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WOW-GOLD-NEWS-Soloing the Mage 1-40

Leveling up as a Mage can be considered a challenge compared to some of the more level friendly classes such as the Hunter or Warlock, but that doesn’t make it any less worthwhile. There is a sort of mystical enjoyment out of blowing away enemies with fire and frozen might that you can’t get elsewhere. There are undoubtedly a massive number of enemies between level one through eighty that need to be blown away and the more you know about combat then the easier it’ll be to smash their faces in with burning or frosty might.

Battle Tactics - The Art of Kiting

Combat for the Mage is pretty dynamic when they’re confronted with an enemy attacking directly. Mages don’t fare well to sustained hits and need to take their enemies out before they can lay a hit in. Think about it this way. A Warrior is decked out in full plate that is magically augmented to be stronger will laugh at an ogre throwing a mace about. A Mage who is wearing nothing but pajamas and dresses are going to have a mighty different opinion about that mace. That opinion will be GET AWAY FROM IT which should be your motto during the lower levels.

The Mage comes equipped with a large variety of abilities and tools to keep enemies far away. Frost Nova is given at a very early level (level 10 in fact) and will “freeze” an enemy into place. The freeze affect comes into play at higher levels as a way to boost DPS, but for now its primary use is to keep enemies “rooted” into place. This will give you time to get away and grab some distance.

Understanding roots and snares is quintessential in learning kiting. Your first ten levels won’t have a lot in the way of angry ogres with large maces (although there may be some nasty gnolls with candles) so you won’t have to worry much about things beating on you. After level ten is about when you’ll want to take into consideration one of two ideologies. You can either kill things before they can get to you or you can “kite” enemies about. That is, to blow the enemy apart in front of you or run around with them chasing you in simpler non-magical terms.

In most cases you’ll want to aim for the first but that’s not always the case. Sometimes you’ll need to drag enemies about for a bit before you can get them down. In order to this you’ll want to either root (Frost Nova for instance) the enemy or snare them (Frostbolt, Cone of Cold, Ice Armor, etc.) and then gain some distance and unleash as much arcane/fiery/frosty might as you can.

A good play by play example would be pulling a non-descript slime. As a Fire Mage you may find that a Pyroblast, Fireball, and then a Fire Blast are enough to decimate your foe. What if that non-descript slime is super burly, above your level, and has a unique name (in this instance is known as Bob)? Well, what can you do? Start off with a Pyroblast, Fireball, and the Fire Blast but then move in with a Frost Nova. Run as far away as you can and unload more Fireballs into it. When it reaches you again let it snag your Ice Armor and then gain more distance and cast more spells. This way it does a lot less damage to you, prevents a good deal of knockback (each enemy hit can slow your casting speed), and lets you successfully solo an encounter that you may not be able to take by tanking the enemy.

Now, this isn’t always the case. It isn’t always necessary. Some enemies may arrive to you nearly dead and in need of one more spell or some enemies may do trivial amounts of damage to you. Some may be casters which can only be kited with Counterspell (a spell you get much later). For the difficult to take melee classes this is the only way to go.

Battle Tactics - Spell Rotation

Spell rotation is the order in which you cast your spells or use your abilities. For many classes it’s their key to success but for Mages there isn’t a lot to talk about. There are two viable leveling builds: Frost and Fire and each of them have a very basic rotation for the first forty levels.

First Few Levels

The first few levels are very simple. You’ll only have one real ability that does damage and that’s Fireball. Until you get level 15 or 20 you’ll just want to constantly spam Fireball until the enemy is dead. You’ll eventually get Fire Blast which you can use whenever the enemy is hitting you for some quick instant DPS.

