Focus Magic: Into the Citadel! - Mage loot from ICC
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Focus Magic: Blink and you’ll miss it.
Happy Monday everyone. Booo, quite possibly the worst day of the week, seeming like an eternity until the weekend; at least Focus Magic is here to *attempt* to brighten up that solemn, gloomy Monday! The 8th edition of Focus Magic comes to your screen, and being your local WoW Mage blog, right here on crusaderscoliseum, it’s not shy about flaunting it’s thaaaang.
After overviewing the 3 Cataclysm specs in question for the Mage class, I felt quite stretched to the and think of a topic to write about this week. And as we’ve brushed over the future, that leaves the past and present to discuss! And since I started playing in Oct 07, it would seem quite difficult to make a worthy enough blog to discuss the Mage of 2004. So, that just leaves present!
Although Icecrown Citadel has been out since December last year, people are still running through it, whether it be for Emblems, Gearing that Alt, sprucing up your off-spec, or maybe just to burn some time. I’ve been raiding ICC since it’s release and I haven’t even witnessed the Lich King. I’m in a very casual social guild, and we tend to have at least 2 ICC raids a week. I’ve tried a few Heroic modes in PuG’s but they’re not usually successful.
But focusing on the main point of this Article, it’s no secret that Icecrown Citadel holds a lot of shinies! Tasty cloth lewt for all you Mages! Whether you’re a veteran of ICC25 Heroic, with full BiS gear, or you’ve just hit 80 on your Mage, Icecrown Citadel is the place to be. This week’s blog will overview the loot available in ICC10 (N) for a Mage, and the Mage’s role for each fight. So, as the title suggests… Into the Citadel we go!
Trash
Unlike Trial of the Crusader, Icecrown Citadel is home to many trash mobs and through this are a few drops via the trash mobs. Killing these is mandatory to reach the bosses, and will also grant you reputation with the Ashen Verdict. Similar to the Karazhan Ring Questline in The Burning Crusade, the Ashen Verdict will give you access to a different ring of your choice, respective to your reputation with them.
The ring you want to choose is Ashen Band of Destruction as this is simply the caster ring from this questline. As you near Exalted this ring will become very nice indeed, changing into Ashen Band of Endless Destruction, with a Yellow gem socket, improved SP, haste and Hit, with a SP proc.
Chances are you’ll never get a trash drop, but if you do, you’re better off selling it, as the Mage gear from Trash is easily replaceable and upgradeable.
Lord Marrowgar
Frost Needle - A great weapon for any Mage, with a truckload of Spell Power, Nice bit of Haste and some Hit Rating, this could be just what you need, and you may find yourself becoming best friends with this.
Cord of the Patronizing Practitioner - Primarily designed for Priests, this belt is perfectly viable for a Mage. Including Spell Power, Haste and 2 gem sockets (+1 from the Eternal Belt Buckle) this belt is something to aim for if you’re lacking emblems for the EoF belt.
Sliver of Pure Ice - A Trinket! Seemingly hard to come by these days, apart from having a wee little mana restore effect, this trinket also packs 158 Spell Power.
Your role: DPS Lord Marrowgar, whilst standing right up his backside. Whenever he Bone Spikes a person, do your best to immediately switch to that and burn it down. During Bone Storm, run away from Lord Marrowgar, using Blink and the ability know as movement, Ice Block if needed, and avoid the Coldflame for the entire fight.
Lady Deathwhisper
Bracers of Dark Blessings - A lovely pair of Bracers, although not optimal for a Mage due to the absence of Haste, these pack a Blue Socket, Crit Rating and extra Spirit, which are all viable stats for a Mage.
Scourgelord’s Baton - Aha, the perfect partner to your shiny Frost Needle! With Hit, Crit and SP this is a great offhand for any DPS caster, but especially for Mages. I don’t know why, but it is.
Sister’s Handshrouds - Hit, Haste, SP and 2 Yellow Sockets make these gloves a great choice. However, if you can obtain the T10 Mage Gloves, get them instead, as the overall set bonuses will overwrite items like this.
Your role: DPS Lady Deathwhisper, but switch to the adds when they spawn. Stay out of the Death & Decay, run away from the Ghosts that spawn in Phase 2.
