How to AoE for fun and profit
by Mike Schramm 
Jul 30th 2007 at 4:04PM
I'm very suprised we haven't posted this video before, but I took a gander through the archives, and while we've touched on the magic of AoE mages before, I don't think I've seen it. If you want to know how to hit up a whole bunch of mobs at a time while playing your mage, this extremely thorough guide will teach you top to bottom.
And for everything else you want to know, you can check out also very in-depth text guide by Bangy posted over on the EU forums, who also references the video above. He covers everything, from spec to process to the best spots to do it at every level. Mage AoE is extremely powerful when set up correctly-- for grinding in the right places, it almost breaks the game. There are a lot of compromises that have to made in terms of how and where you can do it, but in the right place with the right abilities, there's no faster and easier way to crush whole groups of mobs at a time.
Filed under: Mage, Analysis / Opinion, Tips, How-tos, Fan stuff, Leveling, Guides, Classes
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Paul Jul 30th 2007 4:42PM
wow, that was one of the best put together wow videos i've seen. that has inspired me to use my mage for more than disenchanting greens from my hunter again!
MFCT Jul 30th 2007 4:54PM
That was amazing. I have a friend who is a lvl 20 mage...auto forward. He needs to do this!!!
Juliah Jul 30th 2007 5:04PM
Very nice video! Thank you for posting it.
Preston Jul 30th 2007 5:13PM
I just saw two mages doing this yesterday in the Badlands. It was the first time I had ever seen it. Go mages.
Cedric Jul 30th 2007 5:10PM
There is something slightly fishy about this video: except at the end, it never shows the mobs actually dying and always cuts off after a couple of AOE's.
Like all mages, I have tried using AOE's since the early levels but I was never able to pull it off because either 1) you run out of mana or 2) the mobs eventually catch up with you and oneshot you, no matter how many movement-impairing spells you've cast at them.
Admittedly, maybe I wasn't using the incorrect combination of casts or the wrong spec, but the bottom line is: it's not as easy as this video is showing.
Burgdorn Jul 30th 2007 8:42PM
I think the steps this video puts you through definitely shows how to grind them levels quickly and efficiently. I loved it and will re-tune my stategies with it's techniques. Now where did I put that mage?
Cetta Jul 30th 2007 5:37PM
@4
I goes about like it shows as long as you have the right spec/gear you do need lots of mana which is gone over in the video
Matt Jul 30th 2007 6:35PM
@4
Minimum Lvl to AE is 20, when u get 1/3 imp blizzard. You won't be able to pull many mobs because u don't have ice barrier so use R1 frostbolt.
The levels right before you get a new rank of blizzard will be the hardest to AE.
overneathe Jul 30th 2007 9:17PM
@4
My girlfriend has a frost mage with absolutely no points in AoE talents (due to my advice) and I did manage to AoE kill around 20 mobs 2 lvls below her. I guess it's just a matter of practice and knowing what follows what.
I have a fire mage @ lvl 35 and I also manage to AoE around 10 mobs with fire/ice.
Isambard Jul 31st 2007 5:53AM
At level 17, my paladin met a friendly frost mage and we very frequently group together (currently 34). My heals virtually eliminate risk while he aoe grinds while the experience from his killing speed is a huge improvement on my slow and steady soloing.
Virtually any pair works great in WoW but this one seems especially nice.
Jay Jul 31st 2007 12:13PM
This videos a load of shit, they make mages look so easy. You'll get good after hours and hours of practice, hours you could have spent QUESTING getting pretty much the same amount of money, rep and exp.
AOE grindings useful for end-game users when they need to get mats for armor and such, pointless for someone trying to spend hours perfecting pulling the mobs, not dying, killing them and not running out of mana. Since your a mage your mana will go instantly. You cant blink, blizzard blizzard etc you'll run out of mana way before that, i gave AOE grinding a try on my horde alt level 24, MUCH harder then this gnome makes it look.
Rysc Jul 31st 2007 1:27PM
@11
It really is that easy, its about cast sequence and knowing when to reset when the pull is bad. You also need to setup your keybindings in a way that allows you to get off spells fast. I've never seen someone do it through click casting. The hardest part is the coldsnap/frost nova combo for a resist (at least for me). After the 10th time the whole setup becomes muscle memory and your grinding speed increases exponentially. After lvl 28, its cake. The key as usual is location, location, location. As for your mana problems: mana gems, an occasional pot if you get in trouble (although you should probably just reset), most of the time you shouldnt need it.
Paul Jul 31st 2007 6:27PM
@12 and 11
yeah, i agree with 12, i got really excited by this video and respecced and tried it out last night. it definitely was frustrating at the beginning, mainly because it takes a while to realize that you just have to run away about 1 out of 3 times, and it ends up being way faster than a corpse run. in 3 hours of play, i pretty much got the hang of it, and i went from level 48 and 1 bar to level 49.
is it faster than questing? i don't know, had i been following a leveling guide, maybe not, but i'm so sick of redoing quests i've done before on other characters anyways, that the fun of downing 8-10 mobs at once is much more preferable to me.
plus, it's pretty cool to have other players stop and stare in awe at your work.
Kavu Sep 2nd 2007 10:51PM
the Sully Balloo quest actually requires lvl 27 to begin. Quest link here: http://www.wowhead.com/?quest=637