Elemental damage scales harder and spreads fire; melee and ranged are gone. Our tier list puts Mage in A tier: Fire spread does the clearing for you. Elemental items are plentiful.

The stat line

• Elemental Damage modifications are increased by 25%
• You start with 1 Snake
• You start with 1 Scared Sausage
• Melee Damage Modifications are reduced by -100%
• Ranged Damage Modifications are reduced by -100%
• Engineering Modifications are reduced by -50%

Unlock: Unlocked by default. Winning a run unlocks Thunder Sword.

How the run plays

+25% elemental modifications with melee and ranged damage reduced by 100% mean the Mage is elemental-only, and burn spread clears waves from a distance. Survival stats are zero, so Max HP comes early. Engineering is halved, so turrets are not a backup plan.

Weapons

Mage fits the Elemental class best. Start with Wand, Torch, Plank, Taser, Lightning Shiv, Icicle and hold six weapons of one class for the set bonus; the weapons list shows everything in the Elemental class with per-tier damage.

What to buy, what to skip

Elemental Damage, burn items, Max HP, Armor.

The shop favours Elemental Damage items for Mage, so expect to see these often: Book, Charcoal, Toxic Sludge, Mutation, Scared Sausage, Snake, Boiling Water, Campfire.

The mistake that ends runs

Any non-elemental weapon; it deals nothing.

Co-op partners

• Chef — Mage spreads fire, Chef's damage against burning enemies finishes them. Chef can run any weapon class.

Open any pair in the team builder to see the full game plan.

Builds

• Wildfire (Danger 5)