30-39 [WotLK] 39 Mage Guide

Jadyne

39 Evangelist
With the large number of players rolling 39 twinks on Molten's WotLK servers, I thought it'd be a good idea to write a few basic guides to getting started twinking in WotLK, since most of the resources that used to be available have long since been updated. If you're playing retail live WoW, please disregard this. It's not a useful resource for you unless you decide to join us.

A guide, no matter how exhaustive, is only a good starting point. In this guide, I give an overview of the basic Mage specs and a list of gear to consider.

Last updated for 3.3.5a.
(Under Construction: Currently working on Glyphs section)

~*~*~

Table of Contents:
I. Builds - Overview of basic talent builds, and thoughts about them.
a. Fire
b. Frost
c. Arcane
d. Glyphs
II. Gear - List of every piece of gear you might want.
a. Items
b. Consumables
c. Professions
III. Basics: - General tips on how to play effectively.
a. Tips:

~*~*~

Builds:
When it comes to talent specs, my personal philosophy for deciding on which talents to take is "functionality before statistics". By functionality, I mean things like range increases, duration increases, or extra functions (like stun procs or silence). By statistics, I mean things like damage, stat, or crit increases. A stereotypical example is getting Improved Gouge as a rogue instead of Malice (+crit%). The reason for this is that theoretically damage, stats and crit can be supplimented by gear and skill. But there is no item at 39 that increases the duration of Gouge by 1.5 seconds, or increases the range of your Mind Flay by 4 yards.

This is simply a philosophy though. Many people will disagree, and that's fine. The important point I'm trying to make is that you should be conscious of not only what you are doing, but why when you decide on one talent versus another. No build is truly wrong if you can justify it to yourself. That said, you can make a case that some are stronger than others in certain situations.

Fire:
0/30/0 - Standard Fire. Your primary dps spell will be scorch, unless you have ample time to cast fireballs.

0/27/3 - Fire FC. Prioritize defensive procs and talents that allow you greater freedom to act. The key talents are Blazing Speed and Frostbite. These will give you a chance to escape and outrun any physical dps class attempting to chase you down. Molten Shields and Burning Determination are optional, but also good.

Frost:
0/0/30 - Standard Frost. Greater control and cooldowns, but more difficult to dps under fire. Your role will be less about overall dps and more about picking your spots and bursting when needed.

Arcane:
30/0/0 - Standard Arcane. I don't have enough experience with this spec to know how effective it is overall, but presence of mind and improved counterspell can make for a nasty surprise against players expecting a more standard spec. Torment the Weak is also a very nice dmg boost. Be sure to utilize Rank 1 Frostbolts with this spec, and keep a close eye on when Clearcasting procs.

30/0/0 - Arcane FC. Stack as many defensive arcane talents as possible, along with some +resistances enchants and gear. Pretty good against a team that's mostly caster dps.

Glyphs:
Glyphs are provided by the Inscription profession. I'll leave the irrelevant details to other sources of information. The important things to know are that at 39 you can get 2 major glyphs and 1 minor glyph. And that they can be easily bought on the Auction House and equipped yourself, without the help of a high level character.

Below is a list of all the available and relevant glyphs for a level 39 Mage. The glyph gets a rating on a 5 star scale, then a short recommendation.

Major Glyphs:
[Glyph of Arcane Explosion]
**
[Glyph of Arcane Missiles]
**
[Glyph of Blink]
**
[Glyph of Evocation]
*****
[Glyph of Fire Blast]
**
[Glyph of Fire Ball]
**
[Glyph of Frost Nova]
*
[Glyph of Frost Bolt]
*
[Glyph of Ice Block]
****
[Glyph of Icy Veins]
****
[Glyph of Mage Armor]
*
[Glyph of Mana Gem]
**
[Glyph of Polymorph]
****
[Glyph of Remove Curse]
***
[Glyph of Scorch]
***

Minor Glyphs:
[Glyph of Arcane Intellect]
***
[Glyph of Blast Wave]
*
[Glyph of Fire Ward]
***
[Glyph of Frost Ward]
***
[Glyph of Ice Armor]
**
[Glyph of Slow Fall]
****
[Glyph of the Bear Cub]
*
[Glyph of the Penguin]
*

~*~*~

Gear:
With the way gear works in WotLK, the question is tanky vs glass cannon. Don't forget that there are many spells that don't scale with spellpower, and that there will always be situations where you wish you had more spellpower.

Gearing is a continuum between heavy stats and heavy power. If you go too far stats, you may survive for quite a while, but you will have to rely more on CC to support your teammates. Mages' damage and longevity (both survivability and efficiency) are very dependant on gear. Survivability, and how much you need varies from player to player, and game to game. It is often a good idea to have some different pieces for certain slots that you can switch out as needed.

