What high-powered
Enchanter (I left mage-hood at 60) did you ask? No one asked me anything....
Anyway, they listed the the major stuff already. I also think you should have scroll production as one of your skills, because they will benefit you at all the stages of being a spellcaster, either that or potions. You will take lots of damage, so you need to be prepared. Don't free stat END or DEX as they are CRAP on a mage. Full INT for questing/partying, INT/SPR if you want to PVP, but both are good either way if you have skills. Don't upgrade the starter spells either, as most of them are garbage and a waste of silver/copper. Here's why:
-Magic Missle stays at level one for spamming purposes. You can empower the damage and cool down if you want, but it loses its effectiveness at higher levels. I removed all the points I placed on it at 60 with a reset scroll. Personally the cool down on level one is fast enough to spam it, or you can dump 1 or 2 points into the cool down, but the rest is a waste.
-Fire Bolt should stay at level one for spamming as well, and you can play with the cooldown on it if you want, but at level 48 you can max its damage (Level 8). I empowered the damage on it to the max, as it is the 2nd most powerful single-damage spell behind Fireball (and there's no casting time). You can do cool down if you want, but after you get Fireball you'll want to cool down that spell versus this one, because it does more damage.
-Lightning Bolt has the same cool down no matter what the level is, and the damage is crap (LVL 1 and LVL 8 doesn't boost the power much)
-Ice Bolt Always cast this first, as it may slow down the enemy. (See above spell)
-Magic Burst Is good as it is. Some players max the damage, but you'll get other AOEs later on that outdamage it, and it creates crazy aggro. I tried it once, and the extra damage wasn't all that great (check the wiki for more empowerment damage).
-Magic Blast Empower the damage, or you will die. I reset the cool down on this spell twice, and personally I don't think it's worth putting any points into, since the spell has the same cool down no matter what level. In your attack list, try to throw this spell right after Ice Bolt/Blast, First, or Last. The casting time on it wastes precious seconds that you could be using a instant cast spell when an enemy is charging you.
The next tier of spells
(Ice Blast, Lightning Blast) are the only spells you need to upgrade.
Don't empower them, as they are junk, but they do get significantly stronger with the level increase. Save those points for
Frost Nova's cool down at 60,
Drain Mind's duration and cool down (optional), and
Stifle's duration (optional). These are must have spells if you PvP.
Save money for the good gears and wands/staff enhancement. If you want to be well protected, be prepared to shell out some loot. If you make scrolls or pots, you can vend them to offset your budget, and you won't have to vend for very long as these items are often sought after the majority of players (T3's/T4's). Either way you will save a lot of money on spells and equipment by not buying certain spells when they become available.
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