The following Monsters aren't even worth the time/effort to fight them, for reasons posted by TSS (Horrible Loot/XP to Effort Ratio):
> Banderling Berserker
> Banderling Striker
> Malus Shreth
> Skeleton Bone Knight
> Skeleton Bone Lord
> Great Skeleton
> Monoguas
> Tumeroks
> Gold Phyntos Wasps

Also, the following should be avoided by mages:
> Rats (Desert and Silver)
> Ash Grommies.

The key to defeating these enemies lies in Melee Defense. They attack about twice as quickly as any other dires monster you'll fight. Unless you are casting level V banes and protections, you can very well be dead before you get a vuln/war combo off on one of these things. They just aren't worth the effort, and should be avoided.

Well, onto the good stuff:

EASIER FOR MAGES SECTION:
> Banderling Thrasher
Banderling Thrashers come in two varieties: Bare-handed (Bludgeon Damage) and Cold Mace Wielding (Frost Damage). They are vulnerable to electricity, and have a very low magic resistance given their high level. If you go into a fight with them, they usual pattern to killing them is simple: Magic Vuln, Electrical Vuln, Drain drain drain (Drains will net you 80-100 HP's for the first FEW drains, these guys have 500+ hp), lightning bolt, lightning bolt, dead. With a life/war skill over 225 (Buffed), these guys can be a cakewalk. Since Enforcers never debuff Mental skills (They do not touch your life/war magic, focus, or self EVER), you can be assured of having full powers when fighting these guys. You should almost never die to a Thrasher attacking you with fists. Even with Imperil VI, the most I've ever taken from a weaponless thrasher is 40 or so damage (on a crit), while wearing a faran robe with Bludgeon Bane IV Impen IV on it. Now that I use Bludgeon VI Impen VI, I take at MOST 7-8 damage while fully debuffed. Thrashers with a frost weapon are a different story. These guys have critted me for 70-80 while I'm fully buffed with level VI's. This is because Enforcers will cold VULN you, but do not bludgeon VULN you. While fighting cold-using Thrashers, it is prudent to blood loather their club, which will considerably reduce the damage you take from them.

*NOTE*: Banderling Thashers AIM FOR YOUR HANDS A LOT! One ou of four hits will usually aim at your hands, for a crit. I met with a lot more success wheN I started buffing my gauntlets in addition to my robe.

> Banderling Enforcer
Enforcers are highly magic-resistant. Always lead with a Magic Yield. HOwever, they have literally no physical power. The best way to fight these guys is to either Magic Vuln/Lightning Yield/Lightning BOlt them to death (If they stay at a distance to debuff/drain you), or to Magic Vuln/drain mana them to death. Once they are out of mana, they cannot kill you. They just can't do that much damage.

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> Drudge Lurker
> Drudge Stalker
> Drudge Ravenor

Drudges are a mid-level mage's dream. They are vulnerable to everything elemental, and have a super-low magic resistance. You can easily sit there draining their stamina and health, then vulning/bolting them, and come out of every fight with more mana/health than you started with! Easy to kill due to low magic resistance across the board.
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>Granite Golem
Everything TSS said about meleers is the opposite for mages. These guys are very vulnerable to magic, and have a *TON* of hitpoints to drain! Very easy to just drain them to low, and finish them off with a force bolt or two.
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Stuff that's Harder for Mages to Kill:

> Fragment
> Dual Fragment
These guys are super-magic resistant, but you'll want to kill them to play the fragment lottery. Without a magic yield, you'll need an extraordinarily high magic school to even touch them. Yield/BLudgeon Vuln/Force Bolt [ed: I think Ben meant Shock Wave] is usually the way to go, though it may take a while to land the yield. They pose almost NO offensive threat though, so you definately have the time to kill in killing them.

NOTE: Magic Yield is a *CREATURE MAGIC* spell. Make sure you buff your creature magic, to have a better chance of landing your yields.
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> Copper Golem
> Iron Golem
>*MISSING* Obsidian Golem
> Diamond Golem

These golems are (In Order) increasingly more magic resistant. Iron golems are one of the few monsters in the game that are easier for a warrior to kill than a mage. Coppers and Irons are vuln_Acid, Obsidian and Diamond are Vuln_Bludgeon. Obsidian golems cast level V's (including debuffs), and tend to congregate a lot (IE: They have a large radius to call for help, and tend to not back off once they lock on you). Diamond golems are just nasty and big. I'm level 45, I cast Level vi's across the board, and I still usually need to run away a couple of times to kill one.
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Stuff that requires different tactics for Mages:

> Shadow
> Shadow Lieutenant
> Panumbris Shadow
> Umbris Shadows

Of these, Shadow Lieutenants are the hardest to fight for mages. All shadows are pretty magic resistant. However, plain ol' Shadows usually die to one level V debuff/bolt (I use fire). Panumbris and Umbris BOTH have a TON Of mana and HP: But once you drain their mana down to nothing, they usually cannot kill you with their fists. Therefore, I just magic Yield them, then drain their mana (Or health when they hit me with level V-VI bolts), and then vuln/finish them off once they are out of spells.

Lieutenants, however, do not have enough health to drain (to make up for their spells against you), and do not die to one level V debuff/bolt. Therefore, they can sit and heal themselves/drain you (to get themselves back to full), plus you cannot drain them back to keep alive (getting 30-35 hp back while taking 70-90 a bolt isn't
going to work). They are very killable, but are a pain in the ass.

Hope this helps a little for the mages out there,

Ben/Ordius