Best Magic Build in Core Keeper: Staffs, Armor, Accessories & Food

Best weapons for a magic build (Lv.20)

Magic weapons sorted by expected DPS at Lv.20 with endgame gear (top 10). Effects on the weapon such as critical hit chance and attack speed are included.

Rank	Weapon	Base Lv	Magic damage (Lv.20)	Attacks /s	Expected DPS (with endgame gear)	Weapon only /s	Effects (Lv.20)
1	Zealot's Scimitar	14	433–529	1.67	3,310	802	—Mana: uses 36.7 mana/s against 24.0/s regeneration, so it can fire about 80% of a 30-second fight.
2	Arcane Staff	8	142–172	3.33	3,067	523	+16% critical hit chance
3	Corrupted Meteor Staff	18	945–1153	0.5	2,869	525	+45% critical hit damage Hits an area with a 1.5-tile radius (only one target is counted).
4	Sun Caller	13	441–539	1	2,833	978	+18% critical hit chance Includes about 398/s of damage over time. Mana: uses 36.0 mana/s against 24.0/s regeneration, so it can fire about 81% of a 30-second fight. Adds 488 explosion damage per shot. It is unconfirmed whether weapon damage % bonuses apply to the explosion, so they are not applied. The projectile bounces once before exploding. Charging adds up to +2 projectiles (not included).
5	Simple Staff	2	432–526	1	2,832	479	+17% critical hit chance
6	Scholar's Staff	13	431–525	1	2,705	478	+38.2% magic damage Charging adds up to +2 projectiles (not included).
7	Noxious Meteor Staff	11	958–1170	0.5	2,685	532	+25% chance to apply poison on hit, which reduces enemy healing received by 75% Hits an area with a 1.5-tile radius (only one target is counted). Poison deals no damage, so it is not included.
8	Chaos Staff	17	470–574	1	2,634	522	—Randomly fires projectiles of other weapons (some explode or pierce). Only the weapon's own damage is counted.
9	Fireball Staff	8	436–532	1	2,479	484	+73 burn damage applied on hit Includes about 37/s of damage over time.
10	Sticky Stick	4	391–477	1	2,190	434	Reduces the target's movement speed by -64.3% for 4 sec Bounces up to 3 times (only one hit is counted).

Best armor for a magic build (helm, chest, pants)

Keeping every other slot of the best combination above as is, this shows how much damage (expected DPS) rises when only that slot is swapped (compared with leaving the slot empty; set bonuses included). Accessories use the same calculation.

Best helm for magic

Rank	Helm	Base Lv	Damage gain	Effects (Lv.20)
1	Lily Pad Hat	10	+26.3%	+51 max health +11% chance to apply poison on hit, which reduces enemy healing received by 75% +58 magic barrier +7.4 mana every sec
2	Corrupt Warden Mask	10	+22.8%	+76 max health +6.4 mana every sec +1 max minion count -43% minion mana reservation cost
3	Soaring Headgear	7	+20.3%	+49 max health +73 magic barrier +5.7 mana every sec
4	Sorcerer Hood	13	+18.0%	+71 max health +93 magic barrier +67 max mana +23.1% magic damage
5	Arcane Monk Blindfold	17	+17.7%	+67 max health +6% dodge chance +66 max mana +12.9% magic damage +15% critical hit damage

Best chest armor for magic

Rank	Chest armor	Base Lv	Damage gain	Effects (Lv.20)
1	Pajama Shirt	14	+23.6%	+72 max health +62 max mana +40.2% magic damage
2	Arcane Monk Cloak	17	+18.5%	+65 max health +6% dodge chance +64 max mana +15.5% magic damage +19% critical hit damage
3	Sorcerer Robe	13	+16.8%	+61 max health +93 magic barrier +68 max mana +20.6% magic damage
4	Ninja Garments	17	+14.8%	+68 max health +23 armor +9% dodge chance +9% critical hit chance +22% critical hit damage
5	Apprentice Robe	3	+13.2%	+60 max health +101 magic barrier +7.6 mana every sec

Best pants for magic

Rank	Pants	Base Lv	Damage gain	Effects (Lv.20)
1	Arcane Monk Leggings	17	+44.3%	+63 max health +6% dodge chance +8.2 mana every sec +13% magic damage +6% critical hit chance
2	Grim Legwear	16	+27.8%	+58 max health +44 magic barrier +7.6 mana every sec +1 max minion count +14% minion damage
3	Soaring Pants	7	+26.7%	+65 max health +103 magic barrier +7.3 mana every sec +7.2% movement speed
4	Pajama Pants	14	+23.7%	+59 max health +56 max mana +42% magic damage
5	Sorcerer Pants	13	+18.5%	+60 max health +89 magic barrier +66 max mana +23.2% magic damage

Best accessories for a magic build (necklace, rings, off-hand)

Best necklace for magic

Rank	Necklace	Base Lv	Damage gain	Effects (Lv.20)
1	Glass Bead Necklace	17	+19.5%	+85% critical hit damage +33.5% damage taken
2	Moonbell Necklace	10	+12.4%	+18.6% magic damage +26% critical hit damage
3	Polished Copper Cross Necklace	13	+12.2%	+9% critical hit chance +26% critical hit damage
4	Enigmatic Necklace	14	+9.5%	+18.4% magic damage +8% critical hit chance
5	Bubble Pearl Necklace	8	+9.3%	+26 magic barrier +2.6 mana every sec +13.4% magic damage

