Hello, my name is Elkidogz, I'm on the US Dunemaul server. I do not claim to be an expert mage, just an average one. I made this guide here with the intent to help out new mages. This section is devoted to the World Of Warcraft Mage class. Otherwise known as the Glass Cannon.
Mages can be very difficult to master as they are extremely vulnerable to melee attacks; This is mostly because they have very little armor and hit points.
As such a mage should learn to try to stay as far away from melee NPC's and players as possible. The Purpose of the mage class is simple. Deal out as much damage as possible while controlling as much as possible.
what's that mean? Well it means that you as a mage need to learn to control the amount of aggro you pull on a target while in a group. You also need to help control the situation with your crowd control (CC) abilities.
Namely Polymorph and frostnova. Frost bolts, Blastwave, Cone of Cold, Impact, Polymorph, Ice shield are just a few of the many ways mages can help control a fight.
When you come into the world, you'll be greated with a few spells namely fireball. The first quests and mobs are not hard to kill, so please make sure you don't embarrass the mage community at large and die...
Essentially what your going to be doing is killing level 1-5's then venture to your captial city (if you think your ready) there should be a little town for you to work your way to, Goldshire for human mages as I am a human mage, most of this guide will lead direct you from that perspective. For reference keep your mana and hit points high for while attacking. Frostbolt is also a good way to go as it slows there attacks down. (see spells page)
Welcome to being a lowbie mage, no longer a newbie noober noob You'll be expected to eat crow for a little while, gaining stats like int. and stam are critial to your survival. Also making sure you have water for yourself on hand is really important, You should be going to westfall now if your a human plenty of quests to do around there, also don't forget to get the flight path back to Stormwind so you have easy access to the bank and the aucion house. Start saving up gold. Another good thing to get form this zone is the light feathers, they drop off the vultures on the east side of the zone, along the river. They sell good and they are also useful for yourself.
I saved about 50g up just by selling these feathers on the ah, they will really help you out.
Instance:
Van Cleef VC recommended level 18+ This is your first grouped instance. bring lots of water, health and mana pots if you in a group with similarly leveled players. Good Group mixture is a warrior, priest, mage(you), hunter, rogue.
careful not to draw up to much aggro or it could cost you.
You should be able to do Van Cleef for the newbies without a problem now, also you should venture to Red Ridge and Darkshire. for the Lower 20's stay near lakeshire check out the fields south of it, venture north only with a buddy, there's plenty to do in lakeshire. It also happens to be a horde PVP favorite spot to pick of lowbie aliance.
Be prepared for Darkshire, it's not an easy going place, it's infact pretty easy but just be careful not to aggro to much, It's best if you have a buddy healer to do the quests in Darkshire with, because you can AOE the mobs pretty effectiely now.
AOE (Area Of Efect) spells is really where a mage shines. No other class has quite as many AOE spells. You obviously have your Blizzard, Flamestrike, FrostNova, and my favorite Arcane Explosion. Cone of Cold and Blastwave can be enhanced and added to your arsenal of available AOE spells to choose from.
It's probably a good idea to figure out the most mana efficient way of doing the most damage possible at this time mostly because; as you AOE more and more you will notice that your mana supply will be running out. Gems and pots can suppliment this of course but, working out the best mana effective routine for AOE's is important, this way you can take on higher hp'd mobs.
Instance:
18-25 Van Cleef (VC) Located in Moonbrook in western Westfall
25-30 Shadow Fang Keep (SFK) Located in south western Auberdine you'll need to learn the route to get to darnassus if youre a Gnome or Human mage.
28-35 (cant' think of what it's called) located South Barrens these pigs are a thorny bunch.
So, you are getting the hang of being a mage, most of the spells you'll be getting until you hit +60 you now have. You're also gaining gold for your First Mount! Now comes zones known for punishing instances and grueling quests, really you'll be in these zones for the better part of the game as you can start in your upper 20's in wetlands and work most of azeroth from 25-45 but for the time being 30 - 40 is where were at.
I did my time in Badlands working the numerous quests and running Uldaman as much as I could, there are plenty of quests to get great loot from as well as a great many loot from the instance itself. You Can visit many area's of the map now, Tanaris, Descolace, Badlands, Southshore, Thousand needles, Swamp of Sorrows, Theramore, wetlands. These are all zones and area's of the map made for mid game. Best advice I can give you is to stick to one zone and get as many of the quests done as possible. Your quest log book can hold 25 quests in it, that's about half a zone worth of quests, as you work them, others will become available the higher you progress in level.
Keep getting gold by farming as much as you can in area's that people use like enchanting mats, mining, and herbs.
Instance:
32-40 Uldaman (Ulda)- dwarves are excovating a site, what they've uncovered... good luck. It's a long fun zone.
38-45 Zul'Farrak (ZF) - Trolls have a temple, go beat it up!
Congrats on getting your mount! Wasn't that hard was it? As you progress into your 40's You'll come to the instances in Descolace and tanaris. This is when your professions are maturing to 275+ and your gear is looking pretty good, your comfortable in your talent build. Keep getting gold by farming as much as you can in area's that people use like enchanting mats, mining, and herbs. Your getting ready for the next phase in the game, 50+ this is a trying time for you, as you encounter much higher leveled players.
Focus on getting your gear higher up, Feralas is a good zone for this level bracket, as well as swamp of sorrows. STV is a good area for you to learn some pvp and take some revenge on the horde who killed you earlier in darkshire.
Instances
Maradon (Mara) - working the numerous quests in this instance is a good way to get some good coin and get some good xp, you'll have to run it at least 3 or 4 times to get all the goods out of it. Princess is a hard fight for any 40's group, focus on not aggro'ing her.
Zul'Farak (ZF) - keep pounding the ZF trolls get your carrot on a stick.
You are almost to the Outlands and you get teased about it by your guildies. This is a good time to ask for some help from those buddies in your guild. Basically anywhere in Azeroth is your playground for this leveling bracket, focus on area's like azshara, felwood, Eastern Plague lands, Western Plague lands, Silithus, Un'Guru.
Save up the 1000g for your epic mount, you'll want it for 60 and beyond. Also have a good understanding of your toons Talent build, by now you should be feeling comfortable with one of the three talent trees. See the Macro's page for information about macro's that will save your butt in this the most difficult PVP time of your life.
Again, try to focus on one area of the map's quests, Searing gorge and Burning steppes are a good place to get good rep rewards, but they are long and hard to gain.
Instances:
Sunken Temple (ST)(48-56) trolls are at it again! swamp of sorrows this time has given you a battle royal with the green dragons as well with this kewl instance, you get to flex your AOE'ability by downing several groups of drakes an whelps in the main area of this instance, you'll need to go up top kill the ring of trolls, then to the main floor killing all the drakes, then some more trolls that drop a nice set of cloth armor(check it out at your gear place) Black Rock Depths (BRD)(54-60+) This instance is huge, there's tons of stuff to do in this place. I continue to find new hallways still in this place. lots of great gear lots of great fights. takes awhile to get down to the last boss, so take ur time. Lower Black Rock Spire (LBRS)(56+) This instance gets you started on the "end game gear sets" starting with the magisters set items you can aquire in this place and moving to other area's in this mountain can get you some phat lewt! 10 man raids are fun in here. Upper Black Rock Spire (UBRS)(58+) This is one of my favorite instances, mostly because there is so much going on, you can bring 9 buddies with you on this adventure and be sure to have a few healers. Stratholme living(strath)(60) Scholomance(Scholo)(60) Stratholme unliving(Barons)(60)
