Questions (New mage)

[Ranem]

Yeah so, I'm currently leveling a mage and would like some guidance.

Now, I know there's guides and whatnot in this forum, and I've read em, and will most likely use em when I get to raid.
But, first of all, I would like to know, is there any sets that I should get just quickly right after I ding 80?

Easy to get items that is always good to have for a new mage, that wont take weeks to get (Mainly just to get somewhat prepared)
of course it doesn't have to be epics and such, but good blue items and such..There must be some stuff any new mage SHOULD get?

Also, I would really appreciate it if someone could explain me all this hit-cap stuff, I know there is a cap on certain stuff and you shouldn't get more than needed,
but could someone explain me a bit more about it, and what the caps are?

Of course, I would also like to know what people think are the best spec for raiding right now (And maybe what they will go for in cataclysm)

Thanks, would really help me out!

[Eijnar]

When you ding lvl 80 start farming HCs to buy ilvl232 gear and if you got some gold you can always buy some BoEs or craft something, but if I were you I wouldn't throw too much gold after your character for raiding since Cata isn't that far away.

Hit cap: The cap to any boss is 17% hit, boomkins and spriests puts a debuff on the boss which grants you +3% hit. You can get 1% hit if you are in a grp. with a spacecow and depending on your spec you will have hittalents (arcane / frost)

Gl and HF

[Togarox]

When you hit 80 put the frost savage stuff on if you can find it cheap http://www.wowhead.com/item=43972 . I know they kinda suck but they will definately get you to be able to do most heroics. Then at that point do heroics slowly building up ilevel 200 blues and epics along with triumph badges to get 232 stuff. Once you get high enough you can also specifically queue for heroic ToC and the ICC heroics to get gear from those places. Goal is to get in full 232/245 gear. Also do VoA. At that point you should be able to do the 1st couple bosses in ICC.

This is a great guide for how you can gear/gem. It will also explain hit. http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/689924-Mage-PvE-FAQ

Best spec for raiding atm is arcane.

[Ranem]

When you ding lvl 80 start farming HCs to buy ilvl232 gear and if you got some gold you can always buy some BoEs or craft something, but if I were you I wouldn't throw too much gold after your character for raiding since Cata isn't that far away.

Hit cap: The cap to any boss is 17% hit, boomkins and spriests puts a debuff on the boss which grants you +3% hit. You can get 1% hit if you are in a grp. with a spacecow and depending on your spec you will have hittalents (arcane / frost)

Gl and HF

So should I get around 12% hit myself?

[Stirge]

If you're arcane, you get 6% hit from talents, so you need 11% from other sources. If you can count on the 3% hit from spriests/boomkin, you only need 8% from gear, and if you're Alliance scum with a space goat around(including yourself if you are one), you only need 7% from gear.

If you're fire, you get no hit from talents, so you need a minimum of 13% from gear.

A lot of people will keep a couple of spare pieces of gear around with a lot of hit on them for when there is no one to bring the buffs; the tiny loss in dps from stats is completely eclipsed by the huge loss of dps that missing represents. (Sometimes it will seem like a 1% miss chance is acceptable, and then RNG will decide it's your turn in the barrel and you will miss 3 or 4 times in a row, and you will realize that it is never worth it.)

[Valanna]

Best spec for raiding atm is arcane.

I would like a source on that.

[Deleted]

I made a list off the top of my head of easily obtainable pre-raid epics you can get within a couple of weeks, for some douchebag who didnt think you could get 900+ haste without raiding.

