. Fireblast while moving. Often you have to quickly change positions, or move short distances while raiding. If you're in range, a quick fireblast while moving will limit your dps loss. In very dynamic fights, this alone can be a reason to not use the fireball fireball fireblast rotation, save the fireblast for movement instead.
11. 164 hit is a MUST for higher lvls of raiding.
Optional:
Sleep with your nearest lock to get him/her to use COE instead of COS.
Beg raidleader to get in a group with a shadowpriest.
Hug your local elemental shaman. (I even managed to talk mine into getting the 3crit/hit totem!)
Most of these things are from the guide... all of them nearly
Another Ruine Guide, I <3 this guy
