While I was planning on continuing the New Players Guide, I’ve had an overwhelming amount of requests for, in specific, a Mage guide, as it is the class I play and am known best for being.  Not that I’m one of the best worldwide Mages, but I apparently am good enough to warrant people constantly asking for advice!  So, let’s take it from the beggining!  Before we begin the questions, this is me( http://tinyurl.com/y8rx7to):

Sexy as I am dangerous. Rawr.

“Tzeriel, what race should I pick?”

Fairly easy question with some pretty straightforward questions.  Do racials matter to you?  If not, pick whatever looks best to you!  Gnomes look stupid, never pick them for any class.  Other than that, you can’t go wrong.  If racials DO matter to you, you’re going to want two different choices for each faction.  For Alliance, you’ll want Human for PvP because of the free trinket slot Every Man For Himself provides and Draenei for PvE because the 1% to hit really allows for more flexibility in gear choices.  For the Horde, the superior faction, the choice is much tougher.  For PvP, you’ll want either Blood Elf or Undead. Blood Elf for the AE silence and 2% chance to avoid magic attacks, Undead for the still extremely powerful Will of the Forsaken.  For PvE, you’ll want either Troll for their Haste or, again, Blood Elf for the 6% mana restoration.  As you can see, across both factions and all races, Blood Elf is the best choice ;) We look the best, too!  I haven’t included the new expansion races, as we’re not sure how goblins will be yet and we already know what Worgen Mages will be like.

Read more past the break

WORGEN MAGE! BARK BARK I LIKE LYCANZZZZ LOLLLLL

“Tzeriel, whats the best spec and way to level?  I heard AE grinding is best!”

If you think AE grinding is best, you’ve been reading guides from 2005.  Your fastest path to leveling a Mage is to keep putting points into the Frost tree and just annihilate quests.  Frost has the side benefit of being the best PvP spec as well, so if you’re leveling on a PvP server, double win!  In all seriousness, though, leveling as PURE Fire is perfectly fine as well.  Fire will burn single mobs down much faster than Frost, though Frost gives you survivability and massive mana efficiency.  Avoid Arcane spec while leveling.  Only a few Special Snowflakes try to level as Arcane.  You’ll see them at level 40 when you start your Mage and at 45 when you’re about to ding 80 as Frost or Fire.  TLDR: Fire or Frost spec, and Questing.

“Ok Tzeriel, thanks to you, I’ve been leveling super fast.  Now what?”

On your way up, if you have ANY PvP ambitions(And this can’t hurt pure PvE players either), I’d suggest making frequent stops in battlegrounds during the leveling process.  Now that you can both queue from anywhere AND get EXP in Battlegrounds, there is no reason at all to avoid them.  They’ll help you develop PvP, kiting and other class skills as well as breaking up the monotony of the level grind quite nicely.  I give battlegrounding while leveling a big three thumbs up! (Mage/Wizard joke, har har)

“What about professions, Tzeriel?  What are my best options?”

Mage professions are simple.  You have a few options.  You can go Tailoring/Enchanting, which allows you to make some good starter and high end gear, as well as embroider your pants and cloak and enchant all your gear in general.  You can go with Alchemy, which provides you with a great source of income and the ability to make your own flasks for raiding.  You can go with Inscriptions, also a good moneymaker and gives you a free shoulder enchant, allowing you to bypass a huge rep grind later.  Both of these will benefit from you taking Herbalism as a gathering skill.  I’ve seen a few Mages go with Engineering, but I cannot comment on it personally as I’ve never trod that lame path.

“Woot!  Ding 80!  Can I head into Ulduar now, Tzeriel?”

Not so fast there, little Mage!  You did an awesome job leveling these past few weeks and while I’m sure you’ve developed a lot of great skills, you need to start small.  Your specs are going to change, right now.  Unless you’re a mainly going to PvP, say goodbye to Frost.  For starting out at level 80 PvE content, you have two good options.  Frostfire Bolt(http://tinyurl.com/ycxs9th), which is just like it sounds, the love-child of the Fire and Frost trees.  Or Arcane(http://tinyurl.com/ycqccxy), which has been buffed recently, and is a good choice for any level 80. The included links for both specs contain spec and optimal Glyphs.  If you’re having mana trouble with the Arcane spec, as many do, change the Molten Armor Glyph to Arcane Power and use Mage Armor instead of Molten Armor during fights.

“I’ve got my spec and I’m kicking major ass in isntances and even got into a 10 man and did well.  I’m still not confident with my gear and rotations yet though.  How can I improve them?”

I’ll handle raid rotations and specs next week.  A few steps at a time, padawan.  As for gearing up, you’re looking for a few specific things.  Do Kirin Tor rep, get your Caster DPS head enchant from them and a nice main hand for starter 80s, as well.  Do Sons of Hodir if you’re not a Inscriber for your shoulder enchant.  Those are the only 2 reps you NEED.  Your main stats you’re going to need to boost are Hit Rating and Spell Power.  You can fine the hit rating charts here(http://tinyurl.com/5bo7ss).  Find your spec, any debuffs you’re getting in the group/raid and if you’re a Draenei and shoot for that number!  Bam!

You’re on your way, young Mages.  Get out there, get leveling, get geared up and start having the most fun you’ve ever had in Azeroth.  Next week: Raiding!