Mage Leveling Guide 1–60 for WoW Forever

Frost is our pick for leveling a Mage in WoW Forever. Every Frostbolt slows, Frostbite freezes targets for free, and the new Ice Lance turns every freeze into a hit for four times its normal damage. The same build picks up Ice Barrier at 40, 3/3 Improved Blizzard at 42 and Arctic Reach at 44, so you switch from single pulls to AoE packs without a respec.

Fire is the faster killer if you're comfortable taking more risk. Forever's Hot Streak turns Fire crits into stacks that shorten Pyroblast's cast time, and Wake of Fire makes the first Fire Blast after every kill crit more often than not. Chain pulls quickly and your Pyroblast opener drops from six seconds to three.

What changed from Classic

• Ice Lance is a Frost talent at 20, and Shatter now adds 50% crit against Frozen targets. Frost Nova into Ice Lance replaces Classic's Frost Nova into Frostbolt.
• Cone of Cold and Blizzard slow less than in Classic. Cone of Cold slows by 40% for 6 seconds, and Improved Blizzard tops out at 40%. AoE pulls need a tighter kite.
• Wands don't scale with Spell Power. Buy them on damage per second alone.
• Mage Armor lets 50% of your mana regeneration continue while casting, from level 34.
• Arcane Intellect lasts an hour, and every Mage learns Teleport: Dalaran at 50.
• Frostfire Bolt is a trained spell at 40.
• Every Mage gets a new research system at 6: Comprehend Scroll, Study and Research. See the Mage class feature section below.

Train at every even level. Mages learn something new at almost every one, and a new Frostbolt or Fireball rank is a real damage upgrade every time.

Levels 1–10

• 1: Fireball, Frost Armor, Arcane Intellect.
• 4: Frostbolt and Conjure Water. On the Frost path, Frostbolt is your main spell from here.
• 6: Fire Blast, Conjure Food, Fireball rank 2, and the research spells Comprehend Scroll and Study. Research itself comes from the library: see the Mage class feature section.
• 8: Arcane Missiles, Polymorph, Frostbolt rank 2.
• 10: Frost Nova, Frost Armor and Conjure Water rank 2.

Levels 10–20

• 12: Fireball rank 3, Conjure Food rank 2, Slow Fall. Skip Dampen Magic while solo.
• 14: Arcane Explosion, Frostbolt rank 3, Fire Blast rank 2, Arcane Intellect rank 2.
• 16: Arcane Missiles rank 2, Flamestrike. Frost levelers skip Flamestrike.
• 18: Remove Lesser Curse, Fireball rank 4. Skip Amplify Magic.
• 20: a big one. Blink, Blizzard, Evocation, Mana Shield, Frostbolt rank 4, Polymorph rank 2, Frost Armor rank 3, Conjure Water rank 3, Fire Ward and the teleports to your capitals.

Levels 20–30

• 22: Scorch, Arcane Explosion rank 2, Fire Blast rank 3, Conjure Food rank 3, Frost Ward.
• 24: Counterspell, Fireball rank 5, Arcane Missiles rank 3, Flamestrike rank 2, and Pyroblast rank 2 for Fire.
• 26: Cone of Cold, Frost Nova rank 2, Frostbolt rank 5.
• 28: Ice Lance rank 2, Blizzard rank 2, Conjure Mana Agate, Arcane Intellect rank 3, Mana Shield rank 2, Scorch rank 2.
• 30: Ice Armor, Fireball rank 6, Fire Blast rank 4, Arcane Explosion rank 3, Conjure Water rank 4, Pyroblast rank 3, and the teleports to the other two capitals.

Levels 30–40

• 32: Frostbolt rank 6, Arcane Missiles rank 4, Flamestrike rank 3, Conjure Food rank 4.
• 34: Mage Armor, Cone of Cold rank 2, Ice Lance rank 3, Scorch rank 3.
• 36: Blizzard rank 3, Fireball rank 7, Mana Shield rank 3, Blast Wave rank 2 and Pyroblast rank 4 for Fire.
• 38: Frostbolt rank 7, Arcane Explosion rank 4, Fire Blast rank 5, Conjure Mana Jade.
• 40: Frostfire Bolt, Frost Nova rank 3, Ice Armor rank 2, Polymorph rank 3, Arcane Missiles rank 5, Conjure Water rank 5, Flamestrike rank 4, Scorch rank 4, and the portals to your capitals.

