Most players searching for a Kristala spells guide don't need a list of spell names. What the game never explains — before you commit at the character creator — is what separates the two school categories and why that choice shapes every fight from hour one.
The decision at the 32-trait creator is permanent. Knowing what you're picking before you confirm it matters.
TL;DR: Six clans, six magic schools. Two broad categories: Eminence (immediate damage) and Malediction (curse/DoT). Mana refills from landed melee hits — not passively. Pick Nisarga or Tandara (both Eminence) for your first run. Malediction is worth playing second — the ceiling is high, but the feedback loop is harder to learn. No mid-game respec; new clan means new character.
Key Takeaways
- Six magic schools, one per clan — no two clans share the same school, and you can't switch mid-run
- Two school types: Eminence (immediate damage on cast) and Malediction (curse builds over time into DoT)
- Mana regenerates through landed melee hits — cast without hitting and your mana pool runs dry
- Nisarga and Tandara are the Eminence-aligned clans; recommended for first playthroughs
- No mid-game respec and no traditional New Game Plus — a new magic school requires a new character
- Malediction adds 2–4 hours to a first playthrough versus Eminence, but has more depth on replays
- Ellarial Fonts are where you invest spell upgrades — finding and activating every Font on the critical path matters
The Two School Systems
Kristala organizes its six magic schools under two categories that determine the fundamental rhythm of how you fight.
Eminence schools produce damage immediately. You cast a spell and the enemy takes damage. The feedback is immediate and unambiguous — you know whether the spell is working, and you can adjust what you're doing within the same fight. For new players, this clarity is worth more than the number comparisons suggest. Understanding whether you're fighting correctly is hard enough without also having to account for a damage delay.
Malediction schools work on a different timeline. Spells apply curse effects that build damage over time. The first cast isn't the peak — the damage accumulates. Against fast enemies or brief fight windows, curse-based builds feel weak. Against bosses with longer health pools, the accumulated damage becomes substantial. The learning curve isn't the mechanics themselves; it's internalizing that the payoff is delayed.
Neither system is objectively better. They produce different experiences across the same content, which is why the game is built around replay rather than a single playthrough that tries to show you everything.
GODEEPER: Which clan fits which playstyle — and why the starting node in the Feline Skill Tree matters for your spell investment. Kristala Clans Guide — Eminence, Malediction, and Which to Pick →
The Mana System
This is the mechanic most players get wrong, and it's the one the game explains least clearly.
Mana in Kristala does not regenerate passively. There is no waiting, no regeneration tick, no resting at a Font to recover. The only way to refill your mana pool is to land melee hits on enemies.
The intended loop:
- Close to melee range
- Land melee hits to build mana
- Spend mana on spells from range or during the fight
- Return to melee when the pool drops
Players who try to play Kristala as a ranged spellcaster — hanging back, casting from distance, avoiding melee — run out of mana within the first minute of a fight and spend the rest fighting with no spells available. That experience makes the game feel harder and the magic system feel underpowered. It isn't underpowered; the mana loop just isn't what players expect coming from other games.
This mechanic applies equally to Eminence and Malediction schools. Both require melee engagement to maintain spell availability. The difference is what you spend the mana on and when the damage appears.
Players who internalize the melee-mana-spell loop in the first hour play significantly faster through encounters than players who discover it at hour five.
Melee hits refill mana — the loop is melee to build, spells to spend. Ranged-only play drains the mana pool with no way to recover.
Eminence Schools: What They Feel Like
Eminence schools are the appropriate starting choice for most players. Not because they're easier in absolute terms, but because the fight feedback is faster.
When you cast an Eminence spell, you see what happens. The damage lands, the enemy reacts, and you can make a decision about whether to cast again or pivot to melee. Fights stay readable. The skill you develop — reading enemy behavior, timing casts with melee openings — transfers directly to harder content as the game progresses.
The two Eminence-aligned clans in Kristala are Nisarga and Tandara. Both access immediate-damage spell types but from different thematic angles — the specifics of each clan's school are part of the replay value. First-run players choosing between them are primarily choosing an aesthetic; the core Eminence fight loop is the same.
First playthroughs with an Eminence school typically resolve boss fights 2–4 hours faster than equivalent Malediction runs, because players can more easily tell which actions are and aren't working. The game isn't easier — the feedback is clearer.
Malediction Schools: When to Play Them
Malediction isn't a harder version of Eminence. It's a different game mode operating on a different feedback cycle.
Curse effects from Malediction spells build damage over time. Each cast adds to the accumulating effect, and the damage plays out across the full duration of the curse. Against a boss with a large health pool — the High Priestess or any late-game encounter — a fully stacked curse does substantial damage that straightforward Eminence casting doesn't match.
The problem with Malediction on a first run is that it feels underpowered early — specifically because early enemies die before the curse damage pays off. Players quit in the first two hours because the feedback is silent. Curses are ticking, but small health pools don't show the payoff. The system works as intended once enemies can actually survive long enough for the DoT to matter.
If you don't know what you're looking at, Malediction seems broken. If you're on a second run with the loop already understood, it's significantly more satisfying. Play it second.
