A Mental Psylocke Build

Foreword 2025 - Hello besties.  It has been a few years.  I hope that time has treated you well.  A lot has certainly changed, notably summons now have typed damage which solves a lot of Psylocke's issues with itemization.  This guide has been updated to relfect that.  What hasn't changed though and continues to amaze me is the support I receive from this community.  I wouldn't have expected this guide to have received tens of thousands of views even after the live servers closed.  Thank you.

A year ago I posted a guide for my Psylocke build. This is the follow up to that guide and features two variations of the same build. One focuses on optimal DPS, the other is scaled back more for extra survivability.

OFFENSIVE SETUP

 

Runeword is 'Bowazon' and blessings are Hela. It's important to have some form of spirit on hit equipped at all times. The best place to get this is from Arnim Zola's ESP Box although catalysts, Ultron Encephalo Beam, your pet's blue affix, and Rogue's synergy can do that if you're missing this item.

This setup requires using the Butterfly Swarm talent instead of the Protected Mind Talent in the first row.  That's in order to get the most out of Elektra's Bandana/Mask.  Doing this will cut survivability but Psylocke is naturally tanky thanks her to barrier.

 

DEFENSIVE SETUP

 

Runeword is 'Bowazon' and blessings are Hela. The Midtown Guardian's Signet is a significant damage upgrade over the Sling Ring but the latter provides a some nice health and the shield.  Combine that with the health bonus from Essence of Dread and the Protected Mind talent makes Psylocke difficult to bring down.

TALENTS

 

The talent in the first row is dependent on whether you are running the Offensive or Defensive setup.

Butterfly Swam is the max damage option but not one that I would recommend taking without Elektra's Bandana or Mask as the DPS boost is not significant otherwise. The extra cooldown reduction is what allows the signature activations to line up with the overpowered proc on the artifact.

Protected Mind's barrier regeneration and guarded buff will do a lot to keep you on your feet longer. It won't make you invincible while your signature is firing but you'll be pretty close to it.

Extra dashes on Mobile Assassin is never a bad thing and the damage buff is very strong. Finish the Job makes our biggest single hit automatically deal at least a critical hit while Dancing Katana synergizes together very well with both Mobile Assassin and Finish the Job. Psi-Katana unifies our damage types, provides a damage boost to everything we do, and adds another damage layer with a free DoT, there's nothing to not like there.

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First off special thanks to Ryven for coming up with this rotation. Lead off with Psionic Assault. From there trigger Psionic Projection in order to summon an illusion and satisfy the stealth condition for Assassinate's bonus damage. After that use Katana Typhoon and then Psi-Thrust to trigger the buff to movement skills on the Mobile Assassin talent then use Assassinate and then spend both Katana Typhoon charges immediately after. This is possible because when the Psi-Katana and Dancing Katana talents are used together two charges of Katana Typhoon are refunded instead of only one. Finish up with Falling Lotus Strike. Even if you have done this fairly slowly both Assassinate and Falling Lotus Strike should connect comfortably within the two second window the movement buff is active. Use Psi-Strike as a filler and fire Ethereal Butterflies whenever it's off cooldown.

For leveling purposes or clearing trash mobs you may consider using Psionic Vortex instead of Psionic Assault as it can pull enemies into tight groups.  Using Falling Lotus Strike to jump on crowds, especially when used alongside Psionic Projection, is also effective at killing white and blue mobs.

Why not Shadow Dash instead?
I can hear a lot of people asking me that question right now because Shadow Dash opens up the option to use the Power Doop runeword. On paper Power Doop is the best runeword in terms of DPS however this does not hold true in practice. Psi-Thrust deals more damage, scales better because it is mental damage instead of physical, and it restores a percentage of the psionic barrier. It's a flat out superior skill to Shadow Dash both offensively and defensively. This combined with how Bowazon has useful stats and the damage proc is fairly good now means Psi-Thrust and Bowazon will deal more damage than Shadow Dash and Power Doop. Trust me, I tested this several times with slightly different rotations.

 

Slot 1
 Fragment of Twilight (Recommended) - It may not add attributes but because it gives an incredible amount of stats it's still the highest damage option out there.
 Spear of the White Gorilla Tribe - Second highest damage option.
 Shurayuki - It's better than it used to be and it shouldn't be too hard to find one with a decent roll but it doesn't hold a candle to Fragment of Twilight.

 

Slot 2
 Kraven's Lion Vest (Recommended) - This vest gives up to +10 attributes along with health, power duration, and damage rating against vulnerable enemies. Can't really ask for much more here.
 Standard Issue X-Men Uniform - It's not too much worse than Kraven's Lion Vest and on the plus side it shouldn't be too difficult to purchase a good one from Danger Room.
 Betsy's X-Force Gear - Psylocke's personal slot 2 is an odd collection of attributes, many of which aren't very useful. At least it's pretty effortless to find one.

