Shield of Air - overpowered?

I hesitate to ask, as Air seems the weakest of the combat-oriented magicks and I appreciate any boosts I can get.

However: as soon as I learned this skill, before it was trained up, I noticed it dramatically reduced the amount of damage I was taking in combat, to the extent that in fights where I would otherwise have been slaughtered, I had ample opportunity to heal up and take out a weaker opponent or two before it ended. The protection seems as powerful as plate compared to cloth (though I haven't used plate in a long while so maybe that's no longer true) and in spite of the description it doesn't drain much focus for the benefit it gives.

Worth pointing out I'm still relatively low level and have been using it in West Veiled Swamp, West Perennial Trail and the like, which may have skewed my impressions so far.

What do other mages think? Maybe I just wasn't prepared for a skill tree that's as powerfully defensive (with stuns, speed and shielding) as fire is offensive.

 

It drains a massive amount of focus when spells are hitting you but melee does seem to do nothingespecially if the enemy is weaker than you

 

This matches the characteristics of the Air Elemental - it's supposed to be immune to melee attacks.

 

Nerf it muhahaha

 

Encountered this just now running through an elf encampment - wondered why my focus suddenly dropped to zero, then noticed the fireballs washing over me and figured it out >.<