PvE DPS Class Selection: Warlock vs Mage

[noxous 0]

Hey folks ,

As the title states i could use some assistance in selecting a ranged dps for vanilla. I do enjoy both class archetypes but i could use some more experienced opinions on the matter.

I am hesitant to roll a mage since they are really popular and i am afraid that i won't be able to get into a good guild that easy ( when compared to a lock). Leveling isn't also as easy but still decent.

Locks on the other hand have the easier leveling, the free mount and chepa epic mount and their utility. What makes me hesitant to play a lock is the mendatory pre raid shard farming.

When it comes to pure DPS performance, how close are the two classes?

Cheers in advance for all the info and help!

[Torkaberry 0]

If you want to spec frost for first couple of raids then choose mage. If that doesn't interest you go lkck

[noxous 0]

Yeah i am fine with frost, i actually enjoy it more than fire in general. But on the other hand, the free/cheap lock mounts are also appealing

Edited December 29, 2016 by noxous

[Iskandaria 0]

Actually, I feel like warlocks are more common than mages right now.  Just an obervation from Nostalrius-PVP anyway.

[Digge 0]

In the current Patch (BWL) both classes are pretty close in DPS performance, with Warlock having a small edge over Mage of played correctly.

In AQ Mages are absolute beasts with Fire being viable.

In Naxx both are pretty close in Performance again. 

Warlocks are the best DPS class for some of the hardest encounters in Vanilla, like Cthun and KT, because your manapool is literally infinite and multidotting is strong in these fights.

[Larsen 3]

Most guilds want a couple more mages than warlocks generally, so the greater number of mages isn't a big issue. I honestly wouldn't base my decision on this because you'll be happier playing the class you prefer even if you have to be in another guild. There'll be one with room. I'd only give it any thought if it concerns rogue where you truly can struggle to find a place if you don't start out with a guild from the beginning.

Likewise, do not base your class choice on how difficult leveling is or how easily you can get a mount. This won't make you happier in the long run. It doesn't matter whether it takes you three or four weeks to hit 60. Once you're there, it's a thing of the past. You can always farm for your mount, too.

Warlock and mage are roughly equal in terms of DPS, with warlock maybe slightly ahead unless you get to be the best geared mage in your guild and take the lion's share of the ignite damage. That'll put a mage ahead, but not all of them. As a mage, you have to be frost for the first long while and this spec doesn't quite fulfill the DPS potential of the class, so you might not top the meters during the MC/BWL period. It's still possible but don't expect it.

Warlock DPS is generally good and you more or less stay in the same general place throughout all of vanilla. You get a nice +15% boost in the ZG patch because shadow priests become viable and provide that debuff for you. If you're horde, threat can be somewhat of an issue and you may be threat capped at some points during vanilla. This wasn't a huge deal on old Nost but probably will matter now because of the nerfed rage gains for tanks.

All in all, both classes are fairly comparable in both performance and playstyle (spam 1 forever lul) but warlock is a very convenient class to play because you have a lot of nice utility like summoning, soulstones, healthstones, and unlimited mana. You're pretty self-sufficient and you can PvP and PvE in the exact same spec without missing out on anything meaningful, and your gear has a lot of stamina so it works very well it in PvP, too. This all makes it a pleasant class to play. Hardly anything to worry about or any costly decisions.

Farming soul shards is honestly not that much of an issue, you can just take 20 minutes to do it in WPL or something near Kargath. If you bring a bag of shards to the raid and make sure you drain souls from trash mobs, you shouldn't have problems. It was never a concern for me, I just always made sure to have one full bag of shards at all times and I didn't even have to think about it before raids.

Edited December 30, 2016 by Larsen

[madebyrockets 0]

If you decide to roll horde then youll have a hard time finding a guild for both classes. 

Alliance on the other hand have much more mages compared to warlocks due to pvp imbalances.

[dogmax 2]

As a horde lock it feels like there are more locks than mages in the raiding environment. I know that realm stats say that there are more mages in total at 60, and it's probably true, but they aren't raiding or doing AV or doing dungeons. Dunno what they are doing but Warlock seems to be the caster FoTM.

[Moto 0]

I'm wondering what people would say which class is more needed in 60engame by that i mostly mean  raids. I'm new to this sever so dont really have i clue. I know vanillaradar says there are a lot more mages - but whats the opionon from an elysium "veteran"?

[lorthiras 7]

21 минуту назад, Moto сказал:

I'm wondering what people would say which class is more needed in 60engame by that i mostly mean  raids. I'm new to this sever so dont really have i clue. I know vanillaradar says there are a lot more mages - but whats the opionon from an elysium "veteran"?

warlock vs mage? warlock!