Mage or warlock recommendation?

Community General Discussion
1

Hi. I have some problems with deciding on a main and I recently did some class trials and the mage and warlock catched my eye. But I have a hard time diciding what would be best for me so I would like to hear what you guys would have to say about them.

Mage (frost spec)
Pros:
mobile with blink/shimmer
can teleport
can make food at will
cc
time warp and mini time warp
nice aoe spells

Cons:
no self heal
hard to solo (for me)
glass cannon

Warlock (affliction)
Pros:
self heal
demons
battle res
summon
healthstone
nice mount
dot’s
gateway
fear

Cons:
a lot of stuff on screen = confusing for me
overwhelmed doing aoe
have to keep track on many things at once

This is the pros and cons for me of both of them. The specs are the ones in class trial so I want your input especially on different specs like arcane, fire and demon, dest.

Thank you for reading :slight_smile:

2

I had to pick and made Mage (Alliance) just for convenience of global teleportation. Free food, slow fall and aggro-dumping invisibility is not bad either. Slow from Frost is awesome in solo content.

The only con for me is lack of self-healing beam that sucks life from your enemy :joy:

Pity Warlock didn’t get Void Rifts when Void Elf was introduced :unamused:

2 Likes
3

Well as Frost you can selfheal good with Temporal Shield if you use it properly plus you can pick https://www.wowhead.com/spell=280173/cauterizing-blink as Azerite Trait x2 if not mistaken.

Frost Mage more fun imo.

2 Likes
4

Well,Shadowlands approaching for us so it is hard to judge classes at this stage.
One thing will remain same and that is warlocks being great soloists !

5

I love mage at top level with gear. However, I find them impossible to level due to no self healing and supreme squishiness. Thus, I boosted a mage. SL will be fun with that one…

Warlock is great fun as Destro, it’s almost like a fire mage but survivable! You don’t have to have loads of buttons, it depends on your spec and talents.

This decision should be made depending on what you actually want to do, though. If it’s solo content then I would go warlock, group content then mage. PvP I have no clue, I am afraid.

And I think it is best to start one from the beginning to really get a feel for a new class.

6

Personally, not a big fan of either. But if i had to choose, I’d go with mage. It’s more convenient thanks to teleports and food and other stuff, in comparison to warlock.

But leveling will be torture. This is coming from a guy who leveled this mage with no heirlooms either.

7

Mage’s defense is far from bad, let alone sub-par. It actually manages to transcend Warlock quite often. It’s just a matter of perspective. Mages are kings of avoidance and control. You’re not suppose to face tank things. Warlock has a far heavier emphasis on tanking damage because they lack tools to outright avoid it in the first place.

Warlock’s tankiness can be difficult to really see the full potential of if you aren’t geared for the occasion though. The lack of mobility is personally quite frustrating for me with the Warlock class, but they do have some cool things about them for sure.

Pets are kind of a nuisance as well if you ask me. They are likely to get tangled up in bad pathing issues or when they have to land an ability, their position can delay the execution of it, resulting in what feels like input lag.

They’re both great for PvE as well as PvP because they are pure damage dealers, but it’s a matter of expression.

8

I’ve played both a ton, Mage more than Warlock, and it really depends on what you want.

Do you judge yourself based on AOE damage? If you do, you go Mage, no question.

I’ve always thought of it in contrast to melee.
Warlock is more like a Warrior, and Mage is more like a Rogue.

Warlock can hit hard, they “stand their ground” better, and when you’re 1v1 it feels like you’re just doing whatever you can to overwhelm and crush your enemy with fear, large CDs and some DoTs.

Mage is way more agile, and they too have great defensive tools but they lack recovery, which is what a Warlock has over the Mage.

I always disliked mage 1v1 because it always felt like I either win fast or I just lose.
Of course, i was no top PVP mage, some Mages can do crazy things and make 1v2 plays happen while they’re at 20% HP, but it’s hard.

If you want to feel tankier, see larger numbers, or be able to sit back and just watch things die then Warlock is a great pick.

If you want burst, high AOE damage, and mobility than you go Mage.

Right now both Mage and Lock are pigeon holed into 1 spec. Most mages are fire, most Locks are Destro.
I play Affliction because I enjoy it in PVP.

If solo & 1v1 play is your thing then I 100% think you’ll be more satisfied with Warlock than Mage.

Warlock has a slightly higher skill floor but Mage does have the higher skill ceiling. Which is either a pro or a con for your personally.
For me it was a con because I felt like I had to put in so much more work and effort in PVP, when I’m fighting specs like BM hunter and DK’s that have no complexity but can still whoop you.
That’s why I haven’t touched my Mage this expansion.

4 Likes
9

Just keep in mind, that almost no m+ pug will want a warlock in group.
With mages it is kinda ok, but you will struggle with lock.
I would say go mage.

1 Like
10

No one wants a frost mage either lol.

11

According to the QQers, mage is almost getting butchered down the next expansion and most likely to become a target dummy for melee since most of their mobility is nerfed.

I will go warlock and as for melee i will go DH because reti paladin looks to be one of the most boring specs in shadowlands.

12

But pugs dont know if you are Frost~ I would totally lie till its too late :joy:

(Not that people ask anyway)

13

NGL, I get disappointed everytime I do end up realizing they’re frost and not fire :frowning:

14

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