- Fighting with enemies from 30 - 40 tiles
- Dealing good amount of AoE damage without doing anything (e. g. pressing rest)
- Giving numerous detrimental effects to every enemy without doing anything
- Having the BEST single-enemy lock mechanism in the whole game
Are you interested in it?
The Spatial Tether Paradox Mage Guide
Hi All!
Formerly I read the paradox mage (PM) guides and I agreed with many things that other players wrote
but some of them not, so I decided to do create my own build(s) and my guide(s).
PM is my favorite class, so that’s why I investigated it deeper.
My build is using:
Spacetime Folding & Spacetime Weaving trees as its CORE TREES combined with other trees.
Yes, I know most of you will think I am totally crazy, but please read onward. I am sure you will change your mind
about Spacetime Folding & Weaving trees soon.
I will give Cornac build here, what is for any difficulty, other than Madness.
If you are very brave and would like to try Madness, you should use a modified build, what i describe here:
http://forums.te4.org/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=50720
Basics about Paradox (for newbies to Chronomancers)
For new players, the whole paradox resource can be a bit confusing, so I decided to add some details
about the terms and mechanisms used connected to paradox.
Experienced players can skip this section of course.
The paradox resource bar and Spacetie Tuning talent:
- 1_paradox.png (183.58 KiB) Viewed 25622 times
Your Paradox resource bar can be seen in the top of the image.
The bar shows 3 things:
a, your “Total Modified Paradox” (TMP) (on the left)
b, your “Actual Paradox” or (AP) (on the right)
c, the current Anomaly Chance (the %)
When your “paradox” is increased through spell casting or Reality Smearing, then both of your TMP & AP
will be increased with the same amount.
Spacetime Tuning is an automatically learned talent for all paradox users,
it comes with gaining the paradox resource bar and you cannot unlearn it.
If you put your mouse over the talent Spacetime Tuning, you will see a few more variables that are connected with paradox:
a, Preferred Paradox (PP)
b, Paradox Modifier (PMod)
c, your spellpower for Chronomancy spells
d, your Willpower Paradox Modifier (WPM)
e, your Paradox Sustain Modifier (PSM)
and you can see there your TMP and your current Anomaly Chance too, what can be seen in your resource bar too.
Spacetime Tuning also gives you a passive effect: every time you “wait/rest” you adjust your paradox to your PP by 10.
If your AP > your PP, your AP will be reduced by 10
If your AP< your PP, your AP will be increased by 10
So, resting/waiting is very beneficial as a Paradox Mage, even during fights in your spell rotation.
Preferred Paradox:
Your PP is automatically set to 300 at start but you can set it to another value by using the talent Spacetime Tuning.
I recommend, not to set an other value, 300 for Paradox Mage is fine.
Your PP just used for paradox tuning (on rest/wait). This is the value your AP will goes with tuning.
Willpower Paradox Modifier:
Every point of Willpower (and anomaly chance reduction from gear) you have, is giving 2 points of WPM to your character.
Your WPM is subtracted from your AP to calculate your TMP. (a simple subtraction)
Paradox Sustain Modifier:
While you sustain a Chronomancy spell with a non-zero “sustain paradox” value, this sustain value will be added to your PSM.
Your AP will be increased by your PSM to calculate your TMP. (a simple addition)
Total Modified Paradox:
TMP is calculated from your AP, your PSM and your WPM:
Your TMP is equal: to your AP minus your WPM plus your PSM.
Your TMP is used for anomaly chance calculation.
If your TMP is equal to or below 300, you will have 0% chance to trigger an anomaly.
If your TMP is between 300 and 600, you will have a chance to trigger minor anomalies.
If your TMP is above 600, you will have a chance to trigger major anomalies.
Anomaly Chance:
Your Anomaly Chance is calculated from your TMP & Fatigue (wearing “heavy” items).
Every point of Fatigue is multiplying your Anomaly Chance by 2%.
(so with 1% fatigue, your Anomaly Chance will be multiplied by 1.02
with 30% Fatigue, your Anomaly Chance will be multiplied by 1.6
CONCLUSION: it’s not preferable to wear heavy & massive armors as a Paradox Mage
Temporal Warden can handle the Fatigue Modifier, but Paradox Mage is different
PM will have higher paradox due to Reality Smearing & higher cost spells)
Your Anomaly Chance is calculated as:
Anomaly Chance = FatigueModifier x (TMP/300)^6 (rounding down)
Examples:
a, 0% Fatigue + 420 TMP = 1 x (420/300)^6 = 7% anomaly chance
b, 30% Fatigue + 420 TMP = 1.6 x (420/300)^6 = 12% anomaly chance
c, 0% Fatigue + 540 TMP = 1 x (540/300)^6 = 34% anomaly chance
d, 0% Fatigue + 600 TMP = 1 x (600/300)^6 = 64% anomaly chance
As you can see, it’s better to avoid very high TMP and high Fatigue values in order to safe & reliable spellcasting.
In a nutshell: every sustained talent and every spell you cast possibly increasing your anomaly chance,
but every point of Willpower (and Reduce Anomaly Chance from items) is decreasing your Anomaly Chance.
Willpower is very important for a Paradox Mage!
Triggering an Anomaly:
Any time, when you cast a Chronomancy spell the game checks for triggering an anomaly, using your current Anomaly Chance.
If an anomaly is triggered, that means:
a, your Chronomancy spell FAILS, the spell won’t have any effect, it’s not being cast
b, the time (energy) that was spent to cast the spell is still spent, so you lose time on casting nothing
c, instead of casting the spell, a random anomaly will trigger
d, your paradox (AP & TMP) will be reduced by twice the amount of the spells paradox cost
There are “minor” and “major” anomalies and while minor anomalies can be beneficial, major anomalies are not beneficial at all. Instead some of them can be lethal for you.
Minor anomalies are basically “mimicking” other spells effects but also some are unique.
You can find all the anomalies at:
https://tometips.github.io/#talents/chr ... /anomalies
I am not listing or writing detailed about them, it would be very long.
Note: the variables for anomalies (such as damage, ranges …) are depends on your spellpower.
While some random minor anomaly can be beneficial for you, when you trigger an anomaly through spellcasting,
you fail to cast your spell and this is really not desired.