Anyway, here it is:

http://www.wowhead.com/item=47693 (Triumph Badges)
http://www.wowhead.com/item=50211 (Last boss FoS HC)
http://www.wowhead.com/item=47715 (Triumph Badges)
http://www.wowhead.com/item=51332 (Toravon or 52k Honor)
http://www.wowhead.com/item=47603 (Crafted, easily obtainable mats nowadays)
http://www.wowhead.com/item=47585 (Crafted, easily obtainable mats nowadays)
http://www.wowhead.com/item=47752 (Triumph Badges)
http://www.wowhead.com/item=50314 (HoR Heroic)
http://www.wowhead.com/item=47750 (Triumph Badges)
http://www.wowhead.com/item=50286 (PoS HC)
http://www.wowhead.com/item=50377 (4 ICC Rep Runs)
http://www.wowhead.com/item=47732 (Triumph Badges)
http://www.wowhead.com/item=48724 (Triumph Badges)
http://www.wowhead.com/item=47213 (ToC 5 Normal)
http://www.wowhead.com/item=50210 (FoS HC)
http://www.wowhead.com/item=50309 (HoR HC)
http://www.wowhead.com/item=49852 (Trash drop in any ICC 5 man Normal dungeon)

So in total thats 872 haste, without any enchants or gems

That at least points you in the right direction of where to find some things. There are other alternatives too though, you just have to try and farm normal ICC 5 man dungeons anddo the heroic ones when you can everyday. Other than that just badge farm. Try get a healer/tank friend with you to make the queues quicker.

For spec, Arcane is the best starting spec because you get 6% of Hit rating from talents. For a raid boss the total required hit rating is 17% however you also get 3% from a spriest/boomkin, and if you're alliance another 1% from a space goat. So in total, the maximum hit rating you'll need from gear itself is 8%. (17 - [3+6] = 8).

When/if you get ICC gear, Fire is somewhat superior if you have the gear for it(800+ haste, 14% hit rating from gear, quite a lot of crit unbuffed). Fire is also looking to be quite tasty in Cataclysm so that is likely what I'll be going with, however I'm still not ruling out Arcane (even though I can bet it'll be boring to play still).

[Kynyia]

Best spec for raiding atm is arcane.

I've found in top end gear and even in normal ICC gear fire is on par with arcane. Plus its way more fun ^.^
Just dont go fire unless you have a ton of crit or its a major dps loss O_o

[Ranem]

Thanks a lot guys! Now I know what direction to go.

Guess I'm gonna stick with Arcane and go with Arcane Blastx4-->Missile Barrage as rotation as suggested in the other thread

Specialy Towertom for that list

[Jartin]

Best spec for raiding atm is arcane.

ORLY?

http://worldoflogs.com/rankings/play...n_Citadel/dps/
I see one arcane mage.

[Slavrick]

When you first hit 80 stay arcane, it's better at lower gear scores, go fire later when/if you get good gear. Fire is supposed to be best with better gear.

[Ranem]

Just a small update kinda thing..
Thanks a lot for the help, just wondering if anybody got a screenshot of their UI (With arcane) Would like to know the best way to set it up skill wise (I'm not a clicker, and I know its a bit personal how you like it but still) just to get an idea!

Thanks.

[Stirge]

No screenie, but AB is 1, AM is 2, ABarr is 3, Fire Blast is Q, Ice Lance is E, and all my macros plus Blink, Spellsteal, Counterspell, Invisibility, and Ice Block are bound to my mouse. But my mouse has 15 buttons, so that may not be for everyone. AoE stuff is 4-5-6-7, and everything else is at random places in my huge mess of Bartender bars that makes all my guildies mad when they see it, and I just click on the non-essential stuff.

[Meloklin]

There's a sticky'd post for Macros, find some you like and use it. I have a macro where I blow all my cool downs at once, freeing up like 4 buttons? on my UI. Check it out, really helpful. Stirge's post about sums it up, you can get most of the core buttons in the first six buttons on your action bar, the rest is up to your personal preference.

[Popesickle]

Find a buddy and farm normal TOC5 man and normal ICC 5 man instances until you are geared enough for heroics, then run random heroics.

[Ranem]

Thanks a lot guys, really helped me a lot. I'm pulling around 2k - 2,5k in my noobish gear but people seem to be alright with that!