Arcane Brilliance: Mage versus everyone, part 1
by Christian Belt 
Apr 12th 2008 at 5:00PM
In days of yore, before the Burning Crusade brought us Arenas and Blood Elves and approximately 974 new factions to grind reputation with, 1-on-1 match-ups (besides the occasional random ganking over a mining node) tended to only happen in meaningless duels outside Orgrimmar or in Goldshire. Back in those wild, crazy times, before diminishing returns and 41 point talents, most of the meaningful PvP took place in the Battlegrounds, and for Mages, it usually involved hiding behind a tree casting Blizzards down at the bridge in Alterac Valley. When a Rogue unstealthed behind us and planted a dagger in our backs, we died quietly, with a spell on our lips, and revenge in our hearts. Then we rezzed, ran back to our tree, and started the cycle over again.
When the expansion dropped Arena combat into our lives, everything changed. Suddenly, some of us found ourselves in a 2-man team with a Druid or a Shaman, facing off across Blade's Edge Arena against a Warrior and a Paladin. Dying in a blaze of flaming glory after three seconds of combat was no longer going to cut it. Mages adapted. We stacked on the new PvP gear, jacking up our stamina and resilience in the process. We fell in love with Blink, Ice Block, and Frost Nova. We respecced Frost. We learned how to survive, and soon found that we were living six, seven, and sometimes even eight seconds before dying quietly with a spell on our lips.
We also quickly learned that there were some classes we could consistently defeat, as well as several that made us curl up into the fetal position and rock back and forth, weeping softly. Several patches and multiple class-balancing tweaks later, some things have changed, but one thing still holds true: In Arena combat, it's all about the match-ups.
Join me after the break to find out who we can kill, and who we can't.
This week, we'll cover Warriors, Hunters, Druids, and Warlocks. Keep in mind that this isn't a hardcore strategy column, though I may tackle that in the future. What you have here is a look at which match-ups you should be hoping for when you step out onto the Arena floor, and which opponents might make you wish you'd never come out of the starting chamber.
Warriors
What we like:
What's not to like about Warriors? They go down fast to our spells, they're easy to kite around with Frostbolt/Frost Nova, and they can't heal themselves. Some classes struggle against Warriors, but not Mages. Warriors are our friends. If you happen to have Flame Throwing, the range on your Fire Blast out-ranges his Charge, so you can throw it out as soon as he gets in range, putting him in combat and preventing him from Charging you. His stuns can all be Blinked out of anyway, so try to keep your distance using other spells--Frostbolt, Cone of Cold, Blast Wave, Dragon's Breath, or of course, Slow, and save your Blink cooldown for when his Intercept is up. Frost spec has an easy time keeping Warriors at bay, and Fire/Arcane specs can usually burn them down before they become a danger.
What we don't:
Hamstring or Piercing Howl/Intimidating Shout. Kiting is hard if you can't run. Also, I don't know if you've noticed but you're wearing a flimsy dress. It isn't going to hold up well if the Warrior gets close enough to whack you with his giant spiked mace. A well-geared Warrior can take a Mage down very quickly, if you let him get close to you. Don't let him get close. Just don't. Watch out for a skilled Warrior reflecting the occasional spell at you. It isn't fun, and it isn't pretty.
Can we kill them?
Yep. This is one of the best match-ups for Mages. In an Arena setting, you may find that you can sometimes kill the Warrior before his healer can even get a cast off. In fact, I think that may be on the list of my favorite game-related things to do ever, right up there with killing that first Metal Slime in the original Dragon Warrior, or winning a game of Herzog Zwei by dropping a single lowly infantry unit behind the other guy's base and letting him deliver the final shot.
Killability:
10/10
Hunters
What we like:
Again, Hunters tend to die quickly. They have very few ways of negating or mitigating the damage we can dish out, and can't heal themselves. Line-of-sight affects a Hunter just as much as it affects a Mage, so whenever they can do damage to us, we can do damage to them. Slow works very well on Hunters, gimping their DPS and making it more difficult for them to kite you.