Paradox Modifier (PMod):
Your AP determines your PMod, what is a multiplier between 0.5 and 1.5
NOTE: in the talent Spacetime Tuning it is showed as 50% to 150%.
When your AP is lower than 300, your PMod is: AP/300
When your AP is equal or higher than 300, your PMod is: the square root of (AP/300)
So, your PMod will reach its minimum (0.5) at AP: 150. Even if your AP goes lower, you still have a 0.5 PMod.
Your PMod will be 1 if your AP is 300.
And your PMod will reach its maximum (1.5) at AP: 675, even if your AP goes higher than 675 you still have a PMod of 1.5.
Things that are affected by your PMod multiplier:
a, the paradox cost of your Chronomancy spells
Yes, at higher AP, your spells will increase your paradox (AP & TMP) more and at lower AP, less.
b, your Spellpower for Chronomancy spells
PMod is a multiplier for your EFFECTIVE spellpower for Chronomancy spells.
It can be a really good spellpower boost. With a 100 effective spellpower and 1.5 PMod,
you have 150 effective spellpower for all your Chronomancy spells.
Furthermore, because anomaly variables are dependant on your spellpower, your PMod also affects your anomalies.
c, the duration of your Chronomancy spells/effects
The durations related to your Chronomancy spells/effects are multiplied by your PMod, rounding down.
Tools for Paradox Management:
During fights you have to cast spells, so your paradox will increasing.
Your paradox naturally only reducing when you wait, but you cannot wait that much during fights.
So, how can you reduce/manage your paradox during fights?
Luckily, Paradox Mage have several talents, a prodigy and even an inscription for paradox management:
a, In talent tree “Flux”, there are: Induce Anomaly & Twist Fate
Flux is a MUST to unlock and use, you can read about them in the Talent section.
b, In talent tree “Stasis”, there are: Spacetime Stability & Static History
These are not necessary to have, you can also read about them in Talent section.
c, there is an inscription: Rune of the Rift, what is decreasing your paradox by 25 on use.
This inscription is very weak, never use it, just for meme & fun
You already have the same talent (Time Skip), just your talent is way better (lower cooldown, better duration when leveled up)
d, there is the prodigy: Hidden Resources
This is very advisable to take with a Paradox Mage (I always take it at level 25)
Hidden Resources has a 15 turn cooldown and applies a beneficial mental effect on you for 5 turns
This effect has some really incredible benefits:
a, you do not consume resources, so your paradox won’t increase through casting spells
b, it makes you immune to “talent fail” effects
Eliminating talent fail is very strong, you can cast spells with any anomaly chance and you never trigger an anomaly.
Not even major anomalies! So, you can cast spells safely even with 100% anomaly chance and crazy high paradox.
Furthermore, you are immune to ALL “talent failure” effects too, like:
from Confusion, from Crippling Poison, from Slippery Moss, so on so on…
NOTE: Spell Disruption and Spell Feedback are not “talent fail” effects, they are “spell failure” effects
so your spells still can be disrupted by these. (But you have the very best effect clearing mechanism in the whole game
as a Paradox Mage, so these are not causing much trouble too if you play well)
This prodigy is invaluable to use at the start of fights, when you would like to apply all your useful buffs, effects.
And it is also invaluable to provide totally safe spellcasting against enemies that using any talent failure effects on you.
And it is also invaluable to safely cast spells even with crazy paradox, when you have the full 1.5 PMod and a high Anomaly Chance.
After this intermezzo, let the guide begin:
I., Race choice:
For race choice, I suggesting a Cornac, because of the extra category point and the 6-6 class & generic points.
PM really needs all points, it have a lot of strong talents.
Of course PM is very strong, so if you would like to choose any other race, just do as you wish.
If you are planning to play on Madness or just planning to be VERY TANKY, then you should choose Ghoul for race,
and you should read my other guide too that I mentioned before.
II., Talents:
My recommended category point/unlock order is:
lvl 1 : Stasis
lvl 10: Flux
lvl 20: Energy
lvl 34: Spellbinding
Wyrm Bile: inscription or Timeline Threading
For me, Stasis is better than Flux at the start, because Time Shield gives a very good damage reduction
and that is better at the early stages than the 30% damage reduction from Reality Smearing.
Also, Reality Smearing absorption will increase your paradox and that can be annoying at the very early stages,
when you have low willpower and no gear to reduce anomaly chance. Converting 30 damage at the start can mean
a ~ 23.7 – 16.5 paradox increase and that is increasing the fail chance.
Meanwhile if you cast a Time Shield, it also has a cost of 24 paradox, but it can take much more damage than 30.
At lvl 10 Flux is the best choice, because Attenuate is just learnable from lvl 8 and Induce Anomaly is useful
just from lvl 12 (with Twist Fate). So, learn Twist Fate immediately at lvl 12.
Every time, when I switched the Stasis-Flux order to Flux-Stasis, I always missed Time Shield more
(from lvl 1 to 10) than I missed Attenuate (from lvl 8 to 9).
At level 20, Energy is the choice.
You will need Energy Absorption, Redux and Entropy. These are just too good.
Energy Decomposition is also useful, just I found the last three skills better.
At level 34, Spellbinding is the choice, because it helps you with your already developed tactics & synergies.
You would like to Empower your Attenuate, Extend your Spatial Tether from mid-game.
Personally I do not like Timeline Threading, so I am going for an extra inscription with my last category point,
but I will write about the tree.
Now, let’s jump a little bit deeper in the talent trees:
1., Gravity:
a, Repulsion Blast: It knockbacks enemies and deals mediocre damage.
It’s good for damage at early game, later just useful for knockback melee enemies.
1 point
b, Gravity Spike: It pulls enemies towards its epicenter and deals mediocre damage.
The pulling is a knockback effect. Good for damage at early game, later just use for knockback.
1 point
c, Gravity Locus: A sustain what converts a % of your non-physical damage into physical, making 1 damage instance into two.
It also slows down projectiles that targets you, AND enhances your Repulsion Blast. Your Repulsion Blast will have
a % chance to apply Anti-Gravity effect before it deals damage and tries to knockback enemies.