GODEEPER: How long each school type takes and what affects completion time across all six clans. Kristala How Long to Beat — Story, 100%, All Clans →
Upgrading Spells at Ellarial Fonts
Ellarial Fonts are upgrade hubs, checkpoints, and fast travel points in one. The Font that saves your progress is the same place you invest in your build.
Each Font offers upgrade paths that depend on your clan and magic school. Eminence schools lean toward options that amplify damage output and reduce cast cost. Malediction schools have paths that extend curse duration, increase stacking speed, and add secondary effects to existing curses. The specific options available at any Font depend on which Fonts you've previously activated and how far along the critical path you are.
Missing Fonts matters. Players who skip Fonts because they're off the direct path lose upgrade investment and lose fast travel access. The game places Fonts at natural exploration waypoints, but the parkour traversal system also hides some in vertical areas that aren't obvious from ground level. Finding and activating every Font on the critical path is worth the time — each one is both a build investment and a navigation point.
The Font upgrade order is the decision that separates players who finish at 25 hours from players who finish the same content at 35 hours. An optimized Eminence build pushes through encounters fast. A Malediction build that upgrades curse extension early covers the weak early-game period better than one that prioritizes raw damage first.
No Respec, No NG+
There is no mid-game magic school respec. If you start as an Eminence-aligned clan and decide you want to try Malediction, you start a new character. The school you pick at the 32-trait creator is your school for the entire run.
There is no traditional New Game Plus. Each new clan is a new character — the 32-trait creator, the opening areas, the starting Fonts. PC demo saves carry over to the full release, which can shorten the first run slightly if you played the demo, but playthroughs otherwise start fresh.
Six schools that each produce a different experience is the whole point. A second run isn't grinding the same content with different numbers — the fight loop changes enough that it's genuinely a different game.
Clan selection at the 32-trait creator determines your magic school for the entire run — there's no changing it later. The choice is the playthrough.
Which School to Pick First
If this is your first Kristala playthrough, pick an Eminence school. Nisarga or Tandara — either works.
The reason is readability, not strength. You cast, you see damage, you adjust. The fight loop — melee to build mana, spend mana on spells, repeat — clicks faster when the spell results are immediate. Figuring out the mana mechanic, deflection timing, and Font upgrade order is already a lot for a first run without also having to decode a delayed damage system on top.
Play Malediction second. By then the mana loop is automatic, you know which Fonts are worth hunting, and you've seen enough boss encounters to actually appreciate what a fully stacked curse does. The same content feels different with Malediction once you stop wondering if the system is working.
For achievement hunters: some of the 50 Steam achievements are tied to specific magic school or clan progression and can't be unlocked in a single run. Two playthroughs — one Eminence, one Malediction — cover most of the targets. Beyond that, additional clan runs fill in the rest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How many magic schools are in Kristala? A: Six, one per clan. No two clans share the same school. They divide into two categories: Eminence (immediate damage) and Malediction (curse/DoT). Your school is permanent for the run.
Q: What is the difference between Eminence and Malediction? A: Eminence deals damage immediately on cast. Malediction applies curse effects that build over time into DoT damage. Eminence gives faster in-fight feedback; Malediction has a delayed but potentially higher payoff against large health pools.
Q: How does mana work in Kristala? A: Mana regenerates from landed melee hits only — there is no passive recovery. The loop is: melee to build mana, spells to spend it. Not landing melee attacks drains your pool with no way to recover.
Q: Which clan should I pick for my first playthrough? A: Nisarga or Tandara — both Eminence-aligned. Eminence first runs average 2–4 hours shorter because the spell feedback is immediate and the learning curve is more forgiving.
Q: Can you respec your magic school? A: No. Your clan choice at character creation locks your magic school for that run. A new school means a new character from the 32-trait creator.
Q: Is Malediction worth playing? A: On a second run, yes — it's a substantially different experience with more ceiling than Eminence. On a first run, the delayed feedback makes it harder to learn whether you're playing correctly. Save it for when you understand the base systems.
Q: Do the magic schools affect achievement unlocks? A: Yes. Some of the 50 Steam achievements are tied to clan or magic school progression and require specific playthroughs to unlock. Full completion across all 50 achievements requires multiple runs covering both Eminence and Malediction schools.
References
- Kristala on Steam — official page, clan details, magic school descriptions, and achievement list
- r/Kristala on Reddit — community discussion on school comparison, mana mechanics, and clan recommendations
Related Reading
The Kristala Clans Guide covers the specific clan differences within Eminence and Malediction — the choice inside each category that determines your starting position in the Feline Skill Tree.
For the Font upgrade order and which stats to invest in first — the decisions that shape how both school types perform across the full run — the Kristala Character Build Guide has the complete breakdown.
Unsure whether to play Kristala now or wait for patches? The Kristala Review covers the current state of both the magic system and the console performance issues worth knowing about before you start.
Just starting out? The Kristala Beginners Guide covers the first-hour priorities — including how to handle the first Font investment before you fully understand which school you'll be leaning into.
The mana system and the Feline Skill Tree are connected: parkour investment affects which Fonts you find, and each Font is where you spend mana-efficiency upgrades. The Kristala Feline Skill Tree Guide covers why early traversal investment matters for both school types.
