Leveling and downranked spells

[Korie]

Is it worth using downranked spells for leveling? some times I run completely out of mana when trying to kill level 28-29 mobs(I'm level 25)

[Lazermon]

First mage to hit 60 on horde side here.

You should be killing mobs 1-2 lvls below you for the best experience rate to begin with, although a rank 1 frostbolt could be useful just for the slow effect. If you go oom too often, downranking isn't the solution for a better lvling experience, changing the monsters you fight and possibly your spec is. I personally like using rank ~4 frostbolts to finish off mobs with low hp when I farm at lvl 60, and I can see something similar being used to really minmax your lvling speed.

When you level, you should prioritize spirit over intellect, and you should look to reach Frost Channeling and Arcane Meditation as quick as possible.

Time drinking is time you could have spent killing another mob, and while it may feel like getting higher numbers of xp is the way to go, you will quickly find that if you can minimize the actual time you spend out of combat instead, things will speed up for you.

[thiella]

Don't try to get Arcane Meditation asap. In fact don't take any arcane talent at start. You need talents to increase your dps or your utility. First take Elemental precision. If you level as frost go for Shatter first. If you level as fire go for ignite and critical mass. Try to avoid killing higher level mobs (the orange or the red ones) because they have more hp and they will resist more.
Use lv 1 frostbolt when you want to slow fast someone (mob or players). For killing blows if the mob hp is low don't use costly spells with no reason. Use wand or a cheaper spell. And be ready to drink a lot as mage.

[ShaqPack]

For me, the only one's worth taking are rank one frost nova (because it does so little damage at higher ranks and you get the exact same effect you want), and rank one frost bolt for pvp purposes (which is actually really powerful).

[Lindow]

I would add rank one fireball for rogues (unless you're fire and you have Ignite) and rank one blizzard + arcane explosion, to break stealth.

[toeshred]

I would add rank one fireball for rogues (unless you're fire and you have Ignite) and rank one blizzard + arcane explosion, to break stealth.

I always used rank 1 blizzard for when rogues stealth/vanish far from me. But I remember blizzard normalized the mana cost of lower ranks or something at some point, so I am not sure this actually saves any mana.

[CorpPor]

Sorry for necroposting, but i had to respond to this:

But I remember blizzard normalized the mana cost of lower ranks or something at some point, so I am not sure this actually saves any mana.

Yes, Blizz made some changes to downranked spells in TBC, and finally killed it in WotLK, but we're talking vanilla. I've found some info that they nerfed efficiency of sub lvl 20 skills, but could not find info when exactly (pre, or post 1.12.1), but it really doesn't matter for mages, since you're casting rank 1 Frostbolt/Firebolt etc. not for its damage, but for the effect that comes with the spell (slow, DoT etc.).