 

Slot 3
 Coat of the Skull (Recommended) - This coat is one of the hardest items in the game to reroll but it's also the slot 3 with the highest damage output.
 Stark Sentinel Adaptive Reactor - The defensive option of choice. The damage output isn't bad either plus it's pretty simple to reroll.
 Australian Outback Cloak - Much like Betsy's X-Force Gear it's pretty bad but it's very easy to find. Also why the heck does a resourceless hero have cost reduction on one of her personal uniques?

 

Slot 4
 Cerebra Helmet Interface (Recommended) - It's intended for summoners but it has critical hit, brutal strike, and a lot of critical damage so it's pretty good for us even though we aren't true summonmers.
 Lady Mandarin's Suneate - Sporting a combined eight fighting and intelligence this is a pretty respectable personal unique.
  Skrull Military Uniform - The damage output is a touch behind Lady Mandarin's Suneate but I feel this deserves a special mention because looking past the damage stats the Skrull Military Uniform has about 1000 more health, a deflect roll, and some power duration. That's much more useful than the suneate's credit find, move speed, and conditional damage proc that's inactive 2/3rds of the time.

 

Slot 5
 Cobra's Hood (Recommended) - The strength in this item is the vulnerability proc which opens up space for another DoT layer in Psionic Assault since we no longer need to get vulnerability from Psionic Vortex.
 Octobot Controller - This would be the highest damage option if Cobra's Hood didn't open up the another damage layer through Psionic Vortex thanks to its inherent vulnerability.  The massive 3000+ health roll is very nice, all in all it's a complete package.  It is probably best to use a Sentinel Targeting Unit alongside this.
 Death's Guise -  There's virtually no survival stats on this item and it doesn't have the vulnerability proc that makes Cobra's Hood so good.  Like all of Psylocke's uniques it's missing too many crucial stats to be entirely useful.

 

 Arnim Zola's ESP Box (Mostly Mandatory) - An important aspect to Psylocke's survivability is that you must always be regenerating barrier in some way. Also it's on the top end of damage output among artifacts anyway so that's a big plus.
 Elektra's Bandana/Mask (Conditional) - These two artifacts are identical aside from whether default red outfit Elektra or Netflix Elektra appears.  Only use this with the Butterfly Swarm talent as otherwise the stats on it are weak and Ethereal Butterflies has a cooldown that's too long for it to be worthwhile.  Also you're going to hate hearing "Your fate is sealed" so often.
 Tanya's Love Letter (Conditional) - If you're not getting your weakness proc from Psionic Assault then it's best to get it from this item. Otherwise don't bother, there are stronger options for damage.
 Sentinel Targeting Unit (Conditional) - Similarly, if you're not getting your vulnerability proc from Cobra's Hood then it's best to get it from this item or Psionic Vortex. Otherwise don't bother, there are stronger options for damage.
 The Broken Crown (Recommended) - One of the highest damage artifacts in existance. Good luck getting a cosmic version.
Gem of the Kursed (Recommended) - The main benefit to this is that Psylocke hurts a bit for critical hit and brutal strike.
Essence of Dread - (Recommended) - It's pretty much Arnim Zola lite but it's a well-rounded defensive artifact that seems to drop often.
 Flag of the Skrull Empire - It's a high damage option but I find the proc a bit of an unreliable dead end.  If you want a higher damage alternative than Essence of Dread then use this.
 Siege's Targeting System - This is better served for heroes that stack power duration which Psylocke does not do.  The stats are good regardless and it's an easy to acquire source of brutal strike but it's not quite a top four artifact. 
 The Book of Eibon - This used to be really good but the damage on the fireballs was absolutely gutted.
 Tome of Oshtur - Having to maintain at least 90% health may sound impractical but we have a barrier, ways to regenerate and maintain that barrier, and damage shields. That makes Psylocke the hero best suited to abuse this artifact.
 Cybernetic Implant - We can effortlessly proc the extra 1500 damage rating but even though that number sounds very impressive it's not a top four artifact.
 Edge of Infinity - It's good but also not a top four artifact and despite having fairly similar stats it provides less DPS than Gem of the Kursed.  This is more of a bridge artifact until something better can be acquired.
 The Book of Demonicus - Psi-Strike is a basic attack but I just don't like this artifact. The stacks fall off quickly so typically one of two things happens. Either the stacks cannot easily be maintained between different enemies so the artifact's full potential isn't recognized often. Or one target is being attacked a lot in which case DoTs aren't benefitting because snapshotting exists in this game.

