Magicraft combines elements from various games, making it both accessible for beginners and challenging for experienced players. A pro from Binding of Isaac might find the wand crafting tricky, while a Noita expert could still face hurdles in evading intricate attacks. Players familiar with Touhou may also struggle, as their hitbox is defined by multiple pixels rather than the expected single point.
Once you grasp the main gameplay mechanics, tackling difficult sections becomes much more manageable. Understanding how to utilize your available tools can transform tough boss battles into engaging puzzles rather than mere tests of skill.
Prioritize Upgrading Wand Capacity Early
One of the pricier upgrades you can get from Vivian is the ability to add a third and fourth wand slot. Increasing your carrying capacity is crucial and should be a top priority.
Having extra wands offers several key advantages:
- They provide backup storage for spells when your inventory fills up.
- More wands contribute to increased mana capacity and regeneration, allowing for more strategic swaps.
- You can prepare wands tailored to various combat situations, such as dedicating one for area attacks and another for single targets.
- A number of wands come with passive skills that operate without needing to be actively held, granting continuous benefits even if you’re focusing on other wands.
Three wands are an ideal goal. This allows you to equip one for direct attack, another for slower spells or utilities, and the third can act as an emergency option, like a fast dash spell, or serve as an additional weapon while the other wands recharge.
Mana is Unique to Each Wand
The game interface displays your mana beneath your health, which might mislead you into thinking it’s a character attribute instead of a wand feature. Each wand contains its own mana pool and cannot draw from others.
This system makes high-capacity, slow-recovery wands surprisingly effective as secondary weapons. While some spells may consume an entire wand’s mana at once, they can deliver overwhelming power.
Tip: Relics that enhance your maximum mana or improve regeneration will benefit all your wands simultaneously!
The Crafting System is Key to Success
One standout feature of the game is spell customization. Players familiar with Noita will have a bit of an edge, but there are unique traits in this game to learn.
Understanding how to modify your spells with boosts and passives can simplify the early game significantly. Here are a few objectives for mastering the spell system, which will help you progress through your initial runs:
- Create a wand with zero cooldown. By integrating laser spells and burst modifiers, you can build a wand that deals incredible damage. Late-game spells like mana absorption can lead to weapons potent enough to cause system slowdowns.
- Design an automated wand. Using wand spirits, resonance runes, and secondary slots allows your wands to trigger effects even when not actively held, minimizing your need to juggle spells.
- Duplicate spells: Wands that can copy spells can significantly amplify your damage output, especially once you unlock additional boosting effects. Initial options like rainbow spells are great for creating combos.
Focus on Mana Efficiency Over Raw Damage
While combining several powerful spells for a flashy display can be tempting, it may deplete your mana in a single cast. In protracted battles, applying efficient, smaller damage spells can keep you consistently offensive without leaving gaps.
Spells that don’t solely rely on damage pair well with abilities that reduce mana cost. Deflecting enemy projectiles can be an effective strategy, especially when used alongside cheaper casting or spells that apply lasting effects like poison, which bypasses many damage modifiers.
Note: Spells that modify mana cost must occupy a secondary slot to affect secondary spells, allowing you to use different modifiers on each wand.
Be Cautious with Status Effects
Using status effects can greatly enhance your power. Slowing or freezing foes can translate to more time for dealing damage, and poison can accumulate to decimate even the most formidable opponents.
However, be cautious about how you apply these spells; some may turn against you. For example, a poison boulder spell can leave a damaging trail that poses as much danger to you as to your enemies.
Optimize Your Secondary Slots
The secondary slots on your wands can help you execute multiple spells simultaneously. Once charged, all secondary spells activate at the same time, but the required charge is based on the total cost of those spells. It’s often better not to fill all secondary slots, making them an excellent place for passive runes.
Here are some effective uses for secondary slots:
- Add more attack spells to your main offensive wand, a straightforward approach that works well with simple charging conditions, such as on-hit or on-use scenarios.
- Incorporate utility spells that operate outside your main rotation. A summon wand may face difficulties due to varying population limits; placing a rare summon in a secondary slot helps manage their appearance without clogging your active spell rotation.
Summons Are Great Against Regular Enemies but Struggle with Bosses
Summoned allies provide both damage and protection; they can distract lesser foes or block incoming projectiles. However, keep in mind that summoning can divert your attention. If they disrupt your dodging capabilities, consider adjusting their transparency settings.
Note: Most late-game bosses possess broad area attacks that can hinder your ability to deploy weaker summons effectively. While summoner builds remain viable throughout the game, ensure you can quickly replenish your summoned allies as they take damage.
Some Spells Have Hidden Effects
Spell descriptions can often lack detail about their effects, making it essential to test them extensively outside battles or against dummies before deploying them in combat. For instance, the ray of disintegration might only indicate it produces a continuous beam.
Exploring spells can reveal surprises—such as an unexpectedly strong knockback effect—making it difficult to use reliably in combat situations.
Learn What to Focus On While Dodging and Attacking
Like other bullet-hell games, the screen can fill with chaotic elements. Most projectiles won’t hit you, so part of the challenge is identifying which attacks are genuinely perilous amidst the chaos.
Striking a balance between dodging and attacking can be tricky; often, it’s wise to prioritize defensive maneuvers. By paying attention to dodge patterns, you can lean on non-targeted attacks for crowd control.
Sometimes, relics alter your hitbox or visual perception, complicating dodging. For instance, certain items can create the illusion that your head is offset from your body—this purely cosmetic change can create confusion, emphasizing the need to protect your actual body hitbox.
Tip: An accessibility option allows you to maintain your true hitbox without visual confusion while retaining other visual alterations.
Cursed Chests Are Usually Worth the Risk
While it can be daunting to incur known penalties for unknown rewards, most curses tend to be manageable or quickly removed. On average, a curse may cost around 15 hit points, while cursed chests often yield valuable upgrades or relics that justify the risk.
Be wary of less tangible curses, such as those that reduce mana recovery. While they may seem negligible at first, they could significantly disrupt your wand rotation or compound with other effects for greater consequences.
Warning: Most curse removal methods target random effects, so accumulating mild curses can make it tougher to eliminate stronger ones.
Negative Effects Can Be Beneficial
Few items in the game lack utility; all wands, relics, and spells hold potential benefits, even those perceived as severely flawed.
- For example, the defiant nature wand fires backwards but boasts superior stats. Pairing it with a curse that makes all shots revert can eliminate that disadvantage.
- The restless fey wand drains mana while held, but if you have a wand spirit carry it, you can completely ignore this downside, turning it into a potent weapon.
Many spells and relics with seemingly negative impacts can foster innovative synergies.