Anti-Gravity effect halves the enemy knockback immunity.
Sustaining it also makes you immune to the damage & effects of the whole Gravity tree.
NOTE: enemy paradox mages are also immune to Gravity effects if they sustain this.
The damage conversion have a synergy with Seal Fate, you can proc Seal Fate more
and the Anti-Gravity effect is making your knockbacks more reliable.
2 point from mid-game when you can sustain it without problem
d, Gravity Well: Creates map effect that deal irrelevant damage once per turn and tries to apply SLOW on enemies.
The source of the damage is you, so it also procs Seal Fate. Due to how global speed reduction is calculated (100%/(100%+reduction%)), the slow has very serious diminishing returns from level 2-3, but level 3 gives 2 turn duration increase.
3 point at end-game
2., Matter:
a, Dust to Dust: Fires a beam that deals physical & temporal damage. Very good early-game damage dealer even at 1 point. From mid-game you should just use it for digging, when you sustain Disintegration.
Applying on yourself (Ashes to Ashes) is not really good, especially when it digs.
1 point
b, Matter Weaving: A sustain what gives armor, stun/FREEZE immunity and bleeding immunity.
Armor is nice but not necessary with PM, but the FREEZE immunity is what we need.
Our strategy will include numerous teleports per turn and if we are frozen, we cannot teleport.
2-3 point from mid-game when you can sustain it without problem
c, Materialize Barrier: Creates a 3x1 tile wall terrain for a fixed duration (that only scales with paradox extension modifier).
When a tile is digged, it deals AoE bleeding damage, but never use it for dealing damage. Use it e.g. to dig a hole
with Dust to Dust, teleport inside then wall yourself if needed. Very useful talent, but it has no scaling for us with level.
1 point
d, Disintegrate: A sustain that enhances your physical & temporal damage to clear
beneficial physical & magical effects from enemies. Furthermore it also enhances your Dust to Dust spell with digging.
A must have talent, but it has diminishing returns.
2 point from when you can sustain it without problem
3., Speed Control:
a, Celerity: a passive that buffs our movement speed on movement. Not really useful, just for unlock.
1 point
b, Time Dilation: a passive that buffs our spell speed on casting a chronomancy spell.
It is very useful and has a very significant effect.
1-4 points
c, Haste: increasing our global speed with a small amount for a few turns. Time Dilation is way better,
you can gain more time (energy) by leveling up Time Dilation instead of Haste. Just for unlock.
1 point
d, Time Stop: it gives you 1-3 extra turns (1000, 2000 or 3000 energy), but you cannot deal damage
while you using this extra time. This is a must have talent, incredibly strong & versatile.
I am using this at the start of every fight to set up my Tethers or my Wormhole + Tether.
It is also useful for escaping: cast this then Wormhole and/or Movement Infusion and you are in a safe place.
4 points in 1.6 and before or 5 points in 1.7 for the 3000 energy
4., Timetravel:
a, Temporal Bolt: Hit the target tile with a projectile what is a homing missile. The bolt will always goes to your location
and hit any actor through its journey. The damage that is deals is irrelevant, but every time it hits an actor (other than you),
one of your chronomancy spells cooldown will be reduced by 1 (by 2 from effective talent level 5).
The bolt has a maximum “lifetime of 10 tiles” so after it came back to your tile, or after it traveled 10 tiles, it will disappear.
Cooldown reduction is a very strong mechanism in the game, and you have several combos/synergies to make this talent even better.
When you fighting with more enemies, it can already hit several actors, but you also have Wormhole and you can walk in and out
while having an enemy between the 2 Wormholes. This way the Bolt can hit the same enemy even at every turn.
You can also trigger controlled anomalies with Flux tree: Summon Townsfolk summons 4 extra actors and you can
reposition enemies with your Gravity tree & Anomalies too. Use this spell through the whole play continuously.
1 point early and use it always, 4 point from late-game
b, Time Skip: it hits a target, deals temporal damage and after this it tries to remove the actor from the map
for the given duration. The spell is useful to lock a single enemy, however at every new removal, the target gains Continuum Destabilization effect (what merges). Continuum Destabilization is added to the actors spell save against your teleports or Time Skip.
So after a few removal, the target will be close to immune to your Time Skip.
BUT:
In your Spacetime Folding tree there is Dimensional Anchor. When you apply Dimensional Anchor to an enemy,
the Anchor effect also applies a hidden -1000 Continuum Destabilization temporary value to the target.
This means: Dimensional Anchor NULLIFIES the enemy spellsave against your Time Skip.
You can easily remove an enemy ~25-30 times in a row, while you also dealing damage to it.
If you find The Exiler artifact ring, you can even reach a 3 turn CD on Time Skip (with Spellbinding - Matrix) and
a 6 turn removal duration, and this means you can even time-lock & kill 2 enemies simultaneously.
This combo is the best locking mechanism in the game.
1-2 points early, min. 4 points later if you would like to fully use the combo
c, Temporal Reprieve: this spell removes you from the actual map, creates a new small map and places you there
for the given duration. The new map is totally safe, and the time is not flowing on the original map while you in Reprieve.
When the duration expires, you will be placed back to the original map.
This talent is the very best & safest escape and reset talent. Use it when you get hit by a Disperse Magic or Corrupted negation,
or when your life drops to really low and you are in danger. Use it if you took Cauterize, it triggers and you think
you cannot handle the situation anymore.
3 points at early to mid-game, max it later
d, Echoes From the Past: the spell hits targets in a radius around you. Targets take a flat temporal damage
and after this, a % based temporal damage based on their life.
The extra damage is: (max_life - actual_life) x (percent / target_rank)
This is the best AoE nuke spell in the game, especially on Madness, where enemies have way higher life.
Use it during fights, when enemies are damaged enough to damage them down to ~ 20% of their max life,
and Flux - Attenuate will kill them afterwards.
3 points from mid-game, you can max it for late-game
5., Spacetime Folding:
A completely overlooked & underrated tree that has a few hidden diamond in it.
a, Warp Mines: learning this talent gives you 2 talents. You can lay 2 type of mines (3x3, totally 9 mines with 1 use):
one is teleporting enemies away from you, the other is teleporting enemies towards you.