Best ring for magic

Rank	Ring	Base Lv	Damage gain	Effects (Lv.20)
1	Spine Ring	13	+21.7%	+43% damage against bosses
2	Polished Golden Spike Ring	13	+17.2%	+9% critical hit chance +31% critical hit damage +27 thorns damage
3	Bubble Ring	11	+15.0%	+20.4% magic damage +8% critical hit chance
4	Azure Ring	5	+13.3%	+41.9% magic damage
5	Glass Bead Ring	16	+10.9%	+36.9% damage +35.6% damage taken

You can wear 2 rings. This table ranks swaps for one ring while keeping the other (Mold Ring) equipped.

Best off-hand for magic

Rank	Off-hand	Base Lv	Damage gain	Effects (Lv.20)
1	Blue Leather Tome	9	+18.0%	+19.8% magic damage +3.4 mana every sec
2	Concealed Blade	13	+12.0%	+12% critical hit chance
3	Crystal Meteor Chunk	15	+10.2%	+3 blue glow -30.5% armor +30% damage dealt by you and all nearby allies
4	Hydra Tooth	16	+10.1%	+5% chance on hit to deal triple amount of damage +30.2% physical range damage
5	Rift Lens	8	+6.2%	+18.3% magic damage

Recommended set bonuses for a magic build

Keeping the other slots and food from the best combination above, these sets give the highest damage when their pieces are swapped in (set bonus included). "Damage" is relative to the best combination = 100.

Recommended food for a magic build

Best combination

Golden Sunrice+Tornis Kingfish

• +4 glow (10 min)
• +43.3% magic damage (10 min)
• +91 magic barrier (10 min)
• +7.8 health every sec (20 s)
• +50.4% damage (10 min)

Ingredients with strong effects

• Tornis Kingfish
  • +7.8 health every sec
  • +50.4% damage
• Riftian Lampfish
  • +7.2 health every sec
  • +58 max mana
  • +27.6% magic damage
  • +5 blue glow
• Elder Dragonfish
  • +14% critical hit chance
  • Immune to burning
• Golden Sunrice
  • +4 glow
  • +43.3% magic damage
  • +91 magic barrier
• Shiny Larva Meat
  • +13% critical hit chance
  • +4 health on melee hit
• Emerald Feather Fish
  • +3 health every sec
  • +29 max mana
  • +21% magic damage

See the best food for each goal →

Recommended pets for a magic build

• Arcane Symbiote
  • +28 magic barrier
  • +11% mana regeneration while casting
• Owlux
  • +7.6% movement speed
  • +6.5% damage
• Pheromoth
  • +12.6% physical range damage
  • +7% dodge chance

See the best pet rankings →

Recommended talents for a magic build

1. MagicTrue sightPer point: +1% critical hit chanceA chance for extra damage. A basic damage boost that works with every staff.
2. MagicFully chargedPer point: Up to 6% magic damage based on your remaining manaMore magic damage the more mana you have left. Pairs well with max mana gear.
3. MagicMana rechargePer point: +6% mana regeneration while castingMore mana regeneration while casting, so you can keep firing longer.
4. MagicArcane frenzyPer point: +10% magic damage for a short duration on critical hitCritical hits briefly raise magic damage. Combine with critical hit chance gear.
5. MagicThe best offensePer point: +4% of magic barrier is added as magic damageAdds part of your magic barrier to magic damage. Use with gear that has a lot of magic barrier.
6. VitalityMaxed out!Per point: +6% of all skill points added to max healthMagic builds tend to be fragile, so secure some max health.

See recommended talents for every build →

How gear is scored

Each gear effect (value at Lv.20) is multiplied by the points below and summed. 1 point ≈ +1% damage (expected DPS) with endgame gear. "Damage %" effects such as physical melee damage and all damage add together in one bucket, so late game, when that bucket is already large, each 1% is worth little, and effects in other (multiplying) buckets like attack speed, critical hit chance and triple damage score higher (damage formula and detailed calculation).

• +1 mana every sec2.27 pts
• +1% chance on hit to deal triple amount of damage2 pts
• +1% mana regeneration while casting1.02 pts
• +1% critical hit chance1.01 pts
• +1% damage against bosses0.41 pts
• +1% damage0.32 pts
• +1% damage dealt by you and all nearby allies0.32 pts
• +1% magic damage0.32 pts
• +1% critical hit damage0.19 pts
• +1% damage while at max health0.16 pts
• Up to +1% magic damage based on your remaining mana0.16 pts
• +1% magic damage for a short duration on critical hit0.13 pts
• +1 max mana0.11 pts
• +1% of damage taken is absorbed by your mana pool0.1 pts
• +1% damage taken-0.16 pts
• +1% damage-0.32 pts

Conditional effects (only at full health, etc.) are counted at about half. Effects other than damage, such as healing and mana, are valued in "points of damage %" so they share the same unit. A weapon's expected DPS is damage × attacks per second, multiplied by endgame gear and the weapon's own effects using this calculation.