What we don't:
Hunters have a lot of things that make Mages sad. Silencing Shot is horrible, but can only be used every 20 seconds, and only lasts 3 seconds. Viper Sting can make your mana disappear even quicker than Arcane Missiles can. Feign Death frequently makes me very angry, as it did last week when I managed to use my Presence of Mind/Arcane Power/DPS Trinket/Pyroblast I-Win Button on the Hunter's pet because he'd Feigned Death at the perfect moment and the pet, who'd been chewing on me for quite some time, popped up as my target just as I hit the key I'd bound the macro to. Speaking of pets, having one eating your face is a pain, turning all of your spellcasts into an infuriatingly slow ordeal.
Can we kill them?
Yes, this is a winnable fight for Mages. You'll lose if they manage to time their Silencing Shots/Feign Deaths/Scatter Shots well, but you can even the odds by using Improved Counterspell, Slow, or just massive amounts of meaty crits to your advantage. Most of the time, a well-specced PoM-Pyro Mage can simply burst damage a Hunter down, while a Frost Mage has just enough survivability to outlast him.
Killabillity:
7/10
Druids
What we like:
Feral spec. We like Feral Spec. If we Blink out of that initial stun and then burst them down, a cat-form Druid might die, if they haven't put any significant points into the Restoration tree and forget to heal themselves in a timely fashion. Also, stealing Mark of the Wild or Lifebloom is fun.
What we don't:
Everything else. Druids are almost invincible in the Arena, especially in 2v2. They can shift out of Polymorph, they're very difficult to kite, if they're Resto (and sometimes even if they aren't) they can out-heal your DPS with ease, and you can't Blink out of Cyclone. Druids have a counter for almost anything a Mage can do to them, and their mana pool will almost always outlast yours. The good news? Almost every class loses to Druids in small-group situations. Mages aren't alone.
Can we kill them?
Yes if they don't know what they're doing. Yes if they're Feral. No any other time.
Killability:
2/10
Warlocks
What we like:
Um...they have a few nice buffs to Spellsteal? That's...that's it. That's all I've got.
What we don't:
Yeah. Warlocks are designed, apparently, to be the perfect counter to Mages. If they have a felhunter for a pet (and they should if they're serious about PvPing), the felhunter might be capable of killing you all by itself. I'm half-kidding there, but only half. If they have Nether Protection, they can become immune to your fire spells any time you hit them with one. If you see them pop that particular buff, you should probably try to Spellsteal it. When you think you might almost have them dead, they can heal themselves with a Healthstone. They will almost never run out of mana, and they can drain yours. They can turn your health into their own in no less than three different ways, with Siphon Life, Drain Life, or Death Coil. They can make your spellcasts last forever with the combination of having their pet chew on you and casting Curse of Tongues on you. Their felhounds can silence you repeatedly and eat all of your buffs. They can interrupt you and keep you CCed with constant Fear. Mages have almost nothing that can counter any of these things. I'm also probably forgetting about 18 other nasty things that Warlocks can do to us.
Can we kill them?
Yes, and here's how: To win against a Warlock you need for the Warlock to not have a felhound for a pet, you need for him to be under-geared, and you need for him to be paying attention to your teammate. It also might help if he's AFK, or if his computer is stricken by a giant spike of lag just as the fight begins.
In all seriousness? It's possible to beat Warlocks, but you need to get lucky. Improved Counterspell helps, but needs to be first used at the beginning of the fight, before he has put a wide range of strange and wonderful DoTs and debuffs on you. It's vital to get the jump on the Warlock, damage-wise, since you will have to do a great deal more damage to them than they will to you. You need to get some crits to land at the right times, like before he gets his Healthstone off. And you need to use your Ice Block proactively, and not just to prolong death at the end of the fight. When you're feared, and have a host of nasty effects floating next to your mini-map, and see the Warlock cooking up a giant serving of Shadowbolt, that'd be be the time to use your Ice Block, negating the effects of all of those things at once. The simple truth, though, is that in Arena, unless you're in a two-Mage team, you should almost always be letting your team-mate worry about the lock, while you expend your energies fighting his companion. Unless his companion is another Warlock. In which case...the aforementioned fetal position might be in order.
