Post by dervasavred
I'd like to say that this guide and WoWWiki have been amazing for my character. I've leveled up fairly consistently and I've been enjoying the Mage again.
I just recently started a new lowbie Mage from level 1, no RAF. I've been leveling her as Frost AoE. This is not my first AoE experience but it is my first in about 2.5 years as a Mage, so take that how you want. I'm using the BoA PvE stuff, fully enchanted (staff, robe, shoulders, SP trinkets) so I've got a healthy amount of SP on this toon.
Glyph recommendation: Evocation. Seriously. I am in love with this Glyph. It's so, so, so handy. I wish I could use Ice Barrier right now but I am not high enough yet.
Another tip for your early leveling:
get an 80 Druid friend to buff you with Thorns while his/her Spellpower is as high as he/she can get it. You'll get the rank one version but his/her Spellpower will increase the damage done anyway by the Thorns. As an example, at level 3, the Thorns on me was hitting my enemies for 58-70; I would literally run through the mob and smack it with my staff and keep running. When the mob hit me, it died. This makes 1-10 literally a joke. It's ridiculous.
All right, so, we're sitting at
level 20. You can't start Blizzard grinding yet but you can start Flamestrike grinding down in
Bael Modan in Southern Barrens. I stayed here until 24 (don't forget to train!).
LEVEL 24-28(9):At 24, I hit Hillsbrad Foothills at the farms listed in this guide. Very nice, very solid grinding.
The farm closest to the road has the highest level mobs. Watch for patrols in the middle section along the road and in the back. There are three named mobs that spawn (level 26s) and I believe they have about 10-15% more health. They're no problem to kill but be wary of a sudden spawn once in a while. There are so many mobs here there will never be completely empty areas unless someone else is there.
Avoid the casters by the castle/town hall building. They look like Priests.
LEVEL 29-34(5):At 29, I hit Dabyrie's Farmstead in Arathi Highlands since I had 3/3 Elemental Precision. This spot is AMAZING. I AoEd this spot on my old-school Undead Mage back in Vanilla, so I've got experience here.
The map's main dot on the farm is Dabyrie's. The dots out in the green, grassy areas are where I did the Raptor packs I mention later.
You will have a resist once in a while at this level. RUN like hell if this happens and reset the pull.
Watch for the two patrols along the East and South roads beside the farm.
There are about 13-14 mobs in the farm itself, with 3 outside the barn and 3 inside, plus about 5-6 in the stable at the West end of the farm and another 5-6 up the hill to the North around the house. Watch for Dabyrie Militia patrols, as they are level 32.
There are 3 named mobs here that can spawn in a couple of different spots:
--one in the Stables (level 34)
--one in the house (always there; level 34-5)
--one next to the barn, either on the North side, the South side or slightly West (level 34)
--one next to the Stables, a few feet North (level 34)
All the named mobs wear differently-colored clothing, so they are easy to distinguish.
So, basically, until level 32 or so, as long as you stick to JUST the main farm, you should be golden.
When you're waiting for the humans to respawn, run around the general area and AoE small groups of raptors. There are several small packs you can make of 3-5 level 30-32 raptors with ease. Avoid the spiders that roam near the raptors: they have a web-wrap and a poison DoT, plus they're level 34 typically.
LEVEL 35-40:WoWWiki suggests Corahn's Naze or something in Alterac Mountains and so does the "Frost and the Curious" video: I don't recommend it. Slow respawns, the Rogue mobs hit like beasts and the casters can come in one spawn or up to three from my experience. Three casters in the camps suck.
Instead, at 35, I went to
Murlocs in Dustwallow Marsh at Dreadmurk Shore. Very small area but plenty of mobs to keep you busy for some time. There is a kill quest or something for these as I had a few Alliance arrive over the course of two nights, kill a bunch and then disappear.
