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Leveling a Mage to 30

How to level a Mage from 1 to 30, the current WoW Forever beta cap: which race, every spell and when you get it, the published Frost, Fire and Arcane leveling builds at 20 and 30, what to press, mana and conjured water, kiting, class quests, dungeons from 20 to 30 and what Forever changed.

Written for the WoW Forever beta, where the level cap has been 30 since the 1 October 2026 maintenance (build 1.60.1.70170). Blizzard hasn't said when the cap will rise again. Spells, ranks, tooltips and talents come from the Forever beta client. Class quests come from Classic's data and are labelled as such.

The Mage in a nutshell

A Mage is a spellcaster who fights from range with Fire, Frost and Arcane magic. Your role is damage, often called DPS (damage per second): you kill things, and you keep them away from you while you do it. Most of your attacks reach 30 yards or more in the client, so you start every fight before the mob (a computer-controlled monster) can touch you.

Your resource is mana. Every spell costs some, and when it runs out you sit down and drink. You wear cloth, the lightest armor, and the client lets Mages use staves, daggers, one-handed swords and wands. A wand is a small ranged weapon you shoot without spending mana.

Good at while leveling

Weak at while leveling

Tip: At the Deep Dive panel Blizzard said an ordinary creature should take roughly 10–15 seconds to kill when you're solo. If your fights take much longer, check that you've trained your latest ranks and that your gear isn't far behind your level.

Choosing a race

Six races can be Mages in Forever: Human, Gnome and High Order Skyborne for the Alliance, and Orc, Undead and Troll for the Horde. Orc Mages are new in Forever. There's no best race: racials (race abilities) are small next to your spells and talents, so pick the faction your friends play and the look you like. Here's what each race brings to a Mage.

RaceStarts inRacials that help a Mage
Human (Alliance)Elwynn ForestThe Human Spirit adds 5% Spirit, which means a little faster mana regeneration. Sword Specialization adds 2% crit chance with spells while you hold a sword, and Mages can use one-handed swords. Will to Survive breaks stuns.
Gnome (Alliance)Dun MoroghExpansive Mind gives 5% more maximum mana. Escape Artist breaks roots and slows. Eureka! makes your next 3 attacks cheaper and 10% stronger; its tooltip still says Energy, but Blizzard's September 24 notes made it a Mana discount for every class, and since 1 October it doesn't boost periodic damage at all (channeled spells such as Arcane Missiles don't count as periodic).
High Order Skyborne (Alliance)Zephras Isle, levels 1–12Read Ley Line raises Health and Mana regeneration by 100%, for 15 min if you find a ley line and 15 sec if not. Wind Blessed adds 1% Haste. Walk on Air lets you glide down from heights. Elemental Insight adds 5% damage against Elementals.
Orc (Horde)DurotarBlood Fury raises Spell Power by 10% for 15 sec, a button for tough fights. Shatter Curse removes Curses and Banes and cuts magic damage taken for 8 sec. Hardiness shortens stuns. Axe Specialization needs an axe, which Mages can't use.
Undead (Horde)Tirisfal GladesCannibalize regenerates health and mana from a Humanoid or Undead corpse. Touch of the Grave gives your spells a chance to drain health. Will of the Forsaken breaks Fear, Charm and Sleep.
Troll (Horde)DurotarBerserking speeds up your casting by 10%. Rapid Regeneration gives back 50% of your health over 6 sec if you stand still. Beast Slaying adds 5% damage against Beasts, which you fight a lot while leveling. Regeneration speeds up health regeneration.

Racials from the Forever client. Starting zones for the original races are Classic data; the Skyborne start on Zephras Isle comes from Blizzard's Meet the New Skyborne post, which also says Read Ley Line is the High Order's own racial.

More on every race is in races, classes and racials and meet the Skyborne.

