- deified mage class rewards passing turns before unleashing boosted relics.
- Glass cannon play combines damage-over-time effects with careful repositioning.
- Gas Form provides an escape option and leaves a poison cloud behind.
- Priority targets include healers, ranged enemies, and units with retaliation effects.
deified mage class Overview
The deified mage class is a high-damage archetype built around delayed power. Its mage relics gain effectiveness when they are not used immediately, encouraging a rhythm of repositioning, passing turns, and striking at the right moment. The class is strongest when it can control distance rather than trade hits directly.
The most practical version of this approach is a glass cannon setup. It uses poison, burn, ranged attacks, healing, and teleportation to weaken enemies while staying outside their preferred attack range. This setup can clear early floors quickly, but later encounters demand careful target selection and escape planning.
Video Highlights:
- Mage relics can gain additional effectiveness after unused turns.
- Poison and burn help finish enemies while the mage retreats.
- Gas Form supports repositioning and creates a poison cloud.
- Retaliation effects make careless ranged attacks dangerous.
Delayed Power
Pass safe turns to improve the effectiveness of available relics before committing to an attack.
Damage Over Time
Poison and burn continue working after the mage moves away, reducing the need for repeated direct attacks.
Emergency Mobility
Gas Form can create space, leave a poison cloud, and help the mage escape a dangerous position.
| Core feature | Practical value | Main risk |
|---|---|---|
| Effectiveness buildup | Stronger attacks and healing after setup turns | Waiting is dangerous when enemies have long range |
| Poison and burn | Damage continues between turns | Some encounters punish slow movement |
| Gas Form | Escape route and area denial | The teleport destination still needs planning |
| Ranged relics | Safe pressure from a distance | Retaliation can reflect damage |
Treat every unused turn as an investment, not a default action. Build effectiveness only when the enemy cannot immediately punish your position.
Step-by-Step Mage Setup
Use the following sequence when starting a run with a mage-focused loadout. The exact relics may vary, but the role of each slot should remain clear: damage, sustain, control, and escape.
Secure a Damage Core
Start with a reliable ranged mage relic and at least one effect that applies poison or burn. Damage-over-time effects are valuable because they let you attack once and then reposition.
Add Sustain
Keep a healing potion or another recovery option available. Boosted healing becomes more useful after several safe setup turns, but avoid healing effects that also restore nearby enemies.
Reserve an Escape
Prioritize Gas Form or another displacement option when the run begins offering dangerous ranged enemies, pull effects, or retaliation threats.
Pass Before Bursting
If the battlefield is safe, pass one or more turns to increase relic effectiveness. Then combine your strongest attack with poison, burn, or a control effect.
Reset the Distance
After attacking, move or teleport away before enemies can surround you. The goal is to make opponents spend turns approaching while damage-over-time effects continue.
| Setup phase | Preferred action | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Opening turn | Apply a damage-over-time effect or create distance | Standing beside several enemies |
| Preparation | Pass when no enemy has a clean attack | Building power inside a threat zone |
| Burst turn | Combine boosted relics against one priority target | Spreading damage across every enemy |
| Retreat | Teleport or move behind safe space | Ending the turn within pull range |
| Recovery | Heal after removing immediate threats | Healing while an enemy can punish you |
A large effectiveness bonus is not useful if waiting gives enemies enough time to stack rage, armor, bleed, or healing. Take the burst window when it is safe.
Combat Priorities and Relic Roles
The mage’s damage is only half of the strategy. Positioning and target order determine whether the build survives difficult rooms. Focus on enemies that either extend the fight or punish every attack.
Healers and transfuser-style enemies should usually be removed first. Their recovery effects can erase several turns of poison and burn. Ranged enemies such as Severs are also dangerous because they can apply bleed or pull the mage into a bad position.
Retaliation enemies require a different approach. If an enemy reflects damage whenever it is hit, direct ranged attacks may be inefficient or unsafe. Poison, traps, environmental damage, or attacks made after the target is already near defeat can reduce that risk.
Priority One
Healers: eliminate them before investing in a long damage-over-time cycle.
Priority Two
Ranged Threats: keep distance from units that bleed, pull, or attack across obstacles.
