I'm having fun alternating between fire and frost on my 63 Worgen. I usually level up as Frost, being able to Ice Barrier and pull like 6 mobs and then Cone of Cold/Blizzard/Freeze them, kite them about, and ultimately not take a scrap of damage is amazing. This is way funner than my old Death Knight. Plus I can solo most group quests easily.
Then when I use Fire as my dungeon spec, I can instant Flamestrike/Blastwave and Dragon's Breath mobs into AoE submission, doing 1.5k DPS in dungeons because of this. The silly DK tanks that always pop up can never grab enough aggro though! I can't wait for Living Bomb and Deep Freeze on both specs.
Engineering, while easily the best profession in the game, has the least synergy for mages.
Tradeskills still feel like 70% done, anyways. It's pretty weird that Engineering and Leatherworking are hands down the best tradeskills for anyone. I expect tweaks down the line.
Engineering, while easily the best profession in the game, has the least synergy for mages.
Tradeskills still feel like 70% done, anyways. It's pretty weird that Engineering and Leatherworking are hands down the best tradeskills for anyone. I expect tweaks down the line.
Absolutely.
The JC dailies feel like bad beta quests, Fishing is basically not worth it at all if you did either BC or LK fishing, the itemization is all kinds of wrong.
Engineering, while easily the best profession in the game, has the least synergy for mages.
Tradeskills still feel like 70% done, anyways. It's pretty weird that Engineering and Leatherworking are hands down the best tradeskills for anyone. I expect tweaks down the line.
Absolutely.
The JC dailies feel like bad beta quests, Fishing is basically not worth it at all if you did either BC or LK fishing, the itemization is all kinds of wrong.
I think I decided to do Tailoring / Herbing. Hopefully herbing will be decent for money making, but I like the idea of having that little herbalism spell you get that gives you haste/hot
Basically I want a prof with some mounts, so it's either eng, tailoring, or going for that insane alchemy mount, and tailoring seems to be overall better for a mage.
EWom on
Whether they find a life there or not, I think Jupiter should be called an enemy planet.
Lifeblood (the herbalism spell) no longer gives you a HoT. It's just a very weak instant heal (like a fraction of a healthstone, I think). The haste buff is all right, but I think the numbers on it aren't very good compared to a profession that can get you more +int with its perk.
Of course, this difference is less than a 1% increase in damage potential, so it only really matters in the most tightly run ships.
Oh, didn't realize that about Lifeblood, I thought they just added haste to the HoT. Anyway I think I'm going to stick with Tailoring and I really just need a gathering prof to go with it, because I won't do enchanting.. I've leveled that once and it was terrible. Don't have any desire to do that again. And I never do double production professions because I hate relying on the AH for my mats. (I realize tailoring takes enchanting mats and sometimes LW/BSing mats.. but that's a lot different to me than having to AH for every single thing I make).
EWom on
Whether they find a life there or not, I think Jupiter should be called an enemy planet.
I know this is the mage thread so I don't want a total derail but if you start getting a ton of alts to level cap you might as well just make two material specialists (Skinning, Mining) (Herbalism, Enchanting/Tailoring) and then use the rest with double professions, hopefully ones with good benefits.
I'm just tailoring right now on my Mage. I need to pick up enchanting I guess. I'm not fond of Professions to be honest, I find I never really get anything super useful out of them. Engineering might be the way to go just because of the PvP tools.
Arcane PvP is nutso.
Question: My Mirror Image in Arcane use Frostbolt. Why?
I'm just tailoring right now on my Mage. I need to pick up enchanting I guess. I'm not fond of Professions to be honest, I find I never really get anything super useful out of them. Engineering might be the way to go just because of the PvP tools.
Arcane PvP is nutso.
Question: My Mirror Image in Arcane use Frostbolt. Why?
This has probably been asked a billion times so far in this thread, but since Henroid hasn't updated the OP in forever and a day, have there been any posts since Cata hit with advice and specs for leveling a new Mage?
I haven't played one since TBC, and I was thinking of leveling Arcane, but I realized that I absolutely hate the way Arcane Missiles works now. So what then do Arcane Mages typically do during leveling combat? Arcane Barrage and hope Missiles procs?
And if not Arcane, I may give Frost leveling a try. Any leveling specs for that?
korodullin on
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
No, I didn't even look into Glyph of Mirror Image because... last time it just added a new mage. I guess I should look into that!
