pvp mage build

[Lowfyr]

INTRODUCTION:
If you have read any other of my final templates then please skip this section, and jump right to ?BUILD TYPE?. The Intro is the same for all 8 of my final templates, as I would like to try to convey why I am building the templates the way I am.

I was kind of surprised to find out that I have a little over 1150 hours /played in game so far. (8 peeps * 6 days /played, (average) * 24 hours in a day) This has given me a unique perspective when it comes to PvP, because not only have I killed every Alliance class with every Horde class, but I have also been killed by every Alliance class as every Horde class. The most difficult thing to do when trying to build the best overall character template, is trying to remember all the PvP encounters I have been in, and filtering out the ?BS PvP?. (BS PvP encounters = encounters where, regardless of personal skill, abilities or talents, the outcome would not have changed) An example of BS PvP is me as a 50 Mage, attacking a 30 Mage, I kill him but I learn NOTHING, and regardless of my template he still would have died. Another example is me in a PvE engagement with 20% health left, and a peep 5 levels below me ganks me. Hell no I don?t feel bad, not only did he have the advantage of surprise, he also already had me 80% dead at the start. I must filter these out, so that I can accumulate meaningful data, in order to build a better template. There is other BS that also must be filtered and this is far WORSE then the BS mentioned above. That is misinformation, which is 80-90% of the crap we see in the chat channels, and on the WOW public boards. Trust me, if peeps have anything intelligent to say, they are saying it on their clan/guild boards.

Another thing to remember is that these are based on my ?play style?. If I had to describe my play style in a couple of words, I would describe it as ?overly aggressive?. You will not find me with a ?stun rogue? and my shaman and warrior with both be 2H for PvP. (they will go 1H/Shield for end game instances/PvE). In the U.S. Army, 80% of our training was in offensive operations, and I guess it carried over because I simply refuse to defend anything. Yeah, if I am in a FPS, I?ll ?camp the flag?, but there are no flags in WOW. The best defense is an overwhelming offense! (No, I do not mean a zerg either; I hate zergs, all numbers and no skill)

Bored yet? O.K O.K. The last thing I ask you to remember is the ?build type?. There are only 5 types of a build that you can possibly make. (I don?t care how you place your 51 points, your overall template will fall into one of the five)
1. Offensive Group = Your template is geared toward causing massive damage, in the minimal amount of time, and you have skills that can benefit multiple members of your group, and/or you have skills that can disadvantage/damage multiple members of the opposing group.
2. Offensive Solo = Your template is geared toward causing massive damage, in the minimal amount of time, and the vast majority of your skills only benefit you or disadvantage a single opponent.
3. Defensive Group = You are a healer and buffer.(No not a floor buffer)
4. Defensive Solo = Your template is geared towards lasting longer then your opponent and you plan on winning a battle through attrition.
5. Gimped = any build type that does not fall into one of the above four, or any build type that tries to combine, in any way, the above 4.

BUILD TYPE:
Offensive Group. Specced heavy in Ice/Arcane. Why not other? If you want a strong solo template then go fire, the combo of ?sheep? then ?Combustion? then ?Pyroblast? is truly awesome damage output, however I do not see the majority of combat being solo. When you start to cast that 6 sec pyro, (in group PvP) a ton of classes can simply stop you. (And stop you from range) Shaman = earth shock, Mage = silence, Priest = silence, Rogue = stun/kick, Warrior = charge/intercept/bash, Pally = Stun. Not to mention a Hunter slowing your casting down with damage/pet, or a warlocks curse of tongues. Can they do this to me, sure, but I don?t need 6 secs to cast anything, in fact with this template I can Insta cast any spell. (That?s right baby, Insta sheep, IN-STA SHEEP!)(Not enough points to get ?combustion? (guarantee crit) and ?Presence of Mind? (Insta cast).

