Since this whole post got glazed over let me explain more and possibly we can discuss what (to me) is the core issue - beyond the system that is in place and talking specifically about the disconnect between myself and Nep/etc.

There is a general desire of imm staff and players alike for there to be rewards for exploration and that there should be incentive for mages to explore.

The fundamental disagreement that I have with the immortals is that I do not believe there should be a mandatory exploration requirement for a class to be *balanced* against another class. To put it in perspective, to me suggesting a mage requires finding wands to be balanced with a warrior is like saying a warrior must perfect all fighting skills from every spec to get their next spec and their legacies. That doesn't add value to the game. Warriors also have enough incentive to explore due to their heavy reliance on gear.

Mages aren't completely independant of gear either - even if you talk about shapeshifters. Less reliant perhaps but there is certainly a world of difference between a 400hp mage and a 1000hp mage - unique and highly limited "mage-style" gear is just as competitively fought over as warrior gear.

Therefore my suggestion is that any items that require exploration for mages be as they are for every other class - value-adding rather than mandatory. This can already be accomplished within the existing quest/unique item systems in the game. Quest forms and the becoming are two examples of incentives to RP/explore that are not required for balance purposes but add value as an incentive to put in the extra effort. Same can be said for the conjurer unique books lying around.

That in my mind is where this should lie. Even if you kept the wand system as is but only for say, shield wands specifically - giving mages barrier & aura as class spells - you'd be at a system that is fine by me. We all agree that mages don't need aura, barrier & shield but I think we also all agree that they underpowered without any of those three.