Will I be overwhelmed?

[LochnarITB]

For me food is all about well fed bonuses.
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I agree. At the start, I did not see the point of cooking. I hadn't seen many recipes and did not understand the bonuses that could be gained. Several levels in, I realized that some recipes gave a bonus that I looked for in my equipment as well. D'oh. I then concentrated on cooking for a bit just to make up for the time I should have put into it previously. I even found at least one fun recipe, Dragonbreath Chili. Although it is currently bugged, it is still fun to down a bowl and then watch my little squishy guy belch a ball of flame in the face of the enemy that is pounding on me.

While what you're saying is mostly true,&nbsp; I don't think the Mage is the 'least powerful' class.&nbsp; As a ranged DPSer with access to polymorph and AoE spells, as well as the ability to churn out conjured water for groupmates, the Mage is very desireable in battle alongside groups. <snip> Can't say much for soloing, but I don't think many classes find soloing all that easy anyway.
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Believe me, from a warrior/paladin's perspective I can tell when a mage starts unloading. :)
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Although my comments somewhat implied it, I should have qualified my statement as my experience... as a solo player. It is good to know that the mage does make a noticeable contribution. A lot of that depends on the party though. Timing is a big thing with the mage in a group. If I start blasting too soon, I rip the baddie away from the melee group. However, if I wait too long, some of my DPS is wasted because my target has already gone down. I have been in groups where I sat on my thumb for many of the battles because I knew the enemy would be down before I would get anything useful off unless, of course, an add appeared that needed sheeping or counterspelling. I still maintain that the mage is, if not the hardest, one of the hardest to play solo. With all other classes I have tried, in final beta and release, I am able to comfortably take on monsters 1-2 levels higher compared to my character level.