Other Spacetime Folding talents’ range is determined by Warp Mines.
This talent is just for unlock, the base 5 range is also enough for other Folding talents.
1 point
b, Spatial Tether: this spell is one of the strongest talents of Paradox Mage, but not on its own.
You need to use it in combination of some of your other talents to make Tether the strongest of your talent.
You can cast it on any actor, and the spell will create a map effect (Tether) under the actor and also sets
a beneficial (on allies & you) or detrimental (on hostiles) effect on the actor.
Once in every turn (as long as the actor has the effect) the Tether is making a check. If the actor is not on the Tethered tile,
there is a chance for the actor being teleported to the Tethered tile. (the chance is 15% x the distance from the Tether)
The Tether will also trigger an AoE damage in a small radius around the target and also around the Tether.
If the actor is hostile, it will be also damaged by this, if friendly it won’t be damaged by the AoE damage.
Early game strategy (level 4 - 9):
I level this talent up to level 4 asap. Early game I use it on enemies, it is both defensive & offensive.
Melee enemies won’t have a chance against you, because you Tether them, then teleport or walk away.
The enemy will continuously teleported back to the Tether (cannot attack you) and it will take damage.
Improved Tether strategy (level 10 - ):
As soon as I learned Wormhole level 2 (teleport accuracy 2), I switch strategy.
I am tracking enemies with Precognition. Then cast a Wormhole and setting the exit under the enemy.
Then I Tether myself down, next to my Wormhole entrance. This setup also works through walls & obstacles.
Then I am moving into the Wormhole and teleported next to the enemy. If my movement speed was high enough,
I can cast a spell there and then my Tether triggers and teleports me back.
And I am automatically dealing AoE damage next to the enemy.
If my movement speed is not high enough I am just instantly teleported back to my Tether,
and also dealing AoE damage next to the enemy.
This way, I can kill enemies through wall, just with simple movement actions.
From level 12 I am also learning Phase Pulse, and level it up to level 4 asap.
From that point, I am not just dealing AoE damage to enemies, but also applying random detrimental effects
on them with each movement action.
Expert Tether strategy (from level 20 - ):
From level 20-22, when I learned Redux level 4, I am switching strategy again.
At the start of the fights, I:
1, cast Time Stop to gain energy
2, use Movement Infusion (Ghoulish Leap if ghoul) to move/leap into position
(where probably all or most of the enemies are within 2 tiles from me, so within Tether & Phase Pulse range)
3, cast Redux
4, cast Spatial Tether and tether myself down
5, cast Dimensional Step and teleport away for minimum 7 tiles into a safe or safer position
6, cast Spatial Tether again and tether myself down there too
So, in the whole fight, I will teleport twice per turn automatically. That means I will deal 2 x AoE damage in 2 locations,
apply random debuffs 2 x in 2 locations and clear a detrimental effect from myself 2 x at each turn, automatically.
When my Tether is not on cooldown, I am Tethering myself into a 3rd, 4th… location if the fight is long enough,
so I will deal more & more automatic damage/debuff/effect clear.
All the enemies will be stunned/pinned/blinded/confused around me, while I am clearing more & more effects from myself.
NOTE: This is automatic, so I am still casting other spells in rotation, like Temporal Bolt or Attenuate.
Spatial Tether is a game changer talent.
4 points, asap. max it from mid-game
c, Banish: the spell tries to randomly teleport enemies in a radius 3 area. It is INSTANT, so it is a potential life saver.
The teleport has low range at level 1-2, but you can easily teleport enemies through walls. Use it to get rid of some enemies.
3 points
d, Dimensional Anchor: casting the spell has 2 effects:
- it creates a map effect, the tries to apply a detrimental effect (Dimensional Anchor) on enemies once at each turn
- on casting the spell it applies DAZE & the Dimensional Anchor effect on targeted enemies
NOTE: the daze checks for stun immunity, but not checks for spellsave
While enemies have the Anchor effect, when they try to teleport, it will fail and they take damage instead.
You can use this with Banish, but Banish is way better as a safety button to get rid of enemies.
BUT:
As I described at Time Skip, Dimensional Anchor applies a hidden -1000 Continuum Destabilization on the targets.
So, this effect nullifies enemies’ spellsave against your Time Skip.
1 point minimum, 3 if you would like to use the best locking mechanism in the game
6., Stasis:
a, Spacetime Stability: on learning this talent, you tune your paradox by a small amount once each turn,
and your Spacetime Tuning is also a bit better. The problem is, this value is too small.
1 point, just for unlock
b, Time Shield: an instant shield, what is not considered a damage shield and is an “other” effect
(it cannot be dispelled from you). The shield value is strong at the early stages, that’s why I recommend unlocking Stasis at level 1.
The shield also reduces the duration of newly applied detrimental effects on you, and if the shield crumbles
(took equal or more damage than its power), it applies a Healing Over Time effect on you too. Learn it at level 4.
4-5 points
c, Stop: this deals temporal damage in a radius of 1-3 and also tries to apply STUN on the targets.
Because we have way better damaging spells/mechanisms (Tethers & Attenuate), we do not need this damage.
Also we have way better stunning/debuffing mechanism (Tethers + Phase Pulse), so we do not need the stun.
0 point
d, Static History: is an instant and a no-paradox spell. (It has 0 paradox cost, it cannot fail due to anomaly chance)
It applies a beneficial magical effect on you. While you have the effect, you cannot trigger minor anomalies.
This seems nice at first, but with Flux tree (& Hidden Resources), we do not need this. Under the effect,
your paradox still increases, and the effect also disables the use of Induce Anomaly because you cannot trigger minor anomalies.
NOTE: If you have the effect, you also cannot trigger Twist Fate, but if you already triggered Twist Fate
and then you activate Static History, you can release the anomaly.
0 point
7., Flux:
a, Induce Anomaly: is an instant and a no-paradox spell. On activation, it triggers a random minor anomaly,
and it reduces your paradox with a very good amount. This is your main paradox management talent,
but never use it before level 12, before you learn Twist Fate.
