I Don't Have the spirit.

Well, don't want it at least.


Spirit is crap for a Mage.

So why does all the cloth in Wrath have +hit and +spirit?

WTF Blizz?

I don't have a 5SR. I'm not an Oomkin, or an S-Priest. And I'm sure as hell not a Lock.

I get nothing from spirit. (nothing usefull at least)

I think that Mages got left out of the itemization as far as stats are concerned on the new gear.


And I have a suspission that the +hit going to pets still isn't uping the Ele's hit like it should...more to follow.

The leveling begins again...

WEWT!!!

I'm 72 actually, but the servers are down, so that screen will have to wait.

Looking Forward too...

There's a few things I'm really looking forward too in the expansion. Leveling isn't really one of them, although seeing new content and figuring out new quests is a source of enjoyment for me.

Leveling professions on the other hand. That I do enjoy. Seeing something that can be tracked step by step. Grinding enough cloth for one more Tailoring point. Not vending all the quest rewards I get, but disenchanting them to further another profession. This is one of my favorite parts of WoW. The profession system is very in depth, but not so much to the point of being overwhelming. I've seen other profession systems, like the one for EQ2. I would get lost in there. Not a clue what to do after awhile. Too many things to track.

And as much as I don't enjoy the process of leveling, I do love seeing that gold explosion at the end of every XP bar.

Now if I can just find a reason to ninja all the green or better drops from the wife as we're leveling together. She's a tailor and enchanter as well. And I don't really mind sharing cloth with her, as getting enough is never an issue. The DE mats get a little scarce if your sharing them though.

Pre WotLK Plans?

Do we have any? No

Would we like to? Yes

I would love to hit 60 on Zuile (my newly started Enh Shaman) before the refer a friend bonus runs out. The wife and I started a couple new toons one night, and ended up really enjoy the classes we chose. So I rolled a shaman and she, normally the healer, or hunter, rolled a warrior. Which makes for a good leveling combo. She tried prot, and didn’t like that she couldn’t do any damage. Then tried Fury, and new from seeing a friend (EYK, whom I’ve mentioned before) play an arms warrior, new her numbers could be higher. So she tried arms, and that is where she’ll stay me thinks.

Don’t think this will become a shaman blog though. Might not find much shamaning in here either. Maybe if I had had the chance to play a little at 70 pre xpack, but that doesn’t look like it will happen.

We would also like to see the inside of BT, HS, and SWP. But, we probably wont get the change to do so before Wrath hits.

Oh well.

Did we completely miss the whole “Plagued zombies run around attacking everyone and you could become a zombie and attack your best friends” thing? Yup!

Are we a little angry about it? You bet. Sounded like fun.

But again. Oh well.

On another note; I did get to play with the new frost tree right before heading off the places unknown. And my official word on it is:

ZOMGWTFDPSBBQKTHNXBYE.

The new procs and rotations are far too much fun.

The new and improved Blizzard is way too much fun.

And being a frost mage and killing a rogue (I hate ’em) with an instant cast fireball is far too much fun.

Can’t wait to be able to put a whole 71 point tree together and make that fireball just that much nicer.

Little Ignite action. Not to mention Master of Elements.

Should be fun.

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.

AOE Frost: The How To

After thinking about it for awhile, I decided my second post would be about the speccing, gearing, and how to of an AOE Frost mage. I know this isn’t exactly were to start, or how to finish in a since either. But it’s currently my favorite part of the game. There’s nothing like flying up to BT, seeing a Warrior and Priest combo grinding their way through the mobs, making a decent amount of money, and picking up signets left and right, and then showing them up ten fold.

So. Where to start.

Hmmm.

Spec would be the best I think. That’s the easiest way to really screw yourself on a frost mage. I’ve seen a lot of people that think they are AOE specced, and then I prove to them that they have no idea what they’re doing.

First and foremost, don’t even try it till 30. Stay fire, enjoy some big hits. And if you don’t have a ton of patience and you’re looking to really get leveling on the ball, don’t do it till 40. Seriously, a mount and Ice Barrier is what it’s all about.

So, the spec.

At 30 you, to maximize AOE ability, you should look a little like this.

Improved Blizzard, Improved Ice Armor, and Permafrost are a must for aspiring little frost mages. DO NOT. I REPET. DO NOT GET FROSTBITE!!!! This is one of the biggest killers of frost mages trying to AOE everywhere. AOE is about control and predictability. This will toss a real monkey wrench in the whole damn thing. As you level, look to put points into talents that either: lower mana costs, reduce Cooldowns, increase frost damage done or increase slowing effects. A frost mage can crit, and crit well, but it is not a focus of AOE’ing. You want even damage.

Once your specced right, you need to take a gear assessment. Gear is a huge factor in being able to AOE effectively. As the spec is about killing many mobs at one time, it is very gear dependent. You need to focus on stam and int at lower levels. You won’t have enough + Spell damage to make a difference. If you’re going to pick up spell damage at lower levels, then make sure your looking at good stam/int gear as well.

Blizzard is an expensive spell. And you’ll be using mana shield a lot until 40. The combination of these can drain your mana fast. Once your mana shield is down, you’ll need to be able to rely on raw hit points. (it shouldn’t come down to that, but if it does, you’ll need it)

So your 30. You’ve re-specced to frost, and picked up the right gear so you can enjoy all AOE has to offer. But your unsure of how to use this new spec to it’s fullest.

How to AOE:

Find a place that has a decent number of melee only mobs and ideally two to three levels lower (this level difference will minimize resists and crushing blows when they get to you). Beasts are usually good as they don’t often run, however, anything that won’t stand at range and cast is good. At lower levels, stand in a spot, where you have about 4/5 mobs in range to wand, and pull away. This will help you conserve mana, while still gathering mobs. Once you get Ice Barrier and a mount, then run through some shit to gather ‘em up.

Once mobs are gathered: Frost Nova and move away. It is almost always better to just blink in the direction that your mobs just came from. That way you’re not backing up into other mobs.

Start your blizzard: Place the blizzard in a position that covers all of the mobs you are kiting. You want them all equally slowed, and damage to be dealt as close to the same across all mobs as possible. As soon as you click and start your channeling, you can position your next one, guide it in front of your groups of mobs and try to get the farthest edge of the circle to cover all your mobs. You’re attempting to position the Blizzard so that the mobs have to walk all the way through it. If you have chosen your mobs correctly, you should be able to finish them off with a Cone of Cold, and maybe a couple Arcane Explosions.

Loot.

Eat and Drink.

Rinse and repeat.