The MagAdjust of this game is just the damage listed that corresponds to the type of spell being cast, i.e. magic for sorceries, dark for hexes, and so forth. You'll notice on staves that some of them have equal magic and dark damage and some of them are weighted more heavily toward one than the other. The same is true for chimes. That helps you know if the item is better for sorceries, hexes, miracles, or a combination of 2 or 3 of them.
As far as what actually goes into the damage itself, it is a combination of the base damage as mentioned above, your INT and/or FAI depending on which school you are casting, and of course any reinforcements (+1 to +10) you've done to your staff/chime. Additionally, if you infuse Faintstone/Darkstone/etc to your staff/chime, you can add even more damage to the type of spell that applies to the type of spell you are trying to cast. That means you can make a staff weighted toward sorceries even more toward sorceries or you can more evenly weight it toward sorceries and hexes.
As far as wearables go, there are pieces of armor/rings that:
- Increase casting speed
- Give extra attunement slots
- Raise your INT and/or FAI by 1-5 points
- Give you more castings at the cost of HP
I don't know of any items that straight up give you raw spell damage like the Oolacile crown did in Dark Souls 1, but the +INT items definitely make a difference.
Ultimately, they've made your catalyst operate a lot more like a "normal" weapon in Dark Souls II. Just look at the damage number for the type of spell you are trying to cast. Also, pay attention to how well they scale for a given stat just like you would for any weapon. If there is an S under the INT picture on the screen for scaling, it will eventually do more damage than a similar staff with an A for scaling even if it started with less base damage.
Use it to get the Lion Mage set because you get another Fragrant Branch of Yore from it, which you should then use on Straid of Olaphis (in my opinion he has the better items for sale, especially if you use miracles, sorcery or even pyromancy)
In short:
Lion Mage set (you get another branch) then Straid
Best Answer
To answer this question, it entirely depends on what stats you are focussing on. Scaling plays a big part when choosing the right weapon, in any situation.
What scaling does:
Scaling boosts the damage that you do with any particular weapon, depending on which stat(s) and which level of scaling are defined (S, A, B, C, D, E) as @slow_excellence pointed out; S being the best, E being the worst.
This picture shows a boost from strength scaling (shown by the blue numbers):
How scaling affects damage boost:
Bows and their scaling stats:
Greatbows:
Also important to note that you cannot move while firing a greatbow, unlike a regular bow. This can affect your play style greatly.