I know its hard at first, when in low level I get wasted even in relatively easy quests, and yes I used to hate it. :(
Once I started get arena stuff just becomed more an more powerfull. Now im lvl20 full arena and im really very powerfull :dirol:
Once you get the hang on it you can catch rouges that dissapeared and finish them before getting touched :aggressive:
All I can say is mage is an awesome class.
Just have a little patient while starting... in the end its really worth it.
About it getting good just when amp, well I dont buy mcoin, so I dont amplifyed too much and still real strong ;) ;)