Just started playing classic today and binged with my mage until level 11. So I am planning on making this mage eventually into AOE farming machine, because as I imagine it will be one of the best ways of grinding for gold and easy levelling. Maybe some dungeons along the way? I have checked many guides for my class and honestly got really confused on what would be the best way of achieving my goal. So far I have only invested 2 points into “Improved Frostbolt” and kinda realized that that talent is sorta useless for my goal. I’ve played around with the talent calculator and this is what I came up with.
(20/0/31- Arcane Subtelty 2/2, Arcane Focus 3/5, Magic Absorption 3/5, Arcane Concentration 5/5, Improved Arcane Explosio 3/3, Arcane resilience 1/1, Arcane Meditation 3/3, Frost Warding 2/2, Improved Frostbolt 2/5, Elemental Percision 3/3, Frostbite 2/3, Improved Frost Nova 2/2, Permafrost 3/3, Piercing Ice 3/3, Cold Snap 1/1, Improved Blizzard 3/3, Arctic reach 2/2, Frost Channeling 3/3, Ice Block 1/1, Improved Cone of Cold 3/3, Ice Barrier 1/1) Also have a link for wowhead calculator but can’t post it here.
Did I mess up by putting points into Frostbolt and how does my talent and overall plan look? Would appreciate any recommendations or comments.
Thank you in advance and good luck in the Azeroth.
Not sure about Improved Blizzard, I always remembered it being useful, but if Frostbite procs it will interfere with gathering the mobs up tightly. If I recall it was a no-no for AOE farming
For farming multiple mobs you don’t want anything that will snare mobs because when you get further back from the snared ones will have a good chance to run up to you screwing up your rotation
Don’t do frostbite, you need the mobs clumped together, but otherwise the talent choices should work. Improved blizzard is what gives you your snare, you actually use blizzard as your main snare. The only issue is interaction between that snare and CoC. Editted for accuracy. If one snare is stronger than the other, the weaker one won’t overwrite even if it’s longer.
Also, frost AOE farming/leveling is somewhat gear reliant. the extra stam and int from dungeon gear is somewhat required because of the steep cost of blizzard and because you still take hits in the gathering phase at lower levels. I remember trying to do it on my mage in greens and it just didn’t fly, but it worked on the mage that i did more dungeons on.
Mostly correct. Only the most slowing snare will be applied to the target. With 3 points in Improved Blizzard its snare will overwrite the snare from Cone of Cold (65% vs. 50%), which is a problem because CoC’s snare lasts 8 seconds while the snare from Imp Blizzard only lasts 1.5 seconds.
Yes snare = chilled. I wouldn’t know if it’s most optimal becausei’m pretty sure i didn’t try it both ways and ran 3/3 imp blizzard, but having the snares being able to overwrite each other could definitely be helpful in certain situations.
2/3 is viable, but 3/3 is a better option for someone new to aoe grinding. With 3/3 you don’t need the CoC slow anyway because your frost nova comes off CD before mobs get to you (if you’re running/blinking to max range before using blizzard).
So the rotation is just frost nova, run to max range, blizzard, blizzard, repeat. You only use CoC for extra damage if you have the mana or finishing off low HP groups.
I’m gonna post in this one even though it may not be the appropriate place. What level can I start AoE farming? I’m 21, and I tried it on some of the silithisk(?) scorpions in the barrens and I keep getting destroyed lol. Any tips on a lvl or is that a bad mob to try it on?
Do you have points in Improved Blizzard? Also, your gear could be an issue. You’ll likely need to Arcane Explosion some when they are close. Make sure you have your frost Armor on. A potion could be handy.
Depends a lot on how much int you have. You need enough mana to cast 2x nova, 4x blizzard, and enough of a buffer to cast blink and/or CoC if something goes wrong. Once you have that, you can technically start as soon as you have 3/3 improved blizzard, though it’s a little trickier until you get 2/2 arctic reach. Before 2/2 arctic reach, you’ll have to kite mobs for a couple of seconds after your blizzards until you have nova off cooldown, which can be problematic. Note that CoC does not help with kiting after blizzards since the slow won’t override the blizzard slow.
Edit: ignore the CoC stuff in your case obviously since you don’t have it yet
Also, in general, level is much less important than how well you execute it. It will be tough at first. Couple of tips that helped me a lot:
Once you have enough mana for it, keep mana shield up while you pull so you don’t get dazed. Strafing and jump-turning while kiting enemies so that you never have your back to them will also help.
If you do get dazed, wait until it’s over before using frost nova so you’ll be able to run away at full speed. You can also just blink away if you have the mana for it.
If you miss anything with frost nova, either cold snap and re-nova or run and reset the pull. Don’t try to salvage it until way later when you can ice barrier, etc.
Make sure to run to max blizzard range before using it. You have enough time while they are frozen, but you have to be somewhat quick turning around and casting it (jump and turn to save time)
Try and place blizzards where 90% of the aoe is in front of the mobs so they have to walk all the way through it and are slowed for the max duration.
If the blizzard slow misses anything, reset the pull (until you have ice barrier)
While you channel blizzard, be moving your camera around to look for patrols and/or enemies spawning near you that will potentially aggro you. Plan out which direction to run next to avoid aggroing anything.
Basically, for a while, if anything goes wrong you’re kinda screwed. Don’t be afraid to run and reset instead of pushing it and dying.
There is also a second method of AOE as a mage. This second method is less effective… you can’t do it on as large groups as the Blizzard method, but I found it quite fun in Vanilla.
Arcane Explosion Method of AOE farming:
Cast mana shield
Group up mobs into a tight bunch.
Slow the group with Cone of Cold
Spam Arcane Explosion. this is your main damage spell that actually kills the targets. Goal is to position yourself so you’re at 5-10 yards from the pack. Just outside melee range, but still inside arcane explosion range.
When CoC snare expires, hit targets with Frost nova. Repeat.
You will take damage with this method since it’s very hard to keep the range perfect. Also CoC’s snare doesn’t last as long as its cooldown so there may be a couple seconds when you face an unsnared pack.
This method of AOE is fun and quite mobile. The entire rotation can be done while on the move. However, since you will take hits, don’t try it against giant packs. It should work fine for 5-7 mobs though.
It may be possible to combine both methods of AOE. Start with Blizzard at long range, then switch to Arcane Explosion to clean up the last few stragglers at short range.
