If you’re looking for a solid ranged DPS class, you can’t go wrong with a Mage.
Mages are versatile, mobile damage dealers that come with a heap of useful abilities, and each of the Mage specializations is useful for different parts of the game. Whether you enjoy throwing spells at ferocious bosses, exploring old raids for interesting transmog, or battling foes in PVP Arenas, there’ll be a Mage specialization to suit you.
This guide breaks down the different uses for Mages in World of Warcraft and advises which specialization would suit your preferred play style the most.
You’ll find the best Mage spec in Dragonflight for your needs below.
Best Solo Leveling Mage Spec
While all three Mage specs are pretty great for leveling up and getting geared, I’d personally recommend sticking to a Frost Mage for quick, easy leveling. They have some great abilities that help with solo content, and the rotation is decently easy to pick up.
That’s not to say Frost Mages are easy, by any means.
But if you’re new to playing a ranged spec and you want a spec to learn that will feel rewarding, Frost Mage is one of the coolest specs to sink your time into. My Warlock specs are worth checking out for this as well.
One of the best things about leveling with a Frost Mage is that the spec offers lots of mobility and mob management abilities. This means that if you get into any sticky situations while leveling up, you can hit a group of mobs with Frost Nova or Cone of Cold, and Blink away to a safe distance.
There are plenty of damage mitigation choices on offer in the Frost Mage talent tree that are great for leveling up and staying alive, too.
Being able to use Alter Time alongside spells like Ice Barrier and Ice Block is great for staying alive while doing dungeons to level or while pulling large groups of mobs for a fetch quest.
The movement, mitigation, and survivability skills that Frost Mages have make them incredible for leveling, especially when you consider the standard Mage benefits like being able to Blink, conjure food, buff, and teleport, too.
Again, you can level comfortably with any Mage spec. But from my personal experience, playing a Frost Mage gives you great control and survivability while you’re leveling.
Best Mage Spec for PVP Arenas
Mages have always been a popular choice for arenas, especially when paired with a strong melee partner. If you’re looking to jump into some arenas in Dragonflight, my personal recommendation would be to opt for a Fire Mage.
Fire Mages have some incredibly punchy damage options and a wide variety of abilities that makes them suitable for a lot of different match-ups. You’ll often see them paired with melee classes, especially with Rogues or Warriors.
Fire Mages also have a lot of survivability, with multiple moves like Blazing Barrier and Cauterize to help keep them alive for longer. This combined with the increased mobility of the spec makes them ideal for Arenas, as they can zip around and bypass enemies with ease.
The standard Mage talent tree abilities make Fire Mages especially suitable for PVP Arenas. Being able to Blink through damage and use Frost and Arcane abilities alongside your Fire moves is incredibly handy, making Fire Mages one of the most versatile damage dealers for Arena comps to consider picking up.
Best PVP Mage Spec for Battlegrounds
Arguably all of the Mage specializations are suitable for Battlegrounds in World of Warcraft to some extent, but my personal recommendation is to opt for Frost if you want to maintain a good level of control over your enemies. Fire is a close second, as the mobility it offers is unmatched.
The main reason I’d recommend Frost Mages for Battlegrounds is the wide variety of snares, roots, and damage mitigation options. They’ve also got some great AoE abilities which are useful if you’re rushing a particular location or if you end up on your own.
Splitting Ice is another useful ability to have on hand in a Battleground. Being able to split your damage when fighting in a team situation is a great asset and can help to make the difference between winning and losing.
The addition of Dragon’s Breath to the Frost Mage rotation has given them extra utility in PVP. While Fire and Arcane Mages can certainly pull off some incredible feats in Battlegrounds, Frost Mages stand out as being the most versatile and suitable for this particular kind of PVP.
Best Mage Specialization for PVE
As someone who mains a Fire Mage, it pained me to not be able to put them first for every category in this list. Fire Mages are a hell of a lot of fun, and they’re arguably the best spec for PVE content in World of Warcraft.
While this spec does have some fiddly timing requirements in terms of cooldowns, the Fire Mage rotation is hard to beat when it comes to stacked mobs or single target boss damage. Fire Mages have a fantastic rotation that works well in a raid or dungeon encounter, with various options for high damage and increased mobility.
One of the main reasons I suggest checking out a Fire Mage for PVE content is their survivability. While they don’t have as much damage mitigation as, say, a Frost Mage, they do have the killer combination of Cauterize and Blazing Barrier to help keep them steady in difficult encounters.
Fire Mages also have some great abilities relating to movement that are very handy during PVE encounters. I’ve personally found that having Scorch in my rotation during boss battles that require a lot of movement to be very helpful.
As with PVP content and leveling, it’s possible to do incredibly well with Arcane and Frost Mages in PVE, of course. It depends on your preferred style of play. If you want a high-impact, ranged character with good mobility and a cheat death ability, Fire Mage is the one to pick for your next raid.
Best Mage Spec for Soloing Old Content
If you’re a fan of tackling old content for rare mounts, pets, and transmogs, you should consider playing an Arcane Mage. They’re the most suitable Mage type for soloing old content, and they can help make your single player runs a lot smoother.
One of the main reasons that Arcane Mages are great for soloing old content is that they have the Arcane Familiar ability, which summons a cute wisp that helps to do damage. Having a pet handy is always great for solo work, as they can help pull aggro and survive tricky encounters, too.
Arcane Mages have particularly good burst damage, which is useful for burning down old bosses quickly. They’ve got great mobility options too, making it much easier to zip about different raids and work on larger mob pulls.
What to Do When You’ve Picked Your Spec
Once you’ve picked which type of Mage you want to play as, here’s what I’d recommend doing next to make your in-game experience even better:
- If you’re making a brand new character, look into some speed leveling routes and methods to help make your Dragonflight leveling experience a breeze.
- If you’re a PVP fan, read up about Rogue specs and Warlock specs. Rogues are common partners for Mages in Arenas, and Warlocks are one of the ranged classes that can seriously give Mages a run for their money. It’s good to understand how both play.
- If you’re a PVE fan, keep an eye on which specs are popular in end-game content at the moment. While you don’t need to know how every spec and class plays, it’s good to know what’s popular so you know where you might need to do extra burst damage or AoE damage to help support the team.
I’m a huge fan of Mages and if you’ve never leveled one up before, I’d highly recommend getting one to max. They’re viable in both PVP and PVE, and they’re also very useful for farming mobs and making gold, too, as they have good AoE damage.
