Mage or Warlock

[alex71993]

Hey guys! Back in the day I would rotate between my Warlock, Mage and Hunter, but with the changes brought with MoP, I'm having a hard time deciding what to stick with. I no longer have any interest in being a Hunter, but I am having a hard time convincing myself to stay away from Warlocks. My main throughout Wrath and Cata was a mage. I would dabble with PVE, but I spend a large majority of my time doing Random BGs with some casual 2's and 3's once I got geared.

It had been years since I had seriously played a Warlock, but recently they're just looking like so much fun with all the new changes that brought them out of the dark ages of Cataclysm. The Mage in me is saying to stick with my guns, but something seems fun about being so delightfully evil. As I will be spending a majority of my time either on my own, with one friend, or in a pug, independence is a big factor for me (synergy with one other teammate [Monk] is also something to take into consideration].

Warlocks are very appealing to me because of their survivability, use of pets, overall appearance, large toolkit, and seemingly endless combination of talents and play styles. I love playing a Warlock, but I always found myself switching to back to my Mage because it always seemed to outclass my warlock with little to no effort, making the switch a no-brainer for someone like me who can only play when there is time. My mage always seemed to have more mobility, more burst with less hard-casting, and survivability ALMOST comparable to the Warlock's.

I have read every guide, forum discussion, and blog post that I can find related to Mage/Warlock comparisons, but the decision is still no clearer. People have been complaining about Mages being OP for years now, which makes me feel like some sort of overhaul has to take place at some point. Warlocks got their sexy redevelopment, but it is already beginning to be stripped away come 5.4. Taking all things into consideration, (damage potential / survivability / ease of play / skill cap / replay-ability / synergy / quality of HB routines / and future nerf/buff predictions), can anyone offer me some sound advice as to why I might lean towards one side, given my play preferences. I bot quite a bit, so being under-geared for BG's and arenas is not a problem.

I don't intend this to be a "Mage vs. Warlock: What's the more powerful class??" - Thread. Instead, I just want some advice for helping me choose a class that will fit my play style best. All tips, info, opinions, and confessions of love on Warlocks/Mages will be GREATLY appreciated! (PS. If I am posting in the wrong section, please let me know!)

Thanks so much!

 

[Frijj]

My 2nd 90 was a mage and once I got it to 90 I levelled tailoring and only use it now to craft items.
Took me ages to level my warlock but since I got it to 90 I love it, I'm nearly full Tyrannical and even in 2's I'm hard to take down on my own, the only 2 classes that seem to be able to, is a well geared/played rogue and mage.
TBH it's what you prefer, I don't use my minion at all the only time I do is to disarm someone with my void but I soon sacrifice it anyway, I agree mage's are sort of OP but only by someone who knows how to play them, as they can keep you in one place and just nuke you down.
But the main reason I love my warlock is just for the Chaos bolts and shadowburns

 

[alex71993]

That's why I love Warlocks, and its funny but that's the main thing that draws me to Mage and away from Warlocks.

 

[Staffix]

from reading what you've written.. go warlock, its kinda obvious that you like lock over mage

besides, its only u who can decide.. do a /roll 1-2 and give em a number each

 

[alex71993]

I do! The concept is awesome, I just always seem to wind up frustrated. Either that, or I get impatient with the high skill cap and get attracted to the Mage's "ease-of-destruction" that makes me look like nothing. If you couldn't tell I'm very susceptible to the "grass is greener" effect.

 

[alex71993]

I definitely can put in the time to learn all the key binds and correct play-styles to excel with Warlock. Warlock interests me enough to be willing to put in the effort, but I'm wondering if I am going to feel like all that effort was for nothing, if after a month or so of gearing and practicing I don't feel like I'm having as much fun as I could with a mage. AKA does the higher skill cap for playing a Warlock translate into a "higher Fun cap"?

 

[Lexi777]

Sounds kinda nerdy to me.

 

[westomopresto]

Sounds kinda nerdy to me.

Do you even play WoW?


Also, Mage is the most superior PVP class. Arguably the most OP in PVP. Always has been, always will be.
Warlock's get CC trained and focused in RBGs and BGs alike. So, as long as you do nothing but arenas... You can choose either one.

 

[Skaggy]

mages WILL be better, supposedly, according to the rumors about next patch. only thing was that they've been getting nerfed pretty much every patch.

 

[westomopresto]

mages WILL be better, supposedly, according to the rumors about next patch. only thing was that they've been getting nerfed pretty much every patch.

They haven't been "nerfed" in years.
They're merely moving some of the burst damage to sustain damage. IE: Incanter's Ward changes, Frost Bolt damage increase.

I can tell you don't play much Mage in PVP. No offence.

 

[Skaggy]

your type of responses is why i don't pvp.
too much ego and epeen measuring going on there.

and i never mentioned pvp or pve, perhaps is hould've made it clearer.

you can't tell me, however, a fire mage pulling 70~90k dps at 516 is not a victi of any sort of "nerf"
especially when i can respec to frost/arane and get 120 easy.

 

[westomopresto]

your type of responses is why i don't pvp.
too much ego and epeen measuring going on there.

and i never mentioned pvp or pve, perhaps is hould've made it clearer.

you can't tell me, however, a fire mage pulling 70~90k dps at 516 is not a victi of any sort of "nerf"
especially when i can respec to frost/arane and get 120 easy.

Sorry, I felt like my response was miss felt. You see, this topic is about PVP. Read the title.
Also, I was talking about the mage class as a whole. Which includes arcane. Arcane has had THE top dps in raids since wrath.