Killabillity:
1/10
Next week we'll be back with the remaining four class match-ups. I'm interested to see how you might agree and disagree with the above assessments. Different specs can change things up a bit, and skill-level does come into play, so your experiences might differ significantly from mine. Which match-ups have you found to be the easiest, or the most difficult?
Every week Arcane Brilliance teleports you inside the wonderful world of Mages and then hurls a Fireball in your face. Check out our recent look at the new patch 2.4 Mage gear, or our slanderous, vindictive look at the Mage/Warlock rivalry. If you're sick and tired of all this Mage-talk, there's a veritable treasure trove of guides and tips related to all of the other aspects of WoW over in the WoW Insider Directory. Until next week, keep the Mage-train a-rollin'.Filed under: (Mage) Arcane Brilliance, Druid, Classes, PvP, Analysis / Opinion, Warrior, Warlock, Mage, Hunter, Arena
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Huey2k2 Apr 12th 2008 5:31PM
Maybe I am just a terrible Mage but I do not consider hunters to be anywhere near as killable as you do.
I struggle a ton against hunters, especially BM hunters. It seems like every time I get into a fight with a hunter they ALWAYS either have silencing shot or bestial wrath going, and my ice block is almost always down.
Of course I am fire specc'd so it used to be a lot worse when I didn't even have ice block to pop when a BM hunter pet with bestial wrath came charging at me, because popping ice block is pretty much the only way to get out of that situation.
And warlocks, don't even get me started on warlocks. They ARE killable, you pretty much just have to get the jump on them, if you don't get the jump on them though it's pretty much impossible.
Manatank Apr 12th 2008 10:39PM
As a BM hunter, I drool when I see a mage. Easiest kill next to a holy priest.
bryan Apr 14th 2008 7:59PM
I also adore the fact that I have t-4 gear with the no Intteruptable fireballs...Well the cute thing is...They are still interruptable with the pet attacking...Mages have become the weakest pvp character at this point. Before you bitch about me using t-4 gear in pvp. I also have the full pvp set with lunacy card with some haste gear....So blizzard has nerfed us by not giving us options that help against the OP lock and hunters...Give us a chance...Pet's that stay alive longer, making fire a viable pvp option..I hate frost it's boring....Give us pushback abilities or limit the pushbacks that we take. Make us able to resist, dodge, physical attacks....Some chance....I bet of you
chronnox Apr 14th 2008 6:13PM
As an arcane mage, i can kill hunters with not much problem the thing is that if i use slow and fight near the hunter when he cant use his bow, well its like fighting a warrior but with less armor and less damage so they go down easy. Of course if they go all red i pop ice block after a few secs.
Algorithm Apr 21st 2008 12:16PM
I used to be able to kill hunters EASILY before they changed the dead zone. Now, killing them is extremely frustrating.
I think the bigger problems with hunters and rogues is that in PvP we are a control class that needs to control and burst other DPS classes down before they deplete our meager health. Hunter and rogues, due to their class strengths can easily start a fight in the dominant position, and it can be very difficult to regain control.
Silencing shot, intimidation, frost trap, and BIGREDKITTYOMGIWIN are very powerful abilities against a mage (I know hunters can't get them all, they don't need them all). I think is actually a lot easier to kill them as arcane or fire, believe it or not, because you get so many more instacasts or uninterruptable spells. Our burst can actually destroy them if we can sit their casting, but hunters have the extremely good spell knockback, and I end up trying to get into melee and using instacasts and snares.
Johan Apr 12th 2008 5:44PM
Yeah pretty much agree. Warriors are pretty easy, just gotta make sure to not blink out of the charge but the intercept instead and to use the level 1 frost bolt liberally.
