Illusionist — Age Proliferation

01 Overview & Season 9 #

Illusionist might have some of the best leveling of any class I have ever played, and with the Season 9 buffs to Age Proliferation, we're a fully viable class now. This guide covers the whole journey: leveling, endgame trees, Incarnation pathing, gear from your first Satanic to giga-late luxury items, plus my loot filters.

The Good & The Bad #

The Good

Best early-game teleport, and it scales great
Age Proliferation auto-targets and chains to new targets
Built-in HP/Mana % buff for you and your party
Built-in % physical damage reduction from Temporal Heroes
Strong campaign & progression
Maid outfit skin

The Bad

Needs AoE scaling for clear to feel good
Single target takes some ramp time to stack Age Proliferation
Arcane caster — contested, expensive gear

Season 9 changes #

Age Proliferation got massively buffed: a better range node for more range, more base damage, more scaling, and a better AoE augment. We're a viable class now!

02 Loot Filters #

These filters only work in Season 9. I do not have S8 filters.

I highly suggest learning to make your own filter — watch my filter tutorial on YouTube.

Arcane Starter Filter (levels 1–100)
Endgame: I don't have endgame filters outside of the generic trade filter below.

Import filters here:

C:\Users\YOUR USER HERE\AppData\Local\Hero_Siege\hs2saves

Starter trade filter #

03 Leveling 1–100 #

Illusionist is an absolute powerhouse from 1–40, with only a tiny bit of awkwardness from 40–70 that's solved if you're leveling appropriately and not rushing too much. By 70 you just eat the game alive, and that never changed for my entire playthrough (hero level 80). The playstyle, speed, and survivability are all fantastic — this class is set to be one of the best in Season 9.

Stat distribution while leveling #

While leveling 1–100, put 2 points in Vitality and 2 points in Intelligence per level (or swap off 4 and 4). If you're confident in your survivability, feel free to deviate toward more Int. If max mana is a struggle, it's OK to grab Energy too — but you shouldn't need much with mana pots.

Stats are easy to reset at any time — play with them however you like. I know glass-cannon players that rush at full Int dodging every hit, and others that go higher Vit than anything.

Age Proliferation — leveling tree #

Skill tree for 1–100 below. Deviate if you need a better point distribution for your own play, but this has worked for me. Use the subskill tree for level 100 for Temporal Heroes, and rush their buff augment at 40.

Age Proliferation leveling skill tree overview

AP subtree · levels 5–30

If you struggle on single target, swap Range for Arcane Break — but you shouldn't struggle much at all.

Age Proliferation subtree, levels 5 to 30

AP subtree · levels 30–60

The augment is optional — it's a very small AoE/damage boost but it can help. Arcane Break is your best bang here. Most other augments feel mediocre at 40; the best is Fireball, but the range loss isn't worth it for clearing.

Age Proliferation subtree, levels 30 to 60

AP subtree · levels 60–85

We swap to the right side to get 2 points in Fireball around 70 — this requires pulling points from Range or Arcane Break, but at 70 the Fireball augment with 2 points becomes worth it for clearing (might be slightly worse single target than Growing Old). Modify at your own preference, but I prefer the range + 2-point Fireball ASAP. I swapped to the Duration node over the Damage node for higher-HP enemies and bosses.

Age Proliferation subtree, levels 60 to 85

AP subtree · levels 85–100

What your tree should look like around level 100. At this point, consult the Level 100+ Skill Trees section for endgame AoE and single-target setups. Highly suggest setting up a loadout for ST and one for AoE so you can click between both with ease while moving through Hell and endgame.

Age Proliferation subtree, levels 85 to 100

04 Level 100+ Skill Trees #

The standard skill tree for Illusionist is below. You can shift skills around based on what you prefer, but this is my recommended Age Proliferation skill order as you level. ST & AoE main trees are the same — the subtrees are where they split.

Recommended Age Proliferation skill order

Stat distribution at 100 #

I like an even split up to 100, then gauge how my HP looks depending on charms and gear. My goal early is to invest in HP items so I can take more Int — at 100 my stats look like this:

After picking up some HP charms or a big HP item, I dump everything into Int. Grabbing random 200–300 life charms off the ground and investing in Int for damage beats most other methods in the game early.

