Returning - absolutely torn. Mage or necro?

[Raev]

I'm a little surprised the Necro pet outdamaged the monk, but a) tanking cuts your dps by maybe 10% due to ripostes and bash b) most leveling monks will not cap strength, which is another 10-20% depending on his gear c) the tstaff proc is 3-4 DPS depending on dexterity d) 7% off capped haste (and no +20 ATK from VoG) e) tstaff is going to get +10 dps after the 2H buff. So maybe it isn't that surprising. Of course the skeleton probably missed some backstabs but I think it's hard to keep pets behind the mob 100% even with an attentive tank.

I guess we both play Necro in a similar and reasonably close to optimal way. The difference is that I have a 60 enchanter and I'm constantly reminded of how much better he would be. Offensively, you were bringing maybe 60 dps which is not bad at all. But a (good) enchanter would be bringing 100+ with a charmed bok, better haste on the Monk, and C2/Gift on the magician. Defensively, you were healing maybe 40 hp/tick which is also not bad. But C2/Gift on the Shaman would generate nearly that much. And the Enchanter has 4 slot dispel, slow, and real mez to take the pressure off as well. So when I'm playing support dps on my Necro I miss my enchanter and when I'm pulling, even though they are surprisingly good there, I still really miss the survivability of the Monk.

I have periodically gotten strength buffs and Primal Avatar on my charmed pets before but I've never been religious about it. It's a good find. Yet another reason Shaman are the Necro's best friend.

P.S. I don't think it's that hard to farm 300K, although it isn't exactly easy. That's 6 fungi tunics, for example, or about 100 hours at the spore king while 75% AFK doing house work. It all depends what your idea of fun is.