The island has 20-23 Murlocs on it, in addition to several patrols. WATCH FOR PATROLS ALONG THE BEACH AND AROUND THE PERIMETER OF THE ISLAND. There is a Coastrunner that runs South along the beach from the North end and another Coastrunner that runs around the perimeter of the island you'll be grinding on. There are several Murlocs on the island that wander from the North to the South side of the island, in addition to the two-three up on the "mounds" on the sides of the island.
Do this island in two pulls: you cannot do it in one without Ice Barrier, I promise. Pull the left then the right, preferably grabbing the perimeter-patrolling Coastrunner with the left group.
When the island is clear, go Northwest along the beach, single-target the two or three along the way and you'll see another small group of 6-7 Murlocs near a couple of Murloc huts. There is another close one in the water you can grab, but you can AoE all of these down as well.
When clear, return Southeast, eat, drink and get ready for the next pull in about a minute or 90 seconds. You want the whole island to have respawned.
LEVEL 40-43/4?This is where I am currently.
I tried hitting Tanaris at 40 (Waterspring Fields, not Lost Rigger Cove). There are a mixture of casters as you go further South and they're higher level (43-46 as you go further). Not recommended for level 40.
Instead,
Swamp of Sorrows is where I went (and am currently) killing more Murlocs. This spot is very solid and very quick with a couple of extra camps nearby and even a few single pulls to kill the time out in the water while waiting for respawns.
It seems--on my server at least--that the mobs inside the turtle bodies are bugged and may cause an issue with some mobs Evading after being hit by the Nova, particularly at the Northern-most turtle body in this area. Single-pull the mobs near this turtle or AoE away from the turtle if possible.
If you go North along the beach there are more Murlocs but be aware that there is a level 46 named
Jarquia among the group to the immediate North. You may want to avoid him.
Be careful about going too far North though: eventually you get Oracles mixed in to the camps and they are casters.
As a small bonus here, there is a crocodile on the South end that you can grab with the Murlocs to kill, so you have a unique mob in that pull. Also, the area is crawling with neutral crabs, so, potentially, you can make a 6-pull into an 8- or 9-pull with luck. Just be warned about accidental pulls.
Post by Zababa
I have started a troll mage in patch 3.3 and after reading your guide and watching the awesome "In frost we trust" video, I decided to go frost AoE style. My current level is 50.
I just want to share few things I found out while doing this:
1) You should wait until you get 3/3 Imp. Blizzard and preferably Cone of cold before starting. That is if you are new to the AoE business. If you are below lvl 26 and have problems, fear not. You will get Cone of cold spell which will make your life soo much easier.
2) I am using 2x
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=42992 and it really cuts my downtime. After taking down big group of ~15 mobs I will be at ~80% mana.
3) Use your cooldowns often! It will help you a ton. As a troll I am using Icy Veins on first pull, Berserking on second, Water elemental on third and repeat :-)
4) During the Winter Veil event there are some extra pirate mobs in Tanaris (Southsea Kidnappers) so the spot is even more juicy for AoE leveling/mageweave farming/slaughter for fun. They will most likely be gone after a week so gogo and grind there while you can :-)
5) I can't really decide if AoE grinding is the fastest way to level, but I tell you that it's great great fun if you don't overdo it. I usually clear the spot few times and then move to do nearby quest (AoE style if possible). Other time I am AoE grinding while waiting for my random dungeon group to assemble or while waiting in BG queue.
6) AoE cap introduced in 3.3 can be PITA if you don't mind it. You should start by pulling 10 mobs and see how fast you can kill them. Then you can try more and more and find your magic number :-) I died few times when I recklessly pulled 20+ mobs and ran out of mana.
7) If you are specced according to original post, you have some nice AoE + survival capabilities which can be useful in instances. If you find good tank you can run dungeons and AoE your way through for some extreme XP/hour.With massive pulls of 10+ mobs I was able to dish out 400dps in SM graveyard at lvl 30, using just 2 heirlooms (the trinkets) and some ordinary blue/green gear.
Happy mass-murdering Christmas everyone!