Sometimes I log on, look at my list of characters and feel absolutely overwhelmed. I have an idea of what I want to play and make my main. Then I try and both my in game experience and reading about others experiences and I get totally disillusioned. I’m very casual but I’m an always on warmode kind of player. I love my mage. Specifically I love arcane mages, but they play horrribly in pvp settings and not even well in pve settings. I love my warlock. I especially love destruction. But outside of a 2.5 minute window, she’s pretty useless and a free kill in pvp. Even during that window, unending resolve doesn’t give enough room for her to get enough CBs out to matter very often because melee are in our face all day nonstop. Casting fear is useless it breaks in like one second or they trinket and then DR sets in. And apparently destruction isn’t doing well in eternal palace either so I’m afraid to even try to step into a more pve oriented play style. I don’t like affliction and I don’t like demonology. I don’t like fire and frost is boring. But I have to play one of those specs to be taken seriously by the majority of the other player base. So I spend most of my time alone. Just doing LFR and world quests and it’s an unfulfilling experience. I’m not burnt out. I love this game. But this game and its players keep giving me the illusion of choice. Yeah you can play destro! Alone by yourself in casual content… it’s discouraging.
I’m sorry, but I looked at your post and the wall of text is what overwhelms me.
Tbh I stopped reading after I read you like your mage, specifically Arcane Mage. Just abandon that spec, I am really not joking. If it’s anything that has depressed me more about this game over the past two months it is that spec. It’s my favorite spec, but the way Blizzard has neglected it entirely it is truly pitiful.
What if I told you that nobody cares what spec you play. Whenever I pug, I recruit by IL, raid progression xp, and now IO. BDK has its time at the bottom of the barrel and I still play it. Invite the player, not the class, unless you want specific buffs/hero
I actually went back and read your post. I’m sorry that you are going through the experience you are. Being real from my experience: you will be fine in Normal/Heroic Raid Content and M+ in about any spec.
You can get in groups and most guilds will accept you as long as you do play well. Many competent guilds understand currently where some specs are this tier and are fine as long as you are doing your best with what you are given . . . That does not mean that playing literally the worst spec in the game is any less depressing.
My advice about Arcane is harsh, but it’s something I am grappling with as well. If you look on the Mage forum you will find plenty of posts with people coming to the realization that this spec right now is playable but I don’t know if I would actually call it viable. It’s somewhat on life support this tier. With the way it’s been since prepatch —> 8.1 —> 8.2 it has continued on its downward spiral and I don’t see 8.3 being any better.
Like I said you can find groups, guilds, etc, but it doesn’t make playing the worst spec in the game feel any better. I have two Arcane Mages I raid on (two different guilds two different servers). On one server it is the only character I have. I actually dread having to raid on that character right now and wouldn’t if I had another spec I enjoyed on that server—I hate frost and fire.
As someone that is a longtime Destruction Warlock fan, Affliction is kinda fun once you get used to it. Especially in PvP, throwing out dots on everyone. It’s great.
So I don’t know why, but I feel very sympathetic to you. I feel like you truly do like this game, and like me you are pretty picky about what you like to play and unfortunately they are bottom of the barrel specs right now.
If you want to, add me on bnet: Hoochiedaddy#11223
One of my guilds is fine with “Friends of the Guild” joining in our discord for M+ N/H Raiding and are understanding of specs that are underperforming. I’m not guaranteeing you a spot, but if your numbers are okay or you are someone we can work with, we don’t mind more friends 
again up to you, but the offer is there. There is no reason you should feel isolated to only LFR when it is clear you want to try out content.
Warrior is currently overpowered. Play warrior.
It seems to me there are two basic ways to play:
-
focus on your character and bend the gameplay expectations to fit what’s possible with that character.
-
focus on the game goals and bend what character you play to fit what’s needed to make progress.
It sounds like you might be a bit undecided which side you want fall on.
Why don’t they just revert warlock to MoP? It was very fun to play. They could fine tune the numbers if they are too strong, but leave the gameplay untouched.
Why doesn’t Blizzard do this?
As for arcane mage, the spec needs either deletion or a MAJOR redesign.
Im sorry that your ADD gives you the attention span of a gnat. Cant even read a single paragraph? I feel bad for you.
bro were you playing lock in 8.1? i was a training dummy in pvp as aff. That;s why i quit my lock and moved to ret pally. best decision i made in WoW
I am pretty picky. I don’t flock to flavor of the month specs like so many seem content to do. I prefer to play something I find fun. I love the theme of an arcane mage, harnessing raw arcane magic to decimate your enemies. A true “wizard”. But then you play it at 120 and if youre not 3x equipoise with almost perfect stats, you might as well log off and it sucks because arcane has never been this bad before. It’s always been manageable. It isn’t sustainable right now.
if i were you i’d ignore what other people say or think
play whatever you enjoy and dont be afraid to try new things
In most guilds (especially at heroic and lower levels) individual ability has a far greater impact than class balance. A good ‘x’ will beat an okay ‘y’ almost every time. In more competitive mythic guilds class balance becomes a more significant issue, but I’m not sure that this is what you’re talking about.
I am fortunate to be in a guild that is understanding of Arcane’s current situation. However, I understand OP’s fear. Many pugs definitely are not as understanding of hardcasters predicaments in EP and for Specs like Arcane and Destro, just because an individual can play those specs, the burden is just too much to bear in the current tier. Moreover, it’s demoralizing knowing that your damage is an issue and you are doing everything possible to do your best but it’s still not enough because of the current spec design and not enough damage to actually compensate for the fatal flaws in the spec.
Damn OP. Bit dramatic.
I know how you feel. It’s like looking at a gigantic wall of text, such as an essay created within a singular paragraph. It can certainly be overwhelming.
Very bad idea. 
When I log on I look at my list of characters and feel the same.
I have a Mage, Rogue, Warrior at 120.
Paladin at 113.
Warlock at 110
Priest at 104
And countless others between 90-100.
I really want to play my Paladin, but I don’t want to level anymore because BFA annoys me how Heirlooms are much worse than Azerite gear.
I want to play my Priest but I hate Legion levelling.
So now I’m stuck cycling through this toon and Rogue until I can psyche myself up enough to sit down and power level.
Knowing that after you ding 120 what awaits is the essence grind. That fact really keeps me from lvling alts.