Your spells, level by level

You learn spells, and stronger ranks of spells you already have, from a Mage trainer in your starting area and in the capital cities. The client has something new for Mages at level 1 and at every even level from 4 to 30, so visit a trainer each time you reach an even level. A new rank hits harder and costs more mana. Here's everything the trainer teaches up to 30:

LevelAbilityRank
1Arcane IntellectRank 1
1Chilled
1FireballRank 1
1Frost ArmorRank 1
4Conjure WaterRank 1
4FrostboltRank 1
6Conjure FoodRank 1
6Fire BlastRank 1
6FireballRank 2
8Arcane MissilesRank 1
8FrostboltRank 2
8PolymorphRank 1
10Clearcasting
10Conjure WaterRank 2
10Frost ArmorRank 2
10Frost NovaRank 1
12Conjure FoodRank 2
12Dampen MagicRank 1
12FireballRank 3
12Slow Fall
14Arcane ExplosionRank 1
14Arcane IntellectRank 2
14Fire BlastRank 2
14FrostboltRank 3
16Arcane MissilesRank 2
16FlamestrikeRank 1
18Amplify MagicRank 1
18FireballRank 4
18Remove Lesser Curse
20Blink
20BlizzardRank 1
20Conjure WaterRank 3
20Evocation
20Fire WardRank 1
20Frost ArmorRank 3
20FrostboltRank 4
20Mana ShieldRank 1
20PolymorphRank 2
20Teleport: Ironforge
20Teleport: Orgrimmar
20Teleport: Stormwind
20Teleport: Undercity
22Arcane ExplosionRank 2
22Conjure FoodRank 3
22Fire BlastRank 3
22Frost WardRank 1
22ScorchRank 1
24Arcane MissilesRank 3
24Counterspell
24Dampen MagicRank 2
24FireballRank 5
24FlamestrikeRank 2
26Cone of ColdRank 1
26Frost NovaRank 2
26FrostboltRank 5
28Arcane IntellectRank 3
28BlizzardRank 2
28Conjure Mana Agate
28Mana ShieldRank 2
28ScorchRank 2
30Amplify MagicRank 2
30Arcane ExplosionRank 3
30Conjure WaterRank 4
30Fire BlastRank 4
30Fire WardRank 2
30FireballRank 6
30Ice ArmorRank 1
30Teleport: Darnassus
30Teleport: Thunder Bluff

Everything a Mage learns from the class trainer up to level 30, from the Forever client.

The spells that matter, in the order you get them

Level 20: the big level

Level 20 brings more new spells than any level before it, and it's also when your talents reach their third row, where Forever's two new Mage spells sit. Put some money aside for the trainer as you get close.

Levels 22 to 30

Since the 1 October build you can level all the way to 30, and every even level from 22 brings something new. Your talents also open two more rows, at 25 and 30 (see the talents section).

Above the current cap, Mage Armor comes at level 34 and lets 50% of your mana regeneration continue while casting. Frostfire Bolt, new for Mages in Forever, comes at level 40.

Talents: which spec to level

Your first talent point arrives at level 10 and you get one more every level, so you have 11 points at 20 and 21 at 30. Forever's talent window is one tree with three sections, Arcane, Fire and Frost, and your spec (specialization) is the section you put most points in. Each row needs 5 points in the rows above it in the same section: the first row is open from level 10, the second after 5 points, the third after 10, the fourth after 15 (so from 25 at the earliest) and the fifth after 20 (from 30). With 11 points at 20 that's exactly 10 points in the first two rows of one section plus one point in its third row, which is where Arcane Blast, Pyroblast and Ice Lance sit. At 30, 20 points in one section open its fifth row, with one point left to spend there.

The fourth row is where the big leveling talents sit: Heating Up (called Hot Streak before the 1 October build) for Fire, Missile Barrage for Arcane, and Shatter and Ice Block for Frost. The fifth row holds Presence of Mind, Blast Wave, Cold Snap and Fingers of Frost.

