Spell Balance Suggestions

[Trenton]

illusion is the only one that doesn't need app and goes into shadow so this does effectively make it easier to go into shadow. Though in my personal opinion shadow isn't the greatest, but does have far more utility than other trees even with just 3 spells and an aura. 

Shadow is probably one of the best trees right now, I don't know why you're trying to undersell it. It can be added to any build, at all, and it immediately improves your verbing by making you get..

1. mist form with a speed boost
2. extremely close range (not that this makes it hard to hit at all) nuke spell
3. instant homing spell with very promising damage that KNOCKS BACK to prevent any followup
4. an aura that not only increases AP, a superior stat to +POW but also gives a defensive option in the form of a +DR shield (which is stronger than all of the other current shields if I'm not mistaken)

It does not help that almost every single shadow mage couples it with Thief, which is just a coincidence as it's just free and available for 5 RPP which nobody can really be faulted for, but it's certainly annoying to fight a shadow mage. Even so nothing is wrong with shadow itself.

In my opinion, if Shadow is going to remain the opposite of Light but have a public app tree, it should require you to have illusion intermediates or 50+ RPP rather than have two-three illusion spells/just own the magic.