Are int mages worth anything above lvl 45?

[shadywack]

After who-knows-how many poundings into the sandstone my int mage has taken I'm beginning to wonder, is an int mage worth anything anymore?

Is this a Paladin game in AO3? I really like my int mage. I can do some very nice group damage with my blast staff and I generally fare pretty well against enemies in AO3.

Problem is bosses. I get one shotted pretty much unless I use up a tank potion. In order to nip the chin off a boss I usually need a trash can punch. I do admit, Keeper really was the only party killer.

I wonder because I see Paladins get taken down right along with me so it doesn't look they're all that great at tanking either. At least, not compared to my survivability while using rebuffs.

[Royce]

Int mage is severely underpowered in this game due to the attribute imbalance, and the fact that stat driven skills do not do enough to make up for the overpowered nature of Dex. Basically:
Paladins - Worst gear in AO3, high survivability, lowest skill damage
Dex Mages - Great gear, medium survivability, highest skill damage
Int Mage - Great gear, low survivability, medium skill damage (only advantage - Biggest Heals, and traditonally best weapon procs, but that may have changed with AO3)

[Arterra]

THOUGH int mage = aoe staff for rapid fire murder. but thats all they got here lol

[TheLaw]

Well, i think what the Devs are trying to do with Ao3 is create more PURES and reduce the amount of Paladins, which i think is unfair to all those who love that Hybrid. And DexChantresses arent exactly good, PURE mages still pwn. But in a different way :)

[shadywack]

What's funny about that is that pure mages get freaking SLAUGHTERED in AO3...making people want to be a paladin instead. This being the exact opposite of the intended effect if that's the case. I'd actually go so far as to say they're encouraging hybrids by how quickly you immediately die by some of the more common enemies in AO3. Particularly in AO3.4. Soon as yellow aliens show up you're as good as dead. Even a full party of 50's gets slaughtered if there's no bear present. Birds included.