Line #50 Main/ReducedManaCost


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6	In {{RPG}}s with a ManaMeter, it is possible that they may have an item (usually an accessory) that reduces the cost of the wearer's skills, usually by half, effectively doubling the caster's mana pool. This may or may not become a GameBreaker, usually dependent on how powerful spells are in the game.
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8	An inversion is something that ''increases'' skill cost, but usually adds other effects, such as increased damage.
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10	Compare CooldownManipulation and ReducedResourceCost.
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13	!!Examples:
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15	* In ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'', there are a few accessories – the Lovely Crystal and Mega Love Crystal, plus Cornelia’s [[PowersAsPrograms Jinx Drive]] - which says they reduce RP costs by half, but what they actually do is return half the cost of the skill after it's been cast. A skill that costs 100 RP still needs that RP, but after casting it, there's 50 RP remaining.
16	* ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'': Every Changeling [[MagicByAnyOtherName Contract]] has a "Catch" that waives the normal Glamour cost if the condition is met. For example, one [[LuckManipulationMechanic luck-manipulation]] Contract works for free when it's used to [[ParanormalGamblingAdvantage cheat at cards]].
17	* ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' has not only the Silver Stud, which cuts MP cost by half, but the Gold Stud, which cuts it to 25%. Advanced magic is incredibly powerful but balanced by its extremely high MP cost, making Golden Studs a complete GameBreaker thanks to the Black Omen, from which you can farm enough to supply your entire roster. Luminare won't outright kill most enemies, but two uses will, and three uses will make ''bosses'' cringe.
18	** In addition, the DS remake has the Champion's Badge, exclusive for Frog, which is basically a Silver Stud with the extra benefit of the Hero's Badge (ramping up the Masamune's CriticalHit ratio).
19	* Conserve Power from ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes''.
20	** Several powers will reduce endurance cost, or grant so much endurance recovery that you can spam costly powers without tiring out ([[GameBreaker Speed Boost]], I choose you!) Electric attacks have a chance of restoring the endurance you used back, essentially giving you an attack at no cost.
21	** The level 20 power in the Fitness power pool (which is available to everyone) adds a bonus to endurance restoration. Properly slotting it, and combining it with an endurance reduction ability, means the only thing stopping you from spamming your strongest powers is the cooldown on the powers themselves. And since there's a corresponding power to reduce cooldown times...
22	* In ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'', the Farron Ring reduces the FP cost of weapon skills.
23	* ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' has the Power Recirculator, which reduces augmentation energy use by 10%-60% for a piddling 10 units/minute.
24	* In ''VideoGame/DigimonWorld'', you may get an "MP Consumption Bonus" after finishing a battle, which reduces the amount of MP required to use attacks. At least, that's what it does in the PAL versions - getting this bonus in the NTSC versions usually results in nothing more than [[GameBreakingBug your game crashing on the spot]].
25	* The [[VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories second]] and [[VideoGame/Disgaea3AbsenceOfJustice third]] ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' games play this straight and invert it. The all-female Mage class can cast spells with less SP than any other character in the game, while the all-male Skulls require 50% more SP to use their spells, but they hit harder. Then again, considering how ridiculous the stats can get, it's pretty much impossible to run out of SP in the endgame, no matter how many level 100 spells and skills you spam.
26	* ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'': The player character's allies [[EnergyDonation pray for them]] during the FinalBattle, granting a status effect that negates the Source Point cost of their powerful Source Skills. Ordinarily they're limited to three SP, which can be exhausted by a single top-tier Source Skill.
27	* The Sage class in the ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' games often has this as a feature.
28	** In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'', the ultimate Sage skill reduces all spellcosts by 25%, no matter the current class. The Twocus Pocus ability lets you cast a spell twice for no extra cost (and it counts towards the combo system), the Mage's LimitBreak lets him cast spells for 0 MP for a while, and applies it to the whole party if the Sage has a LimitBreak active as well.
29	* A Psionic in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 3rd edition could purchase a Torc of Power Preservation to get this effect. While the actual amount of PP (mana) preserved was only 1 point, it could easily extend your pool of mana immensely (as you can manifest numerous powers each day in the mid-to-high levels). There are feats and prestige classes that have similar effects (major examples include the Anarchic Initiate [[PrestigeClass PrC]] and the Midnight Augmentation feat). And the Wilder base class has one of these built in (but it has... issues).
