I'll agree, mages do suck solo most of the time, but how often are you playing by yourself? It's an MMO, you could find someone to level with easily. I AOE grind with my mage friend all of the time, it's amazing. We can finish a grinding quest in no time by him AOEing while I heal him, and since I'm a pure restoration shaman with pretty much godly mana for my level, we make a great team.