Managing aggro as a Mage

[Ashkael]

Well, the only mage spell that is considered high-aggro by the game is Counterspell. I can see what you mean when you say that there is no such thing as a low aggro, low damage spell from that point of view. However, I still think it makes sense to think of a low damage spell as being more low aggro when compared to something that packs more of a punch. Even though both spells are standard aggro in game terms, the one that does more damage will rack up more hate per hit .

Regarding the multiple low damage spells coment, I am not saying that chain casting multiple low damage spells is lower aggro than using stronger ones. If you cast Scorch like a machine gun, you re going to draw aggro (and sometimes much faster than spamming fireball or frostbolt). What I was trying to say is that if you go slow on the DPS at first, you will A) make the MT's job easier because he won't have to run to save your ass, and B) you will have much more nuking options as the mob's health bar starts going down. I would rather start slow so that I can let loose with all the DPS I want a bit later, than to make the tank work extra hard and possibly get myself killed.

Regarding the two case example, I would use the low damage spell on second 4, not 2
;).

Now, I wrote this mainly from a 5-man point of view. I rarely raid, and when I do so it's to help guildies. If I ever want to run a high level instance other than UBRS, I do so in a 5 man group. If you raid in guild-only groups, most of this material is meaningless to you because mobs willl be dying faster than you can get 2 frostbolts/fireballs in. However, if you go on pick up groups, it changes things a bit as sometimes you can pull aggro with your wand :P.