Devastating ranged attacks that annihilate enemy groups
Slow but powerful melee blows
Vulnerable to rushers—must avoid being surrounded
Reinhart Manx is descended from a long line of Legion mages. He has spent most of his life at the Collegium, in the city of Stonebridge, immersed in the study and practice of magic. Reinhart is known for his unconventional thinking and innovative magical techniques.
Developer Commentary
My designs (and my life in general) are generally fueled by contrarian rage. I knew we needed a "mage" in Dungeon Siege III, but I didn't want some 4-HP tool that casts a magic missile and then needs to take a nap. Reinhart is a very physical guy—you'll see him punching and making sweeping gestures with his magic. At the same time, he's magic to the core: lesser men might roll to safety; Reinhart just teleports.
– Matt MacLean, Senior Designer
Playing as Reinhart
A scholar of arcane magic, Reinhart warps the forces of creation and destruction to his will. His Entropic magic can blast a wide area with life-extinguishing force, though it leaves him open to attack. It is perfect for destroying crowds of enemies, as long as he keeps them at a distance. His Dynamic magic is channeled through an arcane gauntlet and capacitor. It creates deadly currents of energy with a mere motion of his hand, allowing Reinhart to quickly incapacitate a single target at close range.
In the hands of a skilled player, Reinhart can become an unstoppable offensive force. Shred inbound enemies with his lethal Entropic magic—you can catch melee foes as they rush in if you're fast. Then switch to Reinhart's powerful single-foe Dynamic magic to finish off the wounded. Because Reinhart's close-range attacks are somewhat slow, this mischievous mage is at his best when being supported by a frontline companion. This leaves Reinhart free to assail enemies with his devastating Entropic assaults, ensuring swift victory.
Developer Commentary
My goal with Reinhart was to make him the character that is intentionally a bit obtuse to play. His Dynamic attacks have terrible reach and are single-target, while his Entropic attacks are slow and are utterly useless against close combatants. His two base abilities (Lightning Strike and Clockwork Trap) require him to wind up for an attack—forcing the player to think ahead.
The visual effects for Reinhart's magic (thanks, Jay Bakke and James Melilli) really completed his character for me. When his temporary effects were replaced with the effects you'll see in the final game, I was deluged with feedback about how much the dev team enjoyed playing him.
– Matt MacLean, Senior Designer
Reinhart's Abilities
Reinhart cranks out plenty of damage right from the start, but he suffers from a lack of defense against swarming hostiles. You may therefore wish to focus on upgrading his defensive abilities first, as well as his single-enemy offense—this will help you heal and reduce damage, and will promote reliable one-hit kills. Lay traps and lead enemies to their doom with Reinhart's Clockwork Trap ability—it's both fun and effective. Once you unlock Reinhart's top-tier abilities, Creative Destruction can help you deal with enemy groups quite handily.
Lightning Strike
Launches a deadly lightning bolt against a single foe. An empowered Lightning Strike launches a slow-moving ball of lightning that injures everything along its path.
Proficiencies
Thunderclap : Each time Reinhart casts Lightning Strike, he causes a shockwave that stuns nearby enemies for 0.4 seconds per rank.
Power Surge : Lightning Strike gains a 10 percent chance per rank to bounce to an additional target.
Lightning Strike is a powerful but slow-to-release combat ability that deals massive damage to a single foe. Upgrade its Power Surge proficiency for a chance at striking an additional enemy with each bolt you unleash—when this occurs, both targets suffer full damage as if two separate Lightning Strikes had been cast at once. Or take multiple ranks in Thunderclap to help Reinhart use this ability more safely—he'll briefly stun all enemies near him each time he uses Lightning Strike, allowing Reinhart to cast multiple strikes in sequence without being mobbed.
Developer Commentary
The first pass of the Power Surge proficiency went in on a very busy day, and it guaranteed Lightning Strike would bounce n+1 times. So at five ranks, you'd hit six targets. My inbox was filled with half the team telling me it was the best thing ever and the other half telling me (rightfully so) that I had lost all sense of balance. Needless to say, the final incarnation is still good, but it's no longer a no-brainer decision which proficiency to take.
– Matt MacLean, Senior Designer
Clockwork Trap
Summons a trap at Reinhart's feet. Any enemy crossing it will detonate the trap, unleashing a deadly blast. Casting an empowered Clockwork Trap detonates all existing Clockwork Traps with greater force and radius than usual.
