To help ease the burden of levelling in WoW Classic, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide on the best Talents, Weapons, and Professions, as well as other information that you’ll need to know as a Mage.
Stats to Focus On When Levelling
Spirit > Intellect > Stamina > Strength = Agility
Best Build For Levelling
This Frost-focused build gives you a fantastic resistance and an unparalleled ability to slow and freeze your opponents. There are other alternatives, but all levelling builds share the same basic principles. Here are the talents you should prioritise when levelling up:
- Elemental Precision 3/3
- Improved Frostbolt 5/5
- Frostbite 3/3
- Ice Shards 5/5
- Improved Blizzard 3/3
- Piercing Ice 2/3
- Ice Block 1/1
- Improved Frost Nova 2/2
- Shatter 5/5
- Cold Snap 1/1
- Ice Barrier 1/1
- Arcane Subtlety 2/2
- Arcane Focus 3/5
- Arcane Concentration 5/5
- Arcane Resilience 1/1
- Wand Specialisation 2/2
- Permafrost 2/2
- Piercing Ice 3/3
- Improved Cone of Cold 3/3
Spells and Abilities to Prioritise
Rotations and Important Information for Levelling
Basic Information
- Don't forgot to group up multiple enemies with Blizzard, Frostbolt, and Arcane Explosion. This is a very fast way to level up, but it is only possible for the most seasoned of mages.
- Avoid being in melee range. Use your arsenal of spells to kite effectively.
- Finish off your enemies with your wand to save mana. This way, you'll spend less time waiting on your mana to regenerate, as spamming spell is very rarely the best choice.
Basic Rotation
Rotation for Mages simply consists of using Frostbolt over and over, before finishing off your enemy with your wand to save mana.
Useful Weapons and Armour
- Lesser Magic Wand, crafted by Enchanters and equipable by Mages at Level 5
- Greater Magic Wand, crafted by Enchanters and equipable by Mages at Level 13
- Gravestone Scepter, a quest reward from Blackfathom Villainy (Level 18+), given by Dawnwatcher Selgorm in Darnassus (Alliance) and Bashana Runetotem in Thunder Bluff (Horde), taking place in Blackfathom Deeps
- Lesser Mystic Wand, crafted by Enchanters and equipable by Mages at Level 26
- Greater Mystic Wand, crafted by Enchanters and equipable by Mages at Level 30
- Blackbone Wand, sold by Zane Bradford in Undercity (Horde), Harick Boulderdrum in Ironforge (Alliance), and Ardwyn Cailen in Stormwind (Alliance), all at Level 40
- Cairnstone Sliver, a quest reward from The Morrow Stone (Level 42+), given by Troyas Moonbreeze in Feralas
- Noxious Shooter, dropped by Noxxion in Maraudon
- Mana Channeling Wand, dropped by Cho'Rush the Observer in Dire Maul
What Race Should I Choose?
Berserking is without doubt the best racial for Mages, making Trolls the best choice for Horde PvE. Honorable mention goes to Beast Slaying, which turns out to be pretty good for both levelling and farming.
Gnome Mages are equally strong in PvP & PvE. The Horde really can't hold a candle to Expansive Mind, which is great for both PvP and PvE. Escape Artist is also a real advantage for PvP. If you follow our advice on Professions, Engineering Specialisation can be excellent as well.
World of Warcraft: Classic has a number of races to choose from, and making that choice has long-term consequences. You don't want to regret your choice later, so we've broken down the races in our tier list for WoW: Classic.
Professions
Tailoring is essential for Mages, as Tailors can craft incredibly strong pre-raid armour, most notably Robe of the Archmage. Tailoring is without doubt the ideal profession for a Mage.
Engineering is the best choice by default, as it is widely used in both PvP and PvE. From Goblin Sapper Charges, to Arcanite Dragonlings, to even Dense Dynamite, you'll always find Engineering to be useful in some way or another!
If you decide to forgo Engineering, there's a lot to be happy about for an Enchanter. You'll be able to create your own enchantments and disenchant raid drops as well as your own unwanted gear and Tailoring crafts!
World of Warcraft: Classic has a number of professions to choose from, from crafting armour with Blacksmithing and Leatherworking to farming materials with Herbalism and Minning. With something for everyone, here is our Classic Profession tier list.
Macros and Addons
There aren't any must-have addons specifically for Mages, but here are some that will make your levelling easier across the board:
- Azeroth Auto Pilot
- Questie
- ClassicCastbars
- EquipCompare
- EZDismount
- MobInfo
WoW Classic sounds the return of a long and demanding leveling process, requiring patience and rigour. To make your task a bit easier, we offer some tips for both Horde and the Alliance, whatever your class: addons, zones, PvP, instances and more.
Written by Laerezh, Translated from the French by Millenium.
