yeah same on the SP powers. The shadow mend using the currency instead of mana is super useful. basically infinite instant cast healing.
The power that turns fade into a mirror image that pulls aggro is cool it saved my ass on the layer 3 boss in soul forge. but other than that i have been fairly underwhelmed by the powers.
and yeah for a total noob to the game. that shit is gonna be rough. The trash isn;t bad, but those bosses can be tough even if you know what your doing.