You equip one spell from each school plus a Spirit and a Transformation, and the right combination trivialises fights. Here's what the key spells actually do and how they slot into your kit — Immobilize alone carries most of the early game, but the others cover its gaps.
The signature spells
🧊 Immobilize (Mysticism)
Freezes an enemy in place for a free combo — your bread-and-butter opener against almost every boss.
🌫️ Cloud Step (Alteration)
Turn invisible and leave a decoy; your next heavy from stealth is a guaranteed critical.
🗿 Rock Solid (Alteration)
Turn to stone to negate an incoming hit and charge a heavy counter — a defensive parry substitute.
🧵 A Pluck of Many (Strand)
Spawn clones of yourself from your hairs to swarm and stagger a target with extra hits.
Using them well
- Hold Immobilize for a boss over-extension or phase change, not to open a full-health fight.
- Cloud Step's decoy buys space and its follow-up crit is huge — great against aggressive bosses.
- Rock Solid is your answer to unblockable-looking combos; time the stone through the hit.
- You unlock more spells per school as you progress — swap freely at shrines to fit the fight.
Loadout advice
A strong default is Immobilize (control) + Cloud Step or Rock Solid (defence/burst) + Pluck of Many (extra damage), with a Transformation banked for emergencies. Because respecs and swaps are free at Keeper's Shrines, treat your spell loadout as a per-boss decision rather than a fixed build.
Unlocking more spells
- Each school gains extra spells as you progress and spend Sparks in its tree.
- Later options (like Ring of Fire) add situational tools beyond the starters.
- You still equip only one spell per school, so choose the best fit for the fight.
- Respec at a shrine to test new spells against a wall boss for free.
How to think about a loadout
One answer to the thing that kills you
Look at what actually ended your last attempt — an unblockable, a combo you cannot dodge, a phase you cannot survive — and pick the spell that answers *that*.
One damage window
Something that reliably buys you a charged Heavy. Immobilize is the obvious pick and stays useful the whole game.
One panic button
A defensive option you hold and never plan around. The moment you start planning around it, it stops being available when you need it.
Immobilize is the backbone
- It is the first spell you get and it never stops being good.
- The window is short — start the charged Heavy *as* you cast, not after.
- Most bosses resist it more as the fight goes on, so spend it on phases, not openings.
- Against crowds it is a panic button; against bosses it is a damage window. Different jobs.
Common mistakes
- Casting on cooldown. Spells are windows, not damage — an unspent window is wasted Mana.
- Carrying three defensive spells. You will die slowly instead of quickly.
- Never revisiting the loadout. If a boss has beaten you three times, change the kit, not the tactics.
- Forgetting the loadout is free to change. There is no cost to experimenting at a shrine.
Still to verify
Still to confirm in-game: which chapter unlocks each spell, their Mana costs, and which stat each scales with.
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