Welcome to the first of this ongoing series that will look at what you can expect from each class during the early levels of WoW, specifically levels 1-20.

If you are looking for something a little more in-depth than this, I recommend this premium guide which I currently use to level all of my alts: Zygor’s Guide

The Mage is a spell caster that specializes in burst damage and area of effect of damage. Mages are primarily a DPS class and can also be used for crowd control with their polymorph ability, which temporarily changes certain enemies into harmless critters. Mages also have the advantage of instant travel between their respective faction capital cities with their teleport spell.

As Horde you can pick one of three races to have as a mage. Below is each race along with a description of their racial abilities.

Undead -

Will of the Forsaken – Activate to remove any fear, sleep, or charm effect. Instant Cast, 2 min cooldown. (good for PvP)

Cannibalize – Activate to regenerate 7% of health every 2 seconds for 10 seconds (35% of total health). Can only be used on humanoid or undead targets within 5 yards. Instant Cast, 2 min cooldown

Underwater Breathing – Breathing underwater lasts 233% longer than normal. Passive

Shadow Resistance - Reduces the chance you be hit by a shadow spell by 2%. Passive

Trolls -

Berserking - Activate to increase attack and casting speed by 20% for 10 sec. Instant, 3 min cooldown.

Regeneration - Increases health regeneration bonus by 10%. 10% of total health regeneration may continue during combat. Passive

Beast Slaying - Damage dealt versus beasts increased by 5%. Passive

Throwing Specialization - Chance to critically hit with throwing weapons is increased by 1%. Passive

Bow Specialization - Chance to critically hit with bows is increased by 1%. Passive

Da Voodoo Shuffle - Reduces the duration of all movement impairing effects by 15%. Passive

Blood Elves -

Arcane Affinity - Enchanting skill increased by 10.

Arcane Torrent - Silence all enemies within 8 yards for 2 sec and restores 6% of your mana, 15 energy (rogue), 15 runic power (death knight).

Magic Resistance - Reduces the chance you will be hit by spells by 2%.

It really doesn’t matter which race you pick, I guess it just comes down to preference. Personally, I like Trolls because of their Berserking ability.

Leveling Trolls tends to be a little easier as well especially for beginners. The Barrens has more quests and the mobs are a little easier than Silverpine Forest. Plus there are two instances near the Barrens versus one at Silverpine. I would recommend no matter what race you pick to go to the Barrens once you reach around level 14. It’s a long walk for the Undead and Blood Elves but you should make up for it in with quicker leveling.

Now we’ll take a look at what kind of spells you will be using up to level 20.

Fireball - Level 1 required, 35 yard range, Fire skill tree

Hurls a fiery ball that causes X fire damage and an additional Y fire damage over Z sec. (Values change as you level.)

Frost Armor - Level 1 required, self cast, frost skill tree

Increases Armor by X. If an enemy strikes the caster, they may have their movement slowed by 30% and the time between their attacks increased by 25% for 5 sec. Only one armor type spell can be active on the Mage at any time. Lasts 30 min. (Values change as you level)

Arcane Intellect -Level 2 required, 30 yard range, Arcane skill tree

Increases the target’s intellect by X for 30 min. (Values change as you level)

Conjure Water - Level 4 required, Arcane skill tree

Conjures X bottles of water, providing the mage and allies with something to drink. (Values change as you level. Conjured items disappear if logged off for more than 15 min.)

Frostbolt - Level 4 required, 30 yard range, Frost skill tree

Launches a bolt of frost at the enemy causing X to Y Frost damage and slowing movement speed by 40% for Z sec. (Values change as you level)

Conjure Food - Level 6 required, Arcane skill tree

Conjures X loaves of bread, providing the mage and allies with something to eat. (Values change as you level. Conjured Items disappear if logged off for more than 15 min.)

Fire Blast - Level 6 required, 20 yard range, Fire skill tree

Blasts the enemy for X fire damage. (Values change as you level)

Arcane Missiles – Level 8 required, 30 yard range, Arcane skill tree

Launches Arcane Missiles at the enemy, causing X arcane damage each second for Y sec. (Values change as you level)

Polymorph - Level 8 required, 30 yard range, Arcane skill tree

Transforms the enemy into a sheep, forcing it to wander around for up to 50 sec. While wandering, the sheep cannot attack or cast spells buy will regenerate very quickly. Any damage will transform the target back into its normal form. Only one target can be polymorphed at a time. Only works on Beasts, Humanoids, and Critters.

Frost Nova - Level 10 required, 10 yard range, Frost skill tree

Blasts enemies near the caster for X frost damage and freezes them in place for up to 8 sec. Damage caused may interrupt the effect. (Values change as you level)

Dampen Magic - Level 12 required, 30 yard range, Arcane skill tree

Dampens magic used against the targeted party member, decreasing damage taken from spells by up to X and healing spells by up to Y. Lasts 10 min. (Values change as you level)

Slow Fall - Level 12 required, self cast, Arcane skill tree

Slows falling speed for 30 sec. Requires a light feather.

Arcane Explosion - Level 14 required, 10 yard range, Arcane skill tree

Causes an explosion of arcane magic around the caster, causing X Arcane damage to all targets within 10 yards.

Flamestrike - Level 16 required, 30 yard range, Fire skill tree

Calls down a pillar of fire, burning all enemies within the area for X to Y fire damage an additional Z fire damage over 8 sec. (Values change as you level)

Amplify Magic - Level 18 required, 30 yard range, Arcane skill tree

Amplifies magic used against the targeted party member, increasing damage taken from spells by up to X and healing spells by up to Y. Lasts 10 min. (Values change as you level)

Remove Curse - Level 18 required, 40 yard range, Arcane skill tree

Removes 1 Curse from a friendly target.

Blink - Level 20 required, Arcane skill tree

Teleports the caster 20 yards forward, unless something is in the way. Also frees the caster from stuns and bonds.

Blizzard - Level 20 required, 30 yard range, Frost skill tree

Ice shards pelt the target area doing X Frost damage over 8 sec. (Values change as you level)

Evocation - Level 20 required, self cast, Arcane skill tree

While channeling this spell, you gain 60% of you total mana over 8 sec.

Fire Ward - Level 20 required, self cast, Fire skill tree

Absorbs X fire damage. Lasts 30 sec.

Mana Shield - Level 20 required, self cast, Arcane skill tree

Absorbs X damage, draining mana instead. Drains 2 mana per damage absorbed. Lasts 60 sec. (Values change as you level)

Teleport - Level 20 required, self cast, Arcane skill tree

Teleports to X city.

Playing a Mage can be difficult since you don’t have the armor or healing spells of other classes. But what you lack in armor you more than make up for in the amount of damage you can put out.

If you still need a little help check out my previous article on Mages or check out one these premium leveling guides I use; Zygor’s Guide and The Ultimate WoW Guide.