RimWorld – Ultimate Psychic Guide

A handy guide for everything you wanted to know about psycasting!

Into to Psycasting

Note: Credit goes to TranslucencY

So you have decided to dig into the wonderful and terrible realm of psychic powers and want to know what you have in store? Or perhaps you want to plan out your perfect psywarrior?

This here is the guide for you!

I will lay out all of the powers here for you as well as the mechanics behind how they work so you can build up your ideal psychic powerhouse!

Now let’s dive right into the good stuff: The Powers. Each power requires a certain level of psychic amplifier to work. Each time a psychic amplifier is installed or upgraded you are given a random ability of the new level. Don’t worry! You can always learn more abilities through the use of psytrainers.

For the slow ones among you the powers are laid out as follows:

Ability Name

In-game description

• Range: How far away you can target with the power
• Radius: The effect radius from the targeted point
• Entropy Gain: The amount of entropy the psycaster will get for using this ability
• Cast Time: The amount of seconds needed to use the ability
• Duration: The amount of seconds the ability will last
• Effect of Ability
• Relation Impact: Because some factions don’t like you using your weird powers on their people.

Level 1 Abilities

Here are all the powers that will require at least a tier 1 Psychic Amplifier to use:

Painblock

In-game description: Block pain pathways in the target’s brain for a short time. This can allow a person to move and act even with grievous injuries which would normally incapacitate them.

• Range: 24.9
• Entropy Gain: 10
• Cast Time: 0.25s
• Duration: 30s
• Target only feels 10% of pain.

Not usable on mechanoids.

It’s simple spell, but quite effective. Best for when you don’t have the silver to shell out for a painstopper and want to make your berserker a more of a tank. Be aware that the lack of pain does not mean that they are invincible. Also good for keeping wimpy colonists in the fight (instead of him collapsing after being grazed by a bullet).

I can confirm that it will work on pawns that have been incapacitated from pain. Instead of taking another gun from the fight to rescue them you can have them drag themselves to the hospital or get back to fighting. Also good for demonstrating the proper way of behaving to pawns who are having a mental break.

Stun

In-game description: Momentarily disrupt motor function in the target’s brain, preventing any movement.

• Range: 19.9
• Entropy Gain: 12
• Casting Time: 0.25s
• Duration: 3s
• Relation Impact -15

A well timed stun can turn the tide of battle. It can mean the difference between a doomsday rocket taking out half of your colonists or giving you a few seconds to fall back. Best used in tying up big threats, like stopping centipede from firing its weapon so you can get your guys into melee range.

Burden

In-game description: Slow the target for a short time by suppressing motor activity in the brain.

• Range: 29.9
• Entropy Gain: 8
• Duration: 30s
• Casting Time: 0.25s
• Max Move Speed 40% (x Target’s Psychic Sensitivity)
• Relation Impact -15

Use of this is quite situational. 

Hotfix #5 now multiplies the max move speed. See the Sensitivity and Entropy section below.

Most of the time I have used this ability is to help chase down straggling raiders who think they can flee.

Level 2 Abilities

Here are all the powers that will require at least a tier 2 Psychic Amplifier to use:

Blinding Pulse

In-game description: Induce noise in the visual centers of the brain, obscuring vision of everyone near the target point.

• Range: 24.9
• Radius: 4.9
• Entropy Gain: 20
• Cast Time: 1s
• Duration: 30s
• Max Sight 50% (x Target’s Psychic Sensitivity)
• Relation Impact -15

Being unable to see well makes shooting anything incredibly difficult. Lure those pesky raiders into a choke point and slap them with this and they will having trouble hitting the broadside of a barn.

Entropy Link

In-game description: Form a psychic link between caster and target, so that gain and loss of psychic entropy is shared between both equally. The link lasts for some time, but will break if the two move far apart.

• Range: 3.9
• Entropy Gain: 20
• Cast Time: 1s
• Duration: 60s
• Transfer 50% of entropy gained to target.
• Max Range (After Link): 10
• Relation Impact -15

At first glance this power is useless, but I assure you it is AMAZING. As it turns out you can link to ANYBODY; colonists, animals, mechanoids, even that naked raider with a rusty knife who thought raiding you was a good idea. More details in the Sensitivity and Entropy section if you are curious as to how this works.

Level 3 Abilities

Here are all the powers that will require at least a tier 3 Psychic Amplifier to use:

Beckon

In-game description: Psychically command the target to approach the caster.

