Psionics

This article covers expansion-only (Mindgames) content.

General information[]

Psionics are abilities introduced in the Mindgames Expansion that are comparable to spells found in traditional RPGs. They add a wide variety of useful powers vital to surviving in the Pit. Each Class is typically encouraged towards certain "schools" of psionics due to a higher starting score in certain skills or differences in Psi point pool or regen, e.g. Telekinesis for the Engineer, Manifestion for the Psion, Resistance for the Ranger and so on.

New abilities are unlocked as you invest into each of the 7 psionic skills. Casting a psionic costs Psi Points, along with 1 to 2 food, and will end your turn. After being used, it will take a certain number of moments before it can be used again. This waiting period is known as Recharge, abbreviated Rc.

Every class recovers Psi Points after a certain number of moments. The number of moments between each recovery and the amount of Psi Points that regenerate are based on the character class and the Difficulty Setting. The table below is ordered from the class that has the poorest Psi Point regeneration to the best. Please note that game doesn't display fractions for Psi Regeneration but it still counts them.

Psi Point regenerated / per X moments
Class	Easy	Normal	Hard	Insane	Seriously
Warrior	2 / 10	1 / 10	0.8 / 10	0.8 / 10	0.5 / 10
Mercenary	4 / 10	2 / 10	1.6 / 10	1.6 / 10	1 / 10
Engineer	4 / 8	2 / 8	1.6 / 8	1.6 / 8	0.5 / 8
Medic		2 / 4
Ranger	6 / 8	3 / 8	2.4 / 8	2.4 / 8	1.5 / 8
Marine	6 / 6	3 / 6	2.4 / 6	2.4 / 6	1.5 / 6
Shepherd	4 / 6	2 / 3	1.6 / 3	1.6 / 3	1 / 3
Scout	8 / 4	4 / 4	3.2 / 4	3.2 / 4	2 / 4
Striker	6 / 2	3 / 2	2.4 / 2	2.4 / 2	1.5 / 2
Psion	10 / 2	5 / 2	4 / 2	4 / 2	2.5 / 2
Seeker	6 / 1	3 / 1	2.4 / 1	2.4 / 1	1.5 / 1

Example: the Marine on Hard difficulty would recover 2.4 Psi every 6 moments, or viewed per moment it would be 0.4 Psi. The Scout on Hard would recover 3.2 Psi every 4 moments, effectively 0.8 Psi per moment.

Most Psionics improve in duration as their governing skill increases. The exact duration in moments of most psionics can be viewed in the SotSDex log. Targeted psionics can only be cast within your line of sight but not on an Invisible creature or furniture, with some exceptions (e.g. disguised Adaptoids).

The max amount of Psi Points for most classes is equal to Brains + Power * 2 + level bonus. It can be increased or decreased by serum Bio mods.
Most classes also gain psi points from levels: Shepherds gain 6 per level, Psions, Seekers, Strikers, and Scouts gain 5, Marines gain 3, Engineers gain 2, Mercenaries and Rangers gain 1, and Warriors gain 0.
Power has no direct effect on the strength of psionics, but more psi points does allow for certain potent combos and more frequent use of low-cost psionics. Whether an offensive psionic is resisted or not is checked through the psi skill or power (depending on ability).
Cyborg creatures can be targeted by Psionics which affect Mecha and Organic, but the resulting effect tends to be less effective.
Being afflicted by the Pain status effect strips the target of any Psionic protection or "buff" they currently have, and prevents using any psionics.
Stim Towers and Master Minds grant immunity against Status Effects to all monsters within the room. Thus, a Fear would do nothing while a Shrapnel Storm would cause damage, but never Paralyze. Indoctrinators on the other hand cause you to be much more vulnerable to some offensive enemy psionics.
The terms "entry level" or "entry point" simply refers to the number you need to reach to unlock a psi skill's first ability, e.g. Empathy and Resistance have an entry point of 15.

Empathy[]

This psionic school focuses on support abilities. The low entry skill of 15 makes it a good all-around choice, but it is best paired with another school, especially after acquiring Psi Drain. It has everything a Scout needs.

