Those who play mages in World of Warcraft have, more likely than not, heard the infamous command “Sheep it!” from party members. The polymorph is one of the most powerful spells at the mage's disposal and every good mage knows how to use the polymorph to their advantage. The fact is, knowing how to properly utilize the polymorph is a matter of life and death for squishy little clothies. Considered crowd control, the polymorph enables mages to be as much utility as they are damage.
Polymorph Basics
The term “sheep it” comes from the fact that mages learn the sheep polymorph from trainers at levels 8, 20, 40 and 60. At level 8 the sheep polymorph will last, at most, 20 seconds. The duration of the polymorph increases at intervals of 10 seconds each time a new rank in the polymorph spell is learned.
Polymorphs will break if the target of the spell takes any form of damage, so mages should take care to polymorph the target away from area of effect (AOE) damage areas. Polymorph is dispellable by other mages and only works against beasts, critters and humanoids. Polymorphed targets are helpless but heal rather rapidly.
Sheep
The sheep is the most standard polymorph and is taught by both Alliance and Horde mage trainers. This polymorph turns those susceptible into a small sheep. No quest is required to learn this spell.
Pig
The pig polymorph is available to mages at level 60 and above. This polymorph allows mages to turn susceptible mobs into a small pink pig. Mages should seek out Archmage Xylem in Azshara for the Fragmented Magic quest. The quest is simple and involves turning naga’s into tiny little sheep clones and destroying them, a simple task because mages are masters of AOE damage magic.
Turtle
One of the most difficult polymorphs in the game to acquire, the turtle polymorph is learned from the Tome of Polymorph Turtle, a tradeable tome dropped from Gahz’ranka, a boss mob in Zul’Gurub. Lucky mages might find this tome on the auction house, but prices are incredibly competitive. Farming this tome involves using barrels acquired from Nat Pagle, an NPC mob in Dustwallow Marsh, to fish up the boss. This boss may only be killed once every three days, making the farming process a long one.
Rabbit
The polymorph rabbit is a mage exclusive item that may be purchased during the in-game even Noblegarden (Easter). This tome transforms mobs into a small, harmless rabbit. Both Alliance and Horde characters may purchase this tome from holiday vendors, but doing so requires 100 Noblegarden Chocolates.
Penguin
The polymorph penguin, which does exactly what it says and polymorphs mobs into penguins, became available at the release of the expansion Wrath of the Lich King. This polymorph is acquired using the Glyph of the Penguin, a minor glyph that can be made by inscriptionists. This glyph is normally very reasonably priced on both Horde and Alliance auction houses.
Black Cat
The black cat polymorph is another Wrath of the Lich King addition. This polymorph is available to all mages above level 60 who are able to find their way to Dalaran. The Tome of Polymorph: Black Cat costs an outrageous 2,500 gold at Kirin Tor vendor Endora Moorehead. Both Alliance and Horde may purchase this item, the cost of which is mitigated slightly by reputation with the Kirin Tor.
Polymorphs in PvP
Because Player vs. Player (PvP) combat differs slightly from Player vs. Environment (PvE) combat, the polymorph works differently in PvP situations. The polymorph will never last longer than 10 seconds in PvE combat, and repeatedly polymorphed combatants will become resistant to the polymorph’s affects, a phenomenon called dimishing returns. Dimishing returns will reduce the polymorph’s duration by half each time it’s cast and after the fourth cast, the target will be immune for a duration of 10 seconds. Players on flying mounts are immune to being polymorphed.
Polymorph Macros
Macros make polymorphing more simple. There are three main polymorph macros, though variations on the theme may exist in players with particular knowledge of macros.
This macro stops a spell in the process of being casted and casts polymorph instead:
/stopcasting
/cast Polymorph
This macro will stop casting and cast the polymorph spell on the target of the mage’s focus. Focus may be set by targeting the intended mob and typing “/focus”:
/stopcasting
/cast [target=focus] Polymorph
The following macro shows the polymorph tooltip, clears the previous focus, focuses a target that is not the target of another player’s focus and is not dead, stops a spell in progress, and casts polymorph:
#showtooltip Polymorph
/clearfocus [modifier:shift]
/focus [target=focus,noexists]; [target=focus,dead]
/clearfocus [target=focus,help]
/stopcasting
/cast [target=focus,exists,harm] Polymorph; Polymorph
For mages who understand the value of the polymorph spell, group utility is increased. For those who are new to the mage class, learning to polymorph will mean the difference between a smooth leveling experience and constantly running back from the graveyard.
Kristyn Hammond - A freelance professional since 2007, Kristyn Hammond has both her BA & MA in English from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX.
Join the Conversation