WoW Moviewatch: Stupid Mage Tricks
by Elizabeth Harper 
Sep 29th 2007 at 12:00PM
Ah, this video makes me nostalgic for those pre-Burning Crusade days when getting to level 60 was a big deal and soloing the elites in this video was a real accomplishment. Don't laugh -- I'm serious! Soloing big elites was slow and not always terribly profitable, but it served as a test of skill and helped occupy the time waiting for the next content update. And though this video isn't new, it's still an excellent introduction to kiting for any young mage eager to learn how to take down creatures twice his size.
Previously on Moviewatch...
Filed under: Mage, Machinima, WoW Moviewatch
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Prometheus Sep 29th 2007 12:24PM
Faxmonkey was my hero when I was leveling my first character (a Human mage), seeing this video brings back tons of memories.
Evan Sep 29th 2007 12:35PM
Spamming frost bolt and frost nova is a "trick"?
Jack Spicer Sep 29th 2007 1:01PM
@2 Watch the video again. There is clearly more playing going on than just spamming frost nova and frost bolt.
Neowar Sep 29th 2007 1:24PM
Lol, it has never been a test for skill to kill kitable melee mobs as a mage =) I had a 60 mage and I could kill lvl 60 elites completely naked. And I was horrible at playing my mage too. The test for skill is PvP - how well you do against real people.
Shalkis Sep 29th 2007 1:24PM
The trick in these movies was mostly about having the Frost Nova cooldown ready when you needed it and making the best use of your mana. Killing several elites can OOM you too soon if you don't know what you're doing.
And like all filmmakers, Faxmonkey also improved his skills. Just take a look at Even Stupider Mage tricks: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5767167495196384205
In that video Faxmonkey practices the fine art of AoE kiting and even soloes a whole Scourge Invasion group, which is around 50 mobs. Unsurprisingly Blizzard introduced AoE damage caps after that.
Shalkis Sep 29th 2007 1:34PM
I suggest you take a look at Faxmonkey's PvP videos as well. Fighting against multiple people can end badly very quickly if you lose control. You should also note the time when these videos were mage. I'd dare say that the skills of an average mage have indeed improved thanks to people like Faxmonkey who show what a mage can do.
Varatil Sep 29th 2007 2:40PM
Thank you Wowinsider, it's about time Faxmonkey showed up here. (Incidentally, I found wowinsider waaaaaay back searching for "Stupid mage tricks")
Also, even if you don't like the video content, there's still some music that's a hard find in most videos.
Theserene Sep 29th 2007 6:17PM
I don't think PvP takes 'more' skill than PvE, just different skills.
I've grouped with some hardcore PvPers who absolutely bit dust on the tougher PvE content.
alliml Sep 29th 2007 7:32PM
Faxmonkey has always managed to provide interesting vids (with great music to boot). Seeing this ol' vid again made me smile, and makes me think of how WoW was 'back in the day'...
Shintar Sep 29th 2007 10:46PM
I liked that! The first few kills weren't really that impressive, but I guess he was trying to slowly build up to the more interesting ones.
Too bad frost mages are relatively boring to watch, because it's really mostly the same spells that are used over and over again: frost bolt, frost bolt, frost bolt, frost nova, frost bolt, frost bolt, frost bolt, blink etc. Still, that doesn't mean it doesn't require any skill, it's quite easy to manage your mana or cooldowns wrongly and get eaten. :-P
Armath Sep 30th 2007 2:28AM
WTF? The soundtrack on that video wasn't metal! What kind of a noob puts out a WoW video without a heavy metal soundtrack!?!?! :-)
(I knew I should've spec'd my mage frost instead of fire.)
Zifadel Sep 30th 2007 7:37PM
I couldn't finish watching this video because of the music, absolutely terrible.
Varatil Sep 30th 2007 11:50PM
@Zifadel
Armath and I warned ya didn't we?
hpavc Oct 13th 2007 1:27PM
The video with the gnome mage doing half of these mobs nude is much better.