Fire	Frost
Pyroblast  Fireball Fireball  Wand/Fire Blast Get as far away from the enemy as you can and then start with a Pyroblast. Once the Pyroblast is off begin loading up the Fireball. With improved Fireball you should be able to get two out before it’s had more than one or two hits in on you. Then examine its health. If it’s below 25% use Fire Blast and then use your wand to finish it off. If it’s above 25% cast Frost Nova and stand back. Then cast another Fireball. If it’s above 50% then cast Frost Nova and kite it around until its dead (see the above section). If you have a caster then it’s the same rotation as above, but it will not get into melee range until it’s out of mana or you cast Counterspell on it while it’s casting (a level 24 ability). It’s usually better to just tank a caster because there is no way to get range. If they use Fire or Frost magic then use Fire Ward or Frost Ward before the battle to dampen the affect.	Frostbolt Frostbolt Frostbolt  Frostbolt Cone of Cold (Level 26) or Fire Blast / Wand Frost has nearly the same rotation as Fire (they both utilize one main damage ability) except there is no hard hitting Frost spell like Pryoblast. The benefit though is that you can get more than one Frostbolt off before the enemy gets to you. Get to the maximum ranger and cast your first Frostbolt and then get in as many as you can before it starts battering on you (usually two and then in the middle of the third it may begin to hit you). Once it’s in melee range use Cone of Cold (or Fire Blast) and then Wand it to death. If it’s above 25% health go ahead and cast Frost Nova and step back to cast another Frostbolt. If it’s above 40-50% then cast Frost Nova and start kiting it around (see above). If it’s a caster mob then there is no reason to kite it around. Use Counterspell to shut its mouth and its magics and then continue Frostbolting it to death. If you can’t get it to stop casting then use a Frost or Fire Ward if it uses those kinds of magic to shield yourself and then just spam Frostbolt until it is dead.
Arcane
Pull with Fireball - Arcane Missiles until dead. Arcane doesn’t really have a lot in DPS as you level and very few will recommend it for such. A lot of the abilities that allow you to kill are higher level and you’re really stuck with only Arcane Missiles for damage. If you’re looking for a challenge then this is the way to go.

Battle Tactics – Difficult Enemies

A Hunter may be able to use his or her pet to soak up a ton of damage from a higher level mob and a Warlock may be able to do the same, but as a Mage you’re not given any such luxury until a much higher level (and with a certain talent spec). So it’s up to your skill and ability to move around to defeat enemies that are much higher than you. Some quest lines between levels 20 – 40 may have you kill elite enemies. There is a way to defeat them but it may be hard to swallow at first… wait until the enemies con green.

As you level up you’re going to find that killing equal con (yellow) elites may take a lot of time and patience and may not be possible at all. Don’t fret, you’re not the only class that can’t do it and it’s not like the game is designed to let you do it in the first place. If you wait until an elite is green, then you’ll have an excellent chance of smashing it into the ground rather than the other way around.

When facing a difficult enemy always try to keep Mana Shield up and have a mana gem (at higher levels) available.  If you run out of mana Frost Nova the enemy and gain as much distance as you can (stop when Frost Nova has 2-3 seconds left) and use Evocation to get your mana back. Try to get off as many  powerful spells like Combustion as you can. If you can’t do it then look for a friend to help. There is no sense in getting stuck on a single quest.

Mage Friendly Adventuring

Up until level 20 anywhere you go will be fine. As long as there are enemies to kill then there won’t be a problem (not to mention the fact that the game doesn’t give you much of a choice). After level 20 there are some zones that are a little bit more Mage friendly than others.

Alliance

Duskwood is a good Mage leveling zone because a lot of the Undead are rather weak and there is a good deal of enemies around. It is a little bit unfriendly in the cemetery because of how many enemies there are but other than that it’s an excellent place to be between 20 and 30.

Southshore on PvE servers (and PvP if you’re good at keeping a low profile) is another Mage friendly place during 20-30. There are a lot of quests, a town close by, and the only enemies to worry about are the Naga that cast spells (but you have Frost Ward to make them trivial :D). There is a good bit of cleaning up to be done here and a lot of things to set on fire.

