#0 - Aug. 17, 2007, 5:06 p.m.
This guide will give you tips, hints, information, on how to squeeze the maximum out of your mage, movement wise.
I have made several movies because i want the message to be as clear as possible.
The stuff i will present in this topic, is usable for PVE, as well as for PVP.
Most of the things i describe here i've learned out of my own experience, and/or own thoughts about how things should work. some stuff i've seen from other mage movies offcourse, but it's perhaps nice to have all the stuff in one topic.
The goal is to have one complete guide on the mage-eu forums, so every mage can learn, adapt, be better at handling, squeeze just THAT little more out of your mage, while hoping you will be able to annihilate most other classes ingame even harder and more near perfection!,(except for soullink lifedrain locks offcourse ;) )
If you think something is incomplete, or invalid, please say so, i will add the stuff, completely with movies and screenshots. Perhaps i can learn things i didn't know as well :)
If things could be done better, or more easy, then please say so, i'm not perfect after all :)
The movies are available in livestream (video.google.com) or highres divx movies from my webspace ;)
(note, this is work in progress, dependant if people actually are intrested in this stuff)
1. Introduction
2. lagcasting, (abusing lag for your own benefit)
3. Blink movement and the global cooldown
4. frostnova (gaining as much distance possible in the shortest ammount of time)
5. Aoe Spells (bugs and how to work around it)
6. Cone of cold Movement.
7. Polymorph and pulling.
8. /stopcasting, and how it works.
9. Using rank 1 spells. (how, why, when)
10. Important Mods
11. Gear, spec, diffrence in talents, Enchants.
12. Keybindings http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=508741315&postId=13808143783&sid=1#78
13. Duels, and how to beat classes in general.
14. Dictionary
1. Introduction
The purpose of this guide is to have an complete overview from the collection of spells wich a mage got to offer.
I'm hoping, to create a sort of guide, wich could lead mage handling to almost perfection for everyone who reads it. i need your help as well for that :). If things could be improved, better done because i need to lern2play etc, please let me know, so i can alter it in this guide.
2. Lag casting (abusing lag for your own benefit)
At first we are going to discuss what i call "lagcasting" (dunno if there's an official phrase for it)
Basicly, when you cast a spell like frostbolt, your wow client allways will suffer some lag / delay, because your computer needs
to communicate to the servers in france over the internet. That is some distance, and that's why you experience a little delay while playing.
Your spells will allways be finished about 5 / 10% earlier then your castbar is showing.
The mod Quartz, shows the actual lag you had when you started to cast your frostbolt. this way you can time your lagcasting more accurately.
The following movie shows how you can gain distance the best way without using frostnova.
Lowres/Stream: http://video.google.nl/videoplay?docid=-5565342921225724889
Highres/DivX: http://www.solipsist.biz/kiting/lagcasting.avi
Basicly, you see me casting a frostbolt.
i turn around immediately, and start walking, before the cast finished casting!
You would think that the spell would be cancelled because we are walking at the moment.
The truth is, that the server allready finished the spell, but your client doesn't know it because ofthe lag / delay from the servers in france.
You walk away, and the client actually thinks the spell was cancelled. However, the server will tell your client that your frostbolt was fired off properly.
So now you are walking backwards, while casting a frostbolt, wich gives you more space while kiting.
Here another example:
Lowres/Stream: http://video.google.nl/videoplay?docid=-2297340234093206792
Highres/DivX: http://www.solipsist.biz/kiting/lagcastingpolymorph.avi
So, you cast polymorph, and you walk away before the spell even finished. but the ogre still got sheeped!
I use this myself mostly in PVP scenarios. Especially now the duration is getting nerfed to 10 seconds, you want to buy every inch you can get.
Imagine the following procedure:
The rogue ambushes.
You blink and walk 1.5sec
after 1.5sec you cast poly, and right before it's finished you walk away, to get just that extra distance.
Now the rogue uses his pvp trinket, and you cast poly again.
You've cut yourself some more distance, so you can polymorph him for the second time safely (we don't talk about the pvp hands ;) its just an example)
3. Blink movement and the global cooldown
The concept of this is very simple.
Basicly, when you press blink, you will be teleported forwards instantly (most of the times anyway).
So, you have blinked forward, but your global cooldown still has to wait out its cooldown of 1.5 seconds.
I see a lot of mages spam blink when they get ambushed by a rogue, and they stand still after blink, spamming their poly button for 1.5 sec.
The goal of the mage in general is to "not get hit"
What you should do is:
Press blink
walk forward for 1,5 seconds right after you pressed blink. The range you are getting here, is totally free, because you can't cast spells anyway for that 1,5 seconds. why not use those 1.5 seconds as much as possible into your advantage.
When the global cooldown is over, you can continue with what you were doing offcourse ;)
Since you can't do anything other then walking anyway while waiting on the global cooldown, it's better to gain the maximum distance possible, as it could buy you JUST that little time you needed in order to survive.
3. Frostnova
As a mage, you want to have the max distance in almost every situation.
I've seen alot of mages cast frostnova, walk backwards(!), and then cast a frostbolt + icelance.
You want to make sure that if you are running away to gain distance, you allways will walk forward, in the opposite direction, or strafe, if that's more your thing.
The next movie shows what in my opinion the best way is to cast frostnova, and to gain max range/distance in the shortest timeframe.
Lowres/Stream: http://video.google.nl/videoplay?docid=8217138977440205208
Highres/DivX: http://www.solipsist.biz/kiting/frostnova.avi
Basicly, i lagcast a frostbolt and i'm running away allready from the ogre
when the frostbolt is launched while i walk away and it has hit the ogre, i cast frostnova while still running away from him.
This way, you will get the most range the fastest way.
I've compiled a slowmotion video of the actual action. This slowmotion video shows very clearly, what actually is happening.
Lowres/Stream: http://video.google.nl/videoplay?docid=4443480735828873436&hl=nl
Highres/DivX: http://www.solipsist.biz/kiting/frostnovaslowmo.avi
You have to be carefull with this though.
Unfortunately we mages suffer a little bug with frostnova.
If you cast a frostbolt, and a frostnova to fast, the frostbolt will kill the frostnova immediately
You could see it as, the frostbolt is still flying to the enemy, and you cast frostnova even before frostbolt has landed.
this way the frostnova gets destroyed immediately, and you don't want that.
Here a little demonstration on how broken the mechanic really is.
Lowres/Stream: http://video.google.nl/videoplay?docid=2901595381753903158
Highres/DivX: http://www.solipsist.biz/kiting/frostnovabreak.avi
You can clearly see in the movie, that frostnova hit that ogre for 145, but it didn't get rooted.
You want to take this into account while doing this stuff :)
5. Aoe Spells (bugs and how to work around it)
(have to rework this story / movies, it has been changed)