Levels 40–50

• 42: Ice Lance rank 4, Cone of Cold rank 3, Fireball rank 8, Pyroblast rank 5, Arcane Intellect rank 4, Conjure Food rank 5.
• 44: Frostbolt rank 8, Blizzard rank 4, Mana Shield rank 4, Blast Wave rank 3.
• 46: Ice Barrier rank 2, Mage Armor rank 2, Arcane Explosion rank 5, Fire Blast rank 6, Scorch rank 5.
• 48: Ice Lance rank 5, Fireball rank 9, Pyroblast rank 6, Arcane Missiles rank 6, Flamestrike rank 5, Conjure Mana Citrine.
• 50: Frostbolt rank 9, Frostfire Bolt rank 2, Cone of Cold rank 4, Ice Armor rank 3, Conjure Water rank 6, Teleport: Dalaran and the portals to the other two capitals.

Levels 50–60

• 52: Blizzard rank 5, Ice Barrier rank 3, Blast Wave rank 4, Mana Shield rank 5, Scorch rank 6, Conjure Food rank 6.
• 54: Frost Nova, Arcane Explosion, Fireball rank 10, Fire Blast rank 7, Pyroblast rank 7.
• 56: Arcane Brilliance, Frostbolt rank 10, Ice Lance rank 6, Arcane Missiles ranks 7 and 8, Arcane Intellect rank 5, Flamestrike rank 6.
• 58: Cone of Cold, Mage Armor, Ice Barrier rank 4, Conjure Mana Ruby, Scorch rank 7.
• 60: Frostbolt rank 11, Frostfire Bolt, Fireball rank 12, Blizzard rank 6, Pyroblast rank 8, Blast Wave, Ice Armor rank 4, Polymorph rank 4, Mana Shield rank 6, and the top Conjure Water and Conjure Food ranks.

Power spikes

• 10: Frost Nova, your first real escape.
• 20: Blink, Evocation, Blizzard and the capital teleports, plus Ice Lance or Pyroblast from talents.
• 26: Cone of Cold, a second slow for every kite.
• 30: Ice Armor, and the level 30 talent: Fingers of Frost or Critical Mass.
• 34: Mage Armor, which keeps half your regeneration running while you cast.
• 40: Frostfire Bolt, Ice Barrier or Combustion from talents, and portals for your group.
• 50: Frostfire Bolt rank 2 and Teleport: Dalaran.

What to skip

• Amplify Magic, Dampen Magic, Fire Ward and Frost Ward ranks while solo. Buy a Ward rank only when you quest against casters of that school.
• Flamestrike and Scorch on a Frost Mage, and Blizzard ranks on a Fire Mage before 40.
• Pyroblast and Blast Wave ranks on a Frost Mage, and Ice Lance and Ice Barrier ranks on a Fire Mage. You only train ranks of talent spells you took.

Troll is our Horde pick. Beast Slaying adds 5% damage against Beasts, a big share of everything you kill from 1 to 60. Rapid Regeneration heals 50% of your health over 6 seconds, a free bandage every 3 minutes, and Berserking gives 10% casting speed for a hard pull.

Gnome is our Alliance pick. Escape Artist breaks every root and snare, which saves you from the mobs that catch a Mage. Expansive Mind gives 5% more mana, and Eureka! makes three spells cheaper and stronger every 2 minutes.

Undead levels well on Horde too. Cannibalize restores 7% of your health and mana every 2 seconds for 10 seconds from a Humanoid or Undead corpse, so you drink less on humanoid quests.

High Order Skyborne (Alliance, new) starts on Zephras Isle, levels 1–12. Read Ley Line doubles your health and mana regeneration: 15 seconds anywhere, 15 minutes when you find a ley line. Elemental Insight adds 5% damage against Elementals.

Human and Orc level well too, and Orc Mages are new in Forever. The Human Spirit adds 5% Spirit, and Blood Fury adds 10% Spell Power for 15 seconds every 2 minutes.

Spell Power comes first at every level, because at low levels a few points are a large share of a spell's damage. Intellect gives mana and crit, which powers Shatter and Hot Streak. Spirit cuts your drinking. From 42, a Frost Mage pulling packs moves Stamina up to second: you take hits while you set up Blizzard.

Wands

A wand finishes every mob without spending mana. Wands don't scale with Spell Power in Forever, so buy on damage per second. Enchanters craft the four you want:

• Lesser Magic Wand at level 5: 11.3 damage per second.
• Greater Magic Wand at level 13: 17.5 damage per second.
• Lesser Mystic Wand at level 26: 25.4 damage per second and +4 Intellect.
• Greater Mystic Wand at level 30: 29 damage per second and +5 Spell Power.

