... when going up against bosses etc they should not be able to tank them that's the job of a warrior I've set my Mage up to be a big hitter u see a lot if people tanking there mages and still been able to cast spells when thus gets addressed maybe by doubling mana cost on spells and giving double mana points per point spent on focus it might make all thise tank mages out there change to spell casters instead if tanks and maybe even reduce the number of hit points given to a Mage per point spent on vit.
I think by implementing a bonus stat and negative stat for each class would make people play that type of char the way it was ment to be
Difficult to read for starters but I have to say "No Thanks!" You can play your character the way you want to and let everyone else do things the way they want to. What's the point in stat customization if you can't customize it? (rhetorical question)
As for shards cast time I don't think a few ticks off the meter is going to ruin the game. If you lead with shards then you are standing around for 10 seconds while someone else has already started attacking the mob because they think you're just standing there. In terms of balance, a warrior can open with giant swing followed by pummel and pretty much smash a mob before a mage even has a chance to get shards cast.
Also, I agree that druids need their damage skills increased.