Psychic

The Psychic is one of the three classes of the Tideborn race, next to the Assassin and the Bard. Instead of chasing mastery of the elements, Psychics work with the raw power of souls. Their will takes shape as Soulforce, which strengthens them and their allies and hurts their enemies.

In a squad the Psychic usually stays at the back and hits groups of enemies with heavy area damage that also stops them in place. It has fast channeling, many crowd-control skills and, according to the class page, the longest stun in the game.

• Strong: fast channeling and many area and crowd-control skills.
• Strong: can switch between an attacking and a defensive style with Black Voodoo and White Voodoo.
• Strong: several self-buffs, debuffs on enemies and a purify for the whole squad.
• Weak: Soulforce only pays off with highly refined equipment.
• Weak: easily pulls monsters onto itself, mostly at low levels, and has few buffs that help the squad in high-level dungeons.

Magic is the main attribute: it drives the Psychic's damage.

A Psychic can only cast its skills with a Soulsphere. For weapon shards, most players pick sapphires for magic attack, then attack-level stones at higher levels.

Like other casters it wears arcane armor. Because it already channels quickly, it does not need gear with reduced channeling. Early on, players often socket citrine (HP) or garnet (physical defense) shards, or add Vitality for more health; later most switch to attack-level shards, and a few choose defense-level shards to survive longer.

Soulforce makes many of the Psychic's buffs and debuffs stronger. A level 100 Psychic has 15000 Soulforce by default, and Refining its equipment raises it further. Soulforce affects:

• how much damage Soul of Vengeance reflects
• the chance that Soul of Silence silences an enemy
• the damage Soul of Retaliation absorbs and reflects
• how long the stun from Soul of Stunning lasts
• the damage of Soulburn
• how long Veil of Shadow and Shroud of Shadow last

In PvP the Psychic is very effective but fragile. Stuns such as Earth Vector and Sandball Clash, together with Soul of Silence and Soul of Stunning, can keep an enemy locked down for a long time. Its ultimate, Psionic Infusion, can hit many targets at once, but unless the Psychic has a very high-grade weapon it drops Soulforce to 0, which leaves its Soul skills useless.

In PvE the Psychic levels quickly thanks to fast, hard-hitting skills. At low levels its high damage can pull bosses away from the tank, so fighting in White Voodoo or holding back attacks is advised. Later, defensive skills such as White Voodoo and Psychic Will even let it tank some bosses whose attacks would kill other non-Barbarians. In many newer Dungeons it is picked less often than a Venomancer or Stormbringer, because it brings few squad buffs or debuffs.

In Territory Wars its main job is to shut down enemy players with its many effects and to land area damage at the right moment. Bubble of Life can heal it and nearby allies, but its low physical defense keeps it running from physical attackers.

The Psychic arrived with Rising Tide, the third expansion of Perfect World International, released on December 16, 2009 together with the Tideborn race and the Assassin. A content update in May 2010 brought new Psychic and Assassin skills and the Sage and Demon paths.

In the lore, most magic in the world follows the five elements, but Psychics guide an older power bound to no element: the power of souls. Their soulspheres are said to form from energy absorbed from defeated spirits.