Main skill tree #

My suggested skill distribution. The left tree points are just for the arcane damage buff from Link of Sand / Spirit Link — decent but never necessary, purely for min-maxing damage. Move those points elsewhere if you prefer. The last points are flexible; I took Teleport for the synergy.

Temporal Heroes subtree #

The standard Temporal Heroes tree for buffing yourself. For more DPS you can take the far-left augment, but I never found it necessary. Yes, I tried a pure minion version of Temporal Heroes. No, it was not good.

Single-target subtrees #

ST subtree 1 — pure single target

This is the PURE single-target tree, ideally set up alongside a ST Incarnation tree for bossing. It can still clear, but without the range nodes it feels significantly worse than an AoE tree. (You can take Shadowburn if you have Arcane Roamers but no Arcanist's Wrath.)

ST subtree 2 — Fireball

The FPS drop on the Fireball augment was fixed in a patch before release, making it a comparable and powerful single-target option too — close to Growing Old and maybe better early on. It gets stronger if you run Caffeinated Coffee during the potion burst window.

Single-target subtree 2 with Fireball augment

AoE subtrees #

AoE subtree 1 — Multi (standard)

Our standard AoE tree — easiest and most effective once we start picking up AoE and Duration nodes in the Incarnation tree. The two early AoE nodes cause overlaps when chaining to multiple monsters, giving great clear damage. You can flex a point out of Range for more crit or damage, but Range is very powerful.

AoE subtree 2 — Fireball

An alternative AoE tree that can be competitive with subtree 1 very early when you have no hero levels. Personal preference reigns, but the fireballs at 100 have a good proc rate and good damage with the burn. Mostly best in open-world content.

Felps AoE subtree

A clear tree for when you have a Felps late game and want to blast AoE clear. Notice: it does not work well in dungeons or on bosses due to range limitations. It also requires removing the Duration node in the Incarnation tree so the fireballs properly return (duration affects their travel distance) — but it's fun for clear over the standard.

05 Incarnation Tree #

Season 9's Incarnation tree (1600+ nodes) replaces the old hero-level skill tree at level 100. Here's how I path it as hero levels come in — early is shared, then ST and AoE split.

Early tree · hero levels 1–30

Incarnation tree, single target, hero levels 40 to 45 — ST mid tree · 40–45

Incarnation tree, AoE, hero levels 40 to 45 — AoE mid tree · 40–45

Incarnation tree, single target, hero levels 55 to 60 — ST later tree · 55–60

Incarnation tree, AoE, hero levels 55 to 60 — AoE later tree · 55–60

Live update trees #

My current trees as the season progresses — these update as I keep playing.

Current AoE Incarnation tree — Current AoE tree

Current single-target Incarnation tree — Current ST tree

06 Gear — Early Game #

These are some of the stronger items you can use in the early game heading into mid game. You don't have to use these exact items — see Stats to look for if you're working with what the ground gives you.

Weapon #

All of these are strong early/mid Nightmare items if you can acquire them. Celestus is best in a base with +skills, but this early you most likely won't have one available — check the Codex for possible Celestus bases, and Sur runes will be very rare. Damien's is the best of these early on, in my opinion.

Shield #

If you can't get any of these shields, a high HP/Mana/Resist Mythic is good. Any +skills and faster-cast-rate shield will help.

Helm #

Body armor #

Gloves #

Boots #

Belt #

Amulet #

Rings #

Charms #

The Arcane set (Thor's) #

The Thor's set is a really strong early arcane setup, easy to acquire as you hit late Nightmare and enter Hell. Don't sleep on this set at all — it's carried me many times. The gloves aren't as good for you as the rest of the set, though.

07 Gear — Mid to Late #

Weapon #

The Eye of Tarethiel was made for Illusionist and might be its best-in-slot, but you have some one-hand options depending on whether you use a shield.

Beacon of Shadows is excellent — probably the best one-hander outside of a Dawnbringer (Angelic). Very strong for survivability paired with a shield, and it can beat Tarethiel when paired with Celestial Authority.

Oculus is competitive with Beacon and great for magic find — however the teleport proc can be insanely annoying and easily kill you. Use with caution.

Shield #

Celestials is top tier (a staff might beat it out until giga-late) but hard to acquire and expensive. If you want to LIVE, Defenders is the go-to choice for me. Other options are Suomi's and Ancient Aegis — decent DPS with all res.

