View source for Mindslayer 1.0.4

==Guide==

===General information===
This guide will be heavily outdated in the next release due to scaling and prodigy changes - for example, it will no longer be possible to reduce Absorption Mastery's cooldown to 0.

You start wielding a greatsword. Replace it with two mindstars as soon as you possibly can. Mindslayer is not a melee class. Its main attack for the whole game is Mindlash, and the further in the game you are, the fewer other attacks you'll be using. Early on, you should also use spiked auras because of Mindlash's cooldown, but hitting things in melee is usually an act of desperation. Similarly, instead of a weapon, you always want to Telekinetic Grasp the highest-level mindstar (or gem) you have, because material level determines Mindlash damage and cooldown.

The class doesn't start with a means of scouting, so get something with Track as soon as you can.

Some people will tell you to get antimagic. While you do have high mindpower, there is very little synergy with the antimagic talents - Resolve and Antimagic Shield only apply AFTER psionic shields, and you shouldn't be letting anything get past your shields in the first place. Fungus is pretty underwhelming for the same reason; regeneration is no good when you just don't lose HP. Furthermore, you miss out on excellent tools like Stone Wall and lightning runes.

Get 5 inscription slots. The only time less than 5 is reasonable is if you're playing undead. Spend the other two (or three, for cornac) category points however you want, but it's probably not worth using them to increase mastery unless it gets you 0 cooldown Absorption Mastery - see Absorption below. The best inscriptions are wild infusions (status), movement infusions (best inscription for escaping), heroism infusions (stats are good and if you do screw up and take HP damage, they'll stop you from dying), and lightning runes (even better defense than Heroism, but again, only applies after shields).

'''Telekinetic weapon attacks and aura hits will break movement infusions.''' For this reason, deactivate Beyond the Flesh before using one, and don't keep auras sustained when you don't need to.

[[Category:Class Guides]]


None of the escort categories are particularly exciting.

===Races===
* [[Cornac]]: If you don't go antimagic you will have trouble using generics, and antimagic really isn't very good. Maybe if you really want to unlock 3 categories (you definitely want 5 inscription slots).
* [[Higher]]: The regeneration does scale with Willpower, but you shouldn't be taking HP damage anyway. Increased sight radius is good. You need a spell to trigger the magical damage boost, and until you get Mental Tyranny or Temporal Form, it won't be an element you want. Highborn's Bloom isn't very useful, you're unlikely to run out of psi and if you do it's easy to get it back.
* [[Shalore]]: The speed boost scales with stats you don't have. Critical multiplier is good, Timeless is possibly the best talent in the game but there aren't really any good ways to abuse it on this class.
* [[Thalore]]: Probably the best race. Your damage increase scales with Willpower. You have extremely good summons, and although the talent description doesn't tell you, they also scale with both Willpower and talent level.
* [[Dwarf]]: Maybe if you really like armour or saves. Stone Walking is a good escape, at least.
* [[Halfling]]: Mental critical chance is really important, but later on you'll have it without using the talent anyway. Indomitable is nice, but remember that you do have a talent that gives you 50% stun resistance. Evasion is good if you are afraid of enemy melee, but you probably shouldn't be.
* [[Yeek]]: Worst life rating in the game with a -4 life per level class is...actually not that bad because you have Absorption (and can easily max Constitution if you really want, since three other stats are useless). Quickened is huge late in the game since Mindlash will have 0 cooldown, and since you have no class summons, Wayist is excellent (it scales with talent level and Willpower, though it doesn't tell you).
* [[Skeleton]]: Not a good idea, you can't get Psiblades and losing infusions is really bad.
* [[Ghoul]]: Skeleton's disadvantages with -20% global speed on top of that, which is absolutely horrible for this class.


===Stats===
* [[Strength]]: Nearly useless. You shouldn't be hitting things in melee very much and you certainly shouldn't be doing it with non-mindstars, unless you're very early in the game. Augmentation makes meeting stat requirements painless anyway.
* [[Dexterity]]: About as useless as strength.
* [[Constitution]]: You have Absorption so you really shouldn't be losing HP in the first place. Still likely to be the least useless of the stats that aren't Wil/Cun, so raise it after both of those are at maximum.
* [[Magic]]: Only useful if you need spellpower for some reason (you almost certainly don't).
* [[Willpower]]: Mindpower is enormously important and this increases it more than cunning. Raise this before anything else.
* [[Cunning]]: Raise whenever you can't raise willpower; nearly as important, possibly even more important depending on what you find (Eden's Guile gets an extra 0.5% global speed bonus with every point of Cun!)


