I don't play mages anymore. Why?

I had trouble getting ranking groups 7 years ago when the playerbase was significantly bigger.

the last few mages I've played have spent 30+ hours pre 25 just trying to get a group to rank.

compare with any class that can tank or deal lots of damage AND tank, and there is just no comparison.

When you only have 5-6 people to choose from to rank for tens of hours, you want to be a class that offers something to the group. most often what is needed is taking the hits. Add in align restrictions, cabal restrictions, and playing a mage (for me at least) is just asking for 50 hours of masochism before I get past lvl 30.

there are other classes that can tank. at the early levels at least. shaman to some extent. paladins. druids. aps. rangers. thieves. assassins.

Thieves and assassins you might not be seeing because they are hidden. same with rangers. Shaman/pally/druid all need empowerment. Druids are very limited in role/align/cabal choices. People know ap's need a/b/s knowledge to build a weapon later on.

So the default is often warrior. Grab a few half decent weapons. a set of easy to get +dam gear. bash/trip or spec skills and you are a killing machine. Every other class has alot more work involved in getting to the "I can at least partially compete" stage.

aps/mages have to have a/b/s. assassins need to work kicks (plus the number of duergar out there is humerous, whenever I check). Thieves need to understand the secret thief point system and many need to know prep locations almost as much as mages. Holy classes need empowerment...often 3/4 times in their life. rangers can't fight or explore out of wilderness, and most of the good stuff happens out of wilderness.

sure, none of this extra work is insurmountable. I've done it with just about every class. But especially with an aging playerbase that just has a few hours here and there to play, classes that just require more time to be "fun" aren't really that much of an option.

so roll up warcry;flurry;bash giant war #875920582176.

warriors is to cf like hunters are to wow. Heh.