Introduction
Psychic spell planning is not normal full-caster spell planning with a stranger hat. The Psychic has fewer ranked slots, stronger cantrip infrastructure, amps, Focus Point pressure, and Unleash Psyche timing. That means your spell list should start with the repeatable plan, then use ranked spells for everything the repeatable plan cannot cover.
Use this with the occult spell guide, cantrip guide, focus spell guide, combat spell guide, utility spell guide, Psychic feat guide, Occultism guide, mindscape rules, and Monster Core guides.
Rating Key
| Marker | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ● | Avoid. |
| ● | Situational. |
| ● | Good. |
| ● | Fantastic. |
Psychic Spell Priorities
| Priority | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Psi cantrip plan ● | Your conscious mind defines your repeatable turns. If the cantrip plan is weak, the ranked spell list cannot save the build. |
| Amp discipline ● | Psychic gets unusual Focus Point value when spending on psychic amps and psychic abilities. Spending focus casually on off-plan tricks weakens the class engine. |
| Defensive movement ● | Psychic has fragile defenses and expensive turns. Movement, escape, concealment, Shield, and rescue tools keep you alive long enough to matter. |
| Non-mental backup ● | Mindless creatures, mental immunity, and high Will saves punish all-mind spell lists. Force, illusions, buffs, utility, and movement are not optional. |
| Investigation and occult utility ● | Dark Archive-style campaigns reward secrets, mindscapes, surveillance, communication, and strange evidence. |
| Generic damage slots ● | Damage is useful, especially while unleashed, but slots that only duplicate cantrip pressure need to earn their place. |
| Melee-range spell fantasy without defenses ● | Imaginary Weapon and similar close tools can be excellent. Walking into melee with 6 HP per level and no plan is not excellent. |
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Conscious Mind Spell Planning
| Conscious mind | Spell plan |
|---|---|
| Tangible Dream ● | Build around defensive cantrip value, force tools, illusions, and party protection. Ranked spells should add escape, non-touch options, and encounter control. |
| The Infinite Eye ● | Support and information are the thesis. Choose spells that make ally turns better, reveal hidden problems, and punish enemies once their defenses are known. |
| The Unbound Step ● | Movement, Phase Bolt, Warp Step, teleport logic, and rescue spells get better on real maps. Ranked spells should exploit terrain, not pretend it is a blank arena. |
| The Oscillating Wave ● | Fire and cold damage are exciting, but Monster Core resistances are real. Add non-fire, non-cold, and non-damage answers. |
| The Distant Grasp ● | Telekinetic pressure, forced movement, and physical manipulation give you better backup into mental-resistant enemies. Add defense and utility. |
| The Silent Whisper ● | Telepathy and mental control are excellent in social, horror, and faction games. Carry non-mental tools for mindless enemies and high-Will monsters. |
Psi Cantrips And Amps
| Tool | Best use |
|---|---|
| Amped Shield from Tangible Dream ● | One of the clearest defensive reasons to play the mind. It helps protect the fragile caster and can support allies at the right moment. |
| Guidance from Infinite Eye ● | Party math is real power. The best support Psychic makes other characters' important rolls land. |
| Phase Bolt from Unbound Step ● | Excellent when cover, resistance, and positioning are part of the fight. It is also a reminder that the map should matter. |
| Warp Step from Unbound Step ● | Movement can be the difference between a real Psychic turn and a wasted one. |
| Frostbite and Ignition from Oscillating Wave ● | Good damage tools when you respect elemental matchups and the mind's fire/cold rhythm. |
| Telekinetic Projectile from Distant Grasp ● | Reliable physical pressure when mental effects are the wrong answer. |
| Daze and Message from Silent Whisper ● | Great in the right campaign, but too narrow if every enemy is mindless, immune, or better solved by non-mental pressure. |
Hot take: Psychic cantrips are not the fallback plan. They are the plan. Ranked spells are the expensive tools you use when the plan needs a different shape.
Dark Archive Spell Roles
This is a tactical role guide, not a rules replacement. Check Dark Archive Remastered for exact spell text.
