Don't worry about pet chain casting until level 39 for two reasons:
- Before then it is simply not needed: your pets will eat a mob alive with spare HP, from 39 mobs start to have more hp which is when chaining becomes important
- From level 39 to 49, pets only cost 200 mana which is nothing (you will meditate it back by the time you have to get rid of the pet)
Regarding which pet to use, I used earth pet + DS shield with 0 downtime, some prefer fire pet but I find it too fragile (sometime requiring chaining) plus I loved the safety of more hp and root. Whatever you choose, get the focus items as soon as you can.
Don't worry about the cost of components, malachites are cheap (1sp each maybe?) so a single fine steel weapon drop will allow you to fill a bag of them and will leave you some spare.
Most of all, enjoy your mage, if you are smart, mages can do stuff few people think doable. When you will come out alive and victorious of your first fight vs 2 or 3 mobs, you will feel like a living god. Granted mages are not as good as necro or chanty at managing hairy situation but they have more than just the gate button.
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