Gunship Battle
Commonly known as ‘Lootship’ this is arguably the easiest boss in Wrath of the Lich King, almost like Chess v2.
Muradin’s Spyglass – Oooh, another Trinket! Unlike the Sliver of Pure Ice, back off Healers! This one is for DPS Casters only! With nearly 3% crit and an effective 180 Spell Power, this is something you’ll wanna save your high rolls for.
Your role: You shouldn’t be assigned to cannon duty, so stay on the edge of your respective faction’s ship and DPS the riflemen. When Below Zero occurs, jump over to the other ship and DPS their Sorcerer. Jump Back and resume carnage.
Deathbringer Saurfang
Icecrown Spire Sandals – Lovely Boots, with 2 gem sockets, Hit, crit and SP, these are brilliant to replace your Heroic Dungeon footwear.
Mag’hari Cheiftain’s Staff – If you’ve been unlucky with Frost Needle and Scourgelord’s Baton, although this isn’t primarily designed for a Mage, it can be used if needed. Although there are other better staffs in ICC10 (N) for a Mage, this one can keep you until your luck is good! This comes with a bunch of SP, Haste and 2 Blue Sockets.
Soulcleave Pendant – A great necklace for the Caster DPS, yielding Crit, Haste, SP and a Yellow socket! No hit in sight, which is good, as a lot of the ICC 10 (N) Caster DPS gear contains hit, and will likely take you over your Hit cap.
Thaumaturge’s Crackling Cowl – If you have access to the T10 Mage helm, grab that, but otherwise this can suffice as a Helm until you grab the Bloodmage one. With a Meta and Blue gem socket, Haste and SP, this is a nice helm, but not the best you can get.
Your Role: Nuke the boss, and when he spawns Blood Beasts you must kill these as quickly as possible. Make sure they don’t hit you, and stay 10 yards away from everyone else. When there are no Blood Beasts walkin’ around, continue to hit the boss. Hard.
Festergut
Abracadaver – The alternate and preferred staff to the Mag’hari one, this one packs extra Hit, Haste, SP and 2 gem sockets! And a little Cadaver man (which, admittedly, is useless) every 15 minutes for 60 seconds. Cute!
Kilt of Untreated Wounds – Packing Crit, Haste, SP and 3 gem sockets, this is a great item to fill your leg slot, however if you have access to the T10 Mage legs, or the crafted iLvl 264 legs, take them instead. Otherwise, these will serve you perfectly well.
Your Role: Whether you are assigned to be 1 of the 3 ranged, the Beacon, or in Melee Range, Nuke Festergut and when he spawns spores, make sure you comply to the raid and everyone gets a debuff. When he casts Pungent Blight, use Ice Block if you have it, to help the healer’s, and continue to Nuke the boss.
Rotface
Ether-Soaked Bracers – With Hit, Haste and SP these are an alternative to the Bracers from Lady Deathwhisper. Although they have no gem socket, they do have Hit Rating, which could be what you need to get you capped.
Gloves of Broken Fingers – Again, not Primarily designed for Mages, but the SP, Haste, Spirit and 2 gem sockets make these gloves a good choice if they happen to drop. However, if you have the T10 Mage gloves, take those instead.
Your role: DPS Rotface accordingly, and whenever you get a disease debuff on you, blink out to your Kiting Tank and have the disease dispelled. Move accordingly and merge the oozes, then continue to DPS Rotface.
Professor Putricide
Pendant of Split Veins – Pretty much Soulcleave Pendant with Hit instead of Haste. If you’re lacking Hit go for this, otherwise, take the Soulcleave.
Shoulders of Ruinous Senility – With haste, hit, SP and 2 yellow sockets, these are great shoulders that will keep you until you get your T10 mage shoulders.
Cauterized Cord – An upgrade from the Lord Marrowgar Belt, this has all the stats you need to be a crazy-awesome Mage, with 2 sockets to gem, aswell.
Your role: DPS the Professor whenever there isn’t an ooze up. DPS down the relevant ooze when necessary, avoid Malleable Goo and the Flasks on the ground. Save your cooldowns for the Phase 3 nukage. Tip: You can use Invisibility just before Tear Gas to avoid it, and get some extra DPS on the boss while he’s creating various love potions.
