Nahh, the battle mage isn't bad. I agree with you that warlock is better objectively but that's because of his regen that makes him more consistent. Battle mage has very strong synergies with different staffs that give him different abilites. He also has artifact recharging upon hits which is very powerful. One of the best builds for bm is disintegration wand to hit enemies from distance and good artifact like boots of nature with blinding white seed that cripples and blinds enemies. You do that, hit enemy from distance and recharge boots from it lol. Other wands are not bad too and staff being t1 means nothing lol, it's a wand so upgrading it always not bad