ForeverDB publishes a leveling build for each tree at 20 and at 30 on the Mage builds page. You can try them in the talent calculator. Here's what the level 20 leveling builds take:

BuildTalents at 20 (points)What it does for you
Frost: Frostbolt and Ice Lance levelingImproved Frostbolt 5, Improved Frost Nova 2, Frostbite 3, Ice Lance 1The safest way to level: faster Frostbolts, Frost Nova back sooner, a chance for surprise freezes, and the Ice Lance talent to punish every freeze.
Fire: Fireball levelingImproved Fireball 5, Wake of Fire 2, Ignite 3, Pyroblast 1A faster Fireball, a Fire Blast that's back sooner and very likely to crit after each kill, an Ignite burn on crits, and Pyroblast to open pulls.
Arcane: Arcane Blast levelingImproved Channeling 5, Arcane Concentration 5, Arcane Blast 1Built around the Arcane Blast talent: Arcane Missiles that damage can't interrupt, and a chance of a free spell after each hit from Arcane Concentration.

The published level 20 leveling builds. The builds page explains every point.

At 30 each build keeps its level 20 points and spends 10 more:

BuildTalents at 30 (points)What it does for you
Frost: Frost leveling with ShatterImproved Frostbolt 5, Improved Frost Nova 2, Frostbite 3, Ice Lance 1, Frost Channeling 3, Piercing Ice 1, Shatter 3, Ice Block 1, Arctic Reach 1, Fingers of Frost 1Cheaper Frost spells, Shatter so an Ice Lance on a Frozen mob usually crits, Fingers of Frost for Ice Lances without a freeze, and Ice Block for when a pull goes wrong.
Fire: Heating Up levelingImproved Fireball 5, Wake of Fire 2, Incineration 3, Ignite 5, Pyroblast 1, Heating Up 1, Master of Elements 3, Blast Wave 1More Fire Blast crits and full Ignite, Heating Up so a couple of crits make Pyroblast quick enough to cast mid-fight, mana back on crits from Master of Elements, and Blast Wave to hit and slow mobs that reach you.
Arcane: Arcane leveling with Missile BarrageImproved Channeling 5, Arcane Concentration 5, Arcane Blast 1, Arcane Impact 3, Arcane Geometry 2, Missile Barrage 1, Arcane Meditation 3, Presence of Mind 1More Arcane crits and range, Missile Barrage for free, fast Arcane Missiles, Arcane Meditation for mana while casting, and Presence of Mind for an instant Polymorph or Arcane Blast.

The published level 30 leveling builds (21 points). The builds page explains every point.

Our pick for a first Mage is Frost. Frostbolt's slow and Frost Nova buy you time on every pull, and at 20 Ice Lance turns each freeze into fast damage. At 30 it gets safer still: Shatter makes those Ice Lances likely to crit, and Ice Block gives you a way out of a pull gone wrong. Fire and Arcane both level well too, but they have fewer tools for when a pull goes wrong: Ice Lance is a Frost talent, so only Frost turns a freeze into big damage, and the Arcane build is built around the Arcane Blast talent, which it can only take at level 20.

Every talent rank has its own values in the client, and the builds page explains each point with them. Arcane Blast, Pyroblast and Ice Lance are talents that teach rank 1; trainers sell their higher ranks.

Tip: Changing your mind is cheap in the beta. Blizzard's September 24 notes set a talent reset to 1 silver if you haven't reset recently; after a reset the next one costs much more, and the price drops back to 1 silver after an hour. Blizzard says this is for the beta only.

What to press

Your rotation is the order you use your spells in. This is the level 20 leveling rotation from the builds page, in plain words. A pull is how you start a fight, and a mob that's attacking you is said to have aggro on you.

Frost, one enemy

  1. Target the mob from as far away as your spells reach and cast Frostbolt. That's your pull.
  2. Keep casting Frostbolt. Its slow means the mob walks to you slowly, so you often land several casts before it arrives.
  3. When it reaches you, cast Frost Nova to freeze it in place.
  4. While it's Frozen, throw Ice Lance two or three times: it's instant and deals 300% more damage to a Frozen target. Or walk out of melee range and go back to Frostbolt.
  5. Damage can break the freeze early, so throw the Lances right away. If Frost Nova is on cooldown, walk away and Frostbolt, or Blink out; Improved Frost Nova brings it back sooner.
  6. Finish a nearly dead mob with Fire Blast or your wand rather than a full Frostbolt.

