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WoW Classic Mage Guide


Whether a returning World of Warcraft Veteran or a Newcomer that got swept by the wave of hype for Classic release, since you are already here there is a fair chance you are interested in trying the game out, in particular playing with the Mage class. You may have heard that Mage is highly desired and to be ahead of the pack you are at the right place.

Classic vs Retail (BFA) - If you have only started WoW in the last couple of years there are a few things that you need to prepare yourself for. 

First comes questing as in Classic you are not displayed your quest objective on the map but rather you need to read your quest out and explore the map to find your way around. 

Second of all, you will no longer be able to kill monsters while watching a show on your second monitor or cramming because you realized at 3 am that you have a test the same day. Vanilla offers quite the challenge in terms of monster strength so you will need to pace yourself and only ever pull a few mobs at a time. 

Lastly, zones will no longer be a one time visit, on the contrary, you will have to walk back and forth between a few zones even in the span of one level.

So now you’re thinking that maybe mage is not the way to go or maybe you are the type of person who prefers a quick list to better evaluate things, either way here in our  WoW Classic Mage Guide you can find the main pros and cons of playing Mage in Classic WoW.

Pros:

  • Above-average leveling speed (past level 20);
  • High single target and AoE Damage;
  • Not bound by gear;
  • Fast-paced and exciting gameplay
  • Free consumables, thus greatly needed in group content;
  • Strong in PvP and hard to catch on to;
  • Many crowd control options (baaa).

Cons:

  • Slow leveling from 1 – 20;
  • Squishy with no self-healing options;
  • Need to keep hydrated (drink for mana);
  • AoE farming can be slowed down by other players.

As for race choices, I would recommend Gnomes for Alliance mainly for their Escape Artist (Escape the effects of any immobilization or movement speed-reducing the effect). Go gnome!

While if you want to go Horde your best bet will be Troll for their DPS cooldown Berserking (Increases your spell haste by 10% for 12 seconds).

Another important stat we need to mention is Spell Hit, for which as a caster by default you will always have a 1% chance to miss your spell. In addition, the level of your target also affects your spell hit: Against Targets which are the same level as you the chance to miss is 4%, 1 level above you grants 5% chance to miss, 2 levels above are 6% and 3 levels above are 17%. Optimally you would always be 1% off the level % as that would make you hit cap.

Addons You Might Need

Suggested add-ons would be Spawn Timer Tracker - tracks spawn times and locations for monsters around you,


XP / Hour Tracker - track your leveling efficiency;

Energy Timer - track drinking ticks;

Range Finder – pretty self-explanatory, allows you to be effective with cast range.


Leveling

After briefly going over the mage class let’s now talk about the leveling process. As we already mentioned 1 till 20 is going to be the hardest time for you as a mage however do not get discouraged as we are here to help you out.

Levels 1 to 10 you would want to go for 3x Firebal/3x Frostbolt + a Wand if you have one. To feel secure just cast Frost Nova and run at a safe distance and repeat.

As for the talent tree, experienced players can go with their gut and experiment, but for newer players, we recommend this build:

Frost Tree: 3/3 Elemental Precision -> 2/5 Imp. Frostbolt -> 3/3 Frostbite -> 2/2 Imp. Nova -> 5/5 Ice Shards -> 5/5 Shatter -> 1/1 Ice Block -> 5/5 Frostbolt -> 1/1 Cold Snap -> 3/3 Frost Channeling -> 2/2 Arctic Reach -> 1/1 Ice Barrier 


Then proceed into Arcane Tree: 2/2 Arcane Subtlety -> 3/5 Arcane Focus -> 5/5 Arcane Concentration -> 2/2 Wand Specialization

Then proceed back into Frost Tree: 3/3 Piercing Ice -> 5/5 Winter’s Chill

As for AoE farming, you can experience with skills as you may like, however, we would like to give you some ideas to guide you. Start off by wanding a number of minions (at this point you should have a general idea of your own limits so try to not go too overboard), proceed to Cone of Cold and Frost Nova, then kite a bit and ideally if all is done correctly you should be able to cast two Blizzards before mobs reach you. After that just start over with Cone of Cold/Frost Nova and repeat the whole process until you kill all the mobs.


