Ramble 7: Art of Bound War. Perks
Biggest threat in the game is getting completely bound, but we also have restraints that offer enhancing beneficial effects, one might start to think: "I love being bound, i want to fight like this!"
This Ramble will cover ways one can temporarily or long term have a fighting chance, while unable to slash or cast in normal circumstances.
To cast spells you have Mouth, hands and leg component spells, that get disabled with enough bondage applied.
Melee fighting relies on hands and arms usually going in route of Lowered accuracy-> disarmed-> reduced unarmed damage-> even more lowered accuracy and unarmed damage.
Starting with perks that can help:
- Psychic. We have covered this earlier, but on this topic the perk allows you to use potions and some items while fully bound, letting you fill up resources or drop a bomb down for last resort actions.
- Novice pet. I will cover this more in detail later.
- Smooth Talker, Deft Fingering and Deft Footwork. All these Make casting possible with more than regular basic bondage. bear in mind, that there will eventually be a treshold that stops you from casting completely still.
- Like the wind. The reduced slow level can potentially let you cast leg spells again, if you are not too severely bound. Combine with Deft footwork for bigger benefit.
- Burning Desire. This can be tricky, but you could try utilizing the setting things on fire to burn down some of your foes. I dont recommend this as main way to survive though.
- Path of Least resistance. This is rather commonly known perk. Making enemies take damage, and potentially hurt themselves to if you have room to have bondage applied on you.
- Grounded in reality. simple damage buff with maximum mana. All rounder benefits.
- Bound power. Evasion and damage boost when bound.
- Berserker Rage. More Melee power at cost of gaining distraction.
- Brawler. Stronger unarmed that does not get weakened by bondage. Can use legs.
Trainee specific Perks
These perks are normally negative, but turn to positives with Trainee, who can use distraction as a weapon:
- Bondage Lover. escaping increases distraction.
- I Have... needs. Distraction builds up all the time.
- Masochist. Taking damage increases distraction.
- Arousing Magic. Casting magic increases distraction.
- Vengeance. Defeating and capturing enemies increases distraction ALOT.
Consumable Items
With Psychic, you have limited way to use items.
- Scrolls. These scrolls allow you to cast spells of matching component regardless of your bound state for 10 turns and do not need hands to use them. Scrolls are extremely powerful to get out of desperate situations.
- Flashbangs and flash bombs. Stuns and blinds targets hit. Stunned enemies take critical hits, while blinded foes cannot dodge. Good for either escaping or punching and swinging.
- Rogues can craft Flash bombs
- Runes. Numerous runes offer different benefits with either defensive or offensive effects.
- Gunpowder Easily flammable. combine with Burning desire for popcorn and hellfire
- Bola. ranged attack to root and bind
- Bomb. Takes 5 turns to detonate, but it explodes for 100 blast damage aoe
- mana Orb. restores 200 passive mana. Requires no hands to be used.
Weapons and restraints
There are some weapons that can still be used even in impossibly bound state.
- Escort drone. Rare drop from Nevermere. This little zapper needs no hands that deals electric damage and has 33% chance to stun target
- Escort Drone deals low damage and in electric, but it has base 100% accuracy. The stun effect is extremely powerful
- Even pacifist can find use for this weapon as delivery mechanism for "on hit apply" effects.
- Arcane orb. Also Needs no hands. Can be found from shops, shadow chests, library, rare "wizards study chest" and potentially rare drop from demons.
- Stronger base damage than Escort drone dealing arcane type damage, but 80 accuracy and cannot crit. This counts as a mage weapon for upgrades like Magical Implements
- Arcane Sphere too can be used as delivery mechanism same as Escort drone.
As for restraints many enchanted ones and ancient restraints offer different benefits, but i will be speaking of 3 restraints with very unique effects.
- Potion Absorber. Collar that lets you consume potions bound. Unlike Psychic, you can Even use them when mouth is completely blocked. Highly valuable.
- Potion Absorber can appear at either Shrine of commerce, chests or as a reward from goddess quests.
- Bear in mind it is still a collar, so it can hold a leash.
- Duster Gag. a Gag that adds tickle damage and distraction to your attacks
- Duster Gag can appear in shrine of commerce or you start with it using a perk "Maid Sweeper"
- It is quite a high level gag, so it can be hard to remove.
- Ancient blindfold. Noticeably limits your vision, but with charge it adds +10 melee damage and +100% accuracy.
- This allows unarmed attacking with heavy arm restraints very effectively.
Special mention: Crystal cuff restraint for Trainee.
General Melee spellpoint upgrades and Reaching Authority
There are alot of them. Lets start of with ones that affect Melee.
- Accuracy upgrades. With bound arms reducing accuracy, any extra accuracy will be valuable to get through Enemy Evasion.
- There are 3 accuracy upgrade for full total of +50% accuracy.
- True sight from From Arcane Knowledge School. Can see through walls with added 40% accuracy. It will drain mana each turn.
- On hit effects. There are numerous passive effects when toggled on from different schools with mana cost per hit, that will add extra effect to your melee.
