Mage Leveling Guide

World of Warcraft Class Leveling: WoW Mage Leveling Guide

Introduction

Mages – you gotta love ‘em. These classic RPG archetypes strut around blowing things up left, right, and sideways. In World of Warcraft, they are one of the most stable classes around with minimal changes and a ton of cool ways to destroy everything in your path. Unfortunately, when it comes to leveling, you’re still dealing with a ranged DPS class, which means getting up close and personal with a higher level mob can be a quick route to a corpse run.

Hopefully this Mage Leveling Guide will provide the spot on details you need to blast your way through to Level 80 without wasting hours of your life running across Westfall and/or the Barrens!

The WoW Authority’s Mage Leveling Guide

Contents:

1. A Basic Introduction to Mages
2. Choosing a Race
3. The Early Levels
4. Gears and Weapons
5. Talent Specs
6. What the Heck is AoE?!?
7. Making Gold
8. Top 10 Mage Leveling Tips and Tricks

1. A Basic Introduction to Mages

Mages are as simple as they come. They cast big, fierce spells and (hopefully) blow up their opponents. But, that doesn’t mean you’re going to be blasting through super fast to Level 80 anytime soon, especially not without some of the tips from this Mage Leveling Guide. First off, you have the whole Mana issue. Mages are notorious for burning through their Mana bars in seconds – which means if you get stuck with more than one mob, you may have some issues. Secondly, there is that other pesky Armor issue. Flimsy Cloth Armor means you had better get very good very quickly at killing things before they get up close and personal, and bash your head in! Then, there are things like crowd control with the Polymorph spell, and Area of Effect (AoE) spells which can greatly increase your leveling speed, but only if you know how to do it right.

In short, Mages may seem like a simple enough class to handle – they are one of the so called “holy trinity” of classes after all, along with Warriors and Priests – but there are a ton of little details to get right. Let’s start ironing them out then.

2. Choosing a Race

Right now, Mages can be one of any 6 different races, which is just under half the current number of races. Expect an up-kick in this number when the expansion Cataclysm hits (Night Elf Mages!), but for now, you’ll be working with 3 from each faction. Here’s a breakdown of your options and what I think is the best choice on either side.

Alliance Considerations

Alliance characters can snag either Humans, Gnomes, or Draenei as their race of choice for their Mage. Each race has plenty of benefits to make a good rough-and-tumble nuke caster, but I’d stay clear of Humans and go with either Draenei or Gnomes. Draenei have an awesome healing spell that is effective up to about Level 25 or so, which can definitely speed up your leveling, while Gnomes can use Escape Artist and get a built-in Intellect boost, which results in more mana!

Between these two, I would go with a Gnome, based on lore and the coolness factor, plus the added Intellect/Mana. Draenei are not too bad either though, so don’t rule them out if you’re moaning at the thought of a pint sized fire Mage on your account!

Horde Considerations

For those of you who prefer playing Horde, your options are Blood Elves, the Undead, or the Trolls. First off, throw the Trolls option right out the window. Unless you’re a huge Troll fan, these guys have little to offer this class. They’re just better off for physical damage dealers. Undead are alright because of their Will of the Forsaken, which removes any Charm, Fear or Sleep effect, but that doesn’t help all that much with leveling speed.

The real best option here is the Blood Elf race which has a built in Mana boost that can be huge when you’re OOM (out of mana). Mana Tap is an awesome ability and you start the game with a lot more Intellect and hence Mana. By the time you reach Level 80, it all balances out, but this early on, the extra boost is a very nice addition!

3. The Early Levels

Right then, time to start leveling that Mage! Well, let’s take a closer look at what you’re going to be doing. To start with, the first 5 to 8 Levels are pretty simple. Pretty much everything you encounter will die before it gets to you – ain’t life grand? This is awesome because all you need to do is cast Fireball and Frostbolt over and over again and then refill your Mana whenever you get below the halfway mark (which is a lot).

When you hit Level 8 though, get ready for a lot of “downtime”. Mobs will start getting into your Melee range, which means actually having to take some damage. To top it off, you won’t have any good Crowd Control abilities yet, and not much defense either. So, at this point, it’s very important not to take on more than one mob at a time. You can burn through anything your own level, or even a level or two higher than you, but only one at a time.

Once you hit Level 10, you’ll start getting some pretty cool talents that will cut back severely on how much time you spend in Melee range. Improved Fireball will help, and Ignite is nice, but Flame Throwing is your big weapon here. You’ll land this one at Level 20, after which you should never need to spend another second in melee range – unless you get ganged up on!

From here on out, your biggest concern is running out of Mana. Pretty soon, you’re going to have a whole slew of AoE spells that will let you burn down an army of mobs if you want, but if the Mana isn’t there, it ain’t gonna happen. Keep a good stash of Mana potions in your backpack, and as soon as you gain the ability to make your own water, do it. A lot.

