First i’m a new player so the answer to my question may be self evident but at the moment it ain’t. i don’t know what to do when a group of enemies all decided to attack me. i am level 16 mage and the mage takes such a long time to cast a spell to the point i cannot deal damage to the other two enemies that are attacking me. by the time i eliminate the enemy im already low in health and the two other characters defeat me. its frustrating because, the mage cant cast a spell and move at the same time and, the mage doesn’t have anything to deflect damage like a shield.
As you level up, you’ll get more tools to help with such situations. As a mage, you’ll get tools like frost nova (root mobs in place) and blink (quickly get distance between you and the mobs.) Until you get some of those tools, you’re main goal will be to minimize the situations where you pull extra mobs.
A lot of that comes down to watching where things are patrolling (so things don’t sneak up behind you) and moving methodically through an area. Zoom your camera out as far as you can (the scroll wheel controls camera zoom unless you’ve changed the keybinding) as this will give you a bigger field of vision, especially behind you. The default camera position is pretty close, and will leave mobs in aggro range behind you that are out of your field of view.
Sometimes, with other players around, it can be hard to be methodical in your pulls as other players will often add in another chaos factor. That’s just something you’ll get better at adapting to with time. (And again, get more tools to work with as you level.)
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Positioning, choosing your location when you pull, is the key. Make sure you have some distance between you and the enemy (and any other enemies in the area).
You might be better off going frost or arcane to start. As far as I know Fire needs higher crit to stand out. Frost has slows, which give you more time - and the frost pet can tank a bit for you. Arcane has a talent for a pet, and while not as tanky, can help.
Also, just a quick glance at your profile, your pretty under geared for a level 16… Even if you haven’t gotten green quest gear with stats, you should have much higher grays and whites from the starter quest zones. - gloves, wrists, cloak, shoes. (jewelry, helms and shoulders come later).
Higher item levels have higher armor rating, which will make you less squishy. At 16, gear with item level of @16-20 should start showing up for you, make sure you equip it, even if it looks like trash. Grey boots have more armor than no boots.
Once you start to get some green and blue gear with stats on them, things will get much easier.
You get greens mostly from turning quests in, though the auction house will have some available. & from crafting, if you pick tailoring, you can make your own.
Blues will drop from dungeons mostly at low levels.
Better whites can be purchased from vendors in the cities.
Especially if you are not planning on running dungeons, it might be worth buying a few low level rings from the auction house or craft them, they can add good stamina (HP bonus) for your survival, and other stats that help kill faster.
To add a bit to what Djarro said about gear:
While leveling, you’re main focus as a mage will be on getting gear with Intellect. If two pieces have the same amount of Intellect, then go with the one that has the most of other stats. (Lots of rings and amulets won’t have Intellect on the, so don’t worry about getting Int on those slots.)
I want to put up a warning that new players should never buy gear of the Auction House. It’s not any better than quest gear, and players price it for an audience of max level players looking for transmog, not for characters leveling. Buying stuff off the AH is a trap for new players that will leave them without enough gold for riding skills, which should be the main focus gold-wise for a new player.
Frost is usually the preferred mage leveling spec for just that reason. You start by clearing an exit route, then use frostbolt from extreme range to attack and slow the enemy. When it, or it’s friends get close, you freeze them all in a block of ice, run back to extreme range, rinse and repeat.
You will learn to sheep a mob - turn it into a sheep for 60 seconds - which effectively removes it from combat without aggoing other mobs. In your early 30’s, you also learn an ice shield that is renewable before its cooldown runs out. Blink also helps you escape mobs.
When pulling mobs, be aware that their aggro zone is egg shaped, not circular. They have a longer aggro range in front of them than on the sides or to the rear. Their shortest aggro range is to the rear.
So, when pulling mobs from a group, your best target is the one on the edge who other mobs are looking away from and have their backs to him.
thank you all for the feedback. i will see if i can be frost and try to equip better amor and maintain my distance