- Super Strength from Earth Novice. More Melee damage.
- Flame Blade from Flame Novice. Fire .
- Chain Strike from Metal 101. Chain and binding, spreads chains.
- Ropework from Rope 101. Chain and binding, spreads ropes.
- Leather whip from Leather 101. Pain and binding, spreads belts.
- Tentacle slap from Latex 101. Glue and binding, spreads Slime!
Reaching Authority is one of the newer additions.
- Requires Greater unlock learned.
- When purchased, it allows use of truss em up and quick bind restraints arms bound if your mouth is free, while increasing the their effective range by 2 and command spells by 1.
- Truss em up can be used to apply restraints from your quick inventory or truss em up ability on enemies that are:
- Stunned. Note heaviest restraints like petsuits require stun duration of 3+
- Fully bound or helpless
- Quickbind lets you use handcuffs, stuffings, head eye and mouth wraps and non harness ballgags (half binding efficiency) on enemies when they are Vulnerable or casting a spell.
- Enemies become vulnerable when you avoid their melee attack or get behind them, making them suspectible for quickbind. Some spells like Tremor/earthquake can also cause vulnerable.
- Ballgags quickbind can additionally be used if enemy has just casted a spell.
Latex and Telekinesis
There are only 2 types for spell casting, but the effects they have are Massive.
1. One with slime passive from latex 101 with cost of 3 spell points :
- What this does is, if you are standing in either slime or latex, you ignore ALL component requirements for latex and rubber spells.
- Utilizing tentacle slap, you can create slime anywhere without casting a spell in order to get the passive effectively going.
- Turning slime into latex with Solidify spell makes tile damaging, but it lasts for a very long time to allow component free casting.
- Learning upgrade slime repulsion stops you from taking damage standing in latex tiles.
2. Telekinesis School.
Unfortunately i do not have personal experience with this, so i try to give the basics. Feel free to correct me:
- Allows you to telepathically hold a weapon with 0 accuracy, allowing castings of different spells utilizing held weapons damage type effects on enemies while still needing components to cast
- Telekinesis spells ignore general spell fizzle chance, but can fail depending on bondage.
- Psychokinesis allows free component casting of telekinesis spells with each cast increasing distraction depending on mana cost. Casting is impossible at 100% distraction.
Unique class specific spellpoint upgrades.
Classes have partial ways to fight while being severely bound.
Fighter:
- Unconventional Warfare. You take 5 turns to tape weapon into yourself that lets you attack with 60% accuracy as long as you have unbound arms or legs.
Rogue:
- Querilla warfare: You can use mouth to wield light weapons with 75% accuracy.
Wizard:
- Akashic Conflux. use of 100 arcane energy allows 3 turns of component free casting with 100 mana restoration
- Arcane Blast. spending mana charges arcane blast up based on your max mana.It requires no components, so it can be used anytime
Trainee:
- Chaotic overflow. for cost of 25% of your max willpower, you are given full mana and 10 turns component free casting. at the end of the effect you are equipped with crystal cuffs, that keep draining your mana and increasing distraction.
- Desire Burst. Requires Path of pleasure to access. an aoe around you that deals charm damage based on your distraction and desire (the heart indicator below distraction bar) while reducing desire by 30. can be casted as long as you have some desire with weaker effect.
- If you have lots of distraction building negative perks and crystal cuffs, you can build desire in fast pace for convenient use of Desire burst.
- Bear in mind charm is not effective against nonliving creatures like shadow hands.
Novice pet
This perk has its own section, because it severely changes how you play:
Novice pet: Allows sprinting in petsuit while unlocking petsuit specific upgrades for spellpoints. You are given a magic petsuit to your inventory.
- Petsuit has 3 upgrades that increase your movement with the suit while making movement without harder.
- Effect is so altering that it has a one way out upgrade called "bad pet" to revert the changes, but only once.
Negatives of full petsuit upgrade:
- without petsuit, you move slowly and you can no longer sprint.
- Use of weapons and hand spell casting become impossible. Unarmed accuracy is 20%.
- you have hard time removing restraints on you.
- Negative Perks like unfair doors and cant touch that are in effect when the perks are active. You can still pick items and open chests as long as your mouth is free
- Flexible perk allows opening of unfair doors while legs are free.
- lockpicking is almost impossible and you will drop your keys without Psychic perk.
- you cannot close doors.
Positives of full petsuit perk:
- You become speed incarnate. You are VERY hard to slow down.
- Hand restraints mean nothing to you.
- You can cast leg component spells more freely. It can still be hindered by leg restraints.
- Petsuits can have some of the more powerful enchantments from goddess quests and kitty chests (located in ancient tombs).
Quick perk recommendations to go with Petsuit build:
- Psychic to not drop keys and use potions
- Potion collar can also allow potion use.
- Flexible to have more use for legs with negative perks like unfair doors and cant touch that
- Deft footwork/Smooth talker For even more reliable spell casting.
As of now, as petsuit you will be mostly relying on class features, mouth and leg spells to get by , if you dont go route of rubber/telekinesis or find escort drone/Arcane Orb.