Currently, I don't think there's a seperation between tiers of mages. Okay, maybe there is. Mages with A/S/B = ubber powerful. Mages without A/S/B = pathetically weak (in most cases). Most warriors don't perfect the majority of their skills until about 200+ hours. Sure, they have all the skills they use in every fight perfected well before then. But the little skills that can make a big difference, like dash, drive, rescue, all the weapons, enhanced reactions, etc., generally won't be perfected until the character has been around for a good while.

Mages with A/S/B don't necessarily have to have all their stuff perfected, because they have a gigantic cushion of survival with these spells. A mage without A/S/B better have their stuff perfected if they want a chance of winning OR surviving. Their life literally depends on their spells working.

I just don't see a problem with there being unofficial tiers of mages, i.e. novice, apprentice, scholar, and so forth. With A/S/B the way it is, you go from novice to master. Especially with sleek wands, which will be there every time you go to look for them, given that another character logged on with the same location didn't get it just minutes before you did. Sugar coat it anyway you want, but mages without A/S/B don't stand much of a chance, and mages with A/S/B get too powerful too quick. Cabdru was a prime example of this.