Best bet for mage soloing?

[NirrtiXXX]

I am at level 8 what is the best pet/tactic for soloing now and later?

Someone mentioned fire, but i cannot even get a fire pet that is even even at 8 after 9 summons. First summon of a water pet is yellow....

[Velerin]

The level is just luck. The RNG isn't always kind. People always say fire first but it depends on what you're fighting and if you have your focus items.
Try and target single low dark blues where your fire pet will shine. If you want to hit tougher mobs you're usually best off with water pet at low levels or earth if you need to nuke more. Don't worry about doing more than 50% damage at low level. Just eat the exp penalty and continue killing. It'll be faster than trying to outdamage pet and medding all the time or aggroing and dying. Once you get into the mid levels then its worth it to reclaim then finish with a nuke for full exp.

[Frug]

I actually prefer water to fire, but not by much. There's much more leeway with it having so much more HP, and you can give it a fire shield (granted, a smaller one).

But yeah, what Velerin said - eat the 50% XP; you'll be killing much faster anyway, and you'll level fine.

The "1-34 leveling guide" on the wiki is a good resource I've found.

[Yumyums Inmahtumtums]

Fire pet till 49.