Help with BloodMage/Psion

[Pharaoh]

I decided to make a bloodmage/psion to play the game.

I have the community patch to make psion viable.

However I have no idea which spells/powers to pick at each level.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Shai Hulud]

3 hours ago, Pharaoh said:

I decided to make a bloodmage/psion to play the game.

I have the community patch to make psion viable.

However I have no idea which spells/powers to pick at each level.

Any help would be appreciated.

Exactly what you want probably depends how you intend to use the character and on which party members you want to bring. A blood mage / psion works best as a ranged caster (as opposed to blood mage / soul blade which is a melee char) so I'll assume that's the intended role.

pale elf, old vailia (can take any race but not a big fan of godlikes, I'd take an elf, human, wild orlan, or coastal auamau)

MIG/CON/DEX/PER/INT/RES - 13/12/12/19/19/3 - doesn't need to be this exact, but generally this character does not need resolve, so you can dump it. You want max PER and INT so spells hit and last longer. And the rest you divide up among middling levels of MIG/CON/DEX. For most chars I'd lower CON some more but you want enough to be able to blood sacrifice. And normally I'd use higher DEX but since you build spells passively it is not as important to have high DEX to generate focus. 

For grimoires you could pick the grimoires with the best spells (ironclasped, ninagauth, jernaugh's, llengrath's, arkemyr) and memorize few spells or use the grimoire of vaporous wizardry which gives you one more cast per level but basically requires you to carry an injury and wear rekvu's fractured casque so you aren't interrupted when you take damage. If you go vaporous route you have to memorize more wizard spells as its spell selection isn't the best. For this build I'm going the route of using the grimoires with the best spells so I can pick more cipher abilities. 

1 - whispers of treason, eldritch aim (or chill fog or slicken, though these are easy to find in grimoires)
2 - lingering echoes
3 - penetrating visions
4 - mental binding (!), weapon and shield style (or a wizard spell like chill fog, slicken, or combusting wounds)
5 - mind blades
6 - psychovampiric shield
7 - soul ignition (!), bear's fortitude
8 - secret horrors
9 - recall agony
10 - pain block, pull of eora (!)
11 - iron will
12 - phantom foes 
13 - borrowed instinct (!), farcasting
14 - echoing shield
15 - tactical meld
16 - disintegration (!), tough
17 - the empty soul (!)
18 - rapid casting
19 - ancestor's memory (!), wall of draining (!)
20 - echoing horror

You could take scion of flame, spirit of decay, etc. if you find you're using a particular element a lot, but the best offensive cipher spells do raw damage and I'd generally rather have more spells. You also don't have to take tough, rapid casting or farcasting but I find they help a lot.

The best wizard spells you can just cast out of grimoires and switch to another during the recovery phase of a spell, so you don't really have to memorize ANY wizard spells, but I like to take pull of eora because it is good and not in any of the major grimoires, and wall of draining because it is really good and of the major grimoires only in vaporous and jernaugh.

These are IMO the best non-unique wizard spells for a caster
L1 - Chill Fog (!), Slicken (!), Eldritch Aim (when you need an accuracy boost)
L2 - Miasma of Dull-Mindedness (!), Combusting Wounds (!), Concelhaut's Corrosive Siphon (!), Arcane Veil, Infuse with Vital Essence
L3 - Deleterious Alacrity of Motion, Llengrath's Displaced Image, Arcane Dampener, Fireball
L4 - Pull of Eora (!), Essential Phantom, Maura's Writhing Tentacles, Ironskin
L5 - Ryngrim's Enervating Terror, Ninagauth's Bitter Mooring, Call to Slumber, Llengrath's Safeguard (!)
L6 - Minoletta's Precisely Piercing Burst (!), Arcane Reflection, Gaze of the Adragan, Ninagauth's Freezing Pillar, Arkemyr's Capricious Hex
L7 - Delayed Fireball, Wall of Draining (!)

