Mage PvE guide The mage ' s purpose in PvE content is primarily DPS . They can offer utility in the form of the crowd control spell , the party / raid - wide buff , and the caster buff . In addition , Arcane , Fire , and Frost mages can utilize , , and , respectively . Things Mages want Non - Mages to Know . Why You Should Tip a Mage . Some people wonder why should they pay mages for something they can make . Do you tip an enchanter when they give enchant an item for you ? Do you tip rogues when they open lock boxes for you ? If you don ' t you might end up on everyone ' s ignore list . Remember , mages did have to pay to learn to make refreshments . They are not vending machines . High level mages spend a good portion of their time in - game fending off people ' s requests for refreshments and portals . Mages also like to play the game , too ; so a tip for their services isn ' t too much to ask . Don ' t worry , though , most mages are not misers ; they will not charge obscene amounts for refreshments . A good tip is around and usually will get what you need . Ports should be the cost of the reagent plus a tip , but remember that the mage is wasting his or he time just to port you there , so a few extra gold doesn ' t hurt . If you ' re not willing to tip a couple gold , expect to be ignored . If you still decide that you don ' t want to pay for these services , you can : Both of these , in the end , might even result in larger investments of money . General Class Oriented / Grouping Tips . Rogue . Since Sap no longer removes the rogue from stealth , talk to the group if they expect you to sheep pull . If the rogue is used to using distract just before his sap , begin casting right after the mob was sapped . Distraction + Sap combo consumes almost all rogue ' s energy and they ' ll appreciate that couple of seconds to regain it . Also remember that sometimes Sap can miss ( 5 % chance ) and rogue will need extra time to sap again . They ' ll also be thankful for any and all food you supply to them . While they don ' t have mana , being able to vanish and eat is a boon to them . Warrior . Let him build aggro first , don ' t make him use his taunt right at the beginning , if you do , expect rightly , to get abuse . The tank wants to make sure that mobs stay with him , and don ' t run past him to the back of the group where they ' ll then be able to kill you , or worse yet , the healer standing next to you . Time and select your spells carefully so you don ' t generate too much threat and pull aggro away from him , and he ' ll love you . If you do pull aggro , toss up Mana Shield and either stand there or go to the tank . Walking backwards away from the tank at 15 % HP is a bad idea . If you decide to do this , don ' t brag about your 2 , 500dmg Frostbolt Crit . Although he ' ll accept food from you , he probably won ' t use it until he ' s out solo questing after the instance , since ideally he ' ll have a healer while he ' s in it . Don ' t be rude and turn him down if he asks . Priest . You ' re probably going to stand next to him ( but in easy line - of - sight ) , in the last row . If he ever gets aggro from healing , you should frost nova the mobs going for him , to give the tank some time in retaking aggro . If the tank can ' t do anything about it , take aggro yourself and draw them away . He is more important than you . You can always be revived , but he probably can ' t . You should give water and an Arcane Intellect buff , but you should get a buff , the occasional , and some heals out of it . A mage is an aggroed priests best friend . You should try to be in a position to step in and take their bullet . Mainly because you can do it better ( because of various snares , slows and spell interrupts ) and free them up for healing you when you get into trouble . Warlock . Warlocks may ask for Food and Water , this is to ease up the strain on the healer , if they ask , please , give it to them . Give them an Arcane Intellect buff , all Mana Users should be buffed with it . Coordinate with the warlock so that both of your speccs are helped . You should ask them very very politely to lay down Curse of the Elements . As of 2 . 4 . 3 , Curse of the Elements increases damage dealt by Fire , Arcane , Shadow , Nature , and Frost . Mage . Alternate spells with him . Casting 2 frost novas at the same time is useless . Having an enemy running between 2 mages when he can ' t make a choice is funny . If you have improved scorch , use it , since as of 3 . 