Perks are the permanent upgrades of a run. Most help. A few are traps that feel like upgrades.
Worth taking almost always
- Extra maximum health, when offered, pays for itself in every biome.
- Perks that add a flask, or refill one, extend the run more than any damage line.
- Spell-storage and wand-space perks open builds that plain damage never could.
Read before you grab
Some perks change your spells in ways that surprise you. A perk that adds randomness can wreck a careful wand. A perk that trades health for power is a bet you lose when the room gets hard.
The trap pattern
Any perk that removes something you use — a flask, a wand slot, your shield — needs a reason. If you cannot name the reason, skip it.
Use the perk database to check the effect of anything unfamiliar. A ten-second read beats a dead run.
Take the safe value first
Perks like Extra HP, Tinker, and a free wand edit pay off every run, while polymorph or glass-cannon perks can end runs outright. When torn, take the perk that raises survival or wand control over the one that only adds damage you may not live to use.