4. Gears and Weapons

For a Mage, the question of gear and weapons is almost entirely moot. You really only have one gear option, and any Cloth pieces you find are going to be specced for what you need, especially since the spell casting stats were combined into Spellpower. You therefore don’t really need much help from me on this. But, just to say I paid my dues, here are some stats to look for:

Make sure you load up on Spellpower and Stamina – the two biggies of a caster. Later on you’ll want to get some +MP5 (mana regen over 5 seconds) and Critical boosts, but for now the two base stats for your class will keep your Attack and your Mana up, which is about all you need for leveling. In terms of what to wear, anything cloth is right for you. It’s incredibly simple to gear a low level caster these days since they all wear the same thing and healing isn’t a separate stat anymore. Pick up a good wand too with good stats on it for that extra little boost.

The cool part here is that you don’t really need much gold for gear until you hit Level 80. You don’t get to wear another Armor type at Level 40, and the quest rewards you’ll get along the way are loaded with juicy upgrades. This is probably the easiest part of this Mage Leveling Guide to mention – just wear what you loot and you’ll be set.

5. Talent Specs

Mages can actually spec any of the three trees as they level. The key to a good Mage is Mana efficiency and DPS, so as long as you pick the right talents, you’ll be alright. However, there is a problem – Arcane talents burn through Mana too fast despite their massive DPS, and Frost spells don’t hit hard enough despite their Mana efficiency, so Fire is the way to go. If you’re super nervous about taking your first caster out for a spin, Frost can still be a good option. Just be aware of the HUGE amount of extra time you’ll be spending in the leveling process. These guys can be pretty slow.

So, Fire – which to me is the best way to go – is what this Mage Leveling Guide will work with. In the Fire tree, you’ll be pretty much augmenting what you already have. This means snagging abilities like Flame Throwing and Improved Fireball right away. These talents are awesome because they make it so you almost never let anything into your melee range to hit you. Less downtime, less smacks to your the head, faster leveling. It’s as simple as that.

Other talents to keep an eye out for here are Pyroblast because of its nice DoT burn effect, Master of Elements to reduce all that Mana burn, and Fiery PayBack which is going to keep you alive when the Health gets low. Everything else? It’s all damage boosters. Have fun burning everything in your path to a crispy, tender finish.

6. What the Heck is AoE?!?

Area of Effect (AoE) spells and abilities are pretty much anything that lets you burn everything in a set area around your character. This is one of the big reasons Mages level so badass, and one of the ways you’re going to hit Level 80 nice and fast, provided you learn it how to AoE properly – probably the reason you’re reading a Mage Leveling Guide in the first place. The key is to know your limits!

If you’re taking on 10 mobs at a time, don’t expect to survive for long unless they’re significantly below your level. However, if you level with other characters, including a Healer (a Mage/Priest leveling combo is unstoppable). You’ll never have any issues with health if your Healer knows what he’s doing, so use those ground bursts and ignites to take out as many mobs as you can at once. Speed your way through, Mage style!

7. Making Gold

No Mage Leveling Guide is complete without a few good tips on how to load up some gold. There are far too many things that need to be bought in this game, so you definitely need some gold in hand. So, what is it that Mages can do? Not much, early on. Basically with these guys, your best bet is to go the standard Herbalism/Mining route. These two professions are big money makers and are available as soon as you get to a capital city.

Eventually, you’ll learn how to make some Portals which can get you some nice cash in places like Northrend. You’ll also have some serious AoE potential which can be put to good use in low level instances back at the beginning of the game. For now though, farm a whole lot of herbs and ores and you’ll be set for all the mounts and spells you need as you level!

8. Top 10 Mage Leveling Tips and Tricks

1. Keep Some Consumables on Hand

• Always have a lot of food and water, and when you can afford it, some potions to speed things along. The less items you have, the more chance you’ll be high and dry in the middle of a fight.

2. Get to 20 Fast

• Level 20 is the pickup point for this class. When you get there, the leveling gets a bit easier, so get there as quickly as possible. Don’t waste time with side quests or gold making. Just grind through.

3. Don’t Get into Melee

• Melee is the death of a good Mage. You’re not going to survive long, so load up on the long range bombs and keep your distance. You need to be as far away as possible for as long as possible.

4. Forget Your Gear for Now

• Don’t upgrade anything. Your quest rewards and mob drops should keep you covered well up to Level 80, so don’t worry about spending any gold on this stuff. Save it for bag upgrades and your mounts.

5. Drink as Much as Possible

• Whenever you have a chance drink some water to refill your mana. You should never go into a fight without a full mana bar unless you have NO choice. I’m serious. You will get smacked around good.

6. AoE Level as Soon as Possible

• Whenever you have the knowhow and the skills to do it, strap on your nuking hat and start AoE leveling. Trust me, the benefits are HUGE.

7. Grab a Group if You Can

• Mages can level so much faster with a small group – just one other person can get the job done most of the time. Find a buddy and speed your way along.

8. Mounts, Mounts, Mounts

• You’ll be slogging your way through thick jungles of mobs until you get that first mount. Levels 20 and 40 are your stopovers. Make sure to have the gold you need when you get there.

9. Glyphs = More Damage

• Get major glyphs for Fireball, Molten Armor, and Improved Scorch. Minor Glyphs should be loaded onto Arcane Intellect, Fire Ward, and Blast Wave.

10. Fire Spec Early

• I’m serious here – Fire spec is the only way to go up to level 80. It’s faster, has better mana efficiency and is going to help you mow the enemies down. Arcane is awesome, but it’s just a bit too much power.