[Ingrum]

People are pretty ignorant to Mages because they've never leveled one to 50 on P99 and don't like how a pet can tank or out DPS them in a pinch. You'll get more hate and assumptions on these forums than your girlfriend gives you when she's on her period.

There's a lot of finesse and skill involved with being a good Magician that takes a lot of dying and determination to master. I personally love pushing the boundaries of the game to find out what I can and cannot destroy, especially after leveling an untwinked warrior to 50 a half year ago when SSoYs weren't all over the place.

Some classes were made for healing, others were made for tanking, some were made for DPSing, and some were made for soloing. Once you realize that then you can get over the fact that some classes perform well at times when others do not and stop posting on the forums that a Mage can AFK to level up like Dumbass_0105.

Playing a Mage is not easy mode by any means. You aren't as reliant on gear as a warrior but you still have to know your class in order to perform and function successfully.

That being said, Mages are a dime a dozen. They're very self reliant and even without "Proper CC" you'll be able to break and take almost any camp as you climb through the levels. Almost. Shamans take a bit more skill and patience but in the end are more sought after by guilds since their usefulness knows no bounds. That and the added fact that they can craft potions that will never stop being needed.

Either way, play what you enjoy most. Both classes can solo. Both classes can DPS. The difference comes down to the broad range of abilities that shamans have in the end versus the DPS boost that a Mage gives to a group or guild, or himself.

Hope that helps. =P