NOTE: it’s not paradox tuning, but a paradox reduction
1 point at level 10, and slowly level up to 4-5 points
b, Reality Smearing: is a no-paradox sustain. While sustained, it has 2 effects:
- Every time you take damage (callbackOnHit), the damage will be reduced by 30%,
and you will gain a detrimental other effect (what stacks). This 30% of the damage is converted into paradox
with the given ratio, and your paradox will be increased by this amount over 3 turns
- When someone casts Attenuate on you, instead of taking damage over time (DoT), you will receive a healing over time (HoT) effect
NOTE 1: the paradox gain through this talent is not affected by Hidden Resources
NOTE 2: enemy PMs can sustain this talent, so you will heal them with Attenuate if you do not deactivate this
This spell is a very effective damage reduction and it offers you a very effective HoT mechanism.
Learn it at level 10, when you unlock the tree.
1 point at level 10, 2 point from mid-game & 2-3 point for end-game
c, Attenuate: this spell is one of your main damage dealer talent and your main healing talent too.
It tries to apply a detrimental effect (DoT) on the targets in its radius and a HoT effect on targets with Reality Searing sustained.
The effect stacks and it has a wonderful combo with Seal Fate.
You can extend the duration of this effect on enemies before applying the effect again, and they will take more & more DoT.
Attenuate also checks when the target is taking damage (callbackOnHit), if the targets life is below 20% of its maximum.
If it is, Attenuate checks instakill immunity and possibly kill the enemy.
Learn it at level 10 and level it up to level 4 very soon. 5 point from mid-late game
d, Twist Fate: is a no-paradox spell. On learning it, if gives you 2 effects:
- It enhances your Induce Anomaly talent. Now, your induced anomalies will be TARGETABLE!
- Every time when you trigger a minor anomaly through spellcasting, your spell won’t fail.
Instead your spell is being cast and the triggered anomaly is stored in this talent. Before the duration expires,
you can release the stored anomaly, what is also targetable.
Learning this talent makes your Induce Anomaly spell a real wonder.
Targetable minor anomalies offers you some extra battlefield control, buffs, debuffing the enemies
and meanwhile you are managing your paradox.
The second effect gives you an extra layer of safety for spellcasting.
1 point asap (level 12) and 2 points from mid-game
8., Spellbinding:
Spellbinding is a special class talent tree, all the 4 talents are tier 1 talents and you can learn any of them from level 10.
You can bind any other chronomancy spell into one of them and the bound spell will gain a benefit.
1 spell can be just bind into 1 spellbinding talent.
a, Empower: binding a spell into Empower will increase the EFFECTIVE spellpower of the spell when you cast it.
Empower works like PMod, the 2 are additive and then applied together as a multiplier for effective spellpower.
Spells are useful to bind: Attenuate, Entropy, Banish, Dimensional Anchor
Normally you would like to bind here Attenuate, because Attenuate makes a spellpower-spellsave check
and you really want to apply it on every cast. Ofc, Empower also increases the DoT & HoT too.
Sometimes, when you would like to deactivate the sustains of an enemy with very high spellsave, it’s better to bind Entropy instead.
In some cases (like in Charred Scar) when you really want to get rid of enemies continuously, it’s good to bind Banish.
And if you would like to use the Anchor + Time Skip combo on a boss with very high spellsave, it’s better to bind Dimensional Anchor, when its applied it will nullify enemy save against Time Skip.
3-4 points
b, Extension: binding a spell into Extension will increase its duration, just like PMod.
The difference is, while PMod rounds down, Extension rounds up.
Spells are useful to bind: Spatial tether, Temporal Reprieve, Time Skip, Seal Fate, Webs of Fate
I am binding Spatial Tether here, because I like to have 8 turn CD tethers with 11 turn duration.
This way I can recast them without the risk of losing them, due to losing the beneficial effect.
Biding Temporal Reprieve offers a few more turns, so extra safety.
Binding Time Skip can be good if you fighting with 1 powerful boss.
Having a longer Seal Fate or Webs of Fate effect can be also good.
2-4 points
c, Matrix: binding a spell into Matrix will reduce the cooldown of the spell.
NOTE: this is not spell cooldown reduction. This effect is separate and calculated before spell cooldown reduction.
This effect also ROUNDS DOWN, so in every case it will reduce the cooldown of any spell by minimum 1.
Spells are useful to bind: Webs of Fate, Seal Fate, Induce Anomaly, Time Shield, Time Skip, Echoes From the Past, Dimensional Step
I bind Webs of Fate here normally to have its very strong effect more often.
You can bind here any of these spells, it depend on your actual needs.
2-4 points
d, Quicken: binding a spell into Quicken will reduce the energy cost of casting the spell.
NOTE: It is counted SEPARATELY from other spell speed effects, and is directly subtracted
from the spells x% of a turn value AFTER the spell speed reduction!
It is worth to bind here a frequently used spell with low cooldown (like Temporal Bolt), but the energy gain
is just comparable with Haste. I just use this in Infinite Dungeon.
0 point
9., Timeline Threading:
For me, this tree is PMs weakest, but of course you can try it and use it.
I usually do not unlock this tree.
a, Rethread: this is a bolt that deals temporal damage. On hitting an enemy, the bolt searches a new enemy
to hit within radius 10, up to 2 more times. The damage is irrelevant, you want this spell just for unlock.
1 point
b, Temporal Fugue: on activation, 2 paradox clones of you will be summoned all 3 of you will gain a beneficial other effect.
While having this effect, all of your damage is reduced by 66%. Of course all your clones’ damage are also reduced by 66%.
Meanwhile every time either you or one of your clone is taking damage, the damage will be divided by 3 and 1/3 – 1/3
will be transferred to the “other 2 of you”. This damage splitting is triggered at callbackOnHit,
so after damage shields, but before Reality Smearing.
When any of you are receiving this type of shared damage, just your damage shields or Reality Smearing
will be applied for the damage.
This means, the spell is useless against AoE damage what targets all 3 of you,
all of you will take the same damage if you did not cast this spell.
If just you taking damage, then you just take 33% of the damage and your clones will take the other 33% & 33%.
BUT: if one of your clone is taking any damage, you will also take 33% of the damage what it takes.
While you have this effect (and your clones), the talent is not cooling down,
and if you deactivate the effect, your clones will disappear immediately.