===Class Talent Trees===


====Absorption====
Using shields should be pretty obvious. When you're going to get hit by a damage type, spike the corresponding shield, and make sure to stop getting hit before the shield runs out. Since you barely use any psi, there's nothing wrong with just leaving two shields sustained when you're not spiking them. 
When you change something in the level-up menu, you will get a warning about having to reactivate your shields. This is unnecessary, psionic shields are among the few sustains in the game to actually adapt correctly to stat changes without reactivation.
Absorption Mastery does use your talent level, not your raw talent level. You don't need to play infinite dungeon to get temporal resistance. Absorption Mastery's cooldown is 120 - (talent level * 12) provided you aren't using the Infinite500 addon, and yes, that can go down to 0.
Psionic shields are applied BEFORE resistances, and also before just about anything else you can think of, such as damage shields.
The percentage of damage absorbed by non-spiked shields is determined solely by your Cunning, but you should be spiking them anyway so don't worry about that.


====Projection====
Spiked aura damage is good early, when Mindlash still has a long cooldown. Later on it falls far behind Mindlash and they're only useful for Conduit, unless you're absolutely desperate for area attacks (you shouldn't be). '''Passive aura damage will break movement infusions'''.
Increasing your Conduit talent level increases damage by more than increasing aura levels, so put one point in Kinetic and Thermal aura and if you ever get the desire to put more points in (which you may not), make sure Conduit is already at 5 first. Remember that the actual elements become irrelevant once you get Mental Tyranny or Temporal Form. Don't even learn Projection Mastery.
As with shields, you will be warned about reactivating auras and Conduit, but also as with shields, this is not actually necessary.


====Psi-fighting====
* '''Telekinetic Smash''': Usually does less damage than Mindlash early, might do slightly more late in the game, but it's melee, has a cooldown...and is strictly worse than Nature's Equilibrium. 1/5
* '''Augmentation''': Increase two useless stats. The sustain cost is so small that you might as well leave it on anyway. 1/5 (you can juggle your 4 free class points to meet stat requirements)
* '''Conduit''': Only good talent in this tree, the increase in Mindlash damage is pretty significant all game. You don't even have to pay the auras' sustain costs. Probably 5/5 eventually.
* '''Frenzied Psifighting''': If this talent allowed your weapon to hit the same target more than once, then it wouldn't be completely useless. It doesn't. 0/5


====Focus====
* '''Mindlash''': Your main attack, eventually becomes pretty much your only attack. Damage and cooldown are determined by the material level of the gem or mindstar in your telekinetic focus slot, the result being that you should always wield the highest material level gem/mindstar you have (at equal material level, mindstars tend to give better bonuses than gems). Cooldown is 5 minus the material level, so your first tier 4 gem or mindstar (allowing you to use Mindlash every turn) is probably going to excite you more than any other item in the game. Especially if it's the [[Amethyst of Sanctuary]]. 5/5 immediately.
* '''Pyrokinesis''': When you take Mindlash damage, give it a huge cooldown, take away Conduit, and spread it over 10 turns, it turns out to be pretty bad. Attacking an area doesn't nearly make up for it. Only useful early when Mindlash still has a big cooldown. 1/5
* '''Reach''': Increases the range of Mindlash, auras, Bind, Implode, Mindhook, Pyrokinesis, Shattering Charge, Telekinetic Leap, and Voracity talents. Just because of Mindlash range you probably want 5 points when you get a tier 4 or 5 gem; possibly 4 points depending on how it ends up rounding (which depends on mastery and whether you got Greater Telekinetic Grasp) - try using Mindlash at 4, then try it again at 5, and see whether the range has changed.
* '''Focused Channeling''': Depends on how much you like shields and getting more Conduit damage. Probably invest in this before raising auras above level 1, maybe after getting shields to level 5.


====Augmented Mobility (locked)====
Consider spending your category point on a movement infusion instead. Unless you're a skeleton, in which case you're boned.
* '''Mindhook''': Why would you ever want something to be next to you on this class? 1/5
* '''Quick as Thought''': (Talent level * 20%) extra movement speed. Unlike movement infusions and such, this isn't broken by telekinetic weapon attacks, but it's also too small of an increase to abuse in that way. At least movement speed stacks multiplicatively so you can make movement infusions a lot stronger. Still probably not worth it considering that the next talent is
* '''Telekinetic Leap''': Probably the reason you unlocked this category; you know how good Wanderer's Rest is. Has a cap of 10 squares, which it easily reaches with talent points and Reach.
* '''Shattering Charge''': A second telekinetic leap that requires a spiked shield and also does some lousy damage and destroys walls along the way.


