as a mage if u invest in intelligence and spirit, u will never really use weapons, so forget about them
the best armor a guy can get in broken valley and wear it as a mage, is nightbringer, keep looking for it everywhere
use trinkets to beef up ur strength for armor
but there is another way to make uself stronger - use charms and enchantments a lot
in orobas fjords u will get SPOILER alert:
archmage armor - that will be ur best, or u can choose ur own bits of armor and trinkets
maybe save the charms and gems for this set of armor, or not