• Range: 24.9
• Entropy Gain: 20
• Cast Time: 0.25s
• Duration: 10s
• Forces target to follow the psycaster.

Not usable on incapacitated targets.

Another one of those powers that look crap at first but are actually quite powerful and very useful. You can target an enemy and they will be forced to stop everything to follow your psycaster. Even better, the target won’t be able to shoot. Why try and Stun that centipede when you can force it to come to you for melee?

This power is also one of the few not seen as harmful, so factions don’t care if you use it on them. With a bit of skill you can get those visitors to attack those insect hives or deal with those pesky mechanoid clusters for you. And if they die, why would their faction get mad? It’s not like its your fault or anything…

Vertigo Pulse

In-game description: Interfere with the spatial orientation sense of everyone near the target point, causing intermittent loss of balance. Flesh creatures will become extremely nauseous as well.

• Range: 24.9
• Radius: 4.9
• Entropy Gain: 25
• Cast Time: 1s
• Duration: 20s
• Targets in affected area wander dizzily (wander radius 3), organic targets will vomit.
• Relation Impact -15

This is how a psycaster can disable an entire raiding party, single-handed. The targets will not be able to shoot at you as they are too dizzy to sit still. When they start vomiting they won’t even be able to fight back. Since I picked this power up raids, manhunter packs, and infestations have been mostly trivialized.

Chaos Skip

In-game description: Teleport the target to a random position near where he started.

• Range: 24.9
• Entropy Gain: 18
• Cast Time: 0.25s
• Target is teleported to a random spot 6.9 to 24.9 away.
• After teleporting they are stunned for a second or two.
• Relation Impact -15

Might seem neat at first glance, but the random aspect makes this situational. You might just teleport that raider from a sensitive spot right into your killbox. Or he might wind up in your treasury or hospital. Use at your own risk.

Level 4 Abilities

Here are all the powers that will require at least a tier 4 Psychic Amplifier to use:

Skip

In-game description: Teleport the target to a desired position not too far from his starting point.

• Range: 24.9
• Entropy Gain: 25
• Cast Time: 0.25s
• Teleport target to a point of your choosing. Stuns for less than a second.

The only limit to this ability is that you can only skip targets to places that your psycaster can see.

The ultimate control ability. Get those melee soldiers where they need to be in a flash instead of having them wade through all that gunfire. Place that one troublesome raider right in front of your firing squad. Scoop that downed colonist from the clutches of those kidnapping raiders. Teleport those components away from that tantruming colonist. Have your psycaster blink away to safety. This ability is also considered a non-hostile action, so you can even move visitors and traders. The uses of this power is endless.

Wallraise

In-game description: Form a temporary wall by skipping rubble and soil up from deep under the ground.

• Range: 24.9
• Entropy Gain: 25
• Cast Time: 1s
• Create a wall at target location.

Excellent for plugging holes in your walls in an emergency and creating cover for your colonists. Worry no more about those sappers turning your colony into Swiss cheese and leaving you exposed.

Smokepop

In-game description: Skip dust particles up from under the ground surface to form a thick cloud. This reduces the accuracy of any shot fired through it, and preventing turrets from locking on entirely.

• Range: 24.9
• Entropy Gain: 35
• Cast Time: 1s
• Smokepop, radius of 3.5, at target location.

Just like a smokepop belt, except you don’t have to get shot at to activate it. The smoke prevents turrets from targeting you, and is incredibly hard for colonists or raiders to shoot through.

Focus

In-game description: Psychically focus the target’s mind, boosting their sight, hearing and moving capacities.

• Range: 24.9
• Entropy Gain: 15
• Cast Time: 0.25s
• Duration: 60s
• Sight x1.3
• Hearing x1.3
• Moving x1.3

Causes target to move a bit faster and shoot a bit better. Also useful for other non-combat related tasks as well, as most crafting, surgery, and research speed is boosted from sight.

Level 5 Abilities

Here are all the powers that will require at least a tier 5 Psychic Amplifier to use:

Berserk

In-game description: Induce an angry psychosis in the target’s mind, causing them to attack anyone nearby.

• Range: 24.9
• Entropy Gain: 35
• Cast Time: 0.25s
• Duration: 30s
• Cause the target to go berserk.
• Relation Impact -15

Makes delaying raids pretty easy. Also handy for getting your enemies to take each other out. Other lower tiered powers can be just as effective. Best if you want to make sure a particular target dies, bonus points for making his friends do your dirty work.

