Mages, the powerful sorcerers of magic known for the ability to call on the elements of nature itself to aid in battle. However, in World of Warcraft, mages are not the untouchable beings they are most commonly known to be. If you haven’t tried out this class, you’d be aghast at how frustratingly slow mages can be at leveling and how poor they are at killing monsters in early levels. Contrary to the primary thought at how mages are powerful beings, blessed with the ability to conjure fireballs and thunderstorms and manipulate the very rules of physics itself. Somehow, power comes at a price because before you get to the point of amazing power, you will have to deal your weak and flimsy state. Mages start out frail and fragile not to mention having powers that don’t have a significant impact in terms of damage.

When you are starting up with your first ever Mage, you might find yourself unable to kill even the flimsiest monsters in the game. Lower level mages are somewhat fragile because of the armor they able to wear; they don’t have much of a choice to sport big armors that of a paladin or a warrior, thus leading them to be killed – almost instantly. Depending on the race you have chose, mages acquire amazing buff freebies. For the Allied side, humans get a 10% increase in Mana regeneration, Gnomes get 5% more intellect (which is the bread and butter stat of the mage) while Draenei gets the “Gift of Naaru” which is a healing spell for mages. On the Horde side, Trolls are able to cast faster for a few seconds with Berserking, Blood Elves can silence opponents while the Undead have a set of abilities that are more useful in PvP.

In order for your mage to get through the early level, you need to learn proper spell rotation and you should produce as much money possible. You start with two spells; Fireball which stands as your only offensive spell for a few more levels and Frost Armor. When you get up to level 4 you’ll be able to learn a new spell called Frost Bolt, this will be the mark where you’ll need to start rotating your spells. You will then be able to conjure your own drinkable water which is one of the best perks at being a mage since Mana is your primary HP. Without Mana; you can’t cast spells and when you can’t cast spells — your dead.

For more information, get yourself a Cataclysm leveling guide to help you out.