Mages are undoubtedly the fastest class to level in World of Warcraft: Classic, with Jokerd being the world's first level 60 after only 4 days of grinding when Classic first released. Although mage abilities are useful for AoE grinding everywhere, some spots have faster respawn times and will be faster for leveling.
Whether you're playing Classic Vanilla, Season of Discovery, or Hardcore, follow this guide to see the best races, professions, builds, and mage AOE farming spots:
Best Races for Mages in World of Warcraft: Classic
For Alliance players, Gnome is the best race for AoE grinding in World of Warcraft: Classic. The passive ability Expansive Mind gives players a larger mana pool, meaning players can farm for longer before having to stop and regenerate mana.
For Horde players, Troll is the best race for AoE grinding due to Berserking. Although this mini-lust doesn't apply to your global cooldown for AoE spells, it does apply to single target spells and grants players up to 30% increased haste when at low health - ideal for finishing off enemies if you're in a bad spot.
Best Professions for AoE Farming
Since AoE farming requires staying at the same places the entire time, it doesn't make sense to take herbalism or mining as your professions, as both require traveling a route across the continent.
Mage AoE farmers should take Tailoring and Enchanting to make extra money during their farm. Tailoring will allow players to create their own bags and make money with the huge amounts of cloth gathered.
Enchanting will let players disenchant greens they loot during their farm and make money from selling the crafting reagents.
Best Mage Builds for AoE Farming
Since Fire Mage is the least survivable mage class, it's recommended that players spec into either Frost or Arcane mage for AoE farming, especially in Hardcore. Arcane's biggest advantage is Arcane Power, which increases your damage and also heals you for the same amount. Certain runes in Season of Discovery also helps Arcane Mage deal massive amounts of damage in single target.
Arcane mage is arguably the fastest Mage spec for AoE farming, but Frost is the safest. Improved Blizzard will slow hordes of enemy mobs by 65%, and Ice Block and Ice Barrier are essential defensives, especially in Hardcore.
Regardless of spec, there are certain abilities that players should always level up while leveling a mage in Classic. Players should always rank up Arcane Intellect, Frost Armor, Ice Armor, and Ice Barrier for buffs and defensives.
Players should always level up these main damage spells: Fireball, Frostbolt, Arcane Explosion, Flamestrike, Blizzard, and Cone of Cold.
Best Mage AoE Farming Spots in World of Warcraft: Classic
Once players take Improved Blizzard at level 22, they're ready to start AoE farming. Here are the best spots for AoE farming by level:
Level 20-30
Mosshide Fern in Wetlands
Hillsbrad Fields in Hillsbrad Foothills
Raven Hill Cemetery in Duskwood
Azurelode Mine in Hillsbrad Foothills
The Rotten Orchard in Duskwood
Level 30-40
Darrow Hill in Hillsbrad Foothills
Sofera's Naze in Hillsbrad Foothills
Dabyrie Farmstead in Arathi Highlands
Go'Shek Farm in Arathi Highlands
Witch Hill in Dustwallow Marsh
Level 40-50
Stagalbog in Swamp of Sorrows
Misty Reed Post in Swamp of Sorrows
Lost Rigger Cover in Tanaris
Runes of Constellas in Felwood
Sorrow Hill in Western Plaguelands
Level 50-60
Dalson's Tears in Western Plaguelands
Northridge Lumber Camp in Western Plaguelands
Hearthglen in Western Plaguelands
Certain spots in dungeons are also idea for mage AoE farming. The Stockade is the first and easiest dungeon to farm in. Since this dungeon is located in Stormwind City, it's a very easy place to access for Alliance players, where they can farm Stockade Prisoners to their heart's content.
Razorfen Kraul is also excellent for AoE farming due to the large number of Boars throughout the dungeon. Both the Scarlet Monastery Graveyard and the Zul'Furrak Graveyard are great Mage AoE farming spots.
Although there's a big difficulty spike between Zul'Furrak and Blackrock Depths, the Blackrock Depths Jail is a great farming spot that will have high-level drops.
The final and highest-level dungeon area for Mage AoE farming is in Blackrock Spire. In Lower Blackrock Spire, large groups of enemies with no dangerous casts will spawn, making this an ideal location for mage farming.
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Tags: mage AoE farming spots, world of warcraft classic, wow classic hardcore, wow season of discovery, sod mage farming, best mage aoe farms, best mage aoe specs, mage wow classic, mage builds sod