Proficiencies
Temporal Distortion : Enemies hit by the Clockwork Trap suffer a 12 percent per rank slowing effect for two seconds per rank.
Force Magnification : Clockwork Traps cause 10 percent more damage per rank.
Clockwork Trap is a unique ability that can be used to great effect by the creative mage. Deploy Clockwork Traps when you see enemies ahead, then lure foes in to their doom—act quickly, however, for the traps vanish just 15 seconds after being placed. Adding damage to Clockwork Trap through Force Magnification is enticing, but don't overlook Temporal Distortion—slowing enemies sets them up for a dose of Reinhart's devastating Entropic magic.
Developer Commentary
The empowered version of Clockwork Trap is meant to be a little unorthodox in its utility. It's worth noting that every Clockwork Trap detonates a blast that is larger in diameter than the "trip wire" radius that makes it go off. This is so that a conga line of enemies moving through the trap will have the first guy trigger the trap and several enemies behind him will also get caught in the carnage.
The empowered version works if and only if you can place some traps and time the forced detonation effect before the traps would fire off normally. It does some of the highest damage per point of Focus spent in the game, but you have to work for it.
– Matt MacLean, Senior Designer
Circle of Healing
Reinhart enacts a healing spell that heals 50 percent of his health over the course of 30 seconds. Circle of Healing benefits the entire party when empowered.
Proficiencies
Vector Dampening : While Circle of Healing is active, Reinhart takes 5 percent per rank less damage.
Aggressive Defense : While Circle of Healing is in effect, enemies suffer a slight damage-over-time effect as long as they remain near Reinhart.
Circle of Healing is the first ability that Reinhart unlocks. Unlike his two starting abilities, Circle of Healing is a defensive technique that requires Power to activate. Use Circle of Healing as often as possible to keep a steady trickle of Hit Points (HP) flowing into Reinhart. Because Reinhart is vulnerable to melee-rush adversaries, consider taking ranks in either Vector Dampening or Aggressive Defense to help reduce the damage Reinhart suffers while healing or to punish foes that swarm in.
Mirror Leap
Teleports Reinhart to a chosen location and leaves behind a decoy image of Reinhart. The duplicate summoned by empowered Mirror Leap lures all enemies, forcing them to attack it, even if Reinhart is closer.
Proficiencies
Temporal Wake : Each time Reinhart uses Mirror Leap, he stuns enemies near his point of departure for 1–3 seconds.
Damaging Illusion : Reinhart's mirror decoy reflects 10 percent of the damage he sustains back at the attacker. This damage reflection increases by 2 percent per rank.
Mirror Leap is a handy second-tier ability that allows Reinhart to escape danger while simultaneously creating a copy of himself that engages and harasses enemies. Use Mirror Leap to flee from foes, then quickly turn and annihilate them with Reinhart's Entropic magic while they're being distracted by the decoy. The first rank you take in Temporal Wake causes a one-second stun on enemies near Reinhart's point of departure, and each additional rank increases the stun length by half a second, up to a maximum of a three-second stun. The first rank in Damaging Illusion causes Reinhart's double to reflect 12 percent of the damage he sustains back at the attacker. Each additional rank adds an additional 2 percent damage, up to a maximum of 20 percent damage reflection.
Developer Commentary
Mirror Leap quickly became a favorite with developers playing the game in their free time. When the AI-controlled companions were first programmed to rescue you from death, this functionality inadvertently trickled down to Reinhart's mirror image, and it was pretty hilarious (and very over-powered) to have your magical clone pick you up off the ground when you were knocked out.
– Matt MacLean, Senior Designer
Geometry of Annihilation
Conjures a circle of energy centered at a chosen location. Enemies are gradually injured as long as they remain in the circle. Empowered Geometry of Annihilation causes increased damage over time and stuns any enemies in its area of effect when first summoned.
Proficiencies
Enduring Negation : Geometry of Annihilation remains in effect for two additional seconds per rank.
Temporal Inversion : Enemies hit by Geometry of Annihilation are slowed by 5 percent per rank, and allies in the circle gain 5 percent per rank Agility bonus.
Geometry of Annihilation is another second-tier ability that Reinhart can use to great effect against his foes. Casting this ability summons a wide circle at Reinhart's feet, which inflicts significant damage over time to all nearby enemies. The circle remains in play for nine seconds and serves as a good deterrent against swarming foes. Both of this ability's proficiencies have merit—consider dividing up ranks between the two.