Before level 20 you don't have Ice Lance yet. From 10 to 19 the plan is Frostbolt, Frost Nova when the mob arrives, walk away, and Frostbolt again. Before 10 it's Frostbolt or Fireball from range, then Fire Blast or your wand to finish.

Several enemies

Fire and Arcane

Fire: open with Pyroblast from as far away as you can (its long cast is fine while the mob hasn't noticed you), then cast Fireball. Use Fire Blast whenever it's ready, especially right after a kill: Wake of Fire makes your next Fire Blast within 30 sec much more likely to crit. When a mob reaches you, Frost Nova and step back; Ice Lance is a Frost talent, so as Fire you walk out and cast again.

Arcane: cast Arcane Blast once or twice from range, then spend the stacks on Arcane Missiles. Each stack makes the next Blast cost 175% more mana, so two stacks is the usual limit at this level. Any other damage spell ends the stacks, and that includes Frost Nova and Fire Blast, so pick your finisher before you start stacking.

At level 30

The level 30 rotations on the builds page keep the same shape and add a few buttons:

The builds page has the full rotation for each spec at 20 and 30, for one enemy and for groups.

Mana, food and water

Mana is your real limit. Plan each fight so you finish it with some mana left, and drink after every fight or two. You never need to buy water: you make it.

Watch out: Blizzard's known issues say the short wind-up before a wand shot is currently much shorter than intended, and a fix is coming. Wanding may feel slower once it's fixed.

Staying alive: kiting and control

Kiting means keeping a mob at a distance while you damage it: you slow or freeze it, walk away, turn and cast. It's the core Mage survival skill, and Frost Nova is the heart of it.

  1. A mob reaches you. Cast Frost Nova and it's frozen in place for up to 8 sec.
  2. Turn and walk away until you're back at casting range. Walking backwards is slower than turning and running.
  3. Turn around and cast Frostbolt, or, as Frost, Ice Lance while the mob is still Frozen.
  4. If it reaches you again with Frost Nova on cooldown, finish it with Fire Blast or your wand, or use Blink to get away.

Watch out: Don't fight in melee range. Being hit also delays your casts (players call this pushback), so a Mage who stands and trades blows usually loses. Freeze, walk away, then cast.

Tip: Blizzard's September 24 notes changed Arcane Missiles: it now checks line of sight once, when the channel starts, so a caster that steps behind a pillar mid-channel still takes every missile.

Class quests up to 30

Mages have class quests at 1, 10, 15–16 and 26–28. The details below come from Classic's data: quest names, who gives them, where they stand and what they rewarded in Classic. The Forever client still has these quests, but Blizzard may have changed them. In Classic they went to Human and Gnome Mages (Alliance) and Undead and Troll Mages (Horde), so Orc and Skyborne Mages, which didn't exist in Classic, may get their own versions.

