Just did a quick read on the wiki and googled the best classes,for some reason everyone reccomends Tooth Reader. Maybe it's because they're the perfect fusion of Bone Shaman and Autumn Warrior.
Yeah,I'll go with Tooth Reader.
EDIT:Thanks Lord_lemonpie for giving me that uncommon molar knuckleduster. It's helped so far in the Tooth Reader's 1st class-exclusive quest.
Tooth Readers are pretty damn OP, but their strength doesn't lie in dealing damage; they're pretty good at it, but not great. What really makes them excel is their access to powerful Divination abilities. I'm not even sure how Future Sight works from a technically standpoint (probably one of those things it's best not to dwell on too much), but knowing the next thing that would have killed you ahead of time is ridiculously useful.
Oh, and as for endgame, Devil Liches and Steel Puddings are definitely something you want to be prepared for, but the thing you really want to be ready for is Fairy Princesses.
I'm having trouble deciding between Fire Barrier and Reflective Barrier. I'm running a hybrid MAG/RES Shield Mage, and while Fire Barrier's MAG-based damage is appealing, Reflective Barrier might be better for a non-pure-magic build.
What makes it a difficult decision is that Reflective Barrier's reflection percentage scales with skill points, and I need those skill points for my elemental barriers; I probably should have gone with an Element Elf, but I wanted the Arcane Elf's high stats.
Before you ask why I don't just take Heavy Barrier: I need more offensive spells. I'm tired of using Mirror Shot to poke enemies to death.
If you want good offense with Reflective Barrier, here's what you need to do: put as many skill points as you can in Reflective Barrier. You may need to take a few points from more essential skills like Breathing and Knitting, but you should be able to do without dipping into those if you manage to find an Armulet of Barrier Magnification or you get visited by Jerry the Genie (and I think there are a few other techniques I'm forgetting). Anyway, the point is you want to get your Reflective Barrier up to around 100,000,000% or so. Around this point, you'll want to find a Staff of Buff Sharing and a Ring of Spell Alignment Reversal (Technically you could get them before this point, but personally I wouldn't try until your Reflective Barrier is at least at 75,000,000%).
The Staff of Buff Sharing allows you to share personal buffs with friendlies, and the Ring of Spell Alignment Reversal lets you use spells that can only target friendlies on enemies. So what you do is use them in combination to cast your Reflective Barrier on and enemy. Then you cast Arcane Projectile at them. It will bounce off their barrier and back to you. The Projectile will then bounce off of your barrier and continue going back and forth ad nauseam. There's a very good Arcane Projectile Reflective Barrier ricochet damage chart posted on the official forums that I can't seem to find right now, but the basic idea is that you let this keep going until you get the damage you want (and before your Reflective Barrier is worn down), then drop the staff and unequip the ring to terminate the barrier on the enemy. Pretty much most things can be one-shot by this technique if you let the ricochet damage build up enough.