Artificing, Alchemy, Ritual Casting..., So...why? Options

[Xystophoroi]

SR5 only!

I'm playing in a game (different from the new one starting soon...) as a Mystic Adept, I'm the party's only magic source and I run almost entirely as support rather than combat. Manipulation, Detection, Healing, Illusion etc.

I've been saving karma for a while mainly because I've not had anything pressing to spend it on and decided to go look at the other magic options and ended up kind of drawing a blank.

Why does a runner go off and spend time and effort learning, practicing and then putting into use Ritual Casting or Artificing? Alchemy I can see some uses for as long as the spell you want is never opposed by anything but even then couldn't I just buy more sustaining foci?

When do you ritual cast? And is it something you find yourself using frequently enough to justify expending large amount of karma on? Anchored means I defend my home...but if they've found my home then it's rather stupid to try and match my power against theirs. Watchers and Homonculi could be of use I suppose, but worth investing so heavily in when a Spirit is easily available and far more versatile? Curses and Prodigal Spells to attack people at range? I suppose...but...meh?

Artificing allows me to build Foci. Well...I can buy those. I guess if I wanted to set up shop and make profit selling them I could do that? Where's my option to bind magic into glasses or have stuff like that?

Alchemy. I can see uses here but not for anything I;d actually want to use it for. Never on a run have I found myself going 'I wish I could throw a really weak combat spell at that guy' or 'I wish I could create a physical barrier over there that's so weak it won't stop them for more than a few seconds'. I can see stat buffing but then you've go to weigh up the drain taken in advance of the run (all prepped a few hours in advance) giving penalties. Then if you rest to recover the drain you lose any sustained spells in your foci (unconscious from sleeping!) and have to recast any spells you were using as buffs in your foci (I tend to run with an Armour and Combat Sense foci).

And it's a whole load of busywork prepping that stuff to get +2 or 3 dice for a few rounds.

There's just nothing in these options that makes me go 'Yes! I want to invest my karma in that skill right there!'

At no point on a run have I found myself wishing I'd brought something alchemical along or cast a ritual in advance or whatever.

Are they the type of thing that becomes useful when more supplements come out? Are any of you using them? If so how and do you feel they are really worth your time and effort?

Maybe I'm naive but...Spellcasting and Summoning and Assensing are the only magical skills I've used in anger so far and Counterspelling I keep high just in case. I have Arcana because I find it hard to justify a Hermetic not having that skill at a meaningful level.

tl;dr

For the highly mobile, often unpredictable runner on runs why do I care about spending karma on Artificing, Alchemy and Ritual Casting?