Borsuk wrote:
My problem with your response is that other classes don't have to 'spec' to do this.
You don't have to spec to fireblast kite. It's just easier and safer if you are.
Borsuk wrote:
Mage, on the other hand - we die. We die a lot. There is no other class that is as weak as us.
Why?
1. We have no Heals.
2. We have no Damage Mitigation (Read Armor)
3. We have no stealth, or agro reduction (Read Feign Death, Stealth, etc...)
We have some of the best escape tools in the game. Blink, frost nova, Ice Block(for waiting out cooldowns), an armor buff that seriously slows our foes(and even more with a chance to root if specced), we can turn our mana pool into hit points while we run away(though inefficiently), AoE snare untalented, AoE daze talented, AoE Disorient talented, the ability to polymorph a foe and escape, an aggro drop that does take 5 seconds to channel(but can be done while moving) that works well in conjunction with blink, an armor spell that can work with a talent to proc stuns on foes that hit us, a talented pet that we can use to distract and root our foes while we escape, more abilities to survive jumps from high places than you can shake a stick at(ok, so 3) and several other minor things to help us survive.
Borsuk wrote:
[As I leveled my mage - I HATED that you needed to SPEC PVP to be even competent. It bothered me that Locks were level spec'd and could destroy me. It bothered me that Hunters were too.
Coincidentally, it is arguable that our strongest leveling build is also our strongest PvP build. For the same reason that it's good for PvP, it's good for leveling. If you've read the sticky, you've heard me harp on this before.
Control.
Burst.
Survive.
It applies to PvP as well as leveling. This means we can be competent at PvP and level at the same time. Even my fire leveling build takes talents that are quite arguably PvP talents.
Borsuk wrote:
It bothered me that Locks were level spec'd and could destroy me. It bothered me that Hunters were too.
These classes are meant to be able to kill us. Not to mention that many warlocks will also level using a talent build that is good for both PvP and leveling. I'm not sure what hunter talent tree is in vogue for PvP right now, but I know BM hunters are strong levelers and decently strong PvPers, at least as far as mages are concerned, because they have the talents that allow them to destroy us.
Borsuk wrote:
Mage, by far, is the hardest class to play well. 1 mistake - you die. (Don't get me wrong - I love my mage, but you can simply be retarded dumb on some classes - and you'll live.)
Oddly enough, I have taken a ton more dirt naps with my paladin and with my warlock than I ever have with my mage. And those classes are known for their survival abilities.
Borsuk wrote:
A great example of this is the Overlord quest in Hellfire. At 70.... He destroyed me. I could have tried to figure out a way - yes - I know his main spell can be LOS or out ranged - but honestly.... I'd rather pay 10G to the nearest tank and have the mob drop quick.
One part of skill for a player is to know what tasks you're suited for and which ones to use what you can to escape from. I've soloed things that tanks at equal gear levels at the time(back when I and they were just hitting 70 and were in blues and quest greens) tried and failed miserably on. Healers tried and couldn't do them alone. Yet, I, the mage without heals, without mitigation, with no stealth or aggro drop, did them. Because I had the abilities that suited me for the tasks, I prevailed where armor and heals failed.
Sure, I've failed at any number of tasks that a more armored person or someone with heals could have accomplished. But I've succeeded where I've seen others fail because I had tools that they didn't.
You may say mages are weak. I say...
Working as intended.