You can manually set the spell priority of your clones and also you can switch between party members
and you can control them directly.
NOTE: this can be ineffective or buggy, you can even lose turns by switching between party members
On Insane & lower, this talent can be fun and useful, but on Madness, you NEVER want these things:
- Let your character being controlled by the AI
- Having an actor controlled by the AI who shares damage with you
- Having 2 actors controlled by the AI whom shares damage with you
- Losing turns on nothing (switching between party members)
1 point if you just go for unlock, 4-5 points if you would like to use this
c, Braid Lifelines: this is a passive and it enhances your Rethread talent. From now, your Rethread
will apply a detrimental magical effect (Braided) on hit enemies. Each time a Braided enemy is taking damage,
other Braided targets will receive a % of the damage too (on takeHit).
This is the best talent in this tree, this can easily double your damage output.
I never had any damage problems with PM with Tethers, Attenuate & Echoes, so it is very good, but not necessary.
3 point if you unlocked the tree
d, Cease to Exist: is a single target spell, what tries to apply a detrimental magical effect on the target.
If it succeeds, then the targets physical and temporal resistances are directly reduced by the given amount
(it’s not resistance penetration, it’s a reduction).
Also, the game saves the current map and duplicates a new one. If you manage to kill the target while it still has the effect,
then the game will load back the saved state, but the target will be killed.
This spell splits the timeline, so you cannot cast it while the timeline is already split.
While this is a fun and good talent, for killing a single enemy, PM already has Dimensional Anchor + Time Skip
what is way better and do not cost a category point.
1-3 point if you unlocked the tree
10., Chronomancy:
a, Precognition: this is your tracking talent. The radius is way lower than Track’s radius, but this spell also shows traps.
Seeing enemies in a ~21-23 radius is totally enough even in Madness. Use this continuously.
1 point early, 2 point from level ~16-20, 3 points from level ~25-30, but you can level up earlier too
b, Foresight: is a passive, it gives you a small defense and crit_shrug bonus.
When you use Precognition or See the Threads, this bonus is doubled.
This bonus is irrelevant, just for unlock.
1 point
c, Contingency: is a sustain. On activation, you can bind another spell into it that has no fixed cooldown
and not requires a target. Every time, when your life goes beyond the given threshold, Contingency will go on cooldown
and the bound spell will trigger. If your Contingency has lower level then the bound spell, the spell will use Contingency’s talent level. The triggered spell do not consume resources, the trigger do not put the spell on cooldown and the spell can even trigger
if the spell is on cooldown.
Spells useful to bind: Stormshield Rune, Time Stop, Time Shield and Damage Shield Rune
NOTE: as you see, not just Chronomancy spells can be bound. If you bound a rune,
1 point is enough for Contingency (inscriptions have tlvl 1)
If you go for Time Stop, then you will need 4 points in Contingency
I am binding here a Stormshield Rune, which is incredibly valuable. Contingency triggers before Cauterize
“resets” your life to the original value, so even if Cauterize triggers and my life do not go below the threshold,
Contingency gives me a free Stromshield Rune.
1 point for Runes or as much as your bound spell
d, See the Threads: this spell splits the timeline, so you cannot cast it if you already split the timeline.
Also, you can just activate this spell once in each map.
It saves the current state of the game [0] and applies a beneficial “other” effect on you.
You can act normally but when the effect ends, the game saves this new state again [1] and loads back the original state [0].
You can act again and when the effect ends it saves the state again [2] and load back [0] again.
This happens three times, so you will have three saved game states: [1], [2] and [3] and when the effect ends at the [3] state,
you can choose, which version you want.
The game will load the chosen version and you can continue playing from that state.
NOTE: any time you die in one of these alternate timelines, the game will load back the original state [0] and the effect ends.
But you do not die.
NOTE: this spell can be buggy, mostly if you leave a map, while you still have the effect.
You can activate this spell if you tracked a very strong enemy, before fighting with it.
See the Threads can give you an extra chance once per map, but it’s not a necessary talent to have.
1 point, just for the extra safety
11., Spacetime Weaving:
This is one of your CORE talent trees.
a, Dimensional Step: is an instant teleport, what requires line of sight.
This spell is one of the best mobility talents in the game. Very versatile talent, I use it when I start a fight and when I need to escape.
I used to put 3 points here very early for the 8 range, I need that. I am setting up two Tethers at minimum 7 tiles from each other,
and I need an instant talent to do this. If I would use e.g. Phase Door, after the teleport, my Tether would just teleport me back and could not Tether myself down to another location. From mid-game, I am going for level 4 for the swapping ability.
From effective level 5 (talent level 4 for you), you can target any other actor and the spell checks for teleport immunity & spellsave.
If you succeed, you swap places with the target. Very useful, it can save your life in many cases.
3 point early, 4 point from mid-game
b, Dimensional Shift: is a passive. Each time you teleport, one random detrimental effects duration on you
will be reduced by the given amount.
This is the very best effect clearing/removal talent in the whole game, but not on its own.
Because I am using Wormholes & multiple Spatial Tethers on myself, I can teleport even ~15-30 times per turn.
I always cap Out of Phase on gear, so basically Dimensional Shift can clear even 15-30 effect PER TURN, automatically from me. Invaluable!
3 points early, 4 points from mid-game
c, Wormhole: you can target an adjacent tile to place an “entrance” and then you can target any tile
(that not blocks movement or not a trap) in radius 10 to place the “exit” of the Wormhole.
Placing the exit ignores line of sight, you can place it through walls.
Wormhole is also one of the best mobility talents in the game.
I am using it for fighting enemies at early game (see at talent Spatial Tether)
It’s also useful for escaping by teleporting through walls in a controlled way.
It’s also very useful for effect clearing with a Movement Infusion: you can teleport many times in a turn with it.
4 points asap in 1.6 and before, 5 points in 1.7
d, Phase Pulse: is a sustain. While sustained, every time you teleport, you will apply
random debuffs on enemies in the given range on both the starting & exit location.
Random debuffs are equally likely from: STUN, PIN, BLIND and CONFUSION
This sustain is probably the best debuffer effect in the game.
