The Ignite Spell, Am I just not understanding something? Options

[Umidori]

So I've been putting together a Psionic character, and I was picking out some of the more reasonable spells to use as "psychic powers" when my attention came back, as it occasionally does, to the odd little spell Ignite.

I'd never really understood the intended usage of the spell. It's low drain is nice, but cast at even moderate forces it takes agonizingly long to become permanent. Who has time in a fight to wait several combat turns for the enemy to catch fire, especially considering the lost dice suffered to all actions during the time spent sustaining the spell? Is it meant to be used stealthily, before a fight has even begun? Or is it merely intended only for non-combat scenarios, like burning down a building and the like?

Then it occured to me that maybe Ignite is intended to be an ultra low force spell? Well, okay then, so I do the mental math for a force two cast - meh, still takes two combat turns to become permanent, and then it only does 2F. Wait a minute, if it gains 1DV per turn... it's like a DOT that just gets nastier and nastier and doesn't stop until the target is dead or somehow extinguishes themselves. That could be really nice, except for the still-just-a-tad-too-long time until permanent.

Then I thought, okay, so what if it's cast at a force of one? Permanent spells are twice the DV, but the DV is half the force... rounded... down... wait... does that mean what I think it means? Force 1 divided by 2 is 0.5, which rounds down to 0, which times 2 is still 0? Suddenly the spell becomes an instant cast that starts out low damage but rapidly grows out of control if not extinguished quickly. Whoa! Now the spell is useful! But then, aww crap, I remember that the minimum DV is 1 anyway, so that ruins that. Then I realize it sucks even more. If you cast at force one, that limits the spellcasting tests hits anyway, and it'll be sure to be resisted.

So what the smeg is the point of this spell? It's got awesome potential for sheer runaway damage, especially over time, but you'll never get the spell off against a living target faster than you and your team can take that target down with practically anything else.

~Umidori