Ok here goes...
I am a level 24 BE mage, (frost) with good gear for my level - Staff of the Sun etc.
I am really struggling with it. First I find it very hard to deal with more than 1 mob at one time. Frost nova is great but has a longish cooldown so I can freeze the mobs to keep them from melee range but after that I am in trouble (especially if it is resisted) I try to polymorph one enemy but that only works on certain types of mobs and they will usually come at me after me before I have killed the other one :(
So I am stuck with 2 mobs on me - one with full health, the other with 1/4 health...so I use instant casts (firestrike and arcane explosion)but before I know it I am out of mana! I try to use my mana shield but again my mana is down to nothing before the end of the fight...
Also I am having to constantly sit and drink to top up my mana - which is so disheartening when my friends Warlock (same level) just runs off to the next one with full health and mana!
So why am I playing a Mage? Warlocks get more health + abilities to Lifetap and drain mana + a bloody pet to take all the aggro, so whilst my friend is happily taking on 2 or 3 mobs at a higher level I am slogging my guts out for little reward...
Please help/flame :D
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Help! Really struggling with my mage /rant - Why bother?Follow
type "wow pvp" in youtube / google
75% of the movies are with mages
locks are boring in both pve and pvp.
also.. frost mages have it easy.
at 24 try http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=RZZVzGho this build.
you can use cold snap to reset your cooldown on frost nova if you really need one asap.
don't use mana shield in pve.
frostbolt one mob, sheep the other, frostbolt the first one, frost nova, frostbolt frostbolt. (wand if needed)
now you should be over 50% mana and a sheeped mob next to you. you can handle that i guess.
imho mages are the only fun class. it's too boring as a warlock to wait for the dots to do your job. also having a pet is kinda gay / lame since locks are OP even without pets.
75% of the movies are with mages
locks are boring in both pve and pvp.
also.. frost mages have it easy.
at 24 try http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=RZZVzGho this build.
you can use cold snap to reset your cooldown on frost nova if you really need one asap.
don't use mana shield in pve.
frostbolt one mob, sheep the other, frostbolt the first one, frost nova, frostbolt frostbolt. (wand if needed)
now you should be over 50% mana and a sheeped mob next to you. you can handle that i guess.
imho mages are the only fun class. it's too boring as a warlock to wait for the dots to do your job. also having a pet is kinda gay / lame since locks are OP even without pets.
You play a mage cause when you and your friend reach about 60-70, the lock will still be killing about 2-3 mobs at a time if he knows how to play but u (if u r still specced frost) will be taking about 8-12 mobs at time.other than that in instances you will CC a lot of mobs at a time(poly and fn) and still got plenty of mana and time to nuke the hell out of them.U will see that u can kill everything at your level and even some elites that your fellow lock couldn't do.but do not compare the 2 classes.they r both great.
personally i play the mage cause i love it.in time u will find ur own playstyle with ur mage and u will love it when he 1shot some of the mobs!
personally i play the mage cause i love it.in time u will find ur own playstyle with ur mage and u will love it when he 1shot some of the mobs!
I totally agree, Mage is the only fun class IMO. I tried a warlock, got bored. Tried a hunter, got bored. Tried a pally, got REALLY bored. I don;t even want to think about entertaining a warrior. Mage is the only way to go.
From what it sounds like, as a mage, if you can't take 2 enemies at one time, the problem may not be the mage... it may be you. Not trying to be a jerk, but maybe you gotta plan out your pulls better. Reading the posts on this board has totally taken my game levels above how I was playing. Actually, like the guy above me, watching the youtube mage videos also helped a ton. Watch what they do, their strategy, their timing, what spells to cast when. I mean, just from watching others and reading, as simple as it is, I think the best thing I have learned (and the most simple) is running sideways instead of backwards and how much better you instantly get with this technique. Starting out, frost is probably better because less mana is spent on damage and it is easier to stay alive. 2 mobs at once shouldn't be a problem for you. Use your cone of cold, flame strike, or arcane explosion for multiple mobs, BUT USE THEM SMART.
Either way, once you hit lvl 40, get Ice Barrier and your mount and go see your warlock friend. Then show him how you kill 10+ mobs in one fight and watch him envy you.
