Scrolls of identify are very cheap and are sold in Galadon. Lore at 100% is pretty reliable - the more % you have it at, the more reliable it is. At 100% I think it only lies about weapon averages and even then, 3 times out of 5 it'll give out correct info, so by loring a weapon five times, you'll notice repeating avg number and that'll be the correct one. I do agree it's PITA to spam it up, but can usually happen during off-times or when sleeping during ranking.

The reason I suggested conjie is that it's an easy street once you can get an archon, albeit while it may be trivial for me to rank up a goodie to 36, it may be more difficult for a newbie. However, the elemental is pretty good and the familiar is nifty. It's a unique experience overall and feel more distinct than any other class. I highly recommend giving it a try and while you don't need any wands as a conjie, most if not all other players will tell you where the wand is if you tell them a clue the guildmaster gives via discuss. And half of them are easy to get.