That being said, battlemages are feasible. I built Beast around aerothurge, hydrosophy, and warfare, as an example. He mostly CC's and heals at range, but with battering ram and battlestomp I could get him to knock enemies down after they were weakened by my 2-h warrior and ranger.
Once I got phoenix dive, blitz attack, and whirlwind he became even more useful. He never replaced my physical damage dealers, but it was nice to have an extra shot at downing enemies that I couldn't finish off with a previous character.