Korodullin: Mage leveling is a different beast alltogether this time around. You get a lot of good shit at level 10, and to be honest, ALL specs are good at leveling. You're a burst DPS killing MACHINE.... however...
For the first portion of your leveling, I would say that the inherit CC abilities of Frost allow you more freedom for solo adventure. Especially since Ice Barrier + Mana Shield = Immortal.
Arcane: Arcane Missiles work fantastic now. They always proc, and are free and fast. Especially when they crit roll. As far your main damage spell: Arcane Blast is unbeatable on so many levels.
Leveling Arcane is pretty simple. Arcane Blast until dead. Use Arcane Barrage to drop your stacks or for a quick burst if you need it. Arcane Missiles are nearly always ready. Honestly most mobs won't survive 2 Arcane Blasts, 1 if it's a seriously good crit. (And there will be many)
I usually: Arcane Blast, Arcane Missile, target is dead before the last volley hits. Mana consumption is obviously NOTHING because AM is free. Mmmmmm free Arcane. And you've got lots of Mana and a 2 min Inv and Mana Gems that proc Spell Damage increase when used. You should never run out of mana.
I can't speak for Fire because... i've never ran with Fire. I'll look into it one day.
I can't speak for low level fire, but 80+ leveling fire is pretty incredible. You've got stun on demand (dragon's breath) a nice aoe slow (blast wave), and an rng slow with impact. To top that off, you can always open up with frostfire bolt if you feel you need the initial slow, and you can cast scorch on the run (but watch for mobs!).
The regular mage shield is also surprisingly decent now. So if you want to roll with fire, go right ahead.
On the other hand, frost is just OP as holy hell right now so if you're looking for the best spec, that's it hands down.
So I like to random LFD when I level character. Lately I've been getting Scholomance on my mage, and I love that last fight. I always stay on the top level, and pop my haste buff right away and start pelting the dude with Frostbolts. Then when he ports the tank away instead of the boss killing random rogues and healers etc, he starts chasing me around the top and I kite him until a) the tank kills all his mobs in the room and comes out b) he dies c) he gets fed up with chasing me around, and ports me to my own special room. Good times.
EWom on
Whether they find a life there or not, I think Jupiter should be called an enemy planet.
My only problem with leveling Fire is that I've leveled 1-70 before as 100% Fire in TBC, and looking through the spell lists and talent trees, it looks like leveling Fire now is pretty similar to how it was back in 2007 or so. It was fun and all, but I'd like to try something different.
korodullin on
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
It still has the cooldown, but it doesn't have a limited duration. There's also a talent that heals the pet when you do damage, so it rarely dies even if it's standing in "the bad shit."
Yeah, I know the duration is gone, just was wondering about the cooldown. I know there were occasions on my mage where I would summon my WE, then shortly after that, some sort of geometry or teleport shenanigans would make me lose it and I'd have to wait a minute until I could resummon him. Like there were some dungeons or something where it would happen.
Or the fact that the WE would follow along on the ground when I was on my flying mount and inevitably aggro and get raped by mobs. I'm assuming it no longer works that way when you mount now that the spec is based around having it as a real pet?
He also has a fun little habit of casting water bolt at a time so that it hits the mob right after you polymorph it. Ive had to stick mine in the corner for that one a few times
Xynn on
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edited December 2010
Well so Cataclysm sucked me back in, so I rolled up a goblin mage. If the last few pages are to be believed, I assume frost is the de rigueur leveling spec now? having only dicked around on a mage to level 6 before I last quit the game, any other tips or leveling things I should do/watch out for?
Also, question: my old guild took me back and they are level 6; I guess I get a 10% xp gain as a passive ability now. But I am also wearing my heirloom shoulders which give another 10%. Do these stack?
He also has a fun little habit of casting water bolt at a time so that it hits the mob right after you polymorph it. Ive had to stick mine in the corner for that one a few times
Really? I've casted many a polymorph and even though he goes in to attack animation he won't ever fire on the poly mob till I or some other inbound damage breaks the poly. I liked that change up. I've haven't seen my WE break a snare since.
I love the increased health of my WE though. He can practically tank pretty good on a lot of things now.
Jakarrd on
Greetings Starfighter! You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan Armada.
Well so Cataclysm sucked me back in, so I rolled up a goblin mage. If the last few pages are to be believed, I assume frost is the de rigueur leveling spec now? having only dicked around on a mage to level 6 before I last quit the game, any other tips or leveling things I should do/watch out for?