Barrier Field
Summons a powerful barrier around Reinhart that absorbs up to 33 percent of Reinhart's maximum Hit Points. When Barrier Field is empowered, the entire party is protected.
Proficiencies
Equal and Opposite Reaction : While Barrier Field is active, 10 percent of incoming melee damage per rank is reflected back at enemies.
Angle of Incidence : Barrier Field has a 10 percent chance per rank to reflect projectiles that strike Reinhart.
Barrier Field is Reinhart's second-tier defensive ability. It provides him with a force field that completely absorbs all damage until it reaches its tolerance limit—33 percent of Reinhart's maximum HP. Consider purchasing a few ranks in both of Barrier Field's proficiencies—this will punish foes who lash out at Reinhart with both melee and ranged attacks. Note that projectiles reflected by Angle of Incidence deal their full damage back against the attacker—Equal and Opposite Reaction reflects less damage, but it always succeeds.
Electrocute
Reinhart unleashes a continuous torrent of energy on an enemy target for as long as the attack is held or until he runs out of Focus. Empowered Electrocute delivers a stunning current of electricity on a single target until the ability is halted or Reinhart is out of Power.
Proficiencies
Arc Mage : Reinhart's Electrocute ability causes additional splash damage to enemies near the chosen target.
Killerhertz : Electrocute causes 5 percent more damage per rank.
Electrocute is Reinhart's top-tier single-foe combat ability. Unleash Electrocute to inflict tremendous damage in a short period of time against a single enemy—it's ideal against bosses and other resilient foes. Turn Electrocute into an effective anti-group ability by placing ranks into Arc Mage, or increase its damage output with ranks in Killerhertz. Take a few ranks in each to really crank up the carnage.
Developer Commentary
The original design was for the third-tier Dynamic ability to be Summon Automaton (which did exactly as it said). The Automaton had a short-range electricity attack, and it just seemed more interesting to have Reinhart do that himself rather than getting someone else to do the work.
– Matt MacLean, Senior Designer
Developer Commentary
The names of many of Reinhart's traits were very carefully added late in the game so as to keep George Ziets (the Creative Lead) from looking at me with disdain and insisting I change them. Not exactly the most mature move of my career, but I'm generally a terrible person who loves physics and terrible puns.
– Matt MacLean, Senior Designer
Creative Destruction
Fires a conical blast for as long as the attack is held, or until Reinhart runs out of Focus. Allies hit by the blast receive minor healing. Empowered Creative Destruction causes increased damage and stuns all targets caught in the blast.
Proficiencies
Siphon Life : Reinhart recovers Hit Points equal to 3 percent per rank of the damage he inflicts with Creative Destruction.
Entropy's Shackles : Enemies struck by Creative Destruction take 5 percent per rank more damage from subsequent attacks.
Creative Destruction is Reinhart's top-tier multi-foe combat ability, and it's also uniquely capable of healing Reinhart's comrades by 5 percent of the damage that Creative Destruction inflicts on foes. Use Creative Destruction to weaken swarming enemies while simultaneously healing your frontline companions. This ability truly shines once upgraded with ranks in either of its worthy proficiencies—Entropy's Shackles effectively allows Reinhart to cast a group-weaken effect, while Siphon Life can quickly restore Reinhart's precious HP.
Developer Commentary
The differences between Electrocute and Creative Destruction might not be readily apparent. Both are channeling-style abilities with forward arcs of fire. Use Electrocute to quickly take down single targets, but be aware there's a slightly longer delay for him to ready his attack. Creative Destruction is faster to initiate and hits multiple targets. It's also arguably better if you're playing with a friend (especially if that friend is Lucas and will usually be standing in the thick of a fight) due to the healing side effect. It is, however, much less useful for single-target assassination.
– Matt MacLean, Senior Designer
Perpetual Momentum
For 30 seconds, Reinhart slowly recovers Focus and is immune to stunning and slowing effects. Empowered Perpetual Momentum extends its benefits to the entire party.
Proficiencies
Heightened Concentration : Reinhart's Focus regeneration is increased by 12 percent per rank while Perpetual Momentum is active.
Mind Over Mortality : While Perpetual Momentum is active, any healing Reinhart receives is increased by 5 percent per rank.