Even though AoE grinding sounds fun and useful maybe you feel like it is not your bread and butter so we are offering you a simple rotation for non-AoE farming. Start off with 3-4 Frostbolts, Frost Nova the target, kite, cast 2 more Frost Bolts and Wand to death. Keep in mind that Wands do not share a global cooldown with other spells so you can use it in any downtime you have to make your leveling process more efficient.


As for some tips and tricks for leveling you want to consider a few things:

  • Aim to kill monsters at the same level as you. While you do get slightly more from monsters one level above you the difference is not as significant to justify the time lost fighting harder mobs.
  • You should not be full health/mana, always aim to push yourself to the limits not just with the mage, but with any class. Being in the high-pressure situation will prepare you for the endgame where you will most likely need to be alert and quick all the time.
  • After some time with your class try to experiment with your rotation. While there are ‘optimal’ rotations you can always try and make the class your own, be creative and you might end up even by luck defining some new meta.
  • AoE farming should not be a one spell thing, as per the point above, and should ideally be done with a group to avoid getting your precious packs stolen.
  • Keep rank 1 Fireball/Frostbold at all times as they cost less mana and in a nail-biter may be the difference between death and quest completion.
  • Don’t rush buying spells! You may not think of them being that expensive but at one point you will reach level 40 and you may not have the money for the amount. Be smart with your silver and you will save yourself a lot of downtime walking.
  • Make stopcast macros - /stopcasting/cast Polymorph(Rank 1) or Blink or Ice Block or Counterspell. These are your high priority spell that you need to cast right away so making a stop cast macro will save your life.

The whole leveling process is not an easy task, so we advise you to try our WoW Classic Leveling Service Service.

Stat Priority

As for your stat priority it goes Intellect -> Stamina -> Agility -> Strength so generally try to find these on your gear. Also, try to not get baited by gear that has the ‘Spell damage’ tag. You need a lot of it to actually make a difference to your damage so just focus on other more important stats.


Wands

You may have noticed that Wands are mentioned a fair but throughout this guide, so let us give you just a few wands as a suggestion so you know what to look for.

Alliance:


Lesser Magic Wand
11.3 DPS
Requires lvl 5 Crafted Green from Enchanting
Spark of the People’s Militia
12.8 DPS
Quest Reward “The People’s Militia” Westfall
Greater Magic Wand
17.5 DPS
Requires lvl 13 Crafted Green from Enchanting
Excavation Rod
24.2 DPS
Quest Reward “Ormer’s Revenge” Wetlands
Gravestone Sceptre
29.0 DPS
Quest Reward “Blackfathom Villainy” Blackfathom Deeps
Blackbone Wand
35.3 DPS
Wand Vendor sells this white wand in all capital cities
Cairnstone Silver
41.4 DPS
Quest Reward “The Morrow Stone” Feralas
Noxious Shooter 
50.0 DPS
Drops from Noxxion in Maraudon at 20%
Smokey’s Fireshooter
53.2 DPS
Quest Reward “When Smokey Sings, I get Violent” EPL


Horde:


Lesser Magic Wand
11.3 DPS
Requires lvl 5 Crafted Green from Enchanting
Greater Magic Wand
17.5 DPS
Requires lvl 13 Crafted Green from Enchanting
Excavation Rod
24.2 DPS
Quest Reward “Ormer’s Revenge” Wetlands
Gravestone Sceptre
29.0 DPS
Quest Reward “Blackfathom Villainy” Blackfathom Deeps
Blackbone Wand
35.3 DPS
Wand Vendor sells this white wand in all capital cities
Cairnstone Silver
41.4 DPS
Quest Reward “The Morrow Stone” Feralas
Noxious Shooter 
50.0 DPS
Drops from Noxxion in Maraudon at 20%
Smokey’s Fireshooter
53.2 DPS
Quest Reward “When Smokey Sings, I get Violent” EPL

Leveling Zones

Leveling zones – Alliance

Upon completing your starting zone for your race you should generally be around Level 11 so your best option is to head to Darkshore or Loch Modan up until level 18-19. Redridge Mountains is your next go-to followed by Duskwood and Wetlands.