Notes: Items with a star in front of them are my personal recommendations on what items to get. And Fiery/Frozen/Arcane Wrath items are still school specific with their damage, so they will be marked as such.

Head:
*(pwr)Green Lens of Fiery/Frozen/Arcane Wrath
(pwr)Green Lens of Healing
*(pwr)Miner's Hat of the Deep
(stats)Green Lens of the Eagle
(pwr)Papal Fez
(stats)Whitemane's Chapeau
(stats)Darkmist Wizard Hat of the Eagle

Neck:

*(stats)Necklace of Calisea
*(pwr)Scorn's Icy Choker
(pwr)Jade Pendant of Blasting
(stats)Triune Amulet
(pwr)Glowing Eye of Mordresh
(pwr)Citrine Pendant of Golden Healing
(pwr)Pulsating Crystalline Shard - <Note: Currently unavailable in Molten-WoW>

Shoulders:
*(stats)Tattered Dreadmist Mantle
(stats)Exquisite Sunderseer Mantle
(stats)Lunar Mantle of the Eagle
(pwr)Inquisitor's Shawl
(pwr)Bloodmage Mantle
(pwr)Lunar Mantle of Fiery/Frozen/Arcane Wrath
(stats)Berylline Pads

Back:
*(pwr)Mantle of Lady Falther'ess - +20 Spell Penetration/+120 Armor/+7 All Resistances/+15 Shadow Resistance
(pwr)Icy Cloak
(stats)Silky Spider Cape
(stats)Battle Healer's Cloak
(stats)Caretaker's Cape
(stats)Gossamer Cape of the Eagle
(pwr)Gossamer Cape of Healing
(pwr)Gossamer Cape of Fiery/Frozen/Arcane Wrath


Chest:
*(stats)Robes of the Lich - +6 Stats/+150hp/+15 Resilience/+15 Spirit/+7 mp5
(pwr)Robe of the Magi
(stats)Death's Head Vestment
(pwr)Robe of Power
(stats)Sorcerer Robe of the Eagle

Wrists:
(pwr)Bloodwoven Bracers of Fiery/Frozen/Arcane Wrath - +15 Spellpower/+12 Stamina/+12 Intellect/+8 mp5
*(stats)Bloodband Bracers
(stats)Bloodwoven Bracers of the Eagle
(pwr)Bloodwoven Bracers of Healing

Hands:
*(stats)Revelosh's Gloves of the Eagle - +20 Spellpower/+10 Crit Rating/+15 Hit Rating
*(pwr)Revelosh's Gloves of Healing
(pwr)Black Mageweave Gloves
(stats)Royal Gloves of the Eagle
(pwr)Royal Gloves of Healing

Waist:
*(stats)Deathmage Sash
(pwr)Defiler's Cloth Girdle
(pwr)Highlander's Cloth Girdle
(stats)Sutarn's Ring

Legs:
*(stats)Necromancer Leggings - Thick Armor Kit
pwr)Blighted Leggings
(pwr)Red Mageweave Pants
(pwr)Shadoweave Pants
(stats)Regal Leggings of the Eagle

Feet:
*Defiler's Cloth Boots - +12 Stamina/+10 Crit&Hit Rating/+5 mp5
*Highlander's Cloth Boots
Encarmine Boots
Furen's Boots

Finger:
*(pwr)Underworld Band
(stats)Deadman's Hand
(pwr)Advisor's Ring
(pwr)Lorekeeper's Ring
(pwr)Golden Ring of Power
(pwr)Blazing Citrine Ring

Trinket:
*Inherited Insignia of the Horde/Inherited Insignia of the Alliance
Insignia of the Horde/Insignia of the Alliance
(stats)Arena Grand Master
(stats)Figurine - Jade Owl
(dmg)Gnomish Death Ray
(dmg)Goblin Bomb Dispenser
(dmg)Goblin Mortar
(stats)Rune of Perfection
(stats)Philosopher's Stone
(stats)Mark of the Chosen
*Tidal Charm
Gnomish Shrink Ray
Gnomish Net-o-Matic Projector
Nifty Stopwatch

Discerning Eye of the Beast
Swift Hand of Justice

Main Hand:
*Dignified Headmaster's Charge - +30 Spellpower/+22 Intellect/+20 Spirit
*Grand Staff of Jordan

(pwr)Staff of Jordan - +40 Spellpower/+54 Shadow&Frost Power/+30 Intellect/Spellsurge
(stats)Advisor's Gnarled Staff
(stats)Lorekeeper's Staff
(pwr)Sacrificial Kris of Fiery/Frozen/Arcane Wrath
(regen)Spiritchaser Staff of Spirit

Off Hand:
(pwr)Umbral Crystal
(pwr)Beacon of Hope
(stats)Prophetic Cane
(stats)Furbolg Medicine Pouch

Wand:
*(pwr)Lady Falther'ess' Finger
(stats)Jaina's Firestarter
(stats)Ember Wand of the Eagle
(pwr)Ember Wand of Healing

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Consumables:
Quick overview of all available consumables useful to a 39 mage.