Arathi Highlands can be a bad choice if you follow any quest line that has you fighting elementals, but there isn’t a lot of those. Ignore any quests for elementals and power through the zone. It’s not difficult and can easily take you to level 40 along with…

Stranglethorn Vale (STV)! This zone is fantastic and will easily get you from level 30 to 40 without much reason to leave. There are tons of enemies and quests, lots of space to cast spells, and nothing that isn’t too resistant to magic. This is your prime leveling zone and as a Mage you should take full advantage of it.

Horde

Stonetalon Mountains is a great zone to get 25-27 in and many leveling guides will point you there. There is a lot of space most of the time to get spells cast from the max distance and nothing too resistant to your magic.  Combine it with Ashenvale which has the same traits and 30 won’t be a problem. You can even stay in the Barrens until 25 and then just clean up most of both zones without a hitch.

For level 30 to 40 you’ll want to look into Stranglethorn Vale (STV). STV is a wonderful zone that will easily get you level 40 and is very Mage friendly. Most of the enemies you fight will allow you to get maximum range to cast your spells on them and there is so many quests that you might not ever have to leave the zone. Look into Arathi Highlands (but don’t do any of the elemental related quests if you can) or Desolace. Desolace is a pretty Mage friendly zone but it does have a good deal of wandering aggro.

Mage Specific Quests 1-40

Level 10 – The Orb and the Staff

At level 10 you’ll be given a race specific quest that ends with you getting a free orb or a free staff. Each quest has you use an item in a certain spot and they all start from the racial capital’s Mage trainer (so Stormwind for Human, Ironforge for Gnome, Orgrimmar for Troll, etc.).

Human (Mirror Lake): Starts from Jennea in Stormwind. Go outside of Stormwind and head west to 28,62. There is a lake called Mirror Lake where you can get the sample from.

Gnome (Magetastic Gizmonitor): Starts from Bink in Ironforge. In Dun Morogh there is an elevator into Gnomeregan at 27,36. Look for a grey box with the Gizmonitor in it.

Draenei (Control): Starts from Semid in the Exodar. Go to 36,10 in Azuremyst and kill murlocs until the NPC spawns. Kill the NPC and return.

Undead  (The Balnir Farmstead): Starts from Anastasia Hartwell in the Undercity. Go to 77,61 and get a flower.

Troll (Ju-Ju Heaps): Starts from Un’Thuwa in Orgimmar. Go to 69,84 to find the heaps and start destroying. There all in that general area on that island.

Blood Elf (Fetch!): A actual quest chain. Get the water from the pond behind him and then go to 64,72 and get some more water (for the second quest), and then finally go to 60,70 and kill keepers until you get a branch. Not difficult, but rather lengthy.

Level 15 – The Robe

At level 15 you can get a free robe by doing a quick quest chain.

Alliance - Investigate the Blue Recluse (Stormwind): Follow the quest directions and it’s simple. The Blue Recluse is in Stormwind in the Mage district (not hard to find). Go in and use the scroll to see the ghosts and then weaken them. When they’re low use the coffer to trap them. Get three and you’re done.

Horde - Investigate the Alchemist Shop (Undercity): Go to the alchemist shop and use the scroll to see the ghosts. Weak them and when they’re low on health use the coffers to trap them. Get three and you’re done.

You’ll need 10 Linen Cloth and 6 Charged Rift Gems (Alliance) or Dalaran Mana Gems (Horde). Alliance can get them from the Silver Stream Mine in Loch Modan while the Horde can get them from the Dalaran Mages.

Level 26 – Adept’s Robe

The quest lines start wth your Mage Trainer in Stormwind or Orgrimmar. They lead to Ashenvale (Horde) or Shadowfang Keep (Alliance) to get some items for the Robe. Pretty simple quest lines, but mostly skippable.

Level 30 – Mage Wand

You’ll need to meet Tabetha who will want a Rituals of Power book from the Scarlet Monastery library wing. Skip it unless you plan to do that instance. You’ll get a semi-decent wand as a reward.

 

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