====Grip (locked)====
Also not needed, but not a terrible unlock either.
* '''Deflect Projectiles''': Only works on projectiles with a travel speed (so it works on arrows and Soul Rot, but not Lightning). Note that it can "deflect" a projectile to a square directly behind you, causing you to still get hit, so it doesn't quite reduce damage by the listed percentage. Usually shields are enough, but there are worse places to put points.
* '''Bind''': Melee shouldn't threaten you except on an unlucky randboss. In the event that it does, 1 point gives more than enough duration to kill whatever you're fighting. 1/5
* '''Implode''': 50% slow is fantastic, but the duration is short and by the time you get this talent you should be killing things fast enough that this is only useful on particularly tough bosses. However many points you want.
* '''Greater Telekinetic Grasp''': Your telekinetic weapon doesn't do much damage, and even if it did the bonus here is pretty small. However, the material level bonus does increase a tier 5 gem to a tier 6, and Mindlash, Range, Focused Channeling, etc. all respond appropriately, giving you extra damage, shield power, and possibly even another point of range (depending on your Focus mastery). 4/5, to get 5 effective level.


===Generics===


====Combat Training====
* '''Thick Skin''': Remember that psionic shields apply before resistances, so this really only helps when you screw up (a lot of people also wildly overrate resist all in the first place). Get however much you care to.
* '''Armour Training''': Armour, however, does apply before shields. It also only works on melee and archery attacks, so most people don't like it. It's also likely that your best armour is [[Robe of Force|some]] [[Spider-Silk Robe of Spydrë|sort]] [[Evermoss Robe|of]] [[Spider-Silk Robe of Spydrë|robe]] or light armour, for which this talent does absolutely nothing.
* '''Combat Accuracy''': Maybe put one point in this really early and then take it out. Later, even if you do happen to melee things, your accuracy will be enormous because you're using mindstars and have willpower. 0/5
* '''Weapon Mastery''', '''Dagger Mastery''', '''Exotic Weapon Mastery''': You're hoping to stop using these as soon as possible; any points you put in should be temporary like combat accuracy. 0/5


====Voracity====
Mainly useful if you run out of psi. The slowing from Kinetic Leech is good if you don't kill things quickly, but you probably do kill things quickly. Thermal leech and charge leech are only useful early, later on the freezing/damage isn't really good for much, and there's no way you're running out of psi so often that you need more than Kinetic Leech (usually you don't need anything). For the same reason, you probably don't want Insatiable.


====Mental Discipline====
* '''Aura Discipline''': If you care about aura cooldowns or aura energy drain, something is seriously wrong. 1/5
* '''Shield Discipline''': Either 1/5 or 5/5 depending on how often you find yourself needing to use shields more than twice (Absorption Mastery) in succession.
* '''Iron Will''': Getting stunned/frozen is always bad, probably 5/5 unless you have other sources and can get 100% stun immunity with fewer points.
* '''Highly Trained Mind''': Increase your 2 important stats. However many points you want, but likely 5, there aren't that many other places to spend generics.


====Finer energy manipulations (locked)====
Great category for adventurers, not so much for conventionally played mindslayers.
* '''Perfect Control''': Mindlash doesn't use accuracy or physical critical chance.
* '''Reshape Weapon''': Absolutely fantastic talent, huge melee damage increase, huge spell damage increase if you use it on a staff. Unfortunately, it does diddly squat for Mindlash; only useful if you intend to hit things with your mindstars a lot, which, again, really isn't something you should be aspiring to do. Or if you're using a staff for some reason.
* '''Reshape Armour''': Fairly small armour increase and you don't care about fatigue at all.
* '''Matter is Energy''': Solves your psi problems forever. Too bad you don't have any psi problems.


====Mindstar Mastery====
Buy this unlocked from Zigur, for 750 gold. You do not need to be antimagic to do so, but you can't be undead. Do not take this category or any of its talents from escorts! That will lock the mastery at 0.8, screwing you over.
* '''Psiblades''': Once you get artifact mindstars, the mindpower/willpower/cunning increase from this talent will be very large and you likely want 5 points in it. It does apply to your telekinetic weapon. Note that even then, you're probably not going to get your regular melee attacks to do more damage than Mindlash. '''WARNING:''' Due to a bug in 1.0.4, you should deactivate this talent before saving. If you load a game with Psiblades sustained, the base stats of your wielded mindstars may permanently and irreversibly decrease. You should also deactivate the talent before boosting the category's mastery, but that's a terrible use of a category point anyway.
* '''Thorn Grab''': Instant slow. If there's something dangerous next to you, use this on it and it will become less dangerous at no cost to you. Probably still a 1/5 talent.
* '''Leaves Tide''': The damage is terrible, but that flat chance to avoid damage does apply to you, not just allies, making it very good. The damage avoidance is capped at 40% before applying the mindstar multiplier (you can tell whether you're at the cap by taking off your mindstars and then looking at the talent).
* '''Nature's Equilibrium''': If your mainhand mindstar is good enough, late in the game this actually has a good chance of doing better damage than Mindlash, though it's still stuck with a cooldown and all the disadvantages of being melee. Having the heal available is nice, but it doesn't really scale very well. Probably 1/5.


