Ok so i tried playing both BG1 and BG2 with a mage issue is i don't see what is so great about them.

Ok so here is my issues with mage classes in this game.

1.Biggest issue is they are slow and it takes 5 times as long in battle to play as a mage What to casts fireballs first you have to make sure everyone is safe from fire so you need to spend time casting a fire resist spell on everyone one at a time just to be safe and it's not like the spell even lasts that long.

2.AOE spells have no highlights to help you when aiming the spells i mean really i know it's a old game but dang dose it piss me off to cast a AOE spell in a area that i thought everyone would be safe only to hit my friends.

3. to play as a mage you can't have anyone have AI on unless they are ranged if they are melee the AI will be all to happy to tell your friends to run right up to that enemy that is about to get hit with a AOE spell....

4.The only time a mage seems to be good is at making enemies freakout like with sleep or other mind tricks but damage seems to always be out classed by other classes.

Anyway as you can see my biggest issue is i feel that every other class is quicker do to the fact you could end a battle without having to go into a ton of menus and planing a ton along with all the buffing.
I just don't see why people say mages a the most powerful class when most random battles i never use them because it takes more time to pick a spell and have the mage cast it then just tell my range and melee friends to kill them.

Ah! That tells a lot about what you're used to. Forget what you've learned. BG is not that. Then I want to know how you've completed the game; I want to know how you've defeated dragons, Tanar'ri, Baatezu, other high level mages, etc; I want to know how you fared in Throne of Bhaal.

one good point to mages is the buffing spells like haste as well as other spells like charm and hold
also spells that shape the battlefield like wall of ice/stone/fire/iron

sure aoe spells like fireball are good too but they are best used before you get in melee rangeto soften up/kill off some enemies though some heartless mages just pop it even with party members in the area

in essence its all about figuring out what spells will help the best based on the situation and the playstyle you want for him/her (nuker/support etc.) and learn spells for them that work best for that mindset and chose to memorize them so in battle you have the options available to deal with enemies both far away and in melee distance

i admit they are more complicated to use than the grunt fighters where you just tell em to go kill that guy but just with the haste spell it makes all affected fighters/archers more effective and that alone can turn the tide of battle

that al being said i'm sure its possible to run through without ever having mages at all n the party so in the end its all about how YOU want to play the game. just enjoy the game your way and you'll be fine

In summary (summary at the beginning, shame on me), BG is supposed to be like this. It doesnt hold your hand.

1. You are not supposed to use firewall like this. I think the best use of firewall is to use an invisible or shadowed scout to see the enemy and then cast firewalls close to them so they wont even see you. Better have 2 mages and cast firewalls at the same time to finish of the opposition quickly or atleast make them wounded enough for an easy finish. Second, have 1 (one) tank and then give him fire resistance rings making him almost immunue to fire while you bombard them with fire spells.
Note: Again in my personal opinion, Damage spells are not the only way of playing a mage. You can litterally create chaos among enemy lines.

2. That is supposed to be like this. Forget about all those MMOs :)

3. You know that you can pause the game with space bar right? And you can give orders after that.

4. It is true that mages shine with control spells. However, the hardest fights of the game are a lot easier with a mage in your party. I always carry 2 mages.

Remember that you dont have to be a mage. There are good mages in the game.

I suggest you to play NWN (Neverwinter Nights) where you can disable friendly fire. I guess playing on normal or easy was doing that.

In BG1 mages are not super strong. They are weak for a long time and work mostly as support.

But in BG2 mages are indispensable. And towards the end of Shadows of Amn they can solo pretty much all encounters. And from the beginning they are really important as support in fights against other mages.

Never
played past a little in BG2 really i got so sick of haveing to go into a bunch of menus to cast my spells.

The spells that are powerful aren't the damage spells.

Here are some of *my* favorite spells in the BG series:

Level 2:
Mirror Image: In BG1, makes you immune to damage until the images are gone. (Each image prevents one damage effect, even if it's from something like a fireball.) In BG2, you can occasionally take damage anyway (chance is 1 / (images + 1)), but it is still good protection.
Invisibility: Very useful for scouting. Unlike Improved Invisibility, this spell has a long duration. Note that this spell does not prevent scripted events from triggering (unlike Wizard Eye).

Level 3:
Melf's Minute Meteors: Gives you a ranged weapon that can be fired 5 times per round, does 2 separate damage events per hit (one of which is magical, making it go thorugh Stoneskin and making the spell useful for dealing with Spell Deflection/Turning type effects), and persists until used up or you recast the spell. Also, useful for finishing off trolls, as the magic portion of the effect is fire damage.

