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Mage or Paladin: Which Should You Play in WoW Forever?
Pick the Mage if you want fast leveling, strong PvP and quick gold farming. Pick the Paladin if you want to heal or tank in groups and play a plate class that is hard to kill.
Mage vs Paladin verdict
3 Mage 2 Paladin 1 even
Take the Mage for most solo goals. It levels faster, farms more gold with area pulls and has stronger PvP control. Conjured food and water save time and money.
Take the Paladin if you want to group. Holy is one of the best tank healers and Protection has real tanking tools at launch. Solo play is even: the Mage is faster, the Paladin is safer.
Mage vs Paladin: head-to-head comparison
| Category | Mage | Paladin |
|---|---|---|
| Leveling speed | Winner Frost AoE pulls, portals and free food: the fastest toolkit of the two. | Steady and safe, you rarely die, but slower than the pure damage classes. |
| Solo play | Even Controls fights with slows and freezes; fragility managed with range and kiting. | Even Retribution solos safely with bubbles and self-heals; slow but nearly unkillable. |
| Dungeons | Top damage and crowd control, queuing with every other damage dealer. | Winner Groups always make room: Holy heals, Protection tanks, Retribution brings auras. |
| Raiding | Fire posts top raid numbers; mages are always wanted. | Winner The plate-wearing healer is hard to kill and harder to replace; tanks are scarcer. |
| PvP | Winner Strong in PvP: control and burst from range. | Durable and hard to kill, but the toolkit is not built for player combat. |
| Gold farming | Winner Area-of-effect pulls are the most efficient farm. | Steady single-target grinding; safe, but slow. |
Playing Mage in this matchup
Frost Mages level with slows and roots, and later pull groups of mobs and kill them with area spells. Conjured food and water and portals cut downtime and travel.
At 60 Fire is the raid spec with Heating Up, Frost leads in PvP with Frost Nova and Ice Lance, and Arcane uses Arcane Blast and Missile Barrage.
Where the Mage falls short
Cloth armor and limited mana make the class unforgiving. You have no healing to fall back on.
Playing Paladin in this matchup
Retribution levels slowly but safely. Plate, heals, Divine Shield and Lay on Hands keep you alive through almost anything.
At 60 Holy keeps tanks alive with Holy Light, Holy Shock and Oath of Light. Protection tanks with Holy Shield, Templar's Bulwark and Shieldsworn, and Retribution ends in Unsealed Wrath and Champion of the Light.
Where the Paladin falls short
Solo damage is low, so leveling and gold farming are slow. Retribution is a playable raid spec, but not a top one.
How WoW Forever's talent changes shift this matchup
On 30 October the Paladin trees were rebuilt. Blessing of Light, Salvation and Revoke were removed, and Oath of Light, Boundless Light, Stoicism, Shieldsworn, Turn Evil and Unsealed Wrath were added. Righteous Fury now comes at level 10.
Mages lost Frost Blast on 2 November, but Ice Lance now deals 300% more damage to Frozen targets and Ice Barrier adds 15% Frost damage.
Which should you pick: Mage or Paladin?
- You want the fastest leveling of the two; AoE, portals and free food are unmatched tempo.
- Gold farming is part of your plan; area-of-effect pulls are the best farm.
- You enjoy control play: Frost decides where every fight happens.
- You want PvP from range with burst, rather than outlasting people in plate.
- The new Orc option appeals, or Gnome mana and root escapes sound like your safety net.
- You accept the fragility contract and would rather be fast than safe.
- You hate dying more than you hate being slow; you will rarely do the former.
- Guaranteed group spots matter: Holy heals, Protection tanks, groups always make room.
- Bubbles and blessings as an escape toolkit sounds like your kind of safety.
- The Undead Paladin is the playstyle; it is brand new in WoW Forever and starts in Tirisfal Glades.
- You want one character that can fill three roles without rerolling.
- You are playing the long game to launch, where the new capstones come online.
Mage and Paladin race options
Mage has 6 race choices and Paladin has 3. Races marked new could not play the class in Classic Era. See the racials guide for what each race brings.
| Faction | Mage | Paladin |
|---|---|---|
| Alliance | Human, Gnome, Skyborne High OrderNew | Human, Dwarf |
| Horde | OrcNew, Undead, Troll | UndeadNew |
Plan your Mage or Paladin build
Plan your points before paying for a respec. Open the Mage talent calculator or the Paladin talent calculator, or try a starter build for your preferred role. The class picking guide compares all nine classes if you are still undecided.
Mage vs Paladin: common questions
Which is better for a casual player with limited time?
The Mage. It levels quickly, needs no group and makes its own food and water. A Paladin is safer but slower.
Is Retribution actually viable, or just a leveling spec?
Yes, for leveling and casual raiding. Unsealed Wrath and Champion of the Light give it more damage than in Classic, but it is still behind the top damage specs.
What did Forever actually change for Paladin?
All three trees were rebuilt on 30 October. Holy gained Oath of Light, Protection gained Shieldsworn and Templar's Bulwark, and Retribution gained Unsealed Wrath.
Which one makes more gold?
The Mage. Area pulls kill groups of mobs quickly. A Paladin farms one mob at a time.
Which races can play Mage and Paladin in WoW Forever?
Mage: Human, Gnome and Skyborne High Order on the Alliance; Orc, Undead and Troll on the Horde. Paladin: Human and Dwarf on the Alliance; Undead on the Horde.
What is the best leveling spec for Mage and Paladin in WoW Forever?
For leveling from 1 to 60, play Frost Mage or Retribution Paladin. On our leveling tier list, Mage is S tier and Paladin is A tier. Each class leveling guide has a talent path from level 10 to 60.