Profane Mindcages, which were originally intended to disappear after Season 4 but remain active in Season 5, are useful items in Helltide zones for increasing monster levels and gaining more experience. However, there are several important details to highlight (some of which were also pointed out by Unchained on Reddit).
- Effectiveness with Monster Level:
If the monster level is already 10+ levels higher than your character, using a single
Profane Mindcage will not increase their level. For example:
- Character Level: 63
- Helltide Monster Level: 78
- After 1 Mindcage: Monster level remains at 78.
- After 2 Mindcages: Monster level increases to 86.
- After 3 Mindcages: Monster level increases to 96.
- Character Level: 63
This means that the first Mindcage is ineffective when monsters are significantly higher level than your character. Keep in mind that you can use up to three Profane Mindcage at once, which is a new feature that was introduced in Season 5.
In World Tier 4 (WT4), monster levels start at a minimum of 75, so if you are at a lower level (in this example, 63), the monsters will not scale down. Only after stacking multiple Mindcages will the monster level exceed the WT4 base level.
Why Stack Mindcages?
Using multiple Mindcages increases monster levels and potential gear drops. However, the cinder drop rate does not improve beyond the first Profane Mindcage! So, if your goal is to farm as many cinders as possible, you can simply use one Profane Mindcage without pushing monster levels too high.
Higher level monsters do yield better rewards, though, such as stronger equipment. This means that scaling monsters up by using multiple Mindcages can be especially good for farming equipment, particularly when targeting better item power gear as you approach higher levels.