There are also several spells limited to certain grimoires, of which these are the best IMO 

L2 - Concelhaut's Draining Missiles (!) - Ironclasped
L4 - Ninagauth's Shadowflame (!) - Ninagauth's Teachings
L6 - Jernaugh's Equalizing Burst (!) - Jernaugh's Careful Calamities, Arkemyr's Brilliant Departure (!) - Arkemyr's Grimoire / Arkemyr's Illuminating Discoveries
L7 - Concelhaut's Crushing Doom (!) - Ironclasped

And this is probably the equipment I'd wear (going top down left column then right)

 

Acina's Tricorn - gives +5 accuracy to most spells
Charm of Bones - +2INT, +5accuracy vs vessels
Fleshmender - for bonus quick slot mostly, so you can carry more grimoires and potions, also has good armor for leather
Kuaru's Prize - +1 INT/PER, 5% spell damage
Boots of the Stone - +1DEX/RES, resistance to might aff
giftbearer's cloth - +fort/ref/will scaling with history (+17.5 here with 20 history), +1 weapon sets, +1 quick item slots
grimoires - jernaughs, arkemyr's, ironclasped, ninagauth, llengrath (also have vaporous here, but you need to wear rekvu's casque if using that)
gauntlets of accuracy - +3 accuracy (healing hands also nice)
chameleon's ring - +1INT/PER, +1 arcana/insight
upright captain's belt - +1 con, start with concentration, but mostly for its immunity to push/pull so you aren't affected by pull of eora and similar spells/abilities
blinky - resistance to PER afflictions, +5 melee accuracy which also applies to most spells. It's a late game pet, earlier you can use harley or abraham

weapons - you won't be using them, so they're mostly stat sticks or defensive shields
slot 1 - griffin's blade with hound's courage, outworn buckler
slot 2 - kapana taga (mostly for club modal will debuff), lethandria's devotion
slot 3 - lance of the midwood stag - cast wall of draining after getting woodskin to maintain lord of the forest's +2 power levels
slot 4 - griffin's blade with hound's courage + sun and moon

Edited May 30, 2023 by Shai Hulud

[Boeroer]

As a Wizard I would pick the spells at level up that I really and def. want to cast on every fight - and not one more. The rest you can cast from Grimoires. Spare the ability points for the Psion's powers and passives in general. 

The Psion (as all Ciphers) has access to one of the most impactful mechanics there is in Deadfire combat: mind control (Charmed or Dominated). So usually that's what I put most emphasis on when playing a Psion. A Bloodmage (as all Wizards) has plenty of spells that cause friendly fire. You can see that as disadvantage when it comes to charmed enemies (cannot hurt charmed enemies because they will flip back to hostile) or advantage (can even hurt charmed enemies with spells). In case of dominated enemies it can be very good because you can occupy enemies with their dominated formes allies and still torch the whole place with spells without regret.  

There's a superb wizard spell, also accessible by Bloodmage of course, that works extremely well in combination with all mind control spells of the Psion - and all other powers and spells that target the Will defense (Phantom Foes, Secret Horrors, Exposed Vulnerabilities, Ryngrim's spells etc.). That spell is Miasma of Dull-Mindedness. It drops the Will defense by 40 points and also makes your effects last a lot longer on the enemy.

I'd say there is not much better individual synergy effect between Wizard and Cipher than this single spell. Also in combination with the cipher passives that circle around spells against will and also critical hits with spells. 

If you also have a party member who can wield a club + modal: even better. 

Other spells that are very useful:

All the self-buffs of the Wizard, most notably the defensive ones. They will help a lot to prevent focus generation stops: if your defenses are high you are less likely to receive a critical hit.

Chillfog - ist just a very good spell.

Concelhaut's Draining Touch in combination with an Essential Phantom. It adds a summon to your "army" of mind controlled enemies that hits real hard because Draining Touch targets Will instead of deflection. It also drains health so the phantom will be tanker. On the phantom it will not vanish after one hit + if you summon it first and then the phantom it will stay there for the rest of the phantom's duration.

Expose Vulnerabilities in combo with Phantom Foes. This will reduce enemies AR by 3 points. Start with Phantom Foes, then Exp. Vulnerability. By the time you finish the wizard spell the focus spend for Phantom Foes has already "grown" back.  

