Funny..
As a magician purist who has also done some melee for the sole purpose of rising HP it always seemed to me that it went faster for Melee than Elemental, certainly faster than heals, let alone afflictions.
However as with any skill, you only need to find the right grinding method for you and use it in a manner that suits you well.
Also, one of the first things Silan teaches refugees is precisely what you're complaining about, but its not all imbalanced: whilst a magician deals more damage (ignoring jewels etc), he/she is also more vulnerable in the sense that: he cannot dodge while casting, LA means you have less hp, so while you could (again, ignoring jewels) kill something pretty quickly, you can also die pretty easily.. to me that balances the whole thing
Of course this is just my opinion, yours may vary etc.
As a magician purist who has also done some melee for the sole purpose of rising HP it always seemed to me that it went faster for Melee than Elemental, certainly faster than heals, let alone afflictions.
However as with any skill, you only need to find the right grinding method for you and use it in a manner that suits you well.
Also, one of the first things Silan teaches refugees is precisely what you're complaining about, but its not all imbalanced: whilst a magician deals more damage (ignoring jewels etc), he/she is also more vulnerable in the sense that: he cannot dodge while casting, LA means you have less hp, so while you could (again, ignoring jewels) kill something pretty quickly, you can also die pretty easily.. to me that balances the whole thing
Of course this is just my opinion, yours may vary etc.