Anyone who cares about min/maxing their new mage is going to want to know what the best race for mage is. Picking based on looks is great, but if you either like all the races or just don't care, picking based on racials is the best option. We'll talk about the pros and cons of each of the three Alliance mage races.
Human is the first and probably most common choice for mage. For PvP, Every Man for Himself truly shines, along with the rogue and druid-busting Perception. Getting to equip two high-end PvE trinkets AND being better at catching stealthers? Humans are amazing for PvP.
For PvE, however, these abilities are less useful. Sure, they will occasionally allow you to break some form of CC and continue DPSing, but this is a situational ability and is easily overshadowed by other racials. So for PvE-centric players, I would skip Human as an option.
Next option for potential alliance mages is gnome. Escape Artist is another great PvP racial with limited PvE uses, as is Arcane Resistance...but Expansive Mind is an amazing all-around racial that will impact heavily on both PvE and PvP mages. So gnome is a great all around choice for anyone rolling mage.
The final option on the Alliance side for mages is Draenei. Gift of the Naaru, a fairly-powerful HoT racial, is pretty handy for PvP and even has some use in PvE; not dying is great for improving your DPS. And even if you aren't in risk of dying, taking pressure off raid healers can be good for the raid as a whole.
Gift of the Naaru isn't the big thing on the Draenei racial list though. Heroic Presence, a 1% hit bonus to yourself and your party, is what makes them worth rolling. Missing spells can prove fatal in PvP and gimp DPS in PvE, so being capped is vital...and this talent means you can stat more offensive stats instead of stacking hit. Rounding out their racial list is a 2% shadow resistance, all together making Draenei another good choice for mage.
So none of the Alliance races is really a bad option, except for humans for PvE...but what is the best race for mage? Human wins handily in the PvP category; being able to toss on two high-end trinkets and blast away is just too amazing to pass up.
And for PvE? It kind of depends. If you are going to be running with other Draenei, then Heroic Presence is wasted, since it doesn't stack. And even then, the Intellect bonus from Gnome is hard to ignore. So I'd say in most cases, Gnome is going to pan out to be your best choice for PvE.
I hope this guide has helped you figure out which race to roll for your Alliance mage! I'll be doing a write-up on Horde races soon, so keep an eye out for that. - 29852
Human is the first and probably most common choice for mage. For PvP, Every Man for Himself truly shines, along with the rogue and druid-busting Perception. Getting to equip two high-end PvE trinkets AND being better at catching stealthers? Humans are amazing for PvP.
For PvE, however, these abilities are less useful. Sure, they will occasionally allow you to break some form of CC and continue DPSing, but this is a situational ability and is easily overshadowed by other racials. So for PvE-centric players, I would skip Human as an option.
Next option for potential alliance mages is gnome. Escape Artist is another great PvP racial with limited PvE uses, as is Arcane Resistance...but Expansive Mind is an amazing all-around racial that will impact heavily on both PvE and PvP mages. So gnome is a great all around choice for anyone rolling mage.
The final option on the Alliance side for mages is Draenei. Gift of the Naaru, a fairly-powerful HoT racial, is pretty handy for PvP and even has some use in PvE; not dying is great for improving your DPS. And even if you aren't in risk of dying, taking pressure off raid healers can be good for the raid as a whole.
Gift of the Naaru isn't the big thing on the Draenei racial list though. Heroic Presence, a 1% hit bonus to yourself and your party, is what makes them worth rolling. Missing spells can prove fatal in PvP and gimp DPS in PvE, so being capped is vital...and this talent means you can stat more offensive stats instead of stacking hit. Rounding out their racial list is a 2% shadow resistance, all together making Draenei another good choice for mage.
So none of the Alliance races is really a bad option, except for humans for PvE...but what is the best race for mage? Human wins handily in the PvP category; being able to toss on two high-end trinkets and blast away is just too amazing to pass up.
And for PvE? It kind of depends. If you are going to be running with other Draenei, then Heroic Presence is wasted, since it doesn't stack. And even then, the Intellect bonus from Gnome is hard to ignore. So I'd say in most cases, Gnome is going to pan out to be your best choice for PvE.
I hope this guide has helped you figure out which race to roll for your Alliance mage! I'll be doing a write-up on Horde races soon, so keep an eye out for that. - 29852
About the Author:
Enjoy the article? Check out my site about everything related to WoW gold at http://wowgoldspot.blogspot.com. For more about mages in particular, check out my guide to Mage Gold!