Leveling zones – Horde

As a Horde character, you are going to The Barrens where you will stay till around level 18 then to Silverpine Forest and Sotnetalon Mountains.

All of the above are faction-specific zones. Also, keep in mind what we mentioned earlier in this guide – Classic WoW is nothing like Retail so you will find yourself going between zones to find quests, so be prepared for the adventures. As you get around level 30 on both Alliance and Horde you will need to go to one of the contested zones so take caution and be alert at all times. Hillsbrad Foothills: Home to the infamous Southshore vs. Tarren Mill world PvP spot, this zone has a lot of good quests for both Alliance and Horde and is usually worked into most people's leveling routes.

Zone
Description
Ashenvale:
The soon to be Warsong Gulch this zone has a ton of quests for both factions.
Thousand Needles:
Great zone for leveling again, with a slight advantage given to the Horde.
Stranglethorn Vale:
Prepare to be scared by panthers here from level 30 till 50 as you will most likely come here a lot.
Desolace:
Both the factions have quest hubs here so PvP inbound.
Arathi Highlands:
Home of Arathi Basin is a mostly straightforward kill quest zone so take it as practice for your rotation.
Badlands:
Here you will only find a Horde quest hub, but if you by any chance have friends you could try and do Uldaman.
Tanaris:
Home to the dungeon Zul'Farrak, repeat the part with the friends and run it if you dare.
Feralas:
Being less popular this zone is great if you are looking for some alone time while leveling for both Alliance and Horde, however, be warned that there might be rogues here camping.
Searing Gorge:
Get ready for your first taste of end=game here.
Burning Steppes:
A higher level zone for both factions so you will come here for both normal and dungeon quests.
Felwood:
This zone should be completed to get Cenarion Beacon, which is needed to farm consumables like Whipper Root Tuber (Use: Restores 700-900 health; 2 min cooldown).
Un'Goro Crater:
A ton of quests and exp = easy levels, what is there to lose.
Western Plaguelands:

This zone is excellent for quick leveling, you will be surprised at how much exp a ‘cauldron’ can give.

Eastern Plaguelands:
Home of the infamous instance Naxxramas this is another taste of endgame you will get again and again, even at max level.
Winterspring:
Tons of quests, tons of exp and even some farmable consumables.


AoE Farming Zones

Alliance: 

