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Dragon mage more versatile and less dying, elf more powerful....
I liked to start the game with a Dragon mage transformed into a dragon berzerker. In dragon form first levels should be easy. But only take the dragon mage focus to modify the combat arts. The focus to 75 is enough to have a fully modified high level companion later in the game. more intelligence, more willpower to your character.
When you leave berzerk form fight with a weapon, if you found: use regeneration per hit items to recharge an offensive spell from mentalism tree. I think the dragon mage is more interesting because he can be played as a dragon berzerk, as a melee hybrid which does high level spells once they are recharged with spells, or as a pure mage once you got the items.
No need to start over and over. He allows to change the playstyle by combining items in another way.