People do not understand mages can always cast at 2/6 (minus protection) at all points in time regardless of being hit. Dexxers lose stamina the moment they get hit by a wep or a spell which gives them a negative impact to swing speed.
Mages cannot ALWAYS cast at 2/6...not nearly always!!!
Mages get disruptions when casting, what affects a dexxers swing speed??
if you hit a dexer inbetween swings does it knock you back and stop your sming???
no you can swing through, spamming specials all the while, as it is...to alow the movement of all stats into 2 is imo a bad idea, in theory a mage can roll with 10dex atm, but thats(as i found out) a seriously bad move!!
one hit from a heavy hit weap or spell or pain strike and your walking, if your then hit by a strangle...Say goodnight vienna(actually doesnt matter if your hit with strangle jus say goodnight vienna when you cant move)!!!
I play both a sammy dexxer and a mage. I have to agree that even if a mage gets the 2/6, it's still nowhere near a dexxer's speed.
Casting speed for different mage spells is like the swing speed for different weapons. Weak spells like magic arrow casts faster than stronger spells like flame strike. Similar to repeating xbows firing faster than heavy xbows.
Main difference is, while the dexxer can increase his swing speed by raising dex, the mage do not have this option. The casting speed of a mage is always like a warrior with dex 10. Awfully slow...loosing stamina doesn't slow down the mage because higher stamina doesn't speed him up...
The only speed increase mages get for casting is from the FC and FCR properties. And he is screwed there too, warriors needs only one property - SSI, but mages needs 2. Discounting artifacts, a single 35 SSI property on a weapon beats 2/6 casting flat. And to get 2/6 casting, it takes a minimum of 4 properties on 2 pieces of jewelry - 2 x FC 1 and 2 x FCR 3.
Taking that into consideration, to make them comparable and add some life to both professions, the following can be done:
1) Change warrior specials use stamina rather than mana
2) Add in player craftable mana potions
3) Tie mages' (includes all other casting, necro, chiv, spellweavers, bushido, ninjitsu) swing speed to mana, just like stamina
Should level the playing field a little I hope.