Secret Horrors is a good spell to shut down most enemies' offensive abilities quickly. It also lowers Will so it can be a good opener to soften enemies up for Miasma and then the individual mind controll uses such as Whisper of Treason or later Puppet Master. It's also cheap enough to regain that focus very quickly as Psion.

Borrowed Instincts and Tactical Meld. The latter only if you don't use a Priest with PER inspiration buffs. 

Disintegrate is very good in this case, too because it doesn't flip back charmed enemies. You can charm a tough enemy and then disintegrate it without any stress. Soul Ignition, too. But Disintegrate is a lot more potent.

 

 

 

 

[Pharaoh]

Thanks for your replies @Boeroer and @Shai Hulud.

I noticed nobody mentioned Amplified Wave.

Is it not that good?

I remember it being one of the best cipher spells in PoE1.

[abot]

Amplified wave is good if you can lower enemy fortitude, I would pick it for sure with a mage multiclass
with a troubadour I prefer Screaming Souls as it targets will, does raw damage + distraction and it is easy to target on chanter summons

[Boeroer]

It's still good - but a bit less potent as in PoE.
The range is shorter, its casting time is longer (3 secs casting + 4 secs recovery), the prone effect is shorter (+INT has no effect on prone duration) and it has relatively low base Penetration in Deadfire. 
The base AoE is a bit bigger - but in Deadfire AoE size doesn't increase as steeply as it did in PoE with INT etc. (because in PoE the radius was increased so the AoE grew quadratically while in Deadfire the area size is increased directly so it grows "only" linearly with INT etc.).

[Tomucci]

On 5/30/2023 at 9:26 AM, Shai Hulud said:

pale elf, old vailia (can take any race but not a big fan of godlikes, I'd take an elf, human, wild orlan, or coastal auamau)

Does the PL boost from nature godlike increase psions focus regen rate? If so I think that's pretty strong, in addition to all the other bonuses you get from increased PL, plus very easy to trigger with this build

Edited June 2, 2023 by Tomucci

[Boeroer]

5 hours ago, Tomucci said:

Does the PL boost from nature godlike increase psions focus regen rate? If so I think that's pretty strong, in addition to all the other bonuses you get from increased PL, plus very easy to trigger with this build

Yes, it does. Stacking universal Power Levels is great for boosting the Psion's focus generation. So stuff like the Lance of the Midwood Stag (+2 PL) is a nice "stat stick" for a Psion (if you have a Druid with Woodskin and/or Form of the Delemgan). Also Stone of Power...

[Shai Hulud]

14 hours ago, Tomucci said:

Does the PL boost from nature godlike increase psions focus regen rate? If so I think that's pretty strong, in addition to all the other bonuses you get from increased PL, plus very easy to trigger with this build

Yes but not much. It's 1 power level (that wouldn't even always be up--easiest way would be keep up infuse or deleterious), not worth losing access to helmets, but you can build around it I guess.

Should note if OP wanted to use vaporous grimoire it is a very bad idea to go godlike since you can't wear rekvu's fractured casque. Even if you don't use vaporous that helm is extremely useful in some battles. Even ignoring the casque I question whether one power level is worth losing 4 accuracy from acina's tricorn and other racial bonus, whether that's fighting spirit or elemental endurance or defiant resolve.

Better ways to gain power levels: drink potion of ascension, switch to lance of the midwood stag when bloodied (then wall of draining / salvation of time), stone of power, wand of the weyc, etc.

Edited June 3, 2023 by Shai Hulud

[Boeroer]

By the way: If you switch away from the Lance while having woodskin, form of the delemgan or any plant effect (also see tanglefoot or thorny roots) you will immediately lose the +2 Power Levels from Lord of the Forest. If you switch back to the Lance the PL bonus will also be back. 

It is worth going Nature Godlike if the 1 additional PL brings your Soul Mind focus generation over the edge to generate 1 more focus per second - which is a huge improvement. If it doesn't then maybe not, although +1 PL does a lot more for you than simply add a bit of additional focus - see +1 ACC, +5% base dmg, +5% duration, +0.25 PEN and all that.

