Various Newbie Gameplay Questions

[dirtywick]

I find that Earth/Air or just plain Air is better than Astral. Sometimes mages get dumb and cast Body Ethereal on troops instead of themselves, as well as other buffs that may apply. Plus, casting a bunch of buffs adds up fatigue quickly. You can forge a Robe of Shadows and a Lucky Pendant, which pretty much covers what Astral buff-wise, for few gems by most Astral mages and cast spells like Mist Form, Invunerability, Mirror Image, etc. that are much better and much more difficult to replicate through items.

Of course, Air and Earth on the same mage are pretty tough to come by, but Air alone is a great SC/Thug path IMO, hard to beat.