Mage Talent Build

SmashingPilot

Well I recently dinged level 70 with my first character and have become used to two builds, one PvE and one PvP which are: 2/48/11 (Frost) and 17/0/44 (fire).

I dont have any issues with the fire PvE build but wasn't overly fond of the frost build for PvP. Maybe it was lack of experience. :rolleyes:

Some people have told me that there is a great build, Arcane with Frost or Fire can't remember and I was wondering if any of you here had any advice to give me on this matter. Obviously, I would prefer a build which suited both raiding and PvP as I dont wanna respec all the time but an Arcane build sounds very tempting.


Also, if any of you are on Burning Blade server, alliance, feel free to /w me.

ven0m

I've an Arcane Fire built at the moment that seems to work nicely for PVE & PVP:

http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Ravenholdt&n=Zaijira

Mind you, it does require a stackload of spirit, & having a huge Mana pool, but I've very very rarely found myself going o.o.m. in kara or heroics

Ivan

http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=202910352&postId=2027621006&sid=1#3

ven0m

Ivan wrote: »

http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=202910352&postId=2027621006&sid=1#3

That thread made my eyes bleed!!!!!!

Dustaz

This is THE pve build for all mages*:

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=obZxgMzfcIoeRtMhG0o

* The only exception is if you are nearing the end of ssc/tk and have your 4 set T5 bonus. Back before the damage tax on fireball was lifted, it made sense to go arcane with this gear although now its much of a muchness.

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=obxic0czxIziZZVAocob0o

That was an Arcane/frost build i used at one point for the mad crits.


It should be said that really, if your in any way serious about pvp or pve , you cant have a spec that does both. You have to have either one or the other.

ven0m

Dustaz wrote: »

if your in any way serious about pvp or pve , you cant have a spec that does both. You have to have either one or the other.

I have one question ....


....


....


.....



Wy so serious?

Ivan

ven0m wrote: »

That thread made my eyes bleed!!!!!!

This thread makes my eyes bleed!

Its a little disheartening to see people come onto these forums, ask the same questions, over and over again only to have others come in and make arbitrary claims about which spec is the best/most viable/great for cooking burgers with...

Then someone comes along and constructively adds some input, with links that demonstrate the most effective specs backed up by others' testing and their own experiences, only to have the whole thread derailed as a result.

So, with this in mind... I've a question for you.

Would you like to see me make this pencil disappear?

WellyJ

Dustaz wrote: »

This is THE pve build for all mages*:

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=obZxgMzfcIoeRtMhG0o

Yeh, this spec is so good that you don't even need to use that last talent point

Dustaz

WellyJ wrote: »

Yeh, this spec is so good that you don't even need to use that last talent point

Yeh i know, the last point is sort of useless

I had it in permafrost for illidans demons, blazing speed for the lol factor and now its found a permanent home reducing my fireblast cooldown which i dont really use anymore.

copeyhagen

the joker rocks!!!

ven0m

Ivan wrote: »

This thread makes my eyes bleed!

Its a little disheartening to see people come onto these forums, ask the same questions, over and over again only to have others come in and make arbitrary claims about which spec is the best/most viable/great for cooking burgers with...

Then someone comes along and constructively adds some input, with links that demonstrate the most effective specs backed up by others' testing and their own experiences, only to have the whole thread derailed as a result.

So, with this in mind... I've a question for you.

Would you like to see me make this pencil disappear?

/scream
/afraid
/cast frost nova
/cast blink
/cast invisbility


but back to the thread (I re-railed, apologies) - the PVE spec above is pretty awesome, I just always find the cast times on fire/frost as a super squishy mage never suited me, I always liked the speed at which I could cast off arcane stuff while trying to edge out some kind of survivability.

Arcane/Frost for PVP, pretty much a giant iWin ..... but again, I can't take to frost at all, simply because I like attacking fast & trying to deal off as much dmg as I can as quick as I can, where I've found myself nuking rogues down to 40% heath within a few seconds of attack, so that I can try compete with them without getting a very very long run back from a graveyard :-(

The Mage forums on the European & the US WoW sites are really helpful OP, as is things like WoWWiki, which has links to the Mage Wiki :-)

Personally, I adore frost. I'm frost for raids (not too bad on dps though need to gear up) and I just own in BGs. As for burst damage, nova-critting does the job I find Ah - that's using PvE gear in BGs though - it's a lot more damage, I think the pvp gear is a waste for a mage. Expect to die, but expect to take a lot of em with ya.