From what it sounds like, as a mage, if you can't take 2 enemies at one time, the problem may not be the mage... it may be you. Not trying to be a jerk, but maybe you gotta plan out your pulls better. Reading the posts on this board has totally taken my game levels above how I was playing. Actually, like the guy above me, watching the youtube mage videos also helped a ton. Watch what they do, their strategy, their timing, what spells to cast when. I mean, just from watching others and reading, as simple as it is, I think the best thing I have learned (and the most simple) is running sideways instead of backwards and how much better you instantly get with this technique. Starting out, frost is probably better because less mana is spent on damage and it is easier to stay alive. 2 mobs at once shouldn't be a problem for you. Use your cone of cold, flame strike, or arcane explosion for multiple mobs, BUT USE THEM SMART.
Either way, once you hit lvl 40, get Ice Barrier and your mount and go see your warlock friend. Then show him how you kill 10+ mobs in one fight and watch him envy you.
but see XxDilbertxX, you pyro, fireball, fireball, frost nova.... and then instead of taking advantage of a mob that cant move and just wanding him down, you use a ton of mana on an instant spell? Even using a frost bolt or something would cost less mana than an instant spell and still get the job done.
And again, dont backup, run sideways. Make sure your sideways arrow keys are set to strafe, not turn. It is waaaaay faster and you will still be considered in front of the mob, so your cast will work without a hitch.
Edited, Apr 27th 2007 9:29am by forktie
And again, dont backup, run sideways. Make sure your sideways arrow keys are set to strafe, not turn. It is waaaaay faster and you will still be considered in front of the mob, so your cast will work without a hitch.
Edited, Apr 27th 2007 9:29am by forktie
31 posts
I don't think a frost mage is good at low levels... I never was one, but then again, I played all the time with a friend, so CC was really unnecessary. Fire gives mages a lot of fire power, far more dps than other classes early in the game, and lots in late game, but it discrepancy is reduced and aggro becomes more dangerous.
So if you're not liking your frost mage, I suggest respec fire if nothing else works.
Otherwise... pulling 2 creeps is a bad idea for mages, especially frost. Consider that you lose casting time each time you get hit, and you get hit a lot against 2 mobs, so much that casting becomes very hard. If nothing else, poly one, otherwise, just pull 1 at a time. Even frost mages kill stuff fast.
Don't use mana shield-- have you seen its mana inefficiency? 2 mana for 1 HP even discounting the base casting cost? Once you get ice barrier, knock yourself out with this toy. 2 HP for 1 mana! Better than 4x efficiency. Also if you're a fire mage, get and use fire ward I found. The things have resistance to you, so you should have a shield against them. If you're frost, get frost ward and other things also use frost / fire damage too, increasing your effectiveness against them and good in a pinch if you're low on life.
Mages are just worst than warlocks. That's for sure. Warlocks the easiest life in the game, everything is handed to them on a silver platter. But mages can still be good, and very satisfying. Frost nova only gets more and more useful as the game wears on, frostbite is great. Slow is great. CoC is great. The control is awesome. High damage is awesome.
One day warlocks will get nerfed anyways. Hopefully this'll happen soon. Or at least I pray :).
So if you're not liking your frost mage, I suggest respec fire if nothing else works.
Otherwise... pulling 2 creeps is a bad idea for mages, especially frost. Consider that you lose casting time each time you get hit, and you get hit a lot against 2 mobs, so much that casting becomes very hard. If nothing else, poly one, otherwise, just pull 1 at a time. Even frost mages kill stuff fast.
Don't use mana shield-- have you seen its mana inefficiency? 2 mana for 1 HP even discounting the base casting cost? Once you get ice barrier, knock yourself out with this toy. 2 HP for 1 mana! Better than 4x efficiency. Also if you're a fire mage, get and use fire ward I found. The things have resistance to you, so you should have a shield against them. If you're frost, get frost ward and other things also use frost / fire damage too, increasing your effectiveness against them and good in a pinch if you're low on life.
Mages are just worst than warlocks. That's for sure. Warlocks the easiest life in the game, everything is handed to them on a silver platter. But mages can still be good, and very satisfying. Frost nova only gets more and more useful as the game wears on, frostbite is great. Slow is great. CoC is great. The control is awesome. High damage is awesome.
One day warlocks will get nerfed anyways. Hopefully this'll happen soon. Or at least I pray :).
Go fire until level 40-50
Fire talents are very useful from the get-go, frost talents require a buildup for the beatiful crits to start flowing
Fire talents are very useful from the get-go, frost talents require a buildup for the beatiful crits to start flowing
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