Choosing how to start.

Before I get started, why won’t that damn sig at the top center right. It seams like no matter what option I choose, it sits about 7/8 of the way it’s supposed to and refuses to move….

This angers me greatly.

I realize that I have posted on a few end games focuses, but not much as starting a Mage.

I did touch a little on AOE at 30, but not much more than that.

With that thought in mind I think I’ll delve a little into starting a Mage. Your first big decision in starting any new toon is the race you will want to play. There are many ways to decide, and as it’s your 15 dollars a month, there’s no reason why you can’t choose what you want and enjoy it. So if its looks, or a certain dance you prefer, then skip a paragraph or two. If you’d rather take a second to look at what each race has to offer the mage class, then don’t skip the next couple of paragraphs.

Horde:

Troll. I’m fairly fond of trolls; my first toon (and first 70) was a troll. I think they’re mannerisms are awesome. The way they all just slouch around, and they are all so “chill”. They have some interesting racial abilities, but not all very usable for Mages. Berserking is fairly useful for PvE during boss fights, as it provides a self buffed spell haste. Regeneration is nice, but not something you can count on. Beast Slaying is an ability often overlooked, however, as there are many beasts encountered in both Azeroth and Outlands, it’s not a useless racial. Throwing and Bow Specialization are both completely useless to a Mage.

Blood Elf. I really happen to like my stuck up, prissy little blood elf. Not only can you get some gold by stripping down and dancing on mailboxes, they also look the best in the Christmas Outfits. Mana Tap, another decent PvE ability. Useful for boss fights, but not a must have, and pretty nice to tie into Arcane Torrent for AOE grinding sometimes, as it can help stop heals, or other casts. Decent PvP talent to give another spell interrupt/silence. Arcane Affinity and Magic Resistance aren’t a very big deal. The first is OK if you’re planning on being an enchanter, but the second is pretty useless at 70.

Undead. One of the more popular PvP races for the ability Will of the Forsaken. Cannibalize, Underwater Breathing and Shadow Resistance however are not a very big deal, although cannibalize is a lot of fun sometimes.

Alliance:

I was never real big on alliance, so I don’t have much of an opinion on these. If I did have to chose, it would be Gnome, they’re racials seem best for a Mage.

Gnome. Very small, very annoying. Escape Artist is good for both PvE and PvP. Expansive Mind is very good for casters in general, as it expands your mana pool by a decent amount, and scales with gear. Arcane Resistance and Engineering Specialization aren’t that big of a deal, and shouldn’t be taken into account unless you’re really focusing on level an engineer too.

Draenei. Gift of the Naaru and Inspiring Presence are both very good PvE abilities, however their next two are the same as Gnome and Blood Elf racials. Gemcutting and Shadow Resistance.

Human. Perception is mostly a PvP talent, as in the middle of a raid, you won’t usually have an unfriendly rogue behind you. The Human Spirit is a decent Mage ability as the recent changes to spirit have made it much more useful for mana regen. Diplomacy is very good for rep grinds, but Sword and Mace Specialization are both useless to Mages as they won’t be doing much Melee.

So there you go. A not so quick breakdown of the races that you can choose when thinking about starting a Mage. If I were to give my opinion (and I’m going to whether you want it or not) I would roll horde every time. Not because I like horde better, but because the racials seem much better (except maybe the Gnomes).

And as I’ve stated in an earlier post, I would level primarily fire, until 30, when you can make your choice to stay fire, for big crits, or go frost, for AOE.

Which ever you choose, make sure you will have fun with it. It’s a little counter productive to get a toon to 30ish and decide you can’t stand the way it walks, or runs, or laughs etc.

Now if you'll excuse me, it's a little after 4 am, and I am just about brain dead, and cannot come up with a better ending than this right here.

/passout.