Mage or Warlock

[upgraded]

Im lvling a new toon soon not sure wether to lvl a mage or a warlock. was wondering what u thought of the 2 classes. I like both playing styles the same so no play what u like most i like them the same.

[Trilic]

Hate to say it but warlock may be more exciting come cata with their whole new shard source and whatnot.

[upgraded]

i was thinking that to i do like all the things mages can do tho like slow fall poly make food and water.

[shikamarú]

why don't you try them both out ? :P

[upgraded]

kinda hard to lvl both of them to 80 fast lol

[shikamarú]

Well i lvled a shaman and warrior to lvl 30 both of em and i liked the playstyle of the warrior more so i chose the warrio :P

[upgraded]

i have played both of em at higher lvls but i cant decide what play style i like more which is my problem lol

[Advent]

Mage: Pros

Amazing Frost leveling spec once you achieve level 40.
Arguably the best scaling caster class in the game
Strong group/raid synergy

Cons:

Slow leveling despite its ease.
Very difficult learning curve in pvp
Easy to pick up, very hard to master

Warlock Pros:

Questing is made easier with the presence of a pet/minion
Multitude of spells at low levels makes a warlock very engaging
Raiding/Grouping with a warlock is very rewarding with invaluable utility

Warlock Cons:

Frustrating scaling issues with both destruction and affliction
Micro managing pet abilities can be daunting and irritating.
Very difficult to learn to play one well in PvP
Susceptible to melee attacks unless one has incredibly foresight.

[upgraded]

thnx advent that rly helps makes me lean towards mage now tho lol

[Jester_Joker]

Mage. Simple as that.

Not really... My warlock is only level 59, but I have played both on the PTR and enjoyed Mage so much more. The learning curve is a bit easier as far as starting out goes, but it is not a totally noob-friendly class; it will take some work to get truly good, but if you can do it I promise you will enjoy Mage so very much.

[Spitfyre]

i agree, from a purely pve (which is what i play) mages are not only more easy to pick up but are imo less clunky. consider this before you choose though.... both classes have summon/port spam inc at all times.

[Swizzle]

mages are not the best scaling casters in the game, that honor goes to locks. though all of this will change next xpac and we will have to see how fel armor and molten armor get reworked.

[joppas]

Would have to go with mage. Easy to play and dosnt requier much skill to play well in pve and pvp (yes i said it)

[twrule]

From a purely PvE perspective:

I'd like to add from personal experience that imo mage 1-20 is incredibly dull (basically 1 button spam), yet about 60ish-80 was some of the most fun I've had playing a class (I recommend leveling arcane at that point) and I've played almost all of them to high levels. Before that, aoe frost farming spec or fire depending on your playstyle/preference.

Haven't had as much experience with lock at high levels, but I know there is a good amount of micromanagement going on. You need dot-timer addons that you'll be watching alot, you'll need to pay attention to your pet - some fights more than others, you need to manage soul shards, etc. Mage is much simpler and less tedious in almost every way you can think of, but it depends on whether you like simplicity or complexity in your game.

The only thing simpler about a lock is probably their main CC, because a mage has to worry about resheeping if/when it gets broken, but a lock can banish something and let the group/raid go nuts with AoE right on top of the target, which is sweet. Lock has many other types of CC too that are more complex to deal with (need to be macroed to be used easily).

I've seen some evidence to suggest that locks have the higher dps potential recently, especially once 3.3 hits - could be wrong though. So again, it's all about how you play. If you want to work hard for your dps with possibly a bigger payoff, go lock - if you like simple and easy fun and not sweating the fine details, you'd probably be better suited to the mage class.

[blargh312]

mages are not the best scaling casters in the game, that honor goes to locks.

You're an idiot if you believe this.

[tanked]

Others have noted some decent info, so ill just post what i have come to find while playing both classes.

lock - lvling is easy, having a pet tank lets you solo group quests.
raiding is fun, detro lock is probably one of my fav things to play.

mage - takes soo long to lvl. constant down time. no wonder they make food, you would go broke buying food / water alone.
raiding is also fun, seeing big ass numbers is always nice.

both take skill in their own way. personally i prefer lock. being able to solo stuff is what does it for me.

[Swizzle]

You're an idiot if you believe this.

and you're an idiot if you don't

[Lordcrimmeh]

and you're an idiot if you don't

Bull. See http://www.mmo-champion.com/class-wa...-suck-so-much/

[blargh312]

and you're an idiot if you don't

Nice comeback...

In reality, the Arcane Mage's net scaling factor is much higher than that of a Warlock, regardless of the Warlock's spec. This is obscenely obvious to most people running ToC.

[Xiun]

If you think it takes long to level as a mage you need to get checked. Yes, at first we need to drink quite a bit, but then after, when you are frost, you almost never go OOM.

PvE, mages are pretty easy, arcane and fire rotation are quite simple. I can't say for a lock, I have yet to pick one up.

PvP, mages are hell. You will start out frustrated and confused, and end up posting pointless threads on how mages suck. But, after long, tedious hours of learning the class' mechanics, how to use CDs, counter etc, you are a force to be reconded with, and it is very rewarding when 3 people of the opposite faction try and take you down and fail.

All in all, mage takes a lot of work to maximize, but it is very rewarding in the end.