Healing, Mana, and First Aid:
Potions are all on a 1 minute cooldown. Bandages make you un-bandagable for one minute, anti-venom is an independent 1 minute cooldown.
*Greater Mana Potion - Highest mana gained at 39.
Superior Mana Draught - Cheap to obtain from a vendor at a bg entrance, but weak.
Superior Healing Draught - Cheap to obtain, but weak.
*Superior Healing Potion - Highest health gained at 39.
Combat Healing Potion - equivalent to Superior, cheaper, and easy to obtain from Hall of Legends.
Dreamless Sleep Potion - Higher reliable gain than anything else, but can be interrupted. Best to just sit and drink.
Wildvine Potion - Potentially highest gain of any restorative potion, but risky, and highly expensive to make.
*Heavy Frostweave Bandage - Learn to find times to use this instead of healing spells.
*Strong Anti-Venom - Made from Large Venom Sacs. <Note: Not currently functioning in Molten-Wow>
Anti-Venom - Doesn't always work, but is on a separate cooldown from Strong version.
Powerful Anti-Venom - Basically overkill, much more expensive, but is on a separate cooldown.

Long Term Buffs:
You can have a guardian and a battle elixir active at the same time. Oils are separate, and don't disappear on death.
*Lesser Wizard Oil - Best you can use as a 39.
Minor Mana Oil - Best you can use as a 39.
*Arcane Elixir - Only available caster battle elixir at 39.
*Elixir of Greater Intellect - Best bang for your buck out of a guardian elixir.
*Catseye Elixir - Can be used simultaneously as guardian and battle elixirs.
Gift of Arthas - Funky, but useful if you need the shadow resist.
Elixir of Greater Defense - Best armor elixir available.
Elixir of Fortitude - Best health elixir available.

Temporary Buffs:
These share a cooldown with healing and mana potions.
Invisibility Potion - Can use to escape combat, but puts all potions on a 10 minute cooldown.
Lesser Invisibility Potion - Shorter duration, but cheaper to make. Same cooldown however.
Swiftness Potion
Free Action Potion - No longer dispellable, controversial to use, tends to provoke mockery and/or drama.

Food:
Food buffs are separate from other buffs. I included the bg food in spite of a lack of buffs because they give a higher regeneration rate than standard lvl 35 food, the best available. You'd do well to carry multiple stacks with you into battle. Personally, I always keep at least half a dozen in my bank as well.
*Arathi Basin Iron Ration - Can only use in Arathi Basin.
*Warsong Gulch Iron Ration - Can only use in Warsong Gulch.
Halaani Whiskey - Highest available stamina buff at 39.
*Rumsey Rum Black Label - Can buy from bartender in Southshore in Old Hillsbrad Foothills instance.
Rumsey Rum Dark - <Note: All rums currently can stack with each other on Molten-WoW. Beware that stacking them at 39 is actively discouraged however.>
Gordok Green Grog
Rumsey Rum Light
Cooked Glossy Mightfish - Don't have to wait 10 seconds to get buff.
*Clamlette Magnifique - Only dps-boosting food buff available at 39.
Hot Smoked Bass - Best non-alcoholic stamina buff available.
Heavy Kodo Stew - Same.
Spider Sausage - Same.
Brewdoo Magic - Alcoholic.

Offensive Consumables:
I note which ones require which profession to use, if required.
Really Sticky Glue - Quest reward. Limited supply.
Magic Dust - A pain to farm. Very few twinks use at 39. Shares cooldown with explosives.
*Iron Grenade - Relatively cheap and easy to use. Engineering.
Mithril Frag Bomb - Large area of effect. Engineering.
Flash Bomb - Useful against hunters, druids and ghost wolf.
Thorium Grenade - Higher damage at higher cost. Engineering.
Dark Iron Bomb - Rare, but longer duration stun. Engineering.
Fel Iron Bomb - High average and potential damage. Engineering.
The Big One - Largest area of effect, and longest duration. Expensive, and requires Goblin Engineering to make. Engineering.
Goblin Sapper Charge - Requires Goblin Engineering to make. Engineering.
Arcane Bomb - Large mana burn and silence effect. Engineering.
Netherweave Net - Cheap, shares cooldown with grenades. Tailoring.

