Omg not a day goes by without my poor mage main on blue being trashed on these forums....
I agree with people here that Necro is more powerful than mage due to its versatility - the ceiling with its soloing potential is certainly higher. Mage is still very good at soloing (possibly even faster than necro) up until 55, but as people mention it does get harder after that - but there are many places to grind xp solo all the same, and without much difficulty. But the class obviously can't compare to solo artist classes like Enc or shaman, or Nec. Also fares worse than druid, which is probably the 4th best solo class. So to answer OP's question, what's the reason anyone would play a mage?
Well, I picked mage on live and on blue server because I like two things very much: nuking, and summoned pets. And mage is obviously the class that exemplifies that combo more than any other class, being 2nd only to wiz with nukes and 1st with regards to summoned pets.
Although lack of CC sucks, it is also what makes the class' gameplay unique and intriguing - it is a true pet class in the sense that your life depends on your pet. That adds a twist to the gameplay and forces you to really pay attention to your surroundings and how to manage your pet's HP, rather than just your own. At higher levels it also makes each fight a little more nerve-wracking, which I think adds to the fun. There's little room for error. You have to be good at managing two players in a way.
Play mage if you love nuking (I personally find DoTs boring) and being a true pet class, i.e. the gameplay. Otherwise, I agree its deficiencies relative to a necro are fairly significant.
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