Just did my AchieveBot run on Warlockery, and found myself very poorly adapted to the playstyle. So I've got to ask, since I couldn't find a tutorial or anything after a few-odd minutes of digging: What makes this skill tick? How do people use it effectively? What works with it in a build? It's one of the very few skills I don't feel like I have any kind of handle on after fiddling with it in these runs.
First thing to know is that the damage scales off - the raw number of maximum mana for your character. Of course the tree is also a melee-damage tree, basically, so you'll probably want to mix warrior and wizard skills. I HIGHLY support doing Unarmed/Shield Bearer/Master of Arms/Warlockery/Magical Training + 2 other skills. Solid defense, offense, and a basis for magic. Don't take 2 wizard skills in addition, or you won't get your starting armor from Master of Arms! (Not a huge deal in the long run, but it makes the start harder.)
As it's inventor, I might be able to help. If your only goal is to max out Warlockery, try it with this build: Warlockery Nercronomiconomics Astrology Ley Lines Blood Magic Staves Dual Wield Start with 1 point in Blood Magic to get Vital Siphon, and 1 point in Staves to get the stun proc. Then, go up Astrology first (yep), relying on Puissant Touch+Staves to facepunch enemies to death. Once you get to Celestial Aegis, put 1 point in Warlockery to get Mage's Mana Maille -- between Aegis and Mana Maille, you should be able to stand up to your own necropain easily. Start up Necronomiconomics until you get to Mark of Cththon, then push up the rest of Warlockery. Warlockery should be used thusly: 1) Puissant Touch -- use this in place of the attack button. In other words, all the time. 2) Mana Maille -- keep this on all the time unless you get mobbed and risk running out of mana for real. 3) Warlock's Challenge -- use this to get enemy casters next to you so you can mob them fast. Especially resurrecters. 4) Essence of Battle -- save this for zoos or other emergencies. It buffs all your other Warlockery abilities, so it's at it's most efficient when you can spam them a lot. 5) Chronomantic Twist -- use this to take out solo named mobs. As long as you're safe (no enemies around) by the start of your 3rd turn (4th if Essence of Battle is on), the paralysis won't matter, so only use it when you're sure you can finish the baddies off within that timeframe. 6) Arcane Capacitor -- use this to take out solo named mobs. Activate it the turn before you Warlock's Challenge them (and/or they walk up to you). Nuke them with something else twice (no attacking), then punch them in the face with this. If need be, throw in a Chronomantic Twist to get an extra turn or two of Capacitor buildup, but try not to let it grow past the 4th turn or it gets dangerous for you. 7) Puissant Veil -- (has this been fixed yet?) Is either broken, in which case it's an empty level, or it goes off frequently when you block, so pump your block (Staves!) to get the most out of it. 8) Manacalypse -- this is the last-ditch of the last-ditch efforts. It knocks you out of Essence of Battle, which means it's mana cost is "whatever you have left" -- but if you really are out of mana, you really want that big-ass nuke to save your ass. With Necronomics' Pact of Fleeting Life and Mark of Cththon, Astrology's Radiant Aura, Syzygy, and Celestial Aegis, and Mage's Mana Maille, you should be pretty well set for melee power, healing, and defensive buffs. Tack on Stave's stunning proc and, as an emergency getaway, Invisible Geometries, and you shouldn't have any problem gunning for the 15th floor. If you get there and punch Dredmor in the face, always arrange to be able to use Chronomantic Twist the turn you would otherwise use an escape mechanism so that you can punch him twice more before you actually have to run. Basically, Warlockery should almost never be used as the skill you run up first. It's a skill you have to build around, but it won't support your character on it's own; you need a solid "I'm a gish badass" plan in place and running -- Warlockery just puts Gishes on overdrive.
Haha. This part right here being the major reason my first serious experience with it was so rough, then. AchievementBot is my character name for doing -exactly this- with skills for the achieve. Small wonder I was having a rough time. Oh hey, might have broken this one, too. That's worth knowing. Going for the understatement of the decade here? Blew that up once while experimenting. Six potions and a couple of foods to survive.
