-Ice scale set has 10-15 more damage, ancient druid has 100 more health (living is a no-go).
-If charged only, it becomes AoE, slows down and damages surrounding mobs. Taking the first upgrade is arguably useless if you're a staff mage.
-The 25% hit% reduction is useful but since most of the mobs are knocked down, you lose two to three out of the five seconds of the debuff. Useful for unstunnable mobs at elite Tindirin and Planar Mobs.
-There are some caps on how many mobs a skill can affect (6 for fireball and frost bolt but seemingly unlimited for time shift).
-Blinky is really good for PvE, the mass slowdown, crit boost, damage and decent HP make it the pet to go for. Alternatively Ethyl.
-Depends on your level but at L41, as a sorc, you should have STR, INT, DEX and critical passive maxed.
-Five skills helps us sorcs have a better chance in PvP. For PvE, perhaps sacrifice a few points from crit passive for Gale Force to get back after dying in elite maps or dash through easy maps faster.
-Guns, always guns.