The auth server is still down. I'm sure they will get that up and running again shortly folks. Anyway, going to have a smoke and hit the sack. Night all.
Pretty much, just irritating because I'm usually reading a book, listening to music, watching a movie, and playing NW all at once. So mind numbing that I lost one of the many activities that keeps me sane...ish
I know of the bug issue and have tried the same thing. Check my post titled It's the Little Things. Either way, the OP is correct that the guide path didn't show up for control mages until you get the quest for the bridge.
I had the same problem, but with only making a new character after having already made a first. Seems to be a standard issue that the beta players never bothered to report.