Defensive Consumables:
Items that help you but don't fit in the above categories. Basically the consumables that spawn something. Stone Statues, Battle Standards, and Dark Runes all share a cooldown, along with Health Stones and Charged Crystal Focuses.
Heavy Stone Statue - Short range healing totem. Don't use while running away from something. Jewelcrafting. <Note: Consumables that spawn an npc, so statues, and mechanical sheep, are bugged. The spawned mob does not function properly, and often simply attacks a target. Depending on behavior, this could be a bannable exploit.>
Solid Stone Statue - Better than Heavy. Jewelcrafting.
*Dense Stone Statue - Best available. Jewelcrafting.
Horde Battle Standard - Requires 16500 honor to obtain.
Alliance Battle Standard - Same as horde version.
Dark Rune - Efficient conversion of health into mana, shares cooldown with Healthstone. Only drops in Scholomance.
Charged Crystal Focus - Best use of this cooldown, but huge pain to farm.

Miscellaneous:
Various random consumables that aren't that helpful, or are only available during special events. The special event items can often be horded, and stack with other buffs. Beware that excessive use can lead to becoming a target at 39.
Chipped Power Core - Can only carry one at a time, rare drop off low lvl Ghostlands mobs, so easily farmable without xp.
"Enchantress" Perfume - Only available from Valentine's Day event.
"Wizardry" Cologne - Only available from Valentine's Day event.
"Forever" Perfume - Only available from Valentine's Day event.
"STALWART" Cologne - Only available from Valentine's Day event.
Toasted Smorc - Only available from Midsummer event.
Midsummer Sausage - Only available from Midsummer event.
Fire-toasted Bun - Only available from Midsummer event.
Elderberry Pie - Only available from Midsummer event.
Pyroblast Cinnamon Ball - Stacks 4 times. Only available during Halloween event.
Soothing Spearmint Candy - Stacks 4 times. Only available during Halloween event.
Chewy Fel Taffy - Stacks 4 times. Only available during Halloween event.
G.N.E.R.D.S. - Stacks 4 times. Only available during Halloween event.


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Professions:
Overview of all the professions, and how helpful they can be for a 39 mage.

Alchemy:
Alchemy allows you to make next to nothing that can't be bought and used by a non-alchemist. The one item that you need to level alchemy to get is Philosopher's Stone, and there are better trinkets to have. The item used to not require alchemy skill to use, but it does now, so unless you really want the trinket, I don't recommend bothering with it.

Blacksmithing:
Another profession that offers nothing to a 39 twink that can't be bought. The only exception is a trinket called Glimmering Mithril Insignia. This is pretty useful, particularly for dealing with a warlock. However, compared to what is available from other professions, this isn't worth the profession slot, especially since you must have 225 blacksmithing to use this, not to just obtain it. =/

Enchanting:
Enchanting gives nothing useful to a 39 twink that can't be bought. The only obtainable trinket at 300 enchanting or below is Smoking Heart of the Mountain, and it requires lvl 50 to use.

Engineering:
Engineering is one of the best professions for a twink to have, and is a must-have for a serious caster twink. Green Lenses are the best caster headpieces in the 39 bracket, and Catseye Ultra Goggles are essential for serious rogues, and both require engineering to wear. Moreover, engineering offers many different useful consumables, all of which require engineering to use. The most notable are Iron Grenades, but there are other less popular consumables that deal more damage or have more unique effects, as well as numerous trinkets. If you choose no other profession, get this one.

Also note that in Molten-WoW it is possible to make Green Lenses of the Eagle, Stamina, Intellect, Owl and Wolf, though they are extremely rare procs.

The other thing with engineering is that at 225+ you get the option to specialize into Goblin or Gnomish Engineering. Gnomish Engineering offers the greater number of odd devices, such as the Gnomish Death Ray. Goblin offers a greater variety of explosives, such as Goblin Sapper Charges, and The Big One. Thing is, most of the goblin engineering items do not require goblin engineering to use, so if you can find a goblin engineer willing to make you the specialized goblin explosives, get gnomish engineering for the bop trinkets.

Jewelcrafting:
The second best profession to have. Jewelcrafting is at least very useful to get for the many bop trinkets it offers at 39. Most useful for a caster is Figurine - Jade Owl, but Figurine - Golden Hare is also useful in certain situations. Be aware that these trinkets require jewelcrafting to equip, so you can't get them and then abandon the profession.

