Mage is fun because of the sheer brute force power and the ease of playing it. Being able to command the most powerful pet in the game (among ones that don't attack you) and cast big damage spells, is a very satisfying combination. Mage damage spells were actually sometimes more powerful than Wizard ones, and more fun, because they kept getting Bolt spells up through the high levels, while Wizards stopped getting them at Level 16. This is strange and really the opposite of how it should be, but alas.
Mage damage shield is very strong too and needs to be included when talking about the DPS this class creates. They have a limited focus but are extremely good at that function. It's a shame they have a steep power decrease against many raid targets, since their damage spells hardly ever land in those scenarios (and pre-Velious their pets get feared away). Basically makes it so you just need 1 Mage on those raids to summon mod rods before the fight, or do CoTH, and any other Mages are inferior (or even outright useless) to having another class instead.
However fun and effective the Mage can be though, Necromancers are simply more powerful the majority of the time. They can generate excellent DPS (while similarly struggling in raid scenarios) and their skillset is SO much wider. Because of having superior mana regen, their pure direct-damage
efficiency is usually better than a Mage's, even when the Necro isn't able to use their DoT's to maximum effect. It's not as viscerally thrilling, but it's effective. Mage should still pull ahead on DPS for general group content where a Necro can't charm (when considering the Damage Shield), but it's not that big of a difference, and they are giving up a LOT.
There is a brief period of time in the Classic EQ timeline where I would say Mage does maybe surpass Necro as a "power class", and that's pre-Kunark era, when their pets are finally given the ability to dual-wield. For that short period of time, they are now unquestionably the best DPS in the game for Plane of Sky, which is the highest end content in the game at that point. However, Necros are still very good there as well, because both classes' pets are crazy strong pre-Kunark.
Quote:
Originally Posted by loramin
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Play a mage for the first six months on Green to feel like a god as you level up while getting 100% XP from your pet kills
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You need to outdamage the pet to get 100% XP if you're playing solo. Was always like that until post-Velious.