The Blood Council
Bloodsoul Raiment – 3 Sockets, extra Spirit, Haste and Spell Power on this chestpiece, although it’s not as good as the T10 Mage Piece, it’s certainly a good chestpiece until you are able to get that.
Wand of Ruby Claret – Hit, Haste and Spell Power make this better than the EoT wand, and is arguably better than the Wand from Blood-Queen. If this drops, you want it.
Cerise Coiled Ring – Crit, Haste, SP and a red socket, a brilliant ring to pair with your Ashen Verdict rep ring. Very worthwhile getting, and you won’t be replacing it for sometime.
Your role: Depending on your raid set-up you may be asked to do different things, although usually you will just be assigned to DPS the relevant boss and comply to other general tactics, such as moving away from the Shock Vortexes. Easy Peasy.
Blood-Queen Lana’thel
Cowl of Malefic Response – With a Meta and a Blue socket, Crit, Haste and Spell Power, this is arguably better than the T10 Mage head, although it’s not worth getting if you have to replace a Set Bonus with it. However, it’s a great headpiece to keep you until you do get that Set Bonus, and is an upgrade from the helm from Saurfang.
Lana’thel’s Bloody Nail – A wand with Crit, Extra Spirit and SP on, if you don’t need the haste or Hit from the Blood Council wand, or you’ve just been unlucky with the drops, this wand is still a great upgrade from the EoT one and will keep you for a while.
Your role: DPS the boss until you get bitten. When you’re bitten you will do 100% more damage, so save your cooldowns until then. Bite someone else when necessary. When linked with another played, run towards them to make the link fade away, and Ice Block through the first Air Phase or if you get the flame debuff on you, to help on Healing.
Valithria Dreamwalker
Lich Wrappings – A great cape if you don’t have the Emblem of Frost Cape, with Hit, Haste, Spell Power and a Yellow Socket! Arguably even better than the Frostie Cape.
Leggings of the Refracted Mind – Not optimal leggings, however if you’re unlucky with drops and don’t yet have your T10 leggings, then Crit, Extra Spirit, SP and 3 sockets will do the job just right.
Sister Svalna’s Aether Staff – A great staff if you’ve been unlucky with drops, and with a massive amount of Crit, Hit and Spell Power, this is doubly awesome if you’re a Fire Mage. Also comes with 2 sockets!
Your Role: Kill the adds! Kill, Kill, Kill!
Sindragosa
Bleak Coldarra Carver – This little dagger has Hit, Crit and Spell Power on it, and if you’ve been unlucky with your weapon drops, this is a great addition to keep your Main Hand company.
Robes of Azure Downfall – With 3 sockets, Crit, Haste and Spell Power, these are great robes to say the least. However, if you have the T10 Robes, keep them, unless you won’t lose a set bonus.
Your Role: DPS Sindragosa and act accordingly to if you get the unchained magic debuff or Ice Tombed. Run away when she sucks you in (Or Blink away) and stay out of her Cleave and Tail Swipe.
The Lich King
So, we’ve reached the big bad boy of the Icecrown Citadel. The Lich King proves to a great challenge, and only drops weapons. Any weapon here is an upgrade from any other weapon in the Citadel, so if it drops, you want it!
Tel’thas, Dagger of the Blood King – A nice 1 hander, Crit, Haste and a huge 701 Spell Power! A brilliant addition to your Mage, and your Off-Hand will be honored to be pictured next to this.
Halion, Staff of Forgotten Love – An awesome 2 handed Staff here, with 2 sockets to play around with, Crit, Haste and Spell Power, all within 3 figures. A staff sought by many Mages, and you should be no different.
Your role: This week’s featured video, and the fact I couldn’t possibly describe the tactics for the Lich King in a concise enough way without any first-hand experience, check out this extremely detailed video of how to: The Lich King. Enjoy!
And that brings us to the end of this week’s Focus magic! I’ll continue to rack my brain for more interesting articles for the future, until next Monday, enjoy your week!
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 15 September 2010 17:58 Written by Kuurg Monday, 06 September 2010 23:27