Helm #

Gaze of the Oblivion is probably your best-in-slot, but the other two options usually end up easier or cheaper to get until you can manage a Gaze.

Body armor #

Arcanist's Wrath is by far the best option here — target-farmable and powerful in every way. Wraith's Cloak will be pure RNG/expensive, and Gem King's is a CT-bias drop needing 6 Pristine Amethysts.

Gloves #

A lot of interesting choices in gloves. Arcanums are a top-tier damage option, with Zealot's being stronger but harder to acquire (no target-farm zone). Spellweavers, however, might take the cake as our best option for AoE farming — they scale the size of Age Proliferation, and AoE stacking is the name of the game.

Boots #

Pearlescent is a great early option and helps with defenses as you progress through Hell. Fumas are also fantastic — they are in memory of Fumachina, who died of Ligma. Astral Roamers are easier to acquire than Chaoswalkers but not as strong late game.

Belt #

Rugal's is so good for its early value and insane physical reduction that I rarely replace it, but Girdle is a nice alternative outside of Angelics, for raw HP.

Amulet #

Thoth's is a very late-game option if you are reaching the heights of stacking Int — but it's from Amun-Ra.

Rings #

Soulforge ring is S-tier in Season 9 — EXP is god, an amazing all-rounder item. Arcanis is one of your bigger damage upgrades; it only lacks cast speed but is insane otherwise (Inferno only). Signet CAN be good but is very RNG. Prometheus still holds up late. Azazel's is an option too, but soulgem farming is involved.

Charms #

The Pumpkin is one of the most ambitious items because it is Unholy, but if you get one it can be a very nice upgrade. The rest of the charms are what you can get at the time — Fulgurite and Torstein's are staples. Torch of Shadows is also incredible, but Inferno only. Many early charms carry over well here.

Best charm in the game: +1 Ability Subskills. Look for: Age Proliferation.

08 Stats, Sockets & Star Levels #

Stats to look for #

The gear sections show item examples, but you don't have to use those exact items. If you're gearing off the ground, these are the stats that matter for an arcane caster:

+ Levels to All Skills
+ Levels to Arcane Skills
% Arcane Damage
+ To Arcane Skill Damage
− To Enemy Arcane Resistance
% Skill Haste
+ To Intelligence
% Faster Cast Rate

What to socket #

Typically you socket what fits the situation — missing resistances? Add Um runes. Want more damage? Elemental gems. For Illusionist you want Amethysts in your gear for damage. Socket early and often on the 1–100 journey; the rarer your gear at 100, the better gems you want, and you can remove them with a crafting cube recipe.

Later on, once resists and other stats are handled, endgame gear gets socketed with Chaos Gems or Pristine Amethysts.

Star levels #

When you start getting multiples of your S-tier Satanics, it might be time to attempt some star leveling. Star leveling S-tier Satanics requires Destiny Shards — used at the crafting bench, each shard has a chance to:

62%Upgrade by 1 star

26%Downgrade

12%Corrupt — all stars removed

Each star increases the stats of an item, including orange-text abilities and bonuses. It can also increase +Skill rolls that are NOT +All Skills — so +Elemental or +Physical skills can be scaled this way.

This can be done to SS-tier items too, but it requires higher-tier materials — not suggested until you have established yourself.

09 Relics, Potions & Mercenary #

Relics #

These are all the very good damage-increase relic options — prioritize Arcane Globe, Orb of Chaos, and Lost Wand. The rest is personal preference; all are good in their own way.

Optionally, early on the Cheeseburger relic is very good for survival.

Potions #

Potions are entirely up to your preference and what you have available. They're more of a burst cooldown for bossing — or just whenever they're up — when it comes to damage. Some utility potions have use as well, like the EXP or MF potion, but those are expensive and VERY rare. My personal preference:

Mercenary #

Focus on making your mercenary tanky before adding a bunch of magic find. As I mostly cover casters, we primarily use the Knight merc for MF or buffs (Crown of Doom / Isarius / Auroras). I won't cover Archer, which is more physically oriented, and I never find much need for the A6 merc.

