Mages, until recently, were thought to be the most balanced class in WoW. Mages bring invaluable crowd controlling and AoE to the fray, and right up until end-game, are a strong well-defined class. While leveling, mages are one of the least gear dependant classes in WoW. Mages are a very fun to play class, a valued asset to any party, and an effective PvP class.

Unfortunately, mages have received small nerfs in almost every patch, and are now at the point where their end-game roll is a decursive, waterbotting, AoE'er. Mages are becoming in desperate need of their end-game roll being reviewed, which sadly doesn't seem to be a priority for a while. Your once powerful spells begin to wane as DPS classes acquire high-end epic weapons. End-game itemization for casters leave a lot to be desired and is most likely the only thing that needs to be addressed in order to bring mages back in line with their once balanced status.

I'll be including 2 sample builds, one that goes all out on the +spellpower and +cirt to maximize damage and another that will focus on +INT, +STA, and +SPI. You may want to mix and match between these to make a more well-rounded mage or for PvP.

• Arbitrator (Arcane Mage):

Probably one of the most devastating one-on-one builds around, the title arcane/fire is a popular choice for good reason. This build is fantastic for straight offensive casting where DPS is what matters most. Some mages will shift points from arcane focus in to improved mana shield and/or arcane meditation. Other arcane mages may want to ditch the fire tree for the ice tree for a little more end-game versatility. You'll need more +spellpower gear, but you'll have more crowd control option and it can be seen here.

• Pyromancer (Fire Mage):

An excellent leveling and offensive DPS casting this build tends to not be quite as effective in end-game raiding due to the current abundance of fire resisting mobs, and in PvP the many end-game players fire resist setups from raiding the aforementioned instances. However, outside of these conditions, the title mage build is still very effective with the deadly Combusted Blast Wave. A more PvP centered build will get Presence of Mind in the Arcane tree and drop Combustion for more flexibility and burst damage which can be seen here.

• Frost Maiden/Magus (Ice Mage):

A very popular PvP, Battlegrounds, and end-game instancing setup, the title build excels in crowd control. Although not quite as outright damaging as the fire or arcane builds and requiring a good bit of skill to use, this mage will reward you well end-game. Some mages may want to get Presence of Mind and will forgo the end-tier talent of the ice tree, but otherwise there are little variations in the ice mage build. You'll need a good bit of +spellpower/+ice and +critical gear to truly get the most out of this build, and an alternative (with PoM) can be seen here.

Last Update: 10.28.05