Ple-Sen
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Let me outline my position on the available spells.
Fire
Fireball is an inexpensive spell with good and scaling damage. Burning is not the most unpleasant of debuffs, but it's not useless either. Especially if the mage decides to kite the enemy. The spell's range is not the most impressive, and Fireball is not very effective against ranged warriors. A decent choice even for a melee fighter who needs a source of elemental damage or a way to attack enemies at a distance. The main thing to remember is that bonuses to hit chance from weapon skills won't help here. But with our leaders and musicians, this shouldn't be a serious problem.
Fire Shield is a very situational spell, applicable only to characters with either a high health pool or abilities like Battle to the Last or Eshingir's passive. Its long preparation time and small range don't help either. It can be useful for a hybrid character who meets the above criteria.
Ignite can be useful against durable enemies, but in most other situations, Fireball seems more useful to me.
Water
Water Bolt is an antimagic Fireball, and it also slows on a critical hit. The problem is that dangerous mages are likely to use spells with such a long range that this spell simply won't reach them. It can also be used against melee units with active abilities, but melee units will have higher evasion. Refresh is like a paladin's heal, but it's slow, AoE, expensive, and has a good range. If the character doesn't have Giant Creation, it's a very good option. Otherwise, it faces competition from the Sun school. But even so, the spell is quite decent.
Rain – if the squad doesn't consist of guys born in Erathia, it doesn't look very useful. Random on random on random, and it costs a huge amount of mana and 12 initiative. It's even worse when you remember that the enemy may have immunity to slow. It's only useful for hiding tears in it.
Air
Air Strike is perhaps one of the best basic attacking spells in the game. It has decent damage, a large range, and a very unpleasant debuff. It is highly recommended for a hybrid character who is primarily interested in getting ranged attacks. Even with average Creation stats, it should allow you to retaliate against archers, gunslingers, musketeers, and some ranged units. Just remember the hit chance.
Air Blades – to be honest, it's not very impressive. The spell's damage is quite modest. The chosen AoE form is very situational, as enemies rarely line up in neat rows, and moving to a more advantageous position before casting will require an extra turn. Scaling range should somewhat mitigate this aspect, but it won't solve the problem. Unless the debuff is good for a mage who relies on elemental or celestial sources of damage.
Air Shield – ranged units are one of the main problems for spellcasters, so this spell will be useful for any mage. It makes sense to use it on yourself and on allies. A strong option, although it won't be useful in every battle.
Earth
Toxicodendron is like an Air Strike that trades two-thirds of its damage and half of its range for poison. To be honest, I find it hard to imagine a situation where Toxicodendron would be more useful than its airy counterpart. Unless it's in battles against enemies who are immune to air or blindness.
Entangling Roots is a good choice for those who like kiting, i.e., for archers, pure mages, and spearmen. It can perform well in battles with small groups of enemies, but it looks less useful in large-scale battles.
Gifts of Nature is the main reason to take this branch. Under certain conditions, it can perform the job of Air Shield better than Air Shield itself. In addition, unlike it, it is useful in every battle. I wouldn't advise a mage specializing only in one direction to take it, but it will be perfect for a versatile mage or a hybrid character.
Darkness
Dispel – honestly, it's hard to judge the usefulness of this spell, as we haven't encountered anyone who likes to pile on buffs. It may be potentially useful, but for effective use, it requires high Creation and mana. In any case, it's not a spell that makes you want to consider the branch.
Barrier is an excellent passive for both hybrids and pure mages. It also regenerates after each battle.
Negation – it's not as good as it used to be, but it's still worth considering. Negation was useful even for hybrid characters before, and now it's almost more useful for them than for pure mages. Not only because of higher evasion or abilities like block/parry, which will make mana drain slower, but also because mana is less critical for hybrids than for pure spellcasters. Nevertheless, it's still a useful ability for any spellcaster, just now it should be used with more caution.
Sun
Restoration is good with 10+ Creation, but otherwise it's not impressive. One of the most magical branches. With 12 Creation, it's a very impressive flash heal that you'll only use in a pinch. And then you'll be stuck.
Purify is roughly the same as Restoration, but against debuffs. What was said about it is also true for Restoration.
Beam of Light – the bonus to hit chance from Creation is very, very pleasant, and the starting damage is decent. AoE is very situational, as enemies rarely stand in a line, and moving with casting doesn't work, so you can't move to a more convenient position. The range only starts to exceed most other spells at 10+ Creation, which is a problem. The cost of 9 initiative points and the lack of additional effects also don't help the spell. Not the worst option for pure mages with good initiative, but I don't think it's useful for anyone else. Still better than Air Blades, thanks to higher damage, a rarer damage type, and hit chance bonuses.