Because we can teleport several times per turn automatically (with Tethers or with Movement Infusion + Wormhole),
that means, all enemy around us will be continuously debuffed.
This is also an invaluable indirect damage reduction, because most of the enemies actually cannot hit us
(wile blinded & confused & pinned …).
4 points asap
12., Fate Weaving:
a, Spin Fate: is a passive. Each time you take damage and the source is not you, you gain a charge on its effect.
You can just gain maximum 1 spin per turn. Each charge increasing your raw defense & raw saves,
and the effect can have maximum 3 charges. These values are low, just for unlock.
1 point
b, Seal Fate: on activating, it gives you a beneficial magical effect. While you have the effect,
you gain a bonus spin for your Spin Fate if you damage an enemy (maximum once per turn).
Furthermore, any time you deal damage to an enemy, you have a chance to increase the duration
of a random detrimental effect on it by 1 turn. The chance is increasing if you have more spins.
This extension can trigger 1-6 times per turn, depends on talent level. Every damage instance triggers this,
that’s why e.g. Gravity Locus (and anything that offers you more damage instances per turn) is very beneficial for a Paradox Mage.
Seal Fate has a wonderful synergy with Attenuate, if you can extend the duration of Attenuate before
applying a new Attenuate effect, the DoT will be higher & higher.
Learn this from mid-game.
3-5 points
c, Fateweaver: is a passive. On learning, you now gain also raw accuracy & raw powers when you gain a spin.
Same as with Spin Fate, the values are too low. Just for unlock.
1 point
d, Webs of Fate: on activating, it applies a beneficial magical effect on you.
While it lasts, every time you take damage (callbackOnTakeDamage) and the source is not you,
the effect will search a random hostile actor within radius 10 and displaces the given percent of the damage instance to that actor.
This talent is a very strong damage reduction, the only case when it not works is, when there is no enemy
within 10 tiles and you take damage. Very useful, always use this during fights.
3 points from mid-game, 5 points for late-game
13., Energy:
a, Energy Decomposition: is a sustain. While sustained, every time you take damage (callbackOnTakeDamage),
the 30% of the damage instance will be reduced by the given flat amount.
This is a moderate damage reduction effect, but I still like it, because it works against any type of damage.
1 point at level 20, 3-4 point for end-game
b, Energy Absorption: you can target an actor and the spell will search amongst the actors talents.
First, it searches amongst the actors activated talents that are not on cooldown.
Next, it puts 1-3 talents randomly on cooldown.
Then, for every talent that was put on cooldown on the actor, one of your talents cooldown (with no fixed cooldown)
will be reduced by the same amount that is currently on cooldown.
So, at every 6 turns, you can reduce the cooldown of 1-3 of your talents by 1-4 turns.
This looks random, but with a bit of management, you can reduce the cooldown of your valuable talents.
NOTE: this spell not just reduces the cooldown of spells or chronomancy spells, but any talent
You can reset your inscriptions and even your Hidden Resources with this!
It’s very good, when during fights you can use your talents more often.
NOTE: you can also cast it on yourself, with very interesting effects (unfortunately you can resist your own spell too,
so be sure your paradox spellpower is higher than your spellsave)
If you have no talents on cooldown, the spell won’t do anything (the log is bugged)
If you have 1 talent on cooldown, 0 or 1 other talent will be put on cooldown and the cooldown of your talent will be reduced
If you have 2 or more talents on cooldown, 0-2 of your other talents will be placed on cooldown
and the same number of cooling down talents will be reset.
So, you can use this on yourself to reset your Materialize Barrier while you are buried in a hole.
Always use it on an enemy that has low spellsave and has several talents if you can.
NOTE: due to the CombatTalentLimit change in 1.7, this talent affects 0 talent at level 1
1 point first just to unlock Redux & Entropy, later 5 points
c, Redux: on activation this applies a beneficial magical effect on you. While you have this effect
the first time you activate a talent with equal or lower cooldown then the given value, the talent won’t go on cooldown.
Any talent, not just spells or Chronomancy spells.
This spell is wonderful, it enables to apply 2 Spatial Tethers on yourself at the start of every fight. This spell is one of your core talent. You can double teleport with Dimensional Step if you want to escape, you can use 2 Wormhole to go very far away.
If you use Matrix on a higher cooldown spell, you can double cast it: Induce Anomaly, Echoes From the Past,
Materialize Barrier can be all useful.
4 points asap
d, Entropy: you can apply a detrimental magical effect on a single enemy with this spell.
Once at every turn, a sustained talent will be deactivated on the target.
Very useful spell, there are many sustains in the game that you like to deactivate.
2 points after you got Redux to level 4, 3 point from mid-game
14., Combat Training:
Just 1 point in Heavy Armour Training to have the option to wear metal gauntlets, boots, ...
III., Stats:
Nothing special here: Magic, Willpower and lastly you can pump up Cunning or anything you need for a chosen prodigy.
Magic & Willpower has equal importance and I like to pump up Cunning because the Crit chance + the extra Mindpower
(I like using Mindblast Torques to silence some enemies)
IV., Prodigies:
The build does not rely on any prodigy, so you can choose any (on insane and lower).
Hidden Resources, Cauterize, Draconic Will, Ethereal Form are all good options, for example.
I used to go with: Hidden Resources (lvl 25) & Cauterize (lvl 42).
V., Inscriptions:
Due to Wormhole, a Movement Infusion is a must have!
Fortunately, we will always teleporting, so we do not really need an effect reduction rune, just at early game.
You can look for any stronger inscription, but from mid-late game, look for Stormshield rune(s), they are very strong.
Early game: Movement Infusion, Shatter rune/Mental Wild, Biting Gale rune/Shielding Rune
Late Game: Movement Infusion, Stormshield rune, Stormshield rune & choose any 1 more what has good stats
(like a strong Damage Shield rune, Biting Gale Rune, Rune of Reflection or even another Movement Infusion)
VI., Gear:
Reach the 40% out of phase cap asap. (1-3 pieces of gear, easy to handle)
Get a quickening pickaxe/mindblast torque.
Get a spellbinding/undeterred shoe.
Get some damage penetration: physical and/or temporal, but temporal is more important.
