By Cryan

A mage is one of the strongest if not the strongest class when it comes to the ability to dish out damage. However it comes at a price of very little armor. If played properly the mage is a deadly addition to any party or solo play. The mage also has the ability to travel faster than the average class. The mage has Blink, and portals to summon for other party members. They can also create their own food/water to save on supplies. In addition, the mage has some very good defensive measures.

Fire Template
There are three very important talents to get on the Fire tree when you are going to specialize in fire. The first is Pyroblast, which is a giant version of the fireball. Its on an 8 second casting time, and does tremendous damage. The second is Blast Wave, which is a Ring spell that does damage in a circle around the caster. This spell does lots of damage, although not as much as a fireball. But the plus is it damages multiple targets. The final talent is Combustion, which lies at the end of the talent tree. You need to spend 30 points to get this skill, and be at level 40 at the earliest. Combustion gives all fire spells a 100% chance to for a critical strike. Ignite is a very useful talent to put points in to. It burns the enemy for a % of the critical strike for 4 seconds. So a critical strike shot of Pyroblast that does 1000 would give an additional 400 (If you put 5 points in Ignite) over 4 seconds. Very good damage. Improved Fire Blast reduces the cool time on this Instant spell, which is good to have for a steady rate of damage.

Strategy (Solo)
The advantage of this template is the amount of damage you can do. Starting off with a Pyroblast (Combustion if you can) it does tremendous damage to start the fight. Then go with a Fireball, followed by a fast Fire Blast. The Fireball and Fireblast is a one-two punch. They hit the opponent at the same time. At this point the enemy is close to you. Use a Frost Nova to freeze it in its spot and back up. Fire off another Fireball, and if time permits another Fire Blast. Most enemies are dead at this point, and you have taken Zero or very little damage. This allows you take on higher level opponents. 2-3 levels above you become possible. This gives you fast experience to level up your mage. If you become surrounded, you can blink away, or Sheep one of the guys. Frost Nova is very good for crowd control. Also saving your combustion for times when you are faced with 2 or more enemies is a good idea since it can turn the fight in your favor.
The mana agates that you can create for an instant mana gain is a very useful tool when used with a healing elixir. Thats because you can use both at the same time.

Strategy (Group)
When grouped with people you need to know what purpose you will fill within the group. Even though you can do an obscene amount of damage and use cool looking pyrotechnics, its not always wise to do so. Your party members will be impressed with your giant fireball but they won't be impressed when you draw the aggro on you and eventuall causing a wipe. The thing to learn is how to tone it down.
When starting in a group, offer to create food/water since it takes very little effort. Throw buffs on the other members on the party then take your place at the back of the group. You are not a tank. Do not lead. Always be aware of your aggro radius so that you don't draw aggro as well. Which is why its a good idea to stay at the back with the healer. Get close enough to cast your Fire Blast and thats it. Some groups may call on you to sheep an opponent. Make sure you specify which one you will sheep so that it stays sheeped. Damage after you sheep will change it back to its original form.
Now when the battle begins, hold back until you are SURE the aggro is on somebody. Make sure the health is dropping. Now you can fire off your spells. The Pyroblast is a nice spell, but you should keep it bottled for the most part. The 8 second casting time doesn't really help since a good group will have killed the enemy in that time, and you will be spending most of your time casting. Fireball has a 3 second casting time, plus the Fire Blast is a good follow up spell. Save the Combustion until you are about to finish off the monster or a boss monster.
If you gain aggro, use your Frost Nova to freeze it its place. Let the others get the aggro back. Don't attack until it does. If the Priest or healer gets aggro, do the same for them. Frost Nova is a good crowd control spell. The AOE are good when faced with easier opponents. You just don't want to get the aggro of many opponents on you. Steady damage output usually does the job well. So put them away.
Once the fight is over, immediately sit down to replenish health/mana. Since your spells take up a lot of mana, you will be doing this lots. Always keep it full when the action is stopped. That way you aren't holding up the group every time you have to get mana back. It gets tiring when you spend the time after a fight looting and running around and then hold up the group for mana.

Proffessions
From personal experience I've found that Herbalism/Alchemy is the best proffessions for a mage. You can create your own Elixirs, and healing pots. The really strong healing pot thrown in with the Mana Agate give your mage a second life so to speak. Plus the Firepower Elixir gives extra damage to your fire spells. Although you will need to learn fishing for this. Plus you can sell your extra herbs for cash at the AH. Some of them go for really big prices.
Tailoring is good since you can create your own armor. Tailoring and a gathering proffession to earn extra cash is nice too. Or Tailoring/Enchanting work nicely but costs more cash.

Travel
Travel for a mage is very easy. The Blink is crucial for getting away from hostile situations. At level 20 you get your first teleportation spells. To Ironforge and Stormwind. At level 30 you get the Darnassus teleport. Each teleport costs 10 Silver or less if repuation is above honored. At level 40 you get summon portal spells. Ironforge and Stormwind are available. You get Darnassus at level 50. Having the ability to jump to these 3 places reduces travel time by a very large factor. Plus you can summon portals for people for some extra cash. The reagent for the summon portal costs 20 Silver. I've seen people charge over a Gold for a summon. Its up to you how much you charge for your transport.

Other Templates
I've seen people use the Arcane tree for the Presence of Mind spell. It makes any spell with a casting time of 10 seconds or less an instant. Its a personal choice between this and Combustion. You can't have both. Frost templates make for very good AOE and good for solo as well. This is because the frost spells impair enemy movement. Experimentation on different templates is a good idea. It comes down to what you like out of your mage.