Don't really understand the new psychic powers

[50 Pennies]

I'll start with I know the different groups of powers there are, but i just don't see how I can use them, I am classed as the Morbid psychic, I don't know how to get those psychic powers to begin with, I have a room where they meditate with the sarcophagus but nothing seems to be happening (for example none of my people are phycasters) ... I don't know what I am doing wrong, do I have to start by meditating to the tree? or am I missing something here (I am using mods).

[HunterSilver]

First and foremost you need psychic levels to use psychic powers. Either get psychic neuroformers from quests, attacking other cities, or getting noble ranks with the empire or have natural meditation type colonists meditate at the Anima Tree.

Once you have psychic levels your colonist will have psychic powers listed on their action bar, near where un/draft are located. Anyone with psychic levels will also have a psyfocus meter too. To cast psychic powers you need some charge in your psyfocus meter and meditation charges up psyfocus.

Every psycast has a minimum psyfocus requirement to cast, drains some psyfocus on use, and generates heat. Meditation gives a base 50% psyfocus gain per day + whatever your focus gives you. So if you meditate with a psyfocus that gives 0% bonus, you'll get ~2.1% psyfocus per hour.

[50 Pennies]

Alright, I get it, so basically I have to get it first from one of the listed ways, hypothetically for my morbid Pawn, I would steal it and use it on myself to gain the power and meditate to keep my psychic powers at full?

[HunterSilver]

That is correct. =)

[50 Pennies]

You are a star, Thank you! I honestly thought I was doing something wrong. The video I watched everyone started with the bar saying they were already a psychic so it really threw me off.

[grapplehoeker]

Only psycasters need to meditate in order to maintain their psyfocus level
It also satisfies their need for recreation while doing so and if you take care to decorate the room in which they meditate, then they will receive positive mood buff due to the impressiveness while meditating (doesn't really apply to the naturist, but beautiful natural environment around the tree will work.)

Meditation is an activity, so you'll have to set meditation time for them in their schedule.

So, in your case, a Morbid psycaster will need to be assigned to a meditation spot near a sarcophagus (even better if it contains the body of someone they knew and had an attachment to). You could build a really impressive crypt by decorating it with columns, braziers, floor tiling and statues, just like the thronerooms.

You get your psycasting powers by levelling up your psycaster via quests which offer a psychic amplifier as a reward or by acquiring an amplifier by other means. Each amplifier, adds a new level and unlocks the ability to learn and use psycast types of that level. You'll get a random psycast skill appropriate to their level each time a new amplifier is used and you may acquire more psycast skills by using a Psytrainer, which you can get via trade, but remember, only those that are equivalent to the psycaster's level may be learned.
https://rimworldwiki.com/wiki/Psycasts

Originally posted by 50 Pennies:

for example none of my people are phycasters

As I said above, only psycasters can psycast and only they need to meditate.

When choosing who to make a psycaster, think carefully about who you pick. Examine their traits and their work/passions. A psycaster will be more effective if they have more psychic sensitivity and some traits will be better than others. As they level up, if you have chosen to support the Empire and gain royal favours, then make sure you pay attention to the needs of a noble and their limitations.

[50 Pennies]

Thank you for going into detail abit more, Also all three of my starting people are under the Morbid grouping, so I will probably build a big crypt when I am able to find more Psychic neuroformers. I am unsure about how rare they are, but I have managed to collect one so far by joining the empire and then leaving it so i lost my rank but I still have the implant with me.

[HunterSilver]

Currently the best way to get them is to just get noble ranks with the empire, since 7 total royal favor gets you the Yeoman rank and a neuroformer. Most empire quests can give 6-12 royal favor and if a taxman comes by you can trade prisoners and gold for favor. It's incredibly easy to save up a few prisoners and trade them for 6-12 neuroformers within your first year.

Tribals similarly can get a lot of psychic levels from the Anima Tree very fast, just not as fast as working for the empire. A single tribal colonist meditating at the Anima tree for 5 hours a day will be able to unlock a new psychic power every 20 days on average. The more tribals meditating and for longer will get you more psychic levels faster.

[gimmethegepgun]

Unless you fill the sarcophagi with bodies (as opposed to just butchering everyone to turn them into kibble and parkas) your psycasters are generally going to meditate better in a throne room than with the morbid focus.
Also tribal characters you pick up will almost always be best off meditating near the tree, if you haven't built anything near it. Both for generating more psylink levels, and simply for focusing.

[Grishnerf]

asketic psycasters = cheat

[50 Pennies]

Yeah, I think i am going to stick to working with the empire till i get all my people with psychic abilities then leave them, I don't like climbing the ranks of the empire because of the fact it slowly makes your pawns incapable of doing basic tasks

[gimmethegepgun]

Originally posted by 50 Pennies:

Yeah, I think i am going to stick to working with the empire till i get all my people with psychic abilities then leave them, I don't like climbing the ranks of the empire because of the fact it slowly makes your pawns incapable of doing basic tasks

The devs severely reduced that. Only pawns with an Empire background or with the Greedy or Jealous traits will demand better food and do fewer job types when they get titles. They'll still want a better room (unless Ascetic), clothing, and a throne room though.

[50 Pennies]

I didn't know that! i might have to side with the empire again! viva la empire!