Priority Three
Retaliators: use indirect damage when direct attacks trigger reflected damage.
Final Targets
Slow Frontliners: kite them after faster threats and sustain enemies are gone.
| Enemy behavior | Mage response | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Healing per rage | Focus fire immediately | Delayed damage may be restored |
| Pull or displacement | Keep an escape relic ready | A safe tile can become a trap |
| Rage on hit | Avoid unnecessary attacks | Extra rage increases future danger |
| Retaliation | Prefer poison, traps, or finishing bursts | Direct damage may return to the mage |
| Armor growth | Use damage-over-time effects | Poison can remain useful against armor |
A strong turn often follows this pattern: apply a status effect, use a ranged mage relic, move away, and preserve the escape option. Do not spend every ability simply because it is available. The mage wins by controlling the sequence of exchanges.
If a room contains a healer, a pull-capable ranged unit, and a retaliation enemy, solve the battlefield in that order unless terrain creates a safer alternative.
Positioning, Healing, and Risk Control
The glass cannon approach becomes more reliable when the mage treats movement as a defensive resource. A teleport is not only a way to flee after taking damage; it can also refresh the attack pattern by creating a new safe angle.
Use walls and narrow routes to limit how many enemies can reach you at once. If several enemies are blocked behind terrain, damage the front target while preparing a retreat route. Avoid ending a turn where a pull or ranged attack can force you back into poison, bleed, or retaliation range.
Healing should be planned around enemy actions. A recovery effect is most valuable after the immediate threat has been reduced or when the next enemy turn cannot reach the mage. If a healing zone also restores enemies, move away from it before relying on the recovery.
Mage Run Checklist:
- Keep one reliable escape option available
- Identify healers before starting a damage cycle
- Track retaliation and rage before every direct attack
- Use walls and distance to limit enemy access
- Heal only after checking the enemy turn
| Positioning choice | Benefit | Warning |
|---|---|---|
| Behind a wall | Limits incoming attacks | Pulls may expose the mage |
| Near a retreat tile | Makes escape predictable | Do not block the route with hazards |
| Beside a poison cloud | Punishes pursuing enemies | The mage may be forced through it |
| In open terrain | More movement choices | Multiple ranged enemies gain access |
| Near a healer zone | Immediate recovery potential | Enemies may benefit too |
A useful discipline is to ask three questions before ending the turn:
- Can any enemy reach this tile?
- Can an enemy pull or push me into danger?
- If I take damage, do I still have a recovery or escape action?
If the answer to the third question is no, use the turn to reposition instead of building more effectiveness.
The best mage tile is not always the farthest tile. Choose a position that preserves a retreat route, blocks enemy access, and keeps your next attack meaningful.
Mage Class FAQ
The deified mage class is powerful because it converts patience and spacing into stronger actions. It is not a passive damage solution, though. The player must evaluate enemy behavior, terrain, and the cost of every setup turn.
| Situation | Recommended decision | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Safe room with distant enemies | Build effectiveness briefly | Delayed power can improve the next burst |
| Healer enters range | Attack the healer first | Long fights favor enemy recovery |
| Retaliation enemy is healthy | Use indirect damage | Direct hits may create unnecessary damage |
| Mage is surrounded | Escape before attacking | Survival is more valuable than one extra cast |
Q: What is the main strength of the deified mage class?
Its main strength is delayed effectiveness. By passing safe turns, the mage can improve relic damage, healing, and utility before committing to a burst.
Q: Is a glass cannon mage suitable for every encounter?
No. It performs best when the mage has room to retreat. Dense rooms with multiple ranged enemies, healers, or retaliation effects require more defensive play.
Q: Why are poison and burn important for this setup?
They continue damaging enemies after the mage moves away. This supports a kite-and-retreat style and reduces the need to remain in direct attack range.
Q: When should I use Gas Form?
Use Gas Form when it creates meaningful distance, avoids a pull or retaliation threat, or places a poison cloud where pursuing enemies must pass.
Build around one dependable damage source, one recovery option, and one escape tool. The mage becomes far more consistent when every relic has a clear combat role.