I think one of the things that makes magic seem so overpowered is that you can't really counter it with anything
but magic. Unless you break out the gnome with astral hazing, that is
![Grin ;D](https://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/Smileys/default/grin.gif)
. Direct combat spells are similar to ranged combat in that they are a test of Attribute + skill + other potential modifiers, versus a single Attribute for the defender. The difference is that 1) The defender doesn't get a separate damage resistance roll for direct combat spells, and 2) There is no equivalent of full defense.
The thing to keep in mind about 1) is that for spellcasting, the mage's hits are capped before the target even resists, so while combining dodge and damage soaking for the target may seem less fair, the mage still won't usually be doing any one-shot kills unless overcasting. Mundanes have an easier time than they did in SR3, at least, where a 6D manabolt would usually fry them.
For 2), I don't see why there couldn't be a similar mechanic. Say, getting to use your resisting Attribute x 2 if you expend one of your actions to do nothing but resist a spell.
I think that while magic may seem overpowered at first, you also need to look at what their mundane counterpoints can do. A street samurai with a good dice pool, firing a heavy pistol, gets to go twice as often per action as the mage, and most mages are not good at soaking up weapons fire. Sure, in theory, a mage has access to all of means of resisting mundane attacks that anyone else has. In practice, though, mages are BP and karma sinks, so they will usually remain physically vulnerable. That's not to say you can't make a troll tank who can sling spells and scoff at small arms fire, but such a build is like the gnome with astral hazing vs. magical attacks - an exception to the general rule.