Also, question: my old guild took me back and they are level 6; I guess I get a 10% xp gain as a passive ability now. But I am also wearing my heirloom shoulders which give another 10%. Do these stack?
I started as Arcane and never looked back. I bought a duel spec for frost but haven't switched to it since like, level 50. Arcane is just so much fun, especially one you add slow to your blasts.
Sentry on
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
wrote:
When I was a little kid, I always pretended I was the hero,' Skip said.
'Fuck yeah, me too. What little kid ever pretended to be part of the lynch-mob?'
My now-14 Mage started as Arcane but has since switched to Frost to try it out. So far, I'm digging neither. I really want to like Arcane, but it starts out really really slow. I Arcane Blast, and if Missiles procs, I use it. Then I Fire Blast and Arcane Blast again. If Missiles doesn't proc, I kind of go "Well, what now?" and Frost Nova or something. It just feels really awkward and I suspect it will remain so until I get Arcane Barrage.
korodullin on
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
My now-14 Mage started as Arcane but has since switched to Frost to try it out. So far, I'm digging neither. I really want to like Arcane, but it starts out really really slow. I Arcane Blast, and if Missiles procs, I use it. Then I Fire Blast and Arcane Blast again. If Missiles doesn't proc, I kind of go "Well, what now?" and Frost Nova or something. It just feels really awkward and I suspect it will remain so until I get Arcane Barrage.
I haven't even logged on to my mage since the talent overhaul, but I thought Arcane's base ability was Arcane Barrage now. And it was Arcane Blast that you didn't get until like the 20s or 30s.
If that's the case and you've got the names for ABlast and ABarrage mixed up, then you don't really want to lead with an instant cast. If the mob is just standing around waiting to be grinded, that's the absolute best time to use a cast time spell. Since you don't have ABlast yet, Frostbolt is actually a great choice here, since it will snare the target and give you a decent chance to kill it before it even touches you.
Yes I mixed up Arcane Barrage and Arcane Blast. They really need to change those names a bit. I think I might switch back to Arcane and give that a shot again. What Arcane talents are best to aim for first? Clearcasting or something else?
korodullin on
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
You're 14 so you have 5 talent points to spend, right? Only really two ways to go: 3/3 arcane concentration plus 2/3 netherwind presence, or vice versa. There's not much choice until 4th tier.
With the new talent trees, you don't get a talent point every level until 81+. At level 14, he's got 3 talent points.
I'd honestly suggest Frost or Fire for leveling. Frost gives you insane amounts of control over your opponent for kiting (assuming the mob even reaches you), while Fire just blows them up straightaway (though you can't handle as many targets at once compared to Frost until later levels).
Sov on
EVE - "tehtyrael", member of Merch
TF2 - Currently "Sugarloaf Mountain Massacre", usually "Lieutenant Sov"
In my mind Fire leveling is all about taking a lot of damage trying to kill a ridiculous number of mobs at the same time while also using shitty talents designed for pvp to keep yourself from never dying ever.
That and getting absolutely stomped by quest elites and getting shitty tanks mad at you in pug leveling grouping for generating an untauntable amount of aggro.
What do you mean that fully enchanted with old world/BC raiding enchants plus sticking epic +INT LK gems on said BC blues makes you do an absurd amount of AOE damage when all your shit procs?
(Same goes with elemental shamans shadow priests, and all types of Warlock) Try it yourself if you want to see people yell at you.
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Those crazy bastards finally did it. I can come home again.
Then when I use Fire as my dungeon spec, I can instant Flamestrike/Blastwave and Dragon's Breath mobs into AoE submission, doing 1.5k DPS in dungeons because of this. The silly DK tanks that always pop up can never grab enough aggro though! I can't wait for Living Bomb and Deep Freeze on both specs.
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Tradeskills still feel like 70% done, anyways. It's pretty weird that Engineering and Leatherworking are hands down the best tradeskills for anyone. I expect tweaks down the line.
Absolutely.
The JC dailies feel like bad beta quests, Fishing is basically not worth it at all if you did either BC or LK fishing, the itemization is all kinds of wrong.
I think I decided to do Tailoring / Herbing. Hopefully herbing will be decent for money making, but I like the idea of having that little herbalism spell you get that gives you haste/hot
Basically I want a prof with some mounts, so it's either eng, tailoring, or going for that insane alchemy mount, and tailoring seems to be overall better for a mage.
Of course, this difference is less than a 1% increase in damage potential, so it only really matters in the most tightly run ships.
Arcane PvP is nutso.