Hunters are easy, it's just a burst race, and usually mages win that one (esp. since I am AP/POM/Pyro).
Druids blow. It's neigh impossible to win against a competent Druid.
Warlocks... yeah, it's neigh impossible to win against an INcompetent Lock let alone one who is geared/skilled.
Nick S Apr 12th 2008 7:24PM
yeah, a geared lock could pretty much roll his face on the keyboard and still have a good chance of beating a mage. if the felhunter's out, it's pretty much curtains.
if i see a warlock in arenas, i hide from him until a rogue is chewing his butt.
breezer Apr 12th 2008 6:09PM
Hunters 7/10?
I consider myself pretty darn good at killing hunters but I would never rate this as 7/10
Feral druids are just as hard to kill as balance and resto (well maybe not as hard as resto) because you can't interupt their damage with counter spell, and you can't kite them.
Curse of tongues makes spells take forever to cast? Maybe it's time you open up that old spell book of yours and figure a way out of that one. Here'a hint: Remove Curse.
Before you continue with this idea, you should, you know, know what you're talking about...
Luclan Apr 12th 2008 7:55PM
yes honestly if you are trying to remove every curse a lock throws on you then you are in some bad shape. The only time I would remove a curse is if I'm out of LOS and have nothing else to do at that moment.
Maybe you should know what your talking about first, let me guess low 1700's for you?
Roxton Apr 12th 2008 7:07PM
The trick with feral druids is to run them out of mana. Yes, they can shift out of everything, but it costs loads for them to do that. Rank 1 frostbolt is your friend here, as is polymorph right at the start of the fight. Once they're oom, kite them away. Against resto pretty much the only thing you can do is to spellsteal hots and ice block in the hope that someone else will kill them for you. Moonkins are a joke, though. I think my WE could solo a moonkin.
Hunters are difficult if they're bestiality specced, because then unless you're an AP-POM-Pyro mage capable of one-shotting them, the battle is very quickly over in their favour. You can try ice blocking thorugh it, but unless the hunter stood around while big and red for about an hour before engaging you, their bestial wrath will outlast your ice block by a long way. MM is also difficult. To quote a friend "My favourite fight is hunter-mage. The hunter kills the mage at 41 yards before the mage realises what's happening." LoS may affect hunters, but unless you want to throw FT buffed fireballs at them they can kill you without coming within range. Not to mention their pet giving you apparently infinite spell pushback.
And warlocks. Oh, they can be killed, but the mage has to play perfectly and the warlock has to be either retarded, an amputee, or afk. Yes, curse of tongues can be cured, as can all lock curses, but only one curse can be applied at any time to us, and there are 101 other dots which we can't remove without ice block. The amusing thing is that locks whine about ice block being able to remove unstable affliction without the 5 second silence and damage. The fact that all their dots can be reapplied within 10 seconds doesn't seem to bother them. And they'll never run out of mana, either because they're draining yours or because of that ridiculous life tap. They can banish your pet, you can't touch theirs, and they can remove all your buffs including ice barrier. It's silly. There are those who say that the disparity between locks and mages is akin to that between mages and warriors. Those people are wrong. A warrior can demolish a mage in seconds if they get in range, and all that takes is a lucky resist or cunning spell-reflect for the warrior or our blink to be on cooldown. There is no comparison to this in a mage-lock fight.
Matthew Rossi Apr 12th 2008 7:46PM
There are those who say that the disparity between locks and mages is akin to that between mages and warriors. Those people are wrong. A warrior can demolish a mage in seconds if they get in range, and all that takes is a lucky resist or cunning spell-reflect for the warrior or our blink to be on cooldown.
IF the mage is out of mana, or doesn't have Mage Armor. If you're fighting a warrior, put up mage armor. Between that and improved blink, you're invulnerable.
