WWI '08 Panel: Mage
Well. At first, it didn't seem to me like Tom Chilton had as much news for Mages at the first WWI dev panel as he did for other classes, but one of the Q&A dialogues did reveal a nice vision for our future.
The most common news being reported, of course, is the new "bolt" spell -- the Frostfire bolt. This is a direct damage nuke that's a mix of "fire" and "ice" damage types, and will help circumvent the resistances of certain bosses who have an affinity for an element. Eh. I mean, that's great and all, but it doesn't really speak to any retooling or massive re-vamp at the ways Mages need help.
However, during the Q&A, one of the audience members was a lot more pointed. Now that everyone seems to have their own spammable crowd control, he askes, what's being done to bring Mages back to a more unique role?
The answer was awesome. Simply put, if everyone's doing crowd control, then Mages are going to be buffed in their hallmark: raw, unadulterated damage. Especially since Seed of Corruption shines against our AE damage ability, Chilton says we should expect to see our overall damage output increased.
Does this mean Mages will become the epitome of WoW DPS? Mm, I'm not holding my breath - but at least in terms of putting us back in a vital, noticeable role, the future looks hopeful. Stay tuned as we continue to cover the WWI event, and try and bring the best (and worst) news available.