Iirc Wellspring of Life + Lord of the Forest are exactly worth +1 more focus per second for the Psion. Since the Psion generates Focus at all times, even while casting and recovering and even while CC'd in most cases (as long as not critically Hit), this is a very good bonus imo.

If you don't want Nature Godlike then Stone of Power can substitute it, you keep the +1 focus and can enjoy the benefits of a helmet. 

It may also depend on party vs solo - and on what you are willing to invest on a regular basis in fights.

I personally wouldn't want to chuck a potion for getting to a decent PL threshold, but instead I would want to achieve a better focus generation with abilities and gear that I can use in every fight (in case of Stone of Power you'd need two of those then) and which I can get access to relatively early (see Nature God-like and Lance of the Midwood Stag).

So with recommendations I personally will not take into account stuff like potions, Wall of Draining and Wand of the Weyc etc.

The first I would be reluctant to use all the time (actually I'd never use it, that's my own lil' challenge) and the second come pretty late so that the game is too far advanced in terms of "time played vs. time left to play".

Hence I recommended Lance otMS if you have a Druid in the party who can cast Woodskin and Form of the Delemgan. That's easy, reliable and early access to the +2 PL of the Lance. Reling on becoming blooded for that one cast of woodskin would be too fiddly for my personal taste as the only source for the PL boost, but of course it's a source that's accessible as soon as you get that enchantment on the Lance, especially with a Bloodmage.  

A Death Godlike can also be a good source of PL for a Psion. Being near death raises your focus by 1/sec right away. But of course it's also super risky if you don't go the Barring Death's Door + WoD/SoT route. For me personally not worth the hassle. 

Nature Godlike or Stone of Power is easier and I like the thematic fit of Nature Godlike + Lance of the Midwood Stag/Lord of the Forest. For me the thematic fit is an important part of whether I enjoy playing a build or not. I guess that's different for everybody though.

Edited June 4, 2023 by Boeroer

[Shai Hulud]

16 hours ago, Boeroer said:

So with recommendations I personally will not take into account stuff like potions, Wall of Draining and Wand of the Weyc etc.

The first I would be reluctant to use all the time (actually I'd never use it, that's my own lil' challenge) and the second come pretty late so that the game is too far advanced in terms of "time played vs. time left to play".

Potions are part of the game, not even removed by ultimate challenge, why not use them? None of them are particularly broken besides potion of final stand. And there aren't that many difficult combats, I've never had trouble creating enough potions of ascension for them. Quill leaves are their most rare component but if you buy them when you come across them you can get 40+ per game even without wait-cycling vendor inventories. I guess you're one of those guys who hordes consumables in games where they're meant to be used? I used to horde consumables and ingredients but games are really better if you use them...

The +1 power level from wellspring of life would be more impactful at lower levels where the +1 focus per second is more meaningful. From my testing at L20 it didn't make any difference at least with the items I was using, which had me at 7 focus per second with or without wellspring (I'm assuming you don't gain fractional focus for power levels in between). But with some combinations of items it could make a difference, I just don't think it's worth losing the versatility of a helmet. Even without the helmet some other racial bonuses are really good like fighting spirit and elemental endurance. But to each his own.

Wall of Draining does not necessarily come that late. It is dependent on pathing and party size. I've played games where I have wall of draining before doing a single fight. Wand of the Weyc does come pretty late, admittedly, but the hardest fights are also very late. 

16 hours ago, Boeroer said:

Hence I recommended Lance otMS if you have a Druid in the party who can cast Woodskin and Form of the Delemgan. That's easy, reliable and early access to the +2 PL of the Lance. Reling on becoming blooded for that one cast of woodskin would be too fiddly for my personal taste as the only source for the PL boost, but of course it's a source that's accessible as soon as you get that enchantment on the Lance, especially with a Bloodmage.  

Besides wall of draining a priest can also extend as early as level 11, though by itself lord of the forest probably doesn't merit the cast, but it's an AOE so could be useful when multiple party members want things extended.

With blood mages I usually blood sacrifice to half health anyway to trigger llengrath's safeguard and regain spell slots. One can easily heal with party spells, healing hands, or even the blood mage passive. I've found you can cast pull of eora and wall of draining while invisible so if you have arkemyr's brilliant departure it is very easy to extend effects rapidly, even from just one wall of draining. 