Question: My Mirror Image in Arcane use Frostbolt. Why?
Are you using the Glyph of Mirror Image?
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I haven't played one since TBC, and I was thinking of leveling Arcane, but I realized that I absolutely hate the way Arcane Missiles works now. So what then do Arcane Mages typically do during leveling combat? Arcane Barrage and hope Missiles procs?
And if not Arcane, I may give Frost leveling a try. Any leveling specs for that?
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
Korodullin: Mage leveling is a different beast alltogether this time around. You get a lot of good shit at level 10, and to be honest, ALL specs are good at leveling. You're a burst DPS killing MACHINE.... however...
For the first portion of your leveling, I would say that the inherit CC abilities of Frost allow you more freedom for solo adventure. Especially since Ice Barrier + Mana Shield = Immortal.
Arcane: Arcane Missiles work fantastic now. They always proc, and are free and fast. Especially when they crit roll. As far your main damage spell: Arcane Blast is unbeatable on so many levels.
Leveling Arcane is pretty simple. Arcane Blast until dead. Use Arcane Barrage to drop your stacks or for a quick burst if you need it. Arcane Missiles are nearly always ready. Honestly most mobs won't survive 2 Arcane Blasts, 1 if it's a seriously good crit. (And there will be many)
I usually: Arcane Blast, Arcane Missile, target is dead before the last volley hits. Mana consumption is obviously NOTHING because AM is free. Mmmmmm free Arcane. And you've got lots of Mana and a 2 min Inv and Mana Gems that proc Spell Damage increase when used. You should never run out of mana.
I can't speak for Fire because... i've never ran with Fire. I'll look into it one day.
Expect to take more damage but be able to kill more mobs at a faster clip.
When things go wrong for fire, they tend to go very, VERY wrong.
The regular mage shield is also surprisingly decent now. So if you want to roll with fire, go right ahead.
On the other hand, frost is just OP as holy hell right now so if you're looking for the best spec, that's it hands down.
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
It still has the cooldown, but it doesn't have a limited duration. There's also a talent that heals the pet when you do damage, so it rarely dies even if it's standing in "the bad shit."
Or the fact that the WE would follow along on the ground when I was on my flying mount and inevitably aggro and get raped by mobs. I'm assuming it no longer works that way when you mount now that the spec is based around having it as a real pet?
Swinging on ropes during Van Cleef, everytime you switch platforms in Vortex Pinnacle, jumping up to the last boss in Tol'Vir and a few others.
Also, question: my old guild took me back and they are level 6; I guess I get a 10% xp gain as a passive ability now. But I am also wearing my heirloom shoulders which give another 10%. Do these stack?
Really? I've casted many a polymorph and even though he goes in to attack animation he won't ever fire on the poly mob till I or some other inbound damage breaks the poly. I liked that change up. I've haven't seen my WE break a snare since.
I love the increased health of my WE though. He can practically tank pretty good on a lot of things now.
If the battle starts some other way and he's waterbolting, then you poly his target he won't stop and will break poly.
I started as Arcane and never looked back. I bought a duel spec for frost but haven't switched to it since like, level 50. Arcane is just so much fun, especially one you add slow to your blasts.
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
If that's the case and you've got the names for ABlast and ABarrage mixed up, then you don't really want to lead with an instant cast. If the mob is just standing around waiting to be grinded, that's the absolute best time to use a cast time spell. Since you don't have ABlast yet, Frostbolt is actually a great choice here, since it will snare the target and give you a decent chance to kill it before it even touches you.
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
I'd honestly suggest Frost or Fire for leveling. Frost gives you insane amounts of control over your opponent for kiting (assuming the mob even reaches you), while Fire just blows them up straightaway (though you can't handle as many targets at once compared to Frost until later levels).
TF2 - Currently "Sugarloaf Mountain Massacre", usually "Lieutenant Sov"
Per aspera ad astra
1. Arcane
2. Fire
3. Frost
At level 30, you then pay 10g and pick up one of the other two specs just in case you want some variety. There's not any wrong answer anymore.
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
That and getting absolutely stomped by quest elites and getting shitty tanks mad at you in pug leveling grouping for generating an untauntable amount of aggro.
What do you mean that fully enchanted with old world/BC raiding enchants plus sticking epic +INT LK gems on said BC blues makes you do an absurd amount of AOE damage when all your shit procs?
(Same goes with elemental shamans shadow priests, and all types of Warlock) Try it yourself if you want to see people yell at you.