Cleric or Mage?

[Serithin]

I am coming back to rift and I'm trying to decide between Mage and Cleric. I like to heal as a Purifier cleric but my main role is dps. I like the Shaman class but how does it compare to the Harbinger mage? Or whatever melee spec you can get from either class. I'm looking to get the most dps. If the differences are not much i dont care but if the mage can put out 10% or greater it makes a difference.

[Fencers]

Rift's PVE balance is in a fairly excellent place right now. There aren't any super huge gaps in raid DPS among classes. It mostly comes down to the mechanics of the fight and actual player skill in reaction/recognition/rotation.

A lot of raiders feel this way- it's not just my opinion. And raid parses bear out this out. Where no class is consistently ahead of everyone else that it isn't even worth bringing one over the other.

Melee mage is a little better than Shaman in DPS. Mostly due to Shaman having to step out of melee range or losing DPS uptime. Melee mages have better ranged tools to deal with disconnect than clerics. And also the nature of Shaman damage, where mage/Harbinger is more cohesive in range/melee physical & non-physical damage.

Again, it does vary by encounter. But I would say the gap is usually around 3-5% among classes generally.

Edit: I don't play any class that is a "spellcaster" really and only tank. So can't give insight into the particulars of a mage casting a fireball or whatever nonsense they do. But I do raid in an organized, well coordinated guild consistently. I do not see huge gaps in DPS between the classes.

[Serithin]

How do they compare in pvp as far as damage done in warfronts? Shaman vs Harbinger.

[Fencers]

I do not PVP.

I tank and raid. Nothing else.

[Onorvele]

Given the souls system of Rift, Cleric can technically do anything. Mage can do anything except tank.

Clerics have 3 (4? - what does Defiler actually count as?) healing souls, maybe 1 support soul (Defiler), one tank soul, a couple of melee DPS souls, and a few range DPS souls.
Mages have 1 healing soul, 1 (maybe 2, if you count Dom) support soul, 1 melee DPS soul, and the rest range DPS souls.

You'll have 3 souls active at a time.

WFs aren't so much about burst damage - they're mostly about survivability - and often group survival. Both Cleric and Mage offer great options on that front. I prefer Cleric, even post-Nysyr's nerf, as I'll either run primarily Inquisitor (as a solid single target damage, coupled with decent mobility, to pick off stragglers) or Warden (as solid AoE HoTs and cleanses for the main pack).

[Fencers]

Cleric is the only class that qualifies for all four roles legitimately; tank, heals, dps and support.

Everyone else can do three, four sorta.

If you play a Cleric in Rift the [game] world is your oyster. Not only can you do everything, literally- but drops are mostly cleric bullshit. Still.