====Survival====
You can get all the piercing sight you need from escorts. One talent that may not be obvious is Charm Mastery: it's actually one of the best talents in the game, because it reduces the power costs on artifacts. If Wanderer's Rest seems ridiculous, imagine how ridiculous it is when you can use it two turns in a row.


====Antimagic====
* '''Resolve''': Again, psionic shields apply before resistances, so despite your high mindpower, this only helps if you screw up.
* '''Aura of Silence''': Since you are mindpower-based, this talent is actually likely to work.
* '''Antimagic Shield''': Psionic shields also apply before this. Also one of the worst-scaling talents in the game, complete joke on high difficulties even with mindpower.
* '''Mana Clash''': Even if you do drain all of an enemy's resource (which isn't always likely, many NPCs have huge mana bars), this doesn't actually reliably deactivate their sustains. Damage will never approach Mindlash.


====Fungus====
You get this tree by talking to Myssil after killing Urkis. You must be antimagic. '''It will be locked.'''
* '''Wild Growth''': You shouldn't be taking nearly enough damage to need extra turns on regeneration. 1/5
* '''Fungal Growth''': The percentage doesn't get high enough to bother. 1/5
* '''Ancestral Life''': Only Fungus talent that is really useful for this class - the turn bonus will easily reach 100%, letting you reliably get extra turns without having to count them. Remember to cancel any existing regeneration before using another regeneration or heal. Use however many points you need for 100%.
* '''Sudden Growth''': It's unlikely you need more heals. 1/5 if you put any points in at all.


====Harmony====
You get this tree by eating Heart of the Sandworm Queen while not undead. It will be locked. Don't unlock it.


===Good prodigies===
* '''Cauterize''': If you think you're going to die. Remember that this prodigy only reliably saves you if you are 100% global speed or above - otherwise, the turn of invincibility may end before you get an action, and enemies might kill you in that time. This prodigy is compatible with antimagic, you just need to use runes 1000 times beforehand (try sitting in a town, putting a shield on auto-use, putting a rock on the 5 key, and going outside you disgusting neckbeard).
* '''Crafty Hands''': If you happen to take Stone Alchemy. +10 to all stats or +20% to all damage isn't as good as some other prodigies here, but it's not a waste either.
* '''Draconic Body''': If you're not paranoid enough to get Cauterize, but paranoid enough to want something that's similar to it but mostly worse. Or you just don't want to bother filling its ridiculous requirements.
* '''Draconic Will''': Like Spine of the World and Unbreakable Will, except much, much, much better.
* '''Fungal Blood''': In the event you do go antimagic and get Fungus, you can use this to get free turns (use an instant infusion, use fungal blood, cancel regeneration, repeat). Garbage otherwise.
* '''Garkul's Revenge''': Orcs are humanoids, as are the final bosses. If you get this it should only be after Mental Tyranny or Temporal Form, as it represents a much lower damage increase.
* '''Mental Tyranny''': Mind damage is very easy to stack, especially compared to physical, and this lets your Conduit damage benefit from the boost too. Huge damage increase, the only way you wouldn't want this if you get Temporal Form.
* '''Swift Hands''': Best prodigy in the game even without Temporal Form, due to the ability to be wearing the perfect equipment for any situation, and also instantly equip and use your [[Wrap of Stone]]/[[Wanderer's Rest]]/[[Eden's Guile]]. Also the least fun prodigy in the game. Doesn't make Telekinetic Grasp instant, but who cares?
* '''Temporal Form''': Even more damage than Mental Tyranny, at least if you abuse it - the bonus isn't reactive, so you can stack up one damage type, then switch out for equipment with temporal damage bonuses, allowing you to benefit from both at once. This is also a pain in the butt, so you may prefer Mental Tyranny anyway.
* '''Windtouched Speed''': 15% more global speed is 15% more Mindlashes. Doesn't actually require antimagic, despite the description.


===Bad prodigies===
* '''Tricky Defenses'''