Mage Talents - What Each Talent Tree Can Dish Out

Being a Mage requires you to follow any of the three major talent trees of the class - Fire, Frost and Arcane. Any of these talent trees contain individual Mage talents that can neutralize as well as obliterate any number of enemies using AoE spells and burst damage. Mages also specialize in crowd control, damage dealing, spell stealing, counter spelling, and curse removal via the various advanced talents at the higher tiers of any of the class's talent trees.

The real talents of the class, however, lie mainly in Area of Effect or AoE and single target damage. They aren't like other magical classes that depend on distance casting - for Mages can deal melee damage as well although very limited - and DoT spells. They are a class that specializes in nuking their opponents with spells that are based on Frost, Fire, and Arcane magic. Because of these and other qualities, the Mage class is often considered the original 'glass cannon's - powerful yet very vulnerable.

{Arcane}
The Wall of Eternity at Kalimdor was the root of all the powers of Arcane magic. The Mages are among the first to use the secrets of this magic. As the primary wielders of Arcane magic in Azeroth, the Mages have come to become intimate with the magic.

The Arcane tree and its talents namely the Arcane Blast and Arcane Missiles are what make the Mages a nuking class. Both talents are known to deliver solid direct arcane hits that can easily swipe off enemies. Arcane tree also provides the Slow spell which can slow down enemies and Arcane Barrage which is an instant damage ranged attack spell. When it comes to burst damage, this tree provides the Presence of Mind and Arcane Power.

Although the Arcane tree can deliver pretty impressive damage, this isn't the tree that's fit for leveling. The majority of the signature talents in this tree are often too demanding that lower level characters have no access to them.

{Fire}
A Mage specializing in the Fire-based talents can deal powerful sustained damage that is quite balanced with good mana regeneration. A Fire Mage who is deep into the tree can deliver not only impressive sustained damage capabilities but high burst damage as well.

Playing a Fire Mage comes with a price though. Although this Mage can manage his mana well, it is often the case that the talents require so much more than what they can usually dish out. As a Fire Mage, you should always be careful with replenishing your mana.

{Frost}
The Frost Mages offer the best of both types of Mage. Frost Mages are known to deal better damage than Arcane Mages although not at par with Fire Mages. In addition, they can also regenerate mana better than Fire Mages although definitely not as fast as Arcane Mages can do it.

Mage talents from each of the talent trees are often complimented by those found in other trees. While it is often advisable to combine the talents from all trees to make the most out of the Mage's capabilities.

You could tell how Mage talents work by looking at the talent trees from where they were taken. Talents that deal with fire obviously come from Fire talent trees. The same is true with Arcane and Frost talents.