Perpetual Momentum is Reinhart's top-tier defensive ability, used to regenerate Focus so he can unleash his powerful offensive abilities more often in battle. While Perpetual Momentum is active, Reinhart slowly regains 50 Focus Points over 30 seconds. Substantially more Focus can be gained by purchasing ranks in Heightened Concentration—up to a maximum of 30 additional Focus (80 Focus in total) with full ranks taken in this proficiency. Or devote ranks to Mind Over Mortality to turn this into a true defensive ability that increases the amount of healing Reinhart receives from all sources while Perpetual Momentum is active.
Reinhart's Talents
Many of Reinhart's talents revolve around enhancing the effectiveness of his already-devastating combat abilities. Others can weaken his enemies or slow them to set the stage for Reinhart's Entropic magic attacks. Consider the abilities you use most often and upgrade talents that best complement those powers.
Genius!
Reinhart's Will is increased by 4 percent per rank.
Genius! combines with other valuable talents, such as Quick Thinking, to increase the power and damage output of Reinhart's abilities. This is a good first talent for Reinhart to max out because it increases the effectiveness of his combat abilities across the board.
Dynamic Mastery
Enemies hit by Lightning Strike, Mirror Leap, or Electrocute suffer charged status, taking 3 percent additional damage per rank.
This valuable talent grants Reinhart bonus damage when he unleashes his single-foe combat abilities—a welcomed advantage with obvious benefits.
Developer Commentary
The initial plan for Reinhart was to have all his Dynamic abilities inflict "charged" and all his Entropic abilities inflict "drained," and if any target was hit by both status effects at the same time, the two status effects would mutually annihilate each other with damaging effects. This was a lot of fun on paper, but it proved hard to communicate to even our more detail-oriented coworkers. Moreover, it caused untold amounts of insanity with Reinhart's many rapidly cycling attacks. If you used Electrocute on an enemy standing in Geometry of Annihilation, the end result was so insane you'd never bother using any other ability again.
The end solution is more elegant. You get to construct your version of Reinhart to get extra utility out of whichever set of attacks you like best (or both if you want to spend the points) and can further enhance this effect with Ruin and Restoration and Shock and Awe.
– Matt MacLean, Senior Designer
Entropic Mastery
Foes hit by Clockwork Trap, Geometry of Annihilation, or Creative Destruction suffer drained status, losing 3 percent attack power per rank.
This talent reduces the attack power of victims of Reinhart's multi-foe combat abilities, making them less dangerous. The drained status effect inflicted by this talent lasts for 10 seconds. Entropic Mastery also combines with another of Reinhart's talents, Ruin and Restoration, to afford Reinhart a low chance of gaining a small amount of HP back from drained enemies.
Numismatics
The amount of money acquired from piles of gold that Reinhart picks up is increased by 20 percent per rank.
Extra gold is always welcome, but this talent won't have much impact on Reinhart's coin purse until later in the adventure, when loose piles of gold aren't so skimpy. If you're in need of cash in the game's later stages, consider devoting some ranks to Numismatics, and turn those large later-game piles of loot Reinhart finds into really large piles of loot. Note that Numismatics affects piles of gold found in chests, barrels, and other lootable objects, as well as the piles of gold commonly dropped by enemies.
Quick Thinking
Reinhart's Agility contributes to his Ability DPS by 10 percent per rank.
This excellent talent allows Reinhart to significantly increase the power of all of his abilities by adding up to half of his Agility score to his Ability DPS. Best of all, Quick Thinking allows Reinhart to do this as he increases his odds of scoring critical hits—for Agility determines a character's critical hit chance. Max out this worthy talent as soon as it becomes available.
Developer Commentary
This talent is a must if you're playing on Hardcore difficulty, but to get the most out of it you may have to equip gear that favors Agility over everything else—even if that means giving up gear that's better overall. High Agility by itself is great for Reinhart, as his Entropic attacks hit multiple targets or do lingering damage—each hit and each tick of damage-over-time gets a chance to critically hit. And when this Agility is also increasing the base damage of his abilities… hilarity ensues.
– Matt MacLean, Senior Designer
Eureka Moment
Each time Reinhart inflicts a critical hit he recovers 2 percent per rank of his total Power.
Eureka Moment goes hand-in-hand with Quick Thinking, making Agility even more valuable to Reinhart. Now, when you increase Reinhart's Agility to help him score critical hits, you'll also be increasing the rate at which he recovers Power through Eureka Moment—this allows Reinhart to unleash his defensive and empowered offensive abilities more often in battle as he devastates foes with critical blows.
