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RIFT's upcoming Arbiter soul melds wizard with tank
Mage-tanks are a source of dreams for some and targets of derision by others (jealous Paladins?), and they will soon be spicing up RIFT with their oddball combo. RIFT posted its official reveal of the Arbiter this week. The new soul is a tanking Mage who shields herself with magic rather than thick metal; she uses primarily water and air spells to weave shields, taunt enemies, and fry the opposition. Trion Worlds promises that the Arbiter will be able to stand "toe-to-toe" with the other callings' tanking souls when it is added to the game in the upcoming 2.7 update.
Arcane Brilliance: Taking your mage transmog beyond tier sets
Every other week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. Stacey Landry is the resident mage here, bender of space and time, conjurer of delicious confectioneries and expert at dressing well while setting things on fire. She also maintains the mage blog, Manalicious. I haven't written about transmog here yet, which is really a terrible oversight. It was always in the works, though, there's just been so many other things to talk about. But I find myself at liberty to do something a little more light-hearted this week and so let's talk about fashion! Many potential transmog enthusiasts might find themselves getting a bit overwhelmed when it comes to choosing what to wear. You don't need an article that tells you "tier sets look good," because it's kind of a given. They were designed to match each other, so yes, an entire tier set isn't necessarily a wrong choice. At the very least it'll look cohesive, and mages have some great tier sets. But it isn't necessarily an original choice, either, and it won't set you apart in a sea of cloth-wearers or even mages wearing the entirety of Tirisfal Regalia. So what we're going to talk about, for anyone who might be less confident in their transmogging, is how you can take your transmog to the next level and what you should consider as you do. We'll look at color and contrast, how to build a set around a unique piece, or take a potential theme and make it your own.
Arcane Brilliance: Next steps for playing a fire mage at level 90
Every other week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. Stacey Landry is the resident mage here, bender of space and time, conjurer of delicious confectioneries and expert at dressing well while setting things on fire. Congratulations! You've always wanted to play a mage alt but somehow never find the time, or perhaps you're considering a new main for Warlords of Draenor. Either way, you've decided to boost a mage to level 90 or re-spec your mage and you are faced with a decision. What spec would you like to play? We're going to talk eventually about all three excellent specs, but for now we're going to start with fire. Being a fire mage has always represented the somewhat reckless side of wizardry. Fire mages used to take talents that would increase their damage done in exchange for damage taken. (Nothing ventured, nothing gained!) Modern fire maging is a little less risky than that and comes with many advantages. You might enjoy playing a fire mage if you want:
Arcane Brilliance: A timely discussion
Every other week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. Stacey Landry is the resident mage here, bender of space and time, conjurer of delicious confectioneries and expert at dressing well while setting things on fire. I'm interrupting my planned final installment in the Challenge Mode tips series to talk about a more pressing topic. Things have really been heating up in the mage community over the past few days. (I'm sorry, I couldn't help it). It all started when Celestalon made his fateful tweet about button bloat, asking what ability we worried about losing that might potentially be cut. Discussions about button bloat have happened in the recent past, but this sparked the discussion anew. A few mages suggested Alter Time might be a suitable candidate for a variety of reasons. More mages began to speak up that were vehemently opposed to its removal. Both sides became more vocal and some heated forum posts were created. I don't mention this all to sow any more discord. At the end of the day, we're all robe-wearing, spell-flinging casters of magic. I'd like to see things kept civil. But it's a worthwhile discussion to have, if a "cut" is coming (and all evidence suggests that it is), what could we stand to lose and why?
