A Guide to Mages comment thread

[Skandranon]

I can't claim to have read every word, but I gave the guide a long skim and it looked great!  One addition I have is that you might want to emphasize Counterspell a little more.  After experiencing a shadow spec'd Priest's Silence spell, I can't believe how rarely I see mages using Counterspell.  In fact, I ran into several level 60 mages in the beta who didn't even have it hotkeyed.  That's nuts!  As you say, it's a great way to get a caster mob to come forward and get pummeled.  Especially now that Taunt has been *improved* so that one cast of Taunt can get the mob off the mage, Counterspell should be a normal part of a mage's repertoire.

Absolutely. Perhaps I should emphasize the level 24 barrier a little more. Quite simply, a mage's anti-caster battles are defined by pre-Counterspell and post-Counterspell, which is as massive an impact as any skill could possibly have. I can write that into the Counterspell description.

Regarding group dynamics in late game play, I'll give you a preview:  Mages are the most powerful AoE casters in the game and that AoE damage becomes critical in so many situations in late game instances.  Warlocks can do decently well, but their AoE channeling spells can be more easily interrupted and aren't quite as good.  No other classes come close to the AoE damage that mages and to some extent warlocks can deliver.

I suspected that situations requiring AoE would become more common in the late game, though not to such a large degree. Right now, AoEing is still optional, though with Consecration and the warrior's AoE taunts coming into play to make AoE spellcasting easier, I can see where it becomes more crucial. Should be interesting.