What are you favorite Cipher spells?

[Verde]

So now is a great time play a Cipher due to buffs to casting speeds and durations. I've been playing around with Mindstalkers and a few spells really stand out to me:

 

1. Borrowed Instinct - really fast and powerful, both as a buff and debuff. Really is a game-changer for martial builds.

 

2. Secret Horrors - fast and good AoE. Effectively shuts down casters. Maybe a bit too powerful for a PL3 spell

 

3. Mental Binding- ahhh nostalgia. The single most OP low level spell in PoE1. Alas we may never see low level AoE-paralyzes again but recent buffs return it to a portion of it's former glory, making it useful again.

 

What about you? Any Cipher spells really stand out to you?

Edited July 9, 2018 by Verde

[hansvedic]

So now is a great time play a Cipher due to buffs to casting speeds and durations. I've been playing around with Mindstalkers and a few spells really stand out to me:

 

1. Borrowed Instinct - really fast and powerful, both as a buff and debuff. Really is a game-changer for martial builds.

 

2. Secret Horrors - fast and good AoE. Effectively shuts down casters. Maybe a bit too powerful for a PL3 spell

 

3. Mental Binding- ahhh nostalgia. The single most OP low level spell in PoE1. Alas we may never see low level AoE-paralyzes again but recent buffs return it to a portion of it's former glory, making it useful again.

 

What about you? Any Cipher spells really stand out to you?

 

Re #2: If you can close the distance (such as with a rogue's Escape ability), Ryngrim's Repulsive Visage is probably better than Secret Horrors. Still, Secret Horrors can be cast as many times as you like, so it has that going for it along with being a ranged attack.

 

EDIT: Still, we're talking cipher spells here, so I'll go ahead and throw out Whispers/Dominate/Ringleader as useful stuff.

Edited July 9, 2018 by hansvedic

[InsaneCommander]

Most used: Mental Binding

 

Favorite: Desintegration

 

Honorable mentions: Defensive Mindweb, Pain Block, Body Attunement

[Verde]

 

So now is a great time play a Cipher due to buffs to casting speeds and durations. I've been playing around with Mindstalkers and a few spells really stand out to me:

 

1. Borrowed Instinct - really fast and powerful, both as a buff and debuff. Really is a game-changer for martial builds.

 

2. Secret Horrors - fast and good AoE. Effectively shuts down casters. Maybe a bit too powerful for a PL3 spell

 

3. Mental Binding- ahhh nostalgia. The single most OP low level spell in PoE1. Alas we may never see low level AoE-paralyzes again but recent buffs return it to a portion of it's former glory, making it useful again.

 

What about you? Any Cipher spells really stand out to you?

Re #2: If you can close the distance (such as with a rogue's Escape ability), Ryngrim's Repulsive Visage is probably better than Secret Horrors. Still, Secret Horrors can be cast as many times as you like, so it has that going for it along with being a ranged attack.

 

EDIT: Still, we're talking cipher spells here, so I'll go ahead and throw out Whispers/Dominate/Ringleader as useful stuff.

Agreed. Visage is really powerful. Only minor downside is cast time, but high deflection usually makes it a non issue.

[mosspit]

Psychovampiric Shield - Long duration debuff of -10 Res which means applying subsequent Will targeting attacks become easier.

 

Mental Binding - Its effects are useful but duration is a tad short when compared against the base recovery of actions. The star here is the cast speed. At ~0.5sec, it can be used as an on-demand hard "interrupt" to enemy action.

Edited July 9, 2018 by mosspit

[Haplok]

Mind Blades: Fast cast, can be spammed, particularly on an Ascendant. When there are 2-3 enemies without particular slash resistance, the damage is pretty great due to all the bouncing (and contrary to PoE1, the chain does not get interrupted by misses). Also scales very well, adding another bounce every 2 PL (so +3 PL from Ascension helps a lot).

 

Ectopsychic Echo: Targets Reflex (only this and Soul Shock does), can do sick damage over the duration to 1-3 enemies if positioned well. Also if you have good crit chances, can generate a lot of extra Focus with The Complete Self.

 

Tenuous Grasp: Was skeptical at first due to single target and "soft" debuff, BUT it costs nothing and debuffs both Int and Res for a total of -20 to Will save. Hilarity ensues if enemy is weak to Int or Res afflictions... Cast this, smack an enemy with the club modal, and voila, -45 Will for next to nothing. Can go nuts and also cast Psychovampiric Shield for -65 Will.

 

Mental Binding: worse then in PoE1, but still, with decent intellect, it's pretty good to stunlock a boss or as an "oh ****" panic button to save a squishy (or the Cipher himself).

 

Secret Horrors: Wide area, fast cast, shuts down enemy abilities and spells, debuffs healing, Will and Fortitude. What's not to like?

 

Phantom Foes: Again large area, fast cast, cheap, debuffs enemy Deflection, preps them for Sneak attacks (well, there are many conditions for that, but none as wide+cheap as this and Deflection debuff helps the whole party).

 

 

I actually find most of Cipher powers good or very good. 

Edited July 11, 2018 by Haplok

[Boeroer]

My favored Cipher spell atm is Soul Ignition.

 

Just because it works with the Ring of Focused Flame (+10 ACC) and Magran's Favor (+2 PL).

 

If I have somebody with a Morning Star (+Body Blows) in the party (and I usually have) the fortitude defense is no problem.

 

It's only so that usually more than one party member wants to wear that ring...

[hansvedic]

Now that I'm thinking more about Cipher powers, does anyone know if you can have more than 1 Wild Leech on the same target?

For instance, if your first Wild Leech applies a Constitution affliction and the 2nd applies a different affliction, would both be on there, or just the 2nd one?