LevelQuestsWho and whereReward in Classic
1Glyphic Letter (Human), Glyphic Memorandum (Gnome), Glyphic Scroll (Undead), Glyphic Tablet (Troll)Your first quest giver: Marshal McBride, Sten Stoutarm, Shadow Priest Sarvis or GornekSends you to your Mage trainer
10Speak with Jennea, then Mirror Lake (Alliance)Zaldimar Wefhellt in Elwynn Forest, then Jennea Cannon in StormwindLey Orb or Ley Staff
10Speak with Bink, then Mage-tastic Gizmonitor (Alliance)Magis Sparkmantle in Dun Morogh, then Bink in IronforgeArcane Orb or Arcane Staff
10Speak with Anastasia, then The Balnir Farmstead (Horde)Cain Firesong in Tirisfal Glades, then Anastasia Hartwell in the UndercityArcane Orb or Arcane Staff
10Speak with Un'thuwa, then Ju-Ju Heaps (Horde)Uthel'nay in Orgrimmar, then Un'Thuwa in DurotarLey Orb or Ley Staff
15–16Report to Jennea, Investigate the Blue Recluse, Gathering Materials, Manaweave Robe (Alliance)Zaldimar Wefhellt in Elwynn Forest, then Jennea Cannon and Wynne Larson in StormwindManaweave Robe
15–16Report to Anastasia, Investigate the Alchemist Shop, Gathering Materials, Spellfire Robes (Horde)Uthel'nay in Orgrimmar, then Anastasia Hartwell and Josef Gregorian in the UndercityLesser Spellfire Robes
26–28High Sorcerer Andromath, Ur's Treatise on Shadow Magic (28), Pristine Spider Silk, Astral Knot Garment (Alliance)Jennea Cannon in Stormwind sends you to High Sorcerer Andromath in Stormwind, then Wynne LarsonAstral Knot Robe or Astral Knot Blouse
26Speak with Deino, Waters of Xavian, Laughing Sisters, Nether-lace Garment (Horde)Anastasia Hartwell in the Undercity sends you to Deino in Orgrimmar, then Kil'hala at the Crossroads in the BarrensNether-lace Robe or Nether-lace Tunic

Classic data (CMaNGOS classic-db) for class quests the Forever client has. Map pins use Classic positions placed on Forever's maps.

Speculation: Whether Forever kept these quests exactly as in Classic, and who gets them, isn't confirmed yet. Treat the givers, places, objectives and rewards above as Classic's version until someone sees them in Forever.

Gear, weapons and professions

You wear cloth. Look for Intellect (a bigger mana pool), Spirit (faster mana regeneration between fights), Stamina (more health) and spell power, which makes every spell hit harder. Blizzard's Deep Dive says Forever combines spell, melee and ranged hit into one stat and crit into another, and that caster weapons now give spell damage, so staves and daggers with spell power are real upgrades while you level.

The gear planner scores every item for your spec and level, and the gear lists on the Mage PvE page show the best items for each slot at 20 and at 30 and where they come from. Some highlights from those lists:

Professions that suit a Mage: Tailoring, because you loot plenty of cloth from humanoid mobs and it makes your gear and bags, and Enchanting, which makes wands and breaks down green items you don't need into enchanting materials. If you'd rather make money, pick two gathering professions (Herbalism, Mining or Skinning) instead. The professions guide explains how each one works in Forever.

Grouping and your first dungeon

In a group your job is damage and control. The tank (a sturdy player who holds the mobs' attention) starts each fight, the healer keeps everyone alive, and you kill whatever the tank is hitting. Let the tank hit a mob a few times before you start: your damage builds threat, and if your threat passes the tank's, the mob turns on you.

The first dungeon guide walks you through your first run. The dungeon list has every instance with its bosses and quests, and the Mage PvE page has a dungeon build for each spec at 20 and 30.

Dungeons from 20 to 30

Blizzard's 1 October notes list the dungeons open in the beta. For a Mage between 20 and 30 these are the ones to look at; the levels in brackets are Blizzard's where Blizzard gave them, and the site's dungeon pages otherwise.

Watch out: Since the 1 October build, dungeon quests give 50% less extra experience beyond normal quest values. Run dungeons for gear, quests and fun, but don't count on them for fast levels.

Common beginner mistakes

What Forever changed for Mages

Wake of Fire was difficult to make proper use of while leveling, due to the Mage needing to restore mana between combat. The increased duration should help smooth out the experience. Blizzard, WoW Forever Beta Development Notes – Updated September 24

Every change we've found is on the Mage changes page, Level 30 build goes live covers the whole 1 October update, and our Mage outlook looks further ahead.

Checked against WoW Forever beta build 1.60.1.70170.