If you're not an Enchanter, buy these from one. Every wand on the list is a big step up from the last, so upgrade the moment you reach each level.

Weapons

In Forever, caster weapons from quests and drops carry Spell Power, so a weapon upgrade is a real power spike for a Mage too. Take the staff or the one-hander with the most Spell Power at every upgrade. Humans get +2% crit from a sword through Sword Specialization.

Armor

Wear cloth with Spell Power first, then Intellect and Spirit. Quest rewards beat vendor gear at every level. From 42, a Frost Mage pulling packs keeps a few Stamina pieces in the bags.

Consumables

Elixir of Fire Power from 18 adds Fire damage, and Lesser Arcane Elixir from 25 adds Spell Power. Use them for dungeons and elite quests, not for every pull. Lesser Mageblood Elixir from 25 cuts drinking on long AoE sessions.

Tailoring and Enchanting is the Mage pair. Tailoring makes cloth gear and bags as you level, and Enchanting disenchants the pieces you outgrow and crafts every wand listed above.

For gold at 60, take Herbalism and Skinning or Herbalism and Mining instead, and switch at 60. You make your own food and water, so Cooking is optional. First Aid is cheap and gives you bandages for the fight where Frost Nova is on cooldown.

Dungeons give quest rewards and gear upgrades that open-world questing can't match. As a Mage you're welcome in every group: bring water, Polymorph and portals.

• 13–20: Hall of Thanes beneath Ironforge and Ragefire Chasm from 13, Ruins of Lordaeron in Tirisfal Glades from 15, and The Deadmines and Wailing Caverns from 17.
• 22–30: Shadowfang Keep from 22, Blackfathom Deeps and The Stockade from 24, Gnomeregan and Razorfen Kraul from 29, and Scarlet Monastery from 30.
• 37–50: Razorfen Downs from 37, Uldaman from 41, Zul'Farrak from 44, Maraudon from 46 and the Sunken Temple (the Temple of Atal'Hakkar) from 50.
• 52–60: Blackrock Depths from 52, Dire Maul from 54, Lower Blackrock Spire from 55, Scholomance and Stratholme from 58, and Upper Blackrock Spire from 59.

Levels are the recommended levels from our dungeon list. Three new dungeons are not open in the beta yet: Excavation Site: Wetlands (24–29), City of Dalaran (28–33) and The Drowned City (35–40). Krol'dok Stronghold, Alcaz Prison, Blackmaw Hold and Shaper's Terrace are announced for later, without dates.

Frost Mages with the AoE talents clear trash fast in all of them. Wait for the tank to hold the pack, then Blizzard.

Forever gives Mages a research system of their own, and you unlock it at level 6.

• Research: your first donation to the library in your capital city teaches Research, which opens the research interface and unlocks Study.
• Study: Study is a 6-second cast at a library that uses a Light Feather and gives you a Bundle of Scrolls. It has a 1-hour cooldown.
• Comprehend Scroll: Comprehend Scroll deciphers the untranslated scrolls you get.

Most deciphered scrolls imbue your weapon for an hour. Others summon a familiar, weaken a target or open a lock. Study every hour you're in a capital: one Light Feather buys power for your next hour of questing. Carry a stack of Light Feathers, which you also need for Slow Fall.

Conjure before you leave town. A stack of water and food saves you gold and bag space at every level.

Bank Evocation for bad pulls. A full mana bar in the middle of a fight saves more time than Evocation used as a free drink.

Polymorph is your second Frost Nova. Sheep the add before it reaches you, and pull it only when the first mob is dead.

Group quests are Mage quests. Your AoE, Polymorph and water make you the first pick for every elite quest group.

Wand macro: starts wanding and never cancels it by accident when you press it twice.

#showtooltip Shoot
/cast !Shoot

Counterspell that stops your current cast first.

#showtooltip Counterspell
/stopcasting
/cast Counterspell

Polymorph your focus target, or your current target if you have no focus. Set a focus on the add and keep your target on the mob you're killing.

#showtooltip Polymorph
/cast [@focus,harm,nodead][] Polymorph

Blizzard at your cursor, with no targeting circle to click.

#showtooltip Blizzard
/cast [@cursor] Blizzard

Ice Block that cancels itself on a second press, so you can leave the block the moment your cooldowns are back.

#showtooltip Ice Block
/cancelaura Ice Block
/cast Ice Block