Spells and Magic
Before you build the Library, combat in Swag and Sorcery is a pure autobattler. Your heroes walk forward, swing their weapons, and you watch. The Library changes that completely by giving you active spells you can cast during fights.
Spells are the only real-time control you have in combat, and they are the difference between clearing a boss and watching your party melt.
Unlocking the System
Build the Library as soon as it becomes available. The first thing you need to research is Essence Absorption, which costs 150 gold and takes 30 seconds. Once this is done, your heroes start harvesting magical essence from every monster they kill during adventures.
Essence is the currency that powers everything in the Library. You spend it to unlock new spells, passive buffs, and advanced researches. Without Essence Absorption, none of this is accessible.
Do not delay Essence Absorption. Every adventure you run without it is wasted essence that your heroes could have been collecting. Start it the moment the Library is built.
Mana Economy
Spells consume mana, which your heroes generate from the essence they collect. Mana is finite during any given adventure, so you need to pick your moments. Spamming healing spells on every scratch will leave you dry when the boss fight starts.
The most efficient approach is to let your heroes auto-attack through normal enemies and save your mana for two situations: healing the tank when they drop into the red, and nuking dangerous elite enemies before they deal too much damage.
Spell List
| Spell | Mana Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Shieldbreaker I | 5 | Strips 5 points of armor from a single enemy |
| Power of Fire I | 20 | Deals 100 fire damage to a single enemy |
| Healing I | 5 | Restores 60 HP to one hero |
| Healing II | 5 | Restores 100 HP to one hero |
| Group Healing I | 10 | Restores 60 HP to every hero in the party |
| Defenselessness I | 5 | Reduces a target's elemental resistance by 15 points |
| Punishment I | 5 | Instantly kills any monster under 150 HP and heals your entire party for 150 HP |
When to Use Each Spell
Healing I and Healing II are your bread and butter. They cost just 5 mana each, and Healing II restores 100 HP per cast. At 5 mana for 100 HP, Healing II is drastically cheaper than paying the Church to heal after the run. Always upgrade to Healing II as soon as you can afford it.
Group Healing I costs 10 mana but heals everyone. Use this after an enemy lands a big area-of-effect attack that damages your whole party. Do not use it when only the tank took damage. Single-target healing is more mana-efficient in that case.
Shieldbreaker I is critical against high-armor bosses. Five mana to strip five armor does not sound like much, but your entire party's physical damage is reduced by armor on every hit. Stripping armor before a long fight pays for itself many times over.
Defenselessness I does the same thing for elemental resistance. Pair it with Power of Fire I or heroes using elemental weapons for massive damage spikes. Cast Defenselessness first, then follow up with Power of Fire for the combo.
Power of Fire I costs 20 mana but deals 100 raw fire damage. That is enough to delete most elite enemies in a single cast during the early and mid game. Save it for elites that would otherwise chew through your party while you wait for auto-attacks to finish them off.
Punishment I is the most powerful spell in the game. For 5 mana, it instantly kills any enemy under 150 HP and heals your entire party for 150 HP. This is your stabilization tool in fights that are spiraling out of control. When your tank is low, the backline is taking hits, and multiple enemies are still standing, Punishment I cleans up the weakened ones and tops off your party at the same time.
Punishment I was bugged at launch and did not trigger correctly. It was fixed in Patch 1.024. If you are reading old guides that say the spell is broken, they are outdated.
Library Progression
Beyond spells, the Library is where you unlock passive buffs and advanced researches. Passive buffs provide permanent stat increases and quality-of-life upgrades for your village. Researches unlock deeper crafting recipes and progression systems.
Three achievements are tied to the Library: "Caring boss" for unlocking all passive buffs, "Sage" for unlocking all active spells, and "Nerd" for completing every research. Plan to keep the Library running constantly throughout your playthrough to hit all three.