 

Other artifacts to consider but aren't quite as good:                  

 

Medallion:
 S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Medallion - Highest DPS.
 Skrull Avengers Medallion - The update to cosmic medallions has made this an extremely solid and cheap second choice.

 

Blessings:
 Blessing of Hela - Despite being a melee hero, a lot of Psylocke's damage doesn't come from melee skills. Namely Ethereal Butterflies, Psionic Assault, Psionic Vortex, illusion damage, and Psychic Hemorrhage from the Psi-Katana talent. Considering that list includes 2-3 damage layers and the signature power, Hela will give you more mileage than Hogun.

 

Relics:
 Atlantis - If you don't have spare Atlantis relics then Lemuria is probably the next best choice. A lot of our damage doesn't come from melee tagged skills so Asgard isn't that large of a damage boost.

 

Uru-Forged:
 Bowazon - I prefer to use defensive urus but using a mental uru is perfectly fine also. As for why the runeword is Bowazon instead of Power Doop please consult the 'Rotation' section.
 God of Mischief - It's a pretty balanced option for those of us who don't have extra Tyr runes.
 Seer's Brilliance - The cheapie chips alternative for those who don't have spare Tyr runes.

 

Legendary:
 Warlock's Eye - The highest damage option.
 Shield of Perseus - If more survivability is desired then remember that the shield is a great legendary and you're never wrong for using one.
 Gungnir - If you don't have 1000 odin marks for a level 80 legendary then go with Gungnir.

 

Ring:
 Midtown Guardian's Signet - We use a lot of movement skills so the damage bonus and green text proc make this the ring with the highest damage output by a good margin. Just be wary that it has no defensive stats.
 Sling Ring of Kamar-Taj (Mental) - The main draws here are the shield and health roll.
 Industry City Signet (Mental) - For those who want something beefier than a Midtown Guardian's Signet but don't have spare Sling Rings.

 

Insignias:
 - Cyclops is the highest DPS. Weapon X, Mockingbird, and Taskmaster are also solid choices.  At least 1000 critical damage is a must. Ideally the other affix will be critical hit.  The other good affixes would be boss damage, brutal strike, brutal damage, and attack speed. Remember, for reasons explained above that melee damage isn't ideal. For the most part though, just about any insignia with good critical damage is serviceable.

 

Recommended Hero Synergies
Essentially we're grabbing the applicable 4% damage nodes, related attributes, and things that help us get more critical hits and brutal strikes. Blade synergy has been replaced with Squirrel Girl because the illusions are now mental damage which makes the 3% damage nodes more valuable.  Iron Fist is a 3% mental damage node that is slightly better than Jean Grey and Psylocke because health regen helps us unlike a bonus to a damage type we never use. Either of those nodes work as good alternatives in case you don't have all of those heroes unlocked. Almost half of Psylocke's damage comes from movement skills so Juggernaut is another viable replacement since it's roughly equal to a 3% damage synergy.Recommended Infinity System Order

1.  (Time Gem) Temporal Loophole:  +25% Attack Speed.  +25% Move Speed.  (200 points)
2.  [Optional] (Space Gem) Defensive Nodes  (50 or 150 points)
3.  (Soul Gem) Fighting:  +6 Fighting.  (150 points)
4.  (Power Gem) Strike Through:  +75% Brutal Damage.  (150 points)
5.  (Mind Gem) Mental Focus:  +30% Critical Damage.  (150 points)
6.  (Reality Gem) Potency:  +75 Base Damage to Signature Powers. (150 points)
7.  (Mind Gem)  Intelligence
Filler:  (Power Gem) Show of Force:  Damage to Weakened enemies.
Extra Defense Option 1. (Space Gem)  Micro-Warps:  Total Defense Rating.
Extra Defense Option 2.  (Time Gem)  Chrono-Shirt:  Dodge Chance

It's pretty easy to pick up all gem bonuses outside of the Space Gem which is almost entirely related to defense and survivablity which is something that will come down to a player by player basis of what feels comfortable.  Gravity well for additional health is definitely the best option because more health means more medkit healing.  Investing 50 or 150 points into this node adds more effective health than the other defense related nodes and solves Psylocke's low health problem.  It's not really worthwhile to do 100 points because 50 more points gives two attributes for the cost of what two attributes would cost straight up.  Similarly only 150 points need to be invested into Fighting in the Soul Gem.  Eight attributes for 150 points is good value and there's no reason to go farther since point per point Intelligence is more valuable than Fighting.  Aside from that, everything else is more or less sorted by how much DPS it adds.

 

This is an early 1:23 TTK of the cosmic training room dummy that has room for improvement.  More videos such as terminal clears will be coming.