Mage leveling is horrible.

[apelsinjuice]

just watch JokerdTVs commentary video when he did the leveling, playing solo and he was top 1 all the way, pre level 21 is not a problem if you know what you are doing

[Krawu]

So I am almost to level 20 on my mage & let me say it has been a painful grind to say the least. I die A LOT! I got frustrated & decided to roll a Paladin; plate armor & healing abilities, unstoppable right? Um, no. I survive a bit better; now I can pull 3 maybe 4 mobs if I get lucky, but I'm far from invincible . This game is just hard & that is okay. Now I'm playing my mage again & not feeling like a squishy nub.

Some classes are quicker and/or easier to level than others. That's fine. Wouldn't have thought Paladin to be easier than Mage but if you feel that way more power to you.

But when you feel like you can't get something done on your own? - That's when you're supposed to group up. Just ask some random dude who's killing the same mobs as you if he has quest x as well. Chances are they do, and even if they're almost done, every single one has helped me finish mine so far because mobs actually give pretty good XP.

If you feel like a squishy nub on your mage either find someone to tank those mobs for you, find someone who can heal you or someone who will nuke them down with you twice as fast.

There's a million things to do in Classic, but none of them can be done quickly. Once you accept that fact it becomes much easier and less painful.

[clevin]

But when you feel like you can't get something done on your own? - That's when you're supposed to group up. Just ask some random dude who's killing the same mobs as you if he has quest x as well. Chances are they do, and even if they're almost done, every single one has helped me finish mine so far because mobs actually give pretty good XP.

This. SO much this. Did this last night and it turned out the druid was having issues too and was on a quest I didn't even know about and so I not only got my quest done, I got another one. And faster.

This is something very different from retail and I think newer players will need to get used to it. No, you don't HAVE to talk to others but it helps if you do.

[Krawu]

This. SO much this. Did this last night and it turned out the druid was having issues too and was on a quest I didn't even know about and so I not only got my quest done, I got another one. And faster.

This is something very different from retail and I think newer players will need to get used to it. No, you don't HAVE to talk to others but it helps if you do.

Because of this social dynamic I've had more new additions to my Friend List these past seven days than in the seven years before Classic.

[NoRest4Wicked]

But when you feel like you can't get something done on your own? - That's when you're supposed to group up. Just ask some random dude who's killing the same mobs as you if he has quest x as well. Chances are they do, and even if they're almost done, every single one has helped me finish mine so far because mobs actually give pretty good XP.

This is very true. In actual vanilla, I leveled as a mage. Around the time I got to Red Ridge Mountains, I ran into a priest and we grouped. Then we grouped again, and again. Eventually, we ran into a druid, and we all grouped. All the way to 60, through MC and Naxx. Heck, to this day I still keep in touch with both of them even though we no longer play the same games.

[Drutt]

Because of this social dynamic I've had more new additions to my Friend List these past seven days than in the seven years before Classic.

I've said almost the exact same thing multiple times over the last week. It's a massive shift from the mentality of Retail.

[Adoxe]

Mage is literally the best leveling class in Classic.

[clevin]

I've said almost the exact same thing multiple times over the last week. It's a massive shift from the mentality of Retail.

The thing is, people coming from retail who started after LK or so never really did this so they're not used to it. It will take some time for it to become a thing again, I think.

The advent of battlegroup-wide LFD and LFR in Cata meant that you rarely needed to have a friends list or even a a guild for 5 mans or raids and starting in LK it was easy enough to do quests solo that you didn't need help there, so this dynamic just fell by the wayside.

[ReVnX]

Don't you dare try a warrior

[Mirabai]

Did you fight the turtles in hillsbrad? They have insane magic resist. I was very surprised when it took my whole mana bar and wanding to kill one green turtle...

Nah - it was one of the centaurs in thousend needles.

[Nyel]

Mage is easy due to various benefits:

- Teleport
- CC
- Free Water

Try leveling as a hybrid, god that's painful. Especially until level 20+. Druid feels even worse than Shaman, trying Priest at the moment. The advantage of Shaman is melee attacks with weapon buffs deal a ton of damage. For Druids they're still okay but for Priests... they deal almost zero damage.

Alone the free water/food from Mages saves you so much time and money.

[Coffer]

Yeah, it's only after 20 that mages really come alive through AoE grinding. Before that, it's not all that fun.

[Th3Scourge]

It sucks until you can get blizzard. Then the fun starts.

[Tekkommo]

Playing my first Mage in Classic, I'm amazed how easy it is, and aoe farming is great fun in short bursts.

To be fair though, Mage 1-20 is not that great.

[RealRevChris]

You're playing the class completely wrong if you think it's difficult to level. Frost mages can easily AOE grind melee mobs down, you have poly, frost nova/frostbite, ice armor, cone of cold. Basically you have an endless amount of roots and snares to keep enemies from striking you. If you're getting worked it's YOU, not the class.

Really? So when I'm shooting a mob & another one spawns right on top of me, I'm playing the class wrong? I have tried the AOE farming & I go OOM after 2 blizzards then all of the mobs come after me.

[Beazy]

Mage is literally the best leveling class in Classic.

Not until about 22 and you get the third 75% movement reduction talent in Blizzard. Even then, its still not that good until you have all three points int 15% chance to freeze with frost damage.

THEN Mage becomes the AoE grindhouse. You have to go through some shitty slow leveling to get there, but boy is it worth it. So glad I chose mage for Classic.

[Rotted]

coming up to 20 myself on a mage,

only issue Ive had is some scourge in silverpine forest. Little fuckers have an insane life drain ability, with range and a long arse channel. Caught me off guard every friken time.

[Nhodjin]

My tip for everyone is never kill mobs equal your level or 1 higher, always go for those 1-2 or even 3 lower. Less resists/parries/misses etc and for physical classes more crit. Overall your downtime is decreased by a lot

[Anastacy]

Really? So when I'm shooting a mob & another one spawns right on top of me, I'm playing the class wrong? I have tried the AOE farming & I go OOM after 2 blizzards then all of the mobs come after me.

If you don't learn where the mobs spawn or where they patrol, and you die because one spawns on you...yes, you're playing incorrectly.

[Xykotic]

Strange. I'd argue mages have the best time leveling, even exceeding Hunters in accessibility. They have food and water at their fingertips, they have portals and teleports ontop of just generally being an extremely strong class with unmatched AoE potential. The only real downside to mages is that there's so many, and I can't imagine how long its gonna take to gear all the mages we have.