Merc weapon

Two options: MF or buffing. With the Knight merc we either use Auroras Might to help our res (be aware you can teleport out of range easily — mercs WILL snap to you but with a delay) OR a magic find weapon. Early and late examples:

Merc shield

Shields have several options, most with quite a few sockets. Early, a Gem Encrusted Tower with Ist runes is really powerful for survivability AND MF. The late-game MF option is Leprechaun's Greed. The super-MEGA-late option to help res is a St. Tomis, if you are rich or very fortunate.

Merc helmet

Helmets are pretty easy. Both Harlequins are good; The Bucket is top MF. If you're rich or want to farm Inferno CT, the Crown of Doom from Rakhul is insanely powerful as an aura item on your merc — but rare, expensive, and annoying to get.

Beyond the traditional helmets: if you are stacking auras on your merc, there are incredible new Season 9 options that buff aura effectiveness. Things like Auroras Might, Pearlescent Greaves, or any item with a beneficial aura can be amplified. It's no Crown of Doom, but the possible tech is crazy.

Merc chest

Lots of good chests. Runemaster with Ists is pretty solid, but Ists are expensive early. Upi's is nice, Empire Military Plate is also very good. If you're going GIGA insane mode, Babylon's Fall is your billionaire chestpiece. Ent's Blessing is a good option for another all-res aura — small, but it makes the merc tanky. Treasure Hunter's is a solid choice too; as a caster you can trade that small MF gain for Pearlescent Dream and easy Magic Skill damage. Up to you.

Merc gloves

Two solid options: Midas Hands are very strong for MF, while Arcanums offer extra damage for you as an arcane caster — blasting faster is always nice.

Merc belt

Belt of Infinite Wealth is probably one of the better-statted items for a merc and magic find in general. Early on, run Hatshepsut's Girdle instead until you can grab it.

10 New Uber Items & Chest Augments #

New uber boss items #

The new boss gloves might be interesting with the Fireball projectile from the AP augment. The new boots are nice, but we have our own teleport. Fractal of Existence is interesting and would create a movespeed/light-radius meta — the Incarnation tree has some Light Radius nodes, which could be VERY cool tech late game, and we already have a movespeed steroid on teleport… so.

Chest augments #

Several good options — however Spellslinger pulls ahead for FCR-reliant classes, especially arcane casters with Arcanist's Wrath plus the new Int-%-to-Magic-damage Incarnation node. That makes it my top pick over Monstrosity. Infinity might also be strong new tech for duplicating casts combined with the Incarnation nodes Roll the Dice & Temporal Echo — meaning you can quad-cast on some good RNG. (More testing needed.)

Best

Good

Potentially insane?

11 New Discoveries #

This section updates as the season runs and new things are discovered with the build and the class in general.

Mana sustain tech #

Mana on Kill (Witch's Claw / charms) + mana pot + the mana subnode are most likely needed once you get Eye of Tarethiel. The Mana Leech node is bugged as of 4/07/2026 — hopefully fixed soon.

Mana leech is still bad unless you take Instant Leech, but that can suck with a lower mana pool. The only real solution is to run a mana pot until you have good gear or 3k+ mana and can deal with Instant Leech. You can also get Spellweavers or a "damage taken gained as mana" item to restart the mana cycle when running the Instant Leech node.

Sand Guardians #

Sand Guardians is feeling really good so far — less mana intensive, gear transfers easily, and it isn't too expensive. I'll refer a lot to the Sand Guardians guide in future videos and updates.

Sand Guardians Guide by Nahrungsmittelunvertraglichkeit (aka Misinformation Merchant) on the HS Discord.

INT stack late (WIP) #

Will update as I get this set up during the season. Theory: we can push 1500+ (maybe 2k) Int and scale damage better this way with magic damage conversion and the Manahunger node — but the hero level requirement is high. Follow-up videos as I progress, and updates here.

12 Community & Useful Links #

Feel free to stop by any time to ask questions, talk about the class guides, or just Hero Siege in general. Come hang out, vibe, and bully a cat that's bad at video games.

Twitch — MisterSleepyCat · Mon–Fri 4:00 PM–11:30 PM PST, weekends 10:00 AM–12:00 AM PST
Discord — for questions and the community
YouTube — more guides from the cat

Links every player should know #

Hero Siege Helper — the most up-to-date "wiki" the game has.
Graxy's Item Finder Interactive Map — hover zones and bosses to see what drops where. Ever wondered what the current Satanic zone drops? Hover it on this site.
Hero Siege Official Discord — ask questions, learn the game, meet other players.