Leatherworking:
Leatherworking offers next to nothing for a 39 twink. It does create some interesting items that are useful for other classes. The most notable item is Green Whelp Armor, which is a staple for healadins and druids. But you do not need the profession to use any special items at 39.

Tailoring:
My choice for a profession if I could pick a third is split between Tailoring and Blacksmithing. Blacksmithing for the fear immunity trinket, and tailoring for Netherweave Nets. As a mage, you have lots of ways of rooting and snaring people, so Tailoring would probably not be the best thing to pick up. Tailoring also allows you to make a decent bop chest, Robe of Power, but it does not require tailoring to use, and is replaced by Robe of the Magi or Robes of the Lich.

Gathering Professions:
These are the primary professions to choose from for your second profession. On Molten-WoW, right now you can get to 300 skill with Herbalism and Skinning, and 450 skill with Mining. This basically makes it a choice of Herbalism vs Mining.
Herbalism:
Gives an extra ability in the form of a 5 second self HoT on a 3 minute cooldown. Most valuable to twinks who specialize in arena matches and duels. The amount of healing often overshadows the other professions' buffs, and depending on your play style, you may want it more than mining. Here's a video guide to herbalism routes.
Rank 1 (75 skill): 300 healing
Rank 2 (150 skill): 480 healing
Rank 3 (225 skill): 720 healing
Rank 4 (300 skill): 900 healing

Mining:
Gives a passive bonus to your health pool. A smaller bonus than herbalism, but still quite large. To level mining, you can mine nodes, and will have to at times, but much of the leveling can be done through smelting. This isn't a guide on how to level professions, but here is a written guide, and a quicker video guide.
Rank 1 (75 skill): 3 stamina
Rank 2 (150 skill): 5 stamina
Rank 3 (225 skill): 7 stamina
Rank 4 (300 skill): 10 stamina
Rank 5 (375 skill): 30 stamina
Rank 6 (450 skill): 60 stamina

Skinning:
Gives a passive bonus to your critical strike rating. Generally the least useful of the gathering professions, I only recommend this to people who are desperate for the extra dps. Leveling skinning generally requires a high level escort to kill mobs for you to skin.
Rank 1 (75 skill): 3 rating
Rank 2 (150 skill): 6 rating
Rank 3 (225 skill): 9 rating
Rank 4 (300 skill): 12 rating

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Basics:

Tips:
Figured I'd do a list of tips here first, since it's difficult to know what might not come naturally to a new player.

-Use Polymorph! Use it use it use it. Use it until your teammates know it's gonna get used and stop hitting anything that moves. If you can, communication your priorities about sheeping.
-Move when you're not casting, you don't want to be predictable about where you are if possible. Many of your abilities are instant cast, and your survivability is based on your ability to avoid getting hit.
-Do not rely on Mana Shield to survive, or you will find yourself OOM fast. It's an "oh shit" type of ability. If you're dying without using it, look at how you can improve before using it more.
-Bind Rank 1 Frostbolt to an easy to reach key, and use it, no matter what spec you are.
-Fake Cast, especially against shamans and other mages. Against rogues, if you're trying to cast in their melee range, you're probably in trouble anyway.
-Make sure you are ready to use Counterspell as often as possible. But beware of enemies who try to fake cast you. Newbs don't do it, but skilled players may.
-In duels Counterspell is a good way of getting an opponent (like a rogue) in combat instantly and at 30y range. It's a good way to prevent them from leaving combat and restealthing.
-Shorter cast spells are much better than longer cast spells. If you're fire, use scorch, not fireball or pyroblast, unless you're completely safe and ignored, or are opening on a sheeped target.
-Do not think of yourself as a dpser! Your role is control and burst. You have good dps, but not amazing, and you are mana-dependent, and so can't cast forever. Warlocks, Warriors and Hunters are going to out-dps you overall. You will be better off focusing on limiting the enemy's effectiveness, and in making sure your team's targets die.
-Use Remove Curse! Curse of Agony hurts after a while, remove it from your allies, and you will have cut the enemy warlock's dps almost in half.
-Line of Sight (LoS) can be both your best friend and your worst enemy. Use it, and be ready to have it used against you. Have Arcane Missiles handy for when someone's about to go out of LoS.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I think you are putting this in the wrong part of the forum, these need to go in the guide section.
 
I think you are putting this in the wrong part of the forum, these need to go in the guide section.

I don't think you can post in the guide forum, you have to post a guide in the regular forum, and then if it's decent enough it'll get moved to the guides section.

Btw, thanks for the move Laurasia.
 

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