dark mages and sorcerors?

[Jarod the dark mage]

After looking at the average status i found out that all character that can become a dark mage/sorceror arn't very good at it, ussually lacking magic. ( since all physical charcters have zero magic growth rates )
The only exeption is Etzel, but his average status don't look amazing either.

So is there any character who could be useful as a dark mage?

[FE3_Player]

Maji or Caesar are your best bet, having decent Magic Growth (with Caesar having better HP growth), but Maric pretty much trumps any alternative/class swapped Mage in the game anyway, even Linda, so a Dark Mage will likely be a secondary Mage.

[Superbus]

I don't even think I'd swap Caesar; his defence as a Hero is too good. But Maji is a great way to experiment if you have another good magic user; his axe level starts low, and he needs more training than Barts.

[Jarod the dark mage]

I see... a pitty nobody will be a real good dark mage.
actually i noticed that even normal mages seem to suck... even marich doesn't have that impressive status as a mage. there's doesn't seem anyone in the game able to cap magic.

[VincentASM is too important to have a messed up name]

You don't really need capped magic since generic enemies (or even your own) barely have any Res. Anything remotely near 20 Magic is great, I would think.

[FE3_Player]

I see... a pitty nobody will be a real good dark mage.
actually i noticed that even normal mages seem to suck... even marich doesn't have that impressive status as a mage. there's doesn't seem anyone in the game able to cap magic.

Maric is great in pretty much every other stat as well as Mag, and just because he doesn't cap Magic doesn't mean he sucks. Maric is the best mage, hands down.

Fun fact: Few characters will be capping Str, and those that will have the worst possible stats such as having practically no speed.  Not capping strength doesn't make the best characters in the game somehow bad.

This is not an FE game where it is easy to cap the most important stats.

[IOS]

Seeing as enemies generally have between 0-6 Res, most Mages will ORKO with a Fire Tome anyways. Having maxed magic would just be overkill.

[FE3_Player]

On H5, Elfire is useful since enemies have more HP, but Maric is still the best option for Mage.  Only Linda has better Mag growth.

[Superbus]

Don't forget that Meric and Linda also come with deadly magic as it is. If you can keep their tomes around until you get the Hammerine staff, you're good for the entire game. And once you get them promoted, being able to use staves whenever you want also builds their levels up.

Seriously. Not capping magic is not a big deal, because just USING magic is a boon.

[Cold Popcorn]

Linda is the only Mage who will normally pass 20, although considering how many Spirit Dusts you get Maric would probably end up over if you only use one or two Mages.

Excalibur, Aura and Thoron (which can be forged even stronger) own things so bad it's almost cheap. 6 Resistance for enemies is if they're lucky. A lot of bosses, especially towards the start, have this low resistance as well. The only physical boss I've ever failed to one round was Camus (H4 and above), and if it was Aura he would have been toast. And even that was more his HP than his still mediocre resistance.

The only annoying thing is their frailty, with the only default magic user even having a growth being Maric. And HP for Bishops is more or less non-existent.

[FE3_Player]

Linda is the only Mage who will normally pass 20, although considering how many Spirit Dusts you get Maric would probably end up over if you only use one or two Mages.

Actually, average stats show that she hits 20 Mag at 20/20, while Maric hits 17 at that same level.  Even if you don't use Spirit Dusts, Maric will still be immensely ahead because he gets over a dozen levels over her to the point where Aura doesn't make up for it Maric won't be much behind.

The only annoying thing is their frailty, with the only default magic user even having a growth being Maric. And HP for Bishops is more or less non-existent.

Maric gets something called "HP growth".  HP alone makes him much more durable than most Mages.  Defense growth is just icing on the cake.

[hyde]

I suppose the rather extreme frailty is just to prevent them from becoming too powerful. They're attacking beasts, really, so if they'd also be able to survive more than a few attacks ... well, they'd be overpowered.

[Superbus]

But really, if you're putting magic users on the front lines, you're already in trouble; that's never a smart move.

[FE3_Player]

Maric's HP is actually good enough to take a hit, sometimes two.  I've occasionally used him to counter attack.

On to other Mages.  I am personally a fan of Mage Sheeda.  Her durability is terrible and will never be able to take more than one hit, but she is so fast, she will be able to double many things after several levels (as well as not get doubled).  Again, her defense and HP are horrid, but she is still decent at an offensive play style.

[Superbus]

Don't forget, for anyone that takes care of their funds, there's more than enough money so that burning a stat item to build Sheeda's HP up seven points is not a problem, as you'll be able to buy a shitload more later.

[Jarod the dark mage]

I see, i was actually a bit worried when i saw the average status of the mages, but i guess that's part of the game.

[Ocelot the Viper]

I think we are useful to the pattern now.

Newbs go: "OMG OMG Dark Magic user, he must be da bomb!!!" When in reality, he/she is downright average. In EVERY single FE game I have played. Well, besides Pelleas, he wasn't very good at all.

Then we have the awesome mage, and the average mage.

I think its just tradition for Intelligent Systems...

[Neofox]

Well, besides Pelleas, he wasn't very good at all.

Off-topic a bit, but Pelleas was actually very good. Strong skill and speed growth (something most dark mages lack) and the strength to wield tomes without speed loss, his only real issue was coming so late.

[Cold Popcorn]

And Pelleas has one of the worst Speed caps in the game to nullify that growth. Yippee.

Anyway, towards the start of H5 sometimes it isn't an option whether or not to have a Mage on the frontlines. Not all the time or anything, but sometimes the enemy just has too many units.

@ Money Issues: There is no shortage of cash in this game. Not only do I have enough funds to buy every last stat up item, I always have a crap load left over after Ch. 24, once it was enough to get two highly forged weapons (Full Mt/Crt & small hit boost, between them cost ~70000 gold). And I still have overflowing storage to worry about.

[FE3_Player]

Anyway, towards the start of H5 sometimes it isn't an option whether or not to have a Mage on the frontlines. Not all the time or anything, but sometimes the enemy just has too many units.

This is true.  Maric starts out very sluggish since he is easily doubled, but at the same time, every other Mage option is also sure to have some disadvantage on H5 since Maric is considered better.

It's not so much that Maric's durability will somehow make him tank like physical units, but that it makes him a more versatile unit in how you use him, especially after he becomes a Sage and begins healing.  It also means less game overs.