I'm going a totally different way, kinda pure mage too.
There is no such thing as ultimate mage build anyway, depends on your playstyle too.
Also you should reconsider the magic blast/fire ball thingie...
I for one decided from the beginning already I would not invest points in fire ball, seeing it is not mana efficient and not so strong, I went for magic blast right away. It actually is a better dps than magic missile, more efficient, but long cooldown (but that also counts for fire ball, which is not as strong/mana efficient).
I even consider it my main spell, and magic missile is just to fill the cooldown (especially when magic blast reaches lvl 4, at char lvl 15 :o 4*130 damage for 60ish mp, magic missile doesn't even come close).
Magic blast also gives a stun effect which always comes in handy.
Fire wall seems to be much better aoe than fire ball anyway, provided you can get close safely. Worked neat so far in combo with hide in shadows (lvl1, mana drainer though, 90mp for 10 secs).
But usually as mage I want to go one on one on strong opponents, so no need for aoe, xcept with opponents I don't want to get a hit from, can't dodge archer/some magic blasts.
I don't see the use of charm either, xcept for losing xp. There s always a way to distract one opponent from a group, so I can go one on one. Might play a bit slower, sure, but more xp.
I also always invest points 2 in int 1 in spirit/health, in begin even only in magic, and ofc some str/dex for gear. As pure dd mage one of my objectives is not to get hit. Most magic, and all melee is dodgeable by movement, archers are a pain and some magic blasts too, so I focused gear on that. Melee = dodge by movement, always. So, some basic health to keep me alive when I fail some dodging, or to survive archer dude(s) ^^
also, afaik spirit only ups mana... int increases your damage and magic resistance, and mana regeneration.
So, to me, the old int in D1 which was so useless is now spirit in DII.
Although it was only useless because using charms to increase mana was much more efficient.
Seeing charms so far in DII that prolly won't be the case, but ya, more damage done and better mp regen requires less mana anyway, seeing you also have mana efficiency skill and destruction, I don't see any reason to up my spirit like a madman.
Also other than prefering an equipment with wisdom increase on it (I'm using a +2 wis neck) to a slight stronger equipment I don't see the use in investing in wisdom. You'd need to reach lvl 50 compared to reaching lvl 45 to get back what you invest, with bonus of more stat points.
Imho skill >>> stat, especially for mage.
And for last, seeing I barely use potions, I'm not investing in master herbalist. The alchemist tree and plants allover the world are mooooore than enough ^^.
Naja, there are different ways of playing, and I think this balancing I'm doing fits my playstyle pretty good.
Ohyeah, in the begin, use bow. Unless you have patience n wait for mana, or use potions :o. But in the begin spells are low, and bows are kinda strong ^^.
Now at lvl 15 I haven't used my bow in ages. Just my two one-handed weaps (best for magic damage afaik, although I'm still a bit confused how this works, because I don't see much difference in skill damage, maybe it is just magical melee damage? :(), to finish them off if I feel like it :), especially melees, wait till they are close, jump, n slash = dead, saves some mana
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Naja, only lvl 15 and not dragon yet here :o. Always happy to get more insight in spirit/int and weapon magic damage.
