Optimizing your Mage to prevail in PvP, PvE and fast leveling starts with the character creation. This Alliance mage leveling guide will help you to choose the best race for your Alliance mage. Human, Gnome or Draenei – what will it be?
Take a look at all the racial abilities and compare them… some are great while others are just mediocre or outright useless.
Choose the right race for your mage and you will be one step ahead while the wrong pick will never let you tap into your full potential.
Human
Perception – passive
“Increases stealth detection by 5 points.”
- Boosts your stealth detection by 1 level. Maybe the one level you need to detect the rogue behind you and cast Frost Nova in time, but good rogues will rarely let that happen.
The Human Spirit – passive
“Spirit increased by 3%. “
- Enhances your mana regeneration by a small amount. Now, because it’s hardy necessary for leveling or PvP, it’s only interesting for raids. But you will hardly notice any ‘real’ difference since you will use skills / potions all the time.
Diplomacy – passive
“Faction reputation gains increased by 10%. “
- Very useful. Saves lots of time if you ever want to farm reputation – and chances are high you will with all the new factions and rewards in every addon.
Every Man for Himself – instant – 2 min cooldown
“Activate to remove all movement impairing effects and all effects which cause loss of control of your character. “
- Useful for PvP, in combination with Blink you will often flee from a tight situation.
Sword Specialization – passive
“Expertise with One-Handed Swords and Two-Handed Swords increased by 3. “
- Useless for Mages.
Mace Specialization – passive
“Expertise with One-Handed Maces and Two-Handed Maces increased by 3.”
- Useless for Mages.
My Opinion:
The Human Mages’ advantage is definitely in his ‘Diplomacy’, but his PvP capabilities are nice, too. But since he is less effective than the gnome, the Human will probably the choice for players that want to save time when farming reputation.
Gnome
Escape Artist – instant – 1.75 min cooldown
“Escape the effects of any immobilization or movement speed reduction effect. “
- One of the ‘best’ PvP racials ever. That’s all you need to know.
Expansive Mind – passive
“Intellect increased by 5%. “
- 5 % more mana for a caster class like the Mage? Yes, please!
Engineering Specialist – passive
“Engineering skill increased by 15.”
- Engineering is simply the best PvP profession in the game and a bonus of 15 is great.
Arcane Resistance – passive
“Reduces the chance you will be hit by Arcane spells by 2%. “
- Unreliable, unpredictable, wasted.
My Opinon:
The Gnome Mage is – in my opinion – the best choice for both PvP and PvE and fast leveling for the Alliance.
Draenei
Gift of the Naaru – instant – 1.5 sec cast – 3 min cooldown
“Activate to heal the target 50 + 15/Level over 15 sec – 40 yd range. The amount healed is increased based on the caster’s Spell Power or Attack Power (whichever is higher). This ability does not lose casting time from taking damage. (At level 1 it heals 50 health, and 1235 at level 80) “
- This is controversial: On the one hand, a healing racial for a non-healing class should be very useful. On the other hand it’s a HoT – If a Mage is in a tight situation, he will likely not survive the next 15 seconds, and while leveling you will make breaks to get mana anyway.
Heroic Presence
“Increases chance to hit by 1% for you and all party members within 30 yards.”
- Heroic Presence is probably the argument for Draenei of all classes – a really great opportunity to max both your character as well as your party members. A Draenei Mage is an asset to every raid group.
Gemcutting – passive
“Jewelcrafting skill increased by 5.”
- For Jewelcrafter…
Shadow Resistance – passive
“Reduces chance to be hit by Shadow spells by 2%. “
- As every Resistance, it’s too unpredictable.
My Opinion:
The Draenei Mage is a good choice for party players thanks to Heroic Presence. If you want to help your raid to max the hit, go for a Draenei.
Now Get That Alliance Mage To Level 80 ASAP
As you can see, all races have their advantages. Gnomes are perfect for PvP players and also give you a nice mana boost. Humans have an easy time farming reputation and Draenei will help your whole raid group.
So, which is the *best* race for your mage? Well, that depends on what you want to do with your character once you hit level 80. You just have to know what you want to do in the endgame content.
Do you want to get the newest Arena gear and dominate other players? Or do you prefer raiding with your friends and guild mates?