Friday, January 21, 2011
Mage Leveling Guide (Arcane Spec)
Arcane Mage Leveling Guide
Arcane mage DPS is based around single target strikes with powerful bolts of arcane damage. This spec is most useful in end game raids or heroics. I don't believe that arcane will offer the highest amount of DPS conceivable by the mage. If you read on I'll explain why.
It is clear that blizzard designed the arcane build for two things, high single target burst damage and helping parties with several beneficial magic talents and effects. Arcane will deliver a constant amount of DPS while bursting pretty often. It may not put you at the top of the DPS meters but it will put you near the top of total damage count.
The frost and fire specs are made to be used alone, rarely involving talents of an opposite spec to be used. This is where the arcane mage DPS differs greatly. Arcane builds are made to be used with most of your frost and fire talents as well. This makes this build the most diverse of the three by a long shot. In my opinion it is the hardest spec to play.
If you are looking for a leveling spec then frost is definitely the smart choice. Frost mages deal moderate amounts of damage while keeping enemies at a distance providing better survivability. This tree is also very mana efficient.
If you are looking to maximize your DPS for 5 mans or just to show off then you would want to spec into fire. Fire relies on critical strikes to deal the highest amounts of single target and aoe burst damage achievable by the mage.
Like I said above, arcane mages are most suitable for end game raiding and heroics. The talents in that build will help you deal moderate amounts of damage while helping your party in a big way. I hope that this article helped you get a better understand of arcane mage DPS.
It is clear that blizzard designed the arcane build for two things, high single target burst damage and helping parties with several beneficial magic talents and effects. Arcane will deliver a constant amount of DPS while bursting pretty often. It may not put you at the top of the DPS meters but it will put you near the top of total damage count.
The frost and fire specs are made to be used alone, rarely involving talents of an opposite spec to be used. This is where the arcane mage DPS differs greatly. Arcane builds are made to be used with most of your frost and fire talents as well. This makes this build the most diverse of the three by a long shot. In my opinion it is the hardest spec to play.
If you are looking for a leveling spec then frost is definitely the smart choice. Frost mages deal moderate amounts of damage while keeping enemies at a distance providing better survivability. This tree is also very mana efficient.
If you are looking to maximize your DPS for 5 mans or just to show off then you would want to spec into fire. Fire relies on critical strikes to deal the highest amounts of single target and aoe burst damage achievable by the mage.
Like I said above, arcane mages are most suitable for end game raiding and heroics. The talents in that build will help you deal moderate amounts of damage while helping your party in a big way. I hope that this article helped you get a better understand of arcane mage DPS.
Mage Leveling Guide (Frost Spec)
Frost Mage Leveling Guide
A frost mage build is the best spec for leveling and pvp purposes. The frost mage is easily one of the most popular mage specs because of that very reason. Players that choose a frost mage build will find leveling much more enjoyable. Using frostbolt as frequently as possible you will be able to keep enemies at a distance because of your chill effects. Just about every frost attack has a chill effect.
If you take 3 talents in "shatter" you will have a 50% critical strike chance against all frozen targets which makes high burst damage very possible. You will also receive the talents "ice barrier"' and "Summon Water Elemental". Ice barrier is your main bubble. It is very useful in any situation while taking damage. Using summon water elemental you will have a pet that casts a waterbolt every 2.5 seconds.
You can also get a glyph that makes your water elemental permanent. This is a great boost to your overall dps. The frost mage build is definitely the best spec for pvp. I've heard a lot of argument for arcane but I can't seem to see how it is any better. With enough haste rating frostbolt can be lowered to under a 2 second cast.
That is a pretty high amount of damage to be dealing every 2 seconds. Not to mention the wide variety of stuns and chills offered by frost. Last but not least you get deep freeze. Deep freeze stuns the target for 5 seconds. With talents in shatter you have a chance to 2 or 3 shot anything if deep freeze is active. I hope you've found this information on the frost mage build useful.
A frost mage build is the best spec for leveling and pvp purposes. The frost mage is easily one of the most popular mage specs because of that very reason. Players that choose a frost mage build will find leveling much more enjoyable. Using frostbolt as frequently as possible you will be able to keep enemies at a distance because of your chill effects. Just about every frost attack has a chill effect.
If you take 3 talents in "shatter" you will have a 50% critical strike chance against all frozen targets which makes high burst damage very possible. You will also receive the talents "ice barrier"' and "Summon Water Elemental". Ice barrier is your main bubble. It is very useful in any situation while taking damage. Using summon water elemental you will have a pet that casts a waterbolt every 2.5 seconds.
