A Guide for New Warlocks

So you want to level a warlock but aren't sure how you should start? Well, look no further, as this newbie warlock guide will tell you everything you need to know to be running around cursing everything in no time. We'll discuss race choices, what kind of gear you should look for, and the basics of warlock DPS.

The first thing you're going to want to decide on is your race. If you already have a race you like the look of, just go ahead and choose that, as racial abilities aren't that big a deal in the long run. That said, human and undead are the two best races for Player versus Player combat, and gnome and orc are the best raiding races. Pick whatever you like, though, as it really doesn't matter anywhere near as much as player skill, gear, and other things.

Next lets talk about gear. It can be confusing figuring out what you should gear for as a newbie of any class, and warlock is no exception. In general, though, while leveling you should aim for the following:

Enough hit rating to have ~4% increased hit chance so you don't miss (it takes more the higher your level is)

Spellpower and Shadow Damage

Spirit, Crit Rating, and Haste Rating

If you have to decide, Spell Power, Shadow Damage, and Hit are all worth about the same, and the rest is worth about half that per point. You'll notice I didn't mention Stamina or Int; these stats are both pretty subpar; your pet will be taking damage, not you, and Int isn't very good for Warlocks compared to other stats (it's worth maybe a tenth of what Spell Power is worth, per point).

So now you're geared and ready, so how do you play exactly? Warlock is pretty simple. You basically want to just toss your DoTs on the enemy and let you pet tank. The first levels can be rough because you don't have a pet, but things get easy as soon as you get one. At low levels, you want to generally use Immolate, then Curse of Agony, then Corruption. Then you can just wand the enemy down (speaking of which, buy a wand as soon as possible!). Between your pet and these spells, the enemy should die very fast!

A few last tips: Don't use Fear except in emergencies; all to often you'll pull extra enemies as the monster runs around. Be patient; don't burn all your mana spamming Shadowbolt, it's quicker to wait and let your dots work so you don't have to drink so often. Always carry food and water, so you can recover quickly from nasty fights. Sell EVERYTHING that is white quality or better on the Auction House; this will provide you with enough gold to keep well-geared.

I hope this newbie warlock guide has told you enough to get you into the grove of things as you level!

Rogue Gold Farming

Today we're going to talk about Rogue gold farming. Rogue is one of the best classes to farm with thanks to it's immense front-end burst potential; something that's vital for quick farming. That's because unlike the elite mobs from dungeons, normal world mobs have very small health pools; a strong character can kill them in a few globals with enough burst. You don't need the consistent overall DPS that you do raiding.

So, lets take a look at specs. The best rogue farming spec is going to look very similar to top-end PvP specs; you want to grab Mutilate, but you don't want to take the time to get Hunger For Blood up. Something like this is close to ideal: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#fhesoeMoiboczZ0xV0xcZxbc0b:TiacV0

Using this Rogue gold farming spec, your goal is simple; dish out as much damage as possible as quick as possible. Use cooldowns as much as possible. You want to be using double Wounding poison, and typically opening with Garrote or Ambush; Garrote is better if it has time to run it's full course, but Ambush is much quicker damage if you are geared enough. If you are geared enough, Garrote or Ambush, a few Mutilates, and an Eviscerate will finish things for most mobs. Otherwise, use Slice and Dice as soon as you open, then just Mutilate to 4+ combo points and Eviscerate until the enemy dies.

Get a good feel for how close you can get before you need to Stealth. Your Subtlety talents make stealth a bit less limiting, but it's still slower than running up and using Stealth at the last minute.

If you are fighting humanoid mobs, don't forget to Pick Pocket them! If you have Auto-loot turned on, this macro will handle do it for you whenever you Garrote:

#showtooltip Garrote
/cast Pick Pocket
/cast Garrote

For Ambush, just substitute Ambush for Garrote. It's worth it to Pick Pocket just for the loose change and grey vendor items you can get, and if you have Lock Picking high enough to pick any boxes you find, you might just get some items that sell for a lot.

That's really about it. As you may have noticed, Rogue gold farming is much more straightforward than many other classes. And while you don't have the AoE farming abilities of certain classes, you'll often find that you are able to do just as well as they do, thanks to your incredible burst ability.

Anyone looking to further optimize your gold earning abilities should check out my Gold Guide Review, where I compare various popular gold guides, and find one that sounds good.

Best Race For Mage : Alliance Edition

Looks aren't everything, and sometimes it is best to go with function over form. For anyone looking to maximize their potential, picking the best race for mage is of vital importance. Let's talk about the ups and downs of each race of the Alliance, and figure out the best ones for PvP and PvE.

Human is the first and probably most common choice for mage. For PvP, Every Man for Himself truly shines, along with the rogue and druid-busting Perception. Getting to equip two high-end PvE trinkets AND being better at catching stealthers? Humans are amazing for PvP.

But while they shine in PvP, Human is somewhat less amazing in PvE. Every Man for Himself will let you get back to DPSing on the occasion where you get CC'd, but overall it just doesn't mean much. The only other thing worth noting is the 3% spirit bonus...and since Spirit is a terrible stat, it doesn't really help pull human out of the pit as far as PvE goes. Skip them if PvE is your main focus.

Next up is gnome. Gnome is another good choice for PvP thanks to Escape Artist and their passive 2% resistance to Arcane. And Expansive Mind, a 5% bonus to Intellect, is great for anyone rolling mage, be it for PvP or PvE. Gnome is a solid choice for an all-around player.

The final option on the Alliance side for mages is Draenei. Gift of the Naaru, a fairly-powerful HoT racial, is pretty handy for PvP and even has some use in PvE; not dying is great for improving your DPS. And even if you aren't in risk of dying, taking pressure off raid healers can be good for the raid as a whole.

Gift of the Naaru isn't the big thing on the Draenei racial list though. Heroic Presence, a 1% hit bonus to yourself and your party, is what makes them worth rolling. Missing spells can prove fatal in PvP and gimp DPS in PvE, so being capped is vital...and this talent means you can stat more offensive stats instead of stacking hit. Rounding out their racial list is a 2% shadow resistance, all together making Draenei another good choice for mage.

So everything is a decent option Alliance side...but what is the best race for mage? Well, Human is hands down the best for PvP. High end trinkets are massively powerful, and being able to equip two is just amazing for PvP.

And for PvE? It kind of depends. If you are going to be running with other Draenei, then Heroic Presence is wasted, since it doesn't stack. And even then, the Intellect bonus from Gnome is hard to ignore. So I'd say in most cases, Gnome is going to pan out to be your best choice for PvE.

Hopefully this has answered your questions about which race to roll for Alliance mages. Horde races will be the next thing I write about, so be sure to give that a look if you aren't sure what faction you are going to play.

Enjoy this article? then read my blog about everything related to World of Warcraft gold at http://wowgoldspot.blogspot.com. For more about mages in particular, then read my guide to Mage Gold!