Ability	Skill	Cost	Rc	Description	Notes
Lifesense	15	55 psi	30	Marks all Organic/Cyborg creatures on the screen and on the map for 36 moments.	Reveals disguised Adaptoids and invisible creatures. Does not help against "Blind". Useful when affected by Madness Trap - it doesn't mark illusions. Should be used often.
Fear	45 skill	80 psi	3 moments	Fears an Organic/Cyborg creature for 6-15 moments. On successful roll has 50% chance to Paralyze it instead.	Success chance depends on relative Power between caster and target.
Psi Drain	65	25 psi	10	Drains Psi points from the target, provided it has any to begin with and that it hasn't used or lost them already.	Low cost, very efficient way to refill Psi points. Success chance depends on relative Power between caster and target. The max amount drained per cast is linked to the Empathy skill; a cast with 92 skill would drain a max of 92 Psi.
Glamor	85	145 psi	50	Disguises the caster into a nearby enemy for [Empathy / 10] moments (rounded up). Same effect as Image-Inducer belt	Prevents resting. Attacking an enemy cancels the effect. When enemies use this ability they become immune to behaviour altering status effects like Paralyze. It is unkown wether or not this is a bug.

Telekinesis[]

This skill offers a solid mix of physical offense, defense and utility abilities. Proves invaluable for psi-heavy builds when dealing with mechs and psi-resistant creatures. TK Fist and Shrapnel Storm rarely fail to get their targets. Shrapnel Storm can paralyze those hard to get enemies, and also happens to be the most effective disabling ability in the game. TK Fist offers a pushback effect besides its basic damage. It is vital to playing an effective Psion and helpful for the Marine & Engineer. Manipulation offers a much safer way to open containers, disarm traps and repair devices (watch yourself with the disintegrators though, as their "disintegration" negative outcome can still get you). TK Fist and Deflect help you preserve quite a bit of ammo & durability over the course of the game.

Ability	Skill	Cost	Rc	Description	Notes
Manipulation	25	25 psi	15	Allows any interaction from a distance. Use Arrow keys to target.	You can still be Stunned by a device, but explosions will not harm you so long as you are far enough away. Can be used to close doors from a distance.
TK Fist	40	50 psi	5	Single-target damage from any range, but poor against armored creatures. Damage, penetration and knockback scale with Telekinesis.	A successful roll will knock back the target. Try to memorize which creatures have low armor, so you can save ammo against them.
Deflect	65	50 psi	100	Increases your chance of being "missed" for [Telekinesis / 2] moments: [Telekinesis / 3] % against melee attacks [Telekinesis / 4] % against ballistic attacks [Telekinesis / 6] % against energy attacks	Effective against ranged creatures, especially when combined with other accuracy penalties.
Shrapnel Storm	75	70 psi	5	Paralyzes a target and causes moderate damage for 3 moments. Damage scales with skill level, but has static penetration of 60.	Paralysis has 100% chance unless target has immnuity to Paralysis or it is in a room with Stim Tower or Master Mind. Damage will always happen.

War Mind[]

The War Mind discipline concentrates on momenting the strength of Organic creatures against them, whether you moment a battle into a free-for-all with Berserker or use Life Drain on a creature with high health. While the skill has a high entry point of 30, it complements the Shepherd & Lich favored play-style fairly well.

Ability	Skill	Cost	Rc	Description	Notes
Berserker	30	50 psi	5	Causes Berserk onto an Organic creature.	Like all Status Effect psionics, your success % improves with your skill.
Paralyze	60	60 psi	4 moments	Causes Paralysis onto an Organic creature.	Better recharge, cost and overall effectiveness than the Fear psionic.
Lifedrain	75	100 psi	30	Damages an Organic creature and heals you for part of the damage dealt.	Works well against enemies with high armor and low health.
Puppet	99	150 psi	50	Attempts to moment an Organic creature into a companion until death or approx. 15 moments.	Successfully using this ability will make the targeted Organic or Cyborg a temporary ally.

Redaction[]

A passive survival skill that benefits well from every point invested past entry level. It is most suited to the Psion, Seeker and Scout, thanks to their high amount of skill points. You can get Heal and then let it improve through use as you build up a more offensive psionic skill. You can also invest all the way into it if you foresee a lot of resting and hunger issues. Due to their delayed benefits and cost, the last 2 abilities are best used outside of combat and/or with effects that improve psi point restoration.

Ability	Skill	Cost	Rc	Description	Notes
Heal	20	50 psi	15	Restores *1.25 Redaction** health. (20 redaction results in 25 hp heal)	Lowers the need to carry certain medical items.
Cure	45	75 psi	5	Cures one Lvl. from one condition, or the whole condition if it has no Lvl.	Cures Blind and Madness too, so you can safely test door traps. Doesn't cure the "Slow" status.
Metabolic Control	65	100 psi	100	Reduces hunger rate by a fixed amount. Lasts an amount of moments equal to your Redaction skill.	Effective when combined with Resting.
Regeneration	80	100 psi	100	Grants additional passive health regen. Lasts an amount of moments equal to your Redaction skill.	Best combined with other regeneration effects.