You can also get a glyph that makes your water elemental permanent. This is a great boost to your overall dps. The frost mage build is definitely the best spec for pvp. I've heard a lot of argument for arcane but I can't seem to see how it is any better. With enough haste rating frostbolt can be lowered to under a 2 second cast.
That is a pretty high amount of damage to be dealing every 2 seconds. Not to mention the wide variety of stuns and chills offered by frost. Last but not least you get deep freeze. Deep freeze stuns the target for 5 seconds. With talents in shatter you have a chance to 2 or 3 shot anything if deep freeze is active. I hope you've found this information on the frost mage build useful.
Mage Leveling Guide (Fire Spec)
As a Mage you have some great advantages while leveling. Of course, many classes have their pros and cons but a Mage is great to level because he can make his own food and water, teleport to cities from one to another continent and is able to Blink which also reduces run-time. As for the best leveling build, the opinions are divided. Some would swear with the Frost build because it is more mana efficient. I however, would go for a Fire/Arcane build for the simple reason that you take down the enemies faster and the Arcane tree will provide you with mana regeneration and more stats.
As a Fire Mage you can start attacking with either a Fireball or a Pyroblast, shoot a 2nd Fireball and then a Fire Blast. If the target isn't dead yet you just Frost Nova, take a step back and make another Fireball+Fire Blast combo. Blast Wave and Dragon Breath will also become available at a later level and they can do the finishing touches as well.
Now why I didn't take Improved Scorch is because you don't use Scorch until you get the Hot Streak talent. Molten Shields, Fiery Payback and Blazing Speed are not necessary for leveling purposes. I did choose Impact (I know many Mages skip this one) because it's nice for leveling. If you manage to use three or four Fire based spells before the mob reaches you, you have a 30-40% chance to stun the mob for two seconds before he even reaches you.
I took a bit of Frost because of the reduced mana cost of both Frost and Fire spells through the talent called Precision. Another option, and my favorite, is to go Arcane+Fire which is a nice combination.This build has a mana preserving advantage because 60% of the regeneration continues while casting. You will also be surprised with the amount of critical hits you will get with this build which will also refund 30% of the spell's costs. You will also have 10% more Spirit and 15% more Intellect. Arcane Concentration will allow about 10% of your spells to be cast free of costs.
This build will not give you AoE spells likes Blast Wave and Dragon Breath but will be mainly focused on Fireballs, Pyroblasts and Fire Blasts. Your Arcane Explosion will be boosted a bit so that is a good choice for AoE purposes. Presence of Mind and Arcane Power will give you two extra great abilities that will cause high burst damage when needed.
You can choose to go full Frost but especially in the first 30 levels you will be a lot worse of than the builds stated above. Shatter then becomes nice, and later you got Icy Veins, Water Elemental, Cold Snap etc. but the damage output of this build isn't as high as compared to the ones above.
As a Fire Mage you can start attacking with either a Fireball or a Pyroblast, shoot a 2nd Fireball and then a Fire Blast. If the target isn't dead yet you just Frost Nova, take a step back and make another Fireball+Fire Blast combo. Blast Wave and Dragon Breath will also become available at a later level and they can do the finishing touches as well.
Now why I didn't take Improved Scorch is because you don't use Scorch until you get the Hot Streak talent. Molten Shields, Fiery Payback and Blazing Speed are not necessary for leveling purposes. I did choose Impact (I know many Mages skip this one) because it's nice for leveling. If you manage to use three or four Fire based spells before the mob reaches you, you have a 30-40% chance to stun the mob for two seconds before he even reaches you.
I took a bit of Frost because of the reduced mana cost of both Frost and Fire spells through the talent called Precision. Another option, and my favorite, is to go Arcane+Fire which is a nice combination.This build has a mana preserving advantage because 60% of the regeneration continues while casting. You will also be surprised with the amount of critical hits you will get with this build which will also refund 30% of the spell's costs. You will also have 10% more Spirit and 15% more Intellect. Arcane Concentration will allow about 10% of your spells to be cast free of costs.
This build will not give you AoE spells likes Blast Wave and Dragon Breath but will be mainly focused on Fireballs, Pyroblasts and Fire Blasts. Your Arcane Explosion will be boosted a bit so that is a good choice for AoE purposes. Presence of Mind and Arcane Power will give you two extra great abilities that will cause high burst damage when needed.
You can choose to go full Frost but especially in the first 30 levels you will be a lot worse of than the builds stated above. Shatter then becomes nice, and later you got Icy Veins, Water Elemental, Cold Snap etc. but the damage output of this build isn't as high as compared to the ones above.
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