Best Upgrades and Salutors for Suffering in The Thaumaturge

Eastern European-themed fantasy RPG The Thaumaturge sees you following a dark, brutal, and often violent path. If you want to get the most out of your DOT damage ability read on to find the best upgrades and salutors for Suffering in The Thaumaturge. 

Suffering Build Guide for The Thaumaturge

Even at the lowest combat difficulty level, you can find yourself losing fights in The Thaumaturge if you don’t manage the battle well. Choosing the right upgrades and then using the salutors that best take advantage of them is the key to success. One great theme to synergize them is to concentrate on maximizing the Suffering ability.  

You can attack with the Suffering ability from the very beginning of the game, as it can be deployed via your Damage Over Time (DOT) attack, Old Wound. Even at its weakest, Suffering will DOT the enemy for 3-4 damage per round for five rounds, enough to take too many early-game opponents while you take care of their friends. 

However, as your enemies start to improve you’ll need to work smarter to make Suffering sing. Thankfully, the game gives you all the tools you need to make it work. This guide will cover the first four salutors you will find during the prologue and part one of the game, as well as the best rank one and two upgrades to pair with your attacks.

Related: How to get all Salutors in The Thaumaturge

Best salutors for Suffering in The Thaumaturge 

Each salutor in The Thaumaturge has a combat specialty that will suit different styles of play. However, even those who don’t feel right for you have their uses. This is especially true with a Suffering build, as enemies with the Invulnerability Trait are immune to negative states. 

Be sure to use a quick attack by an appropriate salutor to Disable this from enemies quickly. Then you can get to work. You may also want to Disable anyone who has Recovery. However, this only stops damage, so if you want to lower Focus and then dispatch them quickly, you can ignore Recovery. 

Bukavac

Bukavac is the poster salutor for any Suffering build. Both its quick Howl and slow Syrmian Blow attacks inflict Suffering, while Blood Wedding does more damage the ore opponents are in the Suffering state. Use Bukavac as your salutor whenever you don’t specifically need one of those below.

Lelek

I often use Lelek to remove Focus, opening opponents to strong attacks. Better still, its Somber Trill attack will reduce focus by two while also interrupting their attack if they’re in the Suffering state. This can be a devastating pairing, stopping you from taking damage while reducing Focus. Mournful Tones is also awesome for transferring negative states from you to an opponent, helping keep you alive when faced with DOTing enemies. 

Upyr

While Upyr has no attacks directly linked to Suffering, its Eerie Intoxication quick attack can be vital to staying alive. A Suffering build can take a little time to get going so having a quick way to heal a big chunk of your health can keep you upright long enough for your larger plan to reach its full potential, so keep an eye on your health bar.

Related: Should you trust Rasputin in The Thaumaturge?

Best attack upgrades for Suffering in The Thaumaturge 

Pairing the right upgrades with your attacks is the name of the game in The Thaumaturge battles. Remember you can switch upgrades as much as you like without penalty any time you’re outside a battle. Also, note that to open the Rank 2 upgrades for each dimension you need to have found and tamed (via Rasputin) the relevant salutor. All of the first four salutors are introduced as part of the main storyline. 

Also note that you can always pair a lower rank upgrade with a stronger attack, but not vice versa. Remember to equip upgrades to all attacks, even if not ideal, as soon as you can. This way you’ll improve each one, even if not exactly in the way that you want.  

Rank 1 upgrades and attacks

• Thief of Thought: This reduces Focus by an extra point if the victim is in the Suffering state, making it the perfect upgrade for Diversion.
• Fortune: Quick attacks are great when you want to wait for your salutor to land a slower attack. Fortune has a 50 percent chance to interrupt the opponent's attack, making it a great help for staying alive, so pair it with Quick Attack.
• Gamble: I’d advise against using Planned Attack much. It’s slow and doesn’t suit your plans. However, if you pair it with Gamble, it can deal a massive hit to a slow target with a lot of health or as a hail mary in a tight spot.
• Lucky Chance: You’ll want to use Old Wound often as it inflicts Suffering on opponents. Buffing it with Lucky Chance adds a 60 percent chance to slow their attacks for the rest of the fight, giving Suffering more time to work its magic. 

Rank 2 upgrades and attacks

• Damage Catalyst: This increases the damage the associated attack causes by 100 percent if they’re Suffering. As with Gamble above, this makes it a great pairing for the slow Thoughtful Development attack, which purely deals damage. This is much better though, as this guaranteed boost is likely to take down any opponent.
• Blood Rejuvenation: You get 4 Healing for each enemy who is suffering. I like to pair this with Agony, which can make two enemies start Suffering on the same turn.
• Debilitating Wound: This upgrade simply applies suffering to the target, so is a great pairing with your second quick attack, Action-Reaction. The quicker they’re in the Suffering state, the better.
• Sabotage: If an enemy is suffering, this upgrade guarantees you’ll interrupt their action if you hit them with the attack. Pairing this with Distraction allows you to avoid a hit while reducing the enemy’s Focus. 

If you’re looking for more help and information about The Thaumaturge, we’ve got you covered here at Pro Game Guides! Check out The Thaumaturge beginners' guide - tips and tricks, The Thaumaturge Attack Upgrades Tier List, and more.