If your character receives a level 3 or level 5 Talent, they can activate the Talent. This is a good opportunity to introduce talent points for your other characters if you have more than one active at the same level. Once a Talent is activated, it becomes part of the character’s base stats for the remainder of the battle and will not be lost. The Talent will provide some bonus to stats regardless of who it was triggered by. Once triggered, it cannot be undone for the rest of the battle. The effects of the Talent can also be modified by using Mods. Some battle talents are available in one battle, while others are available through multiple battles in a row. In order to get all your battles, some characters will need to use multiple Talents throughout the course of the battle. The Battle Once the start of a battle is called, any number of players may enter a battle via the Battle System interface. Participants will be asked whether they wish to go first or be in the back row, which position they would like, and a list of all players who are available to enter. The list can be filtered by character name, by class, or by other character abilities such as race or class. There are also options for players to change their position and the game will attempt to move players where it believes they can perform best. The battle will start with the enemy initiating the first attack. Players may then choose to either attack back (usually at a distance), or cancel their move and attempt to avoid the enemy’s attack, causing the enemy to miss. The game tries to keep players’ attacks against the enemy as consistent as possible, so that no large gaps of time are between when players start, and when they end their attack. The following sections are going to show some of the features and gameplay elements that make up a typical battle: Movement and Attacking During the course of the battle, players may be given an opportunity to move around. The game will allow a character to move around so long as there is room to move, the character has enough available movement points, and there is enough movement points left to choose from for the character’s chosen direction. Attacking, and being attacked by the enemy is another factor to consider in movement. Characters are able to attack in a number of ways. Characters can fire their weapons at the enemy or use any of their special Talents (such as a Healing Rain that grants the user more movement points) while moving in order to attack more consistently. The game limits characters’ movement to a maximum range which matches the range of the range on the character’s weapons. There are a number of factors that will affect how many movement points are available in a given direction, including: Whether a character has a weapon in hand Whether the character is moving or not Whether the character is moving in a given direction Whether a character has a special Talent Each character is able to move as far as the range of its weapon. It is the responsibility of the player to ensure that their character’s movement is in line with their weapons, and is not over extending or under utilizing their movement points. Movement points (often referred to as MP in the interface) can be replenished by waiting a few seconds, or by using Mods. There are also a number of options that can be used to control the movement. Characters may attempt to maneuver to a different position in order to maximize their range. The game will take into account the movement costs, if any, of any equipment being held, and will attempt to move the character to a position with a high probability of success. Characters that do not wish to enter the combat phase may instead choose to continue moving around the battlefield, being ready for the next battle. Character Abilities and Talents Characters are able to use special abilities which can grant additional bonuses and new options in combat. This can be beneficial if the target of a character’s attack is very powerful, or if the character is attempting to heal another character in the midst of combat. There are three types of character ability: special, basic, and passive. Passive abilities do not require any action from the character, and are available from the start. Special abilities are activated using a player’s action points (these are referred to as AP in the interface). Basic abilities do not require any AP, and can be activated by a character without AP. Characters can also use Talents which are similar to special abilities, but they are less powerful than the characters’ active abilities and do not cost any AP. These can only be used once the character has used their first Talent. Characters do not have to activate any Talents, but are encouraged to do so in order to prevent the character from being put at a significant disadvantage later on. The list of abilities is extensive, but the list below contains some of the key abilities that every character will be able to use. Special abilities: Warden - If the character has a weapon in hand, the character may attack with extra damage and receive more movement points from successfully attacking - If the character has a weapon in hand, the character may attack with extra damage and receive more movement points from successfully attacking Warlord - A character who uses this ability will gain an additional movement point for every point of damage dealt by their weapon - A character who uses this ability will gain an additional movement point for every point of damage dealt by their weapon Healing Rain - A character who uses this ability will receive a move point for every point of damage that they receive from being attacked - A character who uses this ability will receive a move point for every point of damage that they receive from being attacked Storm - A character who uses this ability will be able to move away from a character that attacks them for 1 movement point, and will have the option to continue moving. Storm can only be used once per battle, but can also be used as a reaction to the enemy using this ability - A character who uses this ability will be able to move away from a character that attacks them for 1 movement point, and will have the option to continue moving. Storm can only be used once per battle, but can also be used as a reaction to the enemy using this ability Thundering Blast - If the character has a weapon in hand, the character can move up to 3 movement points with their weapon as part of their action phase. - If the character has a weapon in hand, the character can move up to 3 movement points with their weapon as part of their action phase. Cripple - A character who uses this ability will be locked in a specific position on the battle grid until their next turn. Their next action will fail unless the character moves into a different column. - A character who uses this ability will be locked in a specific position on the battle grid until their next turn. Their next action will fail unless the character moves into a different column. Shield Bash - A character who uses this ability will receive an additional move point for every point of damage they receive from the enemy - A character who uses this ability will receive an additional move point for every point of damage they receive from the enemy Defensive Stance - A character who uses this ability will gain one extra move point if they are attacked, and if their defense is successful - A character who uses this ability will gain one extra move point if they are attacked, and if their defense is successful Tough Stance - A character who uses this ability will receive an additional move point for every point of damage dealt to them by the enemy Basic abilities: Charge - The character may move 2 squares instead of 1 at the cost of one AP - The character may move 2 squares instead of 1 at the cost of one AP Counter - The character may move 2 squares at the cost of 1 AP - The character may move 2 squares at the cost of 1 AP Furious Stride - The character may move 2 squares at the cost of 1 AP - The character may move 2 squares at the cost of 1 AP Dash - The character may move 2 squares at the cost of 1 AP - The character may move 2 squares at the cost of 1 AP Swift - The character may move 2 squares at the cost of 1 AP - The character may move 2 squares at the cost of 1 AP Guard - The character may move 2 squares at the cost of 1 AP Characters who attack with the above special abilities must choose whether to activate the ability after their attack or during their turn. Only abilities with a cost of 1 AP or lower are available to be used at the end of a turn. Characters may continue to change between special and basic abilities as well as between different types of abilities, so long as they have not used any of the special abilities in that list above. It is important to be aware of the differences between using special abilities, and using basic abilities. This will not only help with the way a character performs in combat, but also how the other players use their characters as well. For example, a character may choose to use a character with a number of basic abilities in order to allow that character to be mobile in combat. The opponent’s character will need to take care not to attack that character when they are unable to move. When a character successfully lands a hit, they may activate their unique ability. The game will randomly assign a Unique ability to a character. This can be a beneficial option if the character needs a very specific ability to beat