30	* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' has multiple ways to reduce FP cost. The Glintstone Scarab, Incantation Scarab, and Ash-of-War Scarab helmets reduce the FP cost of sorceries, incantations, and weapon skills respectively, at the cost of making you take more damage. The Primal Glintstone Blade talisman reduces the FP cost of all spells at the cost of reducing your maximum HP. The Carian Filigreed Crest talisman reduces the FP cost of weapon skills with no downside, and the Cerulean Hidden Tear can be mixed into your [[PotionBrewingMechanic Flask of Wondrous Physick]] to give you ''infinite'' FP for 15 seconds (which is approximately the time it takes to obliterate a boss's health bar with [[WaveMotionGun Comet Azur]]).
31	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
32	** In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'', magic costs decrease as your level in the associated skill increases. At skill level 100, spells only cost 20% of their base cost. Unlike ''Skyrim'', magic costs cannot be decreased to zero, as boosting most skills over 100 doesn't have further effects. Since ''Oblivion'' has SpellCrafting, this limit is necessary for some semblance of balance.
33	** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' has enchantments that reduce Magicka cost for specific schools. With a maxed out Enchanting skill and all the relevant perks, a single enchantment will reduce the cost of that school by 25%, so if you equip four pieces of gear with that enchantment, the cost will be reduced to zero. The final Enchanting perk allows you to put two enchantments on one piece of gear, meaning you can have two free schools of magic at once. And that's ''without'' abusing Alchemy to create a feedback loop of potions that boost your Enchanting and enchantments that boost your Alchemy to become a walking GameBreaker.
34	* ''VideoGame/FableI'': Some Good- and Evil-themed spells, such as [[HealingHands Heal Life]] and [[UnstoppableRage Berserk]], cost proportionately fewer [[ManaMeter mana points]] to cast the closer the Hero is to the corresponding end of the Karma Meter.
35	* ''TabletopGame/FabulaUltima'':
36	** It normally costs 40 MP for an Arcanist to summon a bound Arcanum. Their Emergency Arcanum class skill reduces that MP cost by up to 75% while the Arcanist is [[CriticalStatusBuff in Crisis]].
37	** The Elementalist's Cataclysm skill is an inversion. It lets them increase a damage-dealing spell's MP cost to make it inflict extra damage.
38	** Some pieces of equipment reduce the MP cost of specific skills or spells when worn. For instance, the Desperado Coat halves the MP cost of using the Sharpshooter's Barrage skill.
39	** The Commander can invert this trope with one application of the Bishop's Edict skill, which doubles the MP cost of everything, for everybody, until the start of their next turn.
40	** The Symbol of Sorcery shaves 5 MP off the cost of any spell which targets the symbol's bearer. The effect is cumulative when casting a spell that targets multiple creatures marked with the symbol.
41	** The Ceaseless Battlefield heroic skill, which can be obtained by mastering the Commander class, halves the MP cost of several of the Commander's skills.
42	** Inverted by the Dancer's Follow My Lead skill, which lets them double the MP cost of a dance to share its effects with one of their allies. Played straight by the Paso Doble heroic skill, which negates this extra MP cost so the Dancer can share their dance's effects while paying its normal cost.
43	** The Showstopper heroic skill allows a Dancer to spend a Fabula Point to perform up to three dances in a single turn without spending MP on any of them, with the caveat that they cannot dance again before the end of their next turn.
44	* In ''VideoGame/FellSealArbitersMark'', the Sorcerer class’s "Economy" passive reduces the MP cost of their abilities by one-third.
45	* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games love these. Every game after ''III'' has an accessory that halves MP cost, usually called the "Gold Hairpin".
46	** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', there's an accessory that reduces it to ''one'', and once you have Ultima, it becomes ridiculously {{game break\|er}}ing. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' also does this.
47	** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', there's an ability called "Half MP" that does [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin exactly what it's titled]] and cuts all MP costs by half for the user's skills. Although this one has a description in which it "Cuts MP use by half in battle", meaning that outside of battle, using healing spells has this effect unapplied, but in full effect whilst in battle of course.
48	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' has the Soul of Thamasa, which doubles the cost of spells and increases the damage they inflict, and the Ragnarok, which makes any skill or spell cost 0 MP. They are practically a GameBreaker when equipped on the same character.
49	** ''Final Fantasy VII VideoGame/CrisisCore'' has many items that do this like the Soul of Thamasa which reduces all MP costs to 0. The Genji helm also does this and while it is useful, it is not as useful sometimes as say the Ziedrich, an item that increases all stats by 100.