Get willpower/reduce anomaly fail for safer and more reliable spellcasting.
Get magic, spellpower, spellsurge for more powerful spells.
Get stun/FREEZE immunity, you want a total 200% for maximal safety.
As formerly was already mentioned, there are some artifacts that are very good for Chronomancers.
This build highly benefits from the new Aetherwalk, you gain very good damage.
If you find this artifact, you should consider to use 2 movement infusions.
Elemental Fury ring splits your damage into 4 instances, but this build do not really need it. We can already deal 6-7 damages per turn.
Un’fezan’s Cap is always welcome! Extra Wormhole is nice, even if the talent level is low.
Temporal Augmentation Robe is always welcome too, and not just because the extra Reprieve. It has many things you need.
Rod of Sarrilon is very strong here. Good stats and -1 turn CD on Flux, -3 turn CD on Time Shield.
Zemekky’s Hourglass is also welcome. Good stats for us and the strong spell cooldown reduction too.
Umbraphage is the best lantern for us, it eliminates magical darkness, so we have line of sight use Dimensional Step.
VII., Defenses:
While you are close to enemies, most of them will be slowed, stunned, pinned, confused, blinded,
off-balanced and/or brainlocked for all the fight.
You will also have:
a, maxed or close to maxed all resist from out of phase & gear (70% damage reduction)
b, Webs of Fate (33% damage reduction)
c, Energy Decomposition
d, Time Shield
e, and Reality Smearing (30% damage reduction)
f, defensive runes: Stormshield runes and/or Shielding Runes
You will also have continuous life gain through Attenuate
Against detrimental effects, you have:
a, 40% out of phase always on
b, Time Shield for a further 50% duration reduction
these are totally: 0.6 x 0.5 = 0.3 -> 70% total duration reduction
And in top of that, you will teleport 1-5 or way more times continuously at every turn.
So, you clear 1-5 times a 6-7 turn duration from yourself.
It’s way better than a continuous Providence… or five Providences?
If you need to escape, do not forget to cancel the Spatial Tether effect from you before escape.
You also have Materialize Barrier, you can cast it after a Dimensional Step to block line of sight.
Also, you can cast the Barrier between the two Wormholes/Tethers if the environment does not contain natural obstacle, wall.
The main safety escape is Temporal Reprieve.
You will sustain Contingency, it can also save your life. You gain 3000 energy or a free Stormshield rune if your life goes low.
Any time you feel, there is a very strong enemy, cast See the Threads before engaging into combat with it.
You can use it once per map level, so use it well.
VIII., Fighting with enemies:
Level 1-3: use Dust to Dust, Repulsion Blast and Temporal Bolt, all at level 1
Level 4-9: use also Spatial Tether on melee enemies to kill them & negate them
Level 10-22: use the Tether + Wormhole core strategy, while you cast mainly Attenuate and Temporal Bolt in rotation
From this point, always use Induce Anomaly & Twist Fate when needed
From level 22: use the multiple-Tether core strategy, while you cast mainly Attenuate,
Energy Absorption and Temporal Bolt in rotation
Use also Echoes from the Past
You can use the Dimensional Anchor + Time Skip combo to lock 1-2 enemies while killing the rest with Tethers + Attenuate
At the start of each fight, activate: Hidden Resources, Time Stop, Seal Fate, Webs of Fate, a defensive rune or Time Shield,
then set up both of your Tethers.
Try to cast Attenuate on yourself too, not just on enemies. You deal very good damage with multiple-Tethers already,
it’s not a problem if you use Attenuate just for healing if you are low on life.
Any time you see, enemy life is below ~40-50%, go for an Echoes from the Past. You just need to lower their life to 20%,
then Attenuate will do the rest.
As the fight is longer & longer, set up more & more Tethers around your target.
- 2_Tethers.png (237.98 KiB) Viewed 25622 times
Of yourse if there are more emey involed in the fight, you should set up your Tethers in a way
deal the most damage to them. It depends on the situation, it's up to you.
You can reach serious range with the multi-Tether strategy (just for fun):
1, Redux and Tether yourself
2, Dimensional Step 8-10 tiles away (instant, so no Tether trigger)
3, Time Stop: cast Wormhole up to 10 tiles away (~840 energy is used from Time Stop)
4, Movement Infusion -> in-out Wormhole to spam out several Random Warp effects
5, Tether yourself down
If you are using 2 movement infusions then you can even extend your range to 30 or more tils between your 2 Tethers…
Your damage output with Tethers is really good:
Empowered Attenuate (spellpower 100, paradox 300) is dealing
828 damage over 5 turns
2606 damage over 10 turns
13220 damage over 20 turns
if all the maximum 6 Seal Fate procs is going for Attenuate per turn, and you re-cast Attenuate on the target at each 4th turn (CD: 4).
Meanwhile two Tethers, without Empower are dealing:
2800 damage over 5 turns
5600 damage over 10 turns
11200 damage over 20 turns
at TWO locations!
But: the thing is, you can reset a new Tether at every 8 turns, so you can deal more & more damage over time with Tethers too!
If I take into consideration the newly applied Tether, the damage of the Tethers are:
2800 damage over 5 turns
6160 damage over 10 turns
15680 damage over 20 turns
at TWO or more locations!
Without Empower…
As you can see, with multiple-Tethers, you can deal:
~ 3.3 x more damage over 5 turns then with fully Seal Fated Attenuate
~ 2.36 x more damage over 10 turns
~ 1.18 x more damage over 20 turns
Of course I am using Attenuate + Seal Fate & Multiple-Tethers together, because with multiple-Tethers,
the teleports are automatic and I can cast other spells normally.
I hope, this guide will change the way of how players usually think about Spacetime Folding tree.
Spatial Tether is a very effective skill if you use it together with Wormhole and Phase Pulse skills,
Movement Infusions and mainly with Redux.
Also Banish & Dimensional Anchor are very cool, strong & unique talents.
EDIT: because of the feedback of some players, I re-formed my guide to a -hopefully- more easy-to-read guide.
I deleted several “boring” calculations, but if someone is interested, why I wrote Gravity Well is just good at level 3
or why I wrote Time Dilation is way better than Haste, I can show some calculations.
Updated for 1.7