Levels
Mobs
Zone
Description
16-22:
Riverpaw Gnolls
Southern Westfall (Coords: 59.1, 72.2)
Mobs are lvls 16-18
16-22:
Stonesplinter Troggs
Ironband Excavation Site in Loch Modan (Coords: 68.0, 63.0)
Mobs are lvls 17-18
20-26:
Mosshide Gnolls
Mosshide Fen in Wetlands (Coords: 63.0, 50.0)
Mobs are lvls 21-22
27-32:
Nightbane Worgens
The Rotting Orchard in Duskwood (Coords: 62.5, 72.0)
Mobs are lvls 27-30
22-32:
Ghouls & Skeletons
Raven Hill Cemetery in Duskwood (Coords: 22.0, 36.0)
Mobs are lvls 24-30
29-33:
Nightbane Vilefangs
Roland’s Doom in Duskwood (Coords: 73.0, 76.0)
Mobs are lvls 29-32
32-36:
Syndicate
Arathi Highlands - Northfold Manor (Coords: 33.0, 28.0)
Mobs are lvls 31-33
31-36:
Torn Fin Murlocs
Hillsbrad Foothills - Western Strand (Coords: 44.8, 66.0)
Mobs are lvls 30-32
33-37:
Syndicate Humans
Alterac Mountains - Corrahn’s Dagger (Coords: 48.5, 82.9)
Mobs are lvls 32-34
32-38:
Hammerfall Peons
Arathi Highlands - Go’Shek Farm (Coords: 61.0, 57.0)
Mobs are lvls 33-34
35-39:
Bloodfen Raptors
Witch Hill in Dustwallow Marsh (Coords: 46.0, 19.0)
Mobs are lvls 35-37
35-40:
Mirefin Murlocs
Dreadmurk Shore in Dustwallow Marsh (Coords: 54.0, 16.0)
Mobs are lvls 35-37
39-41:
Longtooth Runners
Sardor Isle in Feralas (Coords: 30.0, 52.0)
Mobs are lvls 40-41
39-44:
Deathstrike Tarantulas
East of Stonard, Swamp of Sorrows (Coords: 56.3, 60.5)
Mobs are lvls 40-41
40-45:
Wastewander Humans
Waterspring Field in Tanaris (Coords: 63.0, 31.0)
Mobs are lvls 40-43
40-46:
Marsh Murlocs
Misty Reed Strand in Swamp of Sorrows (Coords: 84.0, 91.0)
Mobs are lvls 41-43
42-46:
Skullsplitter Trolls
Ruins of Zul’Mamwe in Stranglethorn Vale (Coords: 46.0, 42.0)
Mobs are lvls 40-44
43-46:
Fire Rocs & Hyenas
Abyssal Sands in Tanaris (Coords: 44.8, 40.6)
Mobs are lvls 43-45
43-51:
Southsea Pirates
Lost Rigger Cove in Tanaris (Coords: 73.0, 45.0)
Mobs are lvls 44-45
45-51:
Deep Borer Worms
Maraudon Dungeon in Desolace (Coords: 29.6, 62.8)
Mobs are lvls 46-47
46-51:
Jade Oozes
Skull Rock in Hinterlands (Coords: 57.7, 39.7)
Mobs are lvls 47-48
48-52:
Ravasaur Raptors
The Marshlands in Un’Goro Crater (Coords: 67.8, 60.0)
Mobs are lvls 48-50
51-56:
Ghouls & Skeles
Sorrow Hill in Western Plaguelands (Coords: 51.4, 77.6)
Mobs are lvls 50-52
52-56:
Arena Spectators
Blackrock Depths Dungeon in Searing Gorge (Coords: 45.5, 86.6)
Mobs are lvls 52-54
52-58:
Zombies & Skeles
Dalson’s Tears in Western Plaguelands (Coords: 45.0, 53.0)
Mobs are lvls 52-54
53-58:
Ghouls & Skeles
Ruins of Andorhal in Western Plaguelands (Coords: 45.4, 69.5)
Mobs are lvls 53-56
53-59:
Deadwood Furlbogs
Felpaw Village in Felwood (Coords: 62.0, 12.0)
Mobs are lvls 53-55
53-60:
Whip Lashers
Dire Maul East Runs in Feralas (Coords: 58.0, 43.0)
Mobs are lvl 54

 

Horde:


