Yea, there is very little that is practical about fire. And arcane seems to take that over in the later levels. On the other hand, there is just some level of satisfaction that can only be achieved with fire.

Survivability is awful and I'm sure it will be worse trying to manage 4 players. With one it's a lot easier to float around the edge of a battle. But there will be moment where I'll unleash everything and it will all be worth it.