50	** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', the Sage's Ring fullfills this role, with an added [[ReviveKillsZombie inversion of Holy damage]].
51	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', lacking traditional MP, has other ways to accomplish this. ''VIII'' has the "[=Expend2x1=]" and "[=Expend3x1=]" that allow you to cast two or three times at the expense of one spell stock. ''XIII'' has various weapon modifications that charge your ATB rate, effectively allowing you to cast faster.
52	** While ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' lacks a straight example of this trope, as everyone would be required to have one and therefore no one could afford one, some pieces of mage gear have a degree of the Conserve MP trait, which confers a small chance of halving the MP spent on a spell.
53	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has many status buffs and passive traits that reduce or remove the MP cost for certain spells, such as the White Mage’s “Thin Air”[[note]]all spells cost no MP for the duration[[/note]] or the Astrologian’s “Lightspeed”[[note]]The MP cost for all spells is halved and their casting times are reduced[[/note]]. The Black Mage simultaneously plays this straight and inverts this. In Astral Fire stance the cost and power of fire spells are doubled, but Ice spells will have a reduction to their cost and power instead. Meanwhile Umbral Ice stance decreases the cost of both Ice and Fire spells.
54	* Sufficient skill with a spell ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' lets you cut its cost by a point of energy every few levels. With enough skill a casting may cost nothing at all.
55	* In ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic 5'', heroes can learn a skill "Arcane Training" to permanently cut the mana cost of all his spells by 20% and then another one, "Erratic Mana", to randomly cut the cost of each cast cast by up to 50% more.
56	** Mage units also reduce the costs of their masters spells by 25% and the Week of Might and Magic halves mana costs for everyone.
57	* ''Videogame/HonkaiImpact3rd:'' [[SocketedEquipment socketing your]] [[PowerTattoo Stigma]] with a certain material will give it various extra traits, one of them being the reduction of SP cost (whether for weapon skills or Ultimate skills). Note that you still need to reach the required amount of SP to be able to use said skills, just that when you do use them, you'll use less SP than normal.
58	* ''VideoGame/JaysJourney'' has the Gold Hairpin. Like in Final Fantasy, (which it's probably a ShoutOut to) it halves MP cost.
59	* Gojo's Six Eyes in ''Manga/JujutsuKaisen'' ensures that the amount of cursed energy he burns when activating a cursed technique is "infinitesimally close to zero." There are sorcerers with even greater cursed energy than Gojo, like Yuta, but thanks to Gojo's efficiency, a battle of attrition against him is pretty much impossible.
60	* ''VideoGame/KingdomsOfAmalurReckoning'''s implementation of this trope is the major reason why [[LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards the Sorcery skill tree is so overpowered]]. With the right equipment (that is easy to acquire via the mage faction quests), Destinies and a specific Sorcery skill, it is possible to achieve more than 85% mana cost reduction. Since magic powers are balanced purely through casting cost, not their cooldowns (which are all pretty negligible), one can soon spam the most powerful magics more or less ad infinitum.
61	* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' has a few of these, including a recurring in-game holiday. Most of them will only stack to -3 MP per casting. A few do ignore that limit, including the aforementioned holiday, so you could theoretically get a reduction of 9 MP off every skill you cast, or 14 if you're a Pastamancer. This would be a GameBreaker if the most useful non-combat skills weren't also limited to a certain number of uses per day.
62	** Subverted in the Avatar of Jarlsberg challenge path, where a spell's power is capped based on the number of MP it costs, so reducing their MP cost ''weakens'' them. This was, shall we say, not very popular with the player base, so Jick's plans to introduce it as a game-wide mechanic were put on hold.
63	* ''Literature/KonoSuba'': In theory, the Explosion spell's ridiculous mana cost can be reduced by taking certain prerequisites so that the caster can at least remain conscious after using it. [[CripplingOverspecialisation Megumin, as you would expect given the general competence of Konosuba main characters, has not bothered to pick up any of them.]]
64	* The Lord-Sorcerer's Gown in ''VideoGame/LastScenario'' halves all mana costs. Also inverted with the Spellcard Mod, which doubles MP cost but multiplies damage by 1.5.