If you can stack multiple Wild Leeches, it might make it possible to buff a cipher with just about every Tier 1 inspiration out there in long battles.

[Verde]

Now that I'm thinking more about Cipher powers, does anyone know if you can have more than 1 Wild Leech on the same target?

 

For instance, if your first Wild Leech applies a Constitution affliction and the 2nd applies a different affliction, would both be on there, or just the 2nd one?

 

If you can stack multiple Wild Leeches, it might make it possible to buff a cipher with just about every Tier 1 inspiration out there in long battles.

Great question and no, you can't:( I recently just tested.

[Boeroer]

Oh, contrary to PoE where you could. Too bad: makes Wild Leech even less interesting.

[Verde]

Which is a better combo with Borrowed Instinct, Wild Leech or Body Att?

[mant2si]

Oh, contrary to PoE where you could. Too bad: makes Wild Leech even less interesting.

Yep, Wild Leech should buff you with random L3 inspiration, and debuff enemy with random L2 affliction

[grasida]

That’s a good idea, level 3 afflictions would probably be too powerful, but level three inspirations can really change how your character approaches combat (immunity to engagement, immunity to interrupt, interrupt on crit, etc). Having a random one could encourage you to change the way you approach encounters in an interesting way.

[no1fanboy]

Wouldnt ring leader far and away be the most powerful spell in the game?

[hansvedic]

Which is a better combo with Borrowed Instinct, Wild Leech or Body Att?

 

Well, it depends on what your build is like.

 

If you're going for high defenses and don't have other ways of buffing attributes, I'd say Wild Leech; as long as you don't get the resolve one (can get the resolve boost from Psychovampiric shield), you're essentially getting +10 to a particular defense.

 

If your build isn't a high defense build and you don't have another active way of adding armor, I suppose Body Attunement would potentially be better.

[Verde]

 

Which is a better combo with Borrowed Instinct, Wild Leech or Body Att?

Well, it depends on what your build is like.

 

If you're going for high defenses and don't have other ways of buffing attributes, I'd say Wild Leech; as long as you don't get the resolve one (can get the resolve boost from Psychovampiric shield), you're essentially getting +10 to a particular defense.

 

If your build isn't a high defense build and you don't have another active way of adding armor, I suppose Body Attunement would potentially be better.

I'm a Trickster/Beguiler with Riposte so my deflection can reach crazy levels. So with that said Wild Leech is prob better? Edited July 10, 2018 by Verde

[hansvedic]

 

 

Which is a better combo with Borrowed Instinct, Wild Leech or Body Att?

Well, it depends on what your build is like.

 

If you're going for high defenses and don't have other ways of buffing attributes, I'd say Wild Leech; as long as you don't get the resolve one (can get the resolve boost from Psychovampiric shield), you're essentially getting +10 to a particular defense.

 

If your build isn't a high defense build and you don't have another active way of adding armor, I suppose Body Attunement would potentially be better.

I'm a Trickster/Beguiler with Riposte so my deflection can reach crazy levels. So with that said Wild Leech is prob better?

 

 

 

I'd say yes, especially since you are a rogue; applying afflictions = sneak attack.

 

EDIT: Of course, there are other ways to apply afflictions, but still...

Edited July 10, 2018 by hansvedic

[Verde]

Ahhh great pt, forget it applied an affliction. Thanks!

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

This my current reference list for cipher characters:

 

 

blindsight lingering echoes

 

draining whip two-handed mentalbinding

 

ectopsychic hammering thot secret horror

 

body block scream

 

keen mind borrowed instinct ringleader

 

amp wave disintegration improved critical

 

ancestor's mem complete self keen mind

 

time parasite knives mindweb

 

cuts

shared nightmare

prestige

 

That's for a CC-oriented cipher of course. 

Edited July 10, 2018 by Dr. Hieronymous Alloy

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

My favored Cipher spell atm is Soul Ignition.

 

Just because it works with the Ring of Focused Flame (+10 ACC) and Magran's Favor (+2 PL).

 

If I have somebody with a Morning Star (+Body Blows) in the party (and I usually have) the fortitude defense is no problem.

 

It's only so that usually more than one party member wants to wear that ring...

 

Yeah, I usually give that ring to Xoti for the high-level priest nukes instead.

[Archaven]

a sudden popularity of cipher class. beware.. the next nerf-hammer incoming

[arkane83]

a sudden popularity of cipher class. beware.. the next nerf-hammer incoming

 

This thread should be titled: 

 

What cipher abilities would you like nerfed in 1.3?

[AndreaColombo]

What cipher abilities would you like nerfed in 1.3?

 

All of them.

 

I want MOAR blanket nerfs.

[MaxQuest]

What about you? Any Cipher spells really stand out to you?

It depends on perspective.

Looking at power's impact during a fight, Disintegration/1000 Cuts, Ring Leader and Amplified Wave do stand out to me.

 

 

But it also matters on the build and cipher's niche in party. Not to mention how early a power can be acquired.

For spell damage-dealing cipher, my (favorite + most-used)/2 powers are: (from top to bottom)

- Amplified Wave

- Soul Shock

- Silent Scream

- Disintegration

- Detonate

- Echo

- Puppet Master

 

Streetfighter/ascendant damage dealer feels quite decent in v1.2. Not as OP as devout/ascendant prior to v1.1.. but still deals respectable total damage.

 

 

P.S. I haven't tried a pure cc-focused cipher in Deadfire yet. They don't seem to be reliable and needed enough.

But Dominate/WT/Ringeader and Secret Horrors do stand out for such a cipher.

[Boeroer]

Haha - I see you read the the patchnotes-for-1.2 thread.