The disparity is the same. Mages have to be brain dead to lose to warriors in much the same way.
themann1086 Apr 12th 2008 7:59PM
Hunters are difficult if they're bestiality specced
That's... a scary spec o_0
Roxton Apr 12th 2008 8:42PM
@9: I think that the warrior-mage issue depends much more upon gear than the lock-mage one. With enough HP or damage a warrior can take a mage - it's certainly difficult for the warrior, but it can and does happen, especially in BG's or 5v5 arenas where blink is on cooldown leaving the mage open to an intercept stun and the following limb removal. While warriors are in general easy kills for mages, it is nothing like on the same scale as the gap between mages and locks. I have seen a lock dot up a mage as he flew past on a flying mount to have that mage tumble out of the sky a hundred feet away. Every class seems to have an anti-class, and that's all well and good, but the distance between mages and locks is ridiculous compared to other scenarios. All I am suggesting is a narrowing of the gap, not a reversal of roles.
In re mage armour: I have never deliberately tried taking a warrior with mage armour up. Personally I prefer to use Ice Armour or Molten Armour with impact, as it slows the warrior when he hits me or stuns him. I'll try a BG or two with mage armour, but I confess that I'm dubious about it.
As for imp. blink, I have to admit that I have not yet got round to trying it out, but I don't think that its benefits would be that great - when you've blinked, you're a good distance away from the warrior, and by the time that the warrior has got back in range the proc will have worn off. I suppose that in one of those occasions where blink malfunctions and sends you backwards 5 feet or doesn't move you at all it might be useful, but to be honest I don't think that such a remote combination of circumstances is likely to make a massive difference.
matt Apr 12th 2008 9:01PM
My sarcasm filter broke. I almost seriously replied to the post suggesting Mage Armor is useful against warriors.
Hugh "Nomad" Hancock Apr 13th 2008 6:34AM
"Hunters are difficult if they're bestiality specced"
I know people keep saying hunters need some love, but that REALLY wasn't what we had in mind...
Chronic Apr 14th 2008 5:55PM
Yeah, imp blink is pretty nice versus shadowstep or deadly throw, but I wouldn't think it was that important versus warriors, especially if you're only blinking intercept like the article advocates.
Besides, does anybody have it? Most mages I see are at least 41 frost, usually some 17/0/44 variant. Imp blink requires 22 arcane. I guess ap/pyro is pretty viable in certain comps?
Roxton Apr 15th 2008 5:24AM
@15 (Chronic): I honestly hadn't considered imp. blink against rogues. When hit with a shadowstep, I admit that my reflex is to frost nova and blink, but unless the rogue immediately DT's after my blink I can't see it being very useful. And as a general rule the rogue will probably save DT to interrupt spellcasting. Of course if the rogue was trying to finish you off with DT and imp. blink procced and you lived through it it could help, but I really can't see that happening too often. Hint - if you are casting and see that little dagger flying towards you, then immediately stop casting. You'll still get hit, but won't get the lockdown on that tree for a while.
As for who has it, I imagine that arcane-heavy pom-pyro mages would pick it up, and also spell-power frost mages. It sounds odd, but with shatter and spell power truly mind-numbing combos are available, though of course you miss out on much of the survivability that makes the frost tree good for PvP.
Perhaps someone who has actually bothered to pick up imp. blink could tell us what it's like?
fj Apr 12th 2008 7:02PM
The two times I have read this column, it has been filled with such negative, dubious dribble about mages that I shall never feel the need to read it in the future.
Please, get a new attitude. The en vogue "mages suck" tack is old and tired, annoying, and personally... I just don't buy it.
Matthew Rossi Apr 12th 2008 7:44PM
It's too bad you're reading the column in your head instead of the one he posted, I guess. I didn't see a 'mages suck' anywhere in this post.
Littlemouse Apr 12th 2008 7:14PM
If you want to spend the time recasting remove curse, I'm more than willing to let you >.> Just gives me a minimum of 1.5 seconds more damage on you (barring haste of course), and I can always throw it back up if I feel the need. That's also 1.5 seconds my team gets to play with your teammates without having to worry about you. Good luck with that strategy.