Newbie low level equipsFollow

I will be the first to say it. Read the Sticky FAQ.

I have a 19 mage and you need int and Stam. Int builds yout mana pool and Stam builds your HP, for now, you need more. Once you get to 40 or so, than you will start addind and specializing, and then your spec plays into it.

As for gear, wear what you find, with those two stats first. If they are better, upgrade, if not sell them. Do not buy gear, unless you cannot find something to replace old gear in like 10 levels below you, and then mostly your wand, always get the most DPS you can at your level.

Spirit mostly helps with mana regen - mp5s. Low levels need it but you can also drink when needed. Longer fights do not happen that much, more like when you run an instance, then tell the group "OOM" and stop to drink

Hey - thanks for the helpful posts. What you guys said about just going with whatever is quite reassuring. Knowing that I won't be screwed if I don't have "leet" gear outside of PvP is promising. I'll keep in mind everything you guys are saying.

One more question...will RFC and WC drop any decent lowbie gear for Mages?

Alright - I'm heading to The Barrens soon actually. :) Based on what I'm reading...how is my current stuff?

http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Warsong&n=Nicoga

I'll try and replace my shoulder armor, but what should I be aiming for in my other slots? I was able to grab my weapon and invoker's signet with some help, so group quests are definitely possible. Should I head over to WC for a bit? I've also heard there's and instance near-ish Silverpine that drops some great 20+ gear...Where is that/what am I thinking of?

Hi there,

I now have a level 70 mage that took me a year of casual playing. Here is my advice if you want to focus on PvE play (like instances or questing):

1) Go for the INT gear and spell damage gear (if it exists). After INT, stamina is important to make you less squishy.

2) Play PvP battleground, but keep the honor and tokens for later. I only purchased 3-5 non-level-70 battleground items ever. Some of those pieces lasted me a long time, so they are worth it. (And some of them were poorly selected.) I wouldn't pimp out totally in PvP gear. When I think about how long it took me to earn 30-50 WSG or AB (Warsong Gulch or Arathi Basin) tokens, I regret the time I put into it.

The PvP gear is nice to have, but if I rolled another character, I wouldn't bother struggling to collect tokens until level 70. For the most part, PvP gear is geared for PvP play, which isn't necessarily fantastic for PvE.

I do recommend playing PvP though to learn how to play your class and learn how to react quickly. But don't sink too much time into it. Also, you'll have the most fun when you are in the highest or second highest level in your group. (For example, if the group is 20-29, playing at level 28 or 29 is fun.)

3) Do instances - your best gear is from instances. There is also good stuff that you get while questing, but instances overall are better. I used to be obsessed with collecting the quest first, but there's no need to stress about it. Go forth and enjoy!

4) Remember the Auction House. I like to keep my eyes open for good deals, but only stuff that is 1-2 levels above you. I do remember purchasing a nice staff for 8 g at level 30 or something, and that was a good purchase. Slurge once-in-a-while for something nice. I remember wearing the same weapons and robes the longest, so you might want to get solid pieces there.

5) Check your current gear often. If an item is 10 levels below yours, it's time to replace it quick.

6) Don't bother so much with resistances gear - keep it if you got it, but don't spend money on it. They are usually situational pieces that you put on for special circumstances. (For example, fire resist gear if you are having a hard time defeating a fire elemental.)

7) If you are a tailor, some of the robes will last a long time, so it's worth it to make.

And most of all, have fun. You'll be able to gear yourself quite nicely on quest items and instance drops. I agree with the previous poster, you will be swapping your gear so often, so there is no need to carefully plan your gear upgrades.

Good luck!


Edited, Mar 6th 2008 4:55pm by alitakorgath

I recommend not hitting up battlegrounds as a mage until 29 at the earliest, if not 39. 19 is full of hunter/rogue twinks (characters with the best gear available + enchanted etc) that will one or two shot you.

Lol, I still like how I reccomended for someone not to do the 19-29 BG's because of twinks, when I myself have a twink =D.

But yeah, I'd definately wait till 29-39+ to do BG's. For non-twinks the 19 braket is just MISERABLE. It's extrememly hard to kill people that have 5x your health and the games take FOREVER so you don't get marks very fast, which like Killerheal said, is what you usually need at low levels O.o

Lol, just sounds like some low level newbies had no clue what they were doing. Not every low level instance is like that, I haven't ever had any like that : ). If you think that a group might do it then just ask politely for them to only "Need" what they, well... Need! If they don't listen and "ninja" all the gear then I'd just leave the group and seek a new one.

Here are some things. It's not a comprehensive list, but should help you along the way.

Tips for new mage in instances:

1) wait a few seconds before you start casting your first damage spell. Let the tank build aggro.

2) Never use AoE, unless you have a Pally tanking who is spamming Consecration.

3) Sheep for CC (Crowd Control). When sheep breaks, re-sheep. So keep an eye on that mob. Also, try to sheep mobs when they are far away from tank. Otherwise, tank may accidentally break sheep.

4) Dispel Curses when other group members get cursed. Especially in SFK - lots of curses go on there.

5) Get Omen add on. It is a threat meter, and will let you know when your threat is approaching that of the tank (assuming the tank has the add on too). When you get close, back off a bit to prevent pulling aggro.

6) Ask group leader to mark targets.

7) Only attack the target that the tank is attacking.

For soloing and pulling:

1) Some mobs are linked, so you will not be able to pull one at a time.

2) Pull from max distance (lets you get more spells off before they reach you - if they are melee).

I hope that helps. There are a million other things, but you'll pick them up as you go. Have fun with your mage :)