Go Pyromancer if you care about min/maxing. I went Pyro as my first character thinking that I was getting a "Fire Mage" type character, but what I got instead was the new Royal (nearly a blank slate) that also had the ability to learn a bunch of fire spells...on top of being able to be any other style at the same time. The fire spells are incredibly strong, and don't require an investment in INT or FA at all. Their only downside is that they are more range limited and obviously won't work on enemies resistant/immune to fire. Every character can eventually learn Pyro spells if you want, but nowhere near as fast as the actual Pyro class, plus they just offer way more customization through stats.
Edit: Hah, just looked at the start date of this thread. I'm sure he's beaten the game again at least once more, if not twice.