16 hours ago, Boeroer said:

A Death Godlike can also be a good source of PL for a Psion. Being near death raises your focus by 1/sec right away. But of course it's also super risky if you don't go the Barring Death's Door + WoD/SoT route. For me personally not worth the hassle. 

I really don't like godlikes but I'd rather use a death godlike than nature. Potion of Final Stand + WOD = invulnerability. And the potions can be scripted to be consumed at any health so it isn't actually that risky at that point. But yes would be very risky early.

16 hours ago, Boeroer said:

Nature Godlike or Stone of Power is easier and I like the thematic fit of Nature Godlike + Lance of the Midwood Stag/Lord of the Forest. For me the thematic fit is an important part of whether I enjoy playing a build or not. I guess that's different for everybody though.

I can see how thematically that would be interesting I guess. I generally just recommend what I think is most effective. 

I acknowledge there are some benefits of nature godlikes here but helmets provide so much versatility that losing one is not worth the tradeoff IMO (and you also lose the other racial which can be very good like fighting spirit). None of the godlike abilities are strong enough to warrant the tradeoff barring some special builds with death godlikes, and I doubt I'm the only one who sees it this way since godlikes were, for example, buffed in elric's balance polishing mod.

[Boeroer]

8 hours ago, Shai Hulud said:

Potions are part of the game, not even removed by ultimate challenge, why not use them? 

That's your preference. As I made clear not using them is just mine. OP might tend towards your preference or mine.

8 hours ago, Shai Hulud said:

 I guess you're one of those guys who hordes consumables in games where they're meant to be used?

No. As I explicitly wrote above I simply don't use consumables as part of a little personal challenge. I find using them cumbersome (and I especially don't like that scrolls take away the uniqueness of class abilities). 

Instead of hording them I just sell all consumables (except food bc. you are kind of forced to use food/drink while resting).

But I guess there are enough players who don't use consumables because they hoard them.

The reason for not making them an integral part of a character build doesn't matter though: if you don't like to use consumables then you shouldn't rely on them when planning a character concept.

If you have no problem with using them on a regular basis then that's not a problem of course.

8 hours ago, Shai Hulud said:

From my testing at L20 it didn't make any difference at least with the items I was using, which had me at 7 focus per second with or without wellspring (I'm assuming you don't gain fractional focus for power levels in between). But with some combinations of items it could make a difference, I just don't think it's worth losing the versatility of a helmet. 

That is why I explicitly wrote that Wellspring of Life is worth it - in my opinion - if it helps you to get over that threshold (+3 PL for 1 additional for us per sec) and otherwise... not. 

8 hours ago, Shai Hulud said:

Wall of Draining does not necessarily come that late. It is dependent on pathing and party size. 

For a multiclass character (like Bloodmage/Psion) it's accessible at level 19 out of 20. It comes very late in terms of character progression and still late enough in terms of game content. It's nice no doubt and often it is fun to use. I will absolutely use it myself with all sorts of buffs (see stuff like +50 deflection from the Magnificent Escape Cape) - I just wouldn't plan a build around it because the majority of time you play the game you will not be able to use it.

8 hours ago, Shai Hulud said:

I doubt I'm the only one who sees it this way since godlikes were, for example, buffed in elric's balance polishing mod.

I doesn't matter whether I am the only one who thinks godlikes are good or not (I don't think they are generally a good pick).

If one can make a good argument against Wellspring of Life in the scope of this thread then that's fine - as it is fine if somebody makes a good argument in favor of it.

In this case - as I said: it's worth it imo if it helps you to easily/conveniently get the +1 focus per second. In addition to that picking Nature Godlike is also worth it imo because of thematic reasons if you also want to use the Lance. That's my two points pro Nature Godlike. There are surely other points for another player race. If all those points are presented the OP can make an informed decision for himself. 