Mind you, it does require a stackload of spirit, & having a huge Mana pool, but I've very very rarely found myself going o.o.m. in kara or heroics

Uhh... spirit ? For a mage? Lv70 mages with ok gear with mana problems need to manage timing better


here is my (rather neglected I'm afraid) mage
http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=The+Sha%27tar&n=Malivere

Slight mana issue in MH but never that bad, and never an issue in kara or heroics.

Gumble01

Tbh I cant see how you are doing mh with 53 hit rating you have wasted most of your gem sockets with +crit, mages should never use crit gems, especially when hit rating is so low.

ven0m

bluewolf wrote: »

Uhh... spirit ? For a mage? Lv70 mages with ok gear with mana problems need to manage timing better

Since mages are no longer really topping dmg meters much due to locks now out DPS-ing, it means I have to DPS harder & faster & having mana regenerate quickly becomes important, plus it means I can come along on fast runs without worrying too much about stopping that often for mana breaks

lazlo

This is THE pve build for all mages*:

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=obZxgMzfcIoeRtMhG0o

* The only exception is if you are nearing the end of ssc/tk and have your 4 set T5 bonus. Back before the damage tax on fireball was lifted, it made sense to go arcane with this gear although now its much of a muchness.

pyroblast, dragon's breath and blast wave are a waste of time, the points are much better invested in molten shields and/or improved flamestrike

DarthWraak

POM PYROOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Dustaz

lazlo wrote: »

pyroblast, dragon's breath and blast wave are a waste of time, the points are much better invested in molten shields and/or improved flamestrike

0o

Gumble01

Gumble01 wrote: »

Tbh I cant see how you are doing mh with 53 hit rating you have wasted most of your gem sockets with +crit, mages should never use crit gems, especially when hit rating is so low.

Very true and something I had been intending to work on when I'm finished with my priest I literally just got silly white gems to do until I gemmed the stuff properly
Mali has been very neglected lately ^^

Since mages are no longer really topping dmg meters much due to locks now out DPS-ing, it means I have to DPS harder & faster & having mana regenerate quickly becomes important, plus it means I can come along on fast runs without worrying too much about stopping that often for mana breaks

Our locks and the only other mage I've seen in the guild break even on damage. Actually, I think the arcane mage was topping the damage and dps in mh. I'm way down thanks to gear
Still the point is, mages needing spirit is a bit lol
mana gems and evocation should do you...

ageary08

lazlo wrote: »

pyroblast, dragon's breath and blast wave are a waste of time, the points are much better invested in molten shields and/or improved flamestrike

Thats a good one, while hes at it he should just take what ever has pretty icons on the first few tiers of each tree. Dragons Breath and blastwave are the only control a fire mage has, and pyro is awesome with pom, and em, good for ganking unsuspecting people who dont notice the 6 second cast !

These are specs I have tried.

Pure fire with clear casting 13/44/3 . This is the best raid/grind spec, it pumps out the most damage of all the specs (aside from icy viens). The downside is you loose the control of frost and the burst of arcane, but my mage's fireballs hit for 2k once I had 1k spell damage, and that hurt. If your pveing this is the spec, make sure you follow the matra of spell hit to 163 > spell damage > spell haste > spell crit

Pure fire with ice viens. This is the max dps spec, but it you loose alot from not having clear casting, its a killer for long fights.

Pure frost. I dont like frost for anything aside from leveling, while the control is awesome for pvp, I just get depressed by the pushback you get on frostbolt the second a hunter arcane shots off ice barrier and has his pet on you. Its a poor pve spec too, although I guess the roots come in handy in heroics

fire with pom 21/40/0. This is a fun spec, you get most of the awesome dps talents from fire, along with the ability to do some nice burst damage with a pom pyro

arcane 41/20/0. I used to hate arcane because i dislike channeled spells, but pom pyro plus the control slow affords grew on me. Arcane missiles is also quite nice, as you dont have to wait 2.5-3s to land some damage.