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Picking The Best Race For Mage As Alliance
By Thomas Maryland | December 3, 2009
Anyone who cares about min/maxing their new mage is going to want to know what the best race for mage is. Picking based on looks is great, but if you either like all the races or just don’t care, picking based on racials is the best option. We’ll talk about the pros and cons of each of the three Alliance mage races.
First to bat is human. They have a few talents that make them awesome choices for PvP mages. Every Man for Himself acts as a PvP trinket…meaning you can now equip two normal trinkets. Given the massive power of top-end PvE trinkets, this is an enormous bonus for any PvP mage. Add in Perception for busting rogues out of stealth, and you have a great PvP race.
But while they shine in PvP, Human is somewhat less amazing in PvE. Every Man for Himself will let you get back to DPSing on the occasion where you get CC’d, but overall it just doesn’t mean much. The only other thing worth noting is the 3% spirit bonus…and since Spirit is a terrible stat, it doesn’t really help pull human out of the pit as far as PvE goes. Skip them if PvE is your main focus.
Next up is gnome. Gnome is another good choice for PvP thanks to Escape Artist and their passive 2% resistance to Arcane. And Expansive Mind, a 5% bonus to Intellect, is great for anyone rolling mage, be it for PvP or PvE. Gnome is a solid choice for an all-around player.
The final option on the Alliance side for mages is Draenei. Gift of the Naaru, a fairly-powerful HoT racial, is pretty handy for PvP and even has some use in PvE; not dying is great for improving your DPS. And even if you aren’t in risk of dying, taking pressure off raid healers can be good for the raid as a whole.
What Draenei has that really makes them shine is Heroic Presense. This free 1% hit for all party members is a great bonus for PvP and PvE; missing key spells is horrible in PvP, and no stat improves PvE damage more than hit prior to the cap. Add in their 2% shadow resistance and Draenei is a solid choice all around.
So none of the Alliance races is really a bad option, except for humans for PvE…but what is the best race for mage? Human wins handily in the PvP category; being able to toss on two high-end trinkets and blast away is just too amazing to pass up.
And PvE? Heroic Presence doesn’t stack…so go Draenei only if you know you won’t be partied with other Draenei. Otherwise, roll a gnome and enjoy the massive Intellect bonus from Expansive Mind and you’ll do well for yourself.
Hopefully this has answered your questions about which race to roll for Alliance mages. Horde races will be the next thing I write about, so be sure to give that a look if you aren’t sure what faction you are going to play.
Like this article? Check out my blog about everything related to WoW gold at http://wowgoldspot.blogspot.com. And for more about mages in particular, check out my guide to Mage Gold!
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