Light Manipulation

is a mutation that allows its user to fire damaging pulses of light, and to generate ambient light in an area around themselves.

Creatures with Light Manipulation passively generate light in a circular area around themselves via the "Ambient Light" toggleable ability. The radius of this area is determined by mutation level. Ambient Light can be toggled to enable and disable this light generation, and has no action cost.

Additionally, Light Manipulation grants the "Lase" activated ability. When Lase is used by the player, they will be prompted to select a tile within the current zone; any tile may be selected, regardless of distance, visibility, or any obstacles that may be in the way. When a tile is selected, the user will fire a beam of light towards that tile. This beam deals light-based damage and is perfectly accurate, having no accuracy variance and being impossible to dodge. Additionally, it is able to pass through generated by the user, and over low walls such as. Its damage and penetration are determined by mutation level. As it deals light-based damage, creatures killed by Lase will turn into instead of dropping a corpse.

Lase possesses a certain number of charges, equal in number to the maximum radius of Ambient Light. The user's current number of charges is directly proportional to the current radius of Ambient Light; utilizing Lase will expend 1 charge and will cause Ambient Light's radius to shrink by 1 tile, and having 0 charges completely disables Ambient Light and further use of Lase. Charges are regenerated once every 15 turns, on a continuous cycle that runs independently of the user's expenditure of charges. Using Mass Mind will regenerate all of the user's charges instantly.

Finally, creatures with Light Manipulation have a mutation level-based chance to reflect light-based damage sources, including Lase projectiles fired by other creatures. Successful reflections will not damage the user and will cause projectiles to be reflected 180 degrees, returning them to their source.

Formulas
The following formulas are used to determine damage, PV, maximum charges/light radius and reflect chance based on mutation level.

Advantages

 * Never misses and has infinite range.
 * Provides light without taking up an equipment slot, as other light sources do.
 * Decent early-game damage and PV which scales with level.
 * Can reflect light based damage, with incidence depending on mutation level.

Disadvantages

 * Light radius is relatively small at low levels.
 * It is difficult to use Light Manipulation as both a weapon and a light source at the same time, as utilizing Lase will cause the user's light radius to shrink.
 * Regenerating charges is relatively slow, and unaffected by Willpower.