The problem with this thread is there's too many voices and opinions to reasonably take on.

As far as I can tell there are the following complaints:

1. IMMs haven't clearly stated how much a/b/s/other-protections a mage NEEDS in the 30s/40s/50s.

(I think Nep pretty clearly spelled this out, but judging by Valkenar's response it needs to be spelled out even clearer for at least some people).

2. Mages should be able to get aura and shield in the 30s without difficulty.

(the problem is that what's easy to get at level 30 is a joke to get at level 51 - so making the locations easier would essentially be giving mages aura and shield on the proverbial stick).

3. Mages should not have to spend more than 100 hours searching for their personal aura, shield, and barrier.

(OK, now here I totally agree with whoever said this, and out of all the above, I think this is the most legitimate complaint - but it is drowned in this sea of complaints and problematic suggestions so it's almost impossible to ferret out a response. And then you have other people piling on the hyperbole and it just becomes a gruesome mess to look at, let alone read and intelligently work through).

It would be nice if someone could make a list like the above of all the categorizations of complaints to make the in box more manageable. Then at least we would all be speaking the same language and know what the issues are.