But he has Willpower 8. The probability of reaching that TN per die is 5/36. So throw 8 Sorcery and 8 Spell pool into the casting and get 2 successes, which gives you a +1 to the attribute. Maybe you're lucky and get 4 successes so you get a +2 to the attribute. So you only need Force 2 if you're feeling lucky and want to rely on Willpower alone to resist drain, Force 1 otherwise.

The only way to munch that is to get one mage to cast Decrease Attribute and reduce the TN down to about 2. Then our mage casts Increase Attribute and locks it. Then first mage stops sustaining the spell. Then a skycow arrives on the scene at terminal velocity.

If you're able to research your own spells, you can use the formula in MitS to upgrade the Reflexes spell. Make it caster-only and +5d6 for a drain of +5D. Cast using one die and resist drain using Willpower + Sorcery + Spell pool. You'll get your TN (Reaction) soon enough, then lock it in a sustaining focus.

I agree with the astral quest reduction. Stack it with the Exclusive limitation for more spell levels for your spell points. An Exclusive spell cannot stored in a sustaining focus though (so use that limitation on instant combat spells, for example).

Good point I missed his Willpower 8. I'd get another Intiate level and take Centering. Drop the Willpower to 4 or 5. Take those Build Points and Buy Centering skill. Plan on casting the Increase Willpower with the maximum dice from foci you can get by using expendable spell foci. Then sustain the spell himself using Centering to get rid of the +1 TN mod from sustaining the spell. I'd estimate he should be able to handle at least +6 Willpower maybe +8 Willpower. And I can't believe I forgot this got to get Enchanting skill in their so he can make his own foci and get the foci cost done to next to nothing. We built some characters for a really high power campaign like this one looks to be. My GM had me pay for the time the character spent making his foci from his starting using Middle Lifestyle cost per month of enchanting.

Naturally. If you had initiated during chargen and had joined a magical group, you would have had to pay group membership dues each month also. If you had vehicles, you'd have to pay to maintain them too (though middle lifestyle's allowance partially covers vehicle expenses). Contact upkeep may also be appropriate. Even when you're rooting around in the desert scrounging up radical metals and picking weird herbs, you still have to pay council rates. Even when you're toiling night and day in your alchemy lab building foci, the bills still keep coming. Your contacts still expect you to spend some time / nuyen with them, going bowling, consuming Soy products, helping them with their runs / fenced loot, etc etc.

If you're going to get Enchanting / Talismongery, then grab a F2 or 3 Ally spirit (save the Familiar ordeal for later, when it will require almost as many kp as you want to invest in a familiar). Give the ally Ench/Tal so it can work while you run the shadows. This also means your actual Magic attribute will be one point lower, reducing the chance of magic-loss when you take deadly damage. But your effective Magic attribute for purposes of Sorcery and Conjuring, etc. will be higher than before, since your ally counts as a power focus and adds its Force to your Magic attribute (that's why it's better to get a F3 one. Also more likely to be strong and agile enough to not screw up while enchanting for you.)

If you're going to go with Increased Attribute Willpower, do like Findar says to Cha too. With Cha 6 you're going to struggle to get successes, meaning you'll get very little boost (so only need a low Force spell) but if you drop it to 4, half your dice will turn up successes (on average) so for every 4 dice you roll your attribute will increase by 1. Personally I wouldn't go this route - having a lower Will / Cha means you have low Bod / Str while astrally projecting (which you probably don't want to risk). It also cripples Skills based on these attributes (but who needs Sorcery, Conjuring or Etiquette anyway?) I am more inclined to have high attributes in the character's strengths (that's why in-character his education led him in that direction - because of natural aptitude) and low attributes in the areas of life he's not interested in. Mages with a Body of 2 have an Achilles' Heel - even with armour, they won't be able to stage down Deadly damage. They don't have Athletics or any of the other Bod-based skills. They rely on Combat pool to dodge bullets, Shapechange / Increase Attribute Body to soak damage, or Stealth and Illusions to not get shot at. Casting Increase Attribute with a TN of 2 gives you a nice bunch of successes.