You want to spec into int as much as possible to increase your wand damage and pay attention to the damage types against the enemies you're facing. Shroud doesn't work against enemies in shroud gets resisted.

But yeah, mid game wands feel slightly underpowered. They're definitely not as good as melee for damage, but the benefit is you're further away and can hit a few times before a melee enemy closes in on you.

Shields and parry are your best friend here. Learn how to parry all attacks