THEORY OF THE BUILD:
Chill, Freeze, and Crit?
In a group PvP environment, the ability to chill and freeze your opponents cannot be under estimated, and boosting your chance to crit by 50% against a frozen target is astonishing. When creating this build, I went out with a friend to test Blizzard. Now if you remember awhile back Bliz has stated that each individual attack of Blizzard would have its separate chance to chill and freeze, now with chill and a 15% chance to freeze per attack, that?s a 120% chance to freeze! (Of course you will not catch every opponent in Blizzard for the full 8 secs, BUT each second is a 15% chance to freeze. When a target is frozen you have more then a 50% chance to crit. (and when you do crit they take 100% increased damage due to ?Ice Shards?) Now I might be stupid, but I am not retarded, that is why I also took a few choice defensive skills. Now for magic damage I took Improved Mana Shield, and for those melee peeps that are trying to whack me, I took Ice Block. Now if they are actually going to sit there and wait the 10 secs for my Ice block to end I can simply hit ?Cold Snap?,(finishes cooldown of frost spells) and cast it again, I am sure by now one of my other teammates will have engaged him/her. Even if not, remember you are privy to the info to the exact sec when Ice Block will end so you can simply Frost Nova and run, or Blink away. Of course you will only be using Blizzard against opposing peeps when 2 or more of them can get hit with Blizzard. Since BG is coming out soon, you will also be in high demand to use Blizzard on choke points, and doorways. LOFL anyone remember PBAOE Ice wizards in DAOC defending a keeps door!

P.S. Almost forgot about clear casting, when this procs you can cast Blizzard for a cost of 0 mana.

TEMPLATE:

Class: Mage
Level: 60



Arcane Talents (21 points)

Improved Arcane Missiles - 5/5 points
Gives you a 100% chance to avoid interruption caused by damage while channeling Arcane Missiles.

Arcane Concentration - 5/5 points
Gives you a 10% chance of entering a Clear casting state after any damage spell hits a target. The Clear casting state reduces the mana cost of your next damage spell by 100%.

Evocation - 1/1 point
While channeling this spell, your mana regeneration is active and increased by 1500%. Lasts 8 seconds.

Improved Arcane Explosion - 5/5 points
Reduces the casting time of your Arcane Explosion by 1.5 seconds.

Improved Counter spell - 2/2 points
Gives your Counter spell a 100% chance to silence the target for 4 seconds.

Improved Mana Shield - 2/2 points
Increases the damage absorbed by your Mana Shield by 75%.

Presence of Mind - 1/1 point
When activated, your next Mage spell with a casting time less than 10 seconds becomes an instant cast spell.



Frost Talents (30 points)

Improved Frost bolt - 5/5 points
Reduces the casting time of your Frost bolt spell by 0.5 seconds.

Ice Shards - 5/5 points
Increases the critical strike damage bonus of your Frost spells by 100%.

Improved Frost Nova - 2/2 points
Reduces the cooldown of your Frost Nova spell by 4 seconds.

Improved Blizzard - 3/3 points
Adds a chill effect to your Blizzard spell. This effect lowers the target's movement speed to 35% of normal. Lasts 8.50 seconds.

Cold Snap - 1/1 point
When activated, this spell finishes the cooldown on all of your cold spells.

Arctic Reach - 2/2 points
Increases the range of your Frost bolt spell and the radius of your Frost Nova and Cone of Cold spells by 20%.

Frost Channeling - 1/3 point
Reduces the mana cost of your frost spells by 5%.

Shatter - 5/5 points
Increases the critical strike chance of your frost spells against frozen targets by 50%.

Ice Block - 1/1 point
You become encased in a block of ice, protecting you from all physical attacks and spells for 10 seconds, but during that time you cannot attack, move, or cast spells.

Frostbite - 5/5 points
Gives your chill effects a 15% chance to freeze the target for 5 seconds.



Fire Talents (0 points)

None

P.S. I made a mistake, you can use the 2 points for "Improved Mana Shield", or you can place them where I intended in "Improved Dampen Magic "

Improved Dampen Magic - 2/2 points
Increases the effect of your Dampen Magic spell by 50%.