Level 4:
Stoneskin: Prevents a certain number of physical damage events; at high levels, this is far better than having good AC. Also, lasts a long time if not used up, so you can cast it right after resting, and is very quick to cast.
Farsight/Wizard Eye: More spells useful for scouting. Neither spell triggers events. Wizard Eye can be useful for luring enemies that are able to see invisible creatures without luring nearby enemies that can't or triggering events.

Level 5:
Spell Immunity is quite versatile, and good for blocking True Seeing.

Level 6:
Protection from Magical Weapons makes you immune to the attacks of most mid/late game enemies. Very useful against enemies that get a lot of attacks per round, or whose enemies inflict things other than damage (like level drain or intelligence drain, for example).

Level 7:
Project Image: Allows you to essentially "cheat" on resource usage. Give the caster a Rod of Resurrection, cast Project Image, and the image can use that rod for its effect without using up the real rod. Who needs Clerics when your Mage can do this?
Limited Wish: With high Wisdom, a versatile spell that lets you do things like cast Negative Plane Protection on the entire party (useful when fighting vampires), heal the party (I believe it even cures some conditions), and allow you to memorize low level spells without having to rest (forgot to memorize that Lesser Restoration spell? Limited wish can help).

Level 8:
Simulacrum: Similar to Project Image. (Getting this via the Vhailor's Helm early is fun; it allows Aerie's clone to use powerful scrolls without using them up, allowing to work around the game's level gating of powerful magic.)

Level 9:
Chain Contingency and Time Stop let you get around that pesky "one action/spell per round" limitation. There's also Improved Alacrity, which works very well with a certain (non-EE) mislabeled Wish effect.
Wish: Unreliable, but can produce powerful effects, like reviving your whole party or restoring lost spells.
Shapechange: Turn into a Mind Flayer, and you can kill invincible enemies. (Note: Killing the wrong character can prevent further progress.)

Level 10 (HLAs):
Summon (Fallen) Planetar: Not only is it a powerful fighter, but a Planetar can cast plenty of spells, including Heal, Raise Dead, and Lesser Restoration. (Who needs a Cleric again?)
Improved Alacrity: Lets you fire off tons of spells in a short time, especially if combined with the Robe of Vecna, or the (non-EE) mislabeled Time Stop/Improved Alacrity wish (which doesn't give you IA, but instead makes spells cast instantly), allowing you to cast all your spells in an instant.

"That"? You mean user friendly?

Yes. It would be funny mages were real and there appeared a highlight whenever they were aiming. Dont you think?

No, I mean not idiot friendly.

Horror is good. The web spell is good. Fireball works well. Charm can be extra useful or a stronger version (like dire charm). Magic Missile on high level mage is good, especially in 1. Chromatic orb on high level mage is good. 1 original was better for spells, because the original 1 didn't have 2's mechanisms in spells and rules, like 1 enhanced edition does. This means negative effect spells last longer and that some spells are really broken and overpowered. Also, first throwing a greater malison and then a negative stat effect spell on an enemy can be a killer combo (you can even use this as an exploit to incapacitate and kill the death knight in Durlag's Tower, during his very first appearance). Mages are the real deal, they don't pretend, in Baldur's Gate...

You mean as funny as everyone having a visual indicator showing how close they are to dying? Just saying, if the problem people have with expecting a visual indicator about what AOE is covered by a spell is that it isn't realistic, it begs the question: what makes it any different from other HUD elements and whatnot?
Do you consider Temple of Elemental Evil to be 'idiot friendly' for showing the AOE of spells? I mean, TOEE is no Darkest Dungeon, but I wouldn't exactly call it a cakewalk.

1.) Yeah, buffing can take an obscene amount of time if you are trying to counteract accidentally targeting the party. I just gave up and save scummed whenever I wound up nuking one of the frontliners. Then I just stopped playing.

2.) I'm with you. Excluding that was an exceptionally poor idea on the devs' part, especially considering how many of those spells can and will wreck party members if they get caught in their AOE.

3.) Stuff like that is why I never had the AI on. I suppose you *could* always find/write scripts for them to make them stop acting like idiots, but that seems like more bother than it's worth.

4.) Mages do get better as they level up. Unfortunately, BG1 ends before they can get anywhere near the gods that they can later become in BG2. In the meantime, the nature of low level AD&D combat means that a mage will pretty much live or die on the RNG. Things do get somewhat better when you can start casting Mirror Image, but not by much.

I've always been pretty fond of this decision tree:
Step 1: Hit enemy with weapon.
Decision: Is enemy dead?
Yes -> Victory!
No -> Go to Step 1.

If Reload Required:
Add Spike Trap.
Go to Step 1.

Yes, I do. Cakewalk ≠ idiot friendly.
I'm unsure of your point here.