65	* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' has the item 'Tear of the Goddess', which has the peculiar property of increasing your maximum mana pool by 4 every time you spend mana. The weird element is how the game understands Maximum Mana increases to include both sides of the Mana stat, meaning that you go from 150/200 to 154/204. The Tear of the Goddess' bonus mana from this effect caps at 750, but for some strange reason, it will continue "refunding" 4 mana every time you use mana, effectively cutting the cost of of your abilities.
66	** This can have particular comical effect with champions whose mana costs are low, or with periodic mana costs for toggled abilites such as Singed's Poison Trail ability. It drains 13 Mana per second, and then refunds you 4 mana every time it drains 13, meaning it actually costs 9 per second. Ezreal's Mystic Shot ability also has an interesting effect; the Manamune, an upgrade of the Tear of the Goddess, also grants the Mana bonus every time an auto attack hits. Ezreal's Mystic Shot counts AS an autoattack, so it refunds twice the mana due to casting and then hitting.
67	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' has a very confused bat that alternately berates and thanks Link for awakening it from its slumber. It then zaps him and declares that it has cursed him by cutting his magic power in half. Actually, it has cut the ''cost'' of his magic in half while keeping his ManaMeter and the effects of items that use it exactly the same, effectively ''doubling'' his magical power.
68	* ''VideoGame/TheLogomancer'': The "Reduced Erudition Cost" stat, where Erudition is {{Mana}}. It can be increased one percent at a time through inspiration points, and its also a passive skill learned from one of the books.
69	* ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'': [[PlaceOfPower Hallows]] have enough ambient magic to automatically provide one point of mana towards every spell that's cast nearby.
70	%%* Numerous examples exist in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', ranging from completely useless to potentially gamebreaking.
71	* Lots of items in [[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]: The Budget Charm, the Thrift Charm, the Tight Belt, the Economy Ring and the Cheap Ring. Inverted with the Luxury Patch and Heroic Patch, which raise SP cost in return for added power for the attacks as does the Heroic Ring. Some even auto restore the amount once per turn.
72	* ''Franchise/MegaMan'' series:
73	** ''VideoGame/MegaManAndBass'' has the Energy Save item that can be bought in the shop, which halves the cost of your special weapons.
74	** The Head armor upgrade in ''VideoGame/MegaManX4'' reduces the cost of X's uncharged special weapons [[BottomlessMagazines by 100%]]. Charged versions will still use their energy meter.
75	** The Head armor upgrade in ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'' halves the cost of X's special weapons [[{{Nerf}} instead of completely negating the cost like with the previous game]].
76	* The "Channel" buff in ''VideoGame/MonsterSanctuary'' reduces the mana cost of all of a monster's abilities.
77	* The Energy Saver and its analogues in the ''Franchise/MegaMan'' series is essentially a technological version of this, allowing Mega Man to fire Special Weapons for half the cost. The Head Parts in ''VideoGame/MegaManX4'' goes one better, allowing X to fire infinite Special Weapon shots, as long as they’re not a ChargedAttack.
78	* ''VideoGame/PathOfExile'' has both this and the inversion listed in the trope description. Active skills come in the form of Virtue Gems that are socketed into your equipment. Active skills can be linked to support gems that add extra effects (for example, extra melee damage against bleeding enemies or causing projectile skills to chain to other enemies) but increase the mana cost multiplier. There are many different sources that reduce mana cost by a percentage or by a flat amount (which doesn't work on mana reservation, which is determined purely by the mana multiplier). There are also many effects that are better the less or more mana is spent. For example, the Inspiration support gem grants a stacking elemental damage and crit chance boost which resets after spending a certain amount of mana, and the Archmage support gem grants bonus lightning damage based on how much mana you used to cast the spell.
79	* The "Pressure" ability from the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' series is an inversion of sorts - the ability doubles the PP consumption for any Pokemon engaged against the ability's user.
80	* In ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers'', the PP Saver IQ skill occasionally allows a Pokémon to use an attack without using up PP.
81	* ''TabletopGame/RoleMaster'' and ''TabletopGame/{{MERP}}'' invert this by having items that either allow you to cast X spells per day at zero cost, or multiply your available mana pool by a factor of 2, 3 or even more - naturally this can easily lead to LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards at higher levels.
82	* In ''VideoGame/RuneFactory3'', the Fluffy Scarf accessory cuts Rune Point use to zero for most activities.