Fire
Fireball is an inexpensive spell with good and scaling damage. Burning is not the most unpleasant of debuffs, but it's not useless either. Especially if the mage decides to kite the enemy. The spell's range is not the most impressive, and Fireball is not very effective against ranged warriors. A decent choice even for a melee fighter who needs a source of elemental damage or a way to attack enemies at a distance. The main thing to remember is that bonuses to hit chance from weapon skills won't help here. But with our leaders and musicians, this shouldn't be a serious problem.
Fire Shield is a very situational spell, applicable only to characters with either a high health pool or abilities like Battle to the Last or Eshingir's passive. Its long preparation time and small range don't help either. It can be useful for a hybrid character who meets the above criteria.
Ignite can be useful against durable enemies, but in most other situations, Fireball seems more useful to me.
Water
Water Bolt is an antimagic Fireball, and it also slows on a critical hit. The problem is that dangerous mages are likely to use spells with such a long range that this spell simply won't reach them. It can also be used against melee units with active abilities, but melee units will have higher evasion. Refresh is like a paladin's heal, but it's slow, AoE, expensive, and has a good range. If the character doesn't have Giant Creation, it's a very good option. Otherwise, it faces competition from the Sun school. But even so, the spell is quite decent.
Rain – if the squad doesn't consist of guys born in Erathia, it doesn't look very useful. Random on random on random, and it costs a huge amount of mana and 12 initiative. It's even worse when you remember that the enemy may have immunity to slow. It's only useful for hiding tears in it.
Air
Air Strike is perhaps one of the best basic attacking spells in the game. It has decent damage, a large range, and a very unpleasant debuff. It is highly recommended for a hybrid character who is primarily interested in getting ranged attacks. Even with average Creation stats, it should allow you to retaliate against archers, gunslingers, musketeers, and some ranged units. Just remember the hit chance.
Air Blades – to be honest, it's not very impressive. The spell's damage is quite modest. The chosen AoE form is very situational, as enemies rarely line up in neat rows, and moving to a more advantageous position before casting will require an extra turn. Scaling range should somewhat mitigate this aspect, but it won't solve the problem. Unless the debuff is good for a mage who relies on elemental or celestial sources of damage.
Air Shield – ranged units are one of the main problems for spellcasters, so this spell will be useful for any mage. It makes sense to use it on yourself and on allies. A strong option, although it won't be useful in every battle.
Earth
Toxicodendron is like an Air Strike that trades two-thirds of its damage and half of its range for poison. To be honest, I find it hard to imagine a situation where Toxicodendron would be more useful than its airy counterpart. Unless it's in battles against enemies who are immune to air or blindness.
Entangling Roots is a good choice for those who like kiting, i.e., for archers, pure mages, and spearmen. It can perform well in battles with small groups of enemies, but it looks less useful in large-scale battles.
Gifts of Nature is the main reason to take this branch. Under certain conditions, it can perform the job of Air Shield better than Air Shield itself. In addition, unlike it, it is useful in every battle. I wouldn't advise a mage specializing only in one direction to take it, but it will be perfect for a versatile mage or a hybrid character.
Darkness
Dispel – honestly, it's hard to judge the usefulness of this spell, as we haven't encountered anyone who likes to pile on buffs. It may be potentially useful, but for effective use, it requires high Creation and mana. In any case, it's not a spell that makes you want to consider the branch.
Barrier is an excellent passive for both hybrids and pure mages. It also regenerates after each battle.
Negation – it's not as good as it used to be, but it's still worth considering. Negation was useful even for hybrid characters before, and now it's almost more useful for them than for pure mages. Not only because of higher evasion or abilities like block/parry, which will make mana drain slower, but also because mana is less critical for hybrids than for pure spellcasters. Nevertheless, it's still a useful ability for any spellcaster, just now it should be used with more caution.
Sun
Restoration is good with 10+ Creation, but otherwise it's not impressive. One of the most magical branches. With 12 Creation, it's a very impressive flash heal that you'll only use in a pinch. And then you'll be stuck.
Purify is roughly the same as Restoration, but against debuffs. What was said about it is also true for Restoration.
Beam of Light – the bonus to hit chance from Creation is very, very pleasant, and the starting damage is decent. AoE is very situational, as enemies rarely stand in a line, and moving with casting doesn't work, so you can't move to a more convenient position. The range only starts to exceed most other spells at 10+ Creation, which is a problem. The cost of 9 initiative points and the lack of additional effects also don't help the spell. Not the worst option for pure mages with good initiative, but I don't think it's useful for anyone else. Still better than Air Blades, thanks to higher damage, a rarer damage type, and hit chance bonuses.