Mage leveling specs for Cataclysm
As for leveling up your mage, it doesn’t really matter which leveling specialization (spec) you choose, as they can all level up quickly and easily. Not that any of them are the “forgotten children” of WoW or anything.
A leveling spec primarily needs damage dealing ability, but also needs some survivability and opponent control. In PvP things lean much more towards the survivability side and in PvE (ie raids) they pivot towards damage: first, last and always.
Where you are leveling also matters. For all of the Mage specs, if you’re leveling up in dungeons, perhaps with the Random Dungeon Finder tool, then you may lean much more towards damage than otherwise and the Fire and Arcane specs will likely dwarf Frost here. If you’re leveling up in PvP, well, you can’t help your team if you’re dead and Frost is (for now) the PvP spec of choice.
For general leveling (adventure, crush, a dungeon or two), the Frost Mage spec is probably the one most people would go for, as it’s the most flexible. Frost can deal a lot of damage and also has a lot of control and survivability. Chilled, slowed, and frozen opponents don’t do much damage. A Frost Mage also gains talents that do much higher damage compared to those same frozen opponents. Last but not least, Frost mages get a water elemental as a pet and that always comes in handy.
Talent options while leveling up are pretty easy. Some talents take a bit of time away from casting spells and I recommend you skip those and take the talents that freeze and damage your opponents. When you reach the third level of talents, look for Icy Veins, Fingers of Frost, and a point in Enhanced Freeze.
A couple of levels later you’ll want to take all of the Ice Barrier talents, especially if you’re on a PvP server. A little extra survivability makes leveling up a lot easier sometimes, especially when things go wrong.
The Fire Mage spec can deal even more damage, but relies on movement to survive. If you think of a “glass cannon”, you will be right. Fire is also heavily reliant on crits, so you’ll run into divine damage streaks and then a dry spell where you’ll be running a lot.
Arcane mages are somewhere between the “all damage” Fire mage and the Frost mage’s control. The Arcane spec can also deal impressive damage and perhaps has better mana efficiency than the others.
People always wonder which stats are the most important. For any Mage, the answer is Intelligence above all else, and the value of Int increases as your level increases. Int is the new Spellpower and it figures into your mana pool and some critical rating. Strength, agility, and spirit are useless, while the amount of stamina you want will depend on your ability to survive. I highly suggest Stam at low levels, but it really depends on your skills.
Don’t worry too much about stats like Hit or Crit until late game. Just go to Int and let the other stats follow as you find them. If you find gear with gem slots and want to use the gems, go to… Try. Same with any enchantment you want to buy. Fire mages value Crit more than others and all mages can Hit and Haste (in that order). So if you’re going for enchantments, you can use Int > Hit > Crit (for fire) or Haste (for the others.)
While the min-max crowd might argue, my opinion is that you should play the Mage spec which feels good. If you’re a natural Burninator, play the Fire spec, even if Frost is the “flavor of the month.” The same goes for Arcane, especially if you like a more “magical” feel rather than elemental. Build just a little skill with whatever you choose and you’ll level up quickly and easily, regardless of spec.