 

Edited June 5, 2023 by Boeroer

[dgray62]

IMO Nature Godlike is worth it if you use the BPM mod, as it provides a much needed boost to the godlikes. However, since I upgraded to a new computer a year ago I can no longer use BPM, as it for some reason crashes the game. For that reason, I typically go with the alternative @Boeroer recommended, a non-godlike race with Stone of Power. 

[Tomucci]

16 hours ago, Boeroer said:

But I guess there are enough players who don't use consumables because they hoard them.

This is me lol, started with hoarding because I wanted to save them, but then eventually became conditioned to the point where it just feels wrong so now I never use them. Same goes for per rest abilities.

[Shai Hulud]

21 hours ago, Boeroer said:

No. As I explicitly wrote above I simply don't use consumables as part of a little personal challenge. I find using them cumbersome (and I especially don't like that scrolls take away the uniqueness of class abilities). 

Probably cumbersome because you don't like scripting. I agree a lot of potions are cumbersome given short durations, limited effects, and most important for a wizard not enough quick slots. Potions of ascension though are once/fight item. I have a consumables scripting block that uses a number of potions or consumables and all I need to do is put a potion of ascension in a quick slot. I use them in hard fights but there are enough quill leaves I could use them more. Nothing else you'd want to use quill leaves for really.

Scrolls and potions are pretty standard crpg fare. Sometimes there's a class check or use magic device check. In Deadfire it's a deterministic arcana check. Makes sense to me someone who studies arcana sufficiently can use scrolls, regardless of class. Even with 20 arcana the scrolls are still typically worse than native caster spells. If you don't like scrolls that's fine but it's no reason not to recommend them if they're effective.

21 hours ago, Boeroer said:

The reason for not making them an integral part of a character build doesn't matter though: if you don't like to use consumables then you shouldn't rely on them when planning a character concept.

I agree, but we have no reason to think OP is against consumables, or that anyone is unless they state so. The default position should be to assume consumables are fine given they're all over the place and craftable. Making them a part of a build is fine. In some games not using consumables in builds is outright crippling your character (e.g. tyranny or pathfinder). In deadfire they aren't quite as necessary but the same principles apply, and IMO one should use them when beneficial for optimal results.

21 hours ago, Boeroer said:

For a multiclass character (like Bloodmage/Psion) it's accessible at level 19 out of 20. It comes very late in terms of character progression and still late enough in terms of game content. It's nice no doubt and often it is fun to use. I will absolutely use it myself with all sorts of buffs (see stuff like +50 deflection from the Magnificent Escape Cape) - I just wouldn't plan a build around it because the majority of time you play the game you will not be able to use it.

Yeah that's all fair enough. My perspective on "late"  is biased from playing smaller parties or solo. Also with high stealth it is pretty easy to save combat for when you're high level, regardless. This isn't a game where you're forced into low level combat or even mid level combat. I've had runs even with a full party where I reached l20 before hasongo. Probably shouldn't plan to play like this in most situations though, I agree, and I wouldn't do that for this character unless it's a solo run, but id still typically have over half the game left by l19 without even trying for optimal pathing.

I never thought to use magnificent escape cape in that way. If it stacks with other deflection buffs that's pretty cool.

21 hours ago, Boeroer said:

I doesn't matter whether I am the only one who thinks godlikes are good or not (I don't think they are generally a good pick).

If one can make a good argument against Wellspring of Life in the scope of this thread then that's fine - as it is fine if somebody makes a good argument in favor of it

I have no arguments against wellspring of life. I have arguments against (nature) godlikes. The abilities comes at too high a cost. You lose access to helmets and another racial bonus for a conditional +1 power level. Losing helmet access is a big negative. For wizards it means you can't use the grimoire of vaporous wizardry without risking constant interrupts since you can't wear rekvu's fractured casque, ever. And you can't use the Horns of the Bleak Mother when it benefits you, or cap of the laughingstock etc. And you also forgo other racial bonuses.

Fighting spirit and elemental endurance by themselves are competitive with wellspring, in many builds outright superior. Add helmets and you tip the scales against godlikes further.

I'd only even consider using godlikes for expert game users like you who know exactly what they're trading off and have already planned their entire parties. It would be frustrating to pick a godlike and find at some point you really need the casque for example.