Invisibility

In-game description: Psychically manipulate the visual centers of everyone nearby, rendering them unable to perceive a particular individual for a short time.

• Range: 9.9
• Entropy Gain: 30
• Cast Time: 1s
• Duration: 15s
• Makes the target invisible.

Invisible targets can’t be attacked, simple as that. Also note that invisible targets can’t specifically targeted by other powers.

Level 6 Abilities

Here are all the powers that will require at least a tier 6 Psychic Amplifier to use:

Berserk Pulse

In-game description: Generate an overwhelming rush of undirected rage in everyone near the target point.

• Range: 24.9
• Radius: 2.9
• Entropy Gain: 60
• Cast Time: 1s
• Duration: 60s
• Cause the targets to go berserk.
• Relation Impact -75

Force a whole group of enemies to kill one another. ‘Nuff said.

Manhunter Pulse

In-game description: Drive nearby animals into a manhunting rage using a psychic pulse.

• Range: 24.9
• Radius: 29.9
• Entropy Gain: 40
• Cast Time: 1s
• Duration: 60s
• Cause the targets to go berserk.
• Relation Impact -75

Does not work on humans.

Send some of the local wildlife to soften up your enemy’s defenses.

Mass Chaos Skip

In-game description: Skip everyone near a target point to a random location nearby.

• Range: 24.9
• Radius: 7.9
• Entropy Gain: 40
• Cast Time: 1s
• Cause everyone in a target area to teleport to a random range between 6.9 to 24.9, and stun them for a few seconds.
• Relation Impact -75

Scatter an organized attack force into chaos. As is the case with Chaos Skip, the chances of enemies skipping to a more sensitive location multiply for every enemy targeted. In the worst scenario it could potentially break up an overwhelming force into more manageable chunks.

Sensitivity and Entropy

And now for the nitty-gritty details on how to optimize your psycasting. There are lots factors that go into how powerful the various effects are.

The primary stat that affects abilities is Psychic Sensitivity. The base sensitivity scores are as follows:

• Default: 1
• Mechanoid: 0.5
• Centipede: 0.75
• Psychically Hypersensitive: 1.8
• Psychically Sensitive: 1.4
• Psychically Dull: 0.5
• Psychically Deaf: 0

All effects with a duration has it multiplied by the target’s Psychic Sensitivity. Psychically Deaf targets are immune to psychic effects.

A couple of ability effects become multiplied by a target’s sensitivity:

• Burden has the speed modifier of 40%, so a Psychically Hypersensitive target will get their move speed reduced to 72%, a Psychically Dull target will get reduced to 20% speed.
• Blinding Pulse has the sight modifier of 50%, a Psychically Hypersensitive target will get 90% and a Psychically Dull target will get 25%

Now what is the Psychic Entropy Limit?

It is the amount of entropy a person can safely accrue. There is a built-in safety switch to prevent someone from going over the limit, but that safety can be disabled for an emergency, but it will cause long-lasting damage to your psycaster.

All things have a Psychic Entropy Limit default of 30 multiplied by Psychic Sensitivity (rounded up). For example, a Psychically Hypersensitive person will have a Psychic Entropy Limit boosted to 54, while a Psychically Dull person will have a Psychic Entropy Limit reduced to 15.

Installing a Psychic Amplifier will multiply a colonist’s Psychic Entropy Limit (rounded up) depending on the level.

• Psychic Amplifier Level 1: x1 (no change)
• Psychic Amplifier Level 2: x1.3334
• Psychic Amplifier Level 3: x1.6667
• Psychic Amplifier Level 4: x2
• Psychic Amplifier Level 5: x2.3334
• Psychic Amplifier Level 6: 2.6667

Now how do you get rid of that nasty Psychic Entropy?

Just simply wait it out. Entropy loss rate is calculated on a 30 second basis; the default rate is 5 per 30 seconds. Unfortunately entropy recovery is NOT changed by sensitivity.

