I can certainly see that carrying around the bow on a mage might be mostly redundant given the large selection of CC. The arrow effect I am mostly interested in adding to a mage's arsenal is Charm. However, that might be a case of me trying to do "too much" with characters on a single playthrough. I can probably leave that effect for a second playthrough.
I really don't care about maximized characters - I'm sure I won't have too much trouble completing the game on Hard if I take a couple points out of INT and drop them in PER so I can spot secrets on one character. I'll get a lot more enjoyment out of finding secrets than doing a bit extra damage, especially on a first playthrough.
I had been planning on three mages and a tank on my first playthrough... maybe I'll make that three mages and a ranger. Rumour has it one of the upcoming companions will be an archer, anyway.
Hrmm, definitely given me something to think about there. Thank you!