Arcane Brilliance: Challenge mode tips for mages part 2
Every other week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. Stacey Landry is the resident mage here, bender of space and time, conjurer of delicious confectioneries and expert at dressing well while setting things on fire. This is part two of three challenge mode tips for mages articles. Click here to go back and read part one. This week we're going to look at getting your gear ready to dive into challenge modes! First, a few loose ends. I neglected to mention another reward for finishing gold CMs: Challenger's Path. This is a teleport on an 8 hour cooldown that will take you straight to the entrance of a CM you achieved a gold rating in! Once you complete any CM, the teleport cooldown resets. They're very handy for getting around Pandaria. Some mages left comments about doing gold CMs as arcane. That's great! If you have any CM-specific arcane questions, I'm sure they'd be happy to share some of their strategy in the comments this week. I'll still be assuming you are probably frost. Frost is the most accessible and easiest option for the average mage, but I didn't say it couldn't be done by another spec. The reason for this is that frost scales better than the other two specs at lower item levels. It will perform well for you and can put out some serious AoE damage. Most mages doing CMs use it. Finally, Adam Koebel posted an introductory challenge mode guide this week. It also includes links to recommended strat videos. HamletEJ's were the ones I used.
Arcane Brilliance: Challenge mode tips for mages part 1
Every other week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. Stacey Landry is the resident mage here, bender of space and time, conjurer of delicious confectioneries and expert at dressing well while setting things on fire. Happy new year! Welcome to 2014. This week I'm going to talk about something we haven't looked at yet: challenge modes. Every column I've posted, someone has asked about or remarked on my current transmog. (Thank you for that. It warms my heart that you're also fashion-conscious). I'll admit, I haven't been able to change my transmog since I got the CM one. It's such a perfect combination of unique, exclusive, and also it's a credential. It says, "Trust me, I know what I'm doing here." But the best thing about it is that you don't need a raid group to get it. Why would you want to do challenge modes as a mage? Read on to find out.
The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot traps you for hours of fun
It might sound like a bad thing, but my favorite part of playing Ubisoft's The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot is logging into the game. I just love it when I get past the loading screen that warns "closed beta" to see who has attacked my castle and how the attackers fared during the attempt. Usually they have just blown past my defenses and humiliated me, but thanks to a wonderful replay feature, I can see exactly where my castle is at its weakest and can adjust accordingly. Every player in the game gets a castle like mine. They're all floating in the sky, chock-full of riches that are up for grabs as long as the attacking player can get past the castle's defenses. The gameplay is nothing really new. We have been playing castle defense or action-based puzzlers for a long time, but The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot delivers everything in such a polished, unique-looking package that it gets props for being unique. There's much more to the game, but you'll have to get past my glue traps to read the details!
Arcane Brilliance: Fun and frivolity for mages
Every other week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. Stacey Landry is the resident mage here, bender of space and time, conjurer of delicious confectioneries and expert at dressing well while setting things on fire. I know that some of you who read this column may not be full-time mages. Some of you may have mage alts. Some of you are warlocks - actually an alarming number of you are warlocks, I think that you secretly like us. That's okay, you could always make a mage and be eight billion times more awesome. We'll wait. That's not what I'm here to talk about today, though. I know that sometimes as a DPS player it can become easy to get caught up in numbers. Best in slot gear, logs, damage done - all of that. I'm not saying that doing damage isn't fun. It is ridiculous, enemy annihilating fun. But there's more to life as a mage than that. In the spirit of the holidays, I'd like to discuss some of those more lighthearted things. They should apply to long time mages and dabblers alike, unless otherwise noted.
SMITE's Nu Wa uses the elements to smi... crush her enemies
Elemental mage-lovers have a new champion for their cause in Nu Wa, SMITE's guardian of heaven. Nu Wa is a half-human, half-snake master of elemental forces. She harnesses the powers of earth, water, fire, etc., to attack from a strategically safe distance. Some of Nu Wa's powers include throwing down a fog to stealth allies, summoning clay soldiers, launching a flame strike on a flammable foe, and casting the pillars of heaven to create an electrical field. Today's update also includes an optional Amethust Nu Wa skin, a revamp to the friends UI, and an improved beginner tutorial. You can check out Nu Wa's backstory and powers in her official video reveal after the break along with plenty of giant tortoise mutilation and gratuitous cleavage.