All Psychic Amplifiers come with an enhanced entropy recovery rate:

• Psychic Amplifier Level 1: +4
• Psychic Amplifier Level 2: +4.5
• Psychic Amplifier Level 3: +5
• Psychic Amplifier Level 4: +5.5
• Psychic Amplifier Level 5: +6
• Psychic Amplifier Level 6: +6.5

These are NOT cumulative. If you have a normal colonist with a level 1 Psychic Amplifier their recovery rate will be 9 per 30 seconds; one with a level 6 Psychic Amplifier will have a rate of 11.5 per 30 seconds.

Other Psychic Modifiers

You aren’t limited to just traits and Psychic Amplifiers to change a colonist’s Psychic Sensitivity and Entropy Recovery Rate. There is equipment available that can enhance them!

The psyfocus apparel listed here cannot be manufactured and must be traded for.

Here are the different items that a psycaster can benefit from:

Psychic Sensitizer (Brain Implant)

• Sensitivity +0.25
• Base Market Value 1,200

I consider this implant a must-have for all your psycasters. That slight bump you would get to your Psychic Entropy Limit could mean you can get one more chance to use an ability. Also get a slightly longer duration for ALL effects. It’s also one of the cheaper brain implants and the benefits are well worth the silver.

Psyfocus Helmet

• Sensitivity +0.15
• Entropy Recovery Rate +2
• Base Market Value 500

It offers slightly more protection than a simple helmet and is effective at shedding that nasty entropy.

Psyfocus Shirt

• Sensitivity +0.1
• Entropy Recovery Rate +1
• Base Market Value 400

Another must-have for each of your psycasters. It may look like it doesn’t give as much of a bonus as other psyfocus gear, but it can be worn with ALL kinds of armor, including the coveted Marine Armor or the new Cataphract Armor!

Psyfocus Vest

• Sensitivity +0.15
• Entropy Recovery Rate +1.5
• Base Market Value 500

Not as good as other psyfocus gear, since it takes up the slot for a flak vest, and cant be worn with Marine Armor. If you are like me, you would have everyone wearing a flak vest to protect against any damage they may take.

Psyfocus Robe

• Sensitivity +0.2
• Entropy Recovery Rate +2.5
• Base Market Value 600

It fits comfortably over your flak vest and it provides better heat and cold insulation than a basic parka or duster. If you aren’t fitting your psycaster in heavy armor, it is the best choice of apparel. It also offers the best sensitivity and recovery rate of all the other apparel (but you can see that by the numbers).

Psyfocus Staff

• Sensitivity +0.5
• Entropy Recovery Rate +2.5
• Base Market Value 1,000

This “weapon” offers the best sensitivity and recovery rates available in an item. It also deals less damage than any club, making it the worst weapon. Give this to your psychic wizard who will be away from the front lines.

Psychic Foil Helmet

• Sensitivity -0.9

Just… No. Giving this to your psycaster will effectively neuter them. The only reasonable use of this is to protect your psycaster from an extreme psychic drone, but why would you let it get that bad??

Psychic Silencer (Implant)

• Slight Pain (0.2)
• Makes the Psycaster Undetectable

You little rebel, you. You are feeling naughty and want to use powers and tools without permission from the Empire? Give your psycaster one of these babies. This will keep your secrets safe, and therefore keep the Empire from kicking down your door.

Every time you use an unauthorized ability un-silenced there is a chance for the psycaster’s psychic signature to be picked up by the Empire. If that happens you will be declared an enemy of the Empire, who will then begin sending crusades against you to cleanse your heretic filth from the galaxy.

Miscellaneous Items

Here are the things that are changed by Psychic Sensitivity that don’t fit above.

Psychic Reader (Implant)

• Negotiation Ability +0.5 x Psychic Sensitivity

Let’s your colonist read the minds of others. The extra bonus isn’t stated in the description, but it’s there! Kit your negotiator out in full psyfocus gear, plug this implant in and you will be swimming in discounts.

Psychic Suppressor (Mech Cluster Building)

• Reduces consciousness based on sensitivity.

This nasty little mechanoid device could cripple your psycasters. Beware!

Psychic Soothe Emanator

• Mood +5 x Psychic Sensitivity

A ThoughtDef in the game files that boosts mood slightly, but is not used by anything currently in the game.

Psychic Drone

• Soothe: +16 x Psychic Sensitivity
• Low Drone: -12 x Psychic Sensitivity
• Moderate Drone: -22 x Psychic Sensitivity
• High Drone: -30 x Psychic Sensitivity
• Extreme Drone: -40 x Psychic Sensitivity

These are triggered by events and mechanoid cluster buildings.