0 , improved scorch now helps ALL magic damage and not just fire . Druid . You give water and an Arcane Intellect buff , but you should get a Mark of the Wild buff out of it . Do not get Thorns in instances ; you do not want to create more threat . Balance druids can use their Tier 3 talent Moonkin Form . This aura will increase the critical hit chance of spells by 5 % for the druid ' s party members within a 30 - yard radius . When there is a druid ( healing ) and a mage in a group they should stay close to each other in the back . If it happens that the druid gets aggro the mob approaches the druid and then the mage will cast Frost Nova so the mobs get stuck to the ground giving the tank / offtank chance to retake aggro . If the druid is in cat , bear , or tree form , he can ' t remove debuffs . If you ' re not worried about mana and want to be a kind soul , help with the decursing . The druid will love you for it - especially if you let him know you ' re going to help before he switches forms . Hunter . Hunters are , by design , able to take care of themselves just fine . As of Cataclysm , Hunters don ' t use Mana , and therefore you can ' t really help them with buffs . Paladin . You ' re going to love working with paladins , and they love mages . A Paladin has the greatest potential to ensure you don ' t die . Paladins are the perfect partner for AoE grinding , and a properly played paladin is second only to a frost mage when they AoE grind alone . Beware though , at lower levels paladins can ' t keep up with your aggro , so behave yourself if there isn ' t a fully geared / spec ' d tank around . Paladins are casters . They want food and water . Also expect to share caster items , if they are holy , this may include cloth . Of weapons , you share swords , and they are rare , please don ' t take them over the paladin . Caster daggers and staffs are more plentiful and they can ' t use those . Aura - - They can give either Devotion Aura which will probably approach doubling your total armor ( probably beyond this , if you use Mage Armor or Molten Armor instead of Ice Armor ) . They also have concentration aura gives 35 % chance for your spells to not be interrupted from damage ( although you can still be interrupted by Shield Bash , etc . ) ; with your burning soul talent , that winds up coming to 100 % . ( Only one can be active at a time , unless there is more than one paladin . ) Blessing - - You can ask for Blessing of Kings if you prefer extra intellect ; or Blessing of Wisdom , which gives you a steady flow of mana regen throughout combat . If you expect to be mana short , you can also ask for them to judge wisdom so that you can receive mana when your spells or wands hit . Tank - - They are in plate and whatever their spec can take hits better than you , can taunt and stun mobs off you . Shaman . Shaman , like Hunters , are able to take care of themselves quite well . All Shamans can benefit from water and Arcane Intellect , yet in groups Shamans act independently of mages . Mages and Shamans can interrupt spell casting with Counterspell and Wind Shear , respectively . Wind Shear has a 25 yard range and 6 second cooldown and also reduces threat . So , it ' s better to let the Shaman interrupt and save that counterspell for emergencies . Shaman who ' ve spent point in their elemental tree can buff the mage and their group with Totem of Wrath which provides a spell power and critcal strike chance bonus . Also , all shaman receive Wrath of Air Totem which will give their group 5 % spell haste . On top of these great utilities , mages also greatly benefit from a shaman ' s Bloodlust / Heroism which will give the group an increased 30 % melee , ranged , and spell casting speed for 40 seconds . If your group has 3 or more physical damage dealers , your group is probably better served with a Windfury or agility buff . If a Shaman is acting as a secondary damage dealer in a well - balanced group , a shaman might be able to overcome a mage ' s aggro if said mage leaves him in melee range after a Frost Nova or Ice Block . If your Shaman is Restoration spec , then you ' re lucky enough to have Mana Tide Totem working in conjunction with Mage Armor , though the cooldown on the totem is a lengthy 5 minutes . If the Shaman you are grouping with is not Resto , you can still ask for Mana Spring Totem , which will grant you a cool 50 mana per 5 seconds at level 70 . Death Knight . In groups you ' ll see Death Knights either Tanking or DPS ' ing . As as mage , there ' s not much you ' ll be able to offer the Death Knight in the way of buffs as they receive no benefit from Arcane Intellect . As always food is helpful , especially after wipes or in pvp . Like everyone else Death Knights will get increased crit chance from Improved Scorch , and will also benefit from Winter ' s Chill as they have a few frost spells . Focus Magic should also help them out when casting Icy Touch or Howling Blast , however , other ranged casters ( Mage , Warlock , Shaman , Druid and Priest ) would see a greater benefit from focus magic . Useful Buffs / Debuffs Fighting Death Knights - - Things to watch out for