Arcane Brilliance: Critical points
Every other week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. This week, we talk about things that are flammable (hint: Cloth is especially flammable. Warlocks are also especially flammable because of their fel centers). I hear you pyromancers out there clamoring for me to talk about you. Frost had the more pressing need! It's the only spec to majorly change in patch 5.4. The only change to fire was a 50% nerf to Combustion because - let's face it - it was just too good. Even after the nerf, fire is still really, really good. But I'm new here, and we haven't talked about mages in quite awhile, so let's take a long view of fire. Prior to Mists, fire saw a lovely and elegant redesign. Fire has always been my spec of choice. Maybe it's the visceral WHOOSH-BOOM that accompanies a Pyroblast! proc, or the satisfying crackle of flame at your fingertips. Whatever it is, you have to admit - fire is the sexiest mage spec.
WoW Insider is looking for hunter and mage columnists
Like World of Warcraft? Like writing about World of Warcraft? Then you're who we want! We're looking to hire not only a new hunter columnist, but a new mage columnist, too. Your primary duties will be the production of your column on a weekly basis, but opportunities for additional work as a news blogger may arise over time should you desire them. You can find the full instructions on how to apply on our applications page. If you have prior blogging experience, make sure you mention that in your application along with a link to your prior work. The deadline for your application is end-of-day on Friday, August 23, so work quickly.
Should you play a mage in WoW?
World of Warcraft has been around for so long that it can be a bit daunting to get started. What server do you roll on? What faction should you pick? What class should you choose -- and how will you know if the choice you make, on a whim, during character creation will result in something you'll want to play at level 90? While server and faction are mostly a matter of where your friends are playing, class is a question we can help you figure out. Experienced WoW players, this guide is probably not for you -- but for newbies, we'll try to help point you towards the class that's the best fit for your playstyle by giving you a detailed overview of what classes are like. Today, we're talking about mages, who unleash elemental and arcane magics on their foes. These powerful abilities come at a cost: mages can only wear light cloth armor, which can leave them vulnerable to physical attack. But if you're interested in wielding the powers of magic to devastate your enemies -- from a safe distance -- the mage may be just the class for you.
Know Your Lore: The color of magic
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. .@yuvalaziza Both priests and paladins can wield the Holy Light. However, not all wield it through the same means (e.g., Elune, An'she). :) - Sean Copeland (@Loreology) July 22, 2013 Earlier this week, Blizzard Historian Sean Copeland was answering questions on Twitter when the above answer came up. People were upset about it because the answer, while seemingly pretty simplistic, seemed to devalue the importance of Elune and the unique nature of night elf philosophy and religion. Magic, in all its forms and function in Warcraft, is one of those tricky subjects to understand -- almost as tricky as trying to wrap one's brain around the cosmos of the Warcraft universe. These types of questions get asked a lot, however. And while not everything regarding magic in Warcraft has been fully defined, we can definitely take a look at these different schools of magic and how they relate to one another on Azeroth.
Patch 5.4 build 17227 highlights and more
The latest goodies and PTR build changes are up on Wowhead, and there are some very fine things there indeed. My personal favorite? The new achievement from the Proving Grounds: You're Doing It Wrong. You earn this achievement for successfully completing a Silver level proving grounds trial while in a spec not meant for it. I'm already planning my Balance druid spec for the healing challenge, just you all wait. Other important items of note include the ongoing discussion surrounding the nerfs to Mana Tea for Mistweaver monks, as well as the Frost mage mechanic Mastery: Icicles. These threads are very much of interest to those who play the classes involved, and if you have missed some of the news on these topics it is certainly worth getting up to speed. There are also further notes on class changes and tweaks, the most extensive of which are occurring to monks, as well as a whole host of new vanity items, trinkets, consumables, and pets presumably related to the Timeless Isle.
