Point 1: If a class is balanced on the fact that its access to wands takes some effort then making those wands more readily available unbalances the class. Therefore, it makes little sense from a balance perspective to make wands more readily available. However, I dislike the idea of any class being balanced upon the idea that exploration is mandatory. This is why I mainly play priests, because all of my goodies are in my bag and I don't HAVE to go out looking for stuff so that I can compete. This is also why I'll never play a poisoner/trapper or a mage. The ONLY way I'd play those characters is after finding a bunch of wands with other non-mage characters first OR somebody emailed me a list. Therefore, in my opinion the A/B/S system encourages cheating. At least, it encourages me to cheat if I want to play a mage.

Point 2: Some people, me included, enjoy "easter egg hunts." However, people say that the easiest way to make a hobby less enjoyable is to make it your job. I like few things more than spending a few hours in an area looking at keywords in the hopes that I'll find something new. However, when I feel I HAVE to do it to survive it becomes less like a hobby and more like work. The best thing the imm staff could do to remedy this situation is make barrier an intrinsic part of each mage class, but make it something you have to work towards in another way. I don't have the time to create a unique system that wouldn't be much like what other classes already have to do (i.e., master spells, lich quest, etc.), but I'd even start playing mages if I had aura/barrier/shield in my spell list but putting them up cost me 1000 mana and they only lasted two hours. That to me is better than being mandated to get out and search.

Point 3: When I wrote HTS part of the idea was to have wands there for sale at exorbitant prices (currently I think only one is sold there for 50 gold?). Generally, I'd find it easier to go out and kill an assload of coin-heavy mobs so that I can buy wands (if only at hero) than to go out and endlessly search for wands that may/may not repop when they use them.