Focus Magic: A-Mage-ing
Last Updated on Tuesday, 20 July 2010 11:16 Written by Kuurg Monday, 19 July 2010 17:05
WoW Blogs - Focus Magic Mage Blog
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Ok, first article on crusaderscoliseum.com… cue nervousness. Ah, there it is! Hopefully this will bring even a minuscule amount of information and humour to the readers. If not, then well, it sucks to be me, huh. But, let’s get started I guess…
It’s no secret that Mages are awesome. You know it. I know it. Hell, even those pesky little Warlocks know it. But what exactly makes the Mage class so incredibly amazing? Is it the magnitude of spells in our arsenal or the ability to Teleportal (That’s right, I just combined Teleport & Portals; I sooooo went there) others? Perhaps the fact you can escape all harm by encasing yourself in a block of Ice, or that you can fall to safety without a parachute. Even with the help of a Shaman, us Mages can walk on water, as the picture illustrates. Taking all the qualities of a Mage into account, I feel that these 3 specifically, really show just how awesome a Mage is.
1 – We can morph those scheming Warlocks (And any other scheming humanoid) into a various member of the Animal Kingdom, completely outclassing Professor McGonagall's abilities
2 – We’re able to pull off ravishingly good looks whilst wearing a dress (See video below)
3 – The fact we’re NOT Warlocks.
But, hey, enough of the Warlock hate (for now), this column is about Mages! I’ve played all 3 Mage specs extensively, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed each one. Through Raiding to PvP, levelling to…well, raiding; I’ve done it all. And I must say, that currently, my favourite spec is… Frost! That’s right, I must be one of the few Mages who actually raids as Frost. Those beautiful Deep Freeze crits… endless salvos of Frostbolts… And a permanent Water Elemental… isn’t Frost just perfection?
I’ll try to move on before I start daydreaming into the euphoria that is Frost, by discussing a few of my Favourite Mage spells.
Blink – This may be the coolest spell in the game (in my opinion), while other classes have to spend valuable seconds moving out of that tenebrous void zone , we can simply Blink out of it. Done. Resume DPS.
Mirror Image – In PvP, this spell is a Godsend. In PvE, this spell is a Godsend, especially with the T10 4-piece set bonus.
Conjure Refreshment - The fact that we can make various food and drinks for ourselves and our party members out of thin air, is incredible. Not to mention that these refreshments cost less than a bottle of Cola, are healthier, and taste so much better. Don’t deny it.
But moving on to the talent trees of the Mage. Most people would flame the class for having 3 similar trees, as they’re all DPS and only DPS. But the Mage is a pure DPS class, so what can you expect? Each spec of a Mage dramatically changes the gameplay of a Mage. Here’s a brief outline on the specs, which we’ll go into more detail in later columns.
|
|
Pros |
Cons |
|
Arcane |
- High single target damage - Low hit cap - One of the easiest Rotations in the game - Bring raid enhancement in the form of Arcane Empowerment and Slow |
- Relies heavily on Missile Barrage procs and if your luck isn’t in your DPS could fall dramatically - Very Fragile - Can be hard to adapt to conserving your mana |
|
Fire |
- Can obtain ridiculously high single target damage - One of the strongest AoE’s in the game, with Living Bomb - Simple Rotation |
- Requires very good gear to use effectively - High Hit Cap - With such a high crit chance, Fire Mages need to keep an extra eye on their aggro |
|
Frost |
- You’re likely to never run out of mana on Single targets - Can survive much longer than the average Mage - Water Elemental brings Replenishment - Good use of snares and root effects |
- Lower DPS than the other two specs - Relies heavily on Fingers of Frost proc (For use of Deep Freeze) - Medium-High Hit Cap |
Oh, and I’ll say it once more. Mages. Are. Awesome.
From this, I hope you non-Mages have decided to take a better choice in life and re-roll a Mage. I’ll even work on a Levelling guide for those who decide to do just that. And for all you current Mages, firstly, bravo on choosing the best ever class to be involved in World of Warcraft. Secondly, I ask you this; What made you play a Mage? What’s your favourite aspect of a Mage? Which spec do you enjoy most?
Well, I guess this concludes my first article here on crusaderscoliseum.com. I hope you guys enjoyed it, as much as I enjoyed making it! Until next time, battle hard, fellow Mages, and slay as many Warlocks as you can! Free cookies available! Peace out.
Got any mage related screenshots? Send them to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and they could be featured in the next edition of Focus Magic! The more dead Warlocks involved the better! Remember to include your character name and Server. Please title the e-mail "FM Mage" or the e-mail my not get through.>