With the balance polishing mod godlikes are significantly better and I would recommend them for some builds.

[Boeroer]

1 hour ago, Shai Hulud said:

Probably cumbersome because you don't like scripting.

It doesn't matter why I don't use consumables. I know I'm not the only one so it doesn't hurt to  give another reasonably argued point of view... so that OP can see if he agrees - or not - and then make a well-informed decision that matches with his wishes and expectations.

I'm not pushing somebody towards anything - I just give my perspective and then let OP decide whether that applies to him or not. 

1 hour ago, Shai Hulud said:

we have no reason to think OP is against consumables, or that anyone is unless they state so. The default position should be to assume consumables are fine given they're all over the place and craftable. Making them a part of a build is fine. 

Again: I'm not saying it's not fine. I'm saying that I - personally (stated that every time explicitly) - am not in favor of making consumables an integral part of my character. So if OP feels the same way or can somewhat relate then he can consider this - and if he doesn't agree then he can discard what I wrote. Better to read two reasonably written opinions on a matter than just one. 

1 hour ago, Shai Hulud said:

I never thought to use magnificent escape cape in that way. If it stacks with other deflection buffs that's pretty cool.

Yes, it stacks with everything except the Rogue's Escape. Later Veiled Hood (Mask of the Weyc) is the same: it stacks with everything except Arcane Veil. You can stack both and extend them with WoD for +100 deflection, which stacks with all other deflection buffs (like Mirrored Images or so). The downside of the cape is that you have to become bloodied in order to unlock it - but I guess that's not a big problem with a Bloodmage.

By the way, speaking of WoD: I also like to prolong Blightheart's healing on hit and Lesser Lay on Hands (gloves). You can switch Blightheart after shooting/receiving the heal effect. The healing will stay. Iirc it pulses and every pulse adds a healing over time and they can be individually prolonged (but maybe I remember wrong). I mean just in case one seeks some "self contained" healing options that work with Wall of Draining. 

Wall of Draining works best if enemies have beneficial effects which the Wall and drain from. If enemies don't have that then WoD doesn't work as well. You can makesureall enemies have a benefical effect to drain from by wearing the Cap of the Laughingstock. Its "Village Fool" enchantment gets automatically placed on enemies in range (as well as allies) and is considered a benefical effect - thus the Wall can drain duration from it, even though Village Fool has no duration (is infinite). 

 

 

[Shai Hulud]

Fair enough about godlikes and consumables. Moving on

Pretty sure you can script magnificent escape at any health level. I havent checked but assuming it works like other consumables the AI overrides the UI conditionals which is pretty cool. Just use "always true" and the ability and put it near the top. 

Blightheart is weird. I don't fully understand it but it has some weird properties like corrupting beauty pulses for some reason proc avenging storm bolts and sasha's singing scimitar weyc items etc. You're probably aware of all this and maybe can explain it to me but here's a clip I made showing how it works with stormspeakers

Are you sure wall of draining gives more time with beneficial effects? I havent noticed the slightest difference in time drained, it seems like it only depends on graze/hit/crit maybe...ive tested specifically with the cap because id heard it helped add time but I couldn't tell. Maybe it was patched out at some point? I could be mistaken my testing wasn't super rigorous

Edited June 6, 2023 by Shai Hulud

[Kaylon]

1 hour ago, Shai Hulud said:

Blightheart is weird. I don't fully understand it but it has some weird properties like corrupting beauty pulses for some reason proc avenging storm bolts and sasha's singing scimitar weyc items etc. You're probably aware of all this and maybe can explain it to me but here's a clip I made showing how it works with stormspeakers

Corrupting Beauty comes from a weapon and is probably considered also a weapon attack (like all weapon procs), thus triggering also Avenging Storm. Since you empowered Avenging Storm, all the bolts coming from it are considered empowered and will trigger the effects from Sasha, Weyc, etc... when hitting a new enemy (there's a long thread about empowered abilities triggering these effects multiple times).

[Boeroer]

Right. Also Corrupting Beauty has pulsing attack rolls (great for Avenging Storm) - but that's not mentioned in the description.