83	* ''Shin Megami Tensei VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' has a skill called Magical Yang that halves MP costs for both the user's party and the enemy party they're currently fighting against, and inverts it with Magical Yin that makes the spells cost double the MP but giving them a 50% power boost. Despite the lack of any MP-restoring items, the latter is a far better option most of the time thanks to the ManaDrain spell's effectiveness in both crippling the enemies and giving their MP to you and because of a racial skill that restores a set amount of MP to all your characters after combat depending on how much damage you do to your enemies.
84	** The ''Persona'' series has Spell Master, which cuts that Persona's MP costs in half. ''Very'' dangerous if you fuse it onto something like Satan (Black Viper) or Helel (Morning Star). Flat out broken when you combine Victory Cry (restore all HP/MP post combat) and Alpha and Omega[=/=]Armageddon (instantly kill anything short of the bonus boss, 100% of the time but costs 100% of MP).
85	** ''VideoGame/Persona4'' also has a ''ring'' that gives Spell Master to whoever wears it. (Un)Fortunately, it doesn't stack with the actual Spell Master ability. It goes great on Naoto, though, whose spell selection includes very expensive OneHitKill spells and the even more expensive Megido spell line.
86	** ''VideoGame/Persona5 Royal'' adds traits to Personas, and Lucifer, the ultimate Persona of the Star confidante, has "Allure of Wisdom", which reduces the cost of spells by 75%. When combined with Spell Master (as skill he learns automatically), it drops the cost of all of his end-game spells down to a tiny fraction of their normal casting cost, letting him spam the otherwise costly Morning Star with impunity.
87	* ''VideoGame/PrayerOfTheFaithless'': Trill's Traces can give her SP cost alterations to 0% or 50%.
88	* ''VideoGame/RemiLoreLostGirlInTheLandsOfLore'': An effect called "+Mana Cost Decrease" that applies to some weapons such as the Sewing Needle or Balloon Sword.
89	* ''VideoGame/RuneScape'': [[MagicStaff Elemental Staves]] act as an unlimited source of one or more rune types for the wielder's spellcasting. Otherwise, spells are limited by the quantity and type of runes in a character's inventory.
90	* ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndTheSevenSirens'':
91	** The MP Saver Relic: "Reduces your [[gold:MAGIC]] consumption."
92	** Some Monster Cards give for certain abilities:
93	*** Bat: "The Boomerang consumes less magic when used!"
94	*** Jumping Frog: "The Shield consumes less magic when used!"
95	* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' has an accessory that cuts Flower Point costs in half.
96	* The ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' has the Emerald Ring and Fairy Ring, which reduce TP costs by one-third and one-half respectively. Some games also have the Risky Ring, which reduces TP costs to one, but has the drawback of making you take doubled damage.
97	* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'':
98	** This is common with most sets of mage armor, which helps make up for their [[SquishyWizard lack of defense]]. For example, wearing the entire set of Jungle Armor will reduce the mana cost of all magic items by 16%. This stacks with the Nature's Gift accessory, which reduces mana costs by 6%.
99	** In addition, the Space Gun uses mana instead of ammo, unless you're wearing the full set of Meteor Armor, in which case the gun uses neither ammo nor mana. The gun makes for quite an efficient long-range weapon, so even though there are higher-tier armors than the Meteor Armor, you might find it worthwhile to stick with it.
100	** The Crystal Ball furniture item can grant you a buff that overall boosts your magic ability, including a discount to mana costs.
101	* The ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'' has the EP Cut Quartz, which reduces the EP cost of Arts. Starting in the Erebonia Arc there is also a random turn bonus that grants 100% EP reduction for a single turn, plus some ways to munchkin the casters so that casting an attack spell can potentially return more EP than it cost. There is also a Master Quartz that doubles the EP cost of Arts in exchange for a damage multiplier.
102	* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'':
103	** The Efficiency stat reduces a Warframe's energy consumption if it's above the base of 100%, though it also increases it if the stat is reduced below that value. For energy-hungry Warframes, efficiency-boosting mods like Streamline and Fleeting Expertise could be a handy way to keep casting your abilities.
104	** The Zenurik Focus school has the "Inner Might" node, which lets your Warframe cast an ability at no energy cost when it's off-cooldown.
105	* Inverted in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', the curse of Lucifron makes every ability cost double its initial cost, and even works on the Death Knight class which uses "Runes", which wasn't invented when Lucifron was made.
106	** Discipline Priests have a straight example with Power Infusion, reducing mana costs of the target.The amount of talents available to classes with similiar effects are too numerous to mention.
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Context Main / ReducedManaCost