Since you're concerned about addons, any addon you acquire from websites such as curse.com, wowinterface.com, etc will be permissible by Blizzard. I agree with Nate that you should stay away from map-revealing ones.
As a newbie, I would caution you to keep your addon selection fairly basic, and only increase use of them as you become more familiar with the game.
I definitely agree with this. I actually played without any mods at all for my first year or so.
I disagree with Nate about Bartender (and action bar mods in general) for two reasons. First, action bar mods can be a pain in the ass to set up properly and may even require you to re-map all of your keys. Second, action bar mods are very susceptible to "breaking" whenever the game gets patched: with another expansion around the corner you'll be a lot better off without having to worry about it. While you will eventually find action bar space at a premium (especially as a mage), it will not be a problem as you start out so retaining the default setup is one less headache.
Yes, as I said, go with the default bars to start (just be sure to go into the interface menu and open up the extra ones). With all a mage's teleport and portal spells though, eventually you just need more bars. But they can wait.
Addons I would encourage you to install, are:
X-Perl Unit Frames - replaces default unit frames with easily customizable unit frames: just click the white button on the rim of your minimap to open up the options GUI.
Would a new player know or care about unit frames? I tried running with customized unit frames for a bit, and while they were pretty and positionable, they broke after a patch and then I just went back to the default, which does the job just fine for me. Raids seem to be the only place where the default unit frames tend to fall down on the job a little. The default is fine for five-mans.
Gatherer - tracks locations of herbs and minerals for your gathering professions if you decide to take a gathering profession.
Addons you will find useful, but don't need, are:
Questhelper - the name says it all. It tracks your quests on the map, and shows an arrow on your minimap for where your next one is. If you have a kill or collection quest, it will show on your map the entire area where the specific items are. An improvement on the default one that's now built into the game.
Wait, what? The new default map system is basically the same as Questhelper. The add-on itself is pretty much pointless now. The map system now tracks your quests on the map, shows you the location of the quest goal, and shows you the map area where the items drop. The only thing it doesn't do is show an arrow on the mini-map. I don't recommend cluttering up your add-on space with Questhelper anymore, the new default map does everything you need.
Gnosis - casting bar replacement. A bit confusing to set up, but very pretty, and it has a "lag bar" when you can start casting your next spell even when your avatar looks like it's still casting the current one.
The lag bar can be handy for a mage once you get the hang of the gameplay and want to squeeze more speed out of your spells, for sure. You can do this without the lag bar, of course -- just start your next spell when the current spell is about 80% through its cast -- but a lag bar will show you more precisely.
MOST IMPORTANTLY:
Read the mage class forum. Look for FAQs and build guides, typically stickied at the top. They will recommend particular mods, spell rotations, and the types of gear you should be equipping (and why). Many will pertain to end-game, but there may be some leveling stuff in there to.
Also, add friends to ask questions of. WoW is a huge game, and it will take a long time to learn what's important and really integrate everything and be comfortable with it.
Yeah, if you can find people in-game who will answer questions without being idiots about it, those people are worth their weight in gold. There's a lot to learn when you're new.
Warder to starry_nite
Chapterfish — Nate's Writing Blog
http://chapterfish.wordpress.com
Chapterfish — Nate's Writing Blog
http://chapterfish.wordpress.com
So I finally gave in and started playing WoW, any advice?
- 15/07/2010 02:04:34 AM
1041 Views
Add-Ons are actually common and not a bannable offense (depending on their nature).
- 15/07/2010 02:11:03 AM
581 Views
*NM*
Re: So I finally gave in and started playing WoW, any advice?
- 15/07/2010 02:31:00 PM
585 Views
Some good suggestions, but ... Questhelper? Really?
- 15/07/2010 04:34:08 PM
738 Views
Others have given good advice. also:
- 15/07/2010 07:18:18 PM
553 Views
(Roland, website rec. inside!!)
Currently level 20 mage, just bought all the spells now I am poor 
- 18/07/2010 03:25:57 PM
518 Views
- 18/07/2010 03:25:57 PM
518 Views
Mining is a good Profession to pick up to make money on the side.
- 18/07/2010 06:25:35 PM
535 Views
Currently my professions are tailoring and enchanting
- 19/07/2010 12:25:28 AM
502 Views
The problem with leveling enchanting is that its a money sink, so you'll be poor a lot.
- 19/07/2010 12:55:49 AM
555 Views
You're worrying too much, and min-maxing too much. And a lot of this advice is very, very bad.
- 18/07/2010 07:03:43 PM
577 Views
To min max is my nature 
- 19/07/2010 12:33:00 AM
523 Views
- 19/07/2010 12:33:00 AM
523 Views
Of course. I don't mean to imply that min-maxing it inherently bad or not fun.
- 19/07/2010 04:31:18 PM
515 Views