Of the four starting classes in Aion, the Mage is the one designed for ranged magical damage. Controlling the powers of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire, your Mage can wreak havoc on the battlefield and contribute substantial dps to groups and alliances.
Mages are the glass cannons of Atreia. Garbed in only cloth armor and wielding naught but a Spellbook, they are powerful additions to any party. With a skilled player at the helm, a Mage is also capable of soloing almost all at-level content with little trouble. The secret to playing a Mage is simply to make sure your enemy dies before he can reach you. Casters and other ranged fighters pose the most danger to a Mage, but she has many other tricks in her bag along with the requisite balls of fire and frost.
Of the six primary stats for all characters, the Mage is most concerned with Knowledge (affects spell damage and spell accuracy) and Will (affects total MP and rate of MP recovery). Other secondary caster attributes that will come into consideration are Magic Boost for extra damage, Magical Crit Hit, and Concentration (reduces chance of spell interrupts from damage received).
Your Mage only knows two skills upon her arrival in the starting area: Restraint and Flame Bolt I. Luckily, the first two levels will fly by in no time. Use this time to get acquainted with the strategy of tossing Flame Bolts until the mob reaches you, then using Restraint to bind it in place while you strafe away to the side. Once you have gained a little distance, it shouldn't take more than one final Flame Bolt to finish off your target.
If the mob only has a tiny bit of health left and you like to conserve your MP, you can use the Attack skill to toss pages at it from your equipped Spellbook. Keep in mind, however, that these attacks count as physical damage, not magical, and the damage done will be based on your Mage's likely insignificant Power attribute.
At level 3, you will receive a message that it's time to learn a new skill. Scamper off to the first village and visit the Mage Trainer. For the Elyos, that's the Akarios Village. Asmodian players will seek out Adelle Village. Starting off your rotations with this new spell, Ice Chain I, will slow the advance of your enemy, giving you much more time to pelt it with Flame Bolts.
Levels 5-9 on the next page!