Timely Escape
Each time Reinhart dodges, he inflicts a modest slowing effect on enemies close to where he started his dodge.
Slowing foes is a brilliant tactic for Reinhart, for it simplifies the task of shredding them with his lethal Entropic magic. Allow enemies to swarm Reinhart, then dodge away to slow them all with Timely Escape. The slow effect inflicted by this talent is increased by 10 percent per rank and lasts a full five seconds—plenty of time for Reinhart to set up a devastating Entropic assault once he's moved off. The benefits of this unassuming talent should not be overlooked.
Adept Spell Casting
The Focus costs of all of Reinhart's abilities are reduced by 4 percent per rank.
This straightforward talent's benefits are clear—a cheaper Focus cost means Reinhart can unleash more offensive abilities in battle before running out of Focus. Combine Adept Spell Casting with talents that increase the effectiveness of Reinhart's abilities, such as Genius! and Quick Thinking, so he can unleash his devastating combat abilities more often.
Shock and Awe
Reinhart's charged status effect has a 2 percent chance per rank to also inflict a short stun.
Shock and Awe pairs with another of Reinhart's talents, Dynamic Mastery, to potentially stun enemies that suffer charged status as a result of his single-foe combat abilities. Though this talent has a low chance to succeed, enemies remain stunned for a full three seconds when it does, which is more than enough time for Reinhart to finish them off or flee to safer ground.
Ruin and Restoration
Drained enemies, per rank, have a 2 percent chance per second to lose some Hit Points, which are transferred to Reinhart in the form of healing.
Ruin and Restoration pairs with another of Reinhart's talents, Entropic Mastery, to potentially heal Reinhart when he inflicts the drained status against enemies with his multi-foe combat abilities. The amount of healing varies based on Reinhart's Ability DPS score, which can be increased through other talents of Reinhart's, such as Genius! and Quick Thinking.
Party Planning
Reinhart will first meet Anjali in Stormsong Cavern, followed by Katarina when his journey leads him into the swamps. Lucas will join Reinhart during his quests in Stonebridge, much later in the adventure.
When playing as a character other than Reinhart, consider the beneficial Deeds that Reinhart can provide you when set as your active companion. Keep Reinhart by your side and make choices during dialogue sequences that impress him. This will gain you Influence with Reinhart—and the more Influence you gain with Reinhart, the more beneficial Deeds you will acquire.
Developer Commentary
I'm biased here, but I think Dungeon Siege III is best enjoyed when you say whatever you feel like saying in dialogues. That said, if you want to try and build a strong rapport with Reinhart, just keep in mind that he embraces the Legion virtue of empathy (being something of a foil to Anjali's deep-seated need for justice). Forgiveness and care for the downtrodden impress Reinhart.
– Matt MacLean, Senior Designer
Tier 1 Deed: Academic Ally (2 Influence Gains)
You have gained the trust of Reinhart, scholar of Stonebridge.
Player Gains: +2 Will
Tier 2 Deed: Tenured Loyalty (10 Influence Gains)
Reinhart is thoroughly impressed by your actions and your words. You have his trust and respect.
Player Gains: +3 Will
Tier 3 Deed: Doctorate of Friendship (15 Influence Gains)
Reinhart admires the choices that you have made, and he considers you his closest friend and ally.
Player Gains: +5 Will
Sample Builds
Consider the following sample builds of Reinhart Manx—these are level-by-level examples of the abilities, proficiencies, and talents that one might invest in to make Reinhart more than a match for his foes.
Reinhart—Defensive Build
Reinhart's powerful magic makes short work of foes, but he isn't suited to prolonged bouts of direct combat. Shore up Reinhart's defenses with the following build plan. Several of the abilities listed here will slow or stun Reinhart's enemies, allowing him to step back and shred them with his devastating multi-foe Entropic magic.
Reinhart can cast out some serious damage—try playing this build to see what this gifted mage is truly capable of. Expect to do plenty of dodging during the early stages of the adventure when you play this build—Reinhart is somewhat vulnerable until he is joined by a companion who can draw a portion of the enemy's fire.
Lightning Strike
Clockwork Trap
Circle of Healing
Mirror Leap
Geometry of Annihilation
Barrier Field
Electrocute
Creative Destruction
Perpetual Momentum
Genius!
Dynamic Mastery
Entropic Mastery
Numismatics
Quick Thinking
Eureka Moment
Timely Escape
Adept Spell Casting
Shock and Awe
Ruin and Restoration