For mages, the coolest thing is empathy, if you manage to acquire leadership. An Ogre with empathy and loyalty will crush anyone. Everything else is less important. However, it's much easier for a knight to gain empathy. I usually level up the relevant magic skills. I always try to get Counterspell. An Ogre, even without empathy, will usually move before the enemy and, if desired, can prevent them from casting any spells with Counterspell. Thanks to its initiative, it will be able to cast its own spells and prevent the enemy from doing so. However, it probably doesn't make sense to use Counterspell against non-magical creatures. But it's quite useful against Chaos and Summoners. If you have a mentor, you can reach a sufficient level and re-specialize to gain Special Ability (SA). If you manage to get Armageddon quickly, you can immediately start leveling up Chaos. Then SA is not needed. In version 3.0, you can get spells in advance in the treasure chamber, pyramid, or utopia, without knowing the corresponding school. There are many options. Especially in version 3.0. However, this applies to all races.