Preparation, Readiness, and other cooldown resetting abilities may have grim future
Classes with cooldown resetting abilities probably won't find one of Ghostcrawler's most recent tweet all that surprising. The abilities (Preparation, Readiness, etc.) have been targeted by several nerfs and changes this expansion. Ghostcrawler wrote the following in reply to a tweet that said it may be time to stop adding cooldown resetting abilities to the game if they're constantly going to be nerfed. @Divine_Namjoo We agree. I'm not sure that design angle has payed out well. - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) July 16, 2013 The abilities are particularly problematic in PvP, where players can chain several attacks or crowd control abilities together within a short period of time. What do you think? Do cooldown resetting abilities belong in the game? Are they overpowered?
Talents and abilities you never use
Any given class in WoW has a ton of different spells and abilities. More than I can reasonably hotkey to my decidedly un-fancy two-button mouse and $5 thrift shop keyboard, in any case. I do my best with keybinding and click modifiers, but inevitably there are some things that just aren't going to make the cut. Fortunately, these abilities usually present themselves without a whole lot of deliberation. For example, on my druid, I don't remember the last time I used Soothe. The other ability I find gathering dust in my spellbook is Hibernate. I know I used Hibernate to help with crowd control for trash packs in Ulduar and Ruby Sanctum during Wrath of the Lich King, but since then? Nope. Hibernate does not live on my bars.
The Daily Grind: Is magic too common?
Maybe I think about these things too much and should just give in to the tropes, but it often bothers me how prevalent and common magic is in MMOs. I grew up reading loads of fantasy books where magic was a difficult talent to cultivate and amazing when it was performed. But that's not how it is in MMOs, is it? Our magically apt characters already start out with a full array of spells and are granted new ones with nary a training sequence. And even if you aren't a mage, the fantasy worlds themselves are so littered with magic that navigating them becomes an exercise in not going blind from all the particle effects. It's kind of like cell phones: When you think about them, they're amazing, but they're also so common that they don't impress anyone any more. Is magic too common in MMOs? Would you be open to a game that treated the occurrence and acquisition of magic as a rare and life-changing event instead of a never-ending laser light show? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Arcane Legends arrives on iOS
Arcane Legends' staggered rollout crossed a major barrier today, as Spacetime Studios' newest title got approved for the Apple app store and released for iOS. It's currently available as a free download with in-app purchases. This makes it the fourth MMO in Spacetime's Legends series. Massively's Beau recently took some time to sit down with the MMO and suss out whether it has that Spacetime charm. We've also seen Arcane Legends' short cinematic trailer. The game launched a couple of weeks ago for both Android and Chrome. Spacetime reports that to date, Arcane Legends has accumulated more than two million downloads. To celebrate the iOS launch of the game, the studio posted a few new screenshots of the game, which you can check out in the gallery below! [Source: Spacetime Studios press release]%Gallery-170781%
Wings Over Atreia: Aion's classy balancing act
I'm in trouble now. I thought I had it made; I thought I was on easy street. I had one Aion character slot left, open and waiting for that inspiration. Then along came the cloak-donning, guns-blazing gunslinger class. Right on! I know who that slot's going to come 4.0. Or do I? Basically, NCsoft is evil! I had no interest in a musically minded class, none at all... until the Troubadour announcement last week. A healer! Come on, that's not fair; healing classes are my favorite, my passion, my calling in life. Short of a second Aion account, what in Atreia do I do now? This is not a good predicament for the decisionally challenged. Thankfully, at least I know I have no interest in the third class. No, really -- this time I mean it! I know, because even though I gave it a shot once before, I just have no desire to play a tank. And how do I know it is a tank? Elementary, my dear Daeva.
Arcane Legends debuts cinematic trailer
Spacetime Studios, creator of such mobile hits as Pocket Legends and Dark Legends, has released the first cinematic trailer for its newest entry in the Legends series: Arcane Legends. The video whimsically showcases the MMO's three character classes -- Warrior, Rogue, and Mage -- as well as the helpful battle pet that can fight along side you and grant special bonuses along the way. Each class can combine its skills for group combos, while later specializing in certain skills to fit each player's playstyle. Arcane Legends is expected to release this fall for Android, iOS, and Chrome. [Source: Spacetime Studios press release]
