Are mages in a good spot? Im a new player and I really like the mage class fantasy but are they good, hows their rotation? im going to want to do m+ and all that at some point so I do want a class that can pull really good numbers, but also has an easy rotation. Thanks guys.
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I’d find another class then personally.
Arcane from all accounts has some Ok numbers, but is appalling to play and has a finicky talent/azerite/essence trade off where you can either do AoE or ST but not both.
Frost is pretty meh. It feels slow and doesn’t have the numbers to back it up compared to other classes when it comes to AoE, cleave and ST.
Fire is where the numbers are. But, be prepare to spend a lot of time farming for the necessary traits, essences, the Mechagon bracers and the Benthic (boots?) with crit damage on them. If you’re playing casually, it’s not really an option that works.
Mages are overall in an “average” spot for PvE and PvP. Decent if played well.
M+ - both fire and frost are decent
PvP - pretty much all 3 specs can work
Raiding - fire is the only viable option here, but the payoff is that it’s one of the top performing specs in the game currently (#3 overall).
Keep in mind fire is VERY gear-dependent and the rotation is not easy. In fact during Combustion the rotation is one of the most complex in the game, and takes practice to get down. See my armory profile for traits, essences, trinkets, etc.
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Absolute crap, do yourself a favor and play something else.
Except I’m not the one asking deutsche bag 
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I just started playing my mage again as fire and I am LOVING IT! I’m sure Blizz will squash that asap 
I wouldn’t say that Fire is the only viable spec for mages in raids. Is it the best mage spec this tier? Objectively yes. It does not mean that it is the only viable spec. I’m sure you are using “raiding” as Mythic Raiding, in which case I would agree that most groups will want you playing Fire. However, Arcane and Frost are both viable for Heroic and Normal. Although Fire still outperforms there too, it doesn’t just automatically make the specs completely unviable.
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For anyone not Mythic raiding or trying to push above 15, Frost and Arcane work, so it comes down to what you enjoy. I feel Frost is the most forgiving/easy of the specs, with loads of AoE and slows as well as decent ST. I also feel Fire has a higher learning curve in BFA, with learning how to properly time every single spell you use in your combustion window with the Blaster Master x3 traits—tried it, hated it, went back to Frost and still pulled within top three dps in my Heroic raids before the guild took a hiatus for Classic. In PvP, the only thing you do as Fire is Greater Pyro. All day. Every day.
I prefer Frost’s rotation to anything: it’s predictable for me, you can force a BF proc with Ebonbolt (and I’ve never had to suffer too badly with a nonexistent proc otherwise), and Glacial Spike hits for some satisfyingly big crits. I once hit our Heroic-geared main tank for 75% of his health when he decided to kiss Azshara and turn hostile to us while I had 5 icicles and a BF proc.
Arcane and Frost are fine for mythic raiding.
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I made an alt, Blood Elf Arcane mage. Its a different experience coming from elemental shaman, or warlock. I enjoy it, however im still learning. It reminds me of a dk, where you have to build arcane and then u have to dump it to save mana it is like runic power and runes
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Mages should get a move called sharpshooter lol
mage is literally the best class in the game when it comes to pvp.
who cares about dungeons or raids thats just goofy stuff.
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The other 98% of the player population?
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Warlock is better. Just saying 
DISCLAIMER: This typical Gloom & Doom™ forums poster’s opinion is not in anyway reflective of the actual mage class & its specs. It’s just that, an opinion.
Have fun~
Not really.
It’s pretty well known and acknowledged by very experienced Arcane Mages that the rotation is terrible and it lacks diversity without tanking one aspect of dps. The numbers have improved, but it’s still an awfully designed spec.
Frost damage is lacking in all areas currently, save maybe for M+ but even there you’ve got other classes with similar toolkits doing much more damage. Logs for the past expansion will back this up.
And Fire is extremely reliant on having specific gear if you want it to perform well. If you’re expecting Fire to beat Frost you are going to need those azerite pieces, correct essences at high level, mecha bracers and will need to run RoP. This has been known for a while now.
In reference to the OP’s question “Are Mages in a good spot?” the short answer is no. The long answer is no because of the reasons above.
That isn’t to say you can’t play one, or that no one will take you in their groups, but in comparison to previous iterations the current Mage specs are the worst they have been since Cata.
mages are to situational to be fun in PVE for me. Most of their rotation favors a certain playstyle and currently they lack all aspects of being a “master of elements”. That being said, fire is top tier for PVP and viable there.