As other posters have pointed out, there are counters to mortal spam.
But if you really just can't handle mortal why don't you put parry on your temp? Problem solved.
Assuming you play a caster.
If you do not have parry on your temp because you want the firepower and flexibility other mage builds afford you well then you may just be learning a lesson in balance, sacrifice and adaptability
I've had Parry since before I xfer'd my mage on LS to Atl, since I knew it was dexer heavy, and I've tried a few different variations: On Atl, it was Wrestle/Parry Scribe. When I went back to LS, I went with Necro/Parry with a mage weap, but outside of Omen & Pain Spike, I rarely used any Necro spells, and went Parry Scribe again, also with a mage weap. It's NOT a cure-all for being hit, although it certainly helps: If the RNG decides it wants them to hit, it will.
Maybe. But then I want a shorter duration for the curse spell if spammed.
I get cursed and I eat an apple. If the mage curses me again right away it should have a shorter duration or lesser effect right?
Does Curse prevent you from healing at all? No. Does Curse do anything to your Strength/Dex that can't be fixed with Greater Strength/Agility pots? No. Do Curse Removal Talismans exist? Yes. When I curse myself @ 120 Mage/Eval Resist, my stats go from 117/56/138 to 109/52/131, an 8% loss. After curse & chugging the two pots, my stats go to 140/83, with 125 HP. Uncursed, I'm @ 148 Str, 87 Dex.
The duration of Curse does not bother me at all. It has absolutely no bearing on my survivability or my offense. I'm able to easily spam mini-heal with 2-3 Archers on me at once, and chug if I feel it's needed. If they Mortal, I eat an Apple or move until it expires, depending on my current HP & how many are there. Dismount isn't much harder for me to deal with, I just keep mini-healing myself/my pet (if needed) & cure if a mage poisons it. Fortunately, these guys are...well, bad, so I can do all of that without much difficulty, but still.
Granted, none of the above would be possible if I didn't have Parry on my temp, but with the # of people playing dexers these days (and Archers especially), you'd be a fool not to have it on there, if you can fit it.
Mortal strike is fine as is, There are several ways to heal through it, half of the people here just want to be able to have all the strengths and none of the weaknesses.
For me, the problem is that they chain it. If subsequent mortals had a shortened duration, I'd be fine with it. I do have Parry, as you're well aware, but even when I'm armed, there have been times when dexers will NOT miss me - if chained Mortals are added to the mix with AI spam, I'm gonna die. Then there are times where I'll be unarmed or in stat & they miss 3x in a row, which is both amusing & wtf-inducing.
Disarm spam is pretty f***ing stupid, especially with splintering weapons. 5 seconds armed, 5 seconds disarmed.... with the current cooldown.
strictly dexer vs dexer. mages need to be disarm - spam-able.
This too. Disarm spam is annoying, but nothing that can't be solved by running like hell. When a splinter proc goes along with it, kiss your ass goodbye, especially if they're on an archer (which, sadly, is all the rage these days. And then the two button dex monkeys talk **** for 5 hours.)