Mage Teleports and Portals: Levels, Runes and Portal Trainers

◆Teleport vs Portal

A Teleport moves only the mage. It has a 10-second cast, costs 120 mana and consumes one Rune of Teleportation. Teleports have no separate cooldown — your only limits are runes and mana.

A Portal opens a gateway that members of the mage's party or raid can click. The cast is also 10 seconds, but it costs 850 mana, consumes one Rune of Portals and has a 1-minute cooldown. This is the main tool for ferrying players and earning tips.

Training levels by faction

In 1.12.1 each faction has exactly three destinations for teleports and portals. There are no cross-faction destinations.

◆Where to learn teleports and portals

Teleports are taught by mage trainers in your faction capitals. Portals are taught by dedicated portal trainers, and each of them teaches the portal to their own city only, so you will have to visit all three in person:

• Stormwind — Larimaine Purdue, Wizard's Sanctum in the Mage Quarter.
• Ironforge — Milstaff Stormeye, Hall of Mysteries in the Mystic Ward.
• Darnassus — Elissa Dumas, Temple of the Moon.
• Orgrimmar — Thuul, Valley of Spirits.
• Undercity — Lexington Mortaim, the Magic Quarter.
• Thunder Bluff — Birgitte Cranston, Pools of Vision.

No quest is required: you just need the right level and enough gold for training. For directions inside the capitals see our Stormwind city guide and Orgrimmar city guide.

◆Reagents: the runes

Both runes are sold by reagent vendors in the capitals and stack to 10. A Rune of Portals costs roughly twice as much as a Rune of Teleportation, which is still pocket change compared to what players tip for a portal. Always carry at least one stack of each — when the raid asks for a portal home, there is no time to look for a vendor.

Portal-for-tips etiquette

Portals are a classic mage income source. To keep things smooth:

1. Stand near the mailbox, bank or auction house and post a short message in general chat: «Portals to Stormwind/Ironforge/Darnassus, whisper me».
2. Invite the client to your group — the portal will not work otherwise.
3. Take the tip through the trade window before or after the cast — agree on it up front. Many mages simply work for «whatever you feel like».
4. Once the client has gone through, remove them from the group to free the slot.
5. Do not spam chat every few seconds — moderators and players dislike it.

Portals to Darnassus (far from the mainland) and Thunder Bluff are in particularly high demand. For more income ideas see gold making methods and the mage AoE farming guide.

Portals in raids and dungeons

After a raid clear the mage opens a portal to a capital for the whole group, saving everyone a Hearthstone. Before leaving, make sure you have a rune in your bags and full mana: 850 mana for a portal is hard to find right after a fight. If the raid is gathering at the entrance, it is often easier to teleport to town, restock and come back through another mage's portal.

◆What does not exist in 1.12.1

Vanilla has no portals or teleports to Shattrath, Dalaran, Theramore, Stonard, the Exodar or Silvermoon — all of these came with expansions. There are also no cross-faction portals: an Alliance mage cannot open a gateway to Orgrimmar. For the full spell list see mage abilities.

◆Related guides

• Mage class guide
• Mage leveling
• Mage abilities
• Travel guide
• Hearthstone and travel
• Gold making methods

Ready to open your first portal? Create an account on WoW x5 and connect to the server — with boosted rates, level 40 and your first portals arrive within the first days of play.