Manifestation[]

A psi-heavy school. The first skill becomes available at 50, and auto-leveling only really starts at 60. On top of this, the real worth of this skill doesn't unlock untill 90. At that point though you'll really start to reap your benefits. Manifestation focuses on enhancing your ability to survive in the Pit by lowering the need to raise certain skills or find new supplies. It does feature an offensive AoE ability in the form of Fire.

Ability	Skill	Cost	Rc	Description	Notes
Manna	50	80 psi	80	Creates food which grants you +30 food.	Combined with Metabolism it makes a full rest almost free.
Fire	60	50 psi	2	Causes Fire and damage in Flamethrower-style area.	Highly effective against creatures with low armor. Can damage a specter. Combined with a disabling ability from another skill tree (or sometimes even by itself), this can kill specters without any energy weapons.
Dissolve	80	60 psi	2	Deals 200 damage to Objects or obstacles, including doors.	It is helpful to use this to destroy Masterminds, Indoctrinators, Stim Towers and Manufacturing Bays.
Duplication	90	200 psi	150	Checks Manifestation skill to copy an item. At Skill Level 100 there is approximately a 50% chance to succeed, 40% chance for a failed attempt, and 10% chance to destroy the item with an explosion which damages 2 items in your inventory with durability. Maximum chance is circa 55%.	Similar to a 4D Copier, only works on items which take 1 square in your inventory.

Mecha Empathy[]

This Psionic skill-branch offers additional ways to deal with Mecha creatures. While Telekinesis offers an option to dispose of non-organic targets, Mechs are often too strong and too numerous to be left alone or momentarily disabled, as well as the fact that most other Psi abilities will not work on non-organics, thus giving Mecha Empathy a place to help in this department. However, most of the abilities of this branch are very expensive, and since they are mech-exclusive in terms of effects, the worth of investing in such a psi-branch is questionable, and should only be taken if you are encountering high amounts of mechs. One ability that deserves a separate mention is Mechasense; Even if you are not planning to rely on this skill as a whole, just knowing where the mechs are can be invaluable. And if you are planning to use this skill extensively, be sure that your psionic regeneration can handle the strain it brings.

Ability	Skill	Cost	Rc	Description	Notes
Mechasense	20	55 psi	30	Marks all Mecha creatures on your screen and on the map. Use before entering security and repair rooms.	Reveals invisible Cyborgs. Does not help against "Blind".
Shutdown	45	135 psi	80	Causes Unconscious to a Mecha creature for 3-5 moments.	Note that being Unconscious also multiplies damage taken. Success rate depends on skill level only.
Sabotage	65	100 psi	50	A large explosion (4 range) which does high damage to all Mecha creatures caught in it.	25% damage VS Cyborgs. Damage depends on Mecha's max HP and distance from the target point. Powerful, but damage is applied after a 1 moment delay.
Subvert	75	170 psi	50	Turn a mecha into a companion until death or [Mecha Empathy / 10] moments.	Success rate is based on skill level and target's remaining health.

Resistance[]

A versatile defensive skill accessible to all classes. Psi Shield is your best defense against Fear. You can invest in it solely for Psi Armor, which is particularly effective for the Marine & Ranger. Invisibility and Reflect are more situational, but have some interesting combo potential with certain other psionics.

Ability	Skill	Cost	Duration	Rc	Description	Notes
Psi Shield	15	35 psi	Resistance/2	60	Grants near-immunity to all offensive Psionics.	Depending on difficulty, it may be a good idea to use this psionic every time it is up to increase your Resistance skill in early floors.
Psi Armor	35	65 psi	50	75	Increases armor by ~0.3 per Resistance skill.	May help prevent durability damage to the equipped armor.
Invisibility	55	100 psi	Resistance/10	100	Makes you invisible for a short time, at least to creatures who aren't aware of your presence yet. See Stealth for more details.	Can be used to loot some containers without having to fight.
Reflect	80	200 psi	Resistance/2	150	Grants a small chance to reflect each ranged attack received back at the attacker.	The high psi cost means this ability is best used when under fire from several creatures.