I’ve been playing warlock since BC and it’s getting old. Honestly I am just tired of the pets and micro managing dots. I know I can take a talent to not have a pet but it’s a dps loss currently. I’ve always liked mages, I moved to the Proudmoore server because I like mage. I play a wizard in D&D and so on. I’ve heard that mages are Blizzards love child and they are always doing good, in the top 3 dps in raids always and have a lot of cool mechanics. Would you agree? Looking for honest criticism, pros and cons. Thanks
You would probably get better replies in the Mage forum, but to answer your question i have only dabbled in mages a little and hated the way they are, but im not a big caster type player, only caster i play is Disc priest and thats alot different.
Oops, let me just fix that real quick lol. It’s been a long day >_<
Mages:
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Fire Spec
- Top dps mage spec in mythic raiding. Currently the #3 spec overall behind shadow priests and fury warriors.
- However, on fights where dps really counts, like Mythic Ashvane, all mages are still below average.
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Frost spec
- Third worst DPS spec in the game for mythic raiding according to warcraftlogs. #22 out of 24 specs total.
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Arcane Spec
- Absolute worst spec in the game for mythic raiding. Currently ranked #24 out of 24 specs according to warcraftlogs.
Basically, mages are in a decent place in PVE … but only if you play fire spec.
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And only if you are an excellent Fire spec player and are properly geared for it.
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True.
If you suck at playing fire like me (“Darn another combustion flubbed!”), then you aren’t in a decent place in PVE even with fire spec.
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I have all the good gears for fire (including 3 BM essence + Mechagon bracers) and I can`t seem to make fire work.
So sticking with with frost.
The TL/DR Op is we’re not doing well … which makes me even more frustrated when you see how well and popular mages are for those playing Classic.
Almost like someone USED to know how to design this class.
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Ah Ghostcrawler, he got so much grief back in the day and I wonder now how many of those haters would kill to have him back.
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If we’re the love child of Blizzard we’re the red-headed bastard love child. If you’re looking for a fun class I recommend Demon Hunter. I recently got one to 120 and it is a blast to play compared to my Mage.
Fire is in the top 3 DPS now, but it wasn’t until this tier. And even then you need Lucid Dreams and 3x Blaster Master to make it work. But the current iteration of Fire is one of the worst versions of the Mage class I have ever seen because:
- You basically need to crit in order to do any damage.
- My damage outside of Combustion feels awful (weak base damage).
- Combustion must be executed perfectly each and every time.
- Overall the spec is just too tied to Combustion.
- Lack of scaling. I just automatically scrap anything with +crit and +mastery on it because I know it will be a downgrade (or a sidegrade at best) even if it is 15 ilvls higher.
- Lack of scaling means lack of upgrades, which means putting work into M+ and raiding is less rewarding because you’re almost always disappointed.
- We basically have to run Lucid Dreams, so no Focusing Iris in M+ for you.
Frost I would say is in a worst state than Fire because it is basically a proc fishing spec without the bad luck protection that Fire has. And it does lower damage.
Arcane… just don’t even bother. Unless you like really, really, really like the play style for some reason.
I am only sticking with my Mage because I figure we only have 1 raid left in BfA and I don’t really feel like farming essences for a new main right now. Plus I’ve made some pretty good progress on the Nazjatar and Mechagon metas on this toon and I don’t really want to start those over either.
There better be some major changes coming in 9.0 or this guy (or gal, technically) is getting shelved for something else.
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Well if you take Ebonbolt you should be ok against the occasional dry spell but if you’re like me and take Frozen Touch because it sim’s higher, yeah you will find yourself fishing a lot…i’m not going to say frost is amazing but I will say it’s not terrible…I definitely wouldn’t be playing it if it was…I really don’t care if fire does more damage, I play what i’m best at and what i’m more comfortable playing…I tend to do better…
@ [Apprehended]
Great post, exactly where the mage class is standing.
Frost needs a 3%+ aura buff to make it competitive.
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Other than the fact I can’t seem to play fire and execute Combustion perfectly, Frost just has more variety of spells (fire is "what version of a fire ball do you want to cast) and better talent choices allowing for a variety of play styles.
My only wish for frost is that lonely winter was the go-to. I’ve never understood why 1 of 3 mage specs has an elemental pet … and hate that thing following me around.
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Good thing I’m finally leveling my Mage that was stuck in BC era. I’m 93 and this thread’s got me thinking it ain’t worth it maybe 
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I honestly deleted my lvl 115 mage last night. I was so fed up with it and it upset me because I wanted to like it, I really did. I love the lore and wizard lore in general but needing the crit in order to do damage I felt it to be slow and not fun at all.
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Deleted your 115 mage? ouch! That sounds like overkill.
Even though my mage’s raid dps ranges from mediocre to poor, I’m still having fun with it as arcane.
With the right gear, arcane is able to produce satisfyingly big numbers. I’ve seen arcane blast crits over 200k during cooldowns with Azshara trinket buff active. And I’ve seen crits close to 100k outside of cooldowns when not using any activated trinkets (but with over 12,000 passive intellect equipped).
Honestly, as long as the rotation is somewhat fun/engaging, I’m ok with not topping any meters.
I mostly play solo/lfr/dungoens anyways so my bar isn’t super high. I have most classes at 120 and none really over 418 ilevel…pretty darn casual.
I’m having fun with all my 120 except Druid…I find it dreadful this time around.
I’ll just revive it in 15 days