Wow...obviously touched a sore point here...;p
Not really no, but the tone of your post led to the tone of mine, plus the repeated use of the word metagame irritated me. I don't know why.
Some points:
1. I admitted right at the start that my view is probably skewed - so no prizes for pointing that out
2. I play a melee dexer because I don't want to be part of the problem - my choice as you point out. I could play a disarm/moving shot archer but don't want to.
3. I am seriously bad at playing mages...guilty as charged
4. Simply listing the options available to every conceivable dexer build doesn't mean they will employ or even have them all. I might as well list the 64 spells in a standard spellbook...it would be as relevant to the discussion
Yes you admitted these things, but you're simultaneously failing to see that they are the reason you're struggling with Parry/Mages, this is why I point them out.
It's entirely relevant to the discussion. You're asking how to beat Parry/Mages. What were you hoping for? Some hidden magic button with a list of moves that you didn't know about? Well sorry, it doesn't exist. The purpose of listing them all is to show just how many effective ways there are to fight casters compared to the extremely limited choice they have when stifled to death by all of what they're up against.
5. I do contest that 2/6 mages are the *only* skilled template - that betrays a certain bias in itself don't you think?
No. Every form of PvP other than spell play (as stated not including when Casting Focus comes into play) involves the RNG. It is in that regard that it is a much truer test of the player. You can hardly call a dexxer fight a test of player skill when the RNG
may let one player hit 5x in a row and the other miss. With timing and interruption there is no RNG.
I was, and still am, hoping for a metagame discussion. The potted "history lesson" provided is a start, although it picks up the metagame at the point that best suits the mage-centric weltanshauung. Pause for a second and ask why archers evolved . They did so as a metagame response to the then dominant class... Changes in the game and loot tables cemented that shift just as much as it did the parry mage.
I don't
just play anything. The whole point isn't ones better than the other, it is that if you only play half the game you'll only be half as good. There are a lot of dexxers that don't/won't play casters for whatever their reasons, there are very few casters that haven't played dexxers. Why? Because most people start on dexxers, because it is functionally easier than playing a caster. As for which evolved first, it is a pointless chicken vs egg argument. Personally I think Archers 'evolved' on the PvP scene for no more complicated reason than it's easier to play a dexxer than a caster, but some people have worse connections, therefore mobility and range is king. Combined with the many flawed and exploitable game mechanics over the years (like instant death WOD Archers).
Maybe there is an element of rock/paper/scissors in this. I could posit that a full mage should be stronger in mage/mage combat than a parry mage.
I would agree with that.
So there's the challenge - look forward, not back. How do you, dexer OR mage, beat a parry mage? Because if 75% of the pvp mages out there are parry mages, the people who can reliably beat them are going to clean up..;p
I feel like I've already answered this but again, by adapting, if casting is a weak area of your game then that's what you need to fix. If you're of the opinion that all of the dexxer options are being negated by 120 skill points (which I don't personally agree with) then you'd need to look at casting options.
And before you get all indignant about it with stuff like 'why isn't there a dexxer way / why should I have to play a hybrid/caster / doesn't that highlight the game is broken.' etc. No, if you're going to reject all the dexxer options based on Parry, then that only leaves casting spells (or throwing pots - but that's not going to win on it's own).
I don't expect you're going to try to adapt to what you perceive as the current state of UO, I find that dismissing the list of options available to you, even though they include things you can do on your current template (Holy Fist, Holy Light, Hit Spell, Specials, Splintering), suggests that you're not really looking for a solution to your issues with Parry/Mages. More trying to campaign for them being nerfed, which is unlikely to happen due to this not being the right forum for it, and Parry on Mages already having the limitation of requiring 80 Dex. There also isn't really a problem with them, it is a (mostly) passive defensive skill, no one Parried anyone (attended) to death.