noob 80 mage thread

Jethiel

Jethiel

Moderator
So I sure ask a lot of questions in game and thought maybe using a thread here would be better. I also will start jumping into TS3 all the time so people can talk to me and use their keys for important gaming instead of typing chat :)

It seems like the game is so diversified at 80 that a bunch of guides I've been reading just seem to be expounding on a personal view rather than a set way of going about business. I will just use this thread to throw questions that I have out there and use it to bounce ideas back and forth.

Jared mentioned last night of spamming regular ToC runs for Kelly and I. Is this a feasible option to help get us 'geared'? I just wonder if TF has some sort of golden formula to help get new 80's on their way. I am starting to realize how nice gear score can be but also how snobbish people can be. Had a guy invite me to group, laughed at my gs and then kick me. Doesn't hurt my feelings because I want to learn but that's why I am putting this thread here...not not get laughed at as much :)

Rep farming. Is there specific guys I should look at raising my rep first? right now i have the Kirin Tor tabard equipped to gain rep. Does it matter what class I am for which race to run rep with first? Or does it depend a lot on my professions? I will be working on my Sons of Hodir next I think.

I have been thinking of respec'ing my mage to arcane ever since I started from a newborn toon but I am really enjoying my frost. I've looked at builds that seem like what people are always looking for - should I just bite the bullet and do it? Lance was telling me he did kinda the same thing on Hylia. Started as Fire and specced to Arcane to appeal for more end game content groups.

Professions - should I be more relaxed in leveling them up or go for a good push and get it over with?

Achievements - I have started seeing groups advertise that they want your gs and achievements...are they really that big of a deal?

I am just trying to sift through what is 'candy' and what is 'meat' - I will plow full ahead in something if I know it's necessary but not if it's just to say I have it.

agent 47 out
 
Hey Joe!

Personally, I would just start queuing up for randoms as much as possible. Collect Emblems and use them to buy the Tier 9 Mage set gear: http://db.mmo-champion.com/i/47752/khadgars-gauntlets-of-conquest/ <-- This stuff. If you look around the Emblem vendors, there's also rings and stuff you can get. It'll take you a few evenings to get the full set and rings and stuff, so this should keep you busy for a bit.

I'm probably going to be healing a bunch of heroics over the next while in the evenings. I need emblems for heirloom gear, and Meeno is just about 80 and wants to start tanking heroics as soon as possible. I'll give you a shout if I see you on.

I wouldn't worry too much about people who are concerned with Gearscore. You don't need a particular level of gearscore before you can do heroics, and Dungeon Finder will keep you out of the ones you're not geared enough for.

Spec and rotation, etc: Check out this page over at Elitist Jerks - http://elitistjerks.com/f47/t40824-mage_pve_dps_wotlk/. Gives you a good overview of the commonly accepted "best" mage builds. Feel free to ask me about specific talents and whatnot.

Rep: I generally just look at what items I can get access to for leveling up a rep, and work on the reps that have things I'm interested in first. At this point in the expansion, most of the items (aside from the shoulder and head enchants) you can buy from rep vendors are going to be worse than stuff that drops in the higher level heroics. Sons is a good one to get - you can do all the dailies and whatnot, or you can just buy Relics off the Auction House....about 300g or so should get you to Exalted. You'll want to get Kirin Tor to Revered for the head enchant.

Professions: Most professions have some bonus that only applies to you. You may want to level the profession up at least enough to get access to those bonuses. For example, at 400 skill, Leatherworkers get special self-only bracer enchants.

Achievements and group advertisements: People forming raid groups are trying to pick people who are experienced and well geared. You can roughly eyeball someone's gear level by GearScore, and if they have the achievement for clearing the dungeon you're trying to raid, chances are they know their way around it. That's the thinking in any case. Personally I think it gets a bit ridiculous sometimes. If you're interested in getting into raiding, talk to me more about this sometime.
 
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Thanks Alan; I did also come across this thread (http://elitistjerks.com/f75/t30655-wotlk_complete_mage_compendium_3_3_3_live/) just because I wasn't too sure about that first article and timing of when it was last updated. It seems that I have to choose between single target and AoE for my dps and honestly most randoms that I have run enjoy seeing tank herding + AoE drops. I am guessing that this trend does not have much potential the higher the difficulty though or I would have run across more articles to support my current methodology. Maybe because other classes have a better AoE dps than my mage that I should consider a respec soon. I also always get a brain freeze on my Blizzard drops meaning I fire an instant cast of Firebolt with no mana cost (helps to gun down any enemies that are trying to run away). I am just going to be cautious rather than rushing ahead a making a mistake just for the sake of respec. I could also dual spec i guess to keep frost for solo'ing and then arcane for randoms and raiding but i think it is a waste of money until i have more money than i know what to do with :)
 
I drool and salivate. I see that you also took 3 in frost and 11 in fire; mind me asking why? I wasn't sure how to look at your talent calculator.
 
To make educated guesses:

11 in frost: mostly it's for Precision, the 3% extra hit being worth its weight in gold, and for Icy Veins, which gives the mage a cooldown that functions a lot like your own personal heroism.

3 in fire: 6% crit chance on Arcane blast.
 
Something else to consider, just to muddy the waters for you: I find Arcane spec incredibly boring. For most every fight your rotation is 11112; rinse and repeat. ZZZzzz...

Fire spec, on the other hand keeps you busy and you have to actually watch your threat because the build is centered around crit. Nothing like spiky damage to keep you on your toes.
 
So i respec'ed to 57-3-11 and now I need to learn rotations :) Will be useless until then.

Can I still use Blizzard to my heart's content on groups?
 
I am level 63 and currently frost however plan on going arcane for 80. I had an 80 arcane mage on my old WoW account and love it. The rotation can get dull at times however I find that easier for me :)
 
Yeah, I am definitely more comfortable in my build now that I respec'ed a while ago. Now I am more perturbed that other classes that actually have versatility can out dps mages, who obviously can only do one thing - dps. Why is that? Or am i just that bad at playing him? Makes me think that mages are a good beginner class and then you move on to the 'real' classes. I would expect that if you can only do dps that you should be the best class at it; palys can tank, heal or dps and I always seem to be behind a dps paly (just an example). Am I really the only one that thinks this mentality is twisted? "Jack of all trades; master of none" ring a bell?
 
i roll frost and my dps is normally higher than my arcane dps. i can get aboug 7.5-8k dps in an ICC raid.
 
Hmmm I have not found a frost that comes close. We need to raid Zen and your mage soon. I have, as my alt spec, fire but it is not viable with my gear level (gs5800+). ICC 10, I am 8 to 10 single, ICC 25, I am 10+ on single target. AOE goes without saying ;)
 
lol ya, AOE = crazy dps. i found fire couldn't hold up either for me. 5800+ GS here as well. how high do you have to get before fire becomes a viable spec?
 
I don't have a dual spec yet - wasn't sure it was worth it to spend the money for two styles of dps. Honestly Adam I'm not sure how you can usually judge where you should fit in for raid dps because I've found it matters what ratio there is of other characters in the raid for where I sit on dps. My latest run in ICC 10 I was 4th in damage with dps ~ 7.5k (i know, i know, AoE factors into that) but that was making it all the way to Dreamwalker.

May I ask in your opinion what your best dps on any of your toons is? I seem to always see hunters near the top.
 
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