Levels
Mobs
Zone
Description
16-22:
Rothide Gnolls
Fenris Isle in Silverpine Forest (Coords: 65.0, 25.0)
Mobs are lvls 16-18
16-23:
Wyverns & Stormers
Mirkfallon Lake in Stonetalon Mountains (Coords: 48.0, 40.0)
Mobs are lvls 17-18
16-24:
Venture Co Workers
Windshear Crag in Stonetalon Mountains (Coords: 67.5, 49.0)
Mobs are lvls 18-20
20-26:
Mosshide Gnolls
Mosshide Fen in Wetlands (Coords: 63.0, 50.0)
Mobs are lvls 21-22
25-29:
Hillsbrad Miners
Azurelode Mine in Hillsbrad Foothills (Coords: 26.8, 58.3)
Mobs are lvls 26-27
26-30:
Hillsbrad Humans
Hillsbrad Foothills - Hillsbrad Fields (Coords: 33.0, 43.0)
Mobs are lvls 24-26
29-35:
Random Beasts
Thousand Needles in Shimmering Flats (Coords: 78.0, 71.0)
Mobs are lvls 29-35
30-35:
Dabyrie Laborers
Hillsbrad Foothills - Dabyrie Farmstead (Coords 55.0, 39.0)
Mobs are lvls 30-31
31-36:
Torn Fin Murlocs
Hillsbrad Foothills - Western Strand (Coords: 44.8, 66.0)
Mobs are lvls 30-32
32-36:
Syndicate
Arathi Highlands - Northfold Manor (Coords: 33.0, 28.0)
Mobs are lvls 31-33
33-37:
Syndicate Humans
Alterac Mountains - Corrahn’s Dagger (Coords: 48.5, 82.9)
Mobs are lvls 32-34
35-39:
Bloodfen Raptors
Witch Hill in Dustwallow Marsh (Coords: 46.0, 19.0)
Mobs are lvls 35-37
35-40:
Mirefin Murlocs
Dreadmurk Shore in Dustwallow Marsh (Coords: 54.0, 16.0)
Mobs are lvls 35-37
39-41:
Longtooth Runners
Sardor Isle in Feralas (Coords: 30.0, 52.0)
Mobs are lvls 40-41
39-44:
Deathstrike Tarantulas
East of Stonard, Swamp of Sorrows (Coords: 56.3, 60.5)
Mobs are lvls 40-41
40-45:
Wastewander Humans
Waterspring Field in Tanaris (Coords: 63.0, 31.0)
Mobs are lvls 40-43
40-46:
Marsh Murlocs
Misty Reed Strand in Swamp of Sorrows (Coords: 84.0, 91.0)
Mobs are lvls 41-43
42-46:
Skullsplitter Trolls
Ruins of Zul’Mamwe in Stranglethorn Vale (Coords: 46.0, 42.0)
Mobs are lvls 40-44
43-46:
Fire Rocs & Hyenas
Abyssal Sands in Tanaris (Coords: 44.8, 40.6)
Mobs are lvls 43-45
43-50:
Southsea Pirates
Lost Rigger Cove in Tanaris (Coords: 73.0, 45.0)
Mobs are lvls 44-45
45-51:
Deep Borer Worms
Maraudon Dungeon in Desolace (Coords: 29.6, 62.8)
Mobs are lvls 46-47
46-50:
Nethergarde Miners
Garrison Armory in Blasted Lands (Coords: 54.0, 11.0)
Mobs are lvls 46-48
46-51:
Jade Oozes
Skull Rock in Hinterlands (Coords: 57.7, 39.7)
Mobs are lvls 47-48
48-52:
Ravasaur Raptors
The Marshlands in Un’Goro Crater (Coords: 67.8, 60.0)
Mobs are lvls 48-50
51-56:
Ghouls & Skeles
Sorrow Hill in Western Plaguelands (Coords: 51.4, 77.6)
Mobs are lvls 50-52
52-56:
Arena Spectators
Blackrock Depths Dungeon in Searing Gorge (Coords: 45.5, 86.6)
Mobs are lvls 52-54
52-58:
Zombies & Skeles
Dalson’s Tears in Western Plaguelands (Coords: 45.0, 53.0)
Mobs are lvls 52-54
53-58:
Deadwood Furlbogs
Felpaw Village in Felwood (Coords: 62.0, 12.0)
Mobs are lvls 53-55
53-58:
Ghouls & Skeles
Ruins of Andorhal in Western Plaguelands (Coords: 45.4, 69.5)
Mobs are lvls 53-56
53-60:
Whip Lashers
Dire Maul East Runs in Feralas (Coords: 58.0, 43.0)
Mobs are lvl 54

Final Thoughts And Conclusions Of Our Vanilla Mage Leveling Guide

Well, thank you for reaching the end of our guide. To sum it up mage is a challenging class, to say the least, there are many things you will need to learn but if you manage to push through you will be a viable part of your guild, raid, or PVP team. 

Also, a quick tip, be a nice guy and don’t charge for portals and food. Good luck in the fields of battle!

Author Eugency
Published 2022-09-24
Views1249