| Spell | Practical role |
|---|---|
| Phase Bolt ● | Repeatable pressure for Unbound Step-style turns, especially when cover and resistance matter. |
| Warp Step ● | Positioning support for a class that cannot afford to spend turns walking into danger. |
| Kinetic Ram ● | Forceful movement and tactical repositioning. Better with hazards, ledges, zones, chokepoints, and melee allies. |
| Bracing Tendrils ● | Defense and zone-control flavor for strange occult scenes where the enemy wants to collapse on you. |
| Empty Pack ● | Utility and misdirection. Better in heists, infiltration, and social deception than straight combat. |
| Focusing Hum ● | Supportive occult pressure when concentration, rhythm, and party timing matter. |
| Rally Point ● | Positioning and party coordination. Stronger when allies can exploit the reposition instead of scattering randomly. |
| Sea of Thought ● | Mental-environment control and psychic scene texture. Best in campaigns that let weird spaces matter. |
| Etheric Shards ● | Area pressure with occult flavor. Use when enemy count and positioning justify it. |
| Implement of Destruction ● | Thematic object violence and Thaumaturge-adjacent flavor. Campaign and build fit decide the value. |
| Poltergeist's Fury ● | Occult battlefield chaos. Best when area pressure and object-flinging weirdness both matter. |
| Momentary Recovery ● | Emergency recovery timing. Valuable because Psychic cannot always spend a turn cleaning up calmly. |
| Telekinetic Bombardment ● | High-impact telekinetic offense for the table that wants Psychic to throw the room at the problem. |
| Bilocation ● | High-level strangeness, positioning, and impossible-presence play. Better for creative players and active maps. |
| Falling Sky ● | Large-scale supernatural pressure. Use when the encounter deserves spectacle and the area matters. |
| Shadow Spy ● | Scouting, secrecy, and occult surveillance in investigation or faction campaigns. |
| Moth's Supper ● | Strange utility with Dark Archive flavor. Excellent if the scene fits, easy to overvalue if it does not. |
Ranked Occult Slots For Psychic
| Slot job | Psychic value |
|---|---|
| Soothe and emergency support ● | Psychic is not a main healer by default, but one reliable recovery option can prevent a bad fight from becoming a funeral with extra steps. |
| Fear and Will pressure ● | Frightened helps the entire party. Use it when the target profile is right, not as a universal answer. |
| Dispel Magic ● | Psychic does not get many slots, but hostile magic, magical hazards, and buffs still need answers. |
| Invisibility and escape tools ● | Fragile casters need ways to stop being the easiest target on the board. |
| Heroism and ally buffs ● | The best Psychic turn is sometimes making the Fighter, Rogue, or Gunslinger better at the roll that decides the encounter. |
| Slow and action denial ● | Excellent into dangerous enemies because lost actions are often better than another damage roll. |
| Synesthesia and high-impact debuffs ● | Premium occult control that rewards correct target selection. |
| Truesight and perception answers ● | Better when the campaign uses illusions, invisibility, disguises, and trick monsters. |
| Pure mental-only repertoire ● | This fails too often against the exact Monster Core problems that punish lazy occult play. |
Unleash Psyche Spell Timing
| Timing question | Practical answer |
|---|---|
| Did you cast a spell last turn? ● | You need the setup. Plan the turn before the burst instead of discovering the requirement after the moment passes. |
| Are you positioned safely? ● | Unleash Psyche draws attention. If you cannot survive the response, move, hide, Shield, or delay the burst. |
| Is this a damage window? ● | The damage bonus rewards damaging Psychic spells and amped cantrips. Do not unleash just to cast utility unless the action timing is worth the drawback. |
| Will stupefied punish the aftermath? ● | The recovery turns matter. Make the two unleashed rounds count. |
| Is the target a bad matchup? ● | Do not spend your dramatic class button into immunity, resistance, the wrong save, or a target that is about to die anyway. |
Encounter Problems And Spell Answers
| Problem | Psychic answer |
|---|---|
| Enemy closes too fast ● | Movement, forced movement, concealment, Shield, escape spells, or terrain support before damage greed. |
| Enemy has strong Will ● | Switch to force, physical telekinesis, buffs, utility, illusions that change the environment, or ally support. |
| Enemy is mindless or mental-immune ● | Stop trying to win a thought contest with a thing that does not think. Use non-mental tools. |
| Party lacks scouting ● | Shadow Spy, detection, communication, stealth support, Occultism, and careful exploration spells gain value. |
| Party lacks rescue ● | Rally Point-style repositioning, forced movement, healing, invisibility, and movement spells should move up the list. |
| Campaign uses mindscapes ● | Sea of Thought, occult utility, mental scene tools, and mindscape rules matter more. |
Skills, Items, And Table Support
| Support | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Occultism ● | Your tradition skill supports Identify Magic, Learn a Spell, rituals, psychic weirdness, and esoteric Recall Knowledge. |
| Society and social skills ● | Psychic shines in faction, cult, and investigation campaigns when the character can do something with the information they uncover. |
| Staves and wands ● | Psychic has limited slots. Staves and wands expand the useful occult toolkit without ruining your daily plan. |
| Scrolls and consumables ● | Narrow investigation, spirit, language, scouting, or counteract answers belong here. |
| Defensive gear ● | Explorer's clothing runes, saving throw items, emergency healing, and escape consumables are not luxury purchases. |
| No item plan ● | This is how a limited-slot caster ends up wasting precious known spells or daily choices on one-scene answers. |
Monster Core And GM Core Matchups
| Table factor | Psychic consequence |
|---|---|
| Creature traits ● | Creature traits, languages, senses, immunities, and saves decide whether mental magic is brilliant or blank. |
| Encounter spacing ● | Psychic needs maps with cover, distance, terrain, and escape routes. Flat-room brawls punish the class. |
| Social encounters ● | Telepathy, emotional pressure, deception, clues, and occult influence need social encounter support to matter. |
| Hazards and investigations ● | Psychic gets better when hazards, cursed sites, psychic residue, and research scenes are part of play. |
| Treasure support ● | Treasure by level should give casters scrolls, wands, staves, and defensive gear, not only shiny weapons. |
Common Mistakes
| Mistake | Better move |
|---|---|
| Choosing ranked spells before cantrips ● | Pick conscious mind, psi cantrips, amps, and baseline turns first. Then fill the gaps with ranked spells. |
| Taking only damage spells ● | Use ranked slots for defense, movement, control, utility, rescue, and hard encounters. |
| Overcommitting to mental effects ● | Carry force, physical, illusion, buff, movement, and item-backed answers. |
| Unleashing too early ● | Wait until targets, positioning, and safety are clear enough for the two-round burst to matter. |
| Ignoring action economy ● | Psychic turns can be expensive. A perfect spell that leaves you standing in the wrong square is not perfect. |
| Forgetting the campaign type ● | Dark Archive tools improve when the table uses mysteries, occult horror, mindscapes, spirits, cults, and strange social pressure. |
Hot Takes
Psychic is not a spell-slot class that happens to have cantrips. It is a cantrip-and-focus class that spends slots when the scene deserves a bigger answer.
The best Psychic spell is often the one that keeps you alive. A dead Psychic has very poor damage per round.
Mental magic is stylish, but PF2e is not impressed by style alone. If your whole list targets Will, Monster Core will eventually collect the bill.
Unleash Psyche should feel like choosing a window, not pressing the glowing button because it is glowing.
