What Your Mage Should "Really" Be Doing

Here we go. I figured since I said I'd do this, I probably should. Now understand that I've wasted many an hour and day figuring this thing out. Let me know if I missed anything.

These are the rules. Love them. Learn them. Teach them.

1) Deal consistent and overwhelming ranged damage. You are one of the primary ranged DPS class. This should obviously be the kind of thing you live for. You are mage, make things go "boom." It is your calling. Feel it in your blood. But not just any damage, no sir or ma'am. You need to maximize your damage potential by chain- casting, using mana potions and gems at the proper time, activating your trinkets for maximum effect and still remain alive.

2) Timely and effective crowd control. You are a mage. You have polymorph (sheep, pig or turtle). You have frost novas. Use them. That pull too much for the tank? Sheep one of the offending mobs and laugh at his complete and utter uselessness. Set up a focus macro to re- sheep while still fulfilling your primary mission: Deal consistent and overwhelming ranged damage.

3) Protect the healer. Yes, fellow mage, you do ridiculous amounts of damage. Your gear is stacked with +Intellect, +Spell damage and loads of +Spell crit. You are the glass cannon to end all glass cannons. Congratulations, you top the damage meters against those silly warlocks and hunters and rogues who think mage DPS is weak. But wait? Your priest just bought it because the tank pulled too many and thought he could take them all. You sheep one, but that 3- pull just turned into a 7- pull and things are going south at a rapid pace. When the healer dies, who's next? The tank? Hardly. You are, Mr/ Ms/ Mrs uber- DPS. Need I go on?

4) Heal yourself. This always amazes me. Allow me to be blunt: You are expendable. I repeat, You, the mage, are expendable. You AoE grind. You PvP. You solo elite mobs. And yet your first aid skill is only 200? If I'm in a raid and you ask for health potions or bandages or heals and you are a DPS class, I want you gone. Out. Go skill up and burn some of that gold on things that let you live longer before you roll with me. Do not ask for a heal. Heal yourself. The healer has other things on his/ her mind. Things like, "Heal the tank." Healing you is a waste of mana for the healer and you increase the risk of a wipe because those few seconds and a few hundred mana that went to you could've gone to the now- dead tank because she/ he didn't get a heal on time. Your fault. Apologize, pay the party's repair bill and go skill up.

5) Provide food, water and buffs for yourself and your party. Sigh. This is the part I hate the most. Mages are the most useful class not because of stupid amounts of damage but because of our sheer utility. If you receive an invitation to an instance group or raid group or even some random priest who could use a hand, walk in with conjured food and water in hand. Offer it freely and expect no payment. It cost you nothing but mana to make, so don't complain when your newfound friends stiff you. To go along with this, you have one party buff, so use it liberally. Arcane Intellect/ Brilliance are a boon to all mana- users, so don't keep your magically- heightened powers all to yourself.

6) Open a portal to a handy major city at the end of it all. This is simply a nice gesture to your party. You don't need to open a portal to every city, just a handy one. (Note: Darnassus is not a handy city.)

This is the short version. There are numerous nuances and bits and pieces that I'll go into later. For now, these are the rules you should live by. Enjoy the fact you play one of the most useful classes in the game. Unlike everyone else, you don't need to buy or grind for food and water. You don't need to waste money on gryphons and windriders or waste time waiting for a boat